THE MODERN WORLD. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. THE best study of man is the future of mankind, and to qualify for that study it is necessary to know the history of the past. We have already spoken of the Ancient World;* it is our purpose now to speak of the Modern World, so remarkable for its political changes and intellectual revolutions. To read it aright we must read the history of its growth; but that does not necessarily imply that we must burden ourselves with a multitude of facts, names, and dates, a dry collection of which will never be palatable to the general reader. The facts in detail are fully set forth in special histories, which are always accessible for reference. The aim we have in view is to present to the reader such a selection of items from them as will give a telescopic view of the world as we find it, explaining the phases it has passed through. In such an attempt it will be * See Barton's Ancient World. A necessary, of course, to allude to the salient or turning points of general history, and to the memorable events of all times and places which have contributed to the development of the nations that exist; but it will be necessary, at the same time, to shorten the pictures by abridgment, and to omit not only events and deeds of secondary importance, but also all the unnecessary appendages appertaining to deeds of primary magnitude. The multitude of facts to pick from is immense; but we must not get entangled among them. We want those particulars. only that elucidate the dependence of the different countries on each other, and account for their present relative positions. The history of England is, or ought to be, familiar to all our readers, and no regular narration of events appertaining to it will therefore be attempted. But some cursory allusion to the principal events of other countries must be made, since the English reader generally is not very conversant with them. The main points of our inquiry, it will be understood, are the progress of liberty and the diffusion of civilisation, which virtually comprise the history of modern times. Absolute freedom nowhere exists; it is an indefinite term that does not admit of complete realisation. But every nation carries with it the principle or capacity of development, and the results compassed by such development are freedom, civilisation, and happiness, in greater or less degree. In the ancient world civilisation was well attained, but not freedom, till we come to the times of Greece and Rome. In the modern world, both civilisation and freedom have been better attained in all places, even where much of political liberty has not yet been acquired. The civilisation of the modern |