ENGLAND FROM THE OUTSIDE
By KAREL 6APEK
ON two or three occasions before this I have received the same flattering invitation to tell the English how they look to a foreigner. Accordingly, I am tempted to repeat what I have already said. As far as I know, however, learned men are the only ones who are permitted to go on repeating what they have once said. Still, let me once more mention the discoveries which I made while travelling in England. Thus, for example : English insularity, which reveals itself not only geographically but also in the manners and customs of the people who were born upon this island and who, wherever they may go, carry with them their insular reserve and other- ness. English traditionalism or, to express it more exactly, the respect for antique.things such as cathedrals, universities, towns, monarchy,. aristocracy, clubs, old trees and many other ancient and picturesque institutions. English sobriety, which, I must- :add, is counteracted by English fanaticism. Examples of both are contained in English literature, English humour and other quarters.
And so on : I might go 'on eniunerating • everything which distinguishes the English from other nations, tribes and clans. But England is not only a geographical and ethnographical reality.: England is,. seen from the- outside, in many respects also something like an ideal, or, to put it more exactly, it represents several ideals Which the world has accepted more or less universally' and in which, rightly or-wrongly; it PereeiVeg- something hy which England, and England alone, has increased the number of current ideals in the civilized world.' You may say that this is a mistake; and that these ideals have been attributed to England by a historical mis-- Apprehension, or you can claim themas being something utterly and profoundly British. • But in this case it must be your concern that, seen from the outside, England should genuinely reveal itself as a centre for spreading those British ideals.
The first of these ideals which the civilized world acceptS as exclusively English is the ideal cf a gentleman. I might quote wittier definitions of what a gentleman really is, but for practical needs it will be enough to say that a gentleman is a man whom we can trust. We can rely upon his word and we can be sure that he will fulfil his duties and his obligations. (He will do this simply because of his Vast self-respect.) The nature of a gentle. man, however, includes not only willingness to fulfil obligations, but also willingness to accept them, to act at any time on behalf of those who are in trouble, those who are defending themselves against injustice or who, in a conflict of interests, are on the right side. I might put it this way : gentlemanliness is a guarantee that whatever happens within our reach will be fair. This applies to dealings between- individuals and dealings between groups of people, but in the last resort it applies also to dealings. between classes, nations and countries. The condition of the world in which nations and countries profoundly mistrust each other is of necessity a most ungentlemanly affair. If there is occasion to fear violence and injustice, human society becomes something utterly different froth the society of gentlemen. I may, in fact, say that there is such a thing as a gentlemanly mission in' world-wide polities, and its purpose is to aim at removing fear of violence and injustice, wherever it may be, and at finding room for confidence between nations and countries. As things look today, the ideal of a gentle man is one of the most urgent needs in the world. Would it be possible for this British ideal to thrive without the closest and most extensive co-operation on the part of the British ?
* * * * The second of these ideals in which we outsiders perceive a particular manifestation of the English character is something puritanical, something which is expressed by a word such as honesty, or whatever you may care to call it., The English, more than any other nation in the world, judge things and actions according to whether they are fair, decent or, in fact, moral. More than any other people, you English cherish the firm belief that there is one morality and one distinction between good and evil which apply to all. - The French are more inclined to believe in universal reason and universal ideas, while you British believe in universal moral prin- ciples. In the somewhat dreary condition of the world today we feel the need for both these beliefs : we realize that nations cannot be united peacefully if they arc not provided with some common reason and common views of what is decent, just, righteous, human and moral ; if, for example, they are not capable in any circumstances of agreeing upon what constitutes violence, what consti- tutes an attack on human freedom and dignity, what constitutes gross and unjustified egoism and so forth.
• * * * The third British ideal, which has been more or less adopted by the • whole world, is democracy, not only democracy of institutions, in which France has an equal share, but also moral democracy, which consists of the personal freedom of each individual. As you know, this ancient and famous ideal of personal freedom, freedom of belief and conviction, is today denied or suppressed in a considerable part of Europe. With it is denied and suppressed also a portion of the British character which by the will of history has entered the development of mankind in general. Hence you must regard the present course of affairs as fateful to certain ideal English values ; it cannot be a matter of indifference to you what their fate will be, especially as the struggle is taking place before your very eyes. It would appear that this ideal of personal freedom clashes with another modern ideal which is called Power, and in the name of Power moral freedom is being relegated to the lumber room.
Well, then, this too is " England from the outside " ; for this phrase, " England from the outside," does not denote merely the thousand and one pleasant and unique memories of things which foreign wayfarers have seen in your country, but also this wider aspect of the question and the expectation which centres on England froth the countries beyond the Channel. The strongest impression which the foreign traveller takes With him from England is the certainty that England is, in good sooth, enor- mously English. Today much depends upon whether, in the domain of ideals and their realization, England will continue to be enormously and unswervingly English.
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