HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 56, 8 March 1919, Page 10

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

SOME PARALLELSi

(By C.M.W.)

How often do we hear- it said, with a sort of awe, that "History repeats itself." As history is the result of human, thought and action, and as humanity does not change, is there anything awesome irt history repeating itself? Even in this last great war has not history repeated itself, comparatively at least? ■ Science has been used to a gToater extent in the destruction of humanity than ever before, but the same personal ambition, nonrespect of justice and the Tights of other people, has been the cause. There is one great difference between the wars of the past fifty years and the ancient ones— they have not .been poet-inspiring. No great poem has appeared on any of tho later wars, and the epic seems to have gone with the dodo. This is not because personal valour' . has been less than, amongst the ancient soldiers. In fact, it must have been greater, seeing that our imaginations were more stimulated and we thoroughly undoretood tho greater chances of destruction our soldiers faced. Perhaps'_ it isi because our fives are more materialistic and tho poetic fervour is less cultivated or understood, or is it because there is less individual initiative, or that mass fighting, though more aweinspiring, h ■ less easily depicted ? We hear it said that such armies have never before been seen. That is not so, if circumstances are taken into consideration, particularly a comparison of the world's population, because Xerxes' Persian army and navy of 2£ millions,-,,over 400 years before the birth of Christ, when there could not have been 50 million people in the known world, and there were only, two. nations at war, was comparatively greater than all the armies engaged in this world war. History gives strange parallels also to this war. When Xerxes mobilised his jjreat forces for the oonquest and subjugation of -Greece it was to gratify one man's ambition (his own), I though nominally, peThaps, to revenge the defeat of his father, Darius, by Greece's contemptible little araiy, at Marathon a few years before. Xerxes' initial engagements wore successful, and it looked black for Grecian liberty when the Greek army utterly defeated XeTxes' Persian fleet, destroying his supplies,/and compelling him to abandon the campaign as our glorious navy did. to the Germans. Our arch-enemy had won his first battles against heroic little Belgium, and our contemptible little army, but our glorious navy; destroyed part and bottled up the balanco of the Hun navy, and. eventually, with the aid of our great Allies on land, drove the werewolves of Europe back to their dens to feast on each other.' ■ Another instance of history repeating itself is here suggested. Greece, whether from increased population pressing on, the bounds of sustenance like Great Brita4p, adventurous spirit, or political reasons, hud established colonies along the European African coasts to relieve the pressure. These Greek colonies, like ours, rose to the importance of small nations; but they were so imbued with the spirit of the race that their great poet wrote of them: "We change our 6kies but not our natures when we cross the seas." Whenever the motherland was in trouble ..the colonistwere there with" assistance, and the combination of suoh good fighting men was irresistible. The author of fhe great tragedy "Alexander the Great,", -writing before Shakespeare'e days, made one of his characters say, "When Greek joins Gr^ek then is the tug of war," meaning _hat when the Greeks coalesced it took the world to conquer them. Oa-n this not be applied to us, so far at least that, though wo have crossed the seas and j live under different skies, our natures I have not -hanged, as hae been shown in ! China, Africa, Mesopotamia, dSuropo, and other places where' we voftuitaTily i went, offering our assistance to our Motherland ' and proving to - the world ' that the~lion's cubs aTe in no way inferior to the grand old parent we love and honour. The United Sta-tes-of America was one of our oolonies, and the American War of Independence against

the Motherland's mistaken parent power is proof that the American colonists were guided by the spirit of the'race. America is now one of the greatest Powers of the world, and could calmly look on at the strife 3000 miles away from her shores, and Toap the riohes to be earned through that strife; but she answered the call of her blood, and_ sent her sons to fight* and die with ours in destroying the demoniac ambition that was nourished on the -destruction of freedom, justice, honour, and the rights of small nations. We none of us can as yet understand what difficulties she had to contend with in hoi; mixed and alien population, but she answered the call, and is to-day more "the home of the free" than ever before. The splendid fight her sons put up confirms her claim to be the "land of the brave." Also, not only on land has she helped Us, but or_ sea her glorious navy has proved fte spirit-of the race, showing, as our own Canada has done, that the Anglo-Saxon Tace, even under a different form of gov 7 eminent, has not changed its natare in crossing the seas. She is now talking of having the greatest navy in. the world. Well, why should she not if she oan manage it; but, at the same.time, whs;? Our splendid navy has proved that its great power has never been used for aggression or aggrandisement. Its duty is protection, and not only has this protection been given to ourselves,' but it has been used for the protection of weaker people also, clearing the seas of pirates and slavers, and goner ally policing the seas for the world's good. America, cannot want a navy in antagonism, to outs, which can always be looked on for her Atlantic protection.. Her western coast, however, is more vulnerable, net to speak of the Panama Canal, the Philippine Islands, and her western interests generally. What a splendid protection for the world if she did hays a navy as large as ours, run on tho same lines and in combination with us. Now that the League of Nations is agreed on, what a powerful and sure weapon for carrying cut ite behests it would be,'saving the world, especially smaller peoples, from, a ruinous expenditure, and bringing- to the whole world the greatest of all security—invincible power based on justice.