THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



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men only. In general, invasions solely 

 by men left more enduring results than 

 those by peoples. The tendency was for 

 men, accompanied by their families, to 

 remain apart from the conquered as a 

 distinct class. The single man formed 

 ties among the conquered and therefore 

 was identified with the community. 



The essential fact, however, is that, 

 after the barbaric invasions, there existed 

 no such thing as an unmixed race. Nor 

 does any such thing exist now. Racial 

 purity is a figment of the imagination. 



THE TEST OF TONGUES 



We have seen that by this universal 

 intermixture of mankind in Europe all 

 racial characteristics were blended, con- 

 fused, or lost. Therefore no physical test 

 or combination of such tests has yet been 

 found practicable or possible to apply. 

 In consequence, "To the eye of modern 

 scholarship 'language' forms the basis of 

 ethnic distinction." 



Language is not an infallible guide. 

 Sometimes it appears unsatisfactory and 

 perhaps misleading. Sometimes it in- 

 volves difficulties and seems to arrive at 

 contradictions. But there is no other 

 test that rivals it in comprehensive ac- 

 curacy. Unsatisfactory though the guide 

 may sometimes be, it is far more satis- 

 factory than any other we possess. 



In point of fact we possess no other. 

 Webster's New International Dictionary 

 is correct in the definition, "Slav: a per- 

 son who speaks Slavic as his mother 

 tongue." The Encyclopaedia Britannica 

 is correct in saying, "Judged by the lan- 

 guage test, and no other is readily avail- 

 able." The authoritative Statesman's 

 Year Book is correct in its invariable 

 system of determining "ethnical ele- 

 ments on the basis of language." 



In the quaint Biblical story it was by 

 the test of speech that the men of Gilead 

 at the passage of the Jordan detected the 

 tribe of Ephraim. "It was so that when 

 those Ephraimites which were escaped 

 said, 'Let me go over,' that the men of 

 Gilead said unto him, 'Art thou an 

 Ephraimite?' and if he said, 'Nay;' then 

 said they unto him, 'Say thou Shibboleth,' 

 and he said, 'Sibboleth,' for he could not 



frame to pronounce it right. Then they 

 took him and slew him." 



It was a common racial language, de- 

 spite local difference, that distinguished 

 the Celts, Teutons, and Slavs from one 

 another. It was the main bond connect- 

 ing the several members of each of those 

 same races. "Thy speech bewrayeth 

 thee" was the identification of each tribe. 



Sometimes the language test seems to 

 fail glaringly, as when one hears the 

 Balto-Slavic Prussian speaking German 

 as his mother tongue, or the Celtic Irish 

 speaking English. Yet out of the great 

 total such anomalies are comparatively 

 rare. 



A NEW AND VITAL INTEREST IN EUROPE'S 

 RACES 



The races of Europe are today in- 

 vested with a vivid interest and a near- 

 ness they never possessed for us before. 

 Through more than four agonizing years 

 in thought and perhaps in person we 

 have lived in their very midst. Peoples 

 little known have appeared on the hori- 

 zon and peoples best known have ac- 

 quired a fresh significance. Nor, though 

 the hour of victory has come, will our 

 strained attention relax. 



The races of Europe are now in agita- 

 tion, less superficial but more profound 

 and as intense as that by which they were 

 convulsed by the Hun fifteen centuries 

 ago. The Old Order has passed away 

 with the millions dead. A new Europe 

 is in the making. Neither a year nor a 

 generation will suffice to make it. None 

 of the now-living will behold it when 

 made. The Peace Conference will ren- 

 der its august decisions, and its members 

 will depart, but the races will remain on 

 the spot where on them the making of the 

 New Europe will devolve. 



Europe, though so old, is for the 

 greater part young and inexperienced in 

 self-government and political duty and 

 opportunity. The gait of more than one 

 newly enfranchised people will resemble 

 the uncertain walk of a just-awakened 

 child. No marvel if its liberty seems at 

 times license, and freedom for one's self 

 a safe conduct to avenge and oppress. 

 The progress of the most advanced na- 



