The Press.
London, England, 1856-08-16 00:00:00

770

For many years past a large portion of our
society has drawn its chief mental inspiration
from "hero-worship." Faith in the omnipo-
tence of British heroism was blindly enter-
tained, and the deeds of WELLINGTON and
NELSON were served up to the public in every'
variety of form, until it became a sort of taint
creed, when another crisis should come, that
more men of exactly the same stamp would
issue forth to astonish mankind by their
deeds. There was not a little folly in such ex-
pectations ; but, what is of greater importance,
there was also much injustice to existing indi-
viduals in both services. Great captains or
wonderful admirals can no more be made ac-
cording to order than epic poets or grand
historical artists. The anticipations of the
country, from constantly contemplating the
actions of mighty chiefs, were wound up to a
most romantic standard ; and there is danger
even now that the public mind may be mis-
guided by too ardent a worship of mighty
memories, whose gigantic fame is altogether
of an exceptional character.
The danger arising from " hero-worship " in
relation to the public service is of a twofold
character. Firstly, it is calculated to make
people expect their deliverance front indi-
viduals of mighty genius, rather than from a
sound official system, well organised, and
honestly administered; and, secondly, by ex-
citing romantic expectations, it is apt to damp
rather than encourage the efforts of individual
officers by sea and land. The first of these
evils is of a most serious kind. It is not by
single individuals, but by many able men act-
ing harmoniously together, that nations can
permanently be ruled. Public spirit, well
kept up, is a surer stay than hopes of mighty
geniuses, who are to come nobody knows
whence. This retrospective hero-worship is
apt to generate a sort of national Fetish—a
superstition of glory from which miracles are
to be expected. " The right man "is to settle
everything. He is to cure the faction of
statesmen, extinguish the jobbery of officials,
fight 'wonderful battles against fearful odds,
and perform exploits which shall strike the
world with admiration. In case that this
wonderful person should not appear, then we
are only to abuse " the system, anathematise
"routine," and explode volleys of indignation
on the mediocrities of the age, and cynically
expatiate on the superiority of the days of
yore, with illustrative anecdotes of CaomwELL
and CHATHAM, and NELSON and WELLINGTON.
In such mood of the public mind the memo-
ries of the mighty dead are invoked to depre-
ciate the living, rather than to inspirit and
exalt them.
The impractical character of this extrava-
gant " hero-worship " is conclusively shown in
the undeniable facts that both NELSON and
WELLINGTON, at various periods of their careers,
suffered themselves from its over-strained
expectations. Previous to the battle of the
Nile, Sir HORATIO NELSON was repeatedly
vilified in the journals and pamphlets of the
time for his " dilatoriness,' and, after Sir
ARTHUR WELLESLEY fought the battle of
Talavera and commenced a retreat in presence
of overbearing numbers, Opposition Whigs
talked of " impeachment being better deserved
" than a title," and his conduct even then was
most injuriously contrasted with the exploits
of MARLBOROUGH.

It is unfair, also, to naval and military men
to try them by too extravagant a standard. It
is still more unfair, if neither our allies nor
adversaries can be said to have exhibited any
decided superior military genius above our
own. We have seen a leading organ, within
the last few days, assert that we " lost prestige "
during the last war; and, unhappily, there is
so denying the fact that the country was
sorely disappointed in many things during
the war. But, would a "hero " have cured
the evils to be anticipated from plunging into
* war with a divided Coalition Cabinet ?
Would a " Wellesley" have remedied the
infects of a War Administration, in which the
baxperienced Duke of NEWCASTLE was allowed
by the chiefs of the Whig oligarchy to gratify
his "commendable ambition"?
It ix something like folly to expect " heaven-
-44 barn Ministers," or " heroes," to appear when
vs wart them. What we should certainly
*Toot and insist upon is that the best ad-