The whole mission of life to them was
to fight.
Naturally there was developed in the people at large the most complete
unification and subjection. Individualism gave place almost entirely
to the common weal, and the spectacle was presented of a nation with
no political questions. Maccaulay maintains that human nature is such
that aggregations of men will always show the two principles of
radicalism and conservatism, and that two parties will exist in
consequence, one composed of those who are ever looking to a brighter
future, the other of those who are ever seeking to restore a
delightful past; but no such phenomena appear in the ascending period
of Spain's history. The whole nation moved as an organized army,
steadily forward, until its zenith was reached. This solidity was a
marked element of its strength.
Mr. Buckle recognizes this, and accounts for the harmonious movements
of the nation by the influence of two leading principles, which he is
pleased to call superstition and loyalty. The Arab invasion had
pressed upon the Christians with such force that it was only by the
strictest discipline that the latter had managed to survive. To secure
such discipline, and at the same time supply the people with the
steady enthusiasm necessary to support a war from century to century,
all the terrors and all the glories that could be derived from
religion were employed.
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