Evening star., 1928-02-19

7 REMEMBER when was young llS
being said. There is man or
genius. you never know what ne
i will do next" I have come to the
conclusion that, on the whole, the
British race is not comfortable with
genius while it IS alive. After II Is oeao
We give whole hearted honor to 1t. be-
cause We know that the question "What
will he do neXt?" will not arise.
I think The attitude of the English
race toward genius Of the imaginative
and original kind was not badly eX-
pressed. unconsciously. by schoolboy
Of an English public school. Asked
whether his school had produced men
OF genius. he paused for little tlme 10
think and then said, Il hope not.
If we have not had genius in that
sense. what have the qualities OF thS
English race been? The subject L Tar
too big to be fully treated new. tlere-
fore propose to leave out OF account al
together those aspects OF It's character
which have been exhibited III literature.
music and art. and l propose to deal
with thoS" aspects OF II which nave come
ont in our history and political lie.
If you look at the map YOU see how
exceedingly small are the British
Islands Every time l look at the map
the geographical content seems even
smaller than remembered, in comparl-
son with other countries. Yet from this
small island an influence has been en-
ercised in the worlds history which has
been quite out of proportion to the size
of the country and an empire has been
made of an extent and character which
are unprecedented and unparalleled.
It is worth considering the qualities
which have gone to effect that great
achievement First Of all, let me say.
they are not all entirely due to the race.
but to the island and TO the climate az
we'll Therefore, 60 not let us thlnt
that the achievements which have re-
suited in the British Empire are all due
to the particular qualities in the race.
They are due to those qualities devel-
oped in a particularly favorable envi-
ronment The fact this Is an island
has enabled the race 20 develop its own
character and its own qualities in
way which il could not have done had
il been part Of continent
First, there is no doubt that it comes
of very stout stock. Our ancestors the
Danes. the Saxons and the Normans,
were pioneers, and the English have
remained pioneers ever since, That &C
counts to considerable extent for what
it has done in the world.
1t is natural for people who are pic
neers to have a real passion for indi-
vidual liberty. ard that stands out III
our history. / think, as one OF our
great characteristics. Every English
man has in him somewhere, think.
root of being n rebel against authorit".
He does not like to be told what to do
he does not like 10 obey: and tina;
comes from that very energy which
made our ancestors pioneers. but WHICH
also made them strong individuals With
a passion for individual liberty ard
doing as they pleased.
put that as one outstanding quality.
That by itself would have resulted in
chaos. every man going his own way.
But there was something in the Eng
lish race which corrected what would
otherwise have been this great defect.
Il became permeated with sense thai
order was necessary. II is sometimes
said that British people like order.
do not think that they like order. but
they are convinced that order is neceS-
sary.
The passion for individual liberty and