Abstract
IN his presidential address to the British Academy in July last (London: Oxford University Press. Is. net) Mr. J. W. Mackail said that we are at the beginning of a new era of discovery and interpretation which is revolutionizing the whole aspect of human history. Civilizations of the past in every continent are yielding up more of their secrets. Byzantine history, art and institutions have emerged from comparative neglect to an important place in humane studies. The past ages of India, China and Japan and even Central Asia are revealing their significance. The greatnesses of Central and South America are taking their place in the panorama of the past, and undiscovered Africa and impenetrable Arabia no longer exist. But important as are the acquisition and tabulation of knowledge, the primary function of humanism is the appreciation, in the largest sense of the word, of the classics of art, music, philosophy, history and creative invention over the whole range af life as throughout the whole range of literature. The: danger which menaces learning is not that of eqnflict of sectional interests but of a general relapse into barbarism. It is not needless to reaffirm once more our emphatic and uncompromising support of all Bfforts to maintain the free development of the human intellect, unhampered by autocratic interference.
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Human History and Geographical Discovery. Nature 138, 613–614 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138613d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138613d0