The Revolt Against Civilization: The Menace of the Under Man

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book The Revolt Against Civilization: The Menace of the Under Man by Lothrup Stoddard, Library of Alexandria
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lothrup Stoddard ISBN: 9781465584731
Publisher: Library of Alexandria Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Lothrup Stoddard
ISBN: 9781465584731
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English
CIVILIZATION is the flowering of the human species. It is both a recent and a fragile thing. The first glimmering of genuine civilization appeared only eight or ten thousand years ago. This might seem a long time. It does not seem so long when we remember that behind civilization’s dawn lies a vast night of barbarism, of savagery, of bestiality, estimated at half a million years, since the ape-man shambled forth from the steaming murk of tropical forests, and, scowling and blinking, raised his eyes to the stars. Civilization is complex. It involves the existence of human communities characterized by political and social organization; dominating and utilizing natural forces; adapting themselves to the new man-made environment thereby created; possessing knowledge, refinement, arts, and sciences; and (last, but emphatically not least) composed of individuals capable of sustaining this elaborate complex and of handing it on to a capable posterity. This last consideration is, in fact, the crux of the whole matter; the secret of success, the secret, likewise, of those tragic failures which perplex and sadden the student of history. Man’s march athwart the ages has been, not a steady advance, but rather a slow wandering, now breasting sunlit heights, yet anon plunging into dank swamps and gloomy valleys. Of the countless tribes of men, many have perished utterly while others have stopped by the wayside, apparently incapable of going forward, and have either vegetated or sunk into decadence. Man’s trail is littered with the wrecks of dead civilizations and dotted with the graves of promising peoples stricken by an untimely end.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
CIVILIZATION is the flowering of the human species. It is both a recent and a fragile thing. The first glimmering of genuine civilization appeared only eight or ten thousand years ago. This might seem a long time. It does not seem so long when we remember that behind civilization’s dawn lies a vast night of barbarism, of savagery, of bestiality, estimated at half a million years, since the ape-man shambled forth from the steaming murk of tropical forests, and, scowling and blinking, raised his eyes to the stars. Civilization is complex. It involves the existence of human communities characterized by political and social organization; dominating and utilizing natural forces; adapting themselves to the new man-made environment thereby created; possessing knowledge, refinement, arts, and sciences; and (last, but emphatically not least) composed of individuals capable of sustaining this elaborate complex and of handing it on to a capable posterity. This last consideration is, in fact, the crux of the whole matter; the secret of success, the secret, likewise, of those tragic failures which perplex and sadden the student of history. Man’s march athwart the ages has been, not a steady advance, but rather a slow wandering, now breasting sunlit heights, yet anon plunging into dank swamps and gloomy valleys. Of the countless tribes of men, many have perished utterly while others have stopped by the wayside, apparently incapable of going forward, and have either vegetated or sunk into decadence. Man’s trail is littered with the wrecks of dead civilizations and dotted with the graves of promising peoples stricken by an untimely end.

More books from Library of Alexandria

Cover of the book Le Nabab (Complete) by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book Taboo, Magic, Spirits: A Study of Primitive Elements in Roman Religion by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book An American Girl Abroad by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book History of Egypt From 330 B.C. To the Present Time, Volume (10 of 12) by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book Down the Rhine: Young America in Germany by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book Charlotte Brontë: A Monograph by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book Histoire de la Révolution française (Complete) by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book Historic Papers on the Causes of the Civil War by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book Life and Times of Her Majesty Caroline Matilda: Queen of Denmark and Norway, and Sister of H. M. George III. of England (Complete) by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book North of Fifty-Three by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book The Strange Tale of a Type-Writer by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book Shakespearean Playhouses: A History of English Theatres from the Beginnings to the Restoration by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book Lives of the English Poets: Prior, Congreve, Blackmore, Pope by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book Paint Technology and Tests by Lothrup Stoddard
Cover of the book The Spanish Cavalier: a Story of Seville by Lothrup Stoddard
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy