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Excerpt from Ridpath's History of the World, Vol. 3 of 4: Being an Account of the Ethnic Origin, Primitive Estate, Early Migrations, Social Conditions and Present Promise of the Principal Families of Men With an account of the Norse and Slavic races I now complete, in the first part of the current volume, the discussion of the Teutonic peoples. Such has been the importance of the race that it has long occupied our attention, but not longer than the interest of the subject has seemed to demand. Teutonism in one form or other tends to predominance in modern history. We may not clearly discover whether or not the Germanic element in the civilization of the present century is destined to rise to such supremacy as to overshadow the rest; but there are indications pointing to such a conclusion of affairs. True, it is not the Teutonic part pure and simple that leads the existing races of mankind; for that part is not sufficiently aggressive to take the world for its inheritance. But the modified Teutonism of the English races seems to portend the supremacy of the same in the twentieth century. The general view of the Norse races reveals an aspect somewhat different from that presented by the same stock a thousand years ago. At that time the peoples of the Baltic and the North sea gave token of a purpose to possess themselves of the better parts of Europe. The Norman element spread in this direction and in that, incorporating with itself the other elements of race-life in the West, and taking on new forms of development. It can hardly be said that within the last three centuries the Scandinavian races are less powerful and fecund than they were in the earlier Middle Ages; but they have become less aggressive, and have diffused themselves abroad with a mild force little analogous to the vehemence of the Old Norse. Quite unlike this order of development is that of The Slavs. These races have issued with violence and threatening demeanor upon the Eastern f