Introduction
Victorian essayist and historian Sir John Seeley urged his readers to think more about our ties of language, blood, culture and history with the countries of our loose and far-flung Empire, and less about ‘little England’ and her mere geographical proximity to Continental Europe.
WE seem to have conquered and peopled half the world in a fit of absence of mind.* While we were doing it, we did not allow it to affect our imaginations or in any degree to change our ways of thinking; nor have we even now ceased to think of ourselves as simply a race inhabiting an island off the northern coast of the Continent of Europe. If we are asked what the English population is, it does not occur to us to reckon-in the population of Canada and Australia.*
This fixed way of thinking has influenced our historians. It causes them, I think, to miss the true point of view in describing the eighteenth century. They do not perceive that in that century the history of England is not in England but in America and Asia. When we look at the present state of affairs, and still more at the future, we ought to beware of putting England alone in the foreground and suffering what we call the English possessions to escape our view in the background of the picture.
See also George Santayana’s view of The Englishman: “Instinctively the Englishman is no missionary, no conqueror... Never since the heroic days of Greece has the world had such a sweet, just, boyish master.” Not everyone liked this phrase, however. Rudyard Kipling rejected it quite firmly, reminding us that the pioneering colonists had a very clear purpose, which was to get away from the British Government. See Thus Was the Empire Born.
The population of the British Empire in 1900 was approximately 440 million. The United Kingdom (which still included what is now the Republic of Ireland) was about 40m, Australia 3.7m and Canada 5.3m. India stood at around 330m. Source: Wikipedia.
Précis
Victorian historian Sir John Seeley held that the British still thought of the nations of their Empire as ‘foreign’, and not as part of Britain. Consequently, he said, some historians failed to do justice to the importance of America and Asia in British history, and urged scholars and politicians alike to look beyond our own shores and the European Continent. (60 / 60 words)
Victorian historian Sir John Seeley held that the British still thought of the nations of their Empire as ‘foreign’, and not as part of Britain. Consequently, he said, some historians failed to do justice to the importance of America and Asia in British history, and urged scholars and politicians alike to look beyond our own shores and the European Continent.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, because, despite, must, or, ought, since, whether.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Historian. Possession. State.
2 I. Degree. Ourselves.
3 Ask. Doe. History.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Way. 2. Mind. 3. Influence. 4. Still. 5. Point. 6. Picture. 7. Race. 8. Escape. 9. History.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
rms (8+1)
armies. arms. aromas. rams. rims. roams. rooms. rums.
reams.
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