,digital ,library47                     
,,the ,,new ,,teaching ,,of ,,history   
,with a ,reply to some ,recent          
,criticisms of ,the ,outline of ,history
                                        
,by                               ,h4   
,g4 ,,wells                             
,cassell and ,company1 ,ltd             
,london1 ,new ,york1 ,toronto and       
,melbourne                              
#aiba                         ,copyright
 in ,u4,s4,a4--,h4 ,g4 ,w4              
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,the ,new ,teaching of ,history         
,with a ,reply to some ,recent          
,criticisms of ,the ,outline of ,history
                                        
#a                  ,,historians ,,and  
,,the ,,teaching ,,of ,,history   ,for  
the better part of three years the      
writer of these notes has been occupied 
almost entirely in an intensely         
interesting enterprise4 ,he has been    
getting his own ideas about the general 

process of history into order and he has
 been setting them down1 having them    
checked by various people1 and          
publishing them as a book1 ,the ,outline
 of ,history1 which both in ,america and
 ,europe has had a considerable vogue4  
,in volumes or in complete sets of parts
 it has already found over two hundred  
thousand purchasers2 it is still being  
bought in considerable quantities1 and  
it is being translated and published in 
several foreign languages2 it is quite  
possible that it has sufficiently       
interested almost as many people to read
 it through as it has found purchasers  
to take the easier step of buying it4   
,this ,outline of ,history did not by   
any means contain all the history the   
writer himself would like to know or    
ought to know1 and much less did it     
profess to condense all history for its 
readers4 ,but it did attempt to sketch a
 framework1 which people might have in  
common1 and into which everyone might   
fit his own particular reading and      

historical interests4 ,it did try to    
give all history as one story4 ,and the 
largeness of the measure of its success 
is certainly much more due to the       
widespread desire for such an ,outline  
than to any particular merit of the     
particular ,outline the writer produced4
 ,so far as reception goes1 almost any  
enterprising person might have succeeded
 as the writer has succeeded4 ,he was1  
as people say1 8meeting a long-felt     
want40 ,but his years of work in meeting
 it have necessarily made him something 
of a specialist in historical           
generalities1 and the adventure of      
making and spreading the ,outline abroad
 has been full of interesting and       
suggestive experiences4 ,some of the    
criticism to which the ,outline has been
 subjected affords an opportunity for   
profitable comment4 ,to 8answer0 all its
 critics would be a preposterously      
self-important thing to do1 but1 from   
the point of view of our general        
education1 some of them do repay        

examination4 ,and accordingly he is     
setting down these present notes to the 
,outline2 partly comments upon the      
educational significance of its general 
reception and partly a consideration of 
the mental attitudes1 the moral and     
intellectual pose1 into which it has    
thrown certain of its critics4  ,a most 
fruitful question the writer found was  
this3 8,why was it left for me in #aiah 
to undertake this task80 ,there has been
 a need of some such general account of 
man's story in the universe for many    
years4 ,such an account is surely a     
necessary part of any properly conceived
 education4 ,one might almost say it was
 the most necessary part4 ,for why do we
 teach history to our children8 ,to take
 them out of themselves1 to place them  
in a conscious relationship to the whole
 community in which they live1 to make  
them realise themselves as actors and   
authors in a great drama which began    
long before they were born and which    
opens out to issues far transcending any

 personal ends in their interest and    
importance4 ,and it is a commonplace to 
say that in the last century or so the  
sphere of human interest has widened out
 with marvellous rapidity until it      
comprehends the whole world4            
,economically1 intellectually1 and in   
many other ways the world becomes one   
community4 ,but1 while there has been   
this enormous enlargement of human      
interests1 there has been1 if anything1 
a narrowing down of the scope of        
historical teaching4 ,if the reader will
 look into the sort of history that is  
taught in schools to-day and compare it 
with the yellow old books of our        
great-grandfathers1 he will find rather 
a shrinkage towards the intensive study 
of particular periods and phases of     
history than an extension to meet the   
more extensive needs of a new age4      
,this is a curious result1 but it is not
 a very difficult one to understand4    
,something of the same sort of narrowing
 down from broad views to closer and    

more detailed study went on for a time  
also in the teaching of science4 ,in    
both cases the narrowing down can be    
ascribed to the same cause1 to the      
growing accumulation1 refinement and    
elaboration of detailed knowledge1 and  
to the increasing numbers and the       
consequent increased division in labour 
and specialisation1 of the original     
workers in the two fields4 ,in the field
 of physical science particularly1 and  
also in the field of biological science 
to a lesser degree1 an extensive        
revision of fundamental conceptions has 
largely corrected this tendency towards 
narrow and specialised attention1 but   
there has not been the same recasting of
 fundamentals in historical study4 ,and 
the teaching of history in schools has  
followed the movement of the student of 
history towards concentration and not   
the needs of the common citizen towards 
ampler views1 because there has never   
yet been a proper recognition of the    
difference in aim between study for     

knowledge1 the historical study of the  
elect1 on the one hand1 and teaching1   
the general education of the citizen for
 the good not only of the citizen but of
 the community1 on the other4 ,but these
 are divergent aims4 ,the former is a   
deep and penetrating pursuit of truth2  
the latter a common instruction and     
discipline in broad ideas and the       
general purpose4 ,the material may be   
the same1 the science of physics1       
biology or history as the case may be1  
but the method of treatment may be      
widely different in the two cases4      
,education is really one of the newest  
of the arts and sciences4 ,the idea of  
particular1 exceptional people pursuing 
learning has been familiar to the world 
for scores of centuries1 but the idea of
 preparing the minds of whole classes or
 whole communities for co-operations and
 common actions by a training in common 
ideas is comparatively a new one4 ,the  
idea of education as learning still     
dominates us1 and so it is that while we

 have numbers of teachers of history who
 are or who attempt to be1 or who pose  
as historians who teach1 we have        
comparatively few teachers of history   
who are teachers whose instrument is    
history4 ,in relation to the science of 
history1 and indeed to all the sciences1
 the importance of teacher as teacher is
 still insufficiently recognised4  ,now 
the virtues required of the historian as
 of the specialist in any other science 
are extreme accuracy1 fulness1 delicacy 
and discrimination within the department
 of his work4 ,he is usually not        
concerned with a philosophical review of
 the whole field of his science and very
 chary of invading any unfamiliar       
provinces of his subject1 because of the
 great risks he will run there of       
making1 if not positive blunders1 at    
least incomplete statements4 ,the       
specialists will catch him out1 and     
though the point may be an utterly      
trivial one1 he will have been caught   
out1 and that discredits the historian  

excessively4 ,but the teacher's concern 
is primarily with the taught and with   
giving them a view of their universe as 
a whole4 ,it is only after undergoing   
such comprehensive teaching that a      
student should be handed over to learn1 
by example and participation in some    
definite specialisation of study1 the   
finer precisions4  ,the modern community
 has yet to develop a type of teacher   
with the freedom and leisure to make a  
thorough and continuous study of        
contemporary historical and other       
scientific knowledge in order to use    
these accumulations to the best effect  
in general education4 ,because this is  
work for teachers and not for           
historians4 ,the insufficient number of 
teachers we maintain are kept closely to
 the grindstone of actual lesson-giving4
 ,perhaps a time will come when1 over   
and above the professors and teachers   
actively in contact with pupils and     
classes1 there will be a considerable   
organisation of educationists whose work

 will be this intermediate selection and
 preparation of knowledge for           
educational purposes4 ,but in ,britain  
at any rate there are no signs of any   
development of this broader1 more       
philosophical grade of teacher4 ,the    
,british universities have no philosophy
 of education and hardly any idea of an 
educational duty to the community as a  
whole4 ,at the ,reformation they became1
 and they have remained to this day1    
meanly and timidly aristocratic in      
spirit4 ,the typical ,british university
 don has little of the spirit that would
 tolerate and help these master teachers
 we need4 ,he would not suffer them2 he 
would be jealous of them and spiteful   
towards them4 ,such master teachers may 
be appearing in the ,united ,states of  
,america or in some foreign country2 in 
,america1 for example1 such teachers of 
history as ,professors ,breasted1 ,john 
,harvey ,robinson and ,hutton ,webster  
seem to be doing interpretative work in 
history of a very original and useful   

type4 ,given a class of such educational
 scholars able to sustain an intelligent
 criticism and to co-operate generously 
and intelligently1 one can imagine the  
kind of ,outline of ,history that would 
be possible1 simple1 clear1 accurate1   
without fussy pedantries and beautifully
 proportioned and right4 ,but that class
 does not exist1 and that perfect       
,outline is at present impossible4 ,so  
far from sneering at the writer's brief 
year or so of special reading and at    
such superficialities and inadequacies  
as ,the ,outline of ,history may betray 
7and does betray71 it would rather      
become the teacher of history to realise
 how much better it is than anything the
 teaching organisation of which he is a 
part deserved4 ,it is not that the      
writer has stepped into the field of    
popular history teaching and done       
something impertinently and roughly that
 would otherwise have been done well4   
,it is that he has stepped in and done  
something urgently necessary that would 

not otherwise have been done at all4    
,the ,outline of ,history takes the form
 of a story of mankind for popular      
reading4 ,but that is only its first    
form4 ,it is intended to be the basis1  
it is presented as a scheme1 of         
elementary historical teaching          
throughout the world4 ,it was written to
 help oust such teaching of history as  
one still finds going on in ,england--of
 the history of ,england from #ajff to  
the death of ,queen ,anne1 for example1 
without reference to any remoter past or
 to the present or to any exterior      
world--for ever from the schools4 ,the  
,outline of ,history may presently be   
superseded in that work of replacement  
by some better ,outline4 ,but the writer
 has taken no risks in that matter2 if  
no other and better ,outline appears1   
his ,outline will go on being revised   
and repolished and republished4 ,its    
critics may rest assured that nothing   
but a better ,outline will put an end to
 its career4 ,he has written and issued 

it in such a fashion that it can benefit
 by every critical comment4 ,it was     
first issued in monthly parts whose     
covers1 erring at times in the direction
 of the gorgeous1 brightened the        
bookstalls for a year4 ,these parts were
 closely scrutinised by numerous        
readers1 and a considerable amount of   
detail was amended and improved by their
 suggestions4 ,then it was completely   
reset and issued in book form1 and in   
that form it has been very extensively  
reviewed4 ,the writer keeps files of all
 the criticisms and suggestions         
received1 and the text of the book is   
periodically checked and modified in    
accordance with these comments4 ,in     
three or four years' time it will be    
possible to make a fresh issue in parts1
 and this again will be followed up by  
what will be a real fourth edition4 ,by 
that time the amount of slips and errors
 will probably be reduced to very slight
 proportions indeed4  ,on the whole the 
,outline1 as an ,outline1 has stood the 

fire of criticism and the silent        
judgments of reconsideration very well4 
,in the next edition it will be still   
essentially the same ,outline4          
,naturally1 in a copious work of this   
kind1 there are many phrases1 loose or  
weak or indiscreet or unjust1 that jar  
on the writer as he re-reads what he has
 written1 and which need to be pruned   
and altered4 ,certain clumsiness of     
construction will be corrected2 the     
account of the ,aryan-speaking peoples  
comes too early in the present edition  
for perfect lucidity and it will be     
moved to a later chapter1 and the       
account of the rise of the ,dutch       
,republic will be put in its proper     
chronological order before the account  
of the ,english commonweal4 ,the chapter
 upon the changes in the earth's climate
 seems to be a little heavy for many    
readers and may perhaps be taken out1   
and the work that is now being done by  
,rivers1 ,elliot ,smith and their       
associates upon the opening cultural    

phases from which the first             
civilisations arose and the application 
of the results of psycho-analysis to    
human history1 may soon make it possible
 to rewrite the account of the stone    
ages in a much fuller and clearer1 more 
assured and less speculative fashion4   
,in one or two places a proliferation of
 controversial footnotes has led to a   
distortion that calls for reduction2 the
 dispute about the education of ,mr4    
,gladstone1 for example4 ,perhaps1 too1 
the next year or so may supply material 
that will qualify the account of the    
negotiations and temporary settlements  
of the period of the ,paris ,conference4
 ,these are the chief changes probable2 
the larger part of the ,outline1 its    
main masses and dominant lines1 will    
stand just as it did in the first       
published parts4  ,hardly any critics of
 the ,outline have objected to the idea 
of dealing with history as one whole1 or
 challenged the possibility of teaching 
history in so comprehensive a fashion4  

,that is all to the good4 ,it was only  
to be expected that many reviewers would
 sneer a little at the idea of novelist 
turned historian1 talk of superficiality
 and hint at inaccuracies and errors    
they had neither the industry nor the   
ability to detect4 ,they would have done
 that if the ,outline had been          
absolutely faultless4 ,as a matter of   
fact1 and thanks very largely to the    
keen editorial eye of ,mr4 ,ernest      
,barker--for the writer himself is      
sometimes a very careless writer--the   
number of positive inaccuracies and     
errors that appeared even in the        
earliest issue of the ,outline was very 
small2 most of them were set right in a 
list of errata at the end of that       
edition1 and there was another still    
closer pruning before the publication of
 the second1 the book edition4 ,but     
among the cultivated gentlemen who 8do0 
the book notices in the provincial      
,press more particularly1 there was a   
disposition to qualify their approval by

 a condescending reference to slips and 
mistakes which they imagined must be    
there4 ,within the limit set by the law 
of libel one can have no objection to   
this sort of thing1 which gives a tone  
of leisured knowledge to the most       
hastily written review4  ,two or three  
critics will repay a rather fuller      
attention4 ,one of these is ,mr4 ,a4 ,w4
 ,gomme1 who teaches ,greek in the      
,university of ,glasgow4 ,he has        
published a little pamphlet called ,mr4 
,wells as ,historian1#a and in this a   
considerable amount of the hostility    
against the ,outline1 that certainly    
smoulders and mutters among classical   
teachers in our schools1 comes into the 
light and is available for examination4 
,then ,mr4 ,belloc and ,dr4 ,downey1 the
 latter in a pamphlet called ,some      
,errors of ,mr4 ,wells1 develop a case  
against the ,outline from the ,roman    
,catholic point of view4 ,that1 too1    
calls for serious consideration4 ,but   
with the ,irish critics who complain    

that ,ireland is not represented as a   
dominant force in the ,european         
civilisation of the early ,middle ,ages1
 and the ,marxists who have detected    
heretical divergencies from the         
teachings of ,marx 7,engels7 the ,first 
and the ,last and the ,only1 the ,wisdom
 of the ,ages and the ,source of all    
,light1 ,i cannot deal now4 ,the        
national consciousness of ,ireland is   
too tragically inflamed to tolerate any 
drawing of ,irish history to the scale  
of the world's affairs1 a scale which   
makes it a mere point of irritation in  
the hide of the present ,british        
,empire1 itself the mushroom growth     
chiefly of the last hundred years4 ,some
 sentences and phrases in the ,outline1 
coloured by the writer's intense dislike
 for the extreme nationalism of ,sinn   
,fein1 are unjust to ,ireland and will  
need modification4 ,but the ,marxist1   
like the ,moslem1 makes his prophet the 
criterion not only of truth but of moral
 intention4 ,there is no compromise     

possible with him4  ,footnote #a3       
,mr4 ,wells as ,historian4 ,by ,a4 ,w4  
,gomme4 ,glasgow3 ,mac,lehose1 ,jackson 
,co4 #aiba4  ,the small amount of space 
given to ,abraham ,lincoln and to       
,mazzini and one or two other such      
figures has also been a matter for      
criticism4 ,when the time comes to      
revise the text ,i think that criticism 
will have to be considered4 ,mazzini is 
probably a better figure than ,gladstone
 as a centre for the discussion of      
,nationalism in modern ,europe--if      
indeed that is to be discussed about any
 particular figure4 ,it is also a valid 
criticism from a ,chinese reader that   
the history of ,china is far too brief  
in comparison with the history of the   
,western world4 ,the ,outline contains  
no account of its philosophies and      
little of the struggle between the more 
nomadic north and the more agricultural 
south which runs so parallel with the   
,european and ,western ,asiatic story4  
,but1 brief as the space devoted to     

,china in the ,outline is1 it is better 
than nothing1 and ,i have given as much 
as either the existing analysis of      
,chinese history available for an       
,english writer permits or the          
prepossessions of ,western readers will 
allow4 ,the ,west is learning with      
extreme reluctance the share of ,china  
in human history4                       
#b                     ,a ,,voice ,,from
 ,,the ,,classical ,,side   ,the feud   
which finds expression in ,mr4 ,a4 ,w4  
,gomme's pamphlet is one of much older  
origin than the publication of ,the     
,outline of ,history4 ,mr4 ,gomme is a  
teacher of the ,greek language1 and it  
is thirty years and more since ,i first 
attacked the imposture of the ,greek    
teaching in our public schools4 ,long   
before ,i sank below the possibility of 
serious consideration by my             
fellow-countrymen by becoming a         
novelist1 ,i was a writer upon          
education2 and many of the novels ,i    
have written1 since1 like most novels   

from the ,book of ,tobit onward1 they   
tell the story of youth going out into  
the world1 have reflected strongly on   
education4 ,the 8classical0 master1 who 
uses up the time of our boys in his     
devious and wonderful exercises1 is     
generally a very poor ,grecian himself1 
and he rarely produces a working        
knowledge of ,greek in his victims4 ,he 
uses up time1 space and endowment in his
 futilities1 and so he stands in the way
 of a proper development of lower form  
work leading up to the ,modern ,side4   
,the classical interests are still very 
strong in the ,universities1 they are a 
bar to the proper education of the      
,british ,civil ,service and so a       
world-wide nuisance1 and as a patriot1 a
 parent and a schoolmaster ,i have raged
 against them4 ,it was almost more than 
,i could have hoped for1 in that        
long-standing quarrel1 that ,mr4 ,gomme 
should have done up his extraordinary   
ideas and limitations into the neat     
packet of this pamphlet and so placed   

himself1 a sample of the scholastic     
classic1 in my hands4  ,but he has done 
it1 and here he is1 and we can see for  
ourselves how the classical side can    
criticise a book and what it thinks of  
the teaching of history4  ,and first we 
may note how swift and supple is the    
mind that has ,greek grammar for its    
sustenance4 ,it is not necessary for a  
classical scholar to read either the    
beginning or the end of the work with   
which he deals4 ,it is not necessary to 
comprehend its aim and scope4 ,he just  
takes up the part dealing with his      
classical knowledge--which is indeed the
 only knowledge that matters--and looks 
for mistakes or1 what are really worse  
than mistakes1 things he does not       
understand and opinions he does not     
share4 ,and then he writes 8,indeed60 or
 repeats a sentence with a note of      
interrogation and a grand air of        
refutation4 ,if ,mr4 ,gomme has looked  
at all at the end of ,the ,outline of   
,history it was1 ,i believe1 to consult 

the list of errata and make sure that   
nothing in the way of a misspelling1 a  
wrong date or misplaced title had been  
overlooked4 ,because he gives no quarter
 in that respect4 ,he is determined to  
make the worst of things4 ,he has just  
nosed through the few parts that matter 
to him1 he has scored it heavily with   
pencil2 one can almost see his notes of 
exclamation1 his 8,no60 his 8,did he    
not80 in the margin1 and then he has    
written up these marginal comments and  
rushed into print with them4 ,his aim   
was to accumulate as much apparent error
 as he could to discredit ,the ,outline 
of ,history1 and he has industriously   
done his best4  ,this close-reading     
method of ,mr4 ,gomme has made him1 ,i  
hope1 one of the most unteachable       
readers that the ,outline has had4 ,i   
cannot complain of his failure to grasp 
the importance of print to the human    
mind and its bearing upon the political 
future of our race1 nor of his foolish  
footnote on that matter 7p4 #he71       

because these are novel ideas for his   
type and his type is incapable of novel 
ideas2 nor will ,i complain of the      
invincible ignorance of ethnology he has
 preserved1 in spite of the clear and   
simple chapter ,i have given1 but ,i do 
find it disappointing that he should    
repeat the vulgar error that the ,roman 
,empire at the height of its power      
8united most of the known world40 ,i    
have been at particular pains in the    
,outline to dispel this preposterous    
idea1 so misleading and now so dangerous
 to ,europeans4 ,i have not merely      
stated the facts1 but given a special   
map which ,i had imagined would bring   
home to the weakest intelligence the    
fact that1 contemporary with this ,roman
 ,empire1 there was in ,asia an ,empire 
greater in extent1 better organised 7as 
its drive against the ,huns shows71 and 
in very many respects more civilised4   
,but manifestly ,i had not reckoned with
 ,mr4 ,gomme4 ,he took up the ,outline  
not to learn1 but to carp2 and he has   

learnt nothing4  ,in order to get       
together this little heap of his--and   
with all his industry it is not a very  
crushing heap--of mistakes and          
pseudo-mistakes1 ,mr4 ,gomme has        
resorted to the oddest expedients4 ,he  
pretends to be unaware that there has   
been any revision whatever of ,the      
,outline of ,history4 ,he has taken the 
first unrevised part issue as if it were
 the latest text1 and he has avoided any
 comparison with the later book edition4
 ,this may be mere laziness or the      
mental slovenliness that makes one      
edition seem as good as another to an   
ill-trained mind4 ,but it does enable   
,mr4 ,gomme to swell out his list of    
charges with perhaps a dozen little     
things that stand corrected in the      
current edition4 ,and1 in addition1 it  
gives him the extra illustrations with  
which the part issue was adorned by the 
publisher4 ,he is either so ignorant as 
to think1 or so warped by the spirit of 
controversy as to pretend to think1 that

 ,i am responsible for these extra      
illustrations1 that ,i have chosen them 
myself and written the inscriptions     
underneath them4 ,with these extra      
illustrations1 and very good            
illustrations they are for the most part
 though they have no place in the       
definite edition now before the public1 
and with the occasionally rather gaudy  
covers ,messrs4 ,newnes used1 he makes  
great play in his earnest endeavour to  
pile up a case for inaccuracy against   
me4 ,why he does not go on to suppose ,i
 wrote the advertisements of infant     
foods and condiments that brightened the
 cover-backs and treat these too as an  
integral part of ,the ,outline of       
,history and comment on the gross       
materialism that inspired them1 ,i am at
 a loss to imagine4 ,i must suppose that
 ,god has set limits even to the mental 
possibilities of ,mr4 ,gomme4 ,or       
possibly ,mr4 ,gomme overlooked this    
controversial opportunity4  ,there is a 
quality in ,mr4 ,gomme's manner of      

attack on these extra illustrations that
 makes me feel a curious sympathy with  
the brighter members of his ,greek      
classes at ,glasgow4 8,some of the      
illustrations are queerly chosen10 he   
remarks4 ,he notes my comment inserted  
at the eleventh hour on one unavoidable 
picture4 8,this is a photograph of a    
model restoration of ,solomon's temple4 
,it is a very exaggerated and glorified 
restoration4 ,the only justifiable thing
 in it is the central temple4 ,all the  
splendid galleries round it are         
imaginary4 ,the true walls were probably
 rough piled stone40 ,he can quote this 
and never recognise the tale it tells so
 plainly4 8,then why10 he asks with real
 or affected imbecility1 8does he give  
it80 ,to which ,i suppose the only      
possible answer is to say1 with a       
dreadful calm1 8,i didn't give it40     
,one illustration after another is      
assailed in much the same manner1 with  
the same dense disregard of the manifest
 facts of the case4 ,i am even blamed   

because an earthquake has damaged one of
 the temples shown1 and to crown all1   
the legend put to one of the coloured   
plates by one of ,messrs4 ,newnes' staff
 is quoted as a sample of the 8affected 
simplicity0 of my style4  ,in addition  
to the charges of ignorance and so forth
 which ,mr4 ,gomme has based on my list 
of errata1 and on his pretence that ,i  
chose1 designed and arranged the extra  
illustrations inserted by ,messrs4      
,newnes in their part issue1 ,mr4 ,gomme
 has got together a third set of        
objections by misunderstanding the      
,english language4 ,here1 for           
instance--,i put it in ,italics--is an  
almost incredible comment4 ,sometimes1  
he says1 my 8reasoning is merely comic4 
#8,finally ,alexander set aside ten     
thousand talents 7a talent  #bdj7 for a 
tomb4 ,in those days this was an        
enormous sum4' ,as if it were now a     
common custom1 a very usual thing1 to   
spend two and a half million pounds on  
the interment of a friend40 ,you see    

,mr4 ,gomme has contrived to think that 
the words of mine he quotes are some    
sort of 8reasoning0 and that the words  
8for a funeral0 follow 8enormous sum40  
,but they don't4 ,this is but one       
instance of a number of equally         
pointless comments with which ,mr4      
,gomme swells the heap of his           
8corrections40  ,after these three sorts
 of objection have been cleaned up--that
 is to say1 the errata already put right
 in the book edition1 the minor flaws of
 the discarded ,newnes                  
illustrations--and all things considered
 the ,newnes extra illustrations were   
very well done--and petty quibbles like 
the one ,i have just quoted1 very little
 remains of the list of errors ,mr4     
,gomme so valiantly pretends to detect1 
a list some friend of his writing in    
,the ,aberdeen ,journal1 the sort of    
friend who gets a newspaper into        
trouble1 describes as 8,hundreds of     
mistakes40 ,mr4 ,gomme scores1 ,i will  
admit1 upon two points which shall be   

set right in the next edition2 one is   
that by carelessness of phrasing ,i seem
 to lay too much stress upon the        
importance and size of ,athens in my    
,greek chapter--,i do not note the scale
 of such cities as ,corinth and         
,syracuse1 nor do proper justice to the 
philosophical and artistic contributions
 of ,magna ,graecia and the ,greek      
cities of ,asia to the ,greek ensemble2 
it is really little more than a laxity  
of wording2 and the other is that there 
is an inaccurate historical             
generalisation about the opposite shores
 of the ,mediterranean inserted in the  
opening of the account of the ,punic    
wars4 ,that generalisation ,i did not   
make2 it was written upon my galley     
proofs by a friend1 and ,i let it pass2 
,i did not properly examine its         
implications4 ,there1 at any rate1 ,i   
profit by ,mr4 ,gomme4 ,the rest of his 
criticisms consist chiefly of a string  
of remarks round and about ,homer1 a    
display of ignorance about ethnology1   

with both of which issues ,i will deal  
in order immediately1 and a discussion  
of the meaning of democracy which is so 
entirely incoherent that no human being 
could deal with it anyhow4 ,finally1    
abandoning his critical efforts         
altogether1 ,mr4 ,gomme gives us a new  
theory of the origin of ,christianity as
 a purely ,european religion1 and       
concludes with his own version of       
history in a passage of great           
distinction4  ,incidentally1 as the end 
draws on and his inglorious pile of sham
 errors and faked-up accusations mounts1
 his courage grows with it and he begins
 to scold4 ,he heartens himself with his
 scolding1 and scolds more boldly until 
he gets to 8ignorance10 8vague and      
unscientific10 8by nature unfitted for  
an appreciation of ,greece10 8no        
enquiry10 8no judgment10 8careless of   
the truth10 8blind to important things  
and ready with the irrelevant10 and so  
on and so on1 and what1 coming from him1
 is really a great lark1 he launches out

 at last into a disquisition on style4  
,i use a broken form of sentence with   
four full stops when it is unnecessary  
to round off a statement1 and this it   
seems is 8not in ,aristotle40 ,it is1   
however1 in ,english1 and ,i have helped
 to put it there4 ,but we will leave    
that question of style to the end4      
,upon the matter of ,homer ,mr4 ,gomme  
is very strong4 ,his remarks aim not    
only at myself1 but over and beyond me  
at my friend ,professor ,gilbert        
,murray4 ,there seems to be some        
hostility1 of which ,i know nothing1    
between ,greek teachers and ,greek      
scholars4 ,i should imagine that in the 
happy little circle at ,glasgow which is
 being led up to the ,true1 the         
,beautiful and the ,good1 through the   
,greek accidence and syntax1 by ,mr4    
,gomme1 ,professor ,gilbert ,murray     
comes in at times for some vigorous     
treatment4 ,unless1 indeed1 ,i have     
ousted him as the stock victim1 now that
 ,mr4 ,gomme has to tell his tale of the

 marvellous heap of errors he found in  
,the ,outline of ,history and how he up 
and slew that book4 ,i follow ,professor
 ,murray in disbelieving that ,homer was
 one single individual4 ,but ,mr4 ,gomme
 knows that he was one--to use his own  
clear-cut ,greek phrase--8immortal      
bard40 ,he does not say how it is that  
he knows this4 ,he just knows it1 he    
proclaims it1 and the opposite view is  
8nonsense40 ,but if he were capable of  
understanding imaginative quality and   
differences in inventive method and     
artistic construction1 he would have    
some glimmering of the reason why men of
 some creative experience deny the      
common authorship of the two ,greek     
epics ascribed to ,homer4 7,of course1  
,mr4 ,gomme falls foul of an            
illustration in the ,newnes edition of  
the head of ,homer at this point1 and   
drags the thing into the discussion4 ,if
 there was no ,homer1 why did ,i give a 
portrait of ,homer8 ,exactly4 ,why did  
,i87 ,the ,iliad1 ,i said1 was one of   

the most interesting and informing of   
the prehistoric compositions of the     
,aryans4 ,mr4 ,gomme throws a kind of   
fit at this4 ,he shrieks into ,italics4 
,one of1 interesting1 informing1        
prehistoric1 composition1 ,aryan6 ,to   
which ,i can only reply1 slowly and     
solemnly1 8,exactly--one                
of--interesting--informing--prehistoric-
-composition--,aryan40 ,mr4 ,gomme does 
not elucidate his ,italics4 ,this is    
almost as good controversy as making    
faces4 ,also this cry is wrung from him4
 8,it would be interesting to see the   
answer of a man who knew nothing of     
,greece but what he had learnt from this
 ,outline to the question of #8,what do 
you know of ,homer8'0 8,no such person10
 ,i suppose1 or 8another bard of the    
same name10 or some such compact reply4 
,it would be still more interesting to  
have ,mr4 ,gomme replying to the same   
question4 ,the ,outline is written now1 
but ,mr4 ,gomme might yet distinguish   
himself by a popular ,life of ,homer    

with chapters on his early life1 his    
domestic troubles1 his dietary1 his dogs
 and so forth1 and of course with model 
examination questions and answers at the
 end4  ,mr4 ,gomme makes much play with 
his remarkably complete ignorance of    
ethnology4 ,it is really too much that  
,i should be 8slated0 for anything in my
 ,outline that ,mr4 ,gomme does not know
 or understand4 ,judgment by ,mr4       
,gomme's default would go against me on 
a thousand issues4 ,he muddles up       
8,aryan10 which is the name of a        
language group1 with 8,mediterranean    
race10 which is the name of a racial    
group1 and gets into a fine muddle with 
the word 8,nordic40 ,and the deeper he  
gets into the muddle the crosser he gets
 with me4 8,this ugly word does not seem
 to mean anything other than            
#8,northern'0 he writes2 but1 of course1
 if it did not1 as any undergraduate in 
science at ,glasgow would explain to    
him1 then scientific people would use   
the word 8,northern0 and not a special  

term4 ,amidst 8,nordic10 a race name1   
8,germanic10 a national adjective1      
8,aryan10 a language name1 ,mr4 ,gomme  
rolls like a puppy in a ball of wool1   
losing his temper more and more4 ,there 
are indications of a suspicion that the 
whole of this ethnology is wicked       
,german propaganda4 ,mr4 ,gomme probably
 believes that the blue eyes so         
prevalent in ,northern ,europe are      
,german propaganda organs4 ,i am no     
scholastic ,hercules to clean up the    
mind of ,mr4 ,gomme4 ,i note these      
matters merely to make it plain that    
much of this pamphlet with its air of   
heaping up a list of 8errors0 is really 
no more than the violent expression of  
,mr4 ,gomme's eccentric dissent from    
views that have passed muster with the  
generality of sound scholars4  ,i have  
neither time nor space here to deal with
 ,mr4 ,gomme's original view that       
,christianity is a 8purely ,european0   
religion4 ,one can best return him his  
8,nonsense60 and let the stuff go with  

that4 ,i have already noted his utter   
unteachableness about the universality  
of the ,roman ,empire4 ,his avoidance of
 instruction in the history of the      
,christian religion is1 if possible1    
more complete4 ,let me come now to his  
conclusion4 ,he declares1 which is      
totally untrue1 that it is 8one of ,mr4 
,wells' curious theories0 that          
8primitive men are in all ways inferior 
to their successors40 7,i point out the 
exact contrary in relation to the       
artistic achievements of ,palolithic and
 ,neolithic men47 ,and then1 just to    
show how these things could be done1 he 
floats away into this sublime specimen  
of classical-side prose3--    8,but a   
saner view of history suggests that it  
is not a story of   mankind climbing one
 single hill 7even up different sides of
 it7   with ourselves high up1 and all  
earlier peoples in darkness below   left
 struggling up the same paths4 ,rather  
have the peoples of the   earth climbed 
up their several hills1 some higher than

 others   7difficult as it may be to say
 which71 all different2 but the hills   
of ,greece and ,rome are among the      
highest2 while we1 climbing up our      
own1 already perhaps higher than they1  
have the good fortune of   being able to
 look across to their summits to learn  
something of   their achievement1 and   
receive light from those radiant peaks40
  ,a line of stars concludes1 and one   
feels that nothing else could fitly     
conclude the perfect loveliness of this 
passage4 ,let the reader read it aloud  
in a firm1 clear voice to savour the    
delicate charm of its parentheses1 and  
let him realise what a river of glowing 
exposition an ,outline of ,history might
 have been in the hands of ,mr4 ,gomme4 
,let the reader reflect1 too1 upon the  
hopeless despair so perfect1 so entirely
 ,greek a passage must arouse in the    
mind of a writer who never experienced  
the blessings of a smattering of ,greek4
 ,not without reason is ,mr4 ,gomme a   
stylist1 and a fastidious critic of     

style4                                  
#c                           ,,two      
,,catholic ,,critics   ,it is a relief  
to turn from the vanity and peevishness 
of ,mr4 ,gomme to two more serious      
antagonists4 ,mr4 ,belloc is something  
of a special pleader1 and both he and   
,dr4 ,downey forgo few controversial    
advantages4 ,dr4 ,downey is not ashamed 
to write of my 8showman's gestures0 and 
so forth1 but they both have minds and  
tempers that are disciplined2 they are  
intelligently interested in ,the        
,outline of ,history as a whole2 a      
passionate objection to my existence    
does not appear among their motives4    
,they realise ,i have a definite        
standpoint and they state an            
understandable difference4  ,mr4        
,belloc's criticisms appeared in the    
,dublin ,review and the ,london         
,mercury1 and ,i do not think he has    
reprinted them4 ,we had a brief but     
animated dispute in the ,london ,mercury
 and the ,catholic ,tablet arising out  

of his comments1 and ,i will not renew  
the particular issues then discussed1   
except in so far as they arise again out
 of ,dr4 ,downey's pamphlet4 ,i will    
direct myself rather to ,dr4 ,downey    
than to ,mr4 ,belloc4  ,like ,mr4       
,gomme1 ,dr4 ,downey#b has gone to the  
first edition of the ,outline1 and1 like
 ,mr4 ,gomme1 he has not checked his    
comments by any reference to the current
 version4 ,he is thus able to score very
 effectively over phrases and passages  
that the owners of the book edition will
 look for in vain4 ,the weak point in   
the story of ,david and ,michal1 as it  
was told in the part issues1 for        
instance1 has been corrected1 and my    
misstatement of the ,sabellian view of  
the ,trinity has been put right4 ,let me
 admit that ,i did not know what        
,sabellianism was when ,i wrote ,the    
,outline of ,history4 ,arianism ,i knew1
 and ,trinitarianism ,i knew1 but not   
the views of the ,sabellians4 ,it was   
not an oversight1 it was complete       

ignorance that caused that misstatement1
 and ,dr4 ,downey is legitimately       
entitled to all the advantage this      
confession entails4 ,the fact remains   
that the second edition of ,the ,outline
 of ,history does not contain the four  
or five words that betrayed my ignorance
 of this refinement of doctrine1 but    
gives instead a correct statement of    
this ,sabellian view4 ,i doubt if there 
was any general delusion that ,i was an 
expert in the theological disputes of   
the early ,church even before ,dr4      
,downey called attention to the matter4 
,unlike ,mr4 ,gomme1 who evidently found
 the list of errata at the end of the   
,newnes edition of the ,outline very    
useful1 ,dr4 ,downey has not troubled to
 look at that list4 ,he would have found
 this ,sabellian error already set right
 there4  ,footnote #b3    ,some ,errors 
of ,h4 ,g4 ,wells4 ,by ,richard ,downey1
 ,d4,d4 ,burns1 ,oates    ,washbourne4  
#aiba4  ,a criticism like that of ,dr4  
,downey necessarily goes from point to  

point1 and it is impossible to follow   
him closely without developing these    
notes into a confused miscellany of     
discussions4 ,i leave with some regret a
 very fundamental and interesting issue1
 the issue between ,realism and         
,nominalism1 which is so closely        
interwoven with1 and related to1 the    
issue between the methods of thought of 
such ,catholics as ,dr4 ,downey and ,mr4
 ,belloc on the one hand1 and of those  
who have been through the disciplines of
 modern science on the other4 ,this     
issue has been very constantly in my    
mind throughout my life2 my first       
printed article 7in the ,fortnightly    
,review in #ahih7 dealt with it1 and it 
is discussed very fully in my ,first and
 ,last ,things4 ,it crops up again and  
again in my writings1 because ,i am     
persuaded that very many of the         
intellectual tangles of our time are due
 to the differences in intellectual     
temperament and training that the       
dispute between ,realist and ,nominalist

 developed and emphasised1 and can only 
be resolved after a thorough discussion 
of these fundamentals of thought4 ,i    
have sought in the limited space of the 
,outline to call attention to the fact  
that this difference is at the root of  
the main divergencies in the            
intellectual and religious life of our  
world1 and ,i have expressed an opinion1
 which ,dr4 ,downey and a hastily       
injected footnote from ,mr4 ,ernest     
,barker completely fail to modify1 that 
the method of the ,catholic ,church was1
 and is1 essentially ,realist4 ,mr4     
,barker says that1 although ,realism was
 at first the ,church philosophy1 after 
,occam ,nominalism became the philosophy
 of the ,church2 ,dr4 ,downey says it   
didn't1 and that ,occam's followers were
 prohibited from teaching2 ,mr4 ,barker 
says that ,luther denounced ,nominalism 
7upon which ,i am moved to remark that  
,i do not care very greatly what ,luther
 did or did not denounce72 and there are
 technical uses and common uses of the  

word 8class0 and 8species0 which give   
great scope for a brilliant             
controversialist4 ,i will confess ,i    
quail before the dusty possibilities of 
this three-cornered wrangle4 ,and since 
,i want to come to terms with ,catholic 
teachers if ,i can--because it is surely
 as much their task as mine to supplant 
the present mischievous narrow teaching 
of national egotism in schools          
throughout the world by some wider and  
more widening instruction--,i will in   
future editions of the ,outline drop any
 reference to the philosophy of the     
,church out of this discussion of the   
opposition of ,realist and ,nominalist4 
,but my attitude towards the human story
 will not become catholic by that or any
 similar concession4 ,the ,outline of   
,history is not a catholic history2 it  
is rather an ultra-protestant           
history--using protestant in a sense    
that would shock a good ,ulsterman      
profoundly--in a sense1 that is1 that   
would make ,professor ,huxley a good    

protestant4 ,dr4 ,downey in his opening 
passage regrets that ,i have allowed my 
8preconceived philosophical and         
religious notions to enter so largely   
into what purports to be a record of    
fact40 ,but no one can write a history  
of mankind without expressing one's own 
philosophical and religious ideas at    
every turn4 ,you cannot stand on nothing
 and hold up a world4 ,you may pretend  
and attempt to do so1 but that will be a
 dishonesty4 ,you cannot even arrange a 
chronological table without a bias to   
prefer one sort of fact to another4 ,i  
am 8tendential02 that is perfectly true4
 ,but ,i give my readers full warning   
that my views are views4 ,and the bulk  
of ,dr4 ,downey's pamphlet 7and ,mr4    
,belloc's criticisms7 is not so much an 
exposure of 8errors0 in the narrower    
sense of the word1 as a discussion of   
quite fundamental differences of        
interpretation between the story ,i tell
 and the story implicit in orthodox     
,catholic teaching4  ,three main issues 

are raised by ,dr4 ,downey1 and they are
 all acutely interesting ones3 the      
,historical ,fall of ,man1 the ,origin  
of ,religion1 and the rle of the        
,catholic ,church in restraining        
knowledge4  ,the issue of the ,fall has 
been made a very important one in       
,catholic theology4 ,in the ,outline ,i 
discuss some consequences of this       
insistence upon the ,fall in the account
 given of the moral disorganisation of  
the middle and later nineteenth century4
 ,i may be profoundly wrong1 but ,i     
share a now widespread belief that there
 is no evidence of anything in the      
nature of a moral ,fall1 such as        
,catholic theology requires1 in human   
history2 that1 on the contrary1 there is
 now a pressure of evidence1 which ,i   
find irresistible1 towards the belief   
that the human species arose through a  
quite natural series of changes1 side by
 side with various kindred species of   
apes and man-like creatures1 out of a   
monkey-like ancestry deriving itself    

through vast periods of time from       
reptilian and fish-like progenitors4    
,most interesting of all the species    
related to men are these man-like       
creatures1 the ,neanderthal men1 who    
also made fires and shaped huge flint   
implements and buried their dead4 ,i    
give these facts as ,i conceive them1   
and ,dr4 ,downey finds it necessary to  
treat my description as though it was a 
complete argument designed to state and 
prove the human family tree1 and to     
pretend that1 when ,i mention such      
intermediate types between ape and man  
as ,pithecanthropus1 ,i mean that they  
are genetically intermediate4 ,it is1 ,i
 submit1 rather girlish to write in this
 fashion3 8,we are thrilled to think    
that in this chapter ,mr4 ,wells is at  
last about to solve the knotty problem  
of our simian ancestry40 ,i do not      
believe ,dr4 ,downey was thrilled a bit4
 ,dr4 ,downey heads one page 8,exit the 
,ape ,ancestor ,theory0--it is what the 
,london journalist would call a streamer

 headline--because he has found an      
article by ,major ,thomas ,cherry       
pointing out the many reasons there are 
for doubting a very close genetic       
connection between man and the living   
arboreal anthropoids4 ,this eager       
headline is followed on the next page by
 a still more eager comment1 by which   
,dr4 ,downey comes one of those         
controversial croppers that will happen 
in this sort of fragmentary discussion4 
,he quotes ,major ,cherry1 8the         
specialised monkey foot may be ruled out
 as a stage in the ancestry of man10 and
 adds1 8sad blow to ,mr4 ,wells with his
 diagrammatic picture of #8foot of man  
and gorilla4'0 ,on several occasions in 
his criticism of the ,outline ,dr4      
,downey uses the dramatic phrase1 8one  
rubs one's eyes40 ,well1 if he will rub 
his eyes again and have a good look at  
that picture and read the context1 he   
will find that it is given to show the  
difference1 not the resemblance1 of the 
two feet1 and that the 8sad blow0       

recoils with some severity upon himself4
 ,because it shows that ,i at any rate  
am tied to no brief1 and have no        
hesitation in giving a piece of evidence
 that may seem to qualify the general   
drift of my story4  ,if ,dr4 ,downey1 by
 the bye1 had looked up the current     
edition of the ,outline1 he would not   
have found that figure4 ,it has gone1   
and the section has been recast so as to
 include an excellent note by ,mr4 ,r4  
,i4 ,pocock which makes it simpler and  
clearer4  ,i hope1 if ,catholics will   
not accept and use ,the ,outline of     
,history1 they will give us one of their
 own1 and when they do there will be no 
part ,i shall read with greater interest
 and curiosity than the part devoted to 
these curious subhuman creatures and the
 account of the ,fall that occurred1 if 
,i read ,dr4 ,downey aright1 between the
 disappearance of ,neanderthal ,man and 
the appearance of the ,cro-,magnon      
people in ,europe4 ,both ,dr4 ,downey   
and ,mr4 ,belloc make a great fuss      

because ,i have given pictures of       
,pithecanthropus and the ,neanderthal   
,man1 and because there is an           
imaginative picture by ,sir ,harry      
,johnston of 8,our ,neanderthaloid      
ancestor0 in the ,newnes edition4 ,they 
point out that these pictures are made  
up with only a few bones and theories to
 go upon4 ,they are4 ,they are to help  
the imagination of the weaker brethren1 
and they pretend to do no more than     
that4 ,but it was amusing to read this  
objection in ,dr4 ,downey's pamphlet    
just after a visit to the ,vatican1     
where portraits of ,adam and ,eve and   
the snake who tempted them occur in some
 profusion4 ,i have seen at ,cava di    
,tirrene a hair of the ,virgin ,mary1 a 
bone of ,st4 ,matthew1 and a number of  
other osseous and horny fragments of    
saints and divine persons1 very         
reassuring evidence of the material     
truth of the ,catholic religion1 but ,i 
have still to learn of any vestiges of  
,adam to compare with the thigh bone1   

the teeth and the skull fragments of    
,pithecanthropus4 ,if ,catholicism is to
 avail itself of illustration1 ,i do not
 see why ,mr4 ,belloc and ,dr4 ,downey  
should display this iconoclastic fervour
 towards a secular history4  ,dr4       
,downey follows ,mr4 ,belloc in a       
curious disposition to score a point by 
declaring that this or that view of mine
 is twenty-five years old1 quite out of 
date3 8,mr4 ,wells has not kept pace    
with the rationalist movement10 and so  
forth4 ,i do not understand this passion
 in ,catholics for the latest mental    
wear2 for my own part1 if a thing is    
convincing to me1 ,i do not care when it
 was first believed nor who has given it
 up4 ,i thought that was the way with   
,catholics too4 ,but ,mr4 ,belloc       
assured the readers of the ,dublin      
,review that ,natural ,selection had not
 been believed in for twenty-five years2
 it was quite a discarded idea4 ,if the 
intellectual smart set regards ,natural 
,selection as out of date1 that shows   

merely that the intellectual smart set  
has taken leave of common sense4 ,the   
proposition is invincible that1 given a 
species in which the individuals        
reproduce in greater or less abundance  
young with individual differences1 and  
sooner or later die1 and in which the   
individual young favour their individual
 parents1 then in every generation the  
individuals less adapted to survive and 
reproduce are1 as a rule1 likely to die 
sooner and to bear fewer offspring than 
the individuals more adapted to these   
ends1 and therefore that1 conditions    
remaining constant1 the average specimen
 of the species must become more and    
more perfectly adapted as time goes on  
to the conditions of its existence4 ,and
 equally invincible is the proposition  
that a permanent change of conditions   
must involve a change in the average of 
a species to which no apparent limit is 
set short of perfect adaptation1 and the
 parallel proposition that the average  
specimens of each of two sections of a  

species living under widely different   
conditions of survival1 and separated   
from each other1 must ultimately become 
widely different4 ,i write of this not1 
as ,dr4 ,downey says1 with the          
8full-blooded confidence of the         
,sciolist10 but with the assurance of a 
normally sane man4 ,if anyone can start 
from the premises ,i have just given and
 arrive at any other than the conclusion
 at which ,i have arrived1 there is need
 for a psychological ,einstein4  ,it    
does not affect this question a jot that
 ,mr4 ,bateson1 always something of an  
enfant terrible among biologists1       
celebrated the centenary of ,charles    
,darwin1 and the fiftieth anniversary of
 the publication of ,the ,origin of     
,species1 by writing in a collection of 
pious contributions to ,darwin's memory 
that 8the time is not ripe for a        
discussion of the ,origin of ,species40 
,that was just ,mr4 ,bateson's fun4 ,he 
himself has discussed it immensely4 ,but
 he has discussed it from the point of  

view of the cause of the individual     
difference1 and the theory of ,natural  
,selection is not concerned with that4  
,natural ,selection is merely a logical 
deduction from the facts of inheritance 
and individual difference4 ,it explains 
neither1 and no clear-headed biologist  
has ever thought that it did4  ,both    
,mr4 ,belloc and ,dr4 ,downey are indeed
 in a hopeless muddle between the       
discussion of the origin of variations  
and the question of the reaction of a   
variable species to its environment4    
,among all these biological questions   
they are helplessly at sea4 ,i doubt if 
they have ever looked into a biological 
book except in a state of controversial 
prepossession4 ,at the moment ,i am     
unable to verify ,dr4 ,downey's         
quotation from ,mr4 ,bourne's ,animal   
,life and ,human ,progress 7#aiai71 in  
which ,mr4 ,bourne is made to say that  
the 8extinction of the less fit and the 
survival of the fittest no longer       
commands the universal assent of        

zoologists10 but ,i am disposed to think
 that it must be clipped in some way4   
,this sentence1 ,i guess1 is only the   
tail of a sentence4 ,as it stands it is 
nonsense4 ,my guess1 ,i find on         
returning to ,england1 is correct4 ,even
 the authorship of the book is          
improperly ascribed to ,professor 7not  
,mr47 ,bourne4 ,it is a collection of   
papers by various hands4 ,the passage in
 ,professor ,bourne's paper runs as     
follows3--    8,i have been at some     
pains to convince you that the current  
doctrine   that evolution in animals and
 plants depends upon a ratio of         
increase so high as to lead to          
unrestricted competition among the      
individuals of a species1 and in        
consequence to a ,struggle for          
,existence1 with extinction of the less 
fit and ,survival of the   ,fittest1 no 
longer commands the universal assent of 
zoologists4   ,indeed it has been       
severely undermined by the discoveries  
of recent   years40  ,dr4 ,downey quotes

 from the words 8extinction of the less 
fit0 to the end4  ,i do not wish to     
accuse ,dr4 ,downey of any deliberate   
attempt to deceive in this misquotation4
 ,he did not understand the point       
,professor ,bourne was driving          
at--generally he shows little or no grip
 upon these biological questions4       
,professor ,bourne here is not          
discussing ,natural ,selection at all2  
he is discussing the entirely different 
question of whether there is normally a 
bitter struggle for existence between   
the individuals of the same species4 ,if
 ,dr4 ,downey had read on he would      
surely have grasped the idea--for       
,professor ,bourne is very plain and    
simple--that a species may undergo      
natural selection without any struggle  
for existence between individuals at    
all4 ,but ,dr4 ,downey did not1 ,i      
think1 read on4 ,he just took the words 
that seemed to suit his purpose--rather 
carelessly--and threw the book down4 ,it
 is a little tedious1 however1 that one 

should have to verify the quotations of 
an antagonist in this way4  ,when it    
comes to the question of the origin of  
religion ,i find ,dr4 ,downey displaying
 the same controversial ingenuity and   
missing my plain intention in much the  
same way4 ,he makes me out to be a      
follower of ,herbert ,spencer and ,grant
 ,allen1 which is rather hard on me3    
,herbert ,spencer is my philosophical   
bte noire2 ,i have rarely mentioned him 
in my writings without some indication  
of my antipathy1 and in ,the ,outline of
 ,history ,i have never mentioned him at
 all4 ,in a list of the opinions of     
various writers taken haphazard1 to show
 what divergent views exist about the   
origin of religion1 ,i mention ,grant   
,allen's ,evolution of the ,idea of     
,god--,dr4 ,downey1 ,i don't know why1  
says 8with evident respect40 ,then he   
goes on for some pages confuting ,grant 
,allen and pretending that he is        
confuting me4 ,no doubt he thought he   
was confuting me1 but if he had turned  

back to ,the ,outline of ,history       
instead of going off at this tangent1 he
 would have seen that ,i do not write of
 the fear and worship of the ,old       
,man--which1 as ,dr4 ,downey will learn 
some day1 is not quite the same thing as
 ancestor worship--as anything more than
 one factor in the complex synthesis of 
religion4 ,and the case for considering 
obsession by the thought of the ,old    
,man1 an important factor in that       
synthesis1 rests on very much stronger  
foundations than ,grant ,allen's not    
very substantial book4 ,i wish ,i could 
think of ,dr4 ,downey reading any       
scientific book for instruction rather  
than to find little bits for            
controversial use4 ,i would send him to 
,lang and ,atkinson's ,social ,origins  
and to the psycho-analytical work of    
,jung4 ,he would learn then something of
 the real quality of the double stream  
of evidence1 in human institutions and  
in childish psychology1 for the         
importance of ,old ,man fear in the     

religious and social development of     
mankind4  ,upon the third issue raised  
by ,dr4 ,downey1 the rle of the ,church 
towards knowledge1 ,i am not very well  
equipped for discussion4 ,was ,cardinal 
,newman right in saying that the case of
 ,galileo is the exception that proves  
the rule1 the rule that the ,church has 
never put barriers in the way of        
scientific progress8 ,i rub my eyes when
 ,i find ,dr4 ,downey endorsing         
this--these habits are catching4 ,lord  
,bacon1 says ,dr4 ,downey1 8violently   
opposed the ,copernican system40 ,but   
did he make anyone kneel and recant8 ,i 
must learn more about these questions4  
,certainly they were good ,catholics who
 discovered ,america and first          
circumnavigated the globe--a point ,dr4 
,downey misses4 ,i shall find perhaps   
that there were ,catholic schools of    
human anatomy in the ,middle ,ages and  
that the ,inquisition was a debating    
society that took for its motto 8,hear  
all sides10 and that it had a burning   

curiosity to learn some new thing4444 ,i
 promise further inquiry here and such  
amendment of the text of the ,outline in
 my next edition as these inquiries may 
justify4 ,as ,i have said already1 ,i   
look to the ,catholic ,church as an     
organisation logically obliged to teach 
the universal brotherhood of mankind1 to
 apply the healing parable of the ,good 
,samaritan to political and social life1
 and to discourage the vile nationalism 
that at present darkens and embitters so
 many human lives4 ,it impresses me as  
being rather a weak and negligent       
teacher of these things nowadays1 but ,i
 have no disposition to go into blank   
antagonism to the ,church on that       
account4 ,i offer ,catholics ,the       
,outline of ,history for use in their   
schools in the most amiable spirit4 ,if 
they will not have it1 ,i will not      
grieve1 if only they will produce a     
universal history of their own4 ,i shall
 certainly read such a history with     
interest and delight4 ,it will be       

different4 ,catholics1 ,i gather1 do not
 believe in 8progress40 ,it will be1 ,i 
presume1 a ,history of the ,creation    
7explaining logically why the           
ichthyosaurus was made71 the ,salvation 
and the subsequent ,stagnation of       
mankind4  ,before ,i leave these two    
critics ,i may perhaps say a word or two
 about their manner towards me4 ,mr4    
,belloc's is rather amusing4 ,i am a    
journalist and writer of books1 some    
novels1 some books on public questions4 
,i am a university graduate of          
respectability rather than distinction  
in biological science4 ,mr4 ,belloc is a
 journalist and writer of books1 some   
novels1 some books on public questions1 
and a university graduate of            
respectability rather than              
distinction--,i believe in modern       
history4 ,he is a younger man than      
myself1 and by that measure less        
experienced in life and affairs4 ,but   
for some unfathomable reason he writes  
as if he were a monstrously wise old    

historian and ,i were a bright little   
boy who had gone to the wrong           
authorities instead of coming to him    
before ,i wrote my little essay4 ,he is 
lucky not to have adopted this attitude 
towards me thirty years ago1 because    
then ,i should have put him across my   
knees and established a truer           
relationship in the simple way boys     
have4 ,dr4 ,downey varies in his manner 
from the pitying and paternal to        
sprightly defiance4 ,sometimes he is    
almost flippant4 ,he closes my last     
chapter 8feeling that--                 
8,his talk was like a spring which runs 
,with rapid change from rocks to roses2 
,it slipped from politics to puns1      
,it passed from ,mahomet to ,moses40    
,but how else could one write an        
,outline of ,history8 ,a slight flavour 
of the encyclopdia is unavoidable1 as   
,dr4 ,downey will find out for himself  
when his turn to write an ,outline of   
,history arrives2 the rocks1 and ,moses 
and ,mahomet will insist on coming in4  

,if he leaves out the rocks as being    
irrelevant to a ,catholic history1 the  
critics will throw them at him4  ,but in
 one section ,dr4 ,downey has a third   
manner with regard to me4 ,when first ,i
 turned over ,dr4 ,downey's pamphlet ,i 
was much surprised to find a little     
group of pages studded with such        
delightful phrases as 8we owe a debt of 
gratitude to ,mr4 ,wells10 8graceful    
pen10 8sympathy and insight40 ,the      
reader will guess1 of course1 that ,i   
rubbed my eyes4 ,he will guess wrong4 ,i
 did nothing of the sort1 ,i rub my eyes
 very rarely1 but probably they dilated4
 ,on ,loyola and the ,protestant        
princes1 it seems1 ,i am perfectly      
sound--and then my style becomes        
admirable4444  ,yet only the other day  
,i had a letter from an indignant       
,protestant in ,australia explaining    
that in these very sections my style and
 my history reached its nadir of        
smattering ineptitude4                  
#d                 ,,the ,,hope ,,of ,a 

,,better ,,teaching ,,of ,,history   ,i 
will revert for a moment to my          
suggestion of an ,outline of ,history   
for ,catholics from the ,catholic point 
of view4 ,it is1 ,i submit1 a very      
desirable thing at the present time4 ,i 
suppose the ,church1 at its head and as 
a whole1 has a policy1 a definable      
relationship towards the ,states and    
nations of the world4 ,as an            
organisation one feels that it should   
make for peace and human                
co-operation--wherever it operates4 ,if 
any sort of men can be expected to have 
the same political ideas wherever they  
are found1 and to have had something    
like an identical historical training1  
it is surely the priesthood of the      
,catholic ,church4 ,but the ,church does
 not seem to give its priests any       
systematic instruction in the history of
 mankind1 after the period covered by   
the ,bible story4 ,much less does it    
attend to the minds of its laity in this
 matter4 ,everywhere the ,catholic      

priest1 instead of restraining the local
 and patriotic prejudices of his flock1 
seems rather to be swayed by them4 ,in  
very many centuries the ,catholic       
,church plays a very important political
 rle2 it is almost inevitable that the  
facilities offered by its organisation  
and solidarity should be used           
politically4 ,but it does not seem to be
 used coherently throughout the world in
 the cause of human unity4 ,its weight  
is rather on the side of the intenser   
,nationalisms4 ,i believe that a        
,catholic ,history of ,man written for  
world-wide use would do much to turn the
 influence of the ,church throughout the
 world back towards its former rle of a 
peace-compelling and world-unifying     
power4  ,of course1 ,i cannot pretend to
 understand how a ,catholic ,outline of 
,history would be designed and written4 
,i do not see how any writer can see    
history except from his own standpoint1 
and my conception of how that ,catholic 
history would be planned1 were ,i to    

give it here1 would certainly strike any
 ,catholic as at least a grotesque      
caricature of his vision4  ,that opens  
up the still larger question of the     
possibility of other ,outlines of       
,history written from different angles  
of vision from my own4 ,my vision of    
history is essentially one of mental    
synthesis and material co-operation1    
from the completely isolated individual 
life and death of the primordial animal 
to the continuing mental life and the   
social organisation now growing to      
planetary dimensions1 of the human      
species4 ,means of communication and    
educational and political organisation  
necessarily dominate the story4 ,the    
triumphs of art and of poetic literature
 are secondary in such a scheme4 ,mr4   
,gomme complains that an examinee would 
get low marks if he had to write an     
account of ,homer from my ,outline4 ,if 
the question concerned ,shakespeare or  
,giotto1 ,i doubt if he would get any   
marks at all4 ,for the plain truth is   

that such outbreaks of beauty scarcely  
affect the ,outline--as such4 ,they may 
be very important to the human soul and 
so forth1 and a list of them--an        
,outline of ,history can do no more than
 that--may be very necessary to         
struggling examinees2 but these were    
considerations beyond the intention of  
the ,outline4  ,other minds may see the 
question differently4 ,it has been      
suggested that the ,outline could have  
been told as a history of art4 ,or1 as  
the ,marxists are disposed to insist1 as
 a history of economic relationship and 
its consequences4 7,because the         
,marxists believe that first a man      
produces and then he exists47 ,either   
method may be possible1 but to my mind  
neither is possible4 ,for me1 ,i can    
only imagine a history of art or of     
economic development being written after
 the ,outline as ,i conceive it has been
 apprehended4 ,and the same remark      
applies to a project which is1 ,i       
gather1 afoot in the ,united ,states for

 a ,history of ,woman4 ,i do not see how
 such a history can be written until you
 have the fundamental ,outline of the   
development of human societies in space 
and time as the framework in which it   
can be hung4  ,i would like to lay      
stress upon this idea of universal      
history as an educational framework4    
,combined with the study of             
physiography1 as ,professor ,huxley     
defined it1 it gives something that may 
be made the basis of a common           
understanding and sympathy for all      
mankind4 ,each one of us could pursue   
his particular interests and develop his
 particular gifts the better within such
 a common mental framework4  ,now if it 
is true that my ,outline of ,history is 
a sketch of the real ,outline of        
,history1 this framework of which we    
stand in need2 and if it is true that   
either by effective revision or         
replacement we may presently get a      
generally satisfactory ,outline of      
,history that will be available as an   

educational framework1 the next question
 we have to ask is how we can best get  
that ,outline into operation in schools4
 ,in ,america1 where there is much more 
freedom and variety in educational      
method than in ,europe1 much may be     
achieved by a steady insistence on the  
part of groups of parents and           
journalists upon the introduction of the
 new teaching of history into schools   
and colleges4 ,but in ,europe1 where the
 schools of both boys and girls are much
 more dominated by the requirements of  
the various leaving-schools1 qualifying 
and competitive examinations by which   
they pass on into business or           
professional or student life1 the method
 of attack may need to be a different   
one4 ,it becomes a matter of importance 
under such conditions to do one's utmost
 to introduce into such examinations    
what will be at first an alternative    
paper in the ,outlines of ,history1 a   
paper which may be taken as an          
alternative to the paper upon the       

national history of a special period    
which is at present the usual           
requirement in history of such          
examinations4 ,the two sorts of history 
teaching would then go on1 for a time at
 least1 side by side4 ,some schools and 
some candidates would follow the        
extensive1 and some the intensive1      
method4 ,and a thing now very urgently  
needed is for teachers of history1 or   
for the ,historical ,society1 or some   
special committee1 to draw up a sample  
syllabus1 or two or three such          
documents1 to define a course of        
instruction in the outlines of world    
history4 ,my own contribution to that   
is1 of course1 the list of contents of  
the ,outline ,i have written4 ,it would 
be an extraordinarily useful thing to   
produce and to criticise and revise such
 a syllabus now1 and then when it was in
 fairly good shape to agitate for its   
adoption as an alternative scheme of    
instruction to the existing history     
courses4  ,so soon as the ,outline of   

,history becomes a 8subject0 and a      
8paper0 in these various examinations   
that mean so much to the youth of       
,europe1 enterprising teachers would    
begin to qualify themselves for the new 
work1 and enterprising publishers would 
set themselves to abstract1 improve1    
paraphrase1 plagiarise and adapt the    
,outline for class use4 ,in a very      
little while1 with incalculably great   
benefit to mankind1 we could have the   
broad facts of human history taught1 as 
chemistry is taught to-day1 in          
practically the same terms throughout   
all ,europe4 ,and later1 as the students
 went on to a closer study of their own 
nation and its literature1 they would do
 so with a sound sense of historical    
perspective1 and with their disposition 
towards national egotism and conceit at 
least corrected4 ,on minds prepared in  
this fashion it would be possible to    
build the new conceptions of an         
organised world peace that struggle so  
hopelessly at present against the dark  

prejudices of to-day4                   
,h4 ,g4 ,,wells4                        
,,printed ,,by                          
,,cassell  ,,company1 ,,limited1        
,,la ,,belle ,,sauvage1 ,,london1 ,e ,c4
                                        
,f#cj4fba                               
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,transcriber',s ,,notes    #a4         
,silently corrected typographical errors
 and variations in spelling4  #b4       
,retained anachronistic1 non-standard1  
and uncertain spellings as              
printed4  #c4 ,enclosed italics font in 
underscores4