CIVILIZATION OR CIVILIZATIONS? By E. H. God and P. A.
Gibbons. With an Introduction by F. €. Schiller. (Constable. 7s. 6d.)—This is the first of the se of books which will inevitably be published in this country Spengler's philosophy ; it is understood that there are al more than a dozen in Germany, but the Germans have I four years in which to digest Spengler's work, whereas T Decline of the 1Vest was only published here this summer It will be inferred that the authors cannot be accused wasting time. It cannot be said that the effect of this Nee is to enhance our respect for its subject. The Decline of West was reviewed in the colinnris of the Spectator in Ju our reviewer showing himself to have been considers impressed by the scope and originality of the work. He ic,1 however, at pains td point out that the value of Spengler analogy between all civilizations, the duration of er
a certain wildn
general thesis was to some extent vitiated by of assertion on points of detail. In seeking to illustrate to extend his thesis the authors of the present book ouf their master in extravagance. Startling parallels are do between the Athenian - 'democracy_ and Louis XIV., period of the Egyptian civilization is redated because I dates normally given conflict with Spengler's theory ef t civilization is positively stated • to be 1,400 years, while whole question of Whether our civilization has or has decayed since the early eighteenth century is begged bY s phrases as "the descent from the priest to the philosopher or scientist". Dr. Schiller in his introduction—one wonders why he should have introduced a book with which he so manifeetly disagrees—professes on pragmatic grounds a decorous scepticism with regard to Spengler's whole theory, a scepticism WM& is amply *stifled by this presentation of it,.
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