Evening star., 1921-10-16

r F a novelist take for his nero an ,
educated gentleman who ex- !
presses contempt for the license |
= and indecencies of modern life, |
it is ten to one that the critics. who !
confess themselves on other occa- |
sions as sick of prurient tales. will
pronounce this hero to be prig. In
like manner, let a politician eVince |
concern for the moral character OF |
the nation and it is ten to one his
colleagues in the house Of commons
anI his critics in the press and !
everywhere the very men most In
to be a fanatic.
This has been the unfortunate fate |
of Lord Robert Cecil. He is regarded
Men speak we'll OF him and confess |
willingly that he Is vastly superior
in character and intellect to the ruck
Of politicians. but. nevertheless. wind
up their panegyrics with the regret
ful Judgment that, alas. he Is a
fanatic.
1t is a thousand pities. I think. that
he Is not a fanatic. 1t is for the very
reason he is not fanatical that hts
progress In politics has been in the
suburbs of the second rank. He has
every quality for the first rank. and
for the foremost place in that rank.
save the one urging passion OF en-
thusiasm. 1t Is sense OF humor. an
engaging sense of diffidence. a con.
tinual deviation toward mild and
gentle cynicism. 1t is this spirit-the
very antithesis Of a fanatical temper
which keeps him from leadership.
The nation has reason on its side
for suspecting Lord Robert Cecil. In
the mind of the British people moth
ing is more settled than the convic-
ton that the conQuering qualities OF
a great captain are courage and con-
f1dence. He has given no sign OF
these qualities. He appears upon the
platform as a gentleman makes ms
entrance into drawing room not as
toreador leaps into the bull ring.
He expresses his opinions as a gen
tleman expresses his views at a din
ner table, not as an alehouSe poll
tician airs his dogmatisms in the tap
room. The very qualities which give
sonality. being spiritual qualities:
prevent him from capturing the loud
and grateful loyalty of a political
party.
NOW, while man like Lloyd
George can only affirm his own
essence by the exercise Of what we
may call brute force. and by making
use of vulgar methods from which
person of Lord Robert Cecil's quality
would naturally shrink. 1t is never
theless not at all necessary for
man OF noble character and greater
power to employ the same means in
order to earn the confidence of his
countrymen.
What is necessary in this case is
not brute force but fanaticism. and
by fanaticism I mean that spirit
which in Cromwell induced Hume to
call him "this fanatical hypocrite."
and which Burke adequately defined
in saying that when men are fanati-
cally fond Of an object they will pre- !
fer 1t to their own peace.
Lord Robert Cecil need not adopt
the tricks Of mountebank to
achieve leadership Of the British ma
ton. but he must contract so entire
a faith in the sacred character of his
mission that all the inhibiting diff
henceforth seem to him like the
whisperings of temptation. He must
cease to watch the shifts of public
opinion. He must cease merely to
of rather more idealism in the poll
tics of Europe. He must act.
From the very beginning of the
war Lord Cecil perceived that the
need OF the nation was not for a
great political leader. but for great
an unforgettable emphasis. well !
aware that under the public show of |
our national life the heart of the |
British people was famishing foa'
such guidance. He numbered him |
self among those anxiously scanning |
the horizon for such a leader He
should have been instead answering
the tnarticulate cry Of the people for !
that leader.
No good man of my acquaintance is
more powerfully convinced of the
watches the British people with an
abiding affection. He believes that
they possess, even those of them who
appear most degraded and sordid. the
foundational virtues of Christian
stinct for kindness and faith in truth.
He is convinced that no moral ap-
peal has ever been made to the Brit
ish people in vain. And yet he has
never made that appeal. He saw the
majority of the British peoples war
like mood degraded and vulgarized
by the propaganda of hate. But he
made no move to save the national
honor. The better part. and as I
firmly believe. the greater part. of
the nation was waiting for moral
leadership; particularly were the
to death with the purest flame of ,
patriotism in their hearts hungering
for such leadership; but Lord Robert
Cecil. the one man in parliament who
might have sounded that note. was
silent The voice that should have
made Britain's glory inarticulate. the
voice that might have brought Amer
lea into the war in 1914 and rendered
Germany from the outset a house di
vided against itself. was never. heard.
Lord Robert Cecil looked on and
Lloyd George sprang into the prize
ring with his battle cry Of the knock
out blow.
/ wonder If even the sublimest
humility can excuse SO fatal silence.
Great powers have surely great re-
sponsibilities.
r REMEMBER speaking to Lord Rob-
ert on one occasion of the sSooting
of Miss Caven-a brutal act which
distressed him very deeply. said
thought we weakened our case
against Germany by speaking of that
atrocious act as murder" since by
the rules of war, as she herself con-
fessed, Miss Cavell incurred the pen
atty of death. He replied: What
strikes me as most serious In that
act is not so much that Germans
should think it no crime to shoot a
woman, but that they should be
wholly incapable Of realizing how
such an atrocious deed would shock
the conscience of the world. They
were surprised-think Of it-by the
worlds Indignation.
In this remark you may see how far
deeper his reflections take him than
what passes for reflection among the
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