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Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

LESSING, (1729–1781), was born at Kamenz, in Upper Lusatia, Saxony, on the 22d of January 1729. He was descended from Clemens Lessing, a Saxon clergyman, whose name is found attached to an ecclesiastical document of 1580. Lessing's father, Johann Gottfried, born in 1693, was the son of Theophilus Lessing, the burgomaster of Kamenz, who died at the age of eighty-nine, when Lessing was between six and seven years old. At the time of Lessing's birth his father was one of the clergymen of Kamenz, where, a few years afterwards, he became pastor primarius, or head pastor. He was a man of high character, rather irascible, but earnest in the fulfilment of his pastoral duties, and universally beloved for his kindness to the poor. Throughout life he continued the studies in theology and church history which he had successfully begun at the university of Wittenberg, and he made some reputation as an original writer and as a translator of Tillotson. Of the Frau Fastorin we do not know much except that she was a faithful and affectionate wife and mother. They had twelve children, of whom Lessing was the second who survived infancy. He seems to have been an exceedingly happy child, healthy and playful, and already remarkable for his fondness for reading. After attending the Latin school of Kamenz, he was sent in 1741 to the great school of St Afra at Meissen, where he was maintained free of charge. Here he made such rapid progress in classical and mathematical study that, towards the end of his career as a pupil, he was described by the rector as “a steed that needed double fodder.” Work which was oppressive to others, added the rector, was to Lessing “as light as a feather.” He had the reputation of being one of the most sarcastic, but at the same time one of the most loyal and generous, boys in the school. In 1746 he left St Afra's and went to the university of Leipsic, nominally for the purpose of studying theology. To theology, however, he did not give the slightest attention. Under Professors Christ and Ernesti he continued his classical studies, and he also attended the philosophical disputations presided over by his friend Kästner, a young professor of mathematics. For some time Lessing was shy and retired amid his new surroundings, but being of an eminently social disposition he soon became tired of this kind of life, and began to form friends among his fellow-students, and strove to acquire the manners of a free and polished man of the world. His

principal friend was Weisse, who afterwards attained a respectable position as a man of letters. He also became intimate with Mylius, who was considerably older than himself, and had made a certain mark as a literary and scientific writer. There was at this time in Leipsic an excellent actress, Frau Neuber, who had gathered around her a number of respectable players, and Lessing, in company with Weisse, was one of the most regular attenders at her theatre. At St Afra's he had begun a comedy, Der Junge Gelehrte, and this he now completed. Frau Neuber immediately accepted it, and it was received with much favour by the public of Leipsic.

Alarmed by reports of what was supposed to be his dissolute life, the elder Lessing summoned him to Kamenz, where he remained for some months. He soon succeeded in overcoming the fears of his parents, who allowed him to return to Leipsic on condition that he would devote himself to the study of medicine. Some medical lectures he did attend; but his ambition was to become a great dramatist, and as long as Frau Neuber's company kept together he occupied himself almost exclusively with the theatre, being frequently present at rehearsal during the day as well as at the performance in the evening.

In 1748 the company broke up, and Lessing, finding nothing to interest him in Leipsic, went to Wittenberg, and afterwards, towards the end of the year, to Berlin, where his friend Mylius had established himself as a journalist and man of science. In Berlin Lessing now spent three years, maintaining himself chiefly by literary work. He translated two volumes of Rollin's history, wrote some of the best of his early plays, and, in association with Mylius, started a periodical (which soon came to an end) for the discussion of matters connected with the drama. Early in 1751 he accepted the office of literary critic to the Voss Gazette, and in this position he reviewed some of the most important German and French books of the day, manifesting already to some extent the learning, judgment, and wit which were to make him the greatest critic of modern times. His father had been bitterly opposed to his scheme of life, and in 1751 urged him to complete his studies at the university of Wittenberg. Feeling the need of further thought and research, Lessing at last consented, and at the close of the year left Berlin. It is worthy of note that he had been brought into slight contact with Voltaire, for whom he had translated some documents relating to the Hirsch trial. Voltaire's secretary having lent him a volume of the Siècle de Louis XIV., which had not yet been published, he took it with him to Wittenberg. This came to the ears of Voltaire, who assumed that Lessing intended to print either a pirated edition or an unauthorized translation. The affair led to an angry correspondence, and was a subject of much talk in Berlin.

Lessing remained about a year in Wittenberg, where he passed most of his time in the university library, every volume in which, he afterwards declared, had passed through his hands. Having taken the degree of master of arts, he returned to Berlin, determined to make literature his profession; and the next three years were among the busiest of his life. Besides translating for the booksellers, he issued several numbers of the Theatralische Bibliothek, a periodical essentially the same as that which he had begun with Mylius. He also resumed his labours as critic to the Voss Gazette. For many years the most influential writer in Germany had been Gottsched, the Leipsic professor, who continually proclaimed the necessity of rigid adherence, in the drama and in poetry, to French rules. In his articles for the Voss Gazette, Lessing made it his principal object to ridicule the pretensions of Gottsched and his school, and in a short time there was no writer of whom

they were so much afraid. In 1754 he produced a deep impression by ''Ein Vade Mecum für den Herrn Sam. Gotth.'' Lange, in which he exposed with bitter satire Lange's errors in his popular translation of Horace. During these three years Lessing took a definite position in contemporary literature by issuing, in six small volumes, those of his writings which he considered worthy of preservation. They included his lyrics and epigrams, some of the latter being in German, others in Latin. Most of his lyrics were written in Leipsic, and had already appeared, during his first residence in Berlin, in a volume of Kleinigkeiten, published without his name. Although they do not, like Goethe's lyrics, touch deep sources of natural feeling, they have the merit of being bright, gay, and musical, and some of them are still sung by German students. The epigrams, many of which were produced in Wittenberg, are in the style of Martial, and give evidence, like Lessing's critical writings, of a keen and biting humour. Among his collected writings there was also a remarkable series of Letters, in which, for the first time in German literature, some of the results of extensive learning were presented in a free and vivid style. Even more important, perhaps, were the papers entitled Rettungen, in which he undertook to vindicate the character of various writers who had been misunderstood by preceding generations. One of the best of these Rettungen is on Horace, whom he defends against the critics who charge him with sensuality and cowardice. In another, almost equally good, he shows that Cardan, instead of being an atheist, did full justice to the evidences for Christianity, as they were understood in his time, while he did rather less than justice to other religions. This essay contains a powerful argument in favour of Mohammedanism, developed from the point of view of an intelligent believer in the Prophet. In addition to these varied contents, Lessing published in the six volumes of his Schriften his early plays and Miss Sara Sampson. Of the former the chief are Der Junge Gelehrte, already mentioned, Der Freidenker, Die Juden, and Der Misogyn. Although superior to any other German comedies produced at the same time, they cannot be said to reveal a high dramatic faculty. In the arrangement of his plots and the balancing of his characters, Lessing follows closely the methods of contemporary French comedy, and in the dialogue there is often a too obvious straining after effect. Miss Sara Sampson, written in 1755, marks a wholly different stage of his development. It has many faults both in conception and in execution, but it exercised a powerful influence by indicating to the dramatists of Germany that materials for tragedy are to be found in the experiences of ordinary men and women as well as in those of “the great.” Lessing attributed much importance to this principle, which had been suggested to him chiefly by the study of Richardson, whose Clarissa is almost exactly reproduced in the heroine of Miss Sara Sampson.

This tragedy, when represented in Frankfort-on-the-Oder, was received with so much applause that he resolved to devote himself to the drama; and in fulfilment of his design he suddenly quitted Berlin in October 1755, and went to Leipsic, where a good theatre had been lately established. During his second residence in Berlin he had made his name widely known, and he had secured several friends, whose affection he retained during the rest of his life. The chief of these was Moses Mendelssohn, in association with whom, in 1755, he wrote an admirable treatise, Pope ein Metaphysiker, tracing sharply the lines which separate the poet from the philosopher. The Berlin Academy of Sciences had offered a prize for the best essay on Pope's doctrine that “Whatever is, is right,” as compared with the optimism of Leibnitz. The treatise of the two friends was written to show that there cannot be a

true comparison between a poetic and a philosophic conception; and they threw much light on the aims both of Leibnitz and of Pope. Other Berlin friends of Lessing were Nicolai, the bookseller, and Ramler, the author of many well-known odes. He had also made the acquaintance of Gleim, the Halberstadt poet, and Ewald Christian von Kleist, a Prussian officer, whose fine poem, Der Frühling, had won for him Lessing's warm esteem.

In Leipsic, Lessing was asked by Winkler, a wealthy young merchant, to accompany him in a foreign tour, which was to last three years. As he offered liberal terms, Lessing consented; and early in the summer of 1756 they started for England. They did not, however, get beyond Amsterdam, for after the outbreak of the Seven Years War they heard that Winkler's house was occupied by the Prussian commandant; and he deemed it necessary to hasten back. After some time Winkler was offended by Lessing's intimacy with certain Prussian officers, and suddenly announced to him that he must consider their engagement at an end. Lessing demanded compensation, and in the end the courts decided in his favour, but not until the case had dragged on for about six years. In the meantime it detained him in Leipsic, and, as there was little opportunity for earning money by literature in a city occupied by foreign troops, he went through a period of extreme hardship. During these anxious months he begin the study of mediæval poetry, in which some interest had been awakened by the Swiss school of critics; he also translated several English writings, and worked occasionally for the Bibliothek, a periodical edited by Nicolai. Fortunately he had an opportunity of developing his friendship with Kleist, who happened to be stationed in Leipsic. Kleist, a man of truly heroic temper, with the simplicity of a child, was powerfully attracted by Lessing's frank and noble nature, and Lessing loved him with an ardour which was excited by no other friend, not even by Mendelssohn. Kleist's regiment being ordered to new quarters early in 1758, Lessing decided not to remain behind him, and, saying farewell to his friend (who was mortally wounded in tho following year at the battle of Kunersdorf), he returned once more to Berlin.

His third residence in Berlin was made memorable by the Literaturbriefe, a series of critical essays (written in the form of letters to a wounded officer) on the principal works that had appeared since the beginning of the Seven Years War. The scheme was suggested by Nicolai, by whom the Letters were published. Those written by Lessing manifested far higher intellectual power than anything he had yet accomplished. The critical principles set forth in the Literaturbriefe are now universally recognized, but they were then new, and even at the present day they seem to derive fresh vitality from the force, precision, and animation with which he expresses them. He insisted especially on the necessity of truth to nature in the imaginative presentation of the facts of life, and in one letter he boldly proclaimed the superiority of Shakespeare to Corneille, Racine, and Voltaire. At the same time he marked the immutable conditions to which even genius must submit in order to move enduring sympathies. While in Berlin at this time, he edited with Ramler a selection from the writings of Logau, a vigorous epigrammatist of the 17th century, and introduced to the German public The War Songs of a Grenadier, by Gleim. He admired the vigour of these songs, but in several private letters protested against the vehemence of the author's patriotism — patriotism being a virtue which, he thought, he “could do very well without.” In 1759 he published Philotas, a prose tragedy; and in the same year appeared a complete collection of his fables, with an essay on the essential idea of the fable. The latter is one of his

best essays in criticism, defining with perfect lucidity what is meant by “the action” in works of imagination, and distinguishing the action of the fable on the one hand from that of the epic and the drama on the other. His theory prevented him from lending poetic interest to his own fables, but they surpass the works of all other German fabulists in the depth and variety of the moral truths which they are intended to enforce.

In 1760, weary of incessant writing, and feeling that change of scene and work was necessary for his health, Lessing went to Breslau to apply for the post of secretary to General Tauentzien, to whom Kleist had introduced him in Leipsic. Tauentzien was not only a general in the Prussian army, but governor of Breslin, and director of the mint. He willingly granted the vacant office to Lessing, who retained it for more than four years. He thus found himself in circumstances wholly different from those to which he had been hitherto accustomed. He associated chiefly with Prussian officers, went much into society, and became passionately fond of the gaming table, where he played for such high stakes that even General Tauentzien expostulated with him. While, however, he seemed to be wasting his energies, he never lost sight of his true goal. He gradually collected a library of about 6000 volumes (which he was ultimately obliged to sell); and after the conclusion of the Seven Years War in 1763 he resumed more enthusiastically than ever the studies which had been partly interrupted. In investigating the early history of Christianity, he obtained a profound knowledge of the fathers; and a remarkable letter to Mendelssohn shows that he had penetrated more deeply than any contemporary thinker into the significance of the philosophy of Spinoza. In 1764 he was prostrated by a severe illness, during which he reviewed, in a rather sorrowful spirit, his past life, and formed many serious resolutions for the future. Before this time he had worked hard at Laocoon, and in fresh spring mornings he had sketched in a garden the plan of Minna von Barnhelm. His parents were now in exceedingly straitened circumstances, and often appealed to him for aid. He responded generously to their demands, but they greatly overrated his power to help them, as they assumed that he intended to remain permanently in General Tauentzien's service. In reality, he had always regarded the engagement as a temporary one, and in 1765 he resigned his office, and left Breslau.

It seemed not improbable that he might find a suitable appointment in Dresden, but he was again compelled, much against his will, to become a resident of Berlin, whither he went after a brief visit to Kamenz and Leipsic. His friends exerted themselves to obtain for him the office of keeper of the royal library, but Frederick had not forgotten Lessing's quarrel with Voltaire, and declined to consider his claims, although, about the time when Lessing went to Breslau, he had confirmed his election as a foreign member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. During the two years which Lessing now spent in the Prussian capital he was restless and unhappy, yet it was during this period that he published two of his greatest works — Laocoon in 1766, and Minna von Barnhelm in 1767. Laocoon ranks as a classic not only in German but in European literature, and its style alone, which is as near perfection as anything Lessing ever wrote, would almost entitle it to this position. His central aim is to define by analysis the limitations of poetry and the plastic arts. Many of his conclusions have been corrected and extended by later criticism; but he indicated more decisively than any of his predecessors the fruitful principle that each art is subject to definite conditions, and that it can accomplish great results only by limiting itself to its special function. The most valuable parts of the work are those which relate to poetry, of which he had a

much more intimate knowledge than of sculpture and painting. His exposition of the methods of Homer and Sophocles is especially suggestive, and he may be said to have marked an epoch in the appreciation of these writers, and of Greek literature generally. He invariably starts from the consideration of doctrines set forth by other scholars (chiefly Winkelmann, Caylus, and Spence); but he is never satisfied until he arrives at positive principles, and he leads us towards them gradually by the paths he himself has trodden, glancing at many side issues by the way. He was unable in later years to complete his scheme, but even in its fragmentary form, as Goethe testifies in Wahrheit und Dichtung, Laocoon was welcomed with gratitude by the most active minds of the age. The power of Minna von Barnhelm was also immediately recognized. This is, on the whole, the best of Lessing's purely dramatic writings. The hero, Tellheim, is an admirable study of a manly and sensitive soldier, with somewhat exaggerated ideas of conventional honour; and Minna, the heroine, is one of the brightest and most attractive figures in the dramatic literature of Germany. The subordinate characters are conceived with the same force and vividness; and the plot, which reflects precisely the struggles and aspirations of the period that immediately followed the Seven Years War, is simply and naturally unfolded. This beautiful play is valued by the Germans, not only as a work of art, but as one of the earliest and most striking manifestations of the growing spirit of German nationality.

In 1767 Lessing settled in Hamburg, where he had been invited to take part in the institution of a national theatre. The scheme promised well, and, as he associated himself with Bode, a literary man whom he respected, in starting a printing establishment, he hoped that he might at last look forward to a peaceful and prosperous career. The theatre, however, being mismanaged, was soon closed, while the printing establishment failed, and left behind it a heavy burden of debt. Many of Lessing's letters from Hamburg breathe almost a spirit of despair, and towards the end of his residence there he determined to quit Germany, believing that in Italy he might find congenial labour that would suffice for his wants. Even in Hamburg he made splendid contributions to enduring literature, the chief being his Hamburgische Dramaturgie. It consists of criticisms of some of the plays represented in the Hamburg theatre; but in these criticisms he offers a complete theory of the laws of dramatic art. In the main his theory is that of Aristotle, but it is maintained on independent grounds and applied in new ways. By this powerful work he delivered German dramatists for ever from the yoke of the classic tragedy of France, and directed them to the Greek dramatists and to Shakespeare as the poets who have opened most truly the fountains of tragic feeling. Another result of his labours in Hamburg was the Antiquarische Briefe, a series of masterly letters in answer to Klotz, a pedantic writer who, after flattering Lessing, had attacked him, and sought to establish a kind of intellectual despotism by means of critical journals which he directly or indirectly controlled. In connexion with this controversy, Lessing wrote his brilliant little treatise, Wie die Alten den Tod gebildet, contrasting the mediæval representation of death as a skeleton with the Greek conception of death as the twin-brother of sleep.

Instead of going to Italy as he intended, Lessing accepted, in 1770, the office of librarian at Wolfenbüttel, a post which was offered to him by the hereditary prince of Brunswick. In this position he passed his remaining years. For a time he was not unhappy, but by and by he was rendered miserable by his inability to pay the debts which he had contracted in Hamburg. He missed, too, the society of his friends, and his health, which had

hitherto been excellent, gradually gave way. In 1775 he travelled for nine months in Italy with Prince Leopold of Brunswick; and in the following year he married Eva König, the widow of a Hamburg merchant, with whom he had been on terms of intimate friendship. She was in every way worthy of Lessing, and their correspondence during his lonely years in Wolfenbüttel forms one of the most attractive elements of his biography. Their happiness in each other was perfect, but it lasted only for a brief period; in 1778 she died in childbed. After her death Lessing found one of his chief sources of consolation in the love of his four step-children, to whom he was tenderly attached.

Meanwhile he had extended his fame by several important writings. Soon after settling in Wolfenbüttel he found in the library an ancient manuscript, which proved to be a treatise of Berengarius of Tours on transubstantiation in reply to Lanfranc. Lessing was thus induced to write an essay on Berengarius, vindicating his character as a serious and consistent thinker. The essay was much admired by the leading theologians of Germany, and it is, on the whole, the ablest and most interesting of his Rettungen. In 1771 he published his Zerstreute Anmerkungen über das Epigramm, und einige der vornehmsten Epigrammatisten — a work which Herder described as “itself an epigram.” Lessing's theory of the origin of the epigram is somewhat fanciful, but no other critic has offered so many pregnant hints as to the laws of epigrammatic verse, or defended with so much force and ingenuity the character of Martial. In 1772 lovers of the drama were delighted by the appearance of Emilia Galotti, a tragedy which he had begun many years before in Leipsic. The subject was suggested by the Roman legend of Virginia, but the scene is laid in an Italian court, and the whole play is conceived in accordance with the modern spirit. Its defect is that its tragic conclusion does not seem to be absolutely inevitable, but there is high imaginative power in the character of the prince of Guastalla and in that of Marinelli, his chamberlain, who weaves the intrigue from which Emilia escapes by death. The diction of Emilia Galotti is at once refined and vigorous, and there are scenes in which some of the deepest passions of human nature are sounded with perfect art. Having completed Emilia Galotti, Lessing occupied himself for some years almost exclusively with the treasures of the Wolfenbüttel library. The results of his researches (some of them of high value) he embodied in a series of volumes, Zur Geschichte und Literatur, the first being issued in 1773, the last in the year of his death.

The concluding period of Lessing's life was devoted chiefly to theological controversy. Reimarus, professor of Oriental languages in Hamburg, who commanded general respect as a scholar and thinker, wrote a book entitled Apologie oder Schutzschrift für die vernünftigen Verehrer Gottes. The standpoint of Reimarus was that of the English deists, and he investigated, without hesitation, the evidence for the miracles recorded in the Bible. The manuscript of this work, after the author's death in 1767, was entrusted by his daughter, Elise Reimarus, to Lessing, who published extracts from it in his Zur Geschichte und Literatur, in 1774-78. These extracts, the authorship of which was not publicly avowed, were known as the “ Wolfenbüttel Fragments.” They created profound excitement among orthodox theologians, and evoked many replies, in which Lessing was bitterly condemned for having issued writings of so dangerous a tendency. Lessing delighted at all times in the stir of combat, and prepared to offer a full and vigorous defence. His most formidable assailant was Pastor Goeze, of Hamburg, a sincere and earnest theologian, but utterly unscrupulous in his choice of weapons against

an opponent. To him, therefore, Lessing addressed his most elaborate answers, — Eine Parabel, Axiomata, eleven letters with the title Anti-Goeze, and two pamphlets in reply to an inquiry by Goeze as to what Lessing meant by Christianity. These papers are not only full of thought and learning; they are written with a grace, vivacity, and energy that make them hardly less interesting to-day than they were to Lessing's contemporaries. He does not undertake to defend the conclusions of Reimarus; his immediate object is to claim the right of free criticism in regard even to the highest subjects of human thought. The argument on which he chiefly relies is that the Bible cannot be considered necessary to a belief in Christianity, since Christianity was a living and conquering power before the New Testament in its present form was recognized by the church. The true evidence for what is essential in Christianity, he contends, is its adaptation to the wants of human nature; hence the religious spirit is undisturbed by the speculations and researches of the boldest thinkers. The effect of this controversy was to secure wider freedom for writers on theology, and to suggest new problems regarding the growth of Christianity, the formation of the canon, and the essence of religion. On one subject, the origin of the gospels, Lessing poured a flood of fresh light in a treatise, published after his death, presenting “A New Hypothesis concerning the Evangelists, regarded as merely human writers.” The Brunswick Government having, in deference to the consistory, confiscated the “Fragments” and ordered Lessing to discontinue the controversy, he resolved, as he wrote to Elise Reimarus, to “try whether they would let him preach undisturbed from his old pulpit, the stage.” In Nathan der Weise, written in the winter of 1778-79, he gave poetic form to the ideas which he had already developed in prose. Its governing conception is that noble character may be associated with the most diverse creeds, and that there can, therefore, be no good reason why the holders of one set of religious principles should not tolerate those who maintain wholly different doctrines. This element of Nathan der Weise receives so much attention from its critics that many of them overlook the high artistic qualities of the work. As a play it has serious imperfections, but as a dramatic poem it is one of the finest creations of the 18th century. The characters possess true vitality, and several passages (including, of course, the famous passage setting forth the parable of the three rings) have both the depth and the spontaneity which are the unmistakable notes of genius. In 1780 appeared Die Erziehvng des Menschengeschlechts, the first half of which he had published in 1777 with one of the “Fragments.” This work, composed of a hundred brief paragraphs, was the last, and is, perhaps, the most suggestive, of Lessing's writings. The doctrine on which its argument is based is that no dogmatic creed can be regarded as final, but that every historical religion has played a great part in the development of the spiritual life of mankind. Lessing also maintains that history reveals a definite law of progress, and that occasional retrogression may be necessary for the advance of the world towards its ultimate goal. These ideas afterwards became familiar, but they offered a striking contrast to the principles both of orthodox and of sceptical writers in Lessing's day, and gave a wholly new direction to religious philosophy. Another work of Lessing's last years, Ernst und Falk (a series of five dialogues, of which the first three were published in 1777, the last two in 1780), also indicated in a fascinating style many new points of view. Its nominal subject is freemasonry, but its real aim is to plead for a humane and charitable spirit in opposition to a narrow patriotism, an extravagant respect for rank, and exclusive devotion to any particular church.

Lessing's theological opinions exposed him to much petty persecution, and he was in almost constant straits for money. Nothing, however, broke his manly and generous spirit. To the end he was always ready to help those who appealed to him for aid, and he devoted himself with growing ardour to the search for truth. He formed many new plans of work, but in the course of 1780 it became evident to his friends that he would not be able much longer to continue his labours. His health had been undermined by excessive work and anxiety, and after a short illness he died at Brunswick on the 22d of January 1781.

He was rather above the middle height, and during the greater part of his life maintained an appearance of vigour and elasticity. Luther himself was not of a more fearless and independent character. In an age when men of letters were fond of grouping themselves in sects and coteries, Lessing pursued his own way, unmoved by clamour, and indifferent to popular favour. Yet no man was ever more warmly loved by friends, and he had the satisfaction of knowing that the younger generation of writers looked up to him with confidence and reverence. Jacobi wished for many years to make his acquaintance, but was deterred from addressing him, as he explained to Lessing, by a profound consciousness of the difference between himself and one whom he regarded as “a king among minds.” “We lose much, much in him,” wrote Goethe after Lessing's death, “more than we think.” It may be questioned whether there is any other writer to whom the Germans owe a deeper debt of gratitude. He was succeeded by poets and philosophers who for a time gave Germany the first place in the intellectual life of the world, and it was Lessing, as they themselves acknowledged, who prepared the way for their achievements. Without attaching himself to any particular system of philosophical doctrine, he fought incessantly against error, and in regard to art, poetry, the drama, and religion, suggested ideas which kindled the enthusiasm of aspiring minds, and stimulated their highest energies. While his work was thus effective in its own day, it has lost little of its value for later ages. His great dramas have imaginative qualities which appeal to every generation, and an unfading charm is conferred on his critical and theological writings by the power and classical purity of his style.

The first edition of his collected works appeared, in 30 vols., in 1771-94. A critical edition by Lachmann, in 13 vols., was issued in 1838-40, and this edition was revised, with additions, by Maltzahn in 1853-57. In 1868-77 Lessing's works, edited by several competent scholars, were published in 20 vols. by Hempel, and there is an illustrated edition in 8 vols. (Grote, 1875-76). See Lessing's Leben, 1793, by Karl G. Lessing (his brother); Danzel, G. E. Lessing, sein Leben und seine Werke, 1850 (completed by Guhrauer, 1853-54); Stahr, G. E. Lessing, sein Leben und seine Werke, 1859; H. Düntzer, Lessing's Leben, 1882; and in English, J. Sime, Lessing, 1877, and H. Zimmern, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, 1878. (J. SI.)


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 Why let them come at all? Why not say to these people that the United Nations has no right to come and interfere in the internal domestic affairs of Southern Rhodesia, or of any other country? Of course, there are those who have tried to make out—I include the Front Bench opposite in this, though not today—that there was a danger to the peace of the world in Southern Rhodesia. This has never been true. I am sure that my right hon. Friend would tell the House that Southern Rhodesia today is a very peaceful country, far from being in the state suggested by members of the United Nations who have been anxious to interfere.

It is sad that my right hon. Friend should now be given the task of administering the coup de grâce, for that is what he is doing in introducing the Bill today. He has mentioned his concern about certain points, and I wish to mention mine about one or two aspects of the Bill. I am glad that there has been a good deal of discussion today about the civil servants. I am sure that there is no one in this country who has to pay the taxes that go towards the funds who would not gladly see the Government treat generously those civil servants who have lost their jobs. I was disturbed to learn—I suppose that it is somewhat ironic—that many of the civil servants who were seconded compulsorily to the federal service from the territories are now to be compulsorily seconded back, in some cases to Administrations in which they have little confidence. I hope that this will be borne in mind.

I hope that the Minister who is to reply will be able to say something about citizenship. In my view, there is good cause to suggest that citizens of the Federation should now have the opportunity to have duel citizenship, that is, citizenship of any one territory and British citizenship at the same time. There may come a time when these people will want to return to Britain, and I think that it would be most unfortunate if those who had gone out to give good service to the peoples in these territories found, on wanting to return to this country, that they were under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, treated as people other than British subjects who had a right to return here quite regardless of that Act.

My noble Friend the Member for Hertford said that the Government must not give independence except to a majority Government in Southern Rhodesia. This seems to be a most strange argument when those who are demanding this outside are countries like Ghana, which really and truly cannot be regarded as a democracy by anyone in this Chamber. I am sure that the Africans in Southern Rhodesia today are a much freer and happier people than the Africans in Ghana, and I cannot understand the person who says that we cannot at this stage give full independence to Southern Rhodesia unless it has a majority Government. I hope that we shall not press them too far in demanding certain terms on which this shall be given. I feel that this is something which could well disappoint and embitter many people in this country.

I know that certain people today, including my noble Friend the Member for Hertford, have said that nothing but a majority Government in Southern 1492 Rhodesia is acceptable, but there are many relatives of Rhodesians in this country who know of the hard work put into building up that territory and who realise just how much it will depend in future on the remaining Europeans. If the Europeans are driven away by a further attempt to make them advance more quickly than they feel able to accept, I suggest that the very people on whom that territory depends will leave and that the Africans will be the people who will suffer.

The other point which worries me greatly is the question of Nyasaland and law and order. My right hon. Friend the First Secretary said this afternoon that law and order were being maintained in Nyasaland. This has been the Government's contention for the last two and a half years. During this time provincial commissioners, district commissioners, business men and tribal chiefs out there have constantly said that that was not so. I went out there for the first time in 1960. At that time Members on both sides of the House were disturbed when Chester Katsonga's house was burned down because he came to a reception for British Members of Parliament. We sent a telegram to my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House, as he now is, expressing our concern at the state of law and order in Nyasaland. We saw the Malawi Youth being trained and drilled very much like the Hitler Youth of pre-war days. We know the object of their training. We were disturbed on being told by the police that the Attorney-General did not give

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Poetry (Coates, "Contemplative and fair, with look divine")

 * "Poetry" from The Critic (July 1905)
 * "Poetry" from Lyrics of Life (1909)
 * "Poetry" from Poems Vol. I (1916)


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 them sufficient power to enforce law and order. Those of us who complained about it when we returned to this country were told that this just was not true, that there was law and order and that everyone else out there was wrong.

I returned to Nyasaland last autumn. While I was there, I again found this great anxiety about the state of law and order in the territory. District commissioners, provincial commissioners and tribal chiefs were expressing the same anxiety. All the time their power is being gradually taken away by Dr. Banda. There was a general feeling that no real attempt was being made to prevent Dr. Banda and his Malawi Congress from becoming a dictatorship with control over everyone in the territory.

When one discovered that the Attorney-General had issued instructions to the police that they were not to initiate proceedings against anyone for violence or incitement to violence without his personal permission, one began to believe that there was great danger there.

While I was waiting to catch my aircraft out of Blantyre, a British journalist came to see me. He had written an article which Dr. Banda did not like and, as a result of it, he was chased and beaten up. He managed to escape, but there followed in the Malawi News an editorial calling for justice to be done to this man, and it finished with these words: "A wicked man like this must not be tolerated. We do not care who punishes him or how he is punished, but he must be punished." This young man, who had a wife and young child there, considered that this was a direct incitement to violence against his person and family. I believed that it was, too. He asked me to make representations to the Government on his behalf. He had gone to the police. In due course, when I reached Salisbury, I saw the British High Commissioner and told him, having written to him in advance, about this man's anxiety and asked that the Governor should have his attention drawn to this case. It seemed to me a blatant incitement to violence which, if allowed to go unchecked, would be a direct invitation to people to continue the reign of violence in that territory.

When I got back here, I wrote to the First Secretary about the matter and expressed my anxiety. I said that I had made direct official representations to the British High Commissioner on behalf of a British subject in that territory and asked him if he would look into the matter. Later I asked a Question in the House, but I still did not get a satisfactory answer. I was merely told that it seemed to the Attorney-General that there was no incitement to violence in the words of which I complained.

This sort of thing disturbs me greatly, and I am not the only one who is disturbed. We now learn that in recent weeks the Malawi police have been beating up Europeans and Asians. The latest thing, as appears from the newspapers today, is that Mr. Chipembere has made a threat to Europeans saying that if they do not behave themselves they will net just be deported—that would be the legal way—but that the Malawi Youth will get after them and will terrorise them out of the country. This is not a state of affairs which one can tolerate in a country at anytime. I am therefore amazed that my right hon. Friend should suggest today that law and order are being maintained in Nyasaland. Surely if independence is handed to a State in that sort of condition there is little hope of it being a peaceful transition to independence.

I warn my right hon. Friend that I have recently had telegrams from people in Blantyre. There is a grave fear that the regular official police will start fighting the Malawi Youth police. If that happens there will be the most terrible conflict. There is much more danger in Nyasaland than there is in Southern Rhodesia, and I beg my right hon. Friend to take seriously the warnings which have been coming out of Nyasaland. All the warnings from Member of Parliament after Member of Parliament and from every visitor who goes there and comes back here have been ignored and brushed aside. It is said,"This just is not so. What you have seen does not mean that there is no law and order. Do not believe what people have told you. They do not know; we do".

This is one of the great tragedies of Africa. There have been people in this country who thought that they knew better than the people on the spot. TI [sic] cannot help feeling that there are still those in this Chamber who, with all the good


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, Francis Orpen


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 intentions in the world, are saying things which will cause the same sort of damage simply because they are forming a judgment from this far distance and have ignored the warnings of those on the spot.

I have said enough, but—

Mr. Cyril Bence (Dunbartonshire, East) Hear, hear.

Mr. Goodhew The hon. Gentleman has not heard it all. He is lucky. Some other hon. Members have been here all the time. In spite of the hon. Gentleman, I will finish, unlike him, because sometimes he goes on rather longer if he feels that somebody is getting impatient.

Every Member of the House will want a successful outcome of the arrangements that have so far been made. I hope that there will be universal support for the measures that are put into operation. When all is said and done, what matters to the people of these territories is that, when government is handed over, it should be handed over in such a condition that everything is operating smoothly and law and order, not chaos, prevail. With that in mind, I hope that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State will accept that I wish the Government well in this operation, although I am sad that we have been brought to this state where it is necessary.

 * 7.21 p.m.

Mr. Roy Mason (Barnsley) I should like to say at the outset to the hon. Member for Hertford (Lord Balniel) that, in the main, I do not disagree with what he said. There were two particular points he mentioned with which I wholly agree. The first was regarding the type of Government now taking office in Southern Rhodesia, and the second was the point he made about the demands that they are making for independence at this moment.

I am sorry that there has been a reversal in Southern Rhodesia of the multi-racial trends that were taking place in government. Because that has happened, it has stiffened my attitude towards resisting their demands for independence at this time. There were parts of the speech of the hon. Member for St. Albans (Mr. Goodhew) with which I agreed, particularly when he was talking about the disorders and disturbances in Nyasaland. I have been there. I have witnessed them, and, as he said, the First Secretary of State should be informed more fully by Members of this House who are receiving notes, telegrams and letters from the people in Nyasaland about these disturbances. I cannot agree with him on the point he made about the demands for Southern Rhodesia's independence. This is where we must take a different stand, although on matters of this kind we have in the main been together on previous occasions.

I do not greet this Bill and its eventual passage through the House with cheerfulness. Indeed, I greet it with some remorse and sorrow, because I am feeling for those many thousands of white people in the Rhodesias and Nyasaland, many of whom are of British stock, who in the past ten years have been genuinely and sincerely trying to build a multiracial federation in these three States. There are some hon. Members, particularly on this side of the House, who may say:"Well, there may have been a few of them, but the majority of them were not really interested in multi-racialism". My view after two visits throughout the whole of the three territories was that there was a very strong core of liberal-minded Europeans who particularly wanted this to succeed. It is with those people in mind that I speak today.

One must recognise the situation in which they find themselves, because throughout the past ten years and throughout this multi-racial experiment they have witnessed the growth, first, of apartheid just below their southern borders, the eventual exit of South Africa from the Commonwealth, civil war, disorders and bloodshed just over their northern frontiers. At the beginning of the experiment there were the Mau-Mau disorders on their eastern flanks and they saw the growth of black dictatorships in West Africa as well, all inside ten years, and at the same time as they were sincerely trying to develop these multi-racial trends in the heart of Africa.


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Caldecott, Randolph


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Caldecott, Thomas


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, Huw


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 On its upper roll it has a voting qualification on the register of 90,000 persons forming almost the entirety of the European population. On its lower roll it has the possibility of registering something like 28,000 Africans, 1 per cent. of the total African population of the country. Very naturally, in the last election the Africans refused to engage in this humiliating charade of an election. In fact, only 1,400 Africans out of a total population approaching 3 million took part in the election. Today we have in the Southern Rhodesian Parliament 15 African Members of Parliament who represent, on average, 90 votes each. That would hardly qualify for a parish council election in this country.

When we talk, as many hon. Members do, about the possibility of Southern Rhodesia obtaining independence without any change in her constitution, we should remember the words written by Lord Milner about this part of the world in 1899: "The spectacle of thousands of British subjects kept permanently in the position of helots…does steadily undermine the influence and reputation of Great Britain and the respect for the British Government within the Queen's Dominions." Lord Milner was writing at that time about the British Outlanders who were deprived of political enfranchisement by the Boers, but the principle seems exactly the same. Whereas the deprivation of political enfranchisement of British subjects at that time led only a few months later to the Boer War, the deprivation of political enfranchisement of the overwhelming mass of the African population in Southern Rhodesia will soon conjure up very grave problems indeed for that country.

A great deal has been said in the House and in Southern Rhodesia about the possibility that if we dissolve the Federation and do not, concurrently with the granting of independence to Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, grant it to Southern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia would claim and take independence herself. It is said that we would have no power to prevent such an unconstitutional act from being performed. This is absolutely true. We have no military power which could stop Southern Rhodesia taking independence—but that is certainly no argument for conniving in that kind of conduct.

In all seriousness, having witnessed the way in which the Southern Rhodesian Government acted with caution and discretion at the Victoria Falls Conference, I do not believe that the Southern Rhodesian Government would take this action, because if it were to do so it would be embarking upon a course fraught with danger for itself. Lying in the very heart of Africa, Southern Rhodesia would cut herself off not only from the main stream of African development and from the African markets lying all around her to the North—but she would cut herself off from the Commonwealth and virtually the entire membership of the United Nations. If she took this action, Southern Rhodesia would be enlaagered and alone with South Africa and Mozambique and Angola.

Some of my hon. Friends who recognise the possibility of Southern Rhodesia seizing independence and those outside the House who advocate that she should take this step are no doubt very true and dear friends of Southern Rhodesia, but if their advice were taken they would be rendering a disastrous disservice to the people who live in that country, disastrous both in political and economic terms.

It would be disastrous in political terms because we know the views expressed at the Pan-African Conference at Addis Ababa. We know what would be the reaction of the newer Afro-Asian members of the Commonwealth. I think that I am right in saying that the older and once called"White Dominions" of the Commonwealth, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, have all warned Southern Rhodesia in private that they could not accept her as an independent member of the Commonwealth with her existing constitution. In a wider sphere, there is the probability not only that a Government in exile would be established on the borders of Southern Rhodesia but that that Government in exile and not the established Government of Southern Rhodesia would be recognised by the mass of the world.

In economic terms, the dangers of such a course of action are very grave. Even at the moment, Southern Rhodesia has seen a fall in her industrial investment from £14 million in 1960 to £6 million in 1961, and I understand that there was a comparable fall in 1962. She has seen this happen just at the time when there has been a great influx of capital from white business, not into Salisbury, but into Lusaka underneath an African Government. She needs the markets in


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Calder, James Tait


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Calder, John


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 Northern Rhodesia—for 30 per cent. of her total industrial production is sold in Northern Rhodesia. If she were to take this step—declaring herself independent of her own volition—she could not face the economic sanctions which would be imposed upon her by all the Pan-African territories lying north of the Zambesi, Northern Rhodesia in particular.

Her economy is weak. To pay even the interest on what is expected to be her share of the federal debt absorbs 15 per cent. of her total annual revenue. While in this country we take powers to dissolve the Federation and while we must recognise that we have not the military might which would stop Southern Rhodesia taking independence, were she so inclined, every argument of common sense indicates that she would be very unwise to embark on such a course.

As we dissolve the Federation, we should keep two main strands of thought in the foreground of our minds. First, we should welcome among Europeans and Africans the emotional and fervent desire for independence. This is healthy. But we should make it absolutely clear that the pre-condition for independence is the establishment of majority rule in Southern Rhodesia. This pre-condition has been accepted in every British possession since 1910. In 1910 we granted independence to South Africa with a white minority Government in office. It is not an example which has inspired much confidence. Her Majesty's Government should not be prepared to depart one iota from this pre-condition and in fairness to the Southern Rhodesians we should make this absolutely clear to them.

The second strand is that as we destroy the Federal authority over the three territories, we should try to replace it with a voluntary association among them. The right hon. Member for Wakefield (Mr. Creech Jones) indicated that he was optimistic that this voluntary association would be established. I believe that it will be a great deal harder to establish voluntary association between Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia than many people imagine.

The reason for this is that the emotional detestation which has developed towards Federation is almost certain—wrongly in my opinion—to overflow on to whatever voluntary association or machinery is established between these territories. The reason for this is that African detestation of federation is not really based on the structure of federation itself but on the policies of federation. It was well put in the Monckton Report which said: "Now, after seven years of Federation African distrust has reached an intensity impossible…to dispel without drastic and fundamental changes both in the structure of the association itself, and in the racial policies of Southern Rhodesia." We are now changing the structure of the Federation, indeed, we are destroying its structure, but I have not seen any indication of any change in the racial policies of Southern Rhodesia. Indeed, since those words were written the racial policies have hardened. The Land Apportionment Act, which was to be abandoned by Sir Edgar Whitehead, is to be retained.

Sir Roy Welensky declared at the Conference that federal civil servants must be treated as humans and not cattle. In passing may I say that I whole heartedly support my right hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton (Mr. Turton) in his plea for generous treatment of federal civil servants? However, in the same week as Sir Roy was saying that at that conference there were two delegates from Northern Rhodesia who were refused admission to a hotel in Southern Rhodesia. Those are not pinpricks but are deadly personal insults to individuals. This retention of racial policies which are not acceptable in the modern world will make the establishment of voluntary association between North and South very difficult. It will be harder because inevitably, now that political nationalism has succeededin the Northern Territories, it is bound to be followed by economic nationalism, and the Northern Territories will look more readily to the north, to Tanganyika and Uganda and Kenya, for the establishment of economic links than they will look to the south.

Southern Rhodesia has some strong cards. Many of the services—the railway system, the Kariba Dam, coal and copper, and the flow of trade and labour across the boundaries—are inextricably interwoven. These cards will not alter the fact that she will not be able to obtain decent economic relationship with the north until such time as she is prepared to make a really fundamental change in her race policies and in the Constitution.


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Calder, Robert (1650?-1723)


text:
Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Hermann Samuel Reimarus

REIMARUS, (1694-1768), known to history chiefly as the author of the Wolfenbüttel Fragments, was born at Hamburg, December 22, 1694. His father, the son of a clergyman and married into a patrician family of that city, was one of the masters in the Johanneum college, a good scholar and excellent teacher. Until his twelfth year the son received his education almost entirely from his father. He passed from his father's tuition into the class of the famous scholar Johann Albrecht Fabricius, whose son-in-law he subsequently became. In his twentieth year he entered the university of Jena, where he studied theology, ancient languages, and philosophy. After making a tour in Holland and England (1720), he became privat-docent in the university of Wittenberg; and in 1723 he accepted the post of rector of the high, school at Wismar in Mecklenburg, which he exchanged four years afterwards for that of professor of Hebrew and Oriental languages in the high school of his native city. This post he held till his death, though offers of more lucrative and distinguished positions were at various times made to him. His professional duties were but light, and he employed his ample leisure in the study of philology, mathematics, philosophy, history, political economy, natural science, and natural history, for which he made expensive collections. Philosophy and theology, however, became with his advancing years the chief subjects of pursuit. From 1744 to 1768 he had in hand the theological work from which Lessing published the notorious Fragments in 1774-78. Reimarus was held by his contemporaries in the highest esteem as a scholar, a thinker, an author, and a man. His house was the centre of the highest culture of Hamburg, and a monument of his influence in that city still remains in the Haus der patriotischen Gesellschaft, where the learned and artistic societies partly founded by him still meet. His wife bore him seven children, three only of whom lived to grow up, namely his only surviving son — the distinguished physician Johann Albrecht Heinrich — and two daughters, one of them being Elise, Lessing's friend and correspondent. Ten days before his death he invited a select number of friends to dine with him, and, with his wonted cheerfulness and amiability, declared to them solemnly that this was his

farewell meal with them. Three days after he was taken seriously ill, and died March 1, 1768.

Reimarus's reputation as a classical and historical scholar rests on the valuable edition of Dio Cassius (1750-52) which he prepared from the materials collected by his father-in-law, J. A. Fabricius. In the department of philosophy he published a work on logic (Vernunftlehre als Anweisung zum richtigen Gebrauche der Vernunft, 1756, fifth edition 1790), and two very popular books bearing on the great religious questions of the day. The first of these works was a collection of essays on the principal truths of natural religion (Abhandlungen von den vornehmsten Wahrheiten der natürlichen Religion, 1754, 6th ed. 1791); the second (Betrachtungen über die Kunsttriebe der Thiere, 1762, 4th ed. 1798) dealt with one particular branch of the same subject. In these works he appears as a powerful opponent of French materialism and Spinoza's pantheism, a zealous teleologist and able wielder of the argument from design. His philosophical position is essentially that of Christian Wolff. But it is the work (carefully kept back during his lifetime, strangely enough) from which Lessing published certain chapters after the author's death with which his name is most widely associated. Lessing's relation to this work has been stated in the article. Its title in the MS. is Apologie oder Schutzschrift für die vernünftigen Verehrer Gottes. The original MS. is in the Hamburg town library; a copy was made for the university library of Göttingen, 1814, and other copies are known to exist. In addition to the seven fragments published by Lessing, a second portion of the work was issued in 1787 by C. A. E. Schmidt (a pseudonym), under the title Uebrige noch ungedruckte Werke des Wolfenbüttelschen Fragmentisten, and a further portion by D. W. Klose in Niedner's Zeitschrift für historische Theologie, 1850-52. Two of the five books of the first part and the whole of the second part, as well as appendices on the canon, remain still, and will probably always remain, unprinted. But D. F. Strauss has given an exhaustive analysis of the whole work in his book on Reimarus.


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Calder, Robert (1745-1818)


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 In discussing this Bill we are undertaking the melancholy task of burying a federation which was in its concept and in its outlook one of the most statesman-like and imaginative acts of policy which have been undertaken in Africa in the post-war era. Federation failed because it was based on noble ideals—noble ideals of the richer nations helping the poorer nations and the concept of partnership between black men and white men—noble ideals which never came to life during the past 10 years under the guidance of the Federal Government.

I know that it is very easy for us who do not live in those countries to criticise what goes on there. Heaven knows we have our own failures in policies for which we have been responsible in Africa. I certainly give all the praise that is due, without any reservation at all, to what has been achieved in the Federation, particularly in economic and material terms. Whilst it might be resented that we criticise from a distance, it would be inexcusable folly for Southern Rhodesia not at last after all these years to learn the lesson which now stares her in the face—that she must match her material achievements with a resurrection of the spirit of partnership which is now more necessary than ever before.

 * 6.42 p.m.

Mrs. Eirene White (Flint, East) It gives me very great pleasure to follow the noble Lord the Member for Hertford (Lord Balniel), who made an admirable speech. I am glad, in a sense, that such a speech has come from his side of the House, because perhaps it will persuade those in Southern Rhodesia who might otherwise be so misguided as to persist in their previous mistaken course more than a speech from this side. Therefore, the whole House should be grateful to the noble Lord, not only for the point of view he has expressed but also for the fact that he has expressed it with such clarity and eloquence. I have heard him speak on a number of occasions. I do not think I have ever heard him make a better speech.

The Chief Secretary is a man of many parts. He has recently been doubling the rôle of undertaker and family solicitor. He has brought the heirs round the coffin and they have agreed upon the order of the funeral service. That is set out for us in the White Paper. What we still do not know is what will happen when they come to the reading of the will. We shall not know that until the committees which are to be set up under the Agreement get together and put their proposals before the parties concerned. I will not go into all the legal niceties of this analogy. I think that it is a fair one.

I do not want to go too far into the past. I am glad that I have caught your eye, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, because no one in the House was more persistent or energetic than I in opposing federation when it was before us 10 years ago. I have in my hand just one of the HANSARDS of that time—that for 4th May, 1953—recording the speeches of my right hon. Friend the Member for Llanelly (Mr. J. Griffiths), one or two other Members who are present in the House today, and my own. All that has happened since 1953 has confirmed those of us who opposed the Federation on principle, the principle being that we were trying to join together three territories 1484 which are politically unequal. However attractive the prospects were from the economic point of view—I grant everything that my right hon. Friend the Member for Llanelly said on that score—we felt that it was clear and obvious at that time that such a federation could not be expected to succeed.

It is a melancholy fact that our fears were completely confirmed. They might not have been. It is just conceivable that we might have been mistaken in our assessment of the people concerned. It is conceivable that Sir Roy Welensky, for example, might have given a very different lead in the earlier years. It is conceivable that the move towards what is far from racial integration in Southern Rhodesia, but even the mitigation of discrimination, might have come many years before it did. All these things were at least conceivable, but they were not probable.

Those of us who at that time studied the matter with the closest possible attention came to the conclusion that on the whole the scales were weighted so heavily against success that the Government at that time were taking a gamble which they were not justified in taking. The political situation has changed enormously within the last few years. It has


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Calderbank, James


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 changed especially rapidly since the emergence of other independent territories in Africa. There is no doubt that what has given the tremendous impetus to the African political movements in Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia and also in Southern Rhodesia has been the fact that they have been able to look to other parts of the continent of Africa and say to themselves,"If our brothers in such and such territories can be independent, why not we?" There is no answer to that. If Tanganyika can be independent, why not Northern Rhodesia.

The Governments concerned, with the exception of Southern Rhodesia, have made an assessment of political realities as they are at present. We are therefore left with the moment of truth that political structure in any part of Africa from now onwards has to be based upon the rights of the majority. I was very glad indeed that the noble Lord made that so clear in his references to Southern Rhodesia. Of course it will be difficult for her. It will be intensely difficult for her to recognise this very difficult fact.

It will be all the more difficult, because at one point Southern Rhodesia was riding so high on the crest of the federal wave. One of the results of Federation was to increase the attractions for investment of Salisbury and Bulawayo. There was a period—the climax of it was about 1957—of"never had it so good" which affected Southern Rhodesia and which brought in very considerable outside investment. There was a building boom. There was land speculation, and so on. It must be very bitter indeed for those who thought that they were riding on the crest of the wave to find that they are now in the trough.

But they must face realities and they must recognise, as the leader in the Guardian today makes clear, that— "Once the principle either of apartheid, as in South Africa, or of paternalism, as in Southern Rhodesia, is abandoned there is no rest this side of universal suffrage." It must come sooner or later and it will have to be recognised and accepted. My hon. Friends and I have made it clear that until that road has been clearly charted in Southern Rhodesia there should be no question of complete independence.

Having said that, we are, nevertheless, clearly anxious about the future of the territories. There were good reasons for wishing that the three should co-operate because of the unequal distribution of wealth and natural resources in that part of the world. The territory which worries me perhaps more than any other is that of Nyasaland. I was there nearly 10 years ago and I wonder what fundamental changes have taken place in the intervening years. I appreciate that there have been some improvements—in the health service, education and so on—but I do not think that very much progress has been made in the territory's basic economy. They were always the weaker partner. Their political representation was minimal and the whole force of Federal finances was to bolster up Southern Rhodesia.

Very little has gone to Nyasaland, and that country is now starting on independence in the most unenviable situation of not being a viable State. If they look north, as they frequently have done, to Tanganyika, they must realise that Tanganyika herself is not equipped to do very much to help Nyasaland. One hopes that the resources of Northern Rhodesia may somehow be shared, but during federation that territory has felt bitterly that she was the milch cow of the Federation and that there was a limit to what she could be expected to do for her neighbours.

One fact of life Southern Rhodesia will have to face is that unless she can find a modus vivendi with Northern Rhodesia and unless the burden of the federal services can be shared equitably she will also be in a difficult position. I echo what the Guardian stated today in its leader about the desirability of Her Majesty's Government making such generous arrangements as can be made when the time comes for committees A and B to get to work, recognising that some at least of the public debt which will be a millstone around the necks of the territories was incurred because of the mistaken policy of the British Government.

We should without any recriminations, be as generous as we possibly can wherever we find it necessary to enable economic development to take place, social services to be fostered and institutions to be maintained which were started in the belief that the federal system would continue, but which may now find themselves seriously weakened


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 owing to the break-up of the Federation.

I am thinking particularly of places like the University College at Salisbury. I very much regretted the decision of the Nyasaland Government to withdraw their support from even individual students at the University College. I appreciate their reasons for doing that but, on the other hand, it is a great pity that University College where serious efforts were being made to bring about racial integration within the Federation should be penalised for political reasons which were no fault of the authorities at the college.

Anyone who has any interest in academic life knows that the cost of establishing and sustaining three separate universities in the territories would be beyond their resource. It has been suggested that there should be a university at Lusaka, and I know that Dr. Banda would like to have one in Nyasaland—a laudable desire, but to have an establishment which could match the sort of university we have in mind seems to be at present beyond the bounds of possibility save on some academic federal basis. There are many other matters on which co-operation and the pooling of contributions is extremely desirable.

It is to be hoped that with the new political situation it may be possible for Committee B to have a successful outcome to its work. It has been said that Committee A is the bulldozer while Committee B is the cement mixer. I hope that the constructive work of Committee B will be really successful. Much depends on the attitude of the Southern Rhodesian negotiators and delegates. If they are prepared, in the political sphere, to be realistic and to accept the obvious future, it may be possible to obtain co-operation on many other things.

If, on the other hand, they fail to do this, one can look forward only with a certain apprehension to the fall of standards in many directions in Central Africa; health services, scientific research and so on—and I am anxious that there should be co-operation in these matters as well as in the more obvious physical elements such as power from Kariba, the railways and so on. I hope that there will be a general feeling of wishing to lose as little as possible of what may be salvaged and that there will be a general desire, in the interests of the standards of living of all the people of Central Africa, to contribute to what are considerable common services and enterprises.

It is extraordinary that at this time, when we are burying the Central African Federation, the East African Federation should be coming into being amid general good will. One can only hope that the disruptive elements in Southern Rhodesia will appreciate that their future will be far more secure and prosperous if they can accept the political facts of life.

The fear has been expressed that Southern Rhodesia might wish to go in with the Republic of South Africa. This fear was mentioned emphatically 10 years ago when we were discussing federation. I never believed it then and I do not believe it now. I cannot believe that Southern Rhodesia could be so misguided as to think that there would be any future happiness or prosperity in that conjunction. I do not think, therefore, that that is a factor to be seriously considered.

I can see that there might be considerable dangers for Southern Rhodesia and for the rest of Central Africa if the British Government do not pay more attention to the Protectorates and do something in that direction. I appreciate that it would be out of order for me to go into this aspect in detail, but let us not repeat some of the mistakes we have already made in some parts of Africa by continuing to treat the Protectorates in such a way that we will find, in possibly only a few years, that we are faced there with serious political crises without their being in an economically viable state to look after themselves. This is one of the serious problems in this part of Africa to which Her Majesty's Government seem to be giving far too little attention. However, I shall not pursue that now, because it would be out of order to do so on this Bill.

I am sorry that the Federation has failed, but, frankly, I never thought, in the circumstances in which it was initiated, that it had any possible chance of success. I can only hope that the political leaders in the Federation, including Dr.


text:
Page:MALAYSIA BILL RHODESIA AND NYASALAND BILL (1) (Hansard, 11 Juli 1963).djvu/32

 Banda, Kenneth Kaunda and the rest, will be great enough men not to allow their natural feeling of hostility or animosity towards Southern Rhodesia to destroy the possibility of keeping in being many establishments, institutions and projects which can be maintained only on a federal basis and which would take a very long time to rebuild if they were now allowed to be destroyed.

 * 7.1 p.m.

Mr. Victor Goodhew (St. Albans)' The right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, East (Mr. Bottomley) expressed the hope that those on this side of the House who supported Sir Roy Welensky would not be silenced by Lord Poole into abstaining from speaking in the debate. I assure him that I shall not be silenced by Lord Poole, on this subject or on any other, for that matter, if I feel that I have something to say. The right hon. Gentleman also said that there was no cause for jubilation today. When he said it, I could not help feeling that, with certain honourable exceptions, a good deal has been done to damage the cause of the Federation by the party opposite.

Like others, I congratulate my right hon. Friend the First Secretary of State on having achieved what has so far been achieved at the Victoria Falls Conference. However, I feel that we should recognise fully and state here and now that a great deal has been achieved in the Federation. I am disappointed that many of those who have spoken in the debate have tended to brush this aside and speak only of the disadvantages and failures, without giving a really fair picture of what has been taking place. My noble Friend the Member for Hertford (Lord Balniel) might well have given people the impression that Southern Rhodesia was a State in which all the people were badly oppressed. Anyone who goes out there knows perfectly well that this is not so. All over the country, the people are living a very happy and free life, and much advantage has accrued to them throughout the time during which they have been governed by Europeans in that territory.

It should be realised that the Federation has not died a natural death. It may have suffered from slowness in the way it set about achieving the objects put before it. It is easy now, jobbing backwards, to criticise those who might have gone faster. It is easier still to do this speaking here 6,000 miles away from the fears which people in countries of this kind have when they see chaos in other African countries which become independent. But great strides have been made. The Africans, who are still, as we are told, the vast majority and whose interests should be our main concern, are in danger of suffering if a proper handing-over does not take place.

I said that the Federation had not died a natural death. It has been brutally bludgeoned to death. There have been various strange allies in the murder. First, there are the extreme nationalists, the racialists, whose one object in Africa is to see black domination. There is then the Afro-Asian bloc in the United Nations and, indeed, in the British Commonwealth which seems determined to destroy any vestige of British influence in these territories. They are aided by other States which, for reasons of their own, want to see chaos in Africa and Britain's influence removed. Also, there are allies of this country who have anti-colonial prejudices and who speak with great ignorance of affairs in Africa but who yet aid and abet this brutal murder. Finally, as I said earlier, there are hon. Members opposite who have certainly not helped by their exaggerations about conditions in the territories.

Most of the time, I fear, it has appeared that the British Government have been standing by without the courage to intervene and try to help. There have even been moments when one felt that they were putting a toe out to trip up the victim in the path of the assailant with his raised weapon. I cannot understand how we in this Parliament could have accepted a situation in which the United Nations sends over a committee to discuss the affairs of Southern Rhodesia, a committee with representatives from countries such as Mali which has about 5 per cent. primary education compared with 95 per cent. in Southern Rhodesia, or Ethiopia where slavery still takes place. We allow these people to probe the affairs of Southern Rhodesia and, in so doing, all we seem to do is to say,"This is not really our responsibility. We cannot do anything about it. Southern Rhodesia has been independent since 1923. Therefore, by all means come and talk about it, but we cannot do anything".


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Hunter, William Alexander


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Hunter, William Wilson


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Hutton, Richard Holt


text: User talk:117.198.140.129

title: User talk:117.198.140.129


text: The New International Encyclopædia/Reifferscheid, August


text: The New International Encyclopædia/Reigate


text: The New International Encyclopædia/Reighard, Jacob Ellsworth


text: The New International Encyclopædia/Reign of Terror


text: The New International Encyclopædia/Reimarus, Hermann Samuel


text: The New International Encyclopædia/Reims


text: The New International Encyclopædia/Rein, Johannes Justus


text: User:Inductiveload/Books/Philosophical Transactions/Volume 1


text: User:Inductiveload/Books/The Pilgrim Cook Book


text: The New International Encyclopædia/Rein, Wilhelm


text:
User:Mattwj2002/Books/The Willows

The Willows

 * The Willows
 * The Willows/I
 * The Willows/II
 * The Willows/III
 * The Willows/IV

title: User:Mattwj2002/Books/The Willows


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, James Nicoll


text: User:Mattwj2002/Books/Bull-dog Drummond

title: User:Mattwj2002/Books/Bull-dog Drummond


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, John (1617?-1649)


text:
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text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, John (1810-1886)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, John (1826-1893)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, John Brande


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, John Carnac


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, Lewis


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, Morris Drake


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, Richard


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, Robert


text:
Translation:Arukh ha-Shulchan/Orach Chaim/429

This chapter contains eight sections: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Section 1
'Nisan' is the head of all the months. This is due to its great stature, even though the counting of years begins with the month of 'Tishrei'. This is based on the verse that states [Shmos, 12.1]: "This month should be for you the head of all the months, it is the first of all the months of the year." The intent of this verse is that the month is considered the 'head' of all the months, and there it has the distinction of being counted as the first when the months are enumerated.

What then is the source of this 'great stature'? It is the exodus from Egypt, which occurred in this month and demonstrated the existence of the Divine providence of G-d upon his creations, revealed his miraculous signs and wonders, brought justice to the wicked, and repaid good to those who love him [that is, love his attributes]. This is all evident in the smiting of Pharaoh and Egypt, and in the redemption of Yisrael.

Section 2
Why specifically was this month chosen [for the Exodus to occur in]? The reason is because Egypt worshiped the lamb, which is the first of the astrological signs [Aries] in the celestial band, and this sign functions during the month of Nisan. Pharaoh relied on this sign in addition to his own power to bring him success. This explains his behavior, which appeared quite humbled after the plague of hail, where he exclaims "The L-rd is righteous, and I and my nation are sinners!" [Shmos 9.27], only to change markedly after the locusts, where he "expelled them [Moshe and Aaron from before him]" [Shmos 10.11], and culminating in his harsh words to Moshe after the plague of darkness - "You will see my face no more!" [Shmos [10.28]. The reason for all this is that as Nisan approached Pharaoh felt increasingly secure since the time of this astrological sign's ascendancy was approaching.

This then is the meaning of G-d's statement to Moshe: "This month should be for you the head of the months...", meaning to say "This month that Pharaoh was waiting for - it will be the first of your months, because through it the belief in astrological powers was shown to be false, and only "G-d - He is the L-rd - in the heavens above and the earth below, there is none other" [Devarim, 4.39] - and Yisrael is his treasure. Therefore this month was fitting to be made the first of the months.

Section 3
Furthermore, this month's great stature is the reason that the tabernacle was erected on its first day, as is recounted in the Torah portion of 'Pikudei', and the princes offered their sacrifices, each on his day, at the time of the Altar's inauguration, as recounted in the portion of 'Naso'. The same will be true in the time to come [the messianic era], when the Temple will be rebuilt in Nisan, as is recounted in the last chapter of the Talmudic tractate Sofrim 21.2. It is also written there that one does not say supplications ('Tachanun') the entire month of Nisan, and neither does one fast - excepting the fast of the firstborn on the eve of Pesach - or say 'Tzidkascha Tzedek' in the Mincha of Shabbos or deliver a eulogy. The prayer of 'Tzadok Hadin' [a prayer recited at a funeral] is not said either.

From the words of our teacher the Beis Yosef it is evident that the prohibition over fasting is only for a communal fast. A personal fast, however, is allowed. This can be seen from his words "Fasting in not practiced over a communal commemoration." On the other hand, our teacher the Rema writes as follows: "The custom is not to fast at all, even on the anniversary of the death of one's father or mother."

A bridegroom on his wedding day may fast [as is the custom], as I write later in chapter 573. Fasting over a troubling dream is obviously permitted, and it is not necessary for one to fast again as compensation for the first being on day that it was prohibited to fast on, as is done for Shabbos and festivals days.

And do not ask: "What special quality do the days after Pesach have that they share these laws?", for the answer is that since since the majority of the month is holy, [the remainder is treated likewise] ('Magen Avraham', end of comment 3). Truthfully, this reason is not even necessary, because the entire month is holy for reasons that we have already explained.

If one fasted on a Shabbos in Nisan because of a troubling dream, and therefore was required to fast an additional compensatory fast due to his fasting on the Sabbath, he should fast the following day even though it be in Nisan ('Magen Avraham', comment 6). If however he is close to the tenth of the month he should push it off until that day since that day is already a 'fast of the righteous' for reasons explained in chapter 580. The same would apply to Rosh Chodesh itself [the first day of a month], since it is a day on which some fast (see chapter 580 as well).

Section 4
One does not say 'Mizmor Lesodah' [Psalm 100] on Pesach eve or on Pesach because the 'Todah' sacrifice [which is the subject of the psalm] had in it 'Chametz' [leavened bread]. Similarly, in the daily recitation of the sacrifices in the section headed by "Eizehu" ("איזהו") one does not say "...as if I had brought a Todah..." for the same reason. In addition, one does not say "E-l Erech Apayim" or "Lamnatzeach" [Psalm 20]. Sefardic communities do not say these [ALL OF THESE?] the entire month. Regarding the communal Torah readings, the "Yehee Ratzon" prayer immediately following the readings on Monday and Thursday are also not recited.

'Hazkarah' [Prayers said on the anniversary of a death, often at the graveside, CORRECT?] is not performed during Nisan. It has already been mentioned that 'Tazok Hadin' is not said, and it therefore follows that 'Kadish' would not be recited either (previous source, comment 5). However, one may said a Psalm and recite Kadish afterward. In particular, the custom is to recite Psalm 29 and follow it with Kadish. When the body of a deceased Torah scholar is present it should be obvious that a eulogy is said, as there is no festival exception for a Torah scholar, and certainly no exception effected by the month of Nisan itself. In regard to this see what I have written in chapter 420.

Section 5
There is a custom to increase feasting somewhat on the day following a festival, and this day is known as 'Isru Chag'. In addition the custom is not to fast on this day, since it has somewhat the status of a festival. Now the Isru Chag of Shavuous is certainly a festival, for that was a day on which sacrifices were offered [CORRECT?], though this status has also been adopted for the day following Peasach and Sukkos as well. The Talmud itself recirds in Sukkah (45.2) "Whoever celebrates Isur Chag through some increase in feasting - the Torah considers as if he built an altar and sacrificed upon it an offering, as the verse states [Psalms 118.27]: "Bind the sacrifice [Heb. 'Isru Chag...'] with ropes until [it is brought to] the corners of the altar." Rashi, in one of the two explanations he offers, mentions that this in reference to Isru Chag (see there). It appears to me that the explanation is as follows: That the rejoicing on a festival, when performed for the sake of Heaven, is primarily found in the offering of the festival Shelamin sacrifices. If in one's joy and attachment to the L-rd he rejoices on the following day as well, when he eats of the Shelamin sacrificed on the previous day, (for Shelamin are eaten for two days and one night), his additional exuberance is counted, besides the offering itself, as if he had even built the altar.

Section 6
It is related in Gemara Pesachim (6.1): "One should ask and expound upon the laws of Pesach before Pesach's arrival for thirty days". Commentators question this by pointing out the end of Gemara Megillah, which relates that Moshe enacted that the Israelites study the laws of Pesach on Pesach and the laws of Sukkos on Sukkos, which clearly implies that the obligation is only on Pesach itself. There are many answers to this question, for example that a distinction may be made as to the order of precedence for answering two question submitted where one relates to Pesach and the other does not; other explanations are offered as well.

The truth is that the Yirushalmi itself explains the distinction, in the first chapter of Pesachim (end of law 1): "...This applies to a gathering place", that is, in a house of study (school), where the scholars gather, that is where study begins thirty days before. As for the individual, his study need only be on on Pesach ('Chok Yaakov'). Nowadays the custom is that the Rabbi [of the community] expounds upon these laws on the 'Great Shabbos' ['Shabbos Hagadol'] that immediately precedes Pesach, and [for Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkos] on the 'Shabbos of Repentance'. There are those who also take the opportunity to exhort the people in the moral lessons of these festivals, to increase the people's emotional attachment to Torah and fear of Heaven. However, in regard to personal practical questions of Pesach observance this [the thirty day period] is not necessary, as each asks only what he requires for his situation, or at the very least general information regarding Pesach, and each will learn according to his ability (See Magen Avraham, comment 1).

Section 7
All of Jewish people have the custom to collect funds to buy the poor Pesach flour for Pesach (Heb. 'Moas Chitim'), or to give the funds to purchase it themselves. Anyone who dwells in a city for twelve months becomes obligated to participate in its charity campaign. Nowadays that the custom has become to expect participation after dwelling in a city thirty days, one must contribute accordingly after that time. Even a Torah scholar is required to contribute, as this is a charity collection, and not a municipal tax.

The above applies to one who comes to dwell in a city for a time - he is one who has the time period of twelve months or thirty days. However, if one has decided at the outset to permanently move to this city his obligations to contribute takes effect immediately. A poor person is eligible to receive funds after dwelling in the city for thirty days. One who has not yet dwelled therein for thirty days does not confer an obligation on the citizens to provide him with flour, though they are still obligated to provide him with Matza each day, as would be the law for any wayfarer, who is permitted to take funds from the communal charity fund if he is in need while passing through (as is explained in 'Yoreh Deah', chapter 256. If a poor person has come to settle in the city permanently he must be provided with Pesach flour immediately, After all, why should the the one who accepts the funds be treated differently than the one who is obligated to contribute funds? Once a person has decided to settle in a city he is a full-fledged resident.

Section 8
Proclamations in the synagogue for a great need are permitted in the whole month of Nisan, but nor during the month of Tishrei, for the reason given in chapter 602. [THESE APPEAR TO BE NEGATIVE TYPES OF PROCLAMATIONS, LIKE BANS AND THE THREATENING OATH ADMINISTERED TO WITNESSES, SEE THERE]

We have a custom to read the portion of the princes offerings from the beginning of the month, reading each one on his day. On the thirteenth day the reading commences from "And this was the inauguration of the Altar" and ends at "This is how the Menorah was made", which is read on behalf of the tribe of Levi. On the eve of Pesach after noon the portion of "This month should be for you..." is read, along with all portions that speak of Pesach. After the afternoon prayer ('Mincha') one reads the order of the Pesach sacrifice. This can be found printed in many editions of the Siddur.

On Pesach eve one should pray at as early as possible since one must finish his meal before the tenth hour, which is four hours into the day. The Maharshal advised that each person should take a bit of Pesach flour and eat it before Pesach together with any dish or bread so that if there is any concern that his flour contains leavened ('Chametz') material it can be considered to be consumed at that point before Pesach. This is purely an extra legal stringency, since there is no presumption ['Chazakah'] of prohibited status in law without cause, and furthermore, mixing flour and flour [if Chametz flour is mixed with regular flour] is like mixing liquid and liquid: if there are sixty parts to one of permitted material the prohibited material is nullified, and if not it isn't (Magen Avraham in chapter 430). Truthfully though, one could argue that his concern is based on the fact that there are those that argue that flour mixed with flour is actually comparable to mixed dry materials, which 'reawaken' to a prohibited status [upon Pesach's arrival, because the prohibited dry material remains in its place in the mixture and does not dissolve] ('Chok Yaakov'). [HOW WOULD TAKING SOME FLOUR BEFORE PESACH IN ANY WAY PREVENT THIS?]. Finally, there is custom to make the kugel dish on 'Shabbos Hagadol' (the Shabbos before Pesach) from Pesach flour.

ערוך השולחן אורח חיים תכט


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, Roger


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Morris, Thomas (1660-1748)


text:
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User talk:Kadnarim

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Page:Paul Clifford Vol 1.djvu/45

Rh

is little to interest in a narrative of early childhood, unless indeed one were writing on education. We shall not therefore linger over the infancy of the motherless boy left to the protection of Mrs. Margery Lobkins, or, as she was sometimes familiarly called, Peggy or Piggy Lob. The good dame, drawing a more than sufficient income from the profits of a house, which, if situated in an obscure locality, enjoyed very general and lucrative repute; and being a lone widow without kith or kin, had no temptation to break

title: Page:Paul Clifford Vol 1.djvu/45


text:
Page:Paul Clifford Vol 1.djvu/46

16 her word to the deceased, and she suffered the orphan to wax in strength and understanding until the age of twelve, a period at which we are now about to reintroduce him to our readers.

The boy evinced great hardihood of temper, and no inconsiderable quickness of intellect. In whatever he attempted, his success was rapid, and a remarkable strength of limb and muscle seconded well the dictates of an ambition turned, it must be confessed, rather to physical than mental exertion. It is not to be supposed, however, that his boyish life passed in unbroken tranquillity. Although Mrs. Lobkins was a good woman on the whole, and greatly attached to her protegé, she was violent and rude in temper, or, as she herself more flatteringly expressed it, "her feelings were unkimmonly strong," and alternate quarrel and reconciliation constituted the chief occupations of the protegé's domestic life. As previous to his becoming the ward of Mrs. Lobkins, he had never received any other appellation than "the child," the duty of christening him devolved upon our hostess of "The Mug;" and, after some deliberation, she blest him with the

title: Page:Paul Clifford Vol 1.djvu/46