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464
LIFE.
ual and moral conquests of Greece and the East turned to their profit.
By small degrees, and century after century, an irresistible march of ideas
continued its course from the plains of Hindoostan to those of Western
Europe. The revolutions in the history of modern nations are well
known; we know also how, after having succeeded in passing through,
without extinction, the long and gloomy night of the Middle Ages, mankind was " born again," owing to a twofold discovery which gave the so
cieties of modern times a definitive scope of action. While poets, scholars and men of science were recognizing in the treasures of antiquity the
free thought of Greece and the incisive genius of Rome, Columbus and
other navigators were discovering the two continents of America, and
thus completing the equilibrium ofthe globe. From that time the gradual
civilization of all nations was assured, both by science and justice, in spite
of violence of all kinds, wars, and hideous ignorance. The progress of
each nation became that of mankind itself; all the islands and all the
continents, once separated from one another, were united across the ocean,
and became the common domain of man. At the very time when, owing
to the discoveries of Copernicus, Kepler, and others, the earth, which was
supposed to be limitless, was found out to be nothing more than an isolated globe revolving in space, and no longer the centre of the universe,
the inhabitants of this inconsiderable planet began to feel the consciousness of their own greatness, and out of this mass of nations and tribes one
common humanity began to assert itself.
In consequence of that movement of civilization which, in the Old
World, spread from east to west, following the course ofthe sun, the ports
of Western Europe—Cadiz, Lisbon, Bordeaux, Nantes, Saint-Malo, London, Bristol, and Liverpool—are like so many conductors from which the
electric fluid flashes forth, to cross the seas to the American continent.
But there the movement must necessarily change its direction. The New
World is not, like all great historic countries, placed in a parallel line
with the equator; but, on the contrary, it extends from#north to south in
the direction ofthe meridian, and, thanks to this transversal position, European emigrants have been enabled rapidly to colonize the lands recently discovered. Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, and Dutch
navigators all found, both to the north and south ofthe equatorial line, regions with a climate similar to that of their native land, and in both zones
they were able to found a " New Spain," a " New France," and a " New
England." Added to this, both winds and currents cross the Atlantic
obliquely, and bear the mariner toward those wondrous 'regions of the
Antilles and Colombia, where nature, notwithstanding the heat of the
climate, exercises so great a fascination over European strangers.
Emigrants from the Old World have thus established themselves all
along the coast of the new continent for a length of more than 6000 miles,
from the estuary of St. Lawrence to that of La Plata. At the same
time, the breaks in the chains of the Cordilleras, in the isthmus of Central
America, enabled emigrants to colonize the western shores; also those
which face toward China, Japan, and Australia. Thus, invading the whole
| Title | The ocean, atmosphere, and life |
| Creator | Reclus, Elisée |
| Publisher | Harper |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1873 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000511 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 464 LIFE. ual and moral conquests of Greece and the East turned to their profit. By small degrees, and century after century, an irresistible march of ideas continued its course from the plains of Hindoostan to those of Western Europe. The revolutions in the history of modern nations are well known; we know also how, after having succeeded in passing through, without extinction, the long and gloomy night of the Middle Ages, mankind was " born again," owing to a twofold discovery which gave the so cieties of modern times a definitive scope of action. While poets, scholars and men of science were recognizing in the treasures of antiquity the free thought of Greece and the incisive genius of Rome, Columbus and other navigators were discovering the two continents of America, and thus completing the equilibrium ofthe globe. From that time the gradual civilization of all nations was assured, both by science and justice, in spite of violence of all kinds, wars, and hideous ignorance. The progress of each nation became that of mankind itself; all the islands and all the continents, once separated from one another, were united across the ocean, and became the common domain of man. At the very time when, owing to the discoveries of Copernicus, Kepler, and others, the earth, which was supposed to be limitless, was found out to be nothing more than an isolated globe revolving in space, and no longer the centre of the universe, the inhabitants of this inconsiderable planet began to feel the consciousness of their own greatness, and out of this mass of nations and tribes one common humanity began to assert itself. In consequence of that movement of civilization which, in the Old World, spread from east to west, following the course ofthe sun, the ports of Western Europe—Cadiz, Lisbon, Bordeaux, Nantes, Saint-Malo, London, Bristol, and Liverpool—are like so many conductors from which the electric fluid flashes forth, to cross the seas to the American continent. But there the movement must necessarily change its direction. The New World is not, like all great historic countries, placed in a parallel line with the equator; but, on the contrary, it extends from#north to south in the direction ofthe meridian, and, thanks to this transversal position, European emigrants have been enabled rapidly to colonize the lands recently discovered. Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, and Dutch navigators all found, both to the north and south ofthe equatorial line, regions with a climate similar to that of their native land, and in both zones they were able to found a " New Spain," a " New France," and a " New England." Added to this, both winds and currents cross the Atlantic obliquely, and bear the mariner toward those wondrous 'regions of the Antilles and Colombia, where nature, notwithstanding the heat of the climate, exercises so great a fascination over European strangers. Emigrants from the Old World have thus established themselves all along the coast of the new continent for a length of more than 6000 miles, from the estuary of St. Lawrence to that of La Plata. At the same time, the breaks in the chains of the Cordilleras, in the isthmus of Central America, enabled emigrants to colonize the western shores; also those which face toward China, Japan, and Australia. Thus, invading the whole |
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