AFTERWARDS
“Isle de St. Pierre,“Lac De Bienne,“Switzerland.“My Dear One:“I am writing to you from an island in the least known of the Swiss lakes, lying beneath the Jura. The island is the size of a small farm. It is crossed by a thickly-wooded ridge, and there are reed-grown marshes on one side, and on the other meadows and gardens and a homely inn. The inn has grown out of an older cottage or farmhouse, and certain rooms in the more ancient part of the building have become a place of local pilgrimage. On Sundays and holidays the workmen of the small neighbouring towns come here to drink and dance. But the foreign tourist is more rarely seen here, and the English tourist would most likely shun the spot if he had heard of it. For these rude quarters were the refuge, more than a hundred years ago, of a man who, more or less against his will, lit the great bonfire of the feudal system.“It was during one of those breaks in his life when, like Jonah of old, he seemed to be trying to flee from his allotted task, that Rousseau came and hid himselffor this little isle. But the feudal society craved for destruction, and, like all societies in that condition, it first bred its destroyer and then steadily goaded him to the work. The young Marat, from his home a few miles away, must have looked on while the prophet of the Revolution was being hunted out of this retreat by the Prussian police, and, as it were, ordered to resume his terrible apostolate.“If imagination were possible for public bodies, if gratitude were conceivable on the part of the Socialist democracy, this isle would not be turned into a restaurant for bank-holiday workmen. It would be made a fit memorial of Rousseau by being set apart for the benefit of his heirs. Every man of genius, driven like him into exile by poverty and love of freedom, would find here a retreat in which he could rest from the storms of the world. Or if stupidity were not the curse of gold, the millionaires themselves would raise a voluntary tax to build an alms-house for Rousseau and Marat, instead of flogging them on to the work of anarchy with the sharp goads of hunger and contempt.“I find that my brother’s unexpected death has made no difference in my feelings towards England, although I find it has made a great difference in the feeling of England towards me. My godfather, the Archbishop, has written to me in the most cordial spirit about my Church patronage, thanking me in advance for my gracious patronage of Christianity. He hints that I may play an important part in bringingthe Roman and Anglican communions closer together as the sole means of preserving society. But I do not want to preserve society. The Prime Minister’s letter of condolence also contains a hint that in a year or two, if I behave, I may succeed to the Home Secretaryship—I think he means all the Cabinet offices to become hereditary in course of time. But I am not going to behave. England expects every man to be a humbug, but she will be disappointed as far as I am concerned.“I recollect your father saying to me once that in many persons the infliction of pain on others—in extreme cases, even on themselves—gives rise to sensations of enjoyment which are actually akin to, and have their seat in the same region as, the sensations of physical lust. Thus the nuns who ill-use children in their orphanages, and the Puritans who gloat over the sufferings of profligate men and women, are really indulging in an unnatural form of profligacy. It is difficult to account on any other principle for what Anglo-Saxon races call their civilizing mission. It clearly has nothing to do with Christianity, because the only sins seriously denounced in the Gospel are love of money and hypocrisy, and those are the supreme Anglo-Saxon virtues. When we find a nation of swindlers bent on putting down polygamy in Utah, and a nation of pirates objecting to child-marriages in Hindustan, we are clearly face to face with some form of insanity. And it is becoming more difficult every day to escape out of the power of the maniacs.“Rousseau rendered greater services to the democracy of Europe and America than any one man who has ever lived. He is the author of the Declaration of Independence, and the author of universal suffrage. And yet if any follower of Rousseau attempted to set up a community to lead the life which Rousseau lived and advocated, anywhere within reach of that democracy, it would be put down by force. This isle is now the property of a hospital—of course, a hospital for the benefit of the democracy. I have written proposing to acquire the island and build on it a hospital for men of letters, and even that is more than democracy can tolerate; my letter has not been acknowledged. Switzerland is covered with sanatoriums for every kind of disease, but there is no sanatorium for genius. The Swiss are making millions a year out of Byron’s praises of their scenery; they grudge the smallest corner of their soil to be a home for other Byrons.“As far as I can see, there are only three or four countries which have still been spared a measure of freedom, and they will not retain it very long. The Puritans have been howling for the blood of the Turks for generations, and I doubt if their mutual jealousy will hold them back much longer from civilizing the whole of Islam. China has been spared for the moment, but it cannot be saved except on condition that it follows the Japanese example and becomes as greedy and bloodthirsty as the Christian Powers.“However, I shall now visit the countries that have not been annexed up to the present, and try to find some spot where it may be possible to set up a city of refuge. I will found a spiritual order like the old Knights of the Temple. Who knows that we may not be able to preserve one spot of the planet alike from the millionaire and the Socialist, the slave-driver and the slave?“In my monastery, dear Hero, there will be neither marrying nor giving in marriage, and none need declare himself man or woman unless he pleases. In all matters we shall strive to obtain freedom without disorder, and happiness without selfishness. We shall have many guests who will be refreshed and comforted, and sent upon their way, but only after long trial and approval will any be admitted to our Order. We shall have servants, whom we shall treat as brethren without calling them lay-brothers, and they will do their work, as we shall do ours.“Such are the thoughts and plans I wished to lay before you, but I dare not wish that you should make them yours. Doubtless you will consider them with kindness and with wisdom, and will tell me your decision.“I shall wait here another week for your answer before setting out for the East.”
“Isle de St. Pierre,“Lac De Bienne,“Switzerland.
“My Dear One:
“I am writing to you from an island in the least known of the Swiss lakes, lying beneath the Jura. The island is the size of a small farm. It is crossed by a thickly-wooded ridge, and there are reed-grown marshes on one side, and on the other meadows and gardens and a homely inn. The inn has grown out of an older cottage or farmhouse, and certain rooms in the more ancient part of the building have become a place of local pilgrimage. On Sundays and holidays the workmen of the small neighbouring towns come here to drink and dance. But the foreign tourist is more rarely seen here, and the English tourist would most likely shun the spot if he had heard of it. For these rude quarters were the refuge, more than a hundred years ago, of a man who, more or less against his will, lit the great bonfire of the feudal system.
“It was during one of those breaks in his life when, like Jonah of old, he seemed to be trying to flee from his allotted task, that Rousseau came and hid himselffor this little isle. But the feudal society craved for destruction, and, like all societies in that condition, it first bred its destroyer and then steadily goaded him to the work. The young Marat, from his home a few miles away, must have looked on while the prophet of the Revolution was being hunted out of this retreat by the Prussian police, and, as it were, ordered to resume his terrible apostolate.
“If imagination were possible for public bodies, if gratitude were conceivable on the part of the Socialist democracy, this isle would not be turned into a restaurant for bank-holiday workmen. It would be made a fit memorial of Rousseau by being set apart for the benefit of his heirs. Every man of genius, driven like him into exile by poverty and love of freedom, would find here a retreat in which he could rest from the storms of the world. Or if stupidity were not the curse of gold, the millionaires themselves would raise a voluntary tax to build an alms-house for Rousseau and Marat, instead of flogging them on to the work of anarchy with the sharp goads of hunger and contempt.
“I find that my brother’s unexpected death has made no difference in my feelings towards England, although I find it has made a great difference in the feeling of England towards me. My godfather, the Archbishop, has written to me in the most cordial spirit about my Church patronage, thanking me in advance for my gracious patronage of Christianity. He hints that I may play an important part in bringingthe Roman and Anglican communions closer together as the sole means of preserving society. But I do not want to preserve society. The Prime Minister’s letter of condolence also contains a hint that in a year or two, if I behave, I may succeed to the Home Secretaryship—I think he means all the Cabinet offices to become hereditary in course of time. But I am not going to behave. England expects every man to be a humbug, but she will be disappointed as far as I am concerned.
“I recollect your father saying to me once that in many persons the infliction of pain on others—in extreme cases, even on themselves—gives rise to sensations of enjoyment which are actually akin to, and have their seat in the same region as, the sensations of physical lust. Thus the nuns who ill-use children in their orphanages, and the Puritans who gloat over the sufferings of profligate men and women, are really indulging in an unnatural form of profligacy. It is difficult to account on any other principle for what Anglo-Saxon races call their civilizing mission. It clearly has nothing to do with Christianity, because the only sins seriously denounced in the Gospel are love of money and hypocrisy, and those are the supreme Anglo-Saxon virtues. When we find a nation of swindlers bent on putting down polygamy in Utah, and a nation of pirates objecting to child-marriages in Hindustan, we are clearly face to face with some form of insanity. And it is becoming more difficult every day to escape out of the power of the maniacs.
“Rousseau rendered greater services to the democracy of Europe and America than any one man who has ever lived. He is the author of the Declaration of Independence, and the author of universal suffrage. And yet if any follower of Rousseau attempted to set up a community to lead the life which Rousseau lived and advocated, anywhere within reach of that democracy, it would be put down by force. This isle is now the property of a hospital—of course, a hospital for the benefit of the democracy. I have written proposing to acquire the island and build on it a hospital for men of letters, and even that is more than democracy can tolerate; my letter has not been acknowledged. Switzerland is covered with sanatoriums for every kind of disease, but there is no sanatorium for genius. The Swiss are making millions a year out of Byron’s praises of their scenery; they grudge the smallest corner of their soil to be a home for other Byrons.
“As far as I can see, there are only three or four countries which have still been spared a measure of freedom, and they will not retain it very long. The Puritans have been howling for the blood of the Turks for generations, and I doubt if their mutual jealousy will hold them back much longer from civilizing the whole of Islam. China has been spared for the moment, but it cannot be saved except on condition that it follows the Japanese example and becomes as greedy and bloodthirsty as the Christian Powers.
“However, I shall now visit the countries that have not been annexed up to the present, and try to find some spot where it may be possible to set up a city of refuge. I will found a spiritual order like the old Knights of the Temple. Who knows that we may not be able to preserve one spot of the planet alike from the millionaire and the Socialist, the slave-driver and the slave?
“In my monastery, dear Hero, there will be neither marrying nor giving in marriage, and none need declare himself man or woman unless he pleases. In all matters we shall strive to obtain freedom without disorder, and happiness without selfishness. We shall have many guests who will be refreshed and comforted, and sent upon their way, but only after long trial and approval will any be admitted to our Order. We shall have servants, whom we shall treat as brethren without calling them lay-brothers, and they will do their work, as we shall do ours.
“Such are the thoughts and plans I wished to lay before you, but I dare not wish that you should make them yours. Doubtless you will consider them with kindness and with wisdom, and will tell me your decision.
“I shall wait here another week for your answer before setting out for the East.”