About 1761, the
"Seven Years' War"; in 1810, the wars of Napoleon I. Towards 1861, the
wave has been a little deflected from its regular course; but, as if to
compensate for it, or propelled, perhaps, with unusual force, the years
directly preceding, as well as those which followed it, left in history
the records of the most fierce and bloody wars--the Crimean War in the
former, and the American Civil War in the latter period. The periodicity
in the wars between Russia and Turkey appears peculiarly striking, and
represents a very characteristic wave. At first the intervals between
the cycles of thirty years' duration--1710, 1740, 1770 then these
intervals diminish, and we have a cycle of twenty years--1790, 1810,
1829-30; then the intervals widen again--1853 and 1878. But if we take
note of the whole duration of the in-flowing tide of the war-like cycle,
then we shall have at the centre of it--from 1768 to 1812--three wars of
seven years' duration each, and at both ends, wars of two years.
Finally, the author comes to the conclusion that, in view of facts, it
becomes thoroughly impossible to deny the presence of a regular
periodicity in the excitement of both mental and physical forces in the
nations of the world.
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