French & English : $b A comparisonHamerton, Philip Gilbert
History
French & English : $b A comparison
Hamerton, Philip Gilbert
National characteristics, English; National characteristics, French
The industrial development of both countries has led to a state of
things in which the producing power surpasses the actual wants. To keep
the working populations in full employment it would be necessary to do
over again all that has been done; but the works accomplished remain as
impediments to future labour. Paris does not need to be reconstructed
every twenty years; a network of railways has not to be made in every
century. Thus industrialism produces both riches and poverty. First, it
creates an army with appliances too elaborate and too efficient for any
permanent need, and then it fails to pay its own soldiers. The present
condition of England and France is discouraging, for the reason that
it is the skilled workman who is so often without employment. The evil
has attracted more public attention in England, but the roads of France
are covered with miserable tramps and vagabonds, many of whom are
well-trained “_ouvriers sans travail_.”
[Sidenote: Success in Industry.]
Success in industry is proved by the attainment of wealth, so that it
becomes, in an industrial age, the evidence of something greater than
itself. It is taken as the proof of ability, of the kind of talent most
valued, and so it comes to pass that people of the most simple habits,
who have really no need for riches, often desire to make a fortune
as a proof of their own energy, and from a dread of being classed
amongst the unsuccessful. This is one of the strongest reasons for
money-getting when the genuine instinct of avarice is absent.
[Sidenote: The Necessity for Wealth.]
[Sidenote: Title and Wealth.]
[Sidenote: The Passion for Style.]
There is a most important difference between England and France in
the necessity for wealth in certain positions, quite independently
of the desire for money as a possession. The expression “a large
income is a necessary of life” is an English expression, and is true
in the country and classes in which it originated. What it means is
not that the Englishman cares much for personal self-indulgence, but
that if his income is not large he finds himself exposed to vexatious
or humiliating consequences, unless his position is otherwise so
insignificant as to escape attention. It is entirely understood that
all titled persons in England ought to be rich, and not only all titled
persons but all who belong to the upper classes. On inquiring into the
causes of this belief we do not find them in the love of money for
itself, as a miser loves it, but in the English passion for style and
state, and in the contempt which is felt for those who cannot afford to
maintain an expensive standard of living.
[Sidenote: England agreeable for the Ambitious Rich.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account