Knjiga Urantia na engleskom jeziku je javno vlasništvo diljem svijeta od 2006. godine..
Prijevodi: © 2014 Zaklada Urantia
THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION
POGLAVLJE 68 : POČETAK CIVILIZACIJE
1955 68:0.1 THIS is the beginning of the narrative of the long, long forward struggle of the human species from a status that was little better than an animal existence, through the intervening ages, and down to the later times when a real, though imperfect, civilization had evolved among the higher races of mankind.
2014 68:0.1 OVO je početak pripovijedi o dugoj, dugoj naprednoj borbi ljudskih rasa od statusa koji je bio neznatno bolji od životinjske egzistencije, kroz dugi niz stoljeća, sve dok među višim ljudskim rasama nije evoluirala stvarna, premda nesavršena, civilizacija.
1955 68:0.2 Civilization is a racial acquirement; it is not biologically inherent; hence must all children be reared in an environment of culture, while each succeeding generation of youth must receive anew its education. The superior qualities of civilization—scientific, philosophic, and religious—are not transmitted from one generation to another by direct inheritance. These cultural achievements are preserved only by the enlightened conservation of social inheritance.
2014 68:0.2 Civilizacija predstavlja rasno postignuće; ona nije prirođena biološka osobina; sva djeca stoga moraju biti podignuta u kulturnom okružju, dok svaka nova generacija mora iznova primiti naobrazbu. Nadmoćna postignuća civilizacije - znanstvena, filozofska i religiozna - ne prelaze s generacije na generaciju jednostavno putem nasljeđa. Ova se kulturna postignuća mogu očuvati jedino prosvjetljenim očuvanjem društvenog nasljeđa.
1955 68:0.3 Social evolution of the co-operative order was initiated by the Dalamatia teachers, and for three hundred thousand years mankind was nurtured in the idea of group activities. The blue man most of all profited by these early social teachings, the red man to some extent, and the black man least of all. In more recent times the yellow race and the white race have presented the most advanced social development on Urantia.
2014 68:0.3 Kooperativnu društvenu evoluciju su utemeljili dalamatijski učitelji i tijekom tri stotine tisuća godina, čovječanstvo je razvijalo svijest o značaju kolektivnih aktivnosti. Plava je rasa izvukla najveću korist iz ovih ranih društvenih učenja, crvena do određene mjere, a crna najmanje od svih. U skorijem su razdoblju žuta i bijela rasa svijetu predočile najnapredniji društveni razvoj na Urantiji.
¶ 1. ZAŠTITNA ULOGA PODRUŠTVLJENJA
1. PROTECTIVE SOCIALIZATION
1. ZAŠTITNA ULOGA PODRUŠTVLJENJA
1955 68:1.1 When brought closely together, men often learn to like one another, but primitive man was not naturally overflowing with the spirit of brotherly feeling and the desire for social contact with his fellows. Rather did the early races learn by sad experience that “in union there is strength”; and it is this lack of natural brotherly attraction that now stands in the way of immediate realization of the brotherhood of man on Urantia.
2014 68:1.1 Kad se nađu u neposrednoj blizini, ljudi obično nauče voljeti jedni druge, premda primitivni čovjek nije bio prirodno preplavljen duhom bratinskih osjećaja i žudnje za društvenim kontaktom sa svojim bližnjima. Prije je točno da su ljudske rane na žalostan način načile da je "snaga u jedinstvu"; i upravo ovaj nedostatak prirodne bratinske privlačnosti danas stoji na putu neposrednom ostvarenju bratstva ljudi na Urantiji.
1955 68:1.2 Association early became the price of survival. The lone man was helpless unless he bore a tribal mark which testified that he belonged to a group which would certainly avenge any assault made upon him. Even in the days of Cain it was fatal to go abroad alone without some mark of group association. Civilization has become man’s insurance against violent death, while the premiums are paid by submission to society’s numerous law demands.
2014 68:1.2 Zajednički život je rano postao cijenom opstanka. Sam za sebe, čovjek je bio izgubljen bez plemenskog obilježja kao svjedočanstva grupnoj pripadnosti koja će osvetiti njegovu smrt. I u Kajinovo doba bilo se opasno udaljiti od plemena bez nekog obilježja koje svjedoči o plemenskom pripadništvu
[1]. Civilizacija je postla čovjekovim osiguranjem protiv nasilne smrti, dok je čovjek morao platiti članarinu pokoravanjem brojnim zakonskim zahtjevima društva.
1955 68:1.3 Primitive society was thus founded on the reciprocity of necessity and on the enhanced safety of association. And human society has evolved in agelong cycles as a result of this isolation fear and by means of reluctant co-operation.
2014 68:1.3 Primitivno je društvo tako utemeljeno kako na obostranosti nužde tako i na sigurnosti zajedničkog života. Društvo je evoluiralo kroz višestoljećne cikluse na osnovu ovog straha od izolacije i zahvaljujući učinku nesvesrdne suradnje.
1955 68:1.4 Primitive human beings early learned that groups are vastly greater and stronger than the mere sum of their individual units. One hundred men united and working in unison can move a great stone; a score of well-trained guardians of the peace can restrain an angry mob. And so society was born, not of mere association of numbers, but rather as a result of the organization of intelligent co-operators. But co-operation is not a natural trait of man; he learns to co-operate first through fear and then later because he discovers it is most beneficial in meeting the difficulties of time and guarding against the supposed perils of eternity.
2014 68:1.4 Primitivna ljudska bića su rano spoznala da su grupe bile daleko jače i moćnije od zbroja njihovih pojedinačnih jedinki. Zajedničkom suradnjom, stotinu ljudi može pomjeriti golemi kamen; grupa obučenih čuvara reda može obustaviti razuzdanu rulju. Tako se rodilo društvo, ne kao rezultat pukog ujedinjenja više osoba, već prije kao rezultat organizirane i inteligentne suradnje. Ali suradnja nije čovjekova prirodna osobina; prvo što čovjeka uči suradnji je strah, a tek zatim otkriće činjenice da suradnja značajno olakšava teškoće vremena i pruža osiguranje od tobožnjih opasnosti vječnosti.
1955 68:1.5 The peoples who thus early organized themselves into a primitive society became more successful in their attacks on nature as well as in defense against their fellows; they possessed greater survival possibilities; hence has civilization steadily progressed on Urantia, notwithstanding its many setbacks. And it is only because of the enhancement of survival value in association that man’s many blunders have thus far failed to stop or destroy human civilization.
2014 68:1.5 Narodi koji su se ranije organizirali i stvorili primitivna društva uspješnije su mogli iskoristiti prirodu i obraniti se od svojih bližnjih; posjedovali su višu sposobnost za opstanak; civilizacija se tako mogla nastaviti razvijati unatoč brojnim teškoćama. Jedino zahvaljujući zajedništvu i uvećanoj sposobnosti opstanka koja je na njemu počivala, čovjekove mnogobrojne greške nisu uspjele bilo zaustaviti ili uništiti ljudsku civilizaciju.
1955 68:1.6 That contemporary cultural society is a rather recent phenomenon is well shown by the present-day survival of such primitive social conditions as characterize the Australian natives and the Bushmen and Pygmies of Africa. Among these backward peoples may be observed something of the early group hostility, personal suspicion, and other highly antisocial traits which were so characteristic of all primitive races. These miserable remnants of the nonsocial peoples of ancient times bear eloquent testimony to the fact that the natural individualistic tendency of man cannot successfully compete with the more potent and powerful organizations and associations of social progression. These backward and suspicious antisocial races that speak a different dialect every forty or fifty miles illustrate what a world you might now be living in but for the combined teaching of the corporeal staff of the Planetary Prince and the later labors of the Adamic group of racial uplifters.
2014 68:1.6 Suvremeni status primitivnih društvenih uvjeta australskih urođenika i afričkih Bušmana i Pigmeja potvrđuju činjenicu da suvremeno kulturno društvo predstavlja skoriju pojavu. Među ovim se nazadnim narodima može opaziti veća mjera ranog neprijateljstva, sumnjičavosti i drugih protudruštvenih osobina koje obilježavaju sve primitivne rase. Ovi žalosni ostaci nedruštvenih naroda iz prastarih doba rječito potvrđuju činjenicu da čovjekova prirodna težnja za individualizmom ne može uspješno nadvladati snažnije i moćnije organizacije i udruženja naprednijeg društvenog poretka. Ove nazadne i sumnjičave protudruštvene rase koje svakih sedamdeset-osamdeset kilometara govore različitim narječjima, pokazuju u kakvom bi ste svijetu sami živjeli da nije bilo spojenog utjecaja prvo učenja utjelovljenog osoblja Planetarnog Kneza, a zatim djelovanja adamitskog rasnog unaprjeđenja.
1955 68:1.7 The modern phrase, “back to nature,” is a delusion of ignorance, a belief in the reality of the onetime fictitious “golden age.” The only basis for the legend of the golden age is the historic fact of Dalamatia and Eden. But these improved societies were far from the realization of utopian dreams.
2014 68:1.7 Suvremena fraza "povratak prirodi" predstavlja samoobmanu neukosti, pogrešno vjerovanje u neko izmišljeno "zlatno doba." Jedina osnova legendi o zlatnom doba je povijesna činjenica postojanja Dalamatije i Edena. Ali ova donekle unaprijeđena društva nisu bila ni blizu ostvarenja utopijskih snova.
¶ 2. ČINITELJI DRUŠTVENOG NAPRETKA
2. FACTORS IN SOCIAL PROGRESSION
2. ČINITELJI DRUŠTVENOG NAPRETKA
1955 68:2.1 Civilized society is the result of man’s early efforts to overcome his dislike of isolation. But this does not necessarily signify mutual affection, and the present turbulent state of certain primitive groups well illustrates what the early tribes came up through. But though the individuals of a civilization may collide with each other and struggle against one another, and though civilization itself may appear to be an inconsistent mass of striving and struggling, it does evidence earnest striving, not the deadly monotony of stagnation.
2014 68:2.1 Civilizirano društvo predstavlja rezultat čovjekovih ranih nastojanja da nadvlada odbojnost prema osami. Ali ovo ne povlači za sobom uzajamnu naklonost i suvremena bura događaja kroz koje prolaze određene primitivne grupe svjedoči o načinu života svih ranih plemena. No unatoč sporovima i sukobimakoji se povremeno javljaju u okvirima civiliziranog društva i premda civilizacija sama može djelovati nesložnom i problematičnom mješavinom borbe i nastojanja, ona svejedno pruža dokaza o čovjekovim najiskrenijim nastojanjima, a ne mrtvoj jednoličnosti stagnacije.
1955 68:2.2 While the level of intelligence has contributed considerably to the rate of cultural progress, society is essentially designed to lessen the risk element in the individual’s mode of living, and it has progressed just as fast as it has succeeded in lessening pain and increasing the pleasure element in life. Thus does the whole social body push on slowly toward the goal of destiny—extinction or survival—depending on whether that goal is self-maintenance or self-gratification. Self-maintenance originates society, while excessive self-gratification destroys civilization.
2014 68:2.2 Premda je razina inteligencije uveliko doprinijela ubrzanju stope kulturnog napretka, društvo u biti umanjuje rizičnost individualnog života, dok društveni napredak izravno ovisi o njegovoj sposobnosti da ublaži čovjekovu bol i uveća udobnosti života. Tako se cijelo društveno tijelo polako kreće prema cilju sudbine - bilo uništenju ili opstanku - ovisno o tome da li ovaj cilj počiva na samoodržanju ili samozadovoljenju. Samoodržanje vodi stvaranju društva, dok prekomjerno samozadovoljenje uništava civilizaciju.
1955 68:2.3 Society is concerned with self-perpetuation, self-maintenance, and self-gratification, but human self-realization is worthy of becoming the immediate goal of many cultural groups.
2014 68:2.3 Duštvo se bavi samoproduženjem, samoodržanjem i samozadovoljenjem, dok čovjekovo samoostvarenje predstavlja vrijedan cilj koji bi smjesta trebao postati ciljem mnogih kulturnih grupa.
1955 68:2.4 The herd instinct in natural man is hardly sufficient to account for the development of such a social organization as now exists on Urantia. Though this innate gregarious propensity lies at the bottom of human society, much of man’s sociability is an acquirement. Two great influences which contributed to the early association of human beings were food hunger and sex love; these instinctive urges man shares with the animal world. Two other emotions which drove human beings together and held them together were vanity and fear, more particularly ghost fear.
2014 68:2.4 Instinktivna težnja prirodnog čovjeka da živi u hordi teško može objasniti razvoj društvene organizacije koja trenutno postoji na Urantiji. Premda ova prirodna druželjubivost počiva u samim temeljima ljudskog društva, veliki dio čovjekove društvenosti predstavlja stvar postignuća. Potreba za hranom i žudnja za seksom predstavljaju dva bitna utjecaja koja su doprinijela ranom formiranju društvenih zajednica ljudskih bića; čovjek dijeli ove instinkte sa životinjama. Taština i strah - naročito strah od duhova - predstavljaju druge dvije emocije koje su navele ljude na zajednički život i koje su ih održale na okupu.
1955 68:2.5 History is but the record of man’s agelong food struggle. Primitive man only thought when he was hungry; food saving was his first self-denial, self-discipline. With the growth of society, food hunger ceased to be the only incentive for mutual association. Numerous other sorts of hunger, the realization of various needs, all led to the closer association of mankind. But today society is top-heavy with the overgrowth of supposed human needs. Occidental civilization of the twentieth century groans wearily under the tremendous overload of luxury and the inordinate multiplication of human desires and longings. Modern society is enduring the strain of one of its most dangerous phases of far-flung interassociation and highly complicated interdependence.
2014 68:2.5 Povijest nije ništa drugo nego čovjekova višestoljećna borba za hranu. Primitivni čovjek je mislio jedino kad je bio gladan; kad je naučio ostaviti dio hrane za sutra, ovo je značilo postignuće prvog oblika samoodricanja, prvog vida samodiscipline. Kako je društvo sve više raslo, glad je prestala biti jedinom primarnom koja je rezultirala uzajamim povezivanjem. Brojne druge vrste gladi, potrebe za zadovoljenjem različitih drugih potreba, vodile su k tvoridbi bližih ljudskih zajednica. Suvremena zapadna civilizacija posrće pod ogromnim teretom luksuza i kobnog mnoštva težnji i aspiracija. Suvremeno društvo osjeća trajni pritisak jedne od najopasnijih faza dalekosežne međupovezanosti i vrlo komplicirane međuovisnosti.
1955 68:2.6 Hunger, vanity, and ghost fear were continuous in their social pressure, but sex gratification was transient and spasmodic. The sex urge alone did not impel primitive men and women to assume the heavy burdens of home maintenance. The early home was founded upon the sex restlessness of the male when deprived of frequent gratification and upon that devoted mother love of the human female, which in measure she shares with the females of all the higher animals. The presence of a helpless baby determined the early differentiation of male and female activities; the woman had to maintain a settled residence where she could cultivate the soil. And from earliest times, where woman was has always been regarded as the home.
2014 68:2.6 Glad, taština i strah od duhova su neprestano vršili pritisak na čovjeka, dok mu je seks donosio jedino prolazno i periodično zadovoljstvo. Sam po sebi seksualni poriv nije prinudio primitivne muškarce i žene da se prihvate teškog tereta obiteljskog života. Rana zajednica između muškarca i žene počiva na tome da muškarac nije imao mira ako nije mogao čestozadovoljiti svoje seksualne porive, kao i odane majčinske ljubavi koja je do određene mjere svojstvena ženkama svih viših životinja. Pri pojavi bespomoćnog djeteta nastupila bi rana podjela rada na muške i ženske poslove; žena se morala posvetiti održanju doma gdje se mogla baviti obradom zemlje. Od najranijih vremena čovjek je vjerovao da je dom tamo gdje se nalazi žena.
1955 68:2.7 Woman thus early became indispensable to the evolving social scheme, not so much because of the fleeting sex passion as in consequence of food requirement; she was an essential partner in self-maintenance. She was a food provider, a beast of burden, and a companion who would stand great abuse without violent resentment, and in addition to all of these desirable traits, she was an ever-present means of sex gratification.
2014 68:2.7 Žena je tako rano postala neodvojivim dijelom evolutivnog društvenog sustava, ne toliko zahvaljujući muškarčevoj nestalnoj seksualnoj požudi, koliko zahvaljujući njegovoj potrebi za hranom; žena je bila čovjekov neizostavni suradnik u procesu samoodržanja. Bila je osnovni izvor hrane, teretna životinja i družica koja se nije protivila groznoj zloupotrebi, dok je pored svih ovih poželjnih osobina uvijek bila na raspolaganju kao izvor seksualnog zadovoljstva.
1955 68:2.8 Almost everything of lasting value in civilization has its roots in the family. The family was the first successful peace group, the man and woman learning how to adjust their antagonisms while at the same time teaching the pursuits of peace to their children.
2014 68:2.8 Gotovo sve trajne vrijednosti čovjekove civilizacije počivaju na obitelji. Obitelj je bila prva uspješna mirnodobska grupa u kojoj su muškarac i žena naučili uskladiti svoje proturiječnosti, istovremeno prenoseći na djecu rezultate ovog mirotvorstva.
1955 68:2.9 The function of marriage in evolution is the insurance of race survival, not merely the realization of personal happiness; self-maintenance and self-perpetuation are the real objects of the home. Self-gratification is incidental and not essential except as an incentive insuring sex association. Nature demands survival, but the arts of civilization continue to increase the pleasures of marriage and the satisfactions of family life.
2014 68:2.9 Uloga braka u evoluciji osigurava rasni opstanak, a ne samo osobnu sreću; stvarna uloga doma počiva na samoodržanju i samoproduženju. Samozadovoljenje je bilo usputni rezultat ovog procesa koji je bitan jedino kao poticaj sklapanju spolnih odnosa. Priroda zahtijeva opstanak, dok civilizacijska postignuća nastavljaju uvećavati bračna zadovoljstva kao i zadovoljstva obiteljskog života.
1955 68:2.10 If vanity be enlarged to cover pride, ambition, and honor, then we may discern not only how these propensities contribute to the formation of human associations, but how they also hold men together, since such emotions are futile without an audience to parade before. Soon vanity associated with itself other emotions and impulses which required a social arena wherein they might exhibit and gratify themselves. This group of emotions gave origin to the early beginnings of all art, ceremonial, and all forms of sportive games and contests.
2014 68:2.10 Ako pod taštinu uključimo ponos, ambiciju i čast, možemo uvidjeti kako su ove sklonosti doprinijele izradnji ljudskih udruženja i kako su ljude držale na okupu, kako ovi osjećaji nemaju puno vrijednosti ako čovjek nema publike pred kojom će se šepuriti. Taština se s vremenom spojila s drugim emocijama koje su jednako zahtijevale društveno okružje u cilju svog ispoljenja i zadovoljenja. Iz ove su grupe emocija potekli rani počeci umjetnosti, ceremonija i svih oblika sportskih turnira i natjecanja.
1955 68:2.11 Vanity contributed mightily to the birth of society; but at the time of these revelations the devious strivings of a vainglorious generation threaten to swamp and submerge the whole complicated structure of a highly specialized civilization. Pleasure-want has long since superseded hunger-want; the legitimate social aims of self-maintenance are rapidly translating themselves into base and threatening forms of self-gratification. Self-maintenance builds society; unbridled self-gratification unfailingly destroys civilization.
2014 68:2.11 Taština je značajno doprinijela stvaranju društva; ali u vrijeme zapisa ovih otkrivenja, krivudava nastojanja ove tašte generacije prijete da progutaju i potope cijelu složenu strukturu visoko specijalizirane civilizacije. Težnja za zadovoljstvom je odavno zamijenila potrebu za hranom; opravdani društveni cilj samoodržanja brzo poprima oblik niskih i kobnih oblika samozadovoljenja. Samoodržanje gradi društvo; neobozdanosamozadovoljenje neminovno uništava civilizaciju.
¶ 3. PODRUŠTVLJUJUĆA ULOGA STRAHA OD DUHOVA
3. SOCIALIZING INFLUENCE OF GHOST FEAR
3. PODRUŠTVLJUJUĆA ULOGA STRAHA OD DUHOVA
1955 68:3.1 Primitive desires produced the original society, but ghost fear held it together and imparted an extrahuman aspect to its existence. Common fear was physiological in origin: fear of physical pain, unsatisfied hunger, or some earthly calamity; but ghost fear was a new and sublime sort of terror.
2014 68:3.1 Primitivne žudnje su stvorile izvorno društvo, dok ga je strah od duhova držao na okupu i pružio mu nadčovječji aspekt. Svakodnevni strah vuče porijeklo iz čovjekove psihe: straha od fizičkog bola, gladi ili neke zemaljske katastrofe; nasuprot tome, strah od duhova predstavlja novi i uzvišeni oblik straha.
1955 68:3.2 Probably the greatest single factor in the evolution of human society was the ghost dream. Although most dreams greatly perturbed the primitive mind, the ghost dream actually terrorized early men, driving these superstitious dreamers into each other’s arms in willing and earnest association for mutual protection against the vague and unseen imaginary dangers of the spirit world. The ghost dream was one of the earliest appearing differences between the animal and human types of mind. Animals do not visualize survival after death.
2014 68:3.2 Pojava duhova u snovima predstavlja jedan od najbitnijih činitelja u evoluciji ljudskog društva. Premda su snovi većinom uznemiravali primitivni um ljudskih bića, čovjeka bi doslovce prestravili duhovi iz snova; takvi su snovi primorali ove primitivne ljude na dobrovoljno sklapanje čvrstih zajednica koje im je pružilo uzajamnu zaštitu protiv nejasnih i neviđenih opasnosti koje su tobože prijetile od svijeta duhova. Čovjekovi snovi o duhovima predstavljaju jednu od najranijih uočljivih razlika u djelovanju životinjskog i ljudskog tipa uma. Životinje nisu u stanju zamisliti život nakon smrti.
1955 68:3.3 Except for this ghost factor, all society was founded on fundamental needs and basic biologic urges. But ghost fear introduced a new factor in civilization, a fear which reaches out and away from the elemental needs of the individual, and which rises far above even the struggles to maintain the group. The dread of the departed spirits of the dead brought to light a new and amazing form of fear, an appalling and powerful terror, which contributed to whipping the loose social orders of early ages into the more thoroughly disciplined and better controlled primitive groups of ancient times. This senseless superstition, some of which still persists, prepared the minds of men, through superstitious fear of the unreal and the supernatural, for the later discovery of “the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom.” The baseless fears of evolution are designed to be supplanted by the awe for Deity inspired by revelation. The early cult of ghost fear became a powerful social bond, and ever since that far-distant day mankind has been striving more or less for the attainment of spirituality.
2014 68:3.3 Izuzev ovog straha od duhova, društvo je utemeljeno na bitnim potrebama i osnovnim biološkim porivima. Ali strah od duhova je uveo novu civilizacijsku komponentu, strah koji se pruža izvan i iznad osnovnih potreba individue i koji čak nadilazi i same napore na održanju grupe. Užasni strah od duhova i utvara mrtvih ljudi ukazuje na novi i nevjerovatni oblik straha, užasnog i groznog terora koji je uzrokovao organizaciju labavog društvenog ustrojstva ranih stoljeća u discipliniranije i organiziranije primitivne grupe starih doba. Ova su besmislena sujevjerja koja u nekoj mjeri još uvijek postoje, pripremila ljudske umove putem sujevjernog straha od nestvarnog i nadprirodnog, za kasnije otkriće "straha Gospodnjeg koji je početak mudrosti[2]." Na mjesto neosnovanih evolutivnih strahova treba doći poštovanje Božanstva koje je nadahnuto otkrivenjem. Rani je kult straha od duhova postao snažnom društvenom sponom i čovječanstvo je od ovog udaljenog dana manje-više nastojalo postići ostvarenje duhovnosti.
1955 68:3.4 Hunger and love drove men together; vanity and ghost fear held them together. But these emotions alone, without the influence of peace-promoting revelations, are unable to endure the strain of the suspicions and irritations of human interassociations. Without help from superhuman sources the strain of society breaks down upon reaching certain limits, and these very influences of social mobilization—hunger, love, vanity, and fear—conspire to plunge mankind into war and bloodshed.
2014 68:3.4 Glad i ljubav su naveli ljude na zajednički život; taština i strah od duhova su ih održali na okupu. Ali ove dvije emocije, same za sebe i bez pomoći niza otkrivenja koja pogoduju društvenom miru, nisu mogle podnijeti pritisak sumnjičavosti i iritacije koji se javljaju u ljudskim odnosima. Bez pomoći nadljudskih izvora, društveni pritisak vodi k društvenom slomu nakon postignuća određenih granica i sami se utjecaji koji su isprva vodili stvaranju društva -glad, ljubav, taština i strah - lako urote u smjeru rata i krvoprolića.
1955 68:3.5 The peace tendency of the human race is not a natural endowment; it is derived from the teachings of revealed religion, from the accumulated experience of the progressive races, but more especially from the teachings of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
¶ 4. EVOLUCIJA DRUŠTVENIH OBIČAJA
4. EVOLUTION OF THE MORES
4. EVOLUCIJA DRUŠTVENIH OBIČAJA
1955 68:4.1 All modern social institutions arise from the evolution of the primitive customs of your savage ancestors; the conventions of today are the modified and expanded customs of yesterday. What habit is to the individual, custom is to the group; and group customs develop into folkways or tribal traditions—mass conventions. From these early beginnings all of the institutions of present-day human society take their humble origin.
2014 68:4.1 Sve suvremene društvene institucije vuku porijeklo od evolucije primitivnih običaja vaših neciviliziranih predaka; suvremene društvene norme predstavljaju neznatno izmijenje i proširene običaje iz prošlosti. Ono što navika znači osobi, običaji znače društvenoj grupi; grupni se običaji zatim razvijaju u norme i plemenske tradicije - grupne konvencije. Sve institucije suvremenog ljudskog društva vuku svoje najranije početke iz ovih niskih izvora.
1955 68:4.2 It must be borne in mind that the mores originated in an effort to adjust group living to the conditions of mass existence; the mores were man’s first social institution. And all of these tribal reactions grew out of the effort to avoid pain and humiliation while at the same time seeking to enjoy pleasure and power. The origin of folkways, like the origin of languages, is always unconscious and unintentional and therefore always shrouded in mystery.
2014 68:4.2 Ne zaboravite da su se društvena pravila javila u nastojanju da se postigne prilagođenje zajedničkog življenja uvjetima kolektivne egzistencije; običaji su bili čovjeka prva društvena institucija. Sve su se ove plemenske reakcije javile iz čovjekovog nastojanje da izbjegne bol i poniženje i da uživa u zadovoljstvu i moći. Izvori folklora, kao i samog jezika, imaju nesvjesnu i nenamjernu prirodu i kao takvi uvijek moraju biti obavijeni velom tajnovitosti.
1955 68:4.3 Ghost fear drove primitive man to envision the supernatural and thus securely laid the foundations for those powerful social influences of ethics and religion which in turn preserved inviolate the mores and customs of society from generation to generation. The one thing which early established and crystallized the mores was the belief that the dead were jealous of the ways by which they had lived and died; therefore would they visit dire punishment upon those living mortals who dared to treat with careless disdain the rules of living which they had honored when in the flesh. All this is best illustrated by the present reverence of the yellow race for their ancestors. Later developing primitive religion greatly reinforced ghost fear in stabilizing the mores, but advancing civilization has increasingly liberated mankind from the bondage of fear and the slavery of superstition.
2014 68:4.3 Zahvaljujući strahu od duhova čovjek je bio primoran zamisliti nadljudski svijet i tako izgraditi sigurnu osnovu onim moćnim društvenim utjecajima etike i religije koji su zauzvrat iz generacije u generaciju čuvali društvene običaje i pravila. Rano utemeljenje i kristaliziranje društvenih običaja počiva na vjerovanju da su mrtvi zavidjeli živima na njihovom načinu života i smrti; duhovi su se stoga tobože svetili onim živim smrtnicima koji su se usuđivali nemarno odnositi prema životnim pravilima koja su duhovi poštovali za svog zemaljskog života. Sve se ovo najbolje može vidjeti u suvremenom primjeru poštovanja predaka u okvirima žute rase. Tijekom kasnijeg razvoja primitivna je religija uveliko osnažila strah od duhova u cilju stabilizacije društvenih običaja, dok je napredujuća civilizacija uveliko oslobodila čovječanstvo od okova straha i sujevjerja.
1955 68:4.4 Prior to the liberating and liberalizing instruction of the Dalamatia teachers, ancient man was held a helpless victim of the ritual of the mores; the primitive savage was hedged about by an endless ceremonial. Everything he did from the time of awakening in the morning to the moment he fell asleep in his cave at night had to be done just so—in accordance with the folkways of the tribe. He was a slave to the tyranny of usage; his life contained nothing free, spontaneous, or original. There was no natural progress toward a higher mental, moral, or social existence.
2014 68:4.4 Prije nego što su dalamatijski učitelji uspjeli pružiti ljudima nešto slobode i nezavisnosti, prastari je svijet živio pod beznadežnim okovima ritualističkih društvenih običaja; primitivni divljaci su bili strogo ograničeni beskrajnim nizom ceremonija. Sve što su činili od ranog jutra pa dok se u svojim spiljama ne bi uputili na počinak, moralo je biti izvršeno u skladu s ustaljenom plemenskom procedurom. Društvena pravila su držala ljude u ropstvu; u njihovom životu ništa nije bilo besplatno, spontano i izvorno. Nisu mogli prirodno napredovati prema višim mentalnim, moralnim ili društvenim uvjetima.
1955 68:4.5 Early man was mightily gripped by custom; the savage was a veritable slave to usage; but there have arisen ever and anon those variations from type who have dared to inaugurate new ways of thinking and improved methods of living. Nevertheless, the inertia of primitive man constitutes the biologic safety brake against precipitation too suddenly into the ruinous maladjustment of a too rapidly advancing civilization.
2014 68:4.5 Rani se čovjek nalazio pod čvrstim stiskom društvenih pravila; doslovce je bio rob običaja; ali s vremena na vrijeme javljale su se varijacije i odstupanja od običaja koja su se usuđivala uvesti nove načine razmišljanja i djelovanja i unaprijediti način života. No unatoč tome, inercija primitivnih ljudi predstavlja biološku kočnicu koja pruža zaštitukako od prenaglog razvoja štetnih neprilagođenosti tako i od preuranjenog napretka civilizacije.
1955 68:4.6 But these customs are not an unmitigated evil; their evolution should continue. It is nearly fatal to the continuance of civilization to undertake their wholesale modification by radical revolution. Custom has been the thread of continuity which has held civilization together. The path of human history is strewn with the remnants of discarded customs and obsolete social practices; but no civilization has endured which abandoned its mores except for the adoption of better and more fit customs.
2014 68:4.6 Ali običaji nisu posve zli; oni trebaju nastaviti evoluirati. Ako bi čovjek radikalnom revolucijom pokušao korjenito izmijeniti društvene običaje, ovo se može kobno odraziti na nastavak civilizacije. Običaji predstavljaju nit kontinuiteta koja održava civilizaciju. Staza ljudske povjesti je prekrivena ostacima odbačenih običaja i zastarjelih društvenih navika; ali ni jedna civilizacije ne može preživjeti bez svojih društvenih pravila izuzev ako na njihovo mjesto ne usvoji bolje i prikladnije običaje.
1955 68:4.7 The survival of a society depends chiefly on the progressive evolution of its mores. The process of custom evolution grows out of the desire for experimentation; new ideas are put forward—competition ensues. A progressing civilization embraces the progressive idea and endures; time and circumstance finally select the fitter group for survival. But this does not mean that each separate and isolated change in the composition of human society has been for the better. No! indeed no! for there have been many, many retrogressions in the long forward struggle of Urantia civilization.
2014 68:4.7 Društveni opstanak prvenstveno ovisi o naprednoj evoluciji društvenih običaja. Ovaj proces evolucije društvenih običaja izrasta iz čovjekovih eksperimentalnih nastojanja; dolazi do razvoja novih ideja - javlja se kompeticija. Napredna civilizacija opstaje ako prihvati napredne ideje; vrijeme i uvjeti konačno djeluju u korist opstanka grupe koja ima višu sposobnost preživljavanja. Ali ovo ne znači da je svaka nova i pojedinačna promjena u građi ljudskog društva bila povoljna. Ne! Daleko od toga! Tijekom svoje duge i napredne borbe civilizacija Urantije je posvjedočila mnoge, mnoge nazadne preokrete.
¶ 5. METODE OBRADE ZEMLJE - VJEŠTINE OPSTANKA
5. LAND TECHNIQUES—MAINTENANCE ARTS
5. METODE OBRADE ZEMLJE - VJEŠTINE OPSTANKA
1955 68:5.1 Land is the stage of society; men are the actors. And man must ever adjust his performances to conform to the land situation. The evolution of the mores is always dependent on the land-man ratio. This is true notwithstanding the difficulty of its discernment. Man’s land technique, or maintenance arts, plus his standards of living, equal the sum total of the folkways, the mores. And the sum of man’s adjustment to the life demands equals his cultural civilization.
2014 68:5.1 Zemlja je društvena pozornica; ljudi su glumci. Čovjek mora prilagoditi svoju predstavu okolnostima koje vladaju na zemlji. Evolucija društvenih običaja uvijek ovisi o odnosu između broja ljudi po kvadratu površine zemlje. Ovo je točno unatoč tome što ne mora uvijek biti očigledno. Pored životnog standarda, čovjekov odnos prema zemlji, njegova vještina opstanka, rezultira načinom razmišljanja i života etničke zajednice, društvenim običajima. Ukupna suma čovjekovog prilagođenja životnim zahtjevima predstavlja kulturnu civilizaciju.
1955 68:5.2 The earliest human cultures arose along the rivers of the Eastern Hemisphere, and there were four great steps in the forward march of civilization. They were:
2014 68:5.2 Najranije ljudske kulture su se javile duž rječnih obala istočne polutke i civilizacija je pri svom razvoju postigla sljedeća četiri bitna koraka:
1955 68:5.3 1. The collection stage. Food coercion, hunger, led to the first form of industrial organization, the primitive food-gathering lines. Sometimes such a line of hunger march would be ten miles long as it passed over the land gleaning food. This was the primitive nomadic stage of culture and is the mode of life now followed by the African Bushmen.
2014 68:5.3 1. Ubirački stadij. Glad je primorala čovjeka na prvi oblik industrijske organizacije, primitivnu grupu koja je u dugom nizu išla u potragu za hranom. Ovaj je niz tragatelja za hranom mogao biti dug po deset milja. Bio je to primitivni nomadski stadij kulture koji se kao način života održao među afričkim Bušmanima.
1955 68:5.4 2. The hunting stage. The invention of weapon tools enabled man to become a hunter and thus to gain considerable freedom from food slavery. A thoughtful Andonite who had severely bruised his fist in a serious combat rediscovered the idea of using a long stick for his arm and a piece of hard flint, bound on the end with sinews, for his fist. Many tribes made independent discoveries of this sort, and these various forms of hammers represented one of the great forward steps in human civilization. Today some Australian natives have progressed little beyond this stage.
2014 68:5.4 2. Zahvaljujući otkriću oružja čovjek se mogao baviti lovom i na taj način bitno osloboditi od okova gladi. Domišljati Andonit koji je ozbiljno povrijedio šaku prilikom teže borbe došao je na ideju (nije bio prvi koji se tome dosjetio) da zamijeni svoju šaku dugim štapom na koji je životinjskim tetivama pričvrstio komad kremena. Mnoga su plemenaneovisno došla do ovog otkrića i ovi su različiti oblici čekića predstavljali jedan od bitnih koraka u razvoju ljudske civilizacije. Određena australska plemena ni danas nisu ništa naprednija od ovog stadija.
1955 68:5.5 The blue men became expert hunters and trappers; by fencing the rivers they caught fish in great numbers, drying the surplus for winter use. Many forms of ingenious snares and traps were employed in catching game, but the more primitive races did not hunt the larger animals.
2014 68:5.5 Plava rasa je razvila vrlo stručne metode lova i postavljanja zamki; znali su ograditi rijeku i uloviti veliku količinu ribe, odakle su dio mogli osušiti za zimu. Razvili su brojne vrste domišljatih zamki i stupica kojima su lovili divljač, dok se primitivnije rase nikada nisu upuštale u lov na veće životinje.
1955 68:5.6 3. The pastoral stage. This phase of civilization was made possible by the domestication of animals. The Arabs and the natives of Africa are among the more recent pastoral peoples.
2014 68:5.6 3. Pastirski stadij. Ova je faza civilizacije počivala na pripitomljenju životinja. Arapi i afrički urođenici su skoriji pastirski narodi.
1955 68:5.7 Pastoral living afforded further relief from food slavery; man learned to live on the interest of his capital, the increase in his flocks; and this provided more leisure for culture and progress.
2014 68:5.7 Pastirski način života pruža još veću slobodu od robovanja gladi; ljudi su naučili živjeti o interesu koji su primali od glavnice, prinova u stadu; ovo im je dalo više slobodnog vremena za kulturu i napredak.
1955 68:5.8 Prepastoral society was one of sex co-operation, but the spread of animal husbandry reduced women to the depths of social slavery. In earlier times it was man’s duty to secure the animal food, woman’s business to provide the vegetable edibles. Therefore, when man entered the pastoral era of his existence, woman’s dignity fell greatly. She must still toil to produce the vegetable necessities of life, whereas the man need only go to his herds to provide an abundance of animal food. Man thus became relatively independent of woman; throughout the entire pastoral age woman’s status steadily declined. By the close of this era she had become scarcely more than a human animal, consigned to work and to bear human offspring, much as the animals of the herd were expected to labor and bring forth young. The men of the pastoral ages had great love for their cattle; all the more pity they could not have developed a deeper affection for their wives.
2014 68:5.8 U predpastoralnom društvu vladala je suradnja među spolovima, ali kako se stočarstvo više širilo žene su postale gotovo samim robovima. U najranije je doba muškarac imao dužnost da obezbijedi životinjsku hranu dok je žena obezbjeđivala povrće. Ženino je dostojastvo stoga smjesta uniženo kad se muškarac počeo baviti stočarstvom. Još uvijek je morala teško raditi na uzgoju poljoprivrednih proizvoda, dok je muškarac mogao proizvesti veliku količinu životinjske hrane bez mnogo truda. Muškarci su tako postali relativno neovisni o ženama; ženin je položaj nastavio nazadovati kroz cijeli pastoralni stadij. Na kraju ovog razdoblja ona nije bila ništa više od ljudske životinje primorane na rad i proizvodnju potomstva, upravo kao što je stado životinja bilo primorano na rad i proizvodnju mladunčadi. Za pastoralnog doba muškarci su osjećali veliku ljubav prema svojim životinjama; žalosno je bilo da nisu mogli razviti veću naklonost prema svojim ženama.
1955 68:5.9 4. The agricultural stage. This era was brought about by the domestication of plants, and it represents the highest type of material civilization. Both Caligastia and Adam endeavored to teach horticulture and agriculture. Adam and Eve were gardeners, not shepherds, and gardening was an advanced culture in those days. The growing of plants exerts an ennobling influence on all races of mankind.
2014 68:5.9 4. Zemljoradnički stadij. Ovog razdoblje počinje s uzgojem domaćih biljaka i predstavlja najviši oblik materijalne civilizacije. Kaligastija i Adam su ljude nastojali poučiti vrtlarstvu i zemljoradnji. Adam i Eva su se bavili vrtlarstvom, a ne uzgojem životinja, i vrtlarstvo je u ovo doba bilo napredniji kulturni stadij. Poljoprivreda oplemenjuje svaku ljudsku rasu.
1955 68:5.10 Agriculture more than quadrupled the land-man ratio of the world. It may be combined with the pastoral pursuits of the former cultural stage. When the three stages overlap, men hunt and women till the soil.
2014 68:5.10 Poljoprivredom je više nego učetverostručen broj ljudi po kvadratu zemljine površine. Ljudi su se mogli baviti zemljoradnjom i aktivnostima ranijeg kulturnog stadija. Tamo gdje su se održala sva tri stadija, muškarci su se bavili lovom a žene obradom zemlje.
1955 68:5.11 There has always been friction between the herders and the tillers of the soil. The hunter and herder were militant, warlike; the agriculturist is a more peace-loving type. Association with animals suggests struggle and force; association with plants instills patience, quiet, and peace. Agriculture and industrialism are the activities of peace. But the weakness of both, as world social activities, is that they lack excitement and adventure.
2014 68:5.11 Uvijek je vladao sukob između stočara i zemljoradnika. Lovci i stočari su bili vojnički raspoloženi; zemljoradnici su bili miroljubiviji. Pri uzgoju životinja, čovjek je morao upotrijebiti silu iborbu; uzgoj biljaka zahtijeva strpljenje, mir i spokoj. Poljoprivredni i industrijski razvoj predstavljaju mirnodobske aktivnosti. Ali kao svjetske društvene aktivnosti poljoprivreda i industrija pate od nedostatka uzbuđenja i avanture.
1955 68:5.12 Human society has evolved from the hunting stage through that of the herders to the territorial stage of agriculture. And each stage of this progressive civilization was accompanied by less and less of nomadism; more and more man began to live at home.
2014 68:5.12 Ljudsko društvo je evoluiralo od lovačkog kroz pastoralni stadij, sve do pojave zemljoradničko- sjedilačkog načina života. Svaki je stadij ovog sve naprednijeg razvoja civilizacije bio praćen sve manjim stupnjem nomadstva; ljudi su sve više naginjali sjedilačkom životu.
1955 68:5.13 And now is industry supplementing agriculture, with consequently increased urbanization and multiplication of nonagricultural groups of citizenship classes. But an industrial era cannot hope to survive if its leaders fail to recognize that even the highest social developments must ever rest upon a sound agricultural basis.
2014 68:5.13 Poljoprivredu danas zamijenjuje industrijski razvoj praćen sve većom urbanizacijom i uvećanjem broja nezemljoradničkih građanskih grupa. Ali industrijsko se doba ne može nadati opstanku ako njegove vođe ne spoznaju da čak i najviši društveni razvoj počiva na temeljima zdrave poljoprivrede.
¶ 6. EVOLUCIJA KULTURE
6. EVOLUTION OF CULTURE
6. EVOLUCIJA KULTURE
1955 68:6.1 Man is a creature of the soil, a child of nature; no matter how earnestly he may try to escape from the land, in the last reckoning he is certain to fail. “Dust you are and to dust shall you return” is literally true of all mankind. The basic struggle of man was, and is, and ever shall be, for land. The first social associations of primitive human beings were for the purpose of winning these land struggles. The land-man ratio underlies all social civilization.
2014 68:6.1 Čovjek, dijete prirode, je stvoren za život na zemlji; koliko god pokušavao pobjeći od zemlje, na koncu mora doživjeti neuspjeh. O svakom je čovjeku istina rečena: "prah si, u prah ćeš se vratiti[4]."Čovjekova je osnovna borba bila, jeste i uvjek će biti, borba za zemlju. Prve društvene zajednice primitivnih ljudski nastoje izvojevati borbu za zemlju. Društvena civilizacija počiva na odnosu između broja ljudi i kvadrata zemljine površine.
1955 68:6.2 Man’s intelligence, by means of the arts and sciences, increased the land yield; at the same time the natural increase in offspring was somewhat brought under control, and thus was provided the sustenance and leisure to build a cultural civilization.
2014 68:6.2 Inteligencijom, pomoću znanosti i metoda obrade, čovjek je uvećao urod zemlje; također je više- manje doveo pod kontrolu prirodni porast stanovništva, što je stvorilo uvjete za opstanak i razvoj slobodnih aktivnosti koje vode k izgradnji kulturne civilizacije.
1955 68:6.3 Human society is controlled by a law which decrees that the population must vary directly in accordance with the land arts and inversely with a given standard of living. Throughout these early ages, even more than at present, the law of supply and demand as concerned men and land determined the estimated value of both. During the times of plentiful land—unoccupied territory—the need for men was great, and therefore the value of human life was much enhanced; hence the loss of life was more horrifying. During periods of land scarcity and associated overpopulation, human life became comparatively cheapened so that war, famine, and pestilence were regarded with less concern.
2014 68:6.3 Ljudskim društvom upravlja zakon koji nalaže direktan srazmjer između porasta pučanstva i napretka u vještini obrade zemlje i obrnut srazmjer između porasta pučanstva i napredka životnog standarda. Još više nego je to slučaj u suvremeno doba, tijekom ovog najranijeg razdoblja vlada zakon ponude i potražnje i njegova primjena u odnosu između čovjeka i zemlje potvrđuje njihovu velku vrijednost. Kad je puno zemlje - nezauzete teritorije - velika je potreba za ljudima koja povisuje vrijednost ljudskog života; gubitak života djeluje zastrašujuće. Kad manjak zemlje dovede do prenapučenosti, ljudski život gubi na vrijednosti i čovjek počinje promatrati rat, glad i epidemije sa manje zebnje.
1955 68:6.4 When the land yield is reduced or the population is increased, the inevitable struggle is renewed; the very worst traits of human nature are brought to the surface. The improvement of the land yield, the extension of the mechanical arts, and the reduction of population all tend to foster the development of the better side of human nature.
2014 68:6.4 Pri umanjenju produktivnosti zemlje ili pri porastu pučanstva, ponovo se uspostavlja neminovna bitka; na površinu izbijaju najgore crte ljudske prirode. Pri porastu produktivnosti zemlje, unaprijeđenju mehaničkih vještina i umanjenju pučanstva, obično na vidjelo izlaze bolje strane ljudske prirode.
1955 68:6.5 Frontier society develops the unskilled side of humanity; the fine arts and true scientific progress, together with spiritual culture, have all thrived best in the larger centers of life when supported by an agricultural and industrial population slightly under the land-man ratio. Cities always multiply the power of their inhabitants for either good or evil.
2014 68:6.5 Život u perifernim oblastima rezultira nekvalificiranom radnom snagom; umjetnost, istinski znanstveni napredak i duhovna kultura, najbolje mogu opstati u većim životnim centrima na temeljima poljoprivrednog i industrijskog pučanstva nešto nižeg brojnog odnosa između zemlje i čovjeka. Gradovi uvijek uvećavaju moć svojih žitelja za dobo ili zlo.
1955 68:6.6 The size of the family has always been influenced by the standards of living. The higher the standard the smaller the family, up to the point of established status or gradual extinction.
2014 68:6.6 Veličina obitelji uvijek ovisi o standardu života. Što je viši standard života, manja je obitelj, do same točke stagnacije ili postupnog izumiranja.
1955 68:6.7 All down through the ages the standards of living have determined the quality of a surviving population in contrast with mere quantity. Local class standards of living give origin to new social castes, new mores. When standards of living become too complicated or too highly luxurious, they speedily become suicidal. Caste is the direct result of the high social pressure of keen competition produced by dense populations.
2014 68:6.7 Životni standard stoljećima određuje kvalitetu života opstalog pučanstva, nasuprot pukom kvantitetu. Lokalni klasni standardi življenja rezultiraju stvaranjem novih društvenih kasti, novih društvenih zakona. Kad životni standardi postanu bilo suviše složeni ili suviše rastrošni, oni brzo postanu pogubni. Kaste predstavljaju neposredan rezultat visokog društvenog pritiska surove kompeticije koja proizlazi iz prenapučenosti.
1955 68:6.8 The early races often resorted to practices designed to restrict population; all primitive tribes killed deformed and sickly children. Girl babies were frequently killed before the times of wife purchase. Children were sometimes strangled at birth, but the favorite method was exposure. The father of twins usually insisted that one be killed since multiple births were believed to be caused either by magic or by infidelity. As a rule, however, twins of the same sex were spared. While these taboos on twins were once well-nigh universal, they were never a part of the Andonite mores; these peoples always regarded twins as omens of good luck.
2014 68:6.8 Rane rasne često pribjegavaju metodama koje nastoje ograničiti porast pučanstva; sva primitivna plemena su imala običaj umoriti deformiranu i slabašnu djecu. Prije doba kad su muškarci počeli plaćati za žene, ljudi su obično ubijali žensku djecu. Nekom bi prilikom zadavili dijete pri rođenju, dok bi ih najčešće ostaviti da sama izdahnu. Otac blizanaca je obično insistirao da se jedno eliminira radi ondašnjeg vjerovanja da višestruko potomstvo predstavlja rezultat magije ili nevjerstva. Međutim, nikada nisu ubijali blizance istog spola. Dok su nekoć ovi tabui bili gotovo univerzalni, ove ideje o blizancima nikada nisu bile dijelom andonitskih vjerovanja; ovi su narodi uvijek promatrali blizance znakom sreće.
1955 68:6.9 Many races learned the technique of abortion, and this practice became very common after the establishment of the taboo on childbirth among the unmarried. It was long the custom for a maiden to kill her offspring, but among more civilized groups these illegitimate children became the wards of the girl’s mother. Many primitive clans were virtually exterminated by the practice of both abortion and infanticide. But regardless of the dictates of the mores, very few children were ever destroyed after having once been suckled—maternal affection is too strong.
2014 68:6.9 Mnoge rase su rano ovladale vještinom pobačaja, što je postalo vrlo čestim nakon što su vanbračna djeca postala tabuom. Djevojke su dugo imale običaj ubijati svoju djecu, dok su među civiliziranijim narodima nezakonita djeca postala slugama djevojčine majke. Mnogi primitivni klanovi su doslovce istrijebljeni radi kombinacije pobačaja i čedomorstva. No unatoč zahtjevima društvenih običaja, rijetko je bio slučaj da bi majka zadavila podojeno djete - na snagu bi stupila majčinska ljubav.
1955 68:6.10 Even in the twentieth century there persist remnants of these primitive population controls. There is a tribe in Australia whose mothers refuse to rear more than two or three children. Not long since, one cannibalistic tribe ate every fifth child born. In Madagascar some tribes still destroy all children born on certain unlucky days, resulting in the death of about twenty-five per cent of all babies.
2014 68:6.10 Čak i u dvadesetom stoljeću mogu se sresti ostaci ovih primitivnih oblika kontrole pučanstva. U Australiji postoji pleme čije majke ne žele podići više od dvoje-troje djece. Ne tako davno, jedno je ljudoždersko pleme imalo običaj pojesti svako peto dijete. Neka madagaskarska plemena još uvijek imaju običaj ubiti djecu rođenu na određene nesrećne dane, što rezultira smrću otprilike jedne četvrtine sve novorođenčadi.
1955 68:6.11 From a world standpoint, overpopulation has never been a serious problem in the past, but if war is lessened and science increasingly controls human diseases, it may become a serious problem in the near future. At such a time the great test of the wisdom of world leadership will present itself. Will Urantia rulers have the insight and courage to foster the multiplication of the average or stabilized human being instead of the extremes of the supernormal and the enormously increasing groups of the subnormal? The normal man should be fostered; he is the backbone of civilization and the source of the mutant geniuses of the race. The subnormal man should be kept under society’s control; no more should be produced than are required to administer the lower levels of industry, those tasks requiring intelligence above the animal level but making such low-grade demands as to prove veritable slavery and bondage for the higher types of mankind.
2014 68:6.11 Sa svjetskog stanovišta prenapučenost nikada prije nije bila ozbiljan problem, ali s umanjenjem broja ratnih sukoba i s uvećanjem znanstvene kontrole ljudskih bolesti, ona može postati ozbiljan problem u budućosti. U takvom će se slučaju svjetske vođe naći pred velikim ispitom svoje mudrosti. Hoće li vođe Urantije imati uvida i hrabrosti da podstaknu porast broja osrednjih uravnoteženih ljudskih bića umjesto što će težiti razvoju nadprirodno obdarenih i pružanju pomoći sve većem broju podnormalnih? Trebate podržati razvoj normalnih ljudi; oni su sama bit civilizacije kao i izvor mutacije genijalnih predstavnika određenih rasa. Podnormalni ljudi moraju biti pod kontrolom društva; oni se ne smiju umnožavati u većem broju nego što može podmiriti potrebe nižih razina industrijske aktivnosti čiji zadaci zahtijevaju nisku inteligenciju koja prevazilazi životinjska obdarenja, ali koji ne smiju postati teretom višim ljudskim oblicima.
1955 68:6.12 [Presented by a Melchizedek sometime stationed on Urantia.]
2014 68:6.12 [Predstavio MakiventaMelkizedek koji je nekoć prebivao na Urantiji.]