The Semitic Nations

With the same character, with which the individual human being is born, with the same he descends into the grave. The kindly disposed does not become ill-disposed, the judicious does not become thoughtless, the firm does not become instable, the stingy does not become benevolent, etc. By education one may acquire knowledge, good or bad views and opinions and prejudices, which will of course have their influence upon his actions, but his native character and inclinations, these can not change essentially. Age and education may, indeed, soften and modify also, to an extent, this or that trait of the character, but it itself they can not radically reconstruct. Social position may exert an influence upon the way the character manifests itself externally, but by no means can it change that character itself; for when the man of the lower class practices his cheating in the second-hand shop, or when he of the middle class swindles on the exchange, or as a director of a bank, or when he of the upper class, as governor of a province, or head of a cabinet, falsifies public opinion, deceives his monarch by false representation, then all these three do one and the same thing essentially, only under different forms, which are conditioned by their different social positions. [ . . . ]

We see, therefore, that the actions of men are determined chiefly by their native characters and inclinations, and that all other circumstances either have only a subordinate influence upon them, or operate only upon the manner how the human character shows itself externally. But a nation consists of single individuals, and who will deny, that every nation has a character peculiar to itself, more or less sharply pronounced. What is a nation but a great collective individuality. [ . . . ]

The character of a nation is as immutable as is that of an individual; the main characteristic traits of the modern nations, were peculiar to their ancestors a thousand and even two thousand years ago. [ . . . ]

From these qualities may be explained the various phenomena in the life of the Semites, their fortunes, institutions and spiritual productions.

1. The soberness of the spirit of the Semites manifested its influence upon their religion, their science, their poetry.

   Upon their Religion.

   1. The Semites produced sober, simple, easily understood religious views and conceptions; speaking generally, we may say, that the Semites, as long as they did not come in close contact with other nations, showed far less inclination to coarse superstitions than the Aryans. We find in the Pentateuch already, prohibitions against all manner of sorcery and witchcraft, as well as against the belief in the influence of the stars upon the fortunes of nations. Even those rabbis, who were not exposed to Persian influences, forbade every kind of incantation, the use of secret, magic-like remedies and talismans, the belief in good and evil days, good and evil forebodings. So also is the Arab of the desert, as the general testimony of travelers assures us, little accessible to superstitions, and is a far less strict Mohammedan than the Persian and Turk. [ . . . ]
2. The influence of Semitic soberness on science.
   1. The philosophy of the Semites has a sober, one might almost say, a practical character; we call to mind only the Old Testament evidence of the existence of God. “Lift up your eyes,” exclaims a great prophet, “to heaven and see who created all these!” Or as the Psalmist says: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse preaches of the works of his hands.” Very simple, but I as a Semite, find it also very rational. The Semites occupy themselves almost exclusively with only such philosophical questions, which to a certain extent have an immediate significance for life, and never philosophise aimlessly about things that are unsearchable.