Synopsis
Two Lectures On The Advantages Of A Republican Condition Of Society: For The Promotion Of The Arts, And The Cultivation Of Science" by Samuel Whitcomb, Jr. In this 1833 treatise, Whitcomb argues that civilization, science, and the arts flourish most fully under republican institutions and a broad distribution of wealth and opportunity. He surveys the origins of letters, geometry, and craft across ancient Egypt, Phoenicia, India, and Greece, contending that free civil government best sustains progress, while monarchy and aristocracy tend to stagnate or misdirect talent. Drawing on biblical narratives and classical historians, he contends that early civilizations produced remarkable arts before centralized power, and that Athens and republican Rome show how public virtue and popular sovereignty foster philosophy, eloquence, and design. He condemns slavery as inimical to equality of opportunity, while advocating universal education, labor, and the diffusion of wealth as engines of improvement. Whitcomb concludes that the United States, by preserving freedom and rewarding industry, can lead the world in arts, science, and humane civilization.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.