56 THE CADET.  
the result of his changing conditions. Civilizations that mark  
the far sunrise of history, and indicate an advancement in the  
higher life of the race. But scarcely had the new order been  
ushered into existence, when man encountered the problem that  
- has been combatted in vain, from the dawn of history to the if
foundation of the Republic of the States. It was the problem of V
government.
From the time when human voice first rang out upon the cold, still
night of time, through all the vicissitudes of the world’s existence, s
there has been a ceaseless struggle for a better government. The .
civilizations of the past——varied at different epochs-—have been ,
based upon principles as different as the fruits they have borne. i
o The civil life of a people is fashioned upon the conception which men T
l entertain of their mutual duties and rights. The interests ofthe _
individual, and the social organism to which he belongs, are not the -
same; hence the great problem of the ages has been the erection of a
stable government, r so constructed as to allow the fullest possible "
scope for the development of the individual man. The ancients did
not grasp the true philosophy of government. Their syste1ns, con- . ·
trary to the laws of nature, were founded upon the inequality of men,
systems which placed in the hands of the few the lives and destinies T
of the many. M
The State was supreme. We find no recognition of individuality,
or personal liberty. The individual was an ephemeral, brought
forth and lost in the twinkle of an eye. As an individual he had
no value, as a particle in the the fabric of civil life he counted
, for naught. Hence, we have what we call ancient civilizations, V
and the fate of these nations may serve as a striking proof that
a government not united by a common principle of loyalty and
patriotism, resting upon the sympathy and interests of its sub-
jects, cannot long survive. lf experience——that great teacher-
throws light upon any question, it tells us that a stable gov-
ernment must give to the governed an interest in its preservation,
and not in its destruction ; must be based upon principles recognizing
the rights of the individual, for the individual is the one eternal `
element in society.
A people may train the intellect, develop the arts and sciences, rear a