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Show WHY EUROPE HATES ENGLAND. The February number of the National Nation-al Review contains an important article arti-cle by Max Nordau on Continental Anglophobia, An-glophobia, in which the famous author of "Degeneration" trace-3 and explains nc iduo.-, ui auii-oiiiiBn leeiing in Europe. He points out that 5C0 years of English history is the mastery of the seas, the possession of the greatest colonial empire the world has ever seen, the astonishing expansion of the Anglo-Saxon race, and the resentful hatred of the nations from whom England Eng-land has once or oftener had to exact respect for the English flag, or whom she has had to drive from the sea or from various shores. Dealing with i France, Dr. Nordau says: "Every mis- i fortune and humiliation which that ' country has had to bear since the middle mid-dle ages reminds French patriotism of . England. Moreover, legends creep into i history, actuality is tinctured with romance. ro-mance. The English burned Jeanne D'Arc, who is the personification of France, and of the noblest qualities of mankind. French Anglophobia is an unreasoning instinct it is a precipitate of history, of legendary lore, of relig- ious, aesthetic, and patriotic emotions. J In the case of German hatred of Eng-lt Eng-lt is in general not nourished on an- ' cient history, but on the events of the nineteenth century. England set herself her-self up in strong antagonism to tne German national feeling over the Duchies Du-chies question in '4S. and laid the foundation foun-dation Of the idea that Germany must look upon England as an enemy. In the last thity years that idea has deepened deep-ened and broadened. Both in the matter mat-ter of her navy and her colonial policy Germany encountered English hostility. hostil-ity. Her great merchants who go in for export business run up against English competition in every foreign market, and cannot resist the mean but ; all too human feeling of trade jeal- , ousy." The writer disposes of other j nations more quickly. "For some," he says, "do not hate England at all, and in the case of others their hatred and sympathy are both equally unimport ant. Russia has not yet iorgiven rus-land rus-land the Crimean war and Lord Bea-consfield's Bea-consfield's policy a', the Berlin congress. con-gress. Spain feels Gibraltar as a thorn in the sole of her foot. Denmark has not got over the bombardment of Copenhagen Cop-enhagen and the destruction of the Danish fleet in 1807. The Dutch have a natural solidarity with the Boers, and feel themselves virtually at war with Great Britain. Italy alone has the common fairness not to join in the general chorus of abuse of England." M. Nordau. having touched frankly on the hostility provided among Continentals Conti-nentals by personal contact with Englishmen, Eng-lishmen, "whose pride in their relations with foreigners easily develops into arrogance ar-rogance which naturally arouses resentment." re-sentment." sums up by saying that the causes of the Continental hatred are partly historical, partly personal. The Boer war was not the origin of Anglophobia, Anglo-phobia, it only served as an excellent ty demonstration of it. Finally he says: "Every people ought to be just and, if possible, generous. The greater great-er its power the more easy it is. But as regards its actions, it should consult con-sult only its own interest, under the guidance of its own conscience. It has no need to consult foreign opinion, which is neither well-informed, nor just, nor sympathetic, and the interest of another people is to it a matter of complete indifference. If you are strong you have no cause to fear foreign for-eign antipathy. The important thing, therefore, is to be strong, and not to strive to win the sympathy of foreign countries." |