Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-01
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BookloUer

The Land. People and History" are
discussed in part / of Spain" by Sal
vador de Madariaga. former member
Of the secretariat of the League of
Nations, now professor of Spanish
studies at oxford. Senior de Madari-
aga, who has written much for Ameri-
can magazines and spoke before WASH
| ington audiences on visit here not
long ago, is interested and we'll in
formed as regards the affairs of other
nations than his own. For this reason
perhaps he interprets Spain all the
better. His book is primarily a discus
| sion OF modern Spain. its politics, eco
nomicS, education, religion, social life :
| but brief summary of the history OF
Spain Is given to furnish the background
for the new Spain of the twentieth CEN
tury. Part I, though in the nature of
an introduction, is especially interest
ing. II suggests how the natural
features OF the country and the racial
stocks of the people have Influenced the
history OF the nation. The main fact
about the land Is its inaccessibility.
Spain Is castle. The Iberian PENN
Sula stands at higher mean altitude
than amy other European nation save
Switzerland, and If it be borne In mind
that Switzerland rises en- q pedestal of
high lands, while Spain rises from the
| tAlC aNSluBc Oh SPAIN
| (2OOO 1eet approximately will appear
as more impressive than the average
altitude OF Switzerland $500 feet. ;"
Mountain ranges border all sides of
Spain-the Cantabric Range ON the
north, the Sierra de la EStrella on the
west, the AndaluSian Range on the
south and the Valencian Mountains on
the east. The whole peninsula is thus
walled. Between these walls and the
| ocean only no ct ri, rNF To,
cut by occasional streams. The Valley
OF the Guadalquivir is the only one
| which 'penetrateS in gradual ascent
to the very heart OF the peninsular
labyrinth" On the north the tower
Ing Pyrenees separate Spain from the
rest OF Europe. Most OF the peninsula
Is tableland, broken up by ranges and
depressions. THE citadel Of tins castle
Is the central lakeland, or Meseta
Central, an archaic formation stretch
Ing over two-thirds of the territory at
an average altitude of about 1000 feet
and generally considered as the geo.
logical nucleus and the oldest constit-
uent OF the peninsula. This lakeland
gives the country its most typical
leatrues-loftineSs, baroness, space.
A range of high mountains,
perpendicular to the Iperian Range
cuts 1t, from northeast to southwest,
and New CASTLE
Varied but one is the land; varied
but one the people," says Senior de
Madariaga. There Is a complex mix
ture of physical types, and authorities
differ amusingly regarding the origins
OF these types. "A centre Of round
headed types seems well established on
the Cantabric Coast stretching from
Santander to Coruna, while similar
centre OF long-headed races would APP
pear TO exist on the southeast coast, be-
tween Alicante and Almeria" An
thropological studies are confused, how
ever, by the jumbling Of the round and
long heads, for both round and long
are continually appearing in unexpected
districts. Humboldt considered the
Basques the original inhabitants of the
peninsula, but Is discredited by modern
scholars The Romans assigned three
original peoples TO Spain: Iberians,
Celts and Celt-Iberians. Two things,
however, seem certain. The first is
that from very early time, perhaps
as far back as the twelfth century
BIC. there was a wealthy, active and
enlightened clviliSation in the south
and southeast of Spain. The
second, that the Iberians, whoever they
| NNAC anu WhCIC!CI ILlCJ CdIIl6 lIOILl, were
| already known in the past for most of
the characteristics which are attributed
| to Spaniards Of all times" The Spanish
| types were much modified by the Moor
ish invasion and conquest in I'll, when
! the MoofS spread over the whole pen
tnsula except the inaccessible valleys
OF the Cantabric and Pyrenean ranges.
Until the fall of Granada and the ex-
pulsion Of the Moors, they lived on the
I Nnef Sr1fiN
they found in the peninsula, both in
peace and in war-two forms of in
timacy. There Is no doubt that
in their 400 years of cordial intimacy in
peace and war the racial intermixture
must have been deep. Not only the
Moor but the Jew was bound to be-
come an important element in the
Spanish people as at present consti-
tuted. The typically Oriental char
acteristics of the Spaniard. though they
may have pre-eXisted, must have been
reinforced by these four centuries of
! familiarity with two typically Oriental
races Senior de Madariaga's char
acterization of the Spaniards of diff
| ferent localities, with examples of great
men natives OF those localities, is one
OF the most interesting parts of this
section of his book. For example, the
Gallegan Is shrewd, intelligent, hard
working, thrifty; the Asturian is viva
cious and poetic; the Basque is a healthy,
simple peasant; the Aragonese is the
most primitive, most distinctively Span
ish, Incorporating, stubborn, rich in
] intuition: the Valencian is passionate,
easily aroused, artistic. Valle-Inclan is
Gallegan; Ayala is Asturian: Loyola
was Basque: Goya was an Aragonese;
Ibanez and Sorolla were Valencians.
! X X
! Aspiring to be critic of society and
| of majority ideas, as well as historian,
| Harry Elmer Barnes has for time
| SuSps nded his calculations of the causes
of the World War and his attempts
definitely to fix the guilt for it and has
/ written THE Story of Punishment. A
Record of Mans 1nhumanity to Man"
1t is a gruesome story. The measures
! taken by society throughout the past
| to protect itself from criminals may
make us consider that society today has
gone to the other extreme in its senti-
mentalizing over the criminal; or we
may believe, as Mr.. Barnes does, that
society is still practicing that ''inhu-
mainly" H believes that a criminal
is diseased person and that it is futile
to punish him. Permanent segregation
for the incurable types and treatment
Tor the durable ones are his suggestions.
Pessimistically and cynically, Norman
| Douglas thinks that the Western World
! is on the steep and slippery incline
which will soon bring it to violent de-
| Struction. In Goodbye to Western
| Culture" he represents that such prob
| able destruction will not be altogether