192 ORGANIC EVOLUTION — MENTAL 



the material products of it, than in an acceptance of 

 the civilization itself: thus the Turks borrow our big 

 guns, but not our ideas; our ironclad ships, but not 

 our modes of thought and motives for action; thus 

 savages accept our rifles and alcohol, but are not 

 thereby civilized. A change from a lower to a higher 

 civilization consists, in fact, in a mental change, a change 

 in knowledge and in ways of thinking and motives for 

 acting, not in material things, for a savage who pos- 

 sesses a bottle of rum, a quick-firing rifle, a silk hat, 

 a mirror, and a piano, is just as much a savage as he 

 is without them; whereas the Englishman or the 

 Frenchman, who is cast ashore, destitute of all the 

 things of civilization, on a desert island, is just as 

 much a civilized being as the dweller in London or 

 Paris. 



The supreme importance of the mental traits acquired 

 under the influence of religion is extremely well shown 

 in the case of conquered nations. To take once more 

 the example of the Mahomedans : all those nations 

 which were conquered by them, and which adopted the 

 Mahomedan religion, have received the impress of the 

 Mahomedan civilization; but all those which did not 

 adopt the Mahomedan religion, have quite different 

 modes of thought and motives for action, quite a 

 different civilization — such are the Greeks, the Bul- 

 garians, the Servians, and the Roumanians, who adhere 

 to the religion, and, though of diverse races, possess the 

 civilization of the Greek Church. 



History affords numerous examples of races changing 

 their characteristics, and with their characteristics their 

 civilization ; but in every case such change was associ- 

 ated with and preceded by a change of religion. For 

 instance, much of Asia Minor and Northern Africa 

 anciently held the Pagan Roman religion and possessed 

 the splendid Roman civilization. Subsequently the in- 



