Racial Contrasts (English Edition) [Kindle-editie] beoordelingen het boek quotes

GEHRING, ALBERT (21 Mar. 1870-25 Feb. 1926) was an author and teacher equally at home in the fields of philosophy and music. A Cleveland native, he received bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard (1894). Romanticism, classicism, religiousness, gaiety, depth of thought, are complex qualities, which, like the concrete phenomena of material nature, must be reduced to simpler factors. Is it not possible to discover a few elementary distinctions, on which many or most of the picturesque differences between Græco-Latin and Germanic life may be found to rest? So it is conceivable that the vast differences in national activities and institutions are the result of insignificant divergences of mental structure. The Germanic mind, then, is characterised by a more prominent "fringe" than the Græco-Latin. It delights in the unresolved, mysterious residues of experience, in the buzzing backgrounds, the contrapuntal play of side-theme and pedal point. The Græco-Latin mind, on the contrary, loves clearness and precision. The world which it reflects is plotted off in neat conceptual charts. It progresses along a straight line, in a single dimension; the Teuton's advance, on the other hand, is broad and bi-dimensional, -- harmonic and contrapuntal rather than melodic. There is a deliberation and hesitation about the actions of Germanic people which contrasts sharply with the vivaciousness of their southern cousins. The peasant from the north may stare at you vacantly before he answers your question. Thought translates itself into motor results but slowly; often, indeed, there are no results at all. Hamlet, with his indecision and vacillation, is a type of this species of mind. The fiery Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet, on the other hand, represents a class that is common among Latin races -- lively, quick-tempered, ebullient individuals. Accompanying the slowness of the Teutons, we meet with a certain tenacity and persistency of effort. The people of this race are patient, plodding, persevering. Hence the great material results they have achieved. The Germanic races manifest a tendency toward brooding and melancholy. The English are known as hypochondriacs; no nation bemoans so many suicides as the Germans.