And what then?  Grant the most indefinite expansion,—­the growth of empires whose splendor and wealth and power shall utterly eclipse the glories of the Old World.  All this is probable.  But when we have dwelt on the future material expansion; when we have given wings to imagination, and feel that even imagination cannot reach the probable realities in a material aspect,—­then our predictions and calculations stop.  Beyond material glories we cannot count with certainty.  The world has witnessed many powerful empires which have passed away, and left “not a rack behind.”  What remains of the antediluvian world?—­not even a spike of Noah’s ark, larger and stronger than any modern ship.  What remains of Nineveh, of Babylon, of Thebes, of Tyre, of Carthage,—­those great centres of wealth and power?  What remains of Roman greatness even, except in laws and literature and renovated statues?  Remember there is an undeviating uniformity in the past history of nations.  What is the simple story of all the ages?—­industry, wealth, corruption, decay, and ruin.  What conservative power has been strong enough to arrest the ruin of the nations of antiquity?  Have not material forces and glories been developed and exhibited, whatever the religion and morals of the fallen nations?  Cannot a country grow materially to a certain point, under the most adverse influences, in a religious and moral point of view?  Yet for lack of religion and morals the nations perished, and their Babel-towers were buried in the dust.  They perished for lack of true conservative forces; at least that is the judgment of historians.  Nobody doubts the splendor of the material glories of the ancient nations.  The ruins of Baalbec, of Palmyra, of Athens, prove this, to say nothing of history.  The material glories of the ancient nations may be surpassed by our modern wonders; but yet all the material glories of the ancient nations passed away.

Now if this is to be the destiny of America,—­an unbounded material growth, followed by corruption and ruin,—­then Columbus has simply extended the realm for men to try material experiments.  Make New York a second Carthage, and Boston a second Athens, and Philadelphia a second Antioch, and Washington a second Rome, and we simply repeat the old experiments.  Did not the Romans have nearly all we have, materially, except our modern scientific inventions?

But has America no higher destiny than to repeat the old experiments, and improve upon them, and become rich and powerful?  Has she no higher and nobler mission?  Can she lay hold of forces that the Old World never had, such as will prevent the uniform doom of nations?  I maintain that there is no reason that can be urged, based on history and experience, why she should escape the fate of the nations of antiquity, unless new forces arise on this continent different from what the world has known, and which have a conservative influence.  If America has a great mission to