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N
D O TH E WH IT H OR E
N
I T
TH E R V I S
S TINGMA N
R U A DS
S S E L O N
PE A K ING
YO A TH E RB ROWN
O A TH E RB ROWN
A S TH UR DA Y
A NITY
E UNA TIC
TIONO ROM
DONQ UIX OT
T V E N ON
MA CA TH O IC
L E S
N A M R ICA
N GW I TH T H E W O R D
TT
A TH E RB ROWN
D PO M O G.K.CH E S T RTON
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N D C O MP A N Y , I O .
R S E R V E D
B O O K MA Y B E R P RO DU C D I NA N Y O RM
I O N I NW R I TI NG R OM T H E P UB L I H E R
NT D T A T S O A M R IC A
B A L L O U PR S S , I NC ., B I N GH A M TO N, N .Y .
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O L A N G . .. I
A N D O T T R I S . .. 7
1 3
S DUCA TION... .20
E C TO Y S T RD A Y. 26
. . . . 32
39
A V I OU RI T . .. . 45
S U R S O N O O NG R B E -
A N D U ND A M N TA L -
RO L O PE : H I T OR IA N . 6 5
O T H E W O R D . .. 71
I N U A R I TY . .. . 78
N C I N C . .. .8 4
S O RN A T IO N . . . 90
O PH Y v e rs us I CT IO N .. 9 6
D U N A C Y . . . . 10 2
RI L S O B O R D OM . .1 09
B O UT H E R D IT Y .. . Il 6
N D B E A T RI C . . . - 12 3
I NT H E H O M . . .I 30
RA L L Y A C C P T D MI T A K . I 37
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TION O PO M
CH I DH OOD .
NC ....
T S H IP
R IT Y.
P UR IT A N I M .
E G NDS .
C ON D UC T
P TI CI M
NA DA
ORGUDJ ).
. . ..
C OR UM .
R E S W I N B UR N
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O L A N G
somanythingswhich
e,which areevenabused
inrealityrathersnobbish,
at sort ofunconventionality
tooconventional.Themost
ampleisthefussabout di-
natelyaveryeverydaye -
divorceisnot that peopleare
but that peoplearepretend-
point ofit isnot inthe
nds,whichhasunfortu-
sformsinnearlyall the
epoint ofit isthecovering
oftheold labelofunion.
odshavehad occasionto
onthat seemedtothreaten
avehadoccasionto strike
mournfullanguageofMr.
children snurse,
elfanInfidel.
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L A N G
t socialtendencyisthat
Mr. andMrs. R upert" is
rthefact that thechildren s
afterthechildren.The
s not that Claudehaspro-
but,that Claudehas
tianwithahigher and
on,whichis tooe altedto
acraments,but whichdoes
dinaryrespectableA ngli-
ossiblyevenanA nglicanbishop.
t seemstomethat the
oftheordinarysocialposi-
d.A ndtothinkfirst about
theact ofascepticbut
matterstoamanwith afree
anandwomanareactually
orbishopis actuallyteach-
se somebodygetsanew
ercase retainsanolddog-
omparativelyconventional.
rlyallthe pleasforfree-
eas forunconventionality.
anyothere amplesof this
relationtoconvention.It
nners,but inthelanguage,
fsociety.Thereis aqueer
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L A N G
g,andmodernityshowsit
cingthefactsofnature.
time whenit wascus-
ather w hichseemstomea
ca ll ingaspadeaspade.
nyvariations,bothformal
mesandcommunities.
dalanguageasancient and
auw henhecrieda loud, H ast
, Omy father " Now as
hesocialauthoritieswho
GenerationandtheB right
obeconsideredamarkof
allyourfathera beanora
Dick,andH arry,inrefer-
e)tohisChristianname.
arent oftheprogressiveage
i " o r t o an y l ou d c ry a n d
n itselfaproofofprogress
dindeed.B ut loudcriesdo
ologic andin thiscasethe
isobvioustomethat call-
f a ther isfacingthefactsof
hat ca ll inghim bean is
re.It is,sofarasthat e -
ps,merelyweavinga
thefactsof nature.It is
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L A N G
oment that theH eavy
imensionsofMothand
ofconcealinghimselfinthe
ut that isadigressionwith-
e ception. V Thegenera ltruth
phrasesthat evadethefam-
vadethefactso f l if e You
s ifhewerea totalstran-
myouhadcomeratherto
B ut inthat case it isyou
on,andultimatelyina
ofyourrelationare rather
oignorethemis toignore
andnotable.A ndit isto
smuchmoresuperficial
cietyslangor fashionofthe
ct,to thinktherulesof
portant thanthelawsof
kemeasbeing natural to
.That doesnot impress
asbeingreadytogo
atherthanface areality.
andhistoricaspectsof
nanycase berathertoo
erstand.Thetruthisthat
waysfelt thesenatural
ywerebest e pressedin
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L A N G
gabout themindetaildid
but recognizingthem
ndtheverycarriageof the
e andneartonature.Men
theirfathersandmothers,
ialabout theharvest orthe
the scatteringoftheseed.
ut thesethingsbecause
eal becausetheyarethe
eyare thethingsby
whichwedie.In thesame
eintelligenceenabled
irparentswerethingswith-
erhavebeenalive.The
entirelyrealistic,not tosay
ecognitionofit hasalways
form.It hasbeenwhat I,
glydescribeasgoodform.
vatorswhomI should
ndwhat ismeant bygood
h tiedtoconventionto
nnot evenunderstand
onventionofthemoment
sy.B ut thesedeplorable
ygeneration andthe
oubtlesswhat theyalways
nnormallydisposedtodesert
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L A N G
velty.Thetroubleis that
ethemreallytothinkabout
mout inanyintelligent
mesblamedfornot follow-
ast generation towhich
theyarefollowingthe
tion.Therealtroubleis
econventionsfartoomuch,
enceaga inst the irfa therse cept
havenodefenceagainst
fashion.^ Thehabit ofutter-
ma warmandenthusi-
mbecarried onabsolutely
i ty,without anypause
ndwhat iswantedhereis
hment but forreflection.
saidforrapidity but it is
ofgraspingreality.People
ny age,havegenerally
pt themost art if icialande -
mofthat age.Menneedto
at theearthandto face
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A N D OT T R I S
ycontemporariesIhavenot
rty but Irecognizethema-
discussionabout liberties.
elibertiesvaluedbyone
edbyanotherisdoubtless
dernargument used
against commonde-
yfataltoanyidea oflib-
that becausetherearea
tobetrue, it istherefore
mshouldreally betrue.
earonthefaceofit tobe
ystroubledabout logic.
tosaythat becausesome
wasflat,andothers(rather
t wasround,andbecause
it istriangularorhe ago-
reit hasnoshapeat all
iscovered and,anyhow,
wronginsayingit isan
rldmust besomeshape,and
noother andit isnot self-
possiblyhit ontheright
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N D O TT RI S
appliestothematerialshape
sto themoralshapeofthe
scribesit maynot beright;
nst hislightnessthat a
ust bewrong.
dishargument isnow e -
yordecency.It isinsisted
mofa Romanmatronisnot
at o fa andwichIslander,
uperiorityin theoneover
blew ayofdecidingw hichisthe
ultimately,nomeaningor
yat all.Theconclusion
theargument wereap-
bee cusedforsuspecting
ut,asamatterof fact,the
oughtobe calledasophis-
ntlyuntenable for it rests
nemancannot beright
menare wrong.Inthis
at thequestioniscondi-
stancesandthat theprin-
ferent ways.Inthiscase
ythat thewholeworld
wecansaythat thewhole
t thisfashionableargu-
betrue. o farasthat
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N D O TT RI S
ht beonecostumesuitable
onecustomofwashing
ughsomemenneglect it
plainof,in that aspect,is
usestobe arationalist.
that,ifthis argument isfatal
thousandtimesfatalto
t thisorthat practice
place,ifwerefuseto look
calprincipleby whichthe
weshallfind thedefinition
dust ofdifferentiations
dIverymuchfearthat thisis
onoflibertywillreally do.
thingsaregoingat present,
nwillhavequiteaslittle idea
nt bydyingforliberty,as
what theirfathersmeant
undtheologyorthetrue
ge numberofmodern
dnotionofindependence,
somethingsimplyincon-
sible e actlyasthecham-
years ago,spokeofthe
Church.Indeed,it isquite
therationalisticheckler,
snonsenseasthat faithis
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N D O TT RI S
ltooeasy.That iswhat
hefirst inbothcases.B ut,
ethat variationgivesthe
othcases. jt iseasyto
l it ismuchlesseasyto
sal^
thesewordsinacoun-
trymenregardas utterly
uctiveofevery liberty.
yhasrestrainedtheliberty
silybearguedthat it hasre-
people.B ut it isquite
joy,andtakeforgranted,
tythat donot e ist in
nswouldthinkMussolini
teries, asthe nglishlaw
seemtothemverymuch
niswouldseemtous.
gardsthenotionof not
rbetweenthreeand si
gard theideaofnot being
esdaysandThursdays.It
it tyranny:becausethey
havearguedoften
elsewhere,andIam not
rticularpointsnow.Iam
out that,evenwherewe
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N D O TT RI S
issueagainst liberty,there
itywhenwecometoargue
meofthe andwichIs-
nst abstract decency,then
lotteryisanargument
hethousandand onere-
t religion,thenthethou-
ea caseagainst liberty.
aidthat,inthepresent mood
ycarryweight.It willbe
ist,ormoderntyrant,who
modernworld andwhen
nglishf reedomfromthe
nfreedomfromtheItalian,
y that,afterall,men
thedefinitionofbeingfree.
to think that there isarea l
psImayhavea shot at e -
say.But thetheoryisbound
andthemodernworld,hav-
ghtful,hasfallenbackon
ingpractical.A ndit looks
ufferinthat practicalage
fferedinthe ageofthe
neasilybederided,quite
riandecorumorthelegendof
thereareotherkinds of
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N D O TT RI S
andecorum,andyet asense
indthemall, sothere
dombesidesthat ofthe
ndyet leaveanultimatesig-
ingfree.B roadly,Ishould
thishealthyinwhich all
ut somethings,inthee act
stinguished. Manywhota lk
lyaristocraticdistinction
shion.But fashionisalmost
democracycanbedis-
e distinguishable ifeach
hichhereallychooses.To
large aspossibleisthe real
t,asthereis nospacehere
heromaniacdogmaonthis
kmyreaderstodoit for
kit out forthemselves.Idare
rstandit isnowlikelytobe
ndit wouldbedreadfulif
ereallowedtodowhat is
B ut ifanyonethinkshe
veliberty,Ishould be
d,surprised.
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dpapersthereisa con-
athermonotonousstream
advertisingthenew Gym-
meanthecult ofcranks
e oncertainnotionscon-
tome,moresuggestiveof
larticleabout themmight
agazine,asbeing inthe
ut theconcentratedattempt
stryis not agoodsignof
andseemsconnectedwith
ificationofthebodywhich
inweaknessinthe head
gsingularlyweak-minded
wemight almost say
w hiche perimentsof thissort are
alism.It seemsquitesuf-
eriousnessofanypersons
ments,aseriousnesswhichin-
dfanaticsandsmallpro-
Thus theadmiringad-
rysolemnlytheGerman
houghnot quitesoseriously
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donot laughat anything,
,andinthisthenature-
eundoubtedly,asthey
ture . > J ature isinferiorto
most ofallinrespect ofthe
r/ ortherest,goatishness
ofsymbolofpaganism but
wasnot regardedasthe
. H a lfabeast isthegreat
ry trulyobserved andthe
nceivedas beinghalf-
resumablyontheprinciple
hannobeastliness.Toa
udgment,it willnot appear
hat,inthedivisionofman-
wrongsideofthejudg-
fashionisconcernedwith
nsenseabout mankind.
ichusedtobecalled the
s,infact,revealitsfalsity at
merelymaterialaspect.
fartificialthings,evenin
akednessisnot evenprac-
occasionsthat areentirely
calconditionsofthe world
inmanthat isstrictlyto
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at isuniqueanddetached
usphysicalorder.It isnot
ut clothes,unlessit isna-
epneumoniainabout a
at allthroughthegreater
egreaterpart oftheglobe.
ehasbeenleft,as it were,
le cept what wecallarti-
nhiscasetheyc anhardly
isnot aquestionsomuch
sfromnature.^ but rather
ceofhumannature art,
eofman^
dnot e ist a t a ll , inthe
t discoveredthedreadful
iscalledfire.It wouldbe
philosophyagainst fireas
hes.Infact,the twothings
ose,but fireisbyfar the
ngerousofthetwo.It is
sactuallykilledbya hat
users.Therewas,indeed,
lledtheB oot; it wasused
cotland,andwehearagreat
sedbyRoyalistsupon
ut it whenit wasafterwards
alists.B ut eventhosewho
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.H .G.W ellscalledthe
ardlycompareit tobeing
ndcertainlynot tobeingsen-
ouldbeeasyenough,in
ricabout thesethings,to
eofordinarywarmthasin-
alperil.A llfuelwould,
ellofthe faggot.Tode-
defendthestake andany
ouldbere-lightingthe
chta lk wouldbenomore
ravingsof thereformers,
eingpersecutedas bythe
ntheyarerequiredto wear
Therewouldbeanynum-
gthefamiliarelement a
n.W here,isit alleged,is
andtormented whereis she
witheverytypeoftribaland
erebut a t thef ireside A
magery,appliedtothat
ughtosuggest ageneral
oberoastedlike alegof
businessofcookerywould
andfittingparallel.Cooking
clo thesareartificia l. omepeo-
hcookery,assome people
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hclothes.Thereareprigs
areprigswholive in
reagoodmanyotherhuman
ofthemareofopinionthat
thingwhichwecallculture.
yargueforeverabout w hether
owthat it is normal.
ltureis boundupwith
that heisnot himsejf,
selfcertainthingswhich
self.A sheis morepower-
with thosethings,sohe
ther creaturewithout
asyforthe wildphi-
verye istenceoffireis
uldbeeasyforhim to
therivalofA pollo.Ican
plaining,inanendless
ought not toneedany
onofthe raysofthesun
ecomeinto acondition
arenot suf f icient tous that
dsolarunityto tearaway
m agoldengarment.It
ttero f fact, thesun srays
l.But that isjust asmuch
onclothesastothe attack
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at thewholeofthisphi-
ot; iswrongin itswhole
ndpositionof manon
eveninitsre la tiontomatter
e cometothehigher
t, weshallnot besur-
oryisasfalse inmoralfact
humanbeing isnot even
t clothes,becausetheyhave
e symbolofpurelyhuman
desty,ofself-ownership,of
honour. veninthepurely
uldneverhavebecome
causetherangeofself-
cdecorationwouldhavebeen
erewouldhavebeennoout-
aryinstinctsabout colour
heresybeginsinmadness,
ny. omeactuallypraise
oulddullandblunt allsorts
,andshadesofsentiment;
admenwhowouldactually
thecentralcivilizationof
ytobedeeplydisturbed,in
linstincts,bythesecrudi-
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ak esa longtimetoe pla in
t,whenamandisregards
olaughat himandlock
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S D UC A TI ON
dout thefallacyofcrying
ted,what shouldbe
naproblemis reallybad
rwail andprayandcry
n.Thepractical manonly
tice just asmanyaman
could not mendit,still
eriousisthetrouble,the
meknowledgeofscientific
andthoughthetheorist will
ll probablybealsoindis-
llymeant byabusiness
thewayinwhichour par-
nessdoesgenerallywork.
simaginativeenoughto
whenit obviouslydoesnot
muchmisreadthesigns
eare sooncomingtoa
belookingforsomebody
ngelse.
Iappliedtotheunprac-
plied,byan unimpeach-
npractical instructor.Mr.
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D UC A TI ON
d-per-cent A merican,a
r,thevigorousagent ofa
dison inshort, amanw ith
ataofaRegularGuy,
e applicationofscience
stonishedhisfriendsby
thetruly admirabletitle,
n U n pr a ct i ca l d u ca t io n . I h a ve o n ly
rect form,but theyseem
emark s. Mycompla int w ould
thtoearna livingisnot
that aspecifictrainingmay
arningthebest kindof
t can t bedoneinschoo l
Iw ouldinf inite lypreferthat
pinessanddecencyinpov-
redthroughthe sacrifice
r. Thesearealmost
ls thoughwhat theywould
thoseshinyandstrenu-
ibed YouC anA ddTen
alary, or ThisMan
woW eeks, it isnot my
af fa irca lledB usiness du-
obesupportedin ngland
dinA merica,hasanother
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D UC A TI ON
y toe pla in. WhenIsay
citizenandnot thecity
somethinginthecity , I
Parker sjust andrational
tudentsto liverichlyand
broadlytothewelfareof
paid fortheireducation.
vivalof theoldrepublican
vetoe presstheA merican
mericanpoliticalparty)
wellas themeresocialen-
that totrainacitizen
w ho lepo int o fprjnrarmnjs
bstract anrjprernalsranrl-
ematerialand fugitive
tobeareformer,he must
hhedoesnot obtainmerely
unreformedinstitutions.
ssomanyareask ing: What
ngallabout ancient A thens
dievalguildsandmonas-
dordistant things,whenhe
ientificplumberinPim-
bviousenough. Theuseof
epowerofcomparison,
t himfromsupposingthat
anet,but alsoenable
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D UC A TI ON
tothebeautiesandvir-
t that,hereandthere,as
periments,evenPimlico
adefect.
s notionofB usiness
orcertain trades,whether
that theywillprevent
cientlyactivetocriticize
y.Theybeginbystuffing
seofjustice bywhichhe
withthesenseofinevitable
chhe must accept that
ect oftheworld. ven
bank-clerk,andaccepts
w hichMr. oseph insbury
hebank er. veninthenurs-
naccountant; he lispsinnum-
e.B ut hecannot criticize
rentertainthe intellec-
nworldismadeto turn
anworshipofNumbers.
snever heardofthePythag-
ndeed,ofanyotherphi-
entaught tothink,but
a coldtempleofabstract
larsare columnsof
sic senseofComparative
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D UC A TI ON
ofthat tiresomephrase),
whetherhe isintheri ght
templefromanother.This
dealingwiththenormal
tity,theeternalfounda-
nent commerce which
nd abstract asPythagoras.
rousandperilouswhenwe
crambleof speculation
hiscalled businessin
w itha ll itsdegradingpub-
geroussecrecy.Tobegin
chinghimtoadmirethese
usiness ducation, ise -
worshipB aalandB apho-
e ligious ducation. A nd
mmercialtrainingisreally
nson,withtheassistanceof
fanA merican),givesavery
fit inTheW recker.H is
yresentsbeinglaughedat
theuout of co lour ; but
havehadabettercase
ther hadpaidlargesums
agambling-hell.
hematterwithB usiness
rrow sthemind w hereasthe
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D UC A TI ON
sto broadenthemind
t soastoenableit to
narrowness. verybody
eralviewofthehistoryof
and (asI,forone, should
Thismayenablehimto
ngsof slaveryinaslave
minacannibalcommunity,
mercialcommunity.Ifhe
othemysteriesofthese
heisswornin infancyto
hey takethemselves,if
nlybeforehebecomes
rehebecomesatrue
willneverbeableto
ns orevento improve
neverhavethe ideasorim-
andhustleandbustleand
resultedin thedeadfi ity
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L E C TO Y S T RD A Y
bettereducatedthanthe
oreintelligent thananyone
nerations Most ofthose
Yes. Most o f them, by
ngtothe present genera-
generation.Ihavenoa e
neithertheancestrala eof
dof hissons,northelatest
cha revolutionaryson
cutehisfather.Thereare
world haslatelyveered
somemattersinwhich
em.B ut Ihaveenoughin-
doubts,andcertainly
ns.
seformaintainingthis:i
dineverythinge cept
ties,andeven insocial
ertainkind),I thinkthere
a response.Ithinkit prob-
oplewhocan rapidlyget
styleofornament,who
ricartist isdrivingat,who
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C TO Y S T RD A Y
kedbyunusualmusic,is
ictoriantimes.B ut these
intellect.A ndIthink
moodbecausetheydo not
ymakesignalsto the
nnature,andthecodeof
requicklythan it would
enit comestoanythinglike
ssuch,Ithinkthat most
tupiderthanthosein the
ablyverymuch stupider
ygrandfather.Ihave
t illustratesmypoint that
ardlylistento along
eveI couldevenproveit,
enoughtolistentoproof.
that livelinessinthe
velinessinthecongregation.
remelivelinessinthepreacher
thecongregation.Iam
ce,that Mr. loydGeorge
ngspeakerthan Cobden.
loydGeorgespeak stomen
d.Cobdenspoketomen
ed.Thelistenersprovided
sneededtocarry them
cess.W hentherewas
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C TO Y S T RD A Y
s,astherewas insomeof
t kirks,thepreachercould
whenhisdiscoursewas a
c.It iswhenthecongre-
tobeamused.Cobden
chI donot myselffind
iencewasconvinced,it was
amancannot becon-
hout followingtheargu-
,evenif hegoestosleepin
t andwakesupjust in
Toriesdrinkingbeeror
ts.Ibelievethereis infinitely
ntionto anargument than
e,inthegreat modern
not nowarguingabout
e srevo lutioninjourna list ic
ciallygood.I onlysayit
ngwhichis intellectually
henIwasa boy,thepapers
eportsof speechesby
squith, oncomple con-
dfinance.Perhapsthey
perhapstheywerenot
ywereread.Now,it may
nt tohaveallGladstone s
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C TO Y S T RD A Y
aldistinctionsswept away
ndunfa il ingheadlineof
o ne a y i n 18 8 5 ' I t m a y
get alltheluminouslegal
andagreethat that statesman
slifee cept W ait and ee.
creasedintellectualactivity
thesimpleandsoothing
urfathersmayhavebeen
ntichair-splitting,but
ableofsplitting ahair.It
tunnedwithablowonthe
eoneof yourhairssplit
anybettertributetothe
fanybodye lse s.
st fromanothertypeofinquiry.
msbegantobuzzsuddenly
n,someofuswereenabled
ncehavebuzzedquiteas
Darw in. omeofusare
winismbecameafashion
ythought it wasafact.
ocietyladieswent about
winwasreallytoowonder-
went about sayingthat
really toow onderful. B ut,
comparisonbetweenthe
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C TO Y S T RD A Y
ofpeopledidreally attack
er toagreeordisagree
personina thousand
ghermathematicsin
tein.Peopledidtalkabout
t Darwin.Most ofthose
talkabout instein.They
meandthenotionthat
t hashappenedinconne ion
out Darwinmayhave
it wasscience,andit was
insteinmayratherbe
ehasnot madeastronomy
madebiologyreally popu-
ereasonisa certainin-
llect; that fewerpeople
inedlogicaldemonstra-
therwethinkthat the
onstrates.Inmyboyhood
unnylittle atheistsrun-
ertoprovewhat theyhad
Darw in. o therewere
le ree-Traderseagerto
nedfromthespeechesof
nowsoeagerto prove
st,toassuremethat they
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C TO Y S T RD A Y
t thisisapsychological
f anintellectualaw.It
dingmen,but ofsuggesting
isanageof uggestion
tionalpart ofman.
reeTradewasfalseortrue
ussw hether mpire ree
hetherit isboomingor
basedonanunderstanding
etheritsopponentsor
mericanscallPersonality.It
sdoubtlessa truthinit,
whateverelseit is,it isnot
aity , andanyo ld cotch
dfollowhisminister s
monto eventeenthlyand
rablybetterbrain.
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S U RP RI E S
posedtobetall tales but
allshort. Ihavenearly
onument orlandscape,
assomethingstranger
ndirect impressionof
st travellers taleswas
ything that everylizard
ysavagetribea raceof
ence isthat trave llersinastrange
etravelledin it long,tend
ngeness.Theybecomecon-
ls,andtendto takethe
thegreenleaves.The
hat amancanlive ina
ndgrowto remarkand
bout theirtribalta esor
des,and,at theendofhis
eventomentionthat they
rearethingstoobigandob-
peciallytherearethingstoo
embered.
manycasesinwhich
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sedoftellinglies, whichhave
ut tobetruths.Modern
edsomanymedievalrepu-
parationeventomedieval
olo,Ithink,whoreported
amenwhohadtheheads of
criticstreatedit asamani-
medto haveseenbirds
s.B ut it isverylikelyin-
wbaboons,orsomeofthe
criptionis reallymorescien-
ommonpopularimpression
orthehigherapes have
f-humanvisagewhichwe
theyoftenhaveanaggres-
noseandjaw,likethe
B ut evenheretheprinci-
It isonethingto readin
menandbelieveit ornot as
vebeenquiteanotherto seethe
hropo ids monstrous, mys-
tureprovocationtothemyth
dIrepeat that fo re ign
dmeasthe first apemust
plorer not necessarilyas
rming,but certainlyas
andentirelyune pected.
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ark s, V enice, Iambyno
but Iamquitesure
that it wasnot only
ngIhadever seen,but
ngIhadevere pected.
addin sPa lace inapanto-
onwasnot altogetherfalse
great merchant cityof
eanis, byaparado , stand-
teof the ast. Therew as
ooOrientalabout the
ndthis, it hasbeensuggested,
falllikeCarthagerather
ut,howeverthat maybe,
ksat theChristianChurch
rtledasif it w ereaC hinese
npictures ofit; photo-
photographs but these
traordinarythethingreally
ary thingisthat any thingso
at onewoulde pect
onedisgenerallythelast
rda thousandthings
ncemybabyhood,andseen
andreadcontroversies
orother,Ihad nevergot
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isamountaincity.A
annot behid but some-
couldbehid. A llthe
onsIhadseenwereli ke
bazaar andsuggesteda ll
at andstagnationandflat
e realcity,relativelyspeak-
stleonthe cragsofthe
herocksof pa in. rom
asy totak esim ila re amples.
w asapa lace Ididnot
orelikea prison but
hestrangejourneyinto
isreached,withthecon-
onandunearthlyloneliness
moodyKing.In short,
ydislikedthefamousspec-
thingIdislikedwas always
hingthat Iwase pected
nt that Igenerallycameat
eofthesamesort recently
ad visitedit before but I
OntheformeroccasionI
heUnited tates and
yinterestingabout the
gnifiedfussabout Prohibi-
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sionIw ent upthe t. aw -
owas athingIhad heard
thingIhadeverheard of
ereality . A sisusua lin
hee perience isa lmost a l-
fthee perienceisthat the
ward,almost asifhe
ole,orat least tofindthe
eseesicebergsandthe North-
esof thenorthernw aters a
theA rcticadventuresof
hentheshiptakesa sharp
of thesharpest turnsin
ew,anenormous,andyet
, asthef irst e plorersmust
worldset apart; that he
thcontainedanythingso
ndtheimpressionisnowin-
toappearupon thenarrow-
a,villagesandthespires of
getherlikeanythinghehas
wereanotherMediter-
zationinallits portsand
upthegreat t . aw rence,
,untilthebroadriver seems
ckofQ uebec.
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A ndthoughherwoods
nyCanadianpainterorpoet
travellerreallydoeshave
velledbeyondtheNorth
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dnamelessthing,with
tled,aswithaslippery
sthis, suddenlyheavedin
okonasort offormless
hesebrief glimpsesof
seldomlast longenough
ilofit.In thiscaseit ap
theDaily x press, w hich
ws:
What YouthWantsin
doesnot want sadness,cere-
wantstoknowonlyabout
about what happened
urchesforsakethesethings,
hem.
ky,and thewriterdoes
peoplewillflocktothe
00 yearsagoifonlythe
.H edoesactuallymean
raordinary)that theyoung
urchesmerelybecausethe
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theoriginalobjects of
y featureofeverychurch, f rom
hymn-bookleft ina
certainthingsthat hap-
ago.Ifwedonot want to
s,thenatural inference
yofthebuildingsbuilt
o farf romf lock ingtothem,
get awayfromthem or
way.B ut Icannot under-
chisunpopular^becauseof
mefrightfuITypopular
sanything.A W arMe-
ewar,andIcan imagine
ethememorymight merely
what wouldbethesense
enamesofthe deadwere
orials,hugepilgrimages
endsoftheearthto visit
ofnamesona memorial
teourshort summer
ofwhat hadoncebeen
at wedidnot want to
st people,indifferent to
tianchurches,waste
relybecausetheyhadceased
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entyof otherplacesin
s,andplenty ofotherre-
ecan flock,without flock-
edof alltracesoftheir
ewouldbea boldspirit
duchessbackfromthe
heseasidesun-cure,byoffer-
ofnoparticulardate,with
cha totalstrangerhad
omethingthat happened
howIdonot thinkthere
sses,oreventypists,at the
tiveedifice.A ndthismarks
ichbeset thisratherfash-
proposal. vensupposing
isunpopular,it doesnot
ftheologyispopular.This
eabsenceoftheologythan
gyor bacteriology,orany-
tohearaboretalking
oesnot followthat Iwant
ththeborewhenhe prom-
allism.Imaynot wishto
GeneticsandGenesis a t the
at Gum prings,111.,but
heCo-educationalCon-
ranywhereelse,evenifthere
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GeneticsandGenesis. A nd
ocentlyconfident ofthe
vereligionmight realize
oncanbeas muchofabore
canbeabout anything.
resubtle,moresunken
ssabout thiswayoflook-
aid before,it isonlyocca-
glimpseofits strange
moment inthisletter.The
kbackwards,fromeffect
usetoeffect.Thecauseof
hproducedit, thecause
rdedassomethingbad,
eabolished.Inthat case,
hat theChurchought to
peofthinkerdoes not begin
insw iththeresult, andthen
ndsit,asif thecausewere
eenaddedafterwardsto
hat theresult must destroy
ngforanothercause,inthe
t ofsomethingelse.It is
ewanderingabout theworld
nstandardof the acred
eB luePeterw erebending
lagoftruce withthesig-
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lag.
suchpeople,whocom-
gressive,areinthemost
e.Theycannot beartoalter
lytheideabehindit.They
htheUnion ack ortheWhite
eystandfor. o theysee
ckofbrickcalleda church.
cannot conceivearealre-
reevenreadytothrowthem-
emesformakingthismere
sothat peopleshall
andsthe irstrange loya lty in
ybybeingthere.I t isa
must bedonew ithit and
t bedoneforit.I npurerea-
bleassayingthat sincewe
betterturnit intoa
esuccessfulestablishment
atesourusingit asaturnip
andoesnot troubleabout
nfront,withanunsmiling
re unreason. orpure
reeofimagination,andnot
ructiveimagination.The
bleto thinkthings,but
st beimaginativeenough
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vecannot unthinkany-
his senses.H ecanonly
hit depends,becauseit
ot unimaginethebigbrick
actuallybulksinthe
maginethelandscapewithout
yimaginethechurchwithout
without thereason.In
lteranything,however
somethingfanciful.B ut
ut afact likeabrickbuild-
t, andmust bemadeaso lid
ducedto f lock to it ,
nto anaquariumoran
odohim justice,this
hemost disinterestedof
o willservesomething
sons.Ihematerialist isone
siblefornoreason.B ut
him,and,evenit hehas
chinto thechurchesof
doesalreadyflock agood
ecolumnsofthe newspapers.
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A V I O UR I T
newschoolofsceptics has
allyinA merica theycall
urists,andthelateMr.
themtheMisbehaviourists.
nd,theirphilosophyisrooted
thetheorythat thought
ment ofthebodyrather
isnothinginthebra in, I
tten, e cept a lo t o f
kwithourminds.W e
Thoseofus,that is,who
think at a ll. o rw ehave
tativesoftherising genera-
erythingcanbedonewith
body,not evenapsychol-
nthcentury,wouldaccuse
s.I amnot especiallycon-
lsehoodofthisfancy.
themajorityofsuch
ncedirectedtowardsortho-
yhasnosort ofimportance
ent e ampleof theruleabout
that arevaluedasnew
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I OU RI T
fictheoryneverdoesreally
ry.W hat it doesdoisto
destroy theo ldscientifictheory .
enameof that oldtheory
avebeendestroyed.The
odo y thehereticsonly
achother.
hristianwhetherGod
withhisbrainsor hisbig
rymuchtothe recent type
couldonlythinkwithhis
lybasingallsorts ofde-
analysisofwhat hecalled
matter inthebra in. He
rculePoiro t toThe itt le
w ithfarlessbril liant anden-
t theB ehaviourist doesis,
thebrainsofthe oldMa-
onof histouchingthe
dMaterialist,forthat
yasit doeseveryotherkind
ingthat oftheoldMa-
eabolishesisnot thesoul,
predecessordependedfor
erwedoreally cometo
flashingthroughourbi-
inaltheorycreepingupthe
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I OU RI T
ndtosomealittle funny,
t maketheslightest dif-
vethat Godmadeanin-
nvisibleorder.B ut it will
ndpagesofrecent realistic
mblinggrey matterproved
aitedeventheprimary
hesoulwassupposedto
r andkilledina cellunder
ibrariesofnineteenth-
becomesomuchlumber
n t.Paulabout theglori-
heleast affectedeither
toirreverent personsifmen
DifferentialCalculusin
concealajokesomewhere
.B ut it wouldonlycon-
hat alltruthswerein the
decayofbrain-stuff not
kescomefromman,orthat
thscomefromGod.
theraspect ofthisfancy,
gmorethana fancy,in
ggest aratherneglected
edto accept scientific
couldsometimesget some
ftheyoungscientist would
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I OU RI T
shypothesisasanythingso
ght sometimesreallybe
erhalf.If,insteadof
scoveredbyhise plana-
pleadingthat thereis
n,hewouldlookcon-
henthene t man, withthe
salonginabout thirtyyears.
n thesuggestionabout
heremaybe nothing
pt toaffirmmuscleand
k,that amongthelesser
cravingforcreative
retchthelimbs,to smite,
nggestures,tolift upthe
t.Thereisaninstinctive
wardsbetterandnobler
at sa id, Iw il l l i f t upmine
at divinecommandof
fo rmof S tretchforththine
nialgesturesofthehuman
ealth ofthehumansoul:
heguest inthegoblet;
ponthegrave that drew
rset upthecandlebefore
manactuallycan think
npraywithhismuscles he
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I OU RI T
andlament withhismus-
without that gesture,allPuri-
religionthat ragesat
ature.Ifanancient pagan
oandthetempleofPallas,
taintypeoftownofthe
t hewouldprobablyprefer
therthanaB aptist.
mofreligiousinvoca-
cerca lledhisA B C ,
ofapostrophestotheV irgin,
morning,weshallfeelthe
ofthissort ofancient or
.Thewordsseemtocarry
isimpossiblenot tofeel
mething is bowingtoa
uteasovereign islifting
anofferingdow n. uchan
yanda ll-mercyableQ ueen
ondthat ofthebrain,in
esuchinvocationis,among
st ancient humanhabits
broadande pansive
herpoetsbesidesChaucer,
sChaucer s.B ut it hasnot
icularmoderntypeofe pan-
it:
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I OU RI T
rks,Parent ofGood,
rlastingframe.
afterMilton,there isin
hat sort ofinvocation,
othersorts ofinspiration.
undredgoddesses,but he
ot evenaswellas theold
raytoV enus,Motherof
de it iesw ereabstractions they
tyor ove but theymight as
and ongDivision, so far
worshipgoes.Inthis,as
thematterwiththe new
gan hehasnot anyof the
apagan.Thereis alittle
most ironicinvocationsof
precise lybecause w inburne
inthenewpaganism,but
ast goneintothetemplesof
wastocursethe godsas
t,onthewhole,this gesture
neout ofpoetry andeven
ethewandwithanything
eystart toraisethedevil.
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S U R S O NO O NG R
NG
eadvancethroughmid-
hareveryseldomstatedin
theyarestatedin asenti-
alsuggestionthat alloldmen
ulsnowybeardslike a-
nunfathomablewisdom
causedtheyoungpeopleto
aladvantagesoftheold peo-
t ofthoseadvantages
wouldnot saythat oldmen
rowwise andmany
activechildishnessand
erlypeopleareoftenmuch
people,andsometimes
avingbeguntorealizehow
now.It isatrueproverb,
here isnofoo ll ik eano ld
nofoo lw ho isha lf sohappy
ise . B ut, how everthismaybe,
gesofmaturityarenot those
eveninpraise ofit,and
hey soundlikeanalmost
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I NG V E R Y YO UN G
reattachedtogrowing
seemtobegrowing
herandmorelivelythanwe
W ebegintosee signifi-
toseelife,in alargenum-
ns,ma ims,andcodesof
first daystobedead.A
worldthat oftenseemsto
rowsupamongproverbs
tobequitestiff andsense-
uf fedwithsta lethings tobe
steadof thebreadof
st o f thedeadpast; to live
erynaturalmistake,but
ageofadvancingyears
ditionsaretrue,andthere-
ditionisnot eventraditional
t isgreat funto f indout
eatedproverbsbecausethey
setheyarepractical.Until
wwhat ismeant bythe
lett ingasleepingdoglie, orthefable
ger.Nowthosedeadphrases
heyarepartsof aperfectly
Iwent toliveinthe
fthemeaningofthe
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I NG V E R Y YO UN G
ught theproverbsand
ff.A gainandagain,with
bothmyyoungfriendsand
childhoodthat fortuneis
hemselveswingsandfly,
denlyfromthepowerful,
, andinsolenceattracts
ds.B ut it wasallunmean-
rbsseemedstiffandstale,
edantiquities.W ehad
y,whichwas likethecrash
tlyrumblingthroughthe
nthew ordsof hak espeare ,
rittenby hak espeare w e
nednothingfromthem.
dtimes,tothe point of
etweentheNapoleonof
nofMoscow but we
ctedMoscowifwehadbeen
knewthat Charlesthe ifth
Charlesthe irst lost his
aveduly remark ed S ictransit
ncident,but not beforeit.
theR oman mpiredeclined,
mpiredisintegrated but no
dit totheGerman mpire,
t ish mpire. Thevery repeti-
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I NG V E R Y YO UN G
undliketheoldinter-
uisms.A ndyet theyare
eamazingandstartling
to seethedeadproverbs
ealizationsoflaterlife,
eyin wordstoanybody
thisway.It islikeadiffer-
,in whichsomething
lookedat,rather wearily,
becomea solid.It islike
nfromtheinorganicto the
esnakesandbirdsofsome
on begantoleapabout like
sadeadma imw hen
t becomesalivingma im
ath. venasw earedy ing,
o life.
is: that it isnot theyoung
wworld.Themodernsdo
yhaveneverknownany-
pedonto amovingplat-
owtobe moving,asa
movement oftheearth.
arpenoughiftheearthsud-
y.Theoldergeneration
membera timewhenthe
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I NG V E R Y YO UN G
y.Theydofeelsharply
his beginning,forthey
n.It isoneofthe artisticad-
theydoseethe newthings
background,theirshape
youngthese newthings
ackground,andarehardly
themost intelligent ofin-
mistakenabout thenature
sthat arereallynew.A nd
ftenindulgeina senile
eV illageOratorproclaim-
willsoonbe swept away
y forchemica ls. o rtheOld-
wellthat nobodywent to
childhoode cept out o f
isinhisoldagethat the
reto bethrongedwith
fOldest Inhabitant (with
oneinstanceofakindred
least asoldasI aminorder
diotic,inconceivable,and
emedthat anyeducated
dpersonshouldconfessthat
must benearlytheOld-
hwhat solidscornand
e parsondeniedthepos-
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I NG V E R Y YO UN G
theparsonevenmore
re.Thevillageghost was
gedrunkardor thevillage
ewthat thedeaddonot re-
Thosewhoremember
dtosee amanofscience
foundingquiteafashionable
ara youngmansaythe
thesupernatural.They
asreallymoved.
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N A N D U N DA -
n of undamentalismand
nreligionisratherantiquated.
at A mericanirreligionis
nA mericanreligion,and
oreofafossilthan thesec-
resects onlyrepresenting
insmanyotherbrighterand
tinlyA merica issuff iciently
us,especiallyincertainforms
anceanythingbelatedin
heory.B ut thebelated
obestil lunderthe il lusion
ms.Thereseemstillto be
he earthshakesifthein-
nstheunmentionableDar-
ymaynot bereferringto
t least abril l iant manof
wbetter.But he,Igather,
indefenceofthedeadand
eteenthcentury,andgal-
event A mericanscience
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N D U N DA M N TA L I M
s.H iswayofdoingit
w iththew ord S cientist"
rword liketheword
entist" isahorriblew ordtobedriven
nbeendriventouseit;
studyofsciencearein a
n.It wouldbeembarrass-
and bevisitedbya physi-
physicsandmetaphysics,
mmorelogical. ewofus
ste,summonedameta-
befarmorefrightfuland
ametaphysicist. ubject
f thelanguage,Ipresume
scientist eitheraman
ces (asomewhat alarming
reallyspecializesinone
.Mr.Menckenchoosesto
pallivingphysicists,who
strictlyscientificway.Ido
he scienceinanyway,
ehasnot studiedit in
e,he saysofthedistin-
studyofmatterhas not
at it onlyshowsthat they
beingscientists,it throws
nthat veryuglyword.
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N D U N DA M N TA L I M
amanwhosurveysall the
ticularstudyofthem,and
hisownmoral principlesor
provedthat Mr.Mencken
scientist; but inmytime
alist.
eallymeansis that the
rcaredforsciencebut only
ashe supposedthat material
lism,heroaredandbel-
accept theconclusionsof
t the least inclinedhimself to
science,iftheyhappen
deandclumsycreed.The
enhystericalwithhorror
st hadtoldthemthat Dar-
thout beingascientist.
dhavebeenatrociously
eckelwasnot reallyascien-
hlessclearthat hewasa
samonist.H ewas,any-
aprettyunscrupulous
ereallsupposedtoswallow
ausehewas cience.The
pagandists,but Mr.Menc-
gthemas cience,des-
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N D U N DA M N TA L I M
t themevenasscientists.
traordinaryposit ionforno
ept that theywillnot say
hemtosay, inthew orldof
ut it isratherhardto ask
ntificworkforfearthey
fMr.Mencken.
ameMr.Menckenfor
n thelast ditch,evenin
adeadmaterialism.Ifhe
dsciencewasright,he is
ashioned.But hewillhardly
at him,whenweconsider
ehardsfor beingreadyto
ught moredeepand
ow , apparently , ine actly
ere,e cept that ourprinci-
elligenceof teemingpopula-
rs,whilehis prejudicehas
w asset up. o farasthe
oncerned,it hasended
rmodernmonismandma-
ptedbysimplepeople,and
byscientificpeople.To
ylieundersucha compli-
usionsmaybe admired
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N D U N DA M N TA L I M
fqui otic but Mr. Mencken
that it isallowabletosmile
tionforMr.Mencken
eandstupiditythat I
strytomakehimselfout a
rreligiousirritation.H e
osefalse idealistswhocall
etheydemandtheProhibi-
anddarenot sayawordof
ings,ofhard bargains
ebrutal ethicstolerated
omuch withthisthat I
eingflourishedsometimes
tiously,likean auctioneer s
ndin thepresent casethat it
dscientificallyas ageologi-
mandthat it shouldgo
eright nailonthehead,
ewindyviolenceofsome
eH ammerofThor.I
beingdestructive,like
ehim.W hat Icomplain
structiveenough.H enot
hecannot evenbearto
ew blundersandblind
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N D U N DA M N TA L I M
nscience. The undamental-
the funniest thingabout
, w hateverelsethe unda-
damental.He iscontent
cripture thetransla tionofa
tohimbythe tradition
thout venturingtoask foritsorig-
Mencken,inhislatest phase,
undamentalist.Ishould
fhisinte ll igencetobesome-
reonlyafundamental
mentalsceptic,ashehas
India , orpossibly inthecavern
everbefrightenedbecause
matter leadstomathe-
bysses.H ewouldneverbe
dnowrevealedbythephysi-
It isthebusinessofthe
knowsnothing andhe
admit it touchingsciences
ciouslittle.A sit is,it
eretransformedintothe
nd provincialsort of
calledrespectfullythevillage
pect that Ishouldsympathize
freefight withthevillage
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N D U N DA M N TA L I M
geinn.B ut,just asI
that eventhevillage
about chemistry,orthe
ysic,Iwouldsuggest that
methingabout physics.
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O L O PE : H I T O-
articleonA nthonyTrol-
haveappearedinliterary
vediscoveredthat hiswork
,whenthey usedonlyto
ratherraree ampleofa
moreseriouslyafterhis
e.TheV ictorianstended
iterature,andThackeray
seriousliterature.The
rongly,aredisposedto
sly,andevenDickensand
fcourse,Trollopeis
ccordingtothe tasteofthe
ehascultivatedtheTrol-
t ande ample and ather
most elaborateanddetailed
annotatedit withsternqueries
ksolongtoget toPlum-
Mr.Greshamwasdoingon
eyParsonage.Thesearenot
orI, a las havenot thepower-
ntarybra inof atherKno .
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O PE : H I T OR IA N
Trollopehasagainattracted
spects.A ndyet thereis
chIthink hasbeenen-
hIthink isofverygreat
history of ngland.
ofTrollope,truly
e scarcelyconcernedhim-
s Wemayaddthat the
squirearchyscarcelycon-
rorders oronly inthe
ningwayasTrollope.B ut
isva luesw erethoseof the
esthepo int thepo int w hich
nglishhistory.It isnot
hischaracterswere
aidmoretrulythat Dick-
middleclass,thoughdoubt-
ower middleclass,and
t Trollopereallydealswith
sofarasit isattachedto
Greshamwasnot middle
rchdeaconGrantlyw ould
risedtobe toldhewas.
fMrs. Proudie,who
avebeenevenmorein-
nifit happenedtobetrue.
arysense,of thepro-
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O PE : H I T OR IA N
but weareneverallowedto
olderandprouderthan
eGovernment clerksare
raticclassfromwhichGov-
osomee tent stillare,
ds,weshall not learn
omTrollopetill werealize
nglandasanaristocratic
rf riendstheC ommunistsw ould
te. B ut there isa furtherde-
truth,which Ithink
arswitnesstoa bighis-
t,anddoesit allthemore
sehehas nonotionthat
theV ictoriantimes
srepresentedbyitsGreat
aristocracy.That was
acy.Neverdid agovern-
letely,bysayingit didnot
class nglishmanwasal-
round whiletherulers
nd.It wasthemiddle-class
letterstoTheT imes it w as
Times.It wasthemiddle-
epoliticalmeeting it was
candidate.Thegoverning
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O PE : H I T OR IA N
ectlysimpleprinciple of
thingstothemselves and
publicunimportant things
a lfour(oneof the last great
class)saidlanguidlythat
pers,everybodylaughed,
ouldnot readthealphabet.
rreadthenewspapersbe-
tatepapers. Whyshouldhe
wasservedout tothepublic
secretswhichwerekept as
zedthat the nglandof
ratic ngland,thereisa
rollopenevernotices,but
evidenceisaloneenoughto
nandthewholeW hig
t intheschools.Thereally
edfromTrollopeis this.
andisnot acountryinwhich
ya iberalm iddleclasson
orynobilityledbyDukes
Thediv isionof thepartiesis
nsciouslybetraysthereal
teenth,but oftheeight-
nturies.It betraysthetruth
utionof1688,and thenature
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O PE : H I T OR IA N
reallyintroduced.The
amesIItoWill iamIII.
res,it wascut up:it wascut
rollopecarefully,notewhat
hepartieswas.There isa
entry,whomaybe called
arecertainlynumerous
parsons,smallsquires,
f plainandhard-working
areallTories.Theyinherit
yaltytoaking,which
-classpeoplelikeDr. ohn-
raboveallthesepeople,
higherbeings livingon
o orthreepeoplewhoare
ance,likeemperorsor
dyelseintalking about
ondescensionofasover-
pleistheDukeof Omnium.
ngagreat princelypart like
enyhimthecredit,but we
that hisimportancerested
llionaire.Morepresent-
ionaireswhoareflattered
fall nglandbecauseheis
kindof manisalwaysa
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O PE : H I T OR IA N
anshavedisguisedthe
cted.Theirhistoriesare
tory.That isthetruth
consciouswitnesstowhat
nglishhistory w hy they
e tuarts w hy theyw ere
montraditionalTorieslike
volutiondidwasobviously
acy not eventoestablish
ry not eventoestablish
t wastoestablishcertain
ealthandpowerwasfar
ftheordinarygentleman,
en.Theyownedevery-
hat otherpossible
eofTheDukeof Om-
ewit.W hat possibleother
nesatiricf lourish, Iam
ow Ishouldlik etobe " ?
rierson theContinent knew
wasintheA rabianNights
Mlord verybodyseemsto
hepeoplewhotaught his-
versitiesof ngland.
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O T H E W O R D
fIrememberright,who
ephrase thewaythe
oforsocialreformersonlytoo
ofor snobs.It isnot really
safe,guide as canbeeasily
fterall,ifit comestothat,
inginthe timeofMatthew
noughfromit to look back to
to it,theworldseemsto
It wascertainlyatime
called them,themiddle-
softheschoolof Cobdenand
gfromvictoryto victory.
iberalcenturyw ascrowned,
o journa lismof theKipling
lism,andeverythingthat
. Inonesensetheworld
entific ineverysenseit
dscientific andyet the
tionincreasedsteadilyfrom
enwelookbackonthat
aneddy,orawelterof
onis paddlinghisown
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TH E W O R D
wndirection.A rnoldwanted
New mantogoback toR ome
andinav ia chopenhauerto
chetogoback tochaos. I
dominant influenceamong
aythat it wasnot sosimple
erpeoplethought it ; and, so
ithdistance,it seems
dizzy anddistracted.
rifting,it wastotheplace
whereinthe worldarewe
hiscomple ity that a lw ays
chthe abstract assump-
ontradictedbyitsconcrete
s.Thesuperficiale amples
orythisis theageofPro-
stheageofCocktails.In
gintheworldon an
ualitywithmen.Inprac-
ingthenovelsof Miss
tsofrubbishytalesand
onofsheikhsandcavemen.
eenpracticallysecularized
dthreadbarething,dis-
yotherparagraphasa lum-
mas. Inpracticenonews-
tswaywithout plastering
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TH E W O R D
sand captionsabout the
enatureofChrist,the im-
ture oftheChurches,
yofportraitsof popular
neparticularcontradic-
re,betweenthetoneof
ndsomethingelsethat
tualliterature.A t amo-
igion,orat least thereligion
ess,all pointsoneway,
rnandindependent artists
ewspapersareallGodand
devilsandnoGod.
ournalism,orwhatever
at peoplecallOptimism.
sometimesstandfora
t myselfinotherdays,merely
,andasmeaningthe pri-
worthlivingand the
ortsforit . B ut now adays
more or,rather,some-
t meansasort ofcheap
whichthere isacurious
eality.Menboastedof
war which islikebeing
er.A manmaytryto be
hunderstorm but these
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TH E W O R D
ouldprevent athunder-
hosewhoproposeto be
htningintroducea more
oplenowboast ofbeingOp-
sismorevulgarbut less
setradeisa lessrealthing
prisedthat thesameA meri-
uceChristian cienceand
p.But infact Christian ci-
alsalesmanship.B othrest
beconjuredawaybymoods
ect cientist persuadesa
t what hehasgot.Theper-
sa manthat hedoeswant
tWemayca ll it , inacom-
werofspirit overmatter.
omplimentaryphrase,the
ut thisspirit ofpersuasion,
urtime ingoodandbad
epopularreligiousform.
at piritualism,forin-
ffirmthat all piritsare
nore thesuggestionthat
willbeagreedthat thegeneral
anityandNewReligions
persratherleavesout the
sbad.Onewouldinfer
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TH E W O R D
at thereisnodifficulty
onlyaccompaniedby
w ritersdea lw iththetre-
parado o f the oveof
ct offaithinthe Godof
nlyperfectlyself-evident,but
t e cept tomakeusself-
sriddleof the E st Deus
abovethedyingB randaf ter
akofhisperfect renuncia-
hirpily everymorningto
whowillbe sufficiently
nsteadofgoingto church.
plewhowereat easein
onismthink sit enoughtoprove
e inZ ionat a ll. What-
ge,thedreadofdevilryor
thing that it doesnot
dreamsandfilesof thenew
ot findevenamentionof
wasfelt byallourfathers.
w ay theworldissupposed
ut whenwereadthe
ciallywhenit isreally
gquitethecontrary.The
etters,the novelistsor
nomoredefinite beliefs
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TH E W O R D
ers.Theyarequiteaspure
gma,orintellectuallyin-
h.Most ofthemareprob-
at sensedonot believein
ndyet theyareperpetu-
Theyarealwaysat it.B ook
hichthe themeissome
kedness,encouragedmore
ngepsychicalinfluence.One
tesabookabout Pan,asa
hlyunpleasant influence,
associationwithPanic.
ovelist devotesanotherimag-
dterriblede ityo f the outh
informerageswithtorture
asterpiecesofthelast twenty
standout inmyownmem-
ealmost allofthemstories
possession,oftenwritten
e religiousaffiliations,but
ingallthesolidity ofcon-
wholeofthat long
edtothe skywithnews-
ingcheerfulnessandop
vil.A ndthetwothings
moryfortheirsolidityand
glikestonegargoylesof
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TH E W O R D
hingsthat seemtoface
olerecent movement of
eal literarythrillwhichI
TheTurnof the crew,
eagainlongafter,under
o f eaton sA unt.
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U A R IT Y
dadventure andbeun-
encouldsacrifice allother
ngsinturn.It maybe
nderstandwhyourfathers
ot intheleast under-
es.
hsthat areevennow
emind.Thereare certain
sfar astheygo,andeven
asfaras theygo,which
usedtostopthe mindfrom
ese,for e ample,isthe
seologyofallourliterature
dmoderncommunicationsare
heworld nearerandnearer
w daystogoto iberiaby
few hourstogothereby
gat theendsoftheearth,
rt o f suburblik e urbiton.
k himse lfw hether iberia
inw hat respect it isrea lly
veall,whetherit isnot in
oreunlik e urbiton. or
,parallel totheprocessof
s, andit isthedisconne ionjaf
akeofargument,that some
urerfrom urbitonhad
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U A R IT Y
dyearsago.Doubtlesshe
pletheresomethinglike
toorefinedsuburbaneye,
t fromthebeastsofthe
aiminganyantiquarian
mewhat obscuredistrict,I
at thereweresomeideas
andthe uburban. Ishould
heA siaticsavageshad
privateproperty.Isuspect
esaid, Thisismyspear,
rbitonianwouldhavesaid,
It isprobablethat therew as
iberia,asit isprobablethat
onin urbiton.Thetravel-
mesmorequick ly tothe i-
dhave got thereahundred
absolutelycertainthat he
ngsif hegot there.H e
Communist village,not
seofacommunalvillage
a lsenseofaB o lshev ist v il lage.
rsbeingdogmatically
olshevism taught that it is
brellaor stillmorewicked
ht find,foralmost thefirst
oplebeing systematically
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U A R IT Y
t thereisneitherGod
t thevillage,whichis
arer,isnowphilosophically
thisisdue toanewdivision
totheriseofanew sect
holecivilizationfromthe
Therearemanymodern
ortionatesizeofsuchqueer
therathercomice ampleof
truthto saythat Amer-
rerto urope, asshipsf ly
eA tlantic. A shiptook
get from nglandto
heA mericanR evolutionand
blic. B ut thetrave llerinthe
rinkingwineinhishouse
shehadle f t o rdNorthdrink-
ondon. If youhadto ld
drinkwine,W ashington
sNorthwouldhavestaredat
emmoralityhad not then
ntic, todiv ideA merica f rom
icker thanwater.It
culture andthe nglish
ceanwasonlydividedby
nB rit ishpo lit icshave
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U A R IT Y
oughthefact that adivi-
nification.W ehaveseen
ndandtheninthe caseof
hetimewhentheywere
werehardest tohold.No
rom ustonortheboats
rthefact that ourfollyal-
herandfartheraway,in
w asasremoteasa outh
apstoomuchtoe pect that
rstandIndia but inthe
derstoodhowmuchwe
ahostilecritic likesto
dthat weshouldcontinue
t least somethingwasunder-
nt welteranddissolutionof
osaythat nothingisun-
moreof ariddlethan
ygrowsmoremysteriousas
venmorenew. orw eare
ughtofeelthe fullforceof
t sort ofsilent shockofcol-
closercommunicationsall
eis,moreover,asIhave
o thegrowthofnewideas.
ctiveresistanceofH yder
swere fightingwiththe
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U A R IT Y
ameworld.W henwedeal
eofGandhithe Mahatma,
miliarasmagic.
spara lle lo f contractionande -
ough.It followsonthe
newildspiritualspecula-
ificorder.Philosophy
rydirection,and science
letogether.Menwere
alties,andthen it didnot
erescattered.A clanor
yover awholemoorland
uldbeasso litaryasahermit-
mitsof thesamecreed.
ick uparowof villasall
etogetherfor convenience
B ut themanlivinginthe
ddhist,andintheseconda
atheist,andinthe fourth
llaisanisolateduniverse.^
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N C I N C
ciencesayproudlythat
eChristian cientists.The
esay,unkindly,that Chris-
goodbusinessmen. Iw il lnot
onlytwowaysofsaying
hetherit isanicething to
iantlytorowsand rowsof
reverentlylisteningtoread-
ea lth, undertherathere -
at thepresenceofmillion-
hat Christian cienceis
la inthat Mrs. ddy , though
hee istenceofmatter,was
thee istenceofmoney.I
nguponthese purelyper-
shouldliketopoint out that
ne ionbetweenthetwo
ondthedefinedboundaries
remoreinvisible (andthere-
piritual)formsofmoney
suchasdues, debts, e -
shoes,mortgage,usury,eco-
ail,andallthe otherpurer
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I N C
sofw ealth sothereare
fluencesofChristian ci-
hodonot professtobe
without someimplication
hristians.
nseChristian cience
ecomethereligion ofthe
owofnecessitythat this
e.Idonot meanbythis
diedandacceptedMrs.
physics if , indeed, theyw ere
eallyMrs. ddy s. t i l l less
acceptstheoriginalmorals
rIamto ldthat theyareno
hristian cientists.The
t obviouslyforbadethem
ddybrok eherleg, since
thebreak,orpossiblyboth,
d.W hethertherereally
velet amanbleedto
wasaresult ofthemere
emydoubts but that
someoftheoriginal
nderstand,insomeof
hem.B ut thispractical
esnot hereconcernme,
cticalit maybe.What I
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I N C
sistheage ofChristian
t peoplelivinginit areinany
ts. | meanthat thew orldis
chC hrist ian cience isthe
geratio n t isnot somuchthat
oreaccommodatingre-
couldnot findamore
enhavesometimestalked
ristiansbeforeChrist,
recertainlyanynumberof
cientistsbeforeChristian
ethinginthewholeair and
ndespeciallyofthat nation,
nd,sweeping,andab-
her likeawhirlwind
rlikeawhirlpool.It had
ssthat wasratherthat
y that rushedheadlong,
atendencyor afate.In-
kessooftento befound
ere isnonemorequa intlye -
ameofMrs. ddy .
ncywasthis:that the
of Commerce.And there
isiblethingthat maybe
it it sometimesmeansno
Trick.It dependsonfaith,
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I N C
faith.It doesnot depend
lfact ande perience.
rchof Christ cientist
eaded Ihavemyselfa
hersoft-headed.B ut,any-
alinhardware theydo
maybecalledsoft goods.
silyreceiveimpressions
ciallysensitivetothe im-
ressions.Theydealin
gs,infictitiousvalues,in
sthat areneverwhat they
actlywhat theypromise.
dreamsaremadeon,andits
slump.
sanestateofaffairsis
the generaladvicetothe
ng.Ifheleft offsmiling
ight blight themarket for
Thewholeconditionhas
mospheric not inthe
ngfromthe atmosphere,
gsenseofmenmaking
hythewholeofthis com-
thestubborndissatisfac-
fthemorerootedrural
t thefarmeralwaysgrum-
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I N C
ons,apart fromanyac-
rcreed but it wasobviously
articularcreedthanwith
selyakintoall that aston-
ent andsuggestionabout
rand alltherest whichwe
yA mericanbooksand
st that thereligionisre-
magesor icons.The
portraitsofmenwhohave
why theya ll look e actlya lik e .
hat theworldisnow
yof theMindratherthan
Thisiswhat ismeant by
hology.It isalsowhat is
mewhat sinistersense,
rk s. It isanervousandun-
at isthusperpetuallytry-
ntheobjectiveuniverse,
treet, isl iabletoreactions
C hrist ian ciencedidfora
esnot foranylongperiod
d, w ereturntousingthe
ctoringit withdrugs.
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R S O R NA T I O N
theoryofProgress,for all
thefuturehaveaveryhope-
hepast.Thereis evena
thedoctrineof pengler,
hat thereisnosuch thing
resses.That is,thereis
ationbecomingcompletely
ndthengettingout ofthe
tallydifferent civilization.
thenseemsfatedtobea
seemsfatedtobea pessi-
indnessbowsdownto
erwords,heispitifully
estudy ofbotanyand
evenpassesfrombotanyto
nthropology.Now,in
dthings,it ismoreorless
ss,but onlyProgresses.
necompletedphasewith
kwhetheroldredsandstone
aregreen.The fossilthat
cannot calltoeachother
htheremay be,inone
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O R NA T I O N
evolution,it isnot aspir-
keeswouldsay,alivewire.
fest manner,at least,a
thereisamemoryofman-
ompletelyperishasthe
oownthecave-drawings
sdonot ownthefossil
here isatruthinthat substi-
gress.
bethis:that mendo
ecialefforts theseare
s,andwhentheyare
generallyendin failure.
dethe questionoftheordi-
istedbeforetheeffort and
t.Romemadeagreat effort
oftheworld,andtheeffort
k A ges. B ut theDark A ges
morethantheRoman
n.It hasbeensaidbyhis-
mplicityoftheDarkA ges
eep.It iscertainlytrue
vigorousand hopefulat
period ofdeclineand
ledaperiod ofneglect.
sand hopefulat thismo-
hevast industrialfieldof
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O R NA T I O N
ssfulsocieties. painmade
eenthcentury,andopeneda
scovery thenit began
ut paniardswerenot
sinthe timeofGoyaany
e lasquez. V ery lik e ly the
he paniardswillmake
is purposeit islikelyenough
ment willhaveleft them
most otherpeople.In
or conceptioninhistory
ricalholiday.Perhapsthe
y,ifthey werealittlelike
ut thereissomethingto
enintheliteralsense ofa
kit e tremelyprobablethat
paga inasf reshaspaint,
uez.Theyhavenot beenso
pressedbyourdismalindus-
t capitalist responsibilities.
andrejuvenatedbyalittle
ghlyenjoyedthemselvesfor
nation.
ereonsubstituting,for
ofthe Revolution,thisdis-
oryoftheRest Cure.No
e.Peoplemight goon
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O R NA T I O N
nd degeneratemorethan
alth.I proposeonlya
n acautiousandtemper-
arism.Therearemany
omthemerest touchof
st soupconofcorruptionand
ghtoreassureme.B ut
oplewhoarea great deal
uitecertainlydevouringand
ththenonsenseofnovelty,
f somethinglaterthan
siblygrowingold inorder
h.Theyarewastingaway
tlenothingto do.Ifonly
persuadethemto go
superstitionandignorance,
kA ges,theymight come
dby somethingthat the
re,likeGothicarchitecture
terburyTales.
hingtobesaid forthis
erpriseofhumanity.One
esettlesinasaneproportion
sdiscussedin anearlier
realcasefortheNoble
sconceptionofareturntoNa-
menmerelydespisedsav-
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O R NA T I O N
missionarieswhowere
m),thecaseseemedsim-
oplewerealwaysmore
las moreclumsyandig-
waspossibletopresent
hicheverydayandin
tterandbetter.B ut (asI
nthestoryofsimpletribes
evidenceofsimpletribes
theirpunishmentsthan
childrenthanw eare or
ntlywere.B ut thoughthis
vetheorythat wecivilized
savagesin allrespects,
contraryconclusionthat
nweare inallrespects.It
nmarchedout onaspecial
pt aspecialdiscipline.
wayshavemoresevere
seriousproblems.There
olearn,becausetherewas
ogressivetribe might be
econservativetribewas
theformermight nonethe
omisedland.
tiresomejournalistichabit
elves,andfatuouslyde-
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O R NA T I O N
sewenolonger hangaman
,it wasnot anearlyprimi-
essivehabit,tohang a
unishingforgerywith
nour history,andwasa
ilization.It wasahighly
orforgerydidnot be-
t untilfinanceandcom-
kingbusinessofall sorts,
mveryglad that menare
ry.B ut Icanquiteimagine
ofsavagesamongwhom
herman shandwriting
nocent asmakingfacesin
sface. IfHiaw athaw rote
onthe smoothbarkof
beno particularharmin
ghisfriend sparticular
morarisingsun. No there
heNoble avage there is
appy avage. B ut that
beshouldnot sacrifice
nthe Great pirit bidsit go
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O PH Y V E R U I C TI ON
nd wastedlife,Irealizethat
neglectingtoreadnovels.
vels forsucholdlumber
ustenIk now fa irlyw ell. If
timeover pamphlets
peration,plungingfor
ealthye citement oftheo-
orenjoyingthe empty
andandCzechoslovakia,
doingmydutyandread-
sout,Imight beamore
hanIam to-day.Ifinstead
omething,merelybecause
e,Ihad walkedstifflyand
ng ibrary,andput my-
rmorepassionatelady
mebeas intenseasthey.
ouslife,scrappingwith
ism,orDeanIngeabout ci-
thingI wastoldabout
youngwomaninan
,Imight nowhaveamore
plicity.Novelsarethe
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E R U I C TI ON
mazingcredulityofthe
lebelievethemquiteseriously
pretendtobetrue.
s that Ihavefailedto fo l-
pment ofseriousfiction.I
ntirelyfailedtofollowthe
cts.Not onlyhaveIdis-
ocia lists, o r ciencewith ci-
withmyselfabout other
t I cannot get anybody
Theworld-widepowerof
ngthat isneverattacked
emstohavebeencom-
gbeenproposed we
vingbeenbegun.The
ndestroyedinthetwenti-
yeomanwasdestroyedin
ut fortheyeomanthere
great poetssanghisdirge,
bett diedtryingtoavenge
rndestructivechangesseem
d.Perhapstheyaretoo
Idonot think it canbe
ectedthemost recent
seemsratherthereal
aven,tothemore
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E R U I C TI ON
nnyor frivolousfiction
adingeverythingfromthe
stothe last storyofMr.
t richersense inwhichthe jok e
e,a blood-stainedhat-peg,
tsofa three-leggedmanin
munificent patronoffic-
nd haveevenpresentedthe
oofmyown.Inshort, the
perienceisaltogetheron
riousnovel especiallythat
all about thepsychology
oingtojazzdances.I have
aringtitleslike ocialism:
ciety:TheW ayIn or apanese
thus orC anniba lismthe
arricide:A Contributionto
cProblem: The x ampleof
e D r in k ; o r h o ul d W e
r e a th e a n d al l t ho s e gr a ve a n d
lsoreadhundredsof
hoKilledH umphrey
loodontheB lott ing-paper
ilyC ircus orTheC lueof
andsoonandsoon. B ut I
nt regularity,diligence
ooksthat beartitleslike
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E R U I C TI ON
raceB ellow,orThe
of y lphide queak orDear
e e o f a mu el t ub bi n o r
l-Thie f o rTheH ypnotist o f
esegraveandlaborious, and
kscomeout seasonafter
w Ihavemissedthem. ome-
whenhurledat myhead
todenythat Isometimes
haveareason,of areason-
hinkit isareallyreasonable
theyboreme. orIdid
m andIgot lost. Onerea-
nall literatureasort of
t fromthemeremoralizing
yanovelwithapurpose.
planoftheideathat is
dpointinglike anarrow.
re,orat least topoint
not onlyinthemodernsense
edievalsenseofafruition.
thelessintellectual
erethemoreintellectual
riterofdetectivestories,
edH umphreyH iggles-
ytelling uswhodidit,
geofsayingit wasH um-
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E R U I C TI ON
theseriousnovelist asksa
answer oftenthat heis
w er. These o f amuel
ninconsiderabledoubt,in
alpassages,andthe
ylphideseemstohavenoth-
eprospect ofhereighth.
riterstoscoffat theold
ette,inwhichthestory
esoundof churchbells.
st standardsofheroicor
eektragediesor thegreat
allyfarsuperiorto the
hacerta ingoa l themar-
ll itsreallyvitalculmina-
milyandavowto God
einteresting becausethey
nwhichwas,bylegitimate
mmation.
bothofthe religiousvow
brokenthe backboneof
ndit isonlyanassortedbag
elydescribedase peri-
fteranother,passions
cognizeasidiotic,and
chedphilosophyforbids
wardsanyend.Thesenti-
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E R U I C TI ON
mplifiedandlimitedcon-
nw hich, forthesak eofargu-
theprize.Ofcourse
ingthat happensinlife
udyanothersectionwith
odernseriousnovelistsdeny
ycannot point tothehu-
omanticsassociatedwith
not point totheheav-
eligiousassociatedwith
drivenbackentirelyon
noftheseaimlessappetites
roscopicallystudiedin