G. K. Chesterton - The Crimes of England

The Crimes of England is a series of essays written during the Great War that highlight, in Chesterton's learned and generally witty opinion, the failings of his country. The collection opens with a letter to Professor Whirlwind, a German whose name 'is too much for me', and who has been writing articles attacking England in the newspapers of the day. Chesterton savagely and cleverly whittles the Professor down to a very small nub indeed, and then he goes on to highlight his own problems with England. His criticism of the German soul and the English failings in (then) recent times are juxtaposed to great effect, though one cannot help but perceive his remarks against Germany as being caught up in the time of his time – that is, were his country not at war with Germany, then perhaps his comments would have been tempered with the cooling balm of peacetime. Nonetheless, it can be a very great luxury to read the thoughts of an intelligent man and Chesterton, even at his most vitriolic and admittedly racist, remains worthy of our attention.

Prior to the Great War, Chesterton was deeply unhappy about the actions of his countrymen against Ireland, and also their refusal to admit any wrongdoing. In 'The Lost England', he writes, “Telling the truth about Ireland is not very pleasant to a patriotic Englishman; but it is very patriotic.” He condemns the generally unpleasant and shameful behaviour of England, going as far back as the Treaty of Limerick, right up to the (then) reasonably recent Great Famine and the Rebellion. He rightly deplores the decision of the English to force the Irish to pay for their food when they were starving and dying by their thousands; he rightly condemns the monarchy for its stubborn insistence against using available ships to transport much needed goods and sustenance. In this failure to do what is right Chesterton sees the taint of the German character, some shift away from a 'true' Englishman to a hybrid of English and German.

Chesterton's writing is sprinkled throughout with literary commentary, sharp historical judgments, and the firm, unwavering belief in the English soul. Chesterton celebrated what he saw as the ruddy English constitution, the true Englishness that his countrymen were capable of. His writing easily slips from literature to history to philology to politics. Of Dr Johnson he writes, “Dr Johnson was our great man of letters when he said 'stinks,' not when he said 'putrefaction'.” Not for Chesterton the fussily pretty word – he sees this as either a French desire for eloquence at the expense of solid earthy reality. The greatest of the essays, “Hamlet and the Danes” begins with Hamlet and ends up tackling Carlyle and the French Revolution, and through that the essence of nineteenth century English literature. Chesterton is at his best when discussing literature and cultural history – though his pen remains biting and sharp, and his writing sometimes too rabidly pro-English. Writers he scorns are labeled 'French', as though that is enough to damn them and their talent.

For all the eloquence and the intelligence, it is difficult to read the text without noticing the racist slant of Chesterton's message. His reasons for disliking the German soul are well argued, but when boiled down, his hatred must be seen as irrational. “The [Germans] were never so great as when they were childish”, are the sort of back-handed comments that are found on every page. Chesterton is quick to criticise his own country, yes, but that by no means allows him permission to essentially spew hatred toward the Germans as a way of remaining 'fair' in his criticism. Of the German writers he admires, such as Heine and the Brothers Grimm, Chesterton goes to great pains to paint them as something other than German, unconvincingly making the case for them being something 'better', or 'other', or 'before' the German race.

Chesterton ends his essays with a plea to his fellow Englishmen not to avoid criticising their nation but to embrace it. He writes, “I have passed the great part of my life in criticising and condemning the existing rulers and institutions of my country: I think it is infinitely the most patriotic thing that a man can do.” The concluding two essays are very strong because they confine themselves almost entirely to pleas for clear-sightedness, for the courage to criticise, for the intelligence to see things as they are, not as you wish they would be. Chesterton's closing comments are remarkable for their unrelenting patriotism and emphatic belief in the enduring goodness of the Crown and the British people. He knows that “our crimes have been as mountains”, but refuses to allow the intelligentsia to avoid critiquing their nation simply because times are dark and war is at hand.

The essays were composed for a deeply English audience and, almost a century later, some of the history and cultural references remain obtuse to all but the enthusiastic historian or, perhaps, the native English citizen. History is deeply explored, but written about in a manner that expects a similar deep understanding and appreciation for the nuance of the English soul. Chesterton barrels from one historical event to another, pausing neither for context or explanation. This is not really a weakness, though it makes some of the topics in the essays difficult to fully appreciate. A quintessentially English reader will find more than enough to stir up his spirit in defense of his homeland, or darken his soul with somber sadness of recognition. The United Kingdoms, like any nation, is neither perfect nor particularly interested in perfecting itself; rather, the interests of the nation are often placed as that which is right and good. Chesterton, like Bernard Shaw, was deeply active in politics and social criticism of the sort that would near to brand a contemporary writer as treasonous or, perhaps sadly, something of a literary terrorist. But criticism, even when harsh and especially when smoothed over with the sharp grit of sarcasm and wit, needs to be written and it needs to be read. Chesterton wrote these essays during a period of remarkable upheaval both in England and the rest of the world, but his gaze never wavers from his stated goal – that his kinsmen should learn of their folly and, perhaps, learn from it as well.

See Also

The list of British authors under review

Links

Wikipedia
Project Gutenberg - Free online text