"But, No! " says Sir Robert Greig, " you are
taking the romantic point of view. Titles do a great amount of harm. They perpetuate class differences, and they expose us to contempt and ridicule abroad." I do not believe that our class distinctions are due to the existence of a titled aristocracy ; I believe that they are due, partly to the unequal distribution of income, and partly to our stratified system of education. Nor do I believe that you will assist equality of opportunity by obliging the Duke of Devonshire to call himself " Mr. Cavendish." We' can, and will, do much to diminish relatively the present gross inequality of opportunity, but if you seek to create absolute equality of opportunity you must start by eliminat- ing unpropitious babies, and confining the residual children to State nurseries and schools with an index number tacked on to their smocks. The greatest denial of opportunity is to be nurtured by stupid parents, even as the great gift of opportunity is to be nurtured by parents who are both affectionate and enlightened. Even in Sparta, where so much was done tc exclude the influence of the family, there was a marked distinction in caste between the gleich- geschaltet and the " lesser men " ; even in the completely socialised State a tendency arises for certain professions or trade unions to be regarded as more " honourable " than others. You may suppress one elite, but another elite is bound to follow ; and the children of one generation of gauleiters or commissars tend, if only from consorting with their parents, to acquire greater opportunity than those vouchsafed to their less fortunate fellows ; by such means a revolutionary aristocracy is formed. Nor do I really agree with Sir Robert Greig that the continuance of our ancient titles causes the sincerity of our democratic intentions to become suspect abroad. Some foreigners may sometimes be slightly disconcerted when they observe a son of toil dressed in cocked-hat and robes bowing nine times in the House of Lords. But are they in truth more likely to be angry with us for maintaining our obsolete eccentricities than they would be likely to despise us for sweeping them away with ..st gesture as meaningless and as unauthentic as those of the French National Assembly? I do not believe that we shall secure either the esteem or the affection of the world by installing the Goddess of Reason in our midst ; I believe that our distinctive quality is our capacity for pouring very new wine into bottles that are curious and old.
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