Heroes of History

2 annotations • data

First annotation on Jan 5th, 2026.

No victory of arms, or tyranny of alien finance, can long suppress a nation so rich in resources and vitality. The invader will lose funds or patience before the loins of China will lose vitality; within a century China will have absorbed her conquerors (then the Japanese), and will have learned all the technique of what transiently bears the name of modern industry; roads and communications will give her unity, economy and thrift will give her funds, and a strong government will give her order and peace. Every chaos is a transition. In the end disorder cures and balances itself with dictatorship, old obstacles are roughly cleared away, and fresh growth is free. Revolution, like death and style, is the removal of rubbish, the surgery of the superfluous; it comes when many things are ready to die. China has died many times before, and many times she has been reborn.

In ancient republican Rome, law allowed—in a crisis—the appointment of a dictator for a year; but when that year had expired, and if the dictator persisted, anyone might depose him, legally or not.