History of Ancient Art (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from History of Ancient Art<br><br>It is through a proper understanding of the historic life of man that we secure a knowledge of the capabilities of the race, and of the relation of man to his fellows and to the earth on which he lives. Man is not a solitary, selfish being; he is bound to his fellows by ties infinite in their nature, and unless he recognizes his obligations, he does not perform his part in the universal struggle by which the race has lifted itself out of barbarism up into the civilization of our modern world. The conquest of nature by man has been very slow. In the barbaric stage of human life nature seemed too strong for man; indeed, even the partial control of nature is a very late acquisition. Man, struggling desperately for existence, has very little time for the cultivation of his higher nature.<br><br>History begins when man becomes conscious of himself as a being which has a continuous life, and feels a desire to leave a memory behind him. This history goes back scarcely more than seven thousand years, - hardly a day in the whole period of man's existence.<br><br>We are apt to foreshorten history. We cannot tell how long ago it was that the first historic savage built his hut and made his first fire. One of the most important acquisitions, as well as one of the most difficult of accomplishment, was the discovery of the use of fire. In its importance to civilization it is second to no other discovery.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.