The English copy them in their big way, just as the Romans copied
the masterpieces of Greek art, while they despised the authors. It
is rare that a play succeeds in Paris which is not instantly
translated and produced in London, often with the adapter's name
printed on the programme in place of the author's, the French-man,
who only wrote it, being ignored. Just as the Greeks faded away
and disappeared before their Roman conquerors, it is to be feared
that in our day this people of a finer clay will succumb. The
"defects of their qualities" will be their ruin. They will stop at
home, occupied with literature and art, perfecting their dainty
cities; while their tougher neighbors are dominating the globe,
imposing their language and customs on the conquered peoples or the
earth. One feels this on the Riviera. It reminds you of the
cuckoo who, once installed in a robin's nest, that seems to him
convenient and warmly located in the sunshine, ends by kicking out
all the young robins.
CHAPTER 23 - A Common Weakness
GOVERNMENTS may change and all the conditions of life be modified,
but certain ambitions and needs of man remain immutable. Climates,
customs, centuries, have in no way diminished the craving for
consideration, the desire to be somebody, to bear some mark
indicating to the world that one is not as other men.
For centuries titles supplied the want.
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