It is man, as man, whatever be his race, whatever be his complexion, that Dr. Eliot respects and whose interests he would serve. But I can well appreciate what is meant by those who describe him as an aristocrat. In that respect he is a true son of Boston. You must, however, interpret the word aristocrat in the true sense, the sense of the Greek language to which the word belongs. Eliot believes in "the rule of the best," not because it is born best but because it has become the best by study, by sacrifice, by discipline and by "joy." That is, I suppose, why he believes in examinations. There, in black and white, you have what the man can do. You decide his position in society, not by his looks, not by his family, not by his race, but by his objective efficiency. By his words he is justified and by his words he is condemned. As I rose to leave I expressed the hope that I had not tired a most considerate host. In a moment I was almost sorry that I had said it, for Dr. Eliot drew himself up and replied with cheerful briskness: "No. I have some little work now to do and I feel well able to do it." He wanted to know how I was expecting to return to Boston, and insisted on assuring himself that a taxi was at the door. And he left on my mind a glimpse, as we shook hands, of a man, upright in body and mind, full of good spirits, wholly unafraid of death, wholly glad to be himself. That he could criticize others was evident. But his criticisms were judicial and devoid of emotion. And behind all he said was a certain motive-not the pursuit of knowledge as such, not the pursuit of wealth and power as such, but what the Declaration of Independence calls the pursuit of happiness. It is as an expert on happiness that President Eliot now celebrates his ninetieth birthday. And on the art of happiness he is, perhaps, the greatest living expert. AUTHORITIES The major part of this story of the eminent educator was contributed by the author to the New York Sunday Times in March, 1924. PREFATORY NOTE This edition of Beacon Lights of History compresses sixteen full size Volumes within the covers of eight Books. For the sake of clarity it has been decided to retain in this Index the volume numbers of the large set. The sub-joined table shows the location of each Volume, Volumes i and ii make up Book 1, Volumes iii and iv make up Book 2, etc. THE WORLD'S HISTORY CHRONOLOGICAL VIEW The following Chronological View serves to guide the reader who wants to follow a continuous story of the world's life from the earliest records to the present. How weary narrative history becomes to many by its mere length. Dr. Lord so found it; the more he read thousands of volumes the more he saw the need of breaking it into topics, of stripping away a vast amount of detail and focussing attention on the special interests that have absorbed men and women, as we see it around us in actual life as a Shakespeare saw it and reproduced it in historic drama. By fifty years of lecturing in schools and colleges and by addressing audiences in city and country he saw the way to invest history with fresh interest, to make it a vital living experience, and to imprint on the mind indelible pictures of the time and the events and to make clear the whole course to modern eyes. His "Beacon Lights" thus become a series of superb entertainments to beguile the leisure hour, to profit the earnest student, to refresh the weary worker and to stimulate the indifferent to acquaintance with the great game of life in all the ages, recent and remote. Old Pagan and Hebrew Civilizations. EGYPT, ASSYRIA, PHŒNICIA, PERSIA, ETC.: |