SPANISH CRUELTY AND BRITISH
By PROFESSOR L. W. LiDE It is a truth, too, which deserves some attention just now, if only because so many of our people have been profoundly shocked by the 'vindictive cruelty exhibited by both sides in the Spanish civil war. No one would dream of suggesting that they have not abundant justi- fication for feeling shocked, but many of their comments are a trifle self-righteous because they lack clear thinking. For they do not distinguish between the callous cruelty which has been associated, historically, with high latitudes (northwards from 50' N.), and the vindictive cruelty which has been typical of low latitudes (south- wards from 45° N.) ; and this failure to distinguish becomes more significant if we remember that, when we are speaking in terms of the controlling environment, it is more true to say that Africa begins with the Pyrenees than that Europe ends with the Atlas. And there is a further complication. For few of our people seem to' be conscious of the urban barbarism of our own environ- ment, and so the mass of us get many of our values wrong, especially of what is, or is hot, barbarism, e.g., in Italy or Abyssinia, in Spain or England.
The historic background in Spain presents one of the most remarkable contrasts in all European history— centuries of a splendid Semitic civilisation being followed by centuries of barbarous warfare, poisoned by a detest- able- Odium theologieum. Under the mie we see an aMiiirid'gigeant of things as 'wholly admirable as they were far in advance' Of their Age. Infanticide and suicide were alike ahhOst unknown ; the insane were given every kind of care, and were often cured ; and Women surgeons attended women for "delicate" operations.
In architecture and sanitation, in education and entertainment, in horticulture and commerce, in almost every other science and every other art' they were equally far ahead of the rest of Europe. They 'knew as Much as we do about twilight and refraction; streets were paved and properly lighted, the Roman main street through Cordova being lighted for ten miles 700 years before there was a single public street-lamp- in London ; and geography was taught from globes in free schools to children of both sexesagain, centuries be- fore others had stopped burning people .at-the stake for daring to assert that the earth was round /.
However rude and simple the Spanish folk seem, then, to- our machine-cursed and spoon-fed people, -their land had passed far beyond barbarism a millennium 'ago,, and enjoyed a civilisation which was in .many ways superior to our own, especially in all that we mean by cleanliness.
But these centuries of almost ideal civilisation were followed by centuries of malignant persecution. -Eight or nine years, even of revolution, must seem a- mere incident to people whose traditions include 800 years of continuous and most brutal civil- war ; and such an experience must have left indelible traces- on the -moral character and the political constitution of- the people.
Since A.D. 1492 the weak and the 'ignorant have-generally been helpless and hopeless victims of .political and ,ecele- siastical tyranny, without any penal. code from which they could get redress for proved wrongs or protection from probable violence. In the -absence of any such code the only weapon is private revenge working by vindictive cruelty. - Our constitutional position has been _very different. For ages we have -had a reasonably righteous penal code and reasonably easy access to that code ; and; as' most 0, us have thus been able to -get redress and -Protedion, have had little or no need for taking things into our crWil hands and wreaking' private vengeance. Our- cruelty has become almost Wholly 'of the callous type.
Unfortunately, with us the callous-has- been-associated with the sentimental, and sentimentality is a poison that is spreading very rapidly amongst dense and indus- trialised peoples. Like callousness, it is more Or less a natural product of a machine-cursed industrialism ; both reflect the " control " of the machine,. the one directly and the other indirectly. Of course, machinery gives a maximum of convenience, and -demands a minimum of effort. But it can teach, and does teach, only what it practises—a senseless repetition devoid of imagination and initiative ; its products have one outstanding feature, lifeless uniformity: • - • • And we are responding to -this environment by mechanical instead of organic adaptations, and are becoming standardised and petrified.- So :far from recognising something. precious in individuality—which does not mean just liberty to do whatever you like !—we are crushing it. We have, to a -great-extent, equality of opportunity, but hug the delusion - that equality of opportunity confers -equality of capacity ; • anyhow, equality can be manufactured more easily by discouraging higher types and variety than by - encouraging lower types and uniformity.
The obvious way to do this is by .makilig -life easier for the feeble, eliminating need for sustained and strenuous effort, discouraging competition. But any torpidity of mind must narrow outlook and lower.self-respect, and that must react adversely ; appetite Mid apprehension thrive at the expense of loyalty and level-headednos, Indeed, it is. clear already that we can coddle and cosset individuality, not only out of the human organism as a unit, but-also-seriatim out of its muscles and nerves and thoughts. The result is that we all look, think, talk, behave alike ; and, though this uniformity may make us naturally able to judge correctly the other peas in our pod, the lack of imagination and of initiative makes us unable to judge,other peoples in different environments.
But this standardisation is probably the most vital factor in the steady growth of callous cruelty. Except where this seems to have some obscure " racial " basis, it is based mainly on sheer lack of imagination, lack of the power and the wish to .realise and visualise the environment of the victims.
The link between the machine and the sentimentality is equally insidious.. Not only do we leave all unpleasant work to the machine, but we are also for ever demanding new machines to make the " pleasant " work still easier, still less like honest work, and so still less interesting. Unfortunately, too, we are apt to ignore the extent to which the machine encourages vanity and "cocksureness." The ease with which we can judge our "twin" peas blinds us to the fact that our- judgements are mechanical and only quantitative, or at least our qualitative judgements are apt to be childish. Of course, it is easier. to count heads than to analyse minds ; and counting is easy when we are herded in congested spots. .
Of course, too, herding is itself largely another result of machine development, and favours the extension of such development ; and, again, the quantitative is antago- nistic to the qualitative. For we have evolved a sad dread of solitude and silence—the two supreme joys of the .Spanish meseta, which is a semi-desert sanctuary for those who wish to escape from urbanisation.
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