THE CRY OF THE OUTLANDER. [TO TEE EDITOR OF THE
"SPECTATOR."] SIR,—The interesting letter of " A. R. F. H. " which you published in the Spectator of October 7th has driven me to have another look at the history from which he quotes. It is certainly a little unfortunate that the passage quoted is taken from the speech of a conspirator desiring to overthrow the Republic, and that it is addressed to men quibus mala abunde omnia erant, and whose only object was belli spolia magnifica. But no two cases can be expected to be precisely parallel at
all points. In the short time which I have had at my disposal, since reading the letter in question, I have curiously enough come across a few other passages which have, perhaps, some little bearing on the present political situation. The transla- tions are, to use your correspondent's expression, certainly free, but perhaps not wholly unfair :- " °tones homines, qui de rebus dubiis consultant, ab odio, amicitia. ira atque tuisericordia vacuos esse decet. Hasid facile animus verum providet, ubi ilia obficiunt ; neque quisquam omnium lubidini simul et uaui paruit. Ubi intenderis ingenium valet; si lubido possidet, ea dominatur, animus nihil valet Ea malo dicere, qua; majores nostri contra lubidinem animi sui recte atque ordine fecere."
" All statesmen who have to handle delicate affairs ought to clear their minds of passion. When passion is allowed to enter, it is not easy to see the truth, nor can a man serve both reason and passion at one and the same time. Give reason a chance, and the result will probably be a sound and sober Foreign Office eight-day-clock despatch, but let passion predominate and the result is an hour-glass garden party oration, with reason not even worthy the title of a bad second.
For my part, I rejoice to think of the occasions on which our ancestors have acted rightly and justly, and not according to the fleeting, but powerful, passions of the
[We have not apace for the rest of our correspondent's quotations.—En. Spectator.]
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