The Fate of Empires asks why many civilizations throughout human history have risen to greatness but later collapse into ruin. Can there be a permanent society, or are all doomed to decline? In the first part of this book, the author constructs several arguments based on parallels he observed in civilizations of antiquity. The reasons for the rise of various civilizations, and the forces which contribute to their success, are discussed. Hubbard proceeds to establish points surrounding human nature and racial identity, religious adherence, and the prevalence of rationality and reason: these attributes of mankind, when in harmony, establish sophisticated and prospering civilizations. For the author, when these traits are upset - as in conflicts between individual values and the requirements of the state - decline will set in. The overemphasis of the competitive traits of man likewise lead to a decline in moral and social cohesiveness.

The Fate of Empires asks why many civilizations throughout human history have risen to greatness but later collapse into ruin. Can there be a permanent society, or are all doomed to decline? In the first part of this book, the author constructs several arguments based on parallels he observed in civilizations of antiquity. The reasons for the rise of various civilizations, and the forces which contribute to their success, are discussed. Hubbard proceeds to establish points surrounding human nature and racial identity, religious adherence, and the prevalence of rationality and reason: these attributes of mankind, when in harmony, establish sophisticated and prospering civilizations. For the author, when these traits are upset - as in conflicts between individual values and the requirements of the state - decline will set in. The overemphasis of the competitive traits of man likewise lead to a decline in moral and social cohesiveness.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

"There is in England] at least one wandering gang of men... who will construct for the modern farmer a pond which, in any suitable situation in a sufficiently dry soil, will always contains water. The water is not derived from springs or rainfall, and is speedily lost if even the smallest rivulet is allowed to flow into the pond. "The gang of dew-pond makers commence operations by hollowing out the earth for a space far in excess of the apparent requirements of the proposed pond. They then thickly cover the whole of the hollow with a coating of dry straw. The straw in turn is covered by a layer of well-chosen, finely puddled clay, and the upper surface of the clay is then closely strewn with stones. Care has to be taken that the margin of the straw is effectively protected by clay. The pond will eventually become filled with water, the more rapidly the larger it is, even though no rain may fall. If such a structure is situated on the summit of a down, during the warmth of a summer day the earth will have stored a considerable amount of heat, while the pond, protected from this heat by the non-conductivity of the straw, is at the same time chilled by the process of evaporation from the puddled clay. The consequence is that during the night the warm air is condensed on the surface of the cold clay. As the condensation during the night is in excess of the evaporation during the day, the pond becomes, night by night, gradually filled. Theoretically, we may observe that during the day, the air being comparatively charged with moisture, evaporation is necessarily less than the precipitation during the night. In practice it is found that the pond will constantly yield a supply of the purest water.