BOOKS.
ARISTODEMOCRACY.'
Sin CHARLES WALDSTEIN does not anywhere define precisely what he means by the composite word Aristodemocracy, which he has chosen as the title for an interesting and instructive moral essay. But ho leaves us in no doubt as to the ideal which in his opinion every civilized demo- cratic community should endeavour to realize. That ideal is that it should be productive of Arisloi, or supermen. He commends the method of Nietzsche. He ardently advocates the "aristocratic principle in social evolution," inasmuch as he secs in it a continuous and laudable effort to attain to " a higher type in the human nature of tho future." But, like every moralist and also every man of ordinary common-sense, ho as ardently condemns the special type of humanity which commended itself to Nietzsche's .semi-lunatio and amoral idealism. The superman of Nietzsche's dreams is that " monstrous moral and social cripple whom we call the egoist." Sir Charles Waldetein's superman, on the other hand, " is, above all, the man with the biggest heart, the strongest capacity for loving, and the greatest power of controlling his forceful and pliant affections to any direction which his reason and its ultimate ideals may dictate." The moral life of this superman is to be based on the teaching of Moses, who typified Duty and enshrined its primary obligations in the Docalogue ; on that of Christ, the representa- tive of Charity as expounded in the Sermon on the Mount ; and on that of Plato, the apostle of " Rational and Practical Idealism."
Holding these opinions, Sir Charles Waldstein has naturally not a
• "Ari4odernoeeoey, from the areas TT& back to Moses, Christ, and Plato. By sir Charles Wahistiin, SI.A. London : John 31tursy. 110s. SeI net.t
word to say in defence of those-false ideals which the majority of the German nation now worship. It is evident that his mind is steeped in Aristotelian Greek, and it is probably on this account that, speaking with a full knowledge. of German life and a deep sympathy with that older and highly venerated Germany which, if it be not dead, is for the time being certainly eclipsed, he says that the " German conception of science and human existence is entirely subordinated to commercialism, to industrial progress and wealth—in one word, to banausic mate- tialism." In truth, the moral degradation of modern Germany is the greatest tragedy that the world has ever witnessed. One man of learning (Dr. W. Fuchs) says that the " heart-beats " of the German nation do not move to the voice of Goethe, Schiller, Wagner, or Marx, but rather to "the hard men of blood" (Birgmenchen)—the Great Frederick, Blucher, Moltke, and Bismarck. " The holiest thrills are evoked by the Titan of the blood-deed." It is stated by Nippold, the historian of German Chauvinism, that, in the eyes of the Chauvinists, Germany " requires a war. . . . It does not matter whether a reason for such a war exists or not ; therefore, such a cause must, if necessary, simply be produced." But perhaps the most astounding symptoms of German amorality aro to be found in the utterances of the " pastors." One minister of the Christian religion explained that the proper. mission of submarines, as " instruments to execute the Divine vengeance," was " to thrown thousands of the non-elect." Another, with nauseous hypocrisy, said that Germany " loved other nations," and only punished them for their good ; and a third urged that " Satan himself, who has come into the world in the form of a Great Power [England], must be crushed."
Sir Charles Waldstein cannot bring himself to believe that the old Germany, which he loved, has passed away never to return. " When the eyes of the sane majority among the Germans can again stand this bright light of truth which has been withheld from them, and they revive from this fit of barbarous madness which has come upon them, they will return to their true solves and the Fatherland will again be the country and the nation which so many of us have loved and admired." It is greatly to be hoped that Sir Charles Waldstein is right, and that the future generation of Germans will shake off the nightmare which has obscured the mental vision and blunted the moral sense of their prede- cessors. If, like Shakespeare's Henry V. when ho renounced the errors cf his youth, they learn to " despise the dream " which has wrought such havoc in the world, they will provide a more sure guarantee for the durability of peace and the advance of true civilization than can be embodied in the leonine terms on which the Allies must certainly insist at the close of this war. But it would be unwise to indulge in excessive optimism on this point. Germany is not suffering from any slight and temporary ailment, but from a deep-seated disease which has attacked the most vital parts of the national life, and which will assuredly leave behind it seeds of moral turpitude not easy to be eradicated. In any case, it will be the duty of the rest of the world to maintain a healthy scepticism as to the reality of the cure until abundant and very convincing proof of its sincerity is forthcoming.
In common with many other thinkers who have been deeply shocked by the stab in the back which Germany has given to the spiritual progress of the world, Sir Charles Waldstein has pondered over the remedies which should be applied in order to prevent a recurrence of such a catastrophe as we are now witnessing. " The whole moral fabric, built by the efforts of ages of good men, is apparently razed to the ground. How long will it take to rebuild it ? " Two methods are suggested as essential to the work of reconstitution. The first consists in the enforcement of arbitration to prevent future wars. Tho second takes the form of inaugurating an " Era of Patriotic Internationalism." it cannot be said that there is anything very novel in either of these two ideas. Both have been before now strenuously advocated by others. Both are admirable in principle, and both are extremely difficult to realize in practice.
Every one who has dealt with the question of the enforcement of arbitration appreciates the rock on which the proposal is liable to be shipwrecked. The whole scheme obviously becomes inoperative unless the International Court of Arbitration can enforce its decisions.
Sir Charles Waldstein, therefore, like many others, proposes that an international Army and Navy should be created. " It is to be composed of all nations in proportion to their population. The headquarters of tho international force are to be located in some island—the Azores, the Bermudas. the Canaries, Madeira, or perhaps the Channel Islands. _ " Subsidiary military and naval stations would, of course, be distributed all over the globe and under the immediate control of the Central Tribunal." The question of a common language in which the discussions of the Tribunal shall be conducted presents, in Sir Charles Waldstoin's opinion, many difficulties. He suggests the reintroduction of Latin, although he would prefer Greek.
It would be a great mistake for practical politicians to brash aside summarily proposals of this nature on the ground that they are un- practical, and can only be regarded as the dreams of Utopian idealists. Not only moralists and thinkers, but also the general mass of the public, are yearning for the discovery of some means to prevent future wars, and to relieve the heavy burden of taxation due to the maintenance of enormcas armaments. It may be that tho discussion on these subjects, which must certainly ensue when the present war is over, will lead to
some practical results. It would be little short of criminal to dis- courage or to scoff at efforts which are directed towards the attainment' of ends whose nobility and utility cannot be called in question. At the' same time, it would be foolish notici recognize the very serious difficulties which stand in the way of adopting any such proposal as that put forward by Sir Charles Waldstein. Attention can here only be drawn to a very few of those difficulties. In the first place, it is obvious that no good could accrue from an extension of the principle- of arbitration' unless all the groat military Powers were prepared to accept it. Would' they do so ? The most hardy optimist would scarcely be inclined to answer this question with a confident affirmative. Again, ieis almost certain that the decisions of the Court, when any question of taking• action was involved, could not in any crucial case be unanimous. Ex hypothesi, at least one recalcitrant nation would have to be coerced. Would the representatives of that nation agree to coercion ? Would the German and Austrian contingents of the international Army or the German and Austrian commanders of the international Navy consent to act when orders were received from Berlin and Vienna that they were not to do so ? Would the sympathizers with the recalci- trant nation or nations remain loyal to their international engagements ? Would they not rather be inclined to assist the recalcitrant State to the' best of their ability ?, Further, even after the principle of taking-popula- tion as "st basis is adopted, how is the quota of men which each State is' to furnish to the international Army to be decided ? Is the British contingent to be calculated on the basis of the population of the Empire, which exceeds four hundred and thirty millions of human beings, or on that of the United Kingdom only ? These are merely examples of the thorny questions which would have to be considered before tho project• advanced by Sir Charles Waldstein and others could be put into execu- tion. It would be an exaggeration to say that the obstacles in the way of achieving success are absolutely insuperable, but they are certainly very formidable.
Turning to Sir Charles Waldatein's second remedy—namely, the intro- duction of an " Era of Patriotic Internationalism "--it is to be observed that there is no reason why the same individual should not at one and the same time be a good patriot and a good internationalist. Neverthe- less, international sympathies, in excelsie, rather tend to produce a wishy-washy cosmopolitanism, and to discourage anything in tho nature of ardent patriotism. This is a danger which would have to bo constantly borne in mind in the execution of Sir Charles Waldstein's programme.
As regards the educational scheme which Sir Charles Waldstein advocates as a means for securing the moral regeneration of Western civilized nations, he has much to say which is especially worthy of attention at the present moment, when it would appear probable that a further and more vigorous onslaught will be made in this country against humanistic studies. He fears any reform in the English University system which would tend to materialize the views of the rising genera. tion. No fact in connexion with the working of American institutions is more striking than the extent to which of late years the thoughts of the most cultivated minds in America have turned to the necessity of encouraging the study of the humanities. Sir Charles Waldstein quotes a remarkable interview which Mr. Lewes Dickinson had with two Canadian gentlemen on the subject of culture. They explained that to their minds culture " meant Aristotle instead of Agriculture, Homer instead of Hygiene, Shakespeare instead of the Stock Exchange, Bacon instead of Banking, Plato instead of Paedagogics, intellect before intelligence, thought before dexterity, discovery before invention.'' These Canadian gentlemen added " Preserve still for the English- speaking world what you alone can give ! Preserve Liberal culture I Preserve the classics ! Preserve mathematics ! Preserve the secil- ground of all practical invention and appliances Preserve the integrity of the human mind !"
Unquestionably, our educational system requires revision in the sense of affording greater opportunities for the study of scientific subjects. But it would be a national calamity if, in the pursuit of this object, the humanities were to be altogether neglected. If this were done, in the course of a generation we should ran a serious risk of becoming a materialized nation, possessing all those amoral proclivities which we now so strongly condemn amongst the modern Germans.
CROMER.
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