But from the tuition which the manhood of Britain is now undergoing,
there must surely be a very different result. Self no longer rules;
self is sunk for the good of the cause--for the good of the community.
And the community, realising that fact, endeavours, by every means in
its power, to develop that self to the very maximum of which it is
capable, knowing that, in due course, it will reap the benefit. No
longer do individual pawns struggle one against the other, but
each--developing his own particular gift to the maximum--places it at
the disposal of the community who helped him in his development. And
that is the result of so-called militarism--_British_ militarism.
Surely what has been accomplished in the Army can be carried into other
matters in the fullness of time. I am no prophet; I am no social
reformer to speak of ways and means. All I can say with certainty is
that I have seen them come in by hundreds, by thousands--these men of
our country now fighting in every corner of the globe--resentful,
suspicious, intolerant of authority. I have seen them in training; I
have seen the finished article. And the result is good: the change for
the better wonderful.
It cannot be that one must presuppose such a hideous thing as this war
to be necessary, in order to attain such results. I cannot believe it.
There must be some other method of teaching the lessons of playing for
the side and unselfishness. The spurred culprits of Mr. Wells'
imagination have given a lead over the fence; surely all the rest of
the field is not going to jib.
And when the harvest does come in, when the sickle is finally put to
the crop, there will be such an opportunity for statesmanship as the
world has never before seen.
Winnowed by the fan of suffering and death, the wheat of the harvest
will shed its tares of discord and suspicion. The duke and the
labourer will have stood side by side, and will have found one
another--men. No longer self the only thing; no longer a ceaseless
growse against everybody and everything; no longer an instinctive
suspicion of the man one rung higher up the ladder. But more
self-reliant and cheery; stronger in character and bigger in outlook;
with a newly acquired sense of self-control and understanding; in
short, grown a little nearer to its maximum development, the manhood of
the nation will be ripe for the moulder's hand. It has tasted of
discipline; it has realised that only by discipline for the individual
can there be true freedom for the community; and that without that
discipline, chaos is inevitable. Pray heavens there be a moulder--a
moulder worthy of the task.
"Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one
vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"
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