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Civilisation and Barbarism 75no necessary part of the conception of manhood, this is thementality of the barbarian. It tends to reappear in the humanbeing in the atavistic period of boyhood, — when, be it noted,the development of the body is of the greatest importance, — butto the adult man in civilised humanity it is ceasing to be possible.For, in the first place, by the stress of modern life even the vitalattitude of the race is changing. Man is ceasing to be so muchof a physical and becoming much more of a vital and economicanimal. Not that he excludes or is intended to exclude the bodyand its development or the right maintenance of and respect forthe animal being and its excellences from his idea of life; theexcellence of the body, its health, its soundness, its vigour andharmonious development are necessary to a perfect manhoodand are occupying attention in a better and more intelligent waythan before. But the first rank in importance can no longer begiven to the body, much less that entire predominance assignedto it in the mentality of the barbarian.Moreover, although man has not yet really heard and understoodthe message of the sages,“know thyself”, he has acceptedthe message of the thinker, “educate thyself”, and, what is more,he has understood that the possession of education imposes onhim the duty of imparting his knowledge to others. <strong>The</strong> ideaof the necessity of general education means the recognition bythe race that the mind and not the life and the body are theman and that without the development of the mind he doesnot possess his true manhood. <strong>The</strong> idea of education is still primarilythat of intelligence and mental capacity and knowledgeof the world and things, but secondarily also of moral trainingand, though as yet very imperfectly, of the development ofthe aesthetic faculties. <strong>The</strong> intelligent thinking being, moralised,controlling his instincts and emotions by his will and his reason,acquainted with all that he should know of the world and hispast, capable of organising intelligently by that knowledge hissocial and economic life, ordering rightly his bodily habits andphysical being, this is the conception that now governs civilisedhumanity. It is, in essence, a return to and a larger developmentof the old Hellenic ideal, with a greater stress on capacity and

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