LIKE THE HEADMASTER of Lord Williams's Grammar School, whose trenchant
letter to the editor of this journal is published on another page. I applaud the American Postmaster General's impounding of a translation of Aristophanes' Lysistrata on the grounds that it is 'plainly lewd, obscene, and lascivious.' That is going one better than Swindon, which banned Boccaccio, or Omagh, which found Chaucer altogether unsuitable. Our correspondent draws attention to that widely circulating publication which contains, in such sections as 'Genesis' and 'The Second Book of Samuel,' a great deal in doubtful taste. This should certainly be taken up by forward- looking authorities in Britain. But if they really want to regain the lead, wrested from them by the American Post Office, they should not concentrate solely on the master- pieces of world literature. I should be prepared to lend a hand to the aldermanic vanguard in the battle against obscenity by supplying some pretty dubious things in The Idylls of the King, The Origin of Species, The Times Law Reports, and the London Telephone Directory.
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