Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XIV. The difference between the English and Russian point of view upon duelling
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
102 PROBLEMS CONFRONTING RUSSIA
certainly more humane, more courageous, and more sensible
than fighting a duel under similar provocation. At an
English railway station a girl came out of a railway carriage
and, pointing to a man who followed her, addressed herself
to a gentleman standing on the platform, saying, " I have
been insulted by that man." The gentleman, without a
moment’s hesitation, went up to the man, told him of the
girl’s accusation, and, receiving a rude reply, dealt him a
blow which felled him to the ground. This act of chivalry
was much more to the point than a duel could possibly be.
In a Tube lift in London, where people were standing closely
packed together, a man whose toes had been trodden on
struck his neighbour with his fist on the chin. The gentleman
who received the blow remained unperturbed, and said in a
quiet but determined tone, " I shall give you in charge of the
police." He did so, and his aggressor was brought to justice
and received a well-deserved punishment. This manner of
dealing with petty instances of bad behaviour is palpably
preferable to duelling. It requires that self-control which
Englishmen justly consider one of the primary aims of the
education of a gentleman.
Englishmen do not acknowledge the mediaeval, selfish, and
overdrawn sensibility called the point d’honneur, which
produces a kind of hot-house atmosphere in which the pernicious
fungus of the duel thrives and prospers.
But even admitting the claims of the point d’honneur, it
remains a fact that an infinitely small number of offences
and quarrels touching honour lead to duels. Social relations
have become more and more complicated and varied, and
are not of a nature to admit of settling them by the
rudimentary practice of duelling. Many men have somehow
trod on each other’s toes without bringing their grievance
to a head. Many avoid each other’s company, or are simply
not on speaking terms, without, however, feeling the
necessity of resorting to a duel. The consciousness that in the
great majority of cases duelling offers no possibility of a
practical issue diminishes more and more the number of
duels.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
