LITERATURE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17532, 25 January 1919, Page 2

LITERATURE

STRtVDfG FOE SET3IEMENT.*

THE CLASH OF OPINIONS.

By Constaht Rkadkr.

The problems of race and nationality arc amongst the most thorny and knotty of any which the Peace.Conference is called upon to soLve and settle, Tho clash of opinion in regard to these subjects is loud and continuous and the resultant perplexity is already manifest. Important beyond moasure as are such matters as Japan and the League of Nations, the government of the German colonies in the Pacific and tho attitude of Labour, it ia safe to say that, the two topics bulking' most largely in the publio imagination are the future of the German people and the destiny of Russia. To readers of the Nineteenth Century and After, the Fortnightly Review, and The Contemporary Review, the name of J. Effis Barker is well known aa the author of a long series of authoritative articles, dealing with various phases of European politics ami international questions. Mr Barker has utilised the more permanent of these articles, which give evidence of close 6tudy and wide reading, as matter for a number of volumes bearing such titles as "The Great Problem of British Statesmanship," "Modern Germany," and Greater Britain," "British Socialism," and "The Foundations of Germany." He has just published a second edition of the last-named book, originally issued m 1916, now so greatly enlarged as to constitute practically a new work, and one which merits attention at the present time. The three chapters in the original edition dealmtr with the causes of the world war and Germany's relations with Turkey have been omitted and in their place nine new chapters have been added, containing .much fresh and interestMig matter. The defect of this book, nnd it is a particularly irritating' one, is Mr Barker's habit of quoting himself with an "I told you so" kind of air. It is possible to pardon a. little of this sort of thing, but repeated over and over again it tends to become wearisome. For instance the t*tle of one of the new chapters is "How Education has Dntrradpd the German People." In th ; s Mr Bnrkpr sets out to show "that the character of tho German nation, which originallv was democratic, kindly amd human, has Keen warned but probiWv not completely destrovod by thp educatfonal poßcv which the Hohenzollprns have wtirsned for Generations." Tmmediatelv foTlownKr Mr Barker rruotps from an firfncl" " citrnifiptuitlv PTiHtled 'TMucatirm and Miepdwvt-inn in (Termnnv.' which I contributed tn Hi" CortTmorn.n' T?pvi°w in October. 19%. and wWch forms chanter tt of thp fff-.il edition of my book 'Modern Germany.'" Thp useful art of jieif-ndver-tisement could scarcely go further than th : s. Tnoidentallv however. Mr Barker upholds Prp=idf>nt Wilson in discriminating between the German nation and the former rulers of that nation. He also inclines to support the argument, so skilfully maintained by Benjamin Kidd in that striking work "The Science of Power," hi which the author of "Sound Evolution" and of "The Pi-inciples of Western Civilisation" gives proof of the proposition that it is possible to change the character and conduct of any nation within the space of a single generation. While blaming tho Hohenzollern rule for the more -mmpdiate sins and crimes perpetrated by Germany, Mr Barker attempts to tracei the cause of recent events right back to its ultimate source. He devotes, a chapter (originally contributed to the Fortnierhtly Review in June. 1917) to "The Influence of Machiavelli upon Gorman Statecraft," and he says: "If we wish to disoover the doctrinal source of German nn scrupulousness, ruthlessness, and ba,rbarity. we must go bid- four centuries to the time of Maohiavelli, for the great Florentine is undoubtedly the father of Prusso-German statecraft." The chapter concludes as follows:—

Those who. are astonished by the policy pursued by the Hohenzollerns. and at the barbarity and 'treason which have marked Germany's diplomacy and warfare of recent times, fJiould remember that Machiavelli has been the teacher of the rulers and statesmen of Prusso-Germany, that the

learned German advocates of violence and of every form of treachery, from the notorious von Bielfeld to Treitschke and Bernhardi. have been Machiavelli's pupils and admrrers. They should remember that MiKshiovclli's doctrines were inspired by the actions of the. most cruel and most faithless tyrants known to history, that the—terrible Csesar Borgia was to him the ideal prince, and that ho was held up ag a model to ambitious rulers. William TI should therefore not be compared to Louis XrV and to Nat>oleOTi. I, but to his true master, Ccesar Borgia.

In pursuit of origins Mr Barker casts his net wide and amongst other - sources he traces the crimes of Germany back to Martin Luther. The chain of events which links the great German reformer to the origin of the great war, and makes him in some sense responsible for the spoliation of Belgium will come ■as a 6urprise to many; but eeeing that Mr Backer quotes so eminent and trustworthy a Presbyterian theologian as Professor T. M Lindsay in support of his case, it is a little difficult to controvert or to explain away. Mr Barker heads his chapter " The Influence of Luther upon German National Character," and this is the gravamen of the indiotment:— It is usually assumed that the absolutism of the rulers of Germany and the blind cbtdiencei;pf the people are due to the iron discipline which has been established by the Hohenzollerns i that the German character has been formed by Frederick William (the Great Elector), King Frederick William I (the Prussias drill sergeant), King Frederick the Great, and Prince Bismarck, who have created the PruEsc-German tradition ■of government Tho four creators o£ Prusso-Ger,-many have undoubtedly done a great deal in shaping the national character. However, their action was so powerfully influei ced by the character, the actions, and the political teachings of Luther that one must consider the great reformer as one of the principal creators of Prusso-Germany. Heinrich von Treitschke, in his book, "Politics," placed Luther side by side with Frederick the Great and Bismarck; and, very significantly and quite Justly, he asserted that liuther and Machiaveui bad worked hand in hand in creating the modern state of the Prossc-German type. Martin Luthet is chiefly known to the English-speaking peoples as a religious reformer. In the following pages an attempt will be made to show to influence he_ has had upon German political organisation, upon . German policy, end upon £he German national character.

Mr Barker points out that at the beginning- of hia career Luther was the advocate and the champion of the poor, the workers, and especially the peasants of Germany, against their oppression and exploitation by the rich and the powerful. 'Wlrile -it is not correct to declare that the revolt which culminated hi the terrible War of 1525 was caused by Luther's incitements, still there can be little doubt that by his teaching and preaching he excited and inEamed the downtrodden and ill-used masses, and to -this extent he contributed, to the great outbreak. All at once Lather's attitude changed—suddenly and completely. Mr Barker writes:

A&er having denounced ■Qμ). princes and the nobility for their tyranny, their oppression, and their extortion for years, he became , abruptly the champion of princely tyranny, and urged the rulers of Germany to persecute and ill-treat in every way iheir unfortunate peasants, whose rising , he had largely caused. In the same year, 1525, in which he had published his "Admonition to Peace" (a pamphlet in which, in the strongest possible language, Luther held up the princes and nobility of Germany to pubHo execration and contempt), he brought out a small pamphlet entitled * Against the Thieving and Murderous Bands of Peasants," which for violence and brutality is unmatched in Luther's writings. The pamphlet » so charnotensfio and so important that I would render it in full in EngEsh. This seems particularly worth white, because, as far as X know, it has not previously been transited into English.

A perosal of this pamphlet, rendered into English in fall by Mr Barker, completely establishes ihe case that " from an advooato of the oppressed Ltrtiter had indeed beoome an advocate of the oppressers." As a direct consequence " the common people turned away from him in disgust. The German princes and noblemen, on the other hand, greeted Luther's pronouncement with raptore, and in accordance with bis admonition they raged against the unfortunate peasants with tha afcmost crrte&y. Witßoud; mercy

• (I) " 55ie Foundations of Germany-: A Documentary Aooount Bervealing the Catisee of Her Strength, Wealth, aod Efficiency." By J. Ellis Baiter. (Enlarged ecßEian.) Condon: John llurTB.J. f!2s net)

(2) " The' Feminine in Fiction." By L. a II Priesticy (Mrs Georgo M*Oraotajn.) Lendoai Ocscce Altai and TTnwin. Qβ 6d neb) ■

the defeated peasants were slangntorea and tortured by their masters. According , to tho best evidence available, more than 120,000 were slain, and apparently tho vast majority of these- were executed for revenge and in order to terrorise the others." In later years_ Luther boasted that he had been tho principal executioner of the German peasantry; for is the fifty-ninth volume of his works lie states in ono place:—

Tho preachers are the greatest destroyers of men, for they admonish tho authorities to fill their office and to punish the wicked. I, Martin Luther, have in the peasant revolt slain all the peasants that were killed, for I have caused them to be killed. Tho blood of all tho slain peasants is on my head. But tho responsibility for it. is with the Lord my God, who has ordered mo to epeak as I have donel

Mr Barker quotes a member of extracts from Luther's later writings, all going to show that "the great reformer, who is widely supposed to be an advocate of democracy because ho opposed the absolutism of the Roman Church, simply abolished in Germany Roman Catholic absolutism in order to establish in its place a far more rigid and far more vicious secular absolutism."

It ia impossible altogether to absolve Mr Barker from a spirit of partisanship, He expresses tli. ighout the Roman Cathofio view of Luther and cites as one of his authorities Grisar's Life of Luther —a Catholic standard—in which almost inconceivable coarsenesses and brutalities are attributed to the reformer. Due allowance must therefore be made for Mr Barker's anti-Protestant bias, in an otherwise admirable summing up of this particular chapter in the book:—

The facts given m the foregoing show clearly that Luther was not merely a religious reformer, but that his activity profoundly and permanently affected the body political and the character of the German nation. He coarsened and brutal ised the nation by his example, his personal habits, and . his language. Before all he destroyed the popular liberties, and; he firmly established the absolutism of tho German rulers. Largely through his action the German people became a people of serfs. It is difficult to read the heart- of the man. Possibly he abandoned the cause of the people and became the strongest advocate of princely absolutism and tyranny because the outrages committed by the maddened peasants changed his views. This has been asserted by many of Luther's admirers and apologists. Possibly he became the champion of princely power because ho remembered the

fate of Huss and other democratic reformers, and feared for his safety. Possibly, guided by the idea that tho end justifies the means, that necessity knows no law, he was .so determined to succeed in his struggle with Rome that the cause of the people seemed of little importance to him that he sacrificed. without scruple all else to success. In view of Luther's passionate and ruthless character the last explanation is very likely the correct ono. If we look upon Luther not from the . point of view of the theologian, but from that of the political observer, it is perfectly cl<-ar that Luther was tho greatest enewy of the perplo arid the greatest beneflctor. of princely absolutism. He vastly strengthened the power of the German princes by handing over to them ' the \rc3lth accumulated by the Roman Church, and by givmg them at the same time absolute power over the people, who henceforth were doubiy enslaved. 1 Tho counterpoise- of, the Roman Catholic Church was abolished. The Protestant clergy became part of the Government apparatus directed by an absolute ruler. Luther delivered ro the princes the wealth of tha people and tho people themselves, and made the princes, sacrosanct in the eyes of the people. Frederick William, the - Great Elector, King Frederick William I, Frederick the Great, and Bismarck have created the governmental tradition of Prusso-Ger-many, and their activities have had a profound influence upon the character of the Gorman nation. However, the character and the views of these eminent men were largely formed by Luther and his pupils. Owing to the activities of the great reformer the Protestant Church became a part of the Prusso-German bureaucracy. If we boar in mind Luther's prestige .and the vast influence of his example and teachings though centuries and centuries, it becomes clear to us that the absolutism of the Hohenzollerns on the one hand and the abject subrmssiveness and dooility of tho German masses on the other hand are due to Martin Luther; that the. rubhlessness and brutality which Germany has, practised during the,present war were largely caused by the man who established the Reformation; that much of the coarseness of the German people is due to Luther's habits of life, of thought, and of . expression The genesis and character of the Prussian State Church' alro explains to us the bloodthirsty and inhuman attitude of the Protestant clergy, which' otherwise would seem inexplicable; The principle, "LTStat o'estmoi," was not established by Louis XIV, under whom the French people enjoyed a good deal of liberty, but by the Hohenzoll&rns, who based their action upon the teachings .of their politico-religious reformer.

Mr Barker's book, however one may cavil at some of his conclusions, contains much, food for thought and should be carefully sfcudiod. One of the concluding chapters, entitled " Democratic Germany—a Glaoeo Into the Past and Into tho Future," was published in the_ Nineteenth Century of May last yearJ It is a distinct tribute to Mr Barker's knowledge and foresight that in these days of dramatic change, so much of what ho then wrote remains true to-day. He showa by reference to past history that the_ German race is as democratic as the British race. As for,the present he makes' this striking assertion: "If democratic government meros willing cc-operation for general purposes; if it means government by men of equal authority through their elected representatives, then the men of modern olermany have shown that they are eminently fit fox democracy, for in no country in the world is ooToperation more highly developed than it is in Germany." Mr Barker's prediction as to the future of Germany —a prediction made nine months ago— seems surprisingly near the mark:

In forecasting the weather and political developments k> many incalculable factors influence events that one can speak only of probabilities. A revolution in Germany consequent upon defeat ia not absolutely certain, but is highly probable in' view of lie Iristonc character of the German

nation'. _ The German race is naturally democratic, and the events of the .warhave undoubtedly strengthened the democratic spirit to a very great extent That may be seen by the concessions whereby ths German Government triee vainly now to appease the people. What tie German people require is not the reform of the Prussian franchise bul the direction of the policy of. the State by their electee! representatives. _. I think the German nation is too wise to allow again a single £nan, -who may be a degenerate, a madman a criminal, or merely a fool, to send npllicop of Germans to their d*»atb, Mr Lloyd George said in his great speech of April 12 with delightful brevity and irony : "Prussia is no democracy. The Kaiser promises that she will be a democracy—after the war. I think he is right." He Bnd President Wilson have probably correctly forecasted tho future of Germany

Equal in, if not, indeed, of greater, importance to the world than tho future, of Germany, is the future of woman. According to tho dictum of Benjamin Kidd in "The Science of Power," "It is not in the fighting , Male of the race: it is in Woman that wo have the future centre of Power in civilisation." It is usually a jSound and Bafe course to argno from tbo past to tho future: end this is exactly what L. A. M. Priestley (Mrs George JfTCracken) has done in an interesting little book called "The Feminine in Fiction." The porposo of the book is concisely expressed in a single paragraph of the 'Foreword, ,, contributed by Mrs Despord: "It is instructive as well, as interesting to look over the literary records of the period covered, roughly, by what is called the 'Woman's Movement, , and' to see how the men. and -women* of genius, or even observation, bsve dealt with tho world-old puzzle—the relation of the sexes cne to tibe other.' .

There are other and more ambiSans books dealing -with the literary side of this subject, as, for Mr R. Brhnley JohnEon's recently-published "The "Women Novelists," which deals -with the hundred years or so during which women '"found themselves 7, in fiction. Mr Johnson divides tho century into the three following periods-:— From tho publication of "Evelina" to tho publication of " Sense and Sensibility " 1778-1811. From tho publication of ""Sonso and SonsrUlTty" 10 tho publication of " Jano Eyro," 1811-1847. From tht publication of " June Eyre " to the publication of " Daniel Doronda "