Sad: indeed, has been the degradation of the feeling for art, for beauty, for refinement,
the picture of senseless idleness which a man
of great talent, but of perverted, hardly one would say of sane, character has paraded
before us. The trial forms indeed, a fresh chapter in Dr Nordau's
indictment of "degeneration," an appalling picture of the state of mind and heart
in which all intellectual and moral perspective becomes blurred and
distorted. Nothing, however, arises in life without a cause, and we have to consider
whether there is not in our educational system some black spot that
produces these defacements. If some of our schoolmasters had been a little more courageous,
and a great deal more conscientious, we might have escaped the
sickly contamination of these and many preceding scandals. One of the failings of
middle class and upper class Enghsh life has been the unnatural divorce
of parents for their children. The case is otherwise m France, where the influence
of mothers on their sons is much stronger and more continuous than with
us. We are far from agreeing with all the claims of the New Woman, but we are strongly
of opinion that in the strengthening of the mother's influence over
her child lies a cure for many of the evils of "civilised" life. The herding of boys
in great schools, their too early separation from their homes, and
from association with their mother and sisters, and the fact that after a certain
age parents become almost total strangers to their children—all these
things, coupled with the tasteless luxury that rich parents hold out as a poisonous
lure to idle young men and women, afford a terribly wide margin for
the gradual perversion of heart and intellect. It is clear that if we are to tread
safely the slippery path of civilisation, if we are not to fall back
into decadent paganism, we must harden and simplify our lives. Plain living and high
thinking is not only tire poet's watchword; it is the watchword of
the democrat, the good citizen, and the man of senses.
Sad: indeed, has been the degradation of the feeling for art, for beauty, for refinement,
the picture of senseless idleness which a man
of great talent, but of perverted, hardly one would say of sane, character has paraded
before us. The trial forms indeed, a fresh chapter in Dr Nordau's
indictment of "degeneration," an appalling picture of the state of mind and heart
in which all intellectual and moral perspective becomes blurred and
distorted. Nothing, however, arises in life without a cause, and we have to consider
whether there is not in our educational system some black spot that
produces these defacements. If some of our schoolmasters had been a little more courageous,
and a great deal more conscientious, we might have escaped the
sickly contamination of these and many preceding scandals. One of the failings of
middle class and upper class Enghsh life has been the unnatural divorce
of parents for their children. The case is otherwise m France, where the influence
of mothers on their sons is much stronger and more continuous than with
us. We are far from agreeing with all the claims of the New Woman, but we are strongly
of opinion that in the strengthening of the mother's influence over
her child lies a cure for many of the evils of "civilised" life. The herding of boys
in great schools, their too early separation from their homes, and
from association with their mother and sisters, and the fact that after a certain
age parents become almost total strangers to their children—all these
things, coupled with the tasteless luxury that rich parents hold out as a poisonous
lure to idle young men and women, afford a terribly wide margin for
the gradual perversion of heart and intellect. It is clear that if we are to tread
safely the slippery path of civilisation, if we are not to fall back
into decadent paganism, we must harden and simplify our lives. Plain living and high
thinking is not only tire poet's watchword; it is the watchword of
the democrat, the good citizen, and the man of senses.
Sad indeed has been the degradation of the feeling for art, for beauty, for refinement,
the picture of senseless idleness which a man
of great talent, but of perverted, hardly one would say of sane, character has paraded
before us. The trial forms, indeed, a fresh chapter in Dr Nordau's
indictment of "degradation," an appalling picture of the state of mind and heart in
which all intellectual and moral perspective becomes blurred and
distorted. Nothing, however, arises in life without a cause, and we have to consider
whether there is not in our educational system some black spot that
produces these defacements. If some of our schoolmasters had been a little more courageous,
and a great deal more conscientious, we might have scaped the
sickly contamination of these and many preceding scandals. One of the failings of
middle class and upper class English life has been the unnatural divorce
of parents from their children. The case is otherwise in France, where the influence
of mothers on their sons is much stronger and more continuous than
with us. We are far from agreeing with all the claims of the New Woman, but we are
strongly of opinion that in the strengthening of the mother's influence
over her child lies a cure for many of the evils of "civilised" life. The herding
of boys in great schools, their too early separation from their homes
and from association with their mothers and sisters, and the fact that after a certain
age parents become almost total strangers to their children—all
these things, coupled with the tasteless luxury that rich parents hold out as a poisonous
lure to idle young men and women, afford a terrible wide margin
for the gradual perversion of heart and intellect. It is clear that if we are to tread
safely the slippery path of civilisation, if we are not to fall
back into decadent paganism, we must harden and simplify our lives. Plain living and
high thinking is not only the poet's watchword; it is the watchword
of the democrat, the good citizen, and the man of sense.
In a brief comment on the close of the trial of Oscar Wilde, the Daily Chronicle said:
Sad, indeed, has been the degradation of the
feeling for art, for beauty, for refinement, the picture of senseless idleness which
a man of great talent, but of perverted, hardly one would say of
sane, character has paraded before us. The trial forms, indeed, a fresh chapter in
Dr Nordau's indictment of 'degeneration," and appalling picture of the
state of mind and heart in which all intellectual and moral perspective becomes blurred
and distorted. Nothing, however, arises in life without a cause,
and we have to consider whether there is not in our educational system some black
spot that produces these defacements. If some of our schoolmasters had
been a little more courageous, and a great deal more conscientious, we might have
escaped the sickly contamination of these and many preceding scandals.
One of the failings of middle class and upper class English life has been the unnatural
divorce of parents for their children. The case is otherwise in
France, where the influence of mothers on their sons is much stronger and more continuous
than with us. We are far from agreeing with all the claims of
the New Woman, but we are strongly of opinion that in the strengthening of the mother's
influence over her child lies a cure for many of the evils of
"civilised" life. The herding of boys in great schools, their to early separation
from their homes, and from association with their mother and sisters and
the fact that after a certain age parents become almost total strangers to their children—all
these things, coupled with the tasteless luxury that rich
parents hold out as a poisonous lure to idle young men and women, afford a terrible
wide margin for the gradual perversion of heart and intellect. It is
clear that if we are to tread safely the slippery path of civilisation, if we are
not to fall back into decadent paganism, we must harden and simplify our
lives. Plain living and high thinking is not only the poet's watchword; it is the
watchword of the democrat, the good citizen, and the man of sense.