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Old Sunday, January 15, 2023
hammadtahir hammadtahir is offline
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Post 1977 Precis

Write a Précis of the following passage:
Those who regard the decay of civilization as something quite normal and natural console themselves with the thought that it is not civilization, but a civilization, which is falling a prey to dissolution, that there will be a new age and a new race in which there will blossom a new civilization. But that is a mistake. The earth no longer has in reverse, as it had once, gifted peoples as yet unused, who can relieve us and take our place in some distant future as the leaders of our spiritual life. We already know all those that the earth has to dispose of. There is not one among them which is not already taking such a part in our civilization that its spiritual fate is determined by our own. All of them, the gifted and the un-gifted, the distant and the near, have felt the influence of those forces of barbarism which are yet working among us. All of them are, like ourselves, diseased, and only as we--recover can they recover. It is not the civilization of a race, but that of mankind, present and future alike, that we must give up as lost, if belief in the rebirth of our civilization is a vain thing. But it need not be so given up. If the ethical is the essential element in civilization, decadence changes into renaissance as on as ethical activities are set to work again in our convictions and in the ideas which we undertake to stamp upon reality. The attempt to bring this about is well worth making, and it should be worldwide. It is true that the difficulties that have to be reckoned with in this undertaking are so great that only the strongest faith in the power of the ethical spirit will let us venture on it. Again, the renewal of civilization is hindered by the fact that it is so exclusively the individual personality which must be looked to as the agent in the new movement. The renewal of civilization has nothing to do with movements which bear the character of the experiences of the crowd, these are never anything but reactions to external happenings. But civilization can only revive when there shall come into being in a number of individuals a new tone of mind independent of the one prevalent among the crowd and in opposition to it, a tone of mind which gradually win influence over the collective one, and in the end determine its character. It is only an ethical movement which can rescue us from the slough of barbarism, and the ethical comes into existence only in individuals. The final decision as to what the future of a society shall be depends not only how near its organization is to perfection, but on the degrees of worthiness in its individual members. The most important, and yet the least easily determinable, element in history is the series of unobtrusive general changes which take place in the individual dispositions, and that is why it is so difficult to understand thoroughly the men and events of past times. The character and worth of individuals among the mass and the way they work themselves into membership of the whole body, receiving influences from its and giving others back, we can even today only partially and uncertainly understand. One thing, however, is clear. Were the collective body works more strongly on the individual than the latter does upon it, the result is deterioration because the noble element on which everything depends, namely the spiritual and moral worthiness of the individual is thereby necessarily constricted and hampered. Decay of the spiritual and moral life then sets in which renders society incapable of understanding and solving the problems which it has to face. Therefore, sooner or later, it is involved in catastrophe, and that is why it is the duty of individuals to a higher conception of their capabilities and undertake the function which only the individual can perform, that of producing new spiritual-ethical ideas. If this does not come about many times over nothing can save us.
Total Words: 683

Precis:
Collapse of civilization refers to the eradication of whole of mankind and not just the end of any ethnic civilization. Meanwhile, believing in the fact that a new civilization will mark the beginning of a new era is a fallacious notion. The gifted people who guided mankind spiritually are no longer present. Existing batches of people, whether exceptional or ordinary, are afflicted with corruption and immorality and are not fit to lead a new civilization. It is the revival of mankind that civilizations want, not the vice versa. The reactivation of ethical values will enable the revival of mankind. Focus on individual personalities and on the experiences of the crowd will obstruct civilization’s ability to reinvent itself. The civilization will be able to flourish only when a handful of people, with fresh and distinct mentality, get a sway over the masses. Only an ethical movement can save mankind from prevalent barbarism’s muck. The ethic originates in individuals. The excellence of civilization is gauged by the respect it receives from its denizens. The subtle changes in people’s attitudes are the most important yet least discernable aspect of mankind. Degradation happens when the ethics and spirituality of man are constricted by mass influence. Calamity will happen sooner or later unless men can have a deeper understanding of their potential and take on themselves the task of creating new spiritual, moral, and ethical ideals.
Title: Ethical Ideals: A Quintessential Element for the Revival of Civilization
Words in Precis: 231
Required Words: 228
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