Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-01-23
H. G. WELLS ON BERNARD SHAW
'From Letter by Mr. Well" the London Chronicle,

MT. Shaw objects to my calling him
nuddle- headed. but ! have always con
sidered him inuddle- headed. If have
not called him that In public before II Is
SIMPLY because thought the thing too
OBVIOUS to need pointing out. We Eng
nsh are an indolcnt. indulgcnt people.
VIC are apt TO submit to Il mans valua
ZION of himself rather than face the
boring task OF pursuing him into the
rcccsscs of his unsoundness. and this
weakness OF ours Is particularly evi-
cent IN case OF such an indefatigab bic
type ms MIR. shaw We hump our backs
III we beiieVe man is SYSTEMATICALLY
pro2afatinS some specific error We may
take the trouble TO study and combat
nim' bu' II we perceive he is finging
himself about I'm paroxyslns of merely
personal activity we leave him alone
or IT we notice him We notice him az
we hing hairbrush 1t nocturnal cat.
because the irritation has become I'm
tolerable
And that is how things stand be-
tween MI shaw and myself | have
Deen quite exceptionally and generous
~ disposed to take him seriously and
ind out what he amounts to. and this
is what hnd he amounts to- he Is nm
actirity. restless passion for attcn-
ton. Behind that u kind of jackdaw's
hohrd or other peoples notions: much
from Samuel Butler, scraps OF pseudo
philosophical phrascology such az tina,
Life Force" phrase he got from Dr.
Guest, old Iiammersmith economies
worn fragments of Herbert Spencer
some NietZsche conveyed no doubt from
the convenient handbook OF Mr. Oragc.
shreds of theosophy. current supcrsti-
lions. as Tor example. his Idea that
fear "posons" meat, or that wool * n
more natural and hyEienic clothing
than cotton, Hwecpings OF all sort of
advanced rubbish. but nothing any
where OF which one can say: Here is
the thought OF man" And 1t Is Jus,
this ircoherent emptiness, combined
with an amazing knack Of fluent mex
actitude, which gives him his ndvan-
taGe in irresponsible attack, and which
from his early reputc as the terror OF
the Fabian Society has spread his vague
and unsubstantial fame about the globe
FAR beyond the range TO which even his
confusedly entertaining intellectual
farces would have taken H.
TIonesty Intellectual Quality.
For some years have been coming
round TO the idea that honesty Is not a
moral. hut an intellectual qualify, and
that real integrity IL impossible to a
confused mind. ] think Mr.. Shaw'a in
depreciation of the pro-Russian Eng
hshman carries out the conviction 4;
liz ono OF the commonest characteristics
OF the nuddle headed that they cannot
understand that an opinion can be hon
cstlE held for Its own sake. Mr. shaw,
manifestly having no ideas whatever OF
his own. and being incapable OF under
standing authentic thought, does not
Know that IT Is possible to express an
idea for its own sake and to be con-
cerned about the truth: he thinks all
uttcrances are calculated tactical state
ments: he thinks one expresses ideas
for an end. in order to annoy some =
body. or to get somebody to do some
thing; under every statement he looks
for motive; he Is like those exaspcr-
ating women who are always CRYING
out: 'Ah! ! know why you said that"
And as a consequence he filings out
these intolerable insults to honorable
writer's without any sense of their
gravity.
The Industrious curious who choose
TO examine the literature OF the Fabian
Society Will find there the clearcst evil
dcnce of his incurable belief that from
It's Clements Inn cellar this little body
has under his guidance Influenced.
frightened. guided and hoodwinked the
great political parties of Great Britain.