The Source of Civilisation
Diplomat William Eton warns his fellow Englishmen that shutting down debate does not make for a more united society.
1798
Diplomat William Eton warns his fellow Englishmen that shutting down debate does not make for a more united society.
1798
In 1798, diplomat William Eton published some observations on life in the Ottoman Empire. He warned readers back home that no society can be made harmonious by silencing dissenting voices; in such societies loneliness, drug abuse and distrust spiral out of control, sneering passes for debate, and only fashionably coarse comedians are allowed to raise a laugh.
A FREE people are a social people, fond of friendly intercourse. Cheerful converse and unreserved communication of sentiment soften the nature, refine the manners, expand the heart, and enlarge the understanding. Freedom of speaking and acting is the source of civilisation.
A nation of slaves is a nation disunited; no social ties, no unbosoming of friendship; suspicion and fear is in every breast; conversation is uninteresting, and consequently not sought after; hired buffoons and low jesters are the speakers to the gloomy audience, or they sit in sad and stupid solitude, smoking a narcotic herb, or taking lethargic opium; insulting haughtiness and ridiculous pomp take the place of that elevation of sentiment, and dignity of character, which alone exalts the man of high birth or office above his fellow citizen; disgust and gloom hang over their countenances, and innocent mirth is deemed indecent.
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.