BOOKS OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2504, 3 July 1915, Page 9

BOOKS OF THE DAY.

CHESTERTON ON THE WAR. < One of the most penetrating and certainly one of tho liveliest, books yet published on what might be called the ethical .side of-the war is Mr., G. K. Chesterton's little volume "The. Bar- • Sbarism of Berlin".. (Cassell and Co.). tFor all. his fondness for paradox which 'becomes: now and then just a trifle, tiresome, there is Jio/other writer of today who can equal Mr. Chesterton in tho sanity and cog'encyof his reasoning, in that i sound common sense which, Tightly'or wrongly, is claimed as , the .-'''special attribute of the typical Englishman, and in the'command, on occasions, of a, 'positively, mordant' satire. This . little book of his is a perfect joy to read, so full'is it of thought-compelling passage's. ' .'Everywhere, in'this book there 1 as evidence of original. thought, expressed very often in an equally original way. : Take, for example, 1 Mr. Chesterton's .examination' of' tlie fear, expressed at one time, but not so much of late, by many. British Liberals, that ■by allymg ourselves with Russia we are • > joining, hands with a : semi-barbarous •i'owor:. .. , The Prussians - apply the word 'iiaibarism to tlie. Russians; _ tha Russians : apply It'- to. the Prussians. 'Both,: 1 think, .really mean some-, that really exists, name or no name.- ■ Both mean different things. And if we ask, what these different things are we shall understand why, England and France prefer Russia, iand consider Prussia the really dangerous barbarianVof the two. . . '« 'An English-writer 1 , seeking to : ,averfi - ..the war by. warnings'-against -Russian influence, said that the flog- 1 Red backs', of Polish women stood , .between us and the Alliance. But , not long before, the flogging of:, women by an -Austrian General led • to that officer being thrashed in the, V streets of London by Barclay and ■ ■Perkins's draymen. And as for 'the third Power, the Prussians, it seems clear that they ha,ve treated Belgian Women in a style compared with which flogging might be called. lan'official..''formality. . When. - the German Emperor of our allying ourselves with a barbaric and half-Oriental Power, he. is not (I assure' you) shedding tears over the grave.of Kosciusko., And when I say (as I do most heartily) 1 that the German Emperor is a barbarian, I am: not expressing • any -prejudices I may have against .; tho Profanation of churches or of • :' children: - . My countrymen and I . 'mean a certain and intelligible •thing when we call the Prussians, " barbarians; It is quite \ different from the thing attributed to Russians'; and it-could not possibly ba attributed t-o'Russians. , It is very ' important that' the neutral: world ' ; should understand what this thing is. ... .v . -

And then Mr. Chesterton explains that whpn the' German calls tho Bjussian barbarous, he' means that'll© is imperfectly civilised:' There-is, he ad-, mits, ia certain' path along which. Westem iiations "have travelledv in" Tccent jtimes. and it is tenable that' Russia has . . Hot' proceeded so - far : . as the others; that she'has less of the special modern, , system in science, • cbmmercef 1 machinery; travel, or political constitution.' Mr.Chesterton enlarges this point with much humour, and then proceeds .to say that when the French 'and English call the Prussians barbarians they do not mean they .are imperfectly, civilised. We mean; he savs, "something that is the enemy of civilisation by design. We mean something .that is . wilfully at war . with/the principles 'by ' which human societyhas been" made peaceable hitherto." As to the sneers of the' Huns that "Asiatics and Africans upon the ; .verge of savagery have been Drought against them from India and' Algiers,", Jie says that "under ordinary circumstances. I .should sympathise with, such a complaint mada by a M European; country people." But, he says, "the circumstances,are not ordinary. . . The general and just reason for not using non-European' tribes. against Europeans ■is-that given bv Chatham against the Use of the Red Indian; that such allies ■might do i very diabolical. things.",' But the poor Turco might not unreasonably ask, after a week-end in Belgium,- what'; more diabolical things le could do than the highly-cultured Germans were doing, themselves." Tho concluding sentences of the cliapter from which I have been quoting must be given 111 full:' In this quarrel we have a right to come with scimitars as well aa sabres, with bows as well as rifles, with assegai nnd' tomahawk ; and boomerang, .there -is in all these at least a. seed'of civilisation:,. (respect for d sacredly-plighted: : word) which these. intellectual anarchists of Berlin would kill. And if: they'should find us 'in our last stand, girt with 6uch ' strange swords, and following unfamiliar ensigns, and ask' us for w|liat we fight in so singular a. company; we'shall know what to reply: "We! fight for. the trust and ' for the tryst; for . fixed memories and the possible meeting of men; for all .'that niakes Jife anything but an uncontrollable nightmare. .We fight'for . the long OTm of honour' and remembrance; for all-that can lift a man above, the quicksands of his moods, and give him the mastery of time." I would fain quote some passage which should exhibit Mr. Chesterton's command of eatirio humour. This, however, is impossible. To all my leaders I commend all early psrusal of this excellent little book, which you can purcha: ;for the modest price of ninepencp".