Non-Members may receive this publication by post on payment of 2/6 per annum. NOVEMBER, 1937 The Monthly Record of South Place Ethical Society CONWAY HALL, RED LION SQUARE, W.C.1. Telephone: CHANCERY 8032.

" The OBJECTS or THE SOCIETY are the study and dissemination of ethical principles and the cultivation ot a rational religious sentiment." Sunday Morning Services at ELEVEN O'CLOCK. October 31—PROFESSOR JOHN HILTON, M.A.—My Belief in the Common Man Bass Solo : Though I speak with the tongues of men Brahms Mr. G. C. DOWMAN. Soprano Solo: Songs my mother taught me ... Dvorak MISS HMIs SIMPSON. Hymns No, 1. Be true to every inmost thought. ) No. 29. He only does not live in vain. November 7-8. K. RATCLIFFE—Progress and Catastrophe Pianoforte Solo : Impromptu in A flat, Op. 90, No. 4 ... Schubert Mr. WILLIAM BUSCH. Hymns No. 66. All common things, each day's events. No. 57. Why thus longing, thus for ever sighing. November 14—PROFESSOR B. MALINOWSKI, Ph.D.—The Plaoe of Superstition in Culture Soprano Solo : Music when soft voices die Besly Mirps HEBE SIMPSON. Bass Solo : November ...... , .. Martin Shaw Mr. G. C. DOWMAN. November 21—MORITZ J. BONN, D.Sc.—The Conflict of Ideologies First two Movements of Sonata in E minor, OD. 38, for Violoncello and Pianoforte . Brahma I. Allegro non troppo. 11. Allegretto quasi Menuetto MISS EILEEN MCCARTHY and Mr. WILLIAM BUSCH. Hymns No. 50. Do not crouch to-day and worship. Nos. 96 & 220. Why urge the long unequal light. November 28-8. K. RATCLIFFE—Twenty-flve Years of South Plaoe Vocal Duets: A. Constancy

8. Calm Silent Night ...- Carl Goetz Miss HESE SIMPSON and Mr. G. C. DOWMAN. No. 67. 0 earth! thy past is crowned and consecrated. Hymns I No. 76, These things shall be! a loftier race. Pianist : Mr. WIttaam BUSCH. A Collection is made at each Meeting, to enable those present to contribute to the expenses of the Society. VISITORS WELCOME. OFFICIAL CAR PARK—Opposite Main Entrance. 2

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C. E. BARRALET. H. LIDSTONE. MISS C. TRESIDDER E. J. FAIRHALL. Mrs. LISTER. Miss D. WALTERS. W. FISH. DORIS PARTINGTON. F. WAS/1E1100K. MIS. GAMBLE. C. J. POLLARD. MrS. WATSON. J. P. GILMOUR. Miss H. D. ROMANS& F. C. C. WATTS. MTS. HAWKINS. J. RONEY. MISS F. WILKINS. Mrs. HINCHLIFF. MISS F. J. Salmis. Miss D. WINTER.

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DICTATORS AND GODS Some theological ideas arise out of social institutions. Thus God is conceived as a Father in a patriarchal society: and the sacrifice of a Son is not unknown in such a society. Also primitive men are in some ways like children: and Piaget has shown that the very young child thinks its parents are all-powerful and all-wise. This child thinks that not only itself, but the houses and the hills were created by its parents, and especially by the more mysterious Father. And when later childhood discovers the limits of its own parents, the idea of an all-wise and all-powerful parent does not entirely die out. Nobody who understands the nature of knowledge can believe in the infallibility of anyone. But simple folk and children believe that knowledge is possessed by some persons through mysterious agencies. They have not discovered that nobody can know except through the painful process of learning. Thus Roman Catholics accept the Pope's Encyclical, for example, on marriage, although it shows clearly that the writer has not studied the scientific work done on the subject for the last century. But that theological ideas would be derived from social institutions is less important than the fact that these ideas embodied in creeds can prevent or obstruct the development of later and better social institutions. Dictatorships are, in part at least, results of a belief in an all-powerful and all-wise autocrat who rules in heaven—criticism and public discussion are clearly out of place in heaven, in spite of distressing conditions which are known to exist in the divine Concentration Camp for those who have the true faith. And in any heaven such, for example, as Germany, the general public have nothing to do but to say "heil!" They must leave their own fate in the hands of the all-powerful and the all-wise judge of all men—of Riiihrn and Ernst or in Russia of Trotsky and Kamenev. Hitler and Mus&alini were brought up in Roman Catholic societies and Stalin began his education as a monk in that primitive form of -Christianity, the Russian 3 Orthodox Church. All three and perhaps most of their followers have absorbed the idea of an infallible Authority whom it is blasphemous to criticise, and the infallible Authority on earth is modelled on that in heaven. There is a " kingdom of heaven." but not a republic; for the word "king" in Greek was the name given in the early days of Christianity to the Dictator, the Roman Emperor of the last years of the Empire. The ideal ruler was an authentic king whose "providence" cared for the least of his subjects. And this idea remains in the language of the churches. In England, as at the Coronation, we preserve the idea of a sort of magic derived from the clergy and flowing on to the king in the oil which is used to anoint him, But in Dictatorships it is the all-wise and all-powerful Autocrat who is the ideal. And this idea is preserved not only in the more primitive forms of Christianity, but also in the attitude of many Protestant sects which maintain that our ultimate fortunes, and esnecially public affairs, are looked after by somebody other than ourselves. Therefore, we need not concern ourselves to discuss public policy or to criticise public Authority, for whatever "Powers " there may be, are " from God." According to this theory, a Power which has been established by greed, cunning and violence can claim moral authority. The influence of theological ideas also affects such problems as war. It is still believed by those who pray for victory that the results of war are due to the judgment of some heavenly Power. In earlier times men thought that cholera and typhus were due to divine decisions; and they went in processions to churches, which spread the diseases more effectually. But now we know about bacteria. We have not yet " isolated" the psychological bacteria which promote war; but we still arm ourselves in all nations " for defence," which spreads the disease as effectually as medieval processions spread plague; and meantime we all pray for peace! All Dictators proclaim their love for peace; and all refuse to allow any criticism of the policy they pursue—and even prevent their subjects from hearing what foreign critics say—which is the surest way towards war. But even in heaven there was war; and the unsuccessful angels were sent to Hell. Milton knew all about it; and Dante before him had the pleasure of believing that all his own political opponents were also in Hell. In modern Dictatorships the old belief is not strong enough, so they make little hells of their own. C. 1E/ELME BURNS. MR. JOHN KATZ, BA., ON - A NEW USE FOR PHILOSOPHY " (September 19, 1937) Readings : (1) The Book of Kings, Chapter 11; (2) "Leadership in a Free Society," by T. N. Whitehead. Mr. Katz said Mr. H. G. Wells, in his provocative address to the British Association, deprecated the fuss made about Palestine. Wells tended to overlook the historical importance of Palestine, not because he was a rationalist, but because Palestine did not fit into his scheme of human progress. Wells was irritated by anything on the small scale. He encouraged the child to regard history from the standpoint of anthropological advance : the line of advance running from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, etc. On this scheme of progress Palestine had added very little to what had already been achieved by Egypt and Mesopotamia some 3,000 years before Christ. In these countries we find already the domestication of animals, the cultivation of crops, and new methods of communication by road and water. On this material foundation a surplus was created which supported poets and priests, temples and palaces. In addition;there was division of labour, a class structure and a central organisation. To these fundamentals nothing much had been added until the modern epoch. For most of the centuries between 3000 B.C. and 1500 sc., mankind was in the bankruptcy court. Persia was the receiver in bankruptcy to Egypt and Babylon, Greece to Persia. Rome to Greece, and the German Barbarians to Rome. Wells' " Outline of History " kept a discreet reserve about mankind's failures. Wells would be a greater educator if he realised that mankind had learnt more from failure than from success. The Jews were the least successful exponents of civilisation. being the most defeated people of all history. Christianity, which developed out of Judaism, added to the failure of Israel the much larger failure of the Graeco-Roman civilisation. But the fruits of failure were the universal churches and the universal philosophies. The importance of a church consisted neither in its dogmas nor in its ritual, but in its community-life. A church provided a spiritual home for people who were alienated from their bankrupt civilisation. A satisfactory society was one which earned the loyalty and excited the aspirations of the individual. Such a society had not yet been constructed. Therefore, when societies and the 4 civilisations associated with them collapsed, men had to seek refuge elsewhere. The worst-situated classes found this refuge in the church, the educated and ruling classes found compensation in philosophy. The arrival of philosophy was not a mark of advance in civilisation; it was a portent of a break-down. The downfall of the Athenian Empire led to a Fascist Government in Athens. And thoughtful people like Plato, disgusted with politics, found an asylum in the Academy. In India philosophy became important, not because the Indians had a spiritual flair for philosophy, but because the Aryan invaders had failed to construct a satisfactory community. They neither assimilated nor exterminated the non-Aryan aborigines; but they set up the caste system—in itself an admission of political bankruptcy. Philosophy and science had little in common. Their occasional association was accidental. The primary business of science was to sharpen the intellectual tools of the technician—and the technician was a man of action. But philosophy had little to do with action; the philosopher discovered reasons for inaction and for preferring the life of contemplation to the life of social responsibility. The Jews were important in world history because they discovered that a broken people could survive as a church. The Nazis said that the basis of a nation was blood and soil, but the Jewish community was independent of the soil. There had always been more Jews outside Palestine than in it. Christianity added independence of blood to independence of soil. It proposed to found a church which should embrace all mankind. And Christianity succeeded in its missionary onslaught on the Roman Empire because the RomanS Xailed to establish a society which the individual could regard as satisfactory and North while. This dissatisfaction went back to the failure of Athens and the decay of the city-state, and was encouraged both by the Stoic and the Epicure philosophies.. These philosophies were popular amongst the educated classes, the one preaching detachment from, and the other, indifference to communal responsibilities. Stoicism and Epicureanism are negative ideologies. An ideology might be defined as a body of doctrine justifying a particular set of social relations. But the object of these Graeco-Roman ideologies was not to justify civilisation. but to justify the individual in extricating himself from it and in finding a spiritual home outside his material and physical home. Neither Christianity nor philosophy have ever spread themselves from the negative and defeatist attitude to civilisation. Because of its traditional attitude, Christianity to-day is a moribund religion : it has ceased to enlarge, and now can only obstruct our civilisation. There was even less of life to-day in academic philosophy. Philosophy used to consist of logic, psychology, metaphysics and ethics. But logic to-day was the business of the mathematician and psychology of the psycho-analyst. As for metaphysics, it is dismissed by the latest school of philosophers as either nonsense or rhetoric. Therefore, only ethics was left. But traditional ethics gives neither guidance nor insight into the problems of modern life. However, the philosophic ethicist had a function, namely, to be the critic, the theorist and the prophet 'of civilisation. Unless we had a theory as to the kind of civilisation we wanted, we should drift rudderless on the ocean of time, at the mercy of any pirate who knew what he wanted and where he was going. We needed, to-day, a world and not a nationalist ideology, a philosophy which should be the forerunner of a world civilisation. We needed a religious outlook on life—an outlook which should teach men to find themselves and their happiness not in detachment from the community and its life, but in identification with the universal purposes of a world ciyilisation. E. W. r PROFESSOR H. LEVY, D.Sc., ON " CAN PALESTINE FREE JEWRY ? " (September 26, 1937) Readings: (1) Bonzey the Silent, by Peretz; Menorah, by Dr. T. Herzl; Speech by Dr. J. H. Hertz (Chief Rabbi). Professor Levy said his three readings gave the outlook of three very different types of Jew—the mystic, the artist and the formal Jew belonging to the clerical profession. But these differences are very slight in effect, as are also those which produce the various types to be found in different parts of the world. In spite of all the differences, the Jewish race is a nation, a composite of all these types. Jewry is a sociological phenomenon, and its problems can only be understood by considering them in the light of the changes which have come over the Jews in the past, and the yet more rapid changes of the last thirty or forty years. We need only consider the latter. The first factor was the exodus of Jews from the East—Russia and Lithuania—and their transmigration to the West, Germany and England, but, above all, to America. This naturally produced a complete change in 5 their environment and social outlook, as is evinced by the three generations of Jews in the Western countries. The first generation is still largely Eastern and Judaistic in its outlook; the second shows clearly the conflict between two ways of thought and modes of life; and tbe third, conditioned entirely by the West, in which it was produced and reared, is in even sharper conflict of opinion with its elders than the younger generation of most societies. The war brought even greater changes to the Jews. Its most intense battles were fought along just those frontiers where the Jews had settled, and conscription forced Jewry to take sides against itself, even families being divided in many cases. Again, it was in these areas that small nationalistic states were set up at the end of the war, and it was only natural that each had its Jewish minority, making claims on its own behalf. Before the war the Jewish Church still clung to the old mystic Messianic conception of the return Lo Palestine, and was opposed to the Zionist movement with its demand for a political state. But when, as a result of the war, the return to Palestine became a political possibility, the Zionist movement received the backing of all Jews, the Church.included. This indicates a change in the attitude of the Jews, which they themselves are apt to overlook when they explain the rise of Jewish nationalism by the fact that their culture has lasted two thousand years. This is a static view, unsubstantiated by the facts. The Jews have acquired, for Jewish reasons, the nationalistic outlook of the rest of Europe. The internal situation in the countries in which they found themselves haS also had its effect on the Jews. The Jewish problem has been solved for Jews in Russia by the creation of what is virtually an autonomous state within the Union, even if it has not been settled to the satisfaction of Jews outside Russia. In those countries where Jews have received civil and economic liberty, they have become rationalistic as well as nationalistic. In Germany, repression has led to a resurrection of ghettos, before extinct, and anti-Semitism has also had the effect of largely proletarianising the Jew by confining him to certain trades—where he is admitted to trade at all. The future of Jewry in relation to Palestine was altered by the Balfour Declaration, and it is worth while noticing that the British Government troubled itself with occupying Palestine, because of its strategic importance from the point of view of the Empire—commanding one end of the Mediterranean, as Gibraltar does the other, and being valuable as a refuelling base. In wartime it is worth while to have a highly intelligent and technical people in such an area, and it is possible that the Jews were considered to be of this quality. There are four groups of Jews, not of course clearly defined, with their attention on Palestine : The proletarian group, seeking relief from oppression. The idealistic group in ghettos, looking at the matter from the Messianic standpoint. The nationalists, anxious to re-shape a Jewish nation in Palestine. The financiers, who see a possibility of investment and exploitation there. The problem is further complicated by the Arab population of Palestine itself. The troubles in the country at the present time are not entirely due to the influx of Jews, for, before that time, Arab peasant and Arab upper class were in conflict. Now the blame for the poverty of the Arab peasant is being thrust upon the Jew by the Arab upper class in order to avoid bearing the blame itself. If all sections of the Jews could be persuaded to adopt as their policy the founding of a home for the oppressed proletarian Jews, that would clarify the issue for the Arab peasant, and working-class Jew and Arab peasant might unite in Palestine to build a united country. D.P.

MR. VYVYAN ADAMS, M.A., M.P., ON - THE PROPER USE OF FORCE " (October 3, 1937) Readings (1) Poem by Andrew Marvell (1621-1678); (2) Passage from "Force," by Lord Davis. Mr. Adams said it was less than 300 years since wo had Civil War in this country. Riots. commotion, strife there had been, but always decreasing in intensity. Order and peace were assured to us within our national frontiers. Here and in other civilised countries citizens Could go about without apprehension, because we had discovered the secret of successfully applying the principle of collective security. When it was remembered that Britain once consisted of seven warring kingdoms, the present state of affairs was a miracle. What each community has done for its own citizens the nations should do for the world at large. This was the central purpose of the League Covenant. It was implitit in Article 10, which provides guarantees against aggression. 6

We are told that this analogy is not sound. Admittedly it should not be pushed too far. It could be argued that there is no such thing as a criminal nation. The analogy is not excessively unfair. The people of any particular nation cannot escape all responsibility for the actions of their rulers. We can control our leaders because we are a democracy, but if a people surrenders itself to a dictator it must bear some of the consequences of the dictator's aggression. When riots occur, the first duty of the civil authority is to restore order. In that task the innocent have had to suffer even to the point of death. This is a repudiation of pacifism. I define the pacifist as one who says that in no circumstances is he ever going to fight, and he couples this resolution with a desire to see his own country unilaterally disarmed. I am not going to ridicule this point of view, but in the world as it is now, peace and pacifism are incompatible. You cannot hope for peace if you repudiate force. Pacifists include some of the most earnest, sincere and courageous of our citizens. Some identify pacifism with Christianity. I uphold Christian ethics, and if the use of force to sustain international law is unchristian, I am more than disturbed: my anchor will have gone. But I do not believe Christianity demands absolute pacifism. I ask two questions which have not yet been answered satisfactorily by pacifists : Suppose the Good Samaritan had found the thieves still attacking the man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, would he have passed by on the other side? No. If he had, that would have been pacifist behaviour. Such would be the behaviour of the isolationist. A Christian cannot be a true isolationist. He must defend the weak against the strong. If we repudiate the use of force we run the risk of cornmitting a still more unchristian act. If we renounce the use of force, how are we going to deal with a powerful and persistent law-breaker? Looking back on the history of the last six years, in every case of successful aggression it has been quite clear from the start that the balance of force has been on the side of the aggressor. If he had known that he had not force on his side he would not have proceeded. The attack of Japan on Manchuria and of Italy on Abyssinia are clear examples. More recently, at the beginning of the insurrection in Spain, which I think was very illegal, Franco seemed to have a preponderance of mechanical power. I suggest that he counted on the physical inferiority of his victim. In the case of Ethiopia there was a case under Article 16 of the Covenant which definitely contemplates the use, on the authority of the Council of the League, of military action. I think the safest course would have been for Britain and France to have sought the authority of the League to deny the Italian forces access to the Suez Canal. The whole of the blame does not rest on this country. Collective security cannot be said to have failed when the attempts to apply it were so inadequate. The failure was due to pacifism and isolationism. Coming to the problems of the Far East, everybody recognises now that from the inertia of 1931-3 there have flowed a multitude of evil consequences. To-day we notice universal disgust of Japan's latest aggression. It has even extended to our isolationist Press. But history shows that mere moral indignation is worse than useless, unless it is backed by effective action. After a detailed reference to the alarming speech of Lord Baldwin on the air menace, delivered in the House of Commons on November 10, 1932, Mr. Adams said the terrors therein described were now descending on China. We would like to atop them, but effective action lagged many leagues behind moral disgust. , Discussing the plan of an economic boycott of Japan, he argued that the successful application of sanctions would entail full support by combined naval forces. With regard to troubles nearer home, the German Government has created an atmosphere in which all the neighbours of Germany are wondering where the next stroke will come. If Austria were forced into a close political union with Germany, there would be a grave threat to democratic Czecho-Slovakia. It was certain that State would resist, and equally certain that if abandoned to her fate she would fail against the supremely strong German army. I disagree profoundly, said Mr. Adams, with the isolationists who declare that any explosions east or south are no concern of ours. They are wrong. They bring horrible danger nearer to us, but if within the framework of the Covenant we Joined with France and Russia to guarantee the independence of Czecho-Slovakia, war would not come. The first principle should be that Treaties must be observed until they are changed by consent, and I would not rule out implementing Article 19 which provides for peaceful change. To-day we live in a world where the only kind of general security possible is of the contributory kind. The use of an international force for policing the Saar during the plebiscite, and the recent Nyon agreement, are examples of beneficent collective action. I do not believe that the pooling of physical force under an international authority is necessarily a far-off event. / would submit that the problem before us is not to abolish the use of force but to discover the right way to use it, in order, collectively, to sustain the law. F. G. G. PROFESSOR T. H. PEAR, M.A., B.Sc., ON - AGE AND HUMAN LEARNING " (October 10, 1937) Readings: Cicero on Old Age. William James: Psychology Book 2, p. 400-402. Professor Pear said that William James, who was usually an optimist, held very pessimistic views about man's ability to assimilate new ideas as age increased; the road to knowledge was a cul-de-sac which ended at 25. However, it must not be forgotten that William James was writing at a time when adult education was scarcely a dream. Nowadays, broadcasting and associa- tions like the W.E.A. helped to provide education for people of all ages. It is very encouraging to notice that many of those who attend the W.E.A. evening classes are middle-aged. Nevertheless, adult learning is by no means so widespread as it should be. I asked some Cambridge graduates recently, who had revisited their old university, to give an account of their feelings about it. They seemed to find that unless they had been brilliant or famous or notorious or eccentric, Cambridge had lost interest in them. I think sometimes that just as the adored human infant loses some of its appeal to its mother after the tender years have passed during which it demands the protective instinct: so in education the student is apt to lose the interest of his Alma Mater. But what is the goal of adult education? What questions should a youth ask a man of 55 which might elicit answers illuminating and valuable? He could ask in which galleries the best pictures were hanging, what contemporary books were most significant, what people of the day were worth-while; he might even ask where good food could be obtained interestingly cooked. In other words he should expect a certain degree of culture. In order to understand the problem better we can isolate several types of learning. Learning to find one's way about; adjusting behaviour to knowledge. (I had an idea as to where Conway Hall was and I found my way to it. Some American psychologists who devote their research to the study of rats threading their way through mazes, seem to think that this type of learning is the only one.) The grasping of relations between things (Steamboat travel is cheaper than train, I analyse the reasons for this). Acquiring muscular skills (It would be interesting to discover how far what is called " tact" is really the exercise of the right muscular habits at the right time). The gradation of responses; that is, the fine discrimination of small differences. Under this heading would come general aesthetic sensibility and intellectual acuity. It might be termed epicritic behaviour as opposed to protopathic behaviour. In a totalitarian State one would expect most responses to be of the protonathic variety. Now, what are the facts concerning adult powers of learning? Thorndike has shown that there is little falling off in the ability to acquire new skills. The resistance to learning generally comes from within. People are afraid of making fools of them- selves. The wraiths of their childhood arise, wraiths of the repressing forces which had tormented them and given them their inferiority complex. It is one of the arguments for a freer education that a less repressed attitude to knowledge is encouraged. So much of the refusal to learn in adults is revenge for early thraldom and humiliation. Again people do not like to own that they do not know; they have to live up to a false idea of themselves and of their dignity and prestige. In talking to Einstein not long ago, I noticed a childlike enthusiasm for all he had to say. He had not "done" with his subject. The antithesis is seen in the medical student who in answer bo a question as to his progress answered that he had "done" the frog. We must not suppress our mental needs when young. Even day-dreaming, which is supposed to be a projection of our desires and an escape from reality, has its value. If we repress it we may become hard-bitten realists who have no use for the finer aspects of knowledge. And it may be that on the softening influence of culture the salvation of the democracies will ultimately rest. J. L. G. MR. W. B. CURRY, M.A., B.Sc., ON '4 CO-EDUCATION " (October 17, 1937) Readings: Two passages from Treatise on Parents and Children—the preface to "Misalliance," by G. Bernard Shaw. Mr. Curry treated his subject mainly as it concerned the boarding school because the problems that nose were more Lmportant under boarding school than day school conditions. The general argument for co-education, he said, was that it was more natural. A segregated school was an artificial institution and since children must eventually live in Mixed society they must learn at some time how to get on with the other sex. An argument put forward against co-education was that it was a device for making manly women and womanly men. Although Mr. Curry admitted an element of truth in this criticism he regarded it is an argument for, rather than against, co-education. There were two criticisms which cancelled each other out. D. H. Lawrence and his followers were opposed to co-education because the sexes would become so familier with each other that romance and Passion would die out; there should be an element of mystery about the other sex, which co-education would destroy. The commoner fear was the precise opposite, that boys and girls brought up together would be obsessed by romantic associations and become indifferent to other problems. Another point raised was that because boys and girls were interested in different subjects, they could not be brought up in the same school or attend the same classes. After discussing this subject and the relative mental capacities of boys and girls Mr. Curry said that when co-education started in this country in boarding schools, 30 or 40 years ago, those in charge of them were naturally anxious to avoid anything in the nature of a scandal. They wanted to be able to assure parents that love-making was out of the question. A safeguard was to use the word " silly " as applied to any kind of romantic attachment, and this had the desired effect. There was ah idealisation of the platonic relationship and a feeling of dis- comfort set op whenever someone felt any romantic emotions. The consequence was that the products of a great many such schools suffered serious inhibitions throughout their lives, or for a considerable part of them. A person in love, whatever he looked, did not feel " silly." "Letting the school down" was likely to lead to grave psychological damage, which made it difficult for the person to have normal feelings after he left school. Any school which set up this attachment to the word "silly " was a bad school, and the scholars would be better off in a segre- gated school. Sometimes a lot of rules and regulations were set up which made it plain that the authorities thought that if a girl and boy were left alone for ten minutes the worst would happen. These rules were naturally circumvented. Safe- guards which arose out of suspicion had the effect of promoting the danger they set out to avert. Any association between a boy and a girl, however innocent, made them feel self-conscious and guilty, and if two were thrown together accidentally a tempting situation was created. The staff would be kept far more in ignorance when the children knew that they would be horrified; the pupils would make a conspiracy and their first reaction, if found out, would be one of hostility and refusal to take advice. There should be no rules and regulations which had as their obvious puipose the keeping of the sexes apart, and as their obvious motive, fear on the part of the staff. Falling in love during adolescence was a sign of normality, and if it was not evident it showed inhibition or secretiveness. An anxious person should not be in charge of a co-educatimial school. Advice on these questions could not be too personal, tactful and respectful. Moral control should be rational. One should not say that any sexual experience outside marriage was wrong. Conditions which made sexual relationships right and wrong were subtle and usually known only to the parties concerned. What should be made plain was that men and women differed in an important respect, namely, that a man would pay attention to a woman or a boy to a girl as a pleasant way of spending an evening. The girl was persuaded that no boy could behave like that unless he were deeply moved, and a situation was likely to arise when a girl took it too seriously. continence during school years was perfectly rational. People of that age could not possibly afford the risks of having children. Some said it would be better to separate the boys and girls, so that all this would not be necessarv, but all civilisation was based on inhibition. What was psychologically harmful was not rational re- pression, but an incapacity to face the issue. Children were rational and understood rational explanations. It was commonly argued against co-education that it was inevitable that boys and girls brought up together would waste their time on emotion to the detriment of their getting educated, but that kind of waste of time was not confined to co- educational schools. Small boys wasted much more time hanging round big boys in segregated schools. Education, however, was not just instruction, it was preparing to become a mature person, intellectually and emotionally, capable of freedom, responsibility and self-direction. Learning to adjust oneself to the opposite sex, which was a major problem throughout life, was not a waste of time. Learning about emotional relationships had to come from experience, not from books. E. W. 9 CONWAY DISCUSSION CIRCLE

MR. JOSEPH McCABE ON " RATIONALISM AND THE CHURCHLESS FOUR-FIFTHS. There was a good attendance at the opening meeting on September 28. After referring to the gravity of the present world situation and to the growth of intolerance where liberty of thought had once made great progress, Mr. McCabe said the religious leaders had confessed openly that four-fifths of the people of this country were not Christians. All our fumbling estimates were unnecessary. Four- fif ths of the people took no interest in religion. In London. nine-tenths did not go to church:, in the country at large, four-fifths refrained. but the proportion in one sleepy little town had been shown to be less even than in London. Assuming that as many as 20 per cent, of the people were attached to the Churches, it looked as if there might be as many as 8 millions out of 40 millions, but probably there were not more than five. This did not mean there were 5 million Christians. There were up to 35 millions not interested in religious organisations. Could we do anything for them? If we could make these people more alert and keen to demand facts, we should render them, as well as the community, an immense service. They would be impervious to sophistry and would aim at verifying statements made to them. Mr. McCabe believed it passible to win large numbers by a spirited campaign against the Churches. People could be interested in religious controversy. There were facts bearing on the question whether the new generation had lost interest In religion. The latest analysis of subjects of books published in England in the course of a year (1935) showed that out of a total of some 20,000, there were 846 on religion and theology, 673 on politics, economics and questions of the day, about 400 on history, and rather more on various branches of science. There was, of course, a preponderance of fiction, but otherwise it was only the number of children's books and school books which exceeded works on theology.. That was a significant fact. Another was the recent publication in the News Chronicle of a series of articles, entitled: "What I Believe." Not many of the writers represented what the majority of people actually believed. Professor Hilton put the modern point of view. These articles created a sustained interest, and there was a demand for them to be reprinted. The new generation was interested in religion. During the 6 or 7 years before 1933, Mr. McCabe wrote for the American market fifty cheap little books on religion. Ten million copies were sold. When he turned to other subjects, his sales went down. A weekly American paper sent out a questionnaire to freethinkers to find out whose works converted them. The older people attributed their conversion to Thomas Paine, and an enormous majority of the younger confessed to the influence of Joseph McCabe. You could nat sell 10 million little books without making a tremendous impression. There was no reason why this direct appeal should succeed in America and be a failure here. When you had a Secular Society of long standing, the permanent members became tired of discussions, but when you dealt with the general public there was a new generation every ten years ready to read over again what the public read ten years ago. Mr. McCabe had travelled widely and often. He never forced the subject of religion, but he found there was always a steady interest in it. There was an immense vogue in books on theology. The works of Jeans and Eddington were not sold so freely because of their scientific value, but because it was said from pulpits that they supported religion. The new generation were not interested in the more or less academic questions we used to care for. Although some might say he was an old man, he felt the same as when he was 40. His heart was still young and in spirit it was with the young generation. He trusted them. They had been deluded, duped and deceived by the popular Press, which had suppressed the truth. We should tell the churchless four-fifths the things that are withheld from the general literature of the world. His own Liberal newspaper daily deceived its readers as to important facts of life. There was a great evening paper which failed to raise an outcry when Almeria was bombarded and Guernica destroyed, but it was now asking what had happened to the mentality of the Japanese. There had been no alteration in the aggressiveness or imperialism of Japan. These went back 100 years. but had only been taken seriously since the beginning of this century. There was a splendid service to be rendered in this country by giving people facts, making them critical, and showing them how they have been deluded. We should win people by discussions about religion. 10 MR. JOHN LANGDON-DAVILS ON "PACIFISM A DANGER TO PEACE" (October 12, 1937) Mr, Langdon-Davies said he did not want anybody to imagine it was easy for him to suggest that pacifism was a danger to peace. Twenty-two years ago he was himself a pacifist. He thought it was surprising that certain pacifists of 1916-17 remained so to-daY. Considering how quickly social evolution was marching ahead it was astonishing that people could hold the same opinion so long. He was encouraged by that brave saying of Walt Whitman: " Do I contradict myself? well, I contradict myself." One advance made in recent years was that whenever a person gave us hls opinion we require him to remember that any idea must be relative to the time and place in which we were putting it. There were times in which pacifism was a high ideal. In 1914- 18 pacifists were right not to take Dart in a war between two or three different imperialisms. Because we were right then we would not always be right. One of the interesting things about pacifism to-day was that many of the people who advocated it most sincerely were not pacifists during the great war. He agreed with some of the reasons advanced for pacifism by Mr. Aldous Huxley in his pamphlet " What are you going to do about it?" There he had put up various arguments and knocked them down. For example, that war was a law of nature, and that man was by nature a fighting animal. Mr. Huxley also dealt with the argument of the survival of the fittest—no one but an old time militarist thought that true. • When he Tead the pamphlet he could not help feeling that there were a set of arguments applicable to 1914-18, which carefully skated over the difficulties of 1937. Many pacifists made the mistake of opposing the last war when they were finding reasons for not having anything to do with the next. When you considered your attitude towards the next war you could do it from two different points of view—as an individualist who seriously believed it was more important the whole world should be lost than he should lose his own soul, or as one who realised he was but a unit in a composite mass which was what counted and not he himself. All pacifists were not merely anxious to save their own souls: many believed that only through pacifism could the great mass of humanity be saved, but such must accept the imperious necessity to do the hard work of trying. to understand the true causes of war to-day in Europe. Humanity could not be saved by simply saying we will not take to force. Much pacifism was the aftermath of an age of individualism. There were many people whose whole philosophy of life consisted in exalting the individual. • Unless the pacifist could show us how with the working of the ordinary natural law of evolution you could do without force he had built an Utopia which might satisfy his own personal emotions but could not help the miseries of suffering humanity. If you looked at the writings of contemporary pacifists you found a splendid paper scheme which would juatify pacifism if it could be worked out. Problems like that of Abyssinia were discussed. You were told that sanctions were fatal, any risk of force was fatal, that for an Englishman to put himself on a high moral pedestal with regard to Italy was fantastic. It was no answer to say that if we treated the Italians peacefully with love and humanity, had a conference, and made all sorts of concessions, everything would be solved. Where was the Utopian force eo bring this about until the present capitalist State had been supplanted by another. Mr. Huxley said, suppose Japan seized Hong Kong, why should we go to war to save our national honour? Japan was not seizing Hong Kong, but was bombing big open towns. Had the pacifist any right to stand by and say we would not help China, or Spain, but would wait until we had persuaded everybody to be good? He also said it was a great mistake to have anti-aircraft guns because it made bombers do their work in a hurry. We should disarm London and then call a conference to give up parts of Africa. People were not alive to the methods of Fascism. Something new had happened in the domain of war. We had passed the period of wars between one nation and another. Whatever kind of war broke out it was bound soon to cease to have a national quality. There were people in England who longed for a war with Germany, others who would prefer to flifbt on her side. There would be a divided England whatever happened. Some people thought it their duty to be fascist. He did not believe there could be a war at present. Neither Hitler nor our own Government wanted one because in the result the boundary of Communism was 11 likely to be the Rhine, and that was why we were not at war to-day. We were being kept out of war by the realisation that no war could break out and remain a war of one nation against another. Every government knew that sooner or later war would be between peoples on the one side, and Fascist dictatorships on the other. If that was true, the whole problem of pacifism had changed since 1914. It was possible that our Government which, on the whole, hated Fascism and Nazism, might try to stir us into a war to save Democracy. Then there would be a problem for every pacifist to face. There was a ruthless conspiracy to destroy the funda- mental basis an which society had succeeded in evolving into something better during the last few generations. Was it possible so to help the forces of light that Fascism might not thrust us back into the Middle Ages? There was a glimmer of hope. There was a chance to take sides in a contest which really mattered. The whole problem of pacifism had changed. Its arguments had to do with an age which had come to an end. It burked the fact that now had come one of those crucial periods in human history when there was an ideal of peace, and there were masses of human beings capable of making that ideal practicable. Ideals must be fought for. Quietism was not going to do anybody any good. We could only be happy and complete if we threw in our lot with other human beings instead of standing up on our pedestal and being satisfied that we were better than they. F. G. G. NOTES Early in October Mrs. Delisle Burns informed us that her husband was seriously ill and would not be able to provide his contribution to our November issue. We arranged with Mr. Hobson that he should step into the breach, but lust as we were going to press a letter arrived from Mrs. Delisle Burns enclosing the manuscript of the article we now have great pleasure in publishing. It was written in pencil in the hand of an invalid. It was the first thing Dr. Delisle Bums had been allowed to write. He is better, but still requires three nurses. Mrs. Delisle Burns says he is a model of all that is patient. It is feared that his recovery will be a very slow and long business, but there Is hope that he will manage it, as he did before. His patience and philosophical outlook are an enormous help to him and to those whose privilege it ts to care for him.

It was a pity that the resolution passed after Professor Levy's address at the Annual Reunion Soiree was not put to the meeting before it dispersed for refresh- ments. It was drawn up by the Professor after he had finished and was put to the people assembled in the Small Hall. It is as well to mention this for the information of the minority who were being catered for elsewhere, and may not have had an opportunity to vote. On the subject of action by the Churches in regard to the Japanese attack on China, it is only just to remind readers that the News Chronicle organised a protest meeting at the Albert Hall, a few days after our Soirée, which was attended by 10,000 people, and was presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The meeting was also addressed by, among others, the Rev. Sidney Berry, Secretary of the Congregational Union of England and Wales. The Archbishop made it plain that he was present " not in an official capacity, but simply as a representative of Christian citizens pledged in loyalty to their Divine Master to uphold the honour of humanity." Nevertheless, his presence was very heartening to those who were looking for a lead from the churches. The resolution passed at this gigantic assembly was in somewhat similar terms to that forwarded from Conway Hall.

Members will be interested to learn that arrangements are being made for the next International Congress of the World Union of Freethinkers to be held in London on September 9-13, 1938. No international congress of this kind has been held in this country for 50 years. Our Society was invited to nominate two of its members to join the representa- tives of the National Secular Society, the Rationalist Press Association and the Union of Ethical Societies in forming the Joint Organising Committee of the Congress. Mrs. Watson and Mr. F. G. Gould have consented to serve and have already attended two meetings. The Committee is now engaged In assisting the International Council to draw up the programme of the Congress. 12

The General Committee of South Place Ethical Society has offered the use of Conway Hall and it is expected that, with the possible exception of ,the largest public meeting, all meetings of the Congress will take place there. The Joint Organising Committee has resolved itself into the Executive Committee for the Congress. Mr. Chapman Cohen has been appointed Chairman, and Mr. Charles Bradlaugh Bonner, Secretary.

We are glad to take advantage of pennission to reprint the following paragraph from " The Radio Times" of October 1. 1937. They had reference to the broadcast of the first part of the opening concert of the present season on October 3. THE SOUTH PLACE SUNDAY CONCERTS It may truly be said that the South Place concerts have done for chamber music what the Proms have done for orchestral music. Throughout the flfty-one seasons that have been given by the South Place Society, the finest artists have been engaged, with the result that the audiences have been able to hear chamber music of all periods under the best conditions. The South Place Sunday Popular Concerts began giving first-rate chamber concerts in a dingy hall, formerly the headquarters of the South Place Ethical Society, near Finsbury Circus in the City of London, in 1887—a time when chamber 'Pubic in England was very little known, except for the Monday "Pops" held at the St. Jamels Hall. The scene has been shifted to Red Lion Square, but the concerts themselves remain true to the tradition set up by the pioneers.

The programme of the Poetry Chicle on Thursday. November 18. should prove attractive to all Poetry lovers. Mr. Wallis Mansford will present Swinburne's tragic romance by Claudine Currey. He will be assisted by Mrs. Peggie Gilkes, L.R.A.M. (Elec.), Gold Medallist, Poetry Society, for verse speaking, whose appearance last year will be remembered with pleasure by all who heard her. She will recite a varied selection from the works of Keats, Flecker and Oscar Wilde, etc. Mr. Horace Gowing will render musical settings from the Poets, Accompanist: Mrs. Grace James. The 50th Anniversary of the birth of Rupert Brooke falling this year, a selection of his poems will be recited and sung to commemorate his life and works. and Mr. Mansford who knew the Poet's mother, and has lectured on his life and works, and has made pilgrimages to many places in England and Greece associated with Rupert Brooke, will contribute some thoughts on his experiences.

The Secretary would be glad to receive copies of any RECORDS dated earlier than the year 1920. also any issue of the South Place Magazine. and the Annual Reports for 1909-10, 1914-15 and 1928-27. The South Place Magazine ,for which a charge of 2d. was made, appeared for the last time in September, 1909, after a career of fourteen years. Its place was taken by a less ambitious publication entitled " The Monthly List" aPParently issued free to members. Its name was later changed to " The Mon thly Record:' The contents of the present publication are similar in character to those of the Magazine. ANNUAL REUNION SOIREE There was a large assembly of members of South Place, of other Ethical Societies, the Ethical Church and the Rationalist Press Association at this important annual event on Sunday, September 26. Following the preliminary half-hour for conversation, Miss Veronica Mansfield and Mr. Basil Parsons each sang groups of three songs, and they were heard later in three short duets. The excellence of their renderings was heartily al:amended. They were tastefully accompanied at the piano by Mr. S. lAddle. An innovation was, provided by Miss Olive Hicks, who gave a dramatic rendering of a one-act play' by Maud Morrison Frank, entitled: "Fanny Burney at Court." The six characters which included two old men, a butler, a middle-aged and a young woman, and a school girl, were distinctively and cleverly portrayed. Miss Hicks responded to the obvious expressions of sincere appreciation with a short dramatic poem, entitled: " The Secrets of the Heart," by Austin Dobson, Mr. J. P. Gilmour, in extending a welcome to visitors, said it was a pod thing to meet on the common ground of social intercourse. On these occasions we get 13 opportunities of finding out the extent of our agreement and disagreement. On the whole our respective Societies do present a common front to supernaturalism and reaction. We are sometimes reproached with a deficiency of the community spirit, but he could not recall any connection he had had where there was so much of it as in the South Place Ethical Society. The community spirit could be an evil thing when put to such purposes as in Italy, Germany and in Russia. We have to recognise that we must develop community spirit to help the emancipation of mankind from delusions. I have heard that rationalists and non-deity lead a bloodless, soulless life, but of love, but he does not. There is no such thing as pure intellect. Every intellectual the very contrary is true. They suffer rather from an excess of sentiment and emotion than from a deficiency. No doubt a rationalist should control the emotion person has an emotional content. Introducing the guest of the evening, Mr. Gilmour said that Professor Levy was an old friend of most of us and one of our most highly-esteemed lecturers. He was eminent in the world of science and has just written a book on relativity and on the doctrines of Jeans and Eddington. There was, however, nothing very pedagogical about him, he made friends everywhere. He had done good work for the objects we are interested in. He had the greatest pleasure in asking him to speak to us. Professor Levy said he wished to develop the Chairman's remarks. Underlying the process of ethical ideas you were dealing with moral judgments. We might differ as to particular things which are good or bad, but most western people have the same kind of moral judgment. Otherwise it was impossible for us to meet together and find some common ground. His next door neighbour is attached to the Church of England. They were both shocked by what is happening in China. A large number of people agree that what is happening in Spain should be condemned. While enormous numbers of people have some moral judgment, it is seldom possible to get people to exercise their judgment. There is a struggle between the conscience of the individual and the group conscience. The large-scale group actions which do take place are of an evil nature. The attack on China, for instance. The individual Japanese soldier would probably saY It ViaS wrong, but that the necessities of the State made it imperative for him to take part in the attacks. Wherever there is group activity it is evil. How can group activity be rendered good? Here, to-night, we have people who agree on moral questions, but they cannot do anything. How are moral people of the west to bring into being large-scale group action for good? He suggested that there was a certain avenue of development. There are organisations in this country which profess to stand for a high standard of morality, but no Church has yet thought fit to express any views against Japan. These are the custodians of public morality. He suggested that we do not wait on such organs. We could get together to form a public conscience, and when something outrageous was done. the public conscience could speak publicly and exercise great power. The kind of action he meant was expressed hy the Peace Ballot. It would be amazing if you did not get an enormous number of people getting together to express horror of the Japanese action. Such an institution would hold a watching brief over all other disreputable actions. The first thing on a political issue was to recognise its importance and then to attack it. Signs of public morality si,'‘uld be organised. We were reaching a very critical stage in western civilisation, and unless we could bring group action for good into being we might experience in Europe a new form of barbarism. Later in the evening the following resolution was passed neut. con :— 'That the Government be urged to take the initiative in arranging an inter- national démarche to bring the Sino-Japanese War to an end and to protest against the Indiscriminate bombing of civilians.' Copies were forwarded to the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary. CORRESPONDENCE "THE PROPER USE OF FORCE " To the Editor of " Tire MONTHLY RECORD."

DEAR SIR, — May I make a few comments on Mr. Vyvyan Adams' discourse yesterday morning? I sympathise with his argument about the need for direction of international force into controlled collective security, but I think that his division of Europe for this purpose into a bloc consisting of Great Britain, France and Russia against Germany and Italy is the surest way to a major European war, Like many of our Labour leaders, Mr. Adams seems to have found good ground for war, namely, Fascist aggression, and I submit that if we are going to pursue this path of uncompromising hostility, then war it will be. 14 Surely, before making anything a cause which bears the threat of war, every possible stone of appeasement must be upturned. And that means we must try, however unwilling, to understand the viewpoint of Germany and Italy, as far as it concerns ourselves, before we shut up shop and march out to fight them. However repellent the Italian colonisation of Abyssinia has been, is it merely the passage of time that removes the beam from our own eye? Having all we need, are we so spotless that we can even go to war to bring about the reforms that we now, through skillfully-disguised necessity, pursue in our own colonial policy? About Germany—however much we may disapprove her internal policy (and what about Russia's internal policy, now of which little or no account seems to be taken?), is that suflicient reason for allowing ourselves to drift towards war, when instead of the scant sympathy shown by Mr. Adams even for Germany's pre-Hitler problems we may, by a real effort of understanding, prompt the obvious desire for peace which anyone with some knowledge of the language will find in every German he meets, whether Nazi or not. Mr. Adams declares that Germany lauds war as the greatest and most glorious duty. Here is a chance for some more heart-searching. Ask the average patriotic Englishman whether, were his country faced with invasion, he would not consider it his highest and most glorious duty (echo of the last war) to die for England on the battlefield. His answer would be more simply expressed, but to the same purpose. We may not agree with these sentiments, but we must not be hypocritical about them. I am firmly of the opinion that a major European war is absolutely avoidable, for the simple reason that the inherent desire for peace is everywhere, to those who look below the surface, waiting to be moulded into practical form by the process of mutual understanding and compromise—Yours sincerely, WILLIAMBUSCH, October 4, 1937. While Mr. Busch says some good things, he seems to overlook the changed international situation and the obligations entailed by the establishment of the League of Nations, of which Great Britain is a member. -EDITOR. THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION MEETING (Nottingham, 1937) There are more ways of making holiday than by exporting sterling to foreign countries or inviting rheumatism by camping, and I am suggesting an alternative which should prove attractive to those who have a passing interest in one of the sciences, or even to those who are bent, in the main, upon recreation and entertain- ment. This is no less than participation in the Annual Meeting of the "British Association for the Advancement of Science "—a body more familiarly and affectionately known as the "British Ass." This year's meeting was held at Nottingham during the first week of September, and the Association was fortunate In having the whole of University College placed at their disposal. The College consists of a fine group of modern buildings, tutorial and residential, situated in a Magnificent park two miles out of Nottingham City. Here in the various halls were held the meetings appropriate to each scientific section, undisturbed by noise of traffic, or by the conflict of opinion of scientists disputing in other sections; and it says much for the adequacy of the arrangements that the eager searcher after truth could, were he so minded, flit from flower to flower, and savour the essence of several sciences within the space of a morning or afternoon session— s practice, be it said, freely indulged in by many of the dilettanti. The first scientific contribution to the proceedings is invariably the Presidential Address. This is always a great occasion, members attending in full force (and full dress) and filling the largest hall in the city. At Nottingham the address was delivered by Sir Edward Poulton, the eminent Zoologist, who took as his subject " The History of Evolutionary Thought as Recorded in the Meetings of the British Association," recalling, inter offo, that the Church of England, as a whole, had accepted the fact of evolution within a quarter of a century from the date of the publication of Darwin's " Origin of Species "—a point of interest to Rationalists. Exigencies of apace permit only the briefest reference to one or two other addresses : e.g., a symposium on "Planning the Land of Britain," in the course of which contributions were made by eminent representatives of six sciences Agriculture, Botany, Economics, Geography, Geology and Zoology. The discussion was based on the really remarkable detailed survey of Britain, carried out over a period of years by Dr. Dudley Stamp. An interesting personal feature of this particular meeting was the presence in the Chair of Lord Trent, son of Jesse Boot, the first Lord Trent, to whose munificence the University College owes its fabric and 15 setting. Another interesting address was given by Dr. Kaye, the distinguished physicist, on "Noise and the Nation," his definition of "noise" being "that amount of sound which aggravates rather than initiates distress—acting as a ' last straw ' for the sick, the fatigued, or the highly-strung." But possibly the high light of the meeting was the address by Mr. H. G. Wells on " The informative content in Education," in the course of which he pleasantly remarked: " / believe that the crazy combative patriotism that plainly threatens to destroy civilisation to-day is very largely begotten by the schoolmaster and schoolmistress in their history lessons. For my part, I would bring home to the new generation the reality that the world is one community." In addition to its feast of reason, the British Association offers its members exceptional social and recreational facilities. At Nottingham these included a reception by the Lord Mayor and Corporation at the Castle, a function which permitted of expansion of the spirit to classical music, exercise of the body in the dance, and its subsequent restoration by a choice of many delicacies. Slight Jarring notes upon the writer's intellectual and spiritual exaltation were struck, however, bY the titles of the two first fox-trots: (1) "Boo Moo"; (2) "The Love-Bug Will Bite You"; but recourse to the delicacies before referred to speedily enabled him to recover his equilibrium. Garden parties are conspicuous among the Association's social activities, as are visits to places not usually accessible to the public; for example, a large party were enabled to see over Hardwicke Hall, one of the seats of the Devonshire family, and when, later, the same party arrived at Chatsworth, they were received by the Duke in person, who, among other matters, congratulated the British Association upon "its attempt to grapple with that greatest of modern curses—Noise! " Visits to places of geological, historical and industrial interest were numerous, and among the last named it was interesting to discover that a well-known brand of cigarette comes through the machine HS one cigarette, and is chopped off in standard lengths of a few inches. It is disturbing to think what might happen should the chopper fail to function I The Nottingham meeting was blessed with glorious weather throughout, making the outdoor functions doubly delightful, but in no wise diminishing the attendances at the very great number of sectional meetings. As no fewer than thirteen sciences are represented in the Association, ranging from Physics and Mathematics (Section A) to Agriculture (Section M), serious-minded members of S.P.E.S. would find their presence at these meetings rewarded by ample cerebral stimulation.

H. RAILLIE RITCHIE. VICHY Our common desire for improved health, and the interest taken by so many South Place people in good music must be urged as the excuse for publishing this article. France has numerous Spas, but Vichy is by far the largest and most famous; indeed, it claims to be " The Queen of Spas." It is 227 miles S.S.E. of Pads, and therefore about 520 miles from London. You can leave Victoria at 9.30 a.m, and reach Vichy before 1020 p.m. the same night. Although only about 880 feet above sea level, it is close to the central plateau of the Auvergnes, and picturesque mountain and valley scenery is readily accessible. The town is built in a bend of the river Allier. There is a narrow park between the river and the town, planted about the year 1880 with many beautiful and rare trees, which have now reached maturity. Bordering the park are most of the principal hotels. Then comes the Central-Park in ground plan like a half-opened fan. At the handle is the Pavilion of Springs, whence two covered ways on either side of the fan, with the park and its tree-shaded avenues between them, lead to the Opera House, Casino and principal outdoor restaurant. Behind the Pavilion of Springs is the famous Etablissement Thermal—a palatial edifice in the Moorish style where you get the treatment which people mainly go for—the celebrated Douches de Vichy. Why do people go to Vichy? They do go, over 130,000 of them a year, most of them from other parts of France and from the French colonies. North Africans are much in evidence. We saw few signs of the presence of many English or Americans. There is one thing the visitors probably have in common—stomach and liver troubles. Of course there are thousands who have nothing much the matter with them. For example, husbands take their ailing wives, and vice versa. You can swim and row, play tennis or golf, practise your game of billiards, or what not. The children's park is equipped with all sorts of modern apparatus for exercising young bodies. Vichy's fame is derived from the numerous springs which bubble up in and 16 around the town. The waters arc warm and charged with varying amounts of bicarbonate of soda and iron. The plumber has brought them under control. No longer do they gush up from the earth or pour from a cleft in the rocks as when the Romans found them. If you want a drink you present yourself with your little graduated glass at a circular counter, where a girl fills it from a running tap. There are about ten of these springs—some of the more celebrated in the Pavilion already mentioned, others dotted about the parks or near by. You mustn't go and drink just how much you fancy—that would be dangerous. Your first job on arrival, after settling down in your hotel, is to see a doctor and tell him all about it. We had an introduction from a London medico. He listens to your narration, examines you, and then gives you a prescription. You are told which springs to attend, how much and how often to drink at them, what baths to take, and how often; not plain soap and water affairs or even swimming baths; nothing like that. There are applications of hot water, inside and out, sprayed on you more or less violently, particularly near your unfortunate liver if you have confessed to owning one, massage of the corpse, as the French interpreter will have it, and so on. Then you get a regime. That's the snag. You can enjoy drinking the waters even if you are sent out at 7 am., the massage, etc., is quite agreeable, but when you sit down to deteuner or diner it is not only the menu you consult, with all its attractive dishes, described in untranslatable French, you must look at your regime, which says what you may and what you may not eat and drink. It doesn't seem to leave you much choice. You can get over most of the medical treatment by noon, and then you adjourn to the grounds of the Casino. A small fee admits you to a magnificent building in which there art reading and writing rooms, lounges and, we believe, gaming tables, but for us the principal attractions were the garden chairs and the concerts. 13(72ore and after dajeuner you sit about under the trees listening to chamber music or to orchestral items—mainly French. In the evening there may be a symphony concert with about 80 performers and a front rank conductor. We heard Dvorak's Le Nouveau Monde" and Saint-Saens' " Quatrieme Concerto" (for piano and orchestra) played to perfection. We Sat out of doors—the musicians under a glass verandah. The air was warm, quiet lighting effects shimmered among the leaves of plane and chestnut trees. Great audiences sat in silence. Near by is the Opera House, where you can hear works of wide range rendered by eminent artistes. We did not rise above Carmen, but oh! the artistry of the performance! We have never seen such scenery or dancing or heard finer choral work. Other tastes are well provided for elsewhere in the town. There are numerous cinemas and a theatre where drama, musical comedy and variety can be enjoyed. And everywhere one is impressed by the quiet dignity and social grace of the French people--no rowdyism, nothing indecorous. Well-stocked book shops abound. There is a "Foyer intellectual." Serious lectures are advertised. There is a Museum of Art and Archceology. Picture galleries can be found. And as to the results? Well, there may be present a psychological element, but the routine of life is such that it cannot fail to benefit most people. The climate is warm in summer, but not oppressive. We gather that the rainfall Ls inconsiderable. Sharp thunderstorms sweep up, but soon disperse. Vichy is not a winter resort. We learned that many plant§ which survive around London will not live twelve months in Vichy. The temperature falls too low. But summer heat brings to perfect bloom many that are not seen at their best in England. And the continued popularity of Vichy under its enlightened semi-State management suggests that human beings may also flourish there and gain new strength to face the adverse influences of life. F. G. GOULD. PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED "How TO PSYCHO-ANALYSE YOURSELF." By Joseph Ralph. Watts. 7:6. Whatever faults a book on "How to Psycho-analyse yourself " may possess, it should have the merit of originality. The theme is full of fascinating possibilities which until now have been hardly explored. Anyone picking up this book will realise immediately that Joseph Ralph is original both in his style and presentation. On the other hand it must not be thought that anything basically new has been dis- covered. The ideas in the book have not been deduced a priori from the authors reflections in an armchair but are an interesting selection of the discoveries of Freud, Jung and others applied from a different angle. Mr. Ralph attempts to convince us that we can apply to ourselves the method of free-association (the bedrock of all psycho-analytic technique) without consulting a psychiatrist. This is all very well as far it goes; but the problem of real neurosis (hysterical blindness and paralysis; compulsions, phobias, etc.) is left untouched. There is no discussion as to whether the same method could be applied to them. Personally I doubt it. After all it is one of the main tenet-9 of the psycho - analysts, that we 17

cannot cure ourselves, beCauSe we cannot overcome our own unconscious resistances. The metaphorical "Censor " is too wary. As most mental specialists are engaged in trying to cure deep founded neuroses, the book scarcely enters their province. On the other hand, if the book is regarded simply as a guide by which we may ease our minor nervous ailments and temporary fixations, it might be quite useful. I cannot say I like Mr. Ralph's style. He tries to be racy in the best American tradition, but only succeeds in being rather puerile; and it is very irritating to the reader to be treated as if he has barely achieved the mental age of ten years. ,However, if you can subdue your annoyance at this and at Rear-Admiral Beadnell's somewhat irrelevant introduction, you should find the book stimulating and possibly helpf ul. J. L. GREEN. THE EMERGING FAITH. By Horace J. Bridges. Watts. 2s. 6d. In 1887 the first Ethical Society in England was founded by Dr. Stanton Coit. The jubilee of that fruitful beginning is marked by the appearance of this scholarly little book, issued by the Council of the English Ethical Union and fitly dedicated tO the veteran founder of the movement. Its author, who is Leader of the Chicago Ethical Society and was formerly asSociated with similar bodies in London, describes the purpose and method of his work as " a simple restatement of our fundamental principles in the form of answers to the questions which are invariably asked by newcomers." These replies are grouped under six headings, and range from the problem of a belief in God to the consolation the Ethical faith affords in the prospect and presence of death. A fore- word by Lord Snell stresses the need of such " centres of moral regeneration" in the World of to-day. lb our readers this able little work will have especial interest and value. OPinions will naturally differ as to minor points; whether, for instance, undue reliance is placed -on-the. actual terms of Christ's reported utterances. But these fully considered con- clusions of a distinguished student of ethics deserve and will be accorded a warm -welcome. RATS IN THE SACRISTY. By Llewellyn Powys. Watts. 10s. 6d. Studies in Realism. Mr. Llewellyn Powys is something. of a literary portent— . a meteor flashing unpredictably among the sedate fixed stars. He is of that company '.who, in his own words, " deserve spiritual refreshment from uncompromising words ,spoken Without fear." A whole-hearted hedonist and sceptic, he has brought together ih these pages fourteen brilliant, challenging essays on outstanding figures in the history of philosophy and religion. The first of these papers, devoted to the worship of Dionysos, and a later one on the Book of Ecclesiastes, may be termed impersonal in their themes. The rest are concerned With great thinkers and poets of every age - and clime—from Akhenaton in ancient Egypt and Omar Khayyam in long-vanished Nishapour to our own seventeenth century worthies "Melancholy " (Burton) and " Leviathan' Hobbes. One estAmate seems, by comparison, unvitalised; it is that of Confucius, whose. prim regard for the proprieties accords ill with Mr. Powys' fiery temperament. With this exception, each subject has some affinity, at least, with the essayist's passion for the emotional and sensual life and his disbelief in any authentic response to our quest for the " ultimate issues." His powers are seen at their best in such sympathetic studies as that of Lucretius, . the noble Roman, Who dropped his plummet down the broad, Deep universe, and said "No God"; or Messer Francois Rabelais, that gross and genial libertarian, with his " Do what thou will " for a rule of living. Mr. Powys has wit, satiric force, scholarship; he writes vividly, racily and unequally, now soaring to prose of memorable beauty, now sinking to fiat journalism. Here is much food for thought, much to delight, something at times to startle and to shock_as in hiS panegyric on the phallus—and always a sense of intense conviction 'finclCrlying the laughter and the scorn. r ERNEST CARR. HALF-YEARLY MEMBERS' MEETING In accordance with the motion carried at the Annual General Meeting held on May 28, 1937, a meeting of members has been arranged to take place in the Large Hall on Tuesday, November 30, at 7 p.m. A Sub-Committee has been appointed to ascertain how much demand there may be for a change in the present practice in regard to hymn singing at the Sunday morning services, and the General Committee hopes to be ready to submit a recom- mendation to the Half-Yearly Members' Meeting. In addition to the discussion on hymn singing, members are invited to bring :Concord otter subjects. Resolutions to be voted upon must be received by the 18 Secretary not later than the morning of Monday, November 1, otherwise they will not be accepted by the Chairman. Any such resolutions will be communicated to members before the date of the meeting. THE SOCIETY'S ACTIVITIES Matter far insertion in the December issue of the RECORDshould reach the Editor early in the month, and in any ease not later than SATURDAY,November 20. " AT 1101HES."—The next Sunday afternoon monthly " At Home" in the library will be on November 21, at 4 p.m. The guests of the afternoon will be Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Clements. The Sunday "At Homes" provide a pleasant opportunity for social intercourse with fellow members. Tea is provided at a nominal charge of ed. The Club Room is available on Sundays for those who wish to bring their lunch. CHORAL GROUP.—The next meeting will be on Wednesday. Nov. 10, at '7.30p.m. Mr. R. E. Snelling, 51, Church Road, N.W.4, will be pleased to furnish further particulars. CONWAY CHILDREN'S CIRCLE meet at the Peel Institute. 85, St. John Street. Clerkenwell, E.C.1, the Girls' Club on Tuesdays, and the Boys' Club on Fridays. from 0 p.m. to about 7.90 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The Hon. Treasurer gratefully acknowledges donations from Mrs. Clean, Mr. E. P. Hart and Miss E. M. Jewson. Hon. Sec.: Mrs. E. P. Hart, 18, St. Albans Road, N.W.5. CONWAY DISCUSSION CIRCLE will meet in the large hall at 7 p.m. on alternate Tuesdays. Nov. 9.—S. K. Ratcliffe: " The Lion and the Unicorn: What is Happening to the British Empire?" Mr. Ratcliffe maintains that since the War the British system has been profoundly changed; some argue that it can no longer be regarded as an Empire. What does " equal partnership" in the Commonwealth mean? If full nationhood, what obligations are implied in such vital Matters as foreign policy and defence? What is the future of Kenya or Southern Rhodesia? And what of India, the Independence movement, and the Federal Constitution? Nov. 23.—Bertrand Russell: " The Pacifist Case." Secretary: Mr. E. Thurtle, M.P., 4 & 8, Johnson's Court, Fleet Street, E.0.4. COUNTRY DANCE GROUP.—Lessons in the Library on Mondays, at 7 p.m., under the supervision of Miss A. Gloyn. General dancing, 74.; advanced 8-8.30 p.m. The fee until Christmas is 10s., or alternatively an entrance fee of 2s. 8d. and Is. per lesson attended. All payments to be made to the Hon. Treasurer, Mrs. Lindsay. The only party of the season will be held on Wednesday. November 24, at 7.30 p.m. Tickets 2s. including supper. Onlookers welcome. They may have supper tickets for ls. Further particulars may be had from the Hon. Secretaries. Mitt; H. Elliott, 31, Horsham Avenue, N.I2, Miss P. Snelling, 8, Amberley Road, E.10. DANCES.—Saturday, November 13, at 7.30 p.m. in the large hall. Admission 3s. including refreshments. Saturday, December 4. Please see under "Members' Party." Saturday, January 1, 1938. Grand New Year's Carnival Dance. Further details next month. Hon. Sec: Mr. C. E. Barralet, 34, Clarendon Way, Chislehurst, Kent. LIBRARY.—Open Sunday mornings before and after the Service, on Mondays during the Country Dance Class, and at the Sunday " At Homes." Free to Members and Associates. A slip must be filled in for each book borrowed. When books are returned they must be handed to the Librarians or left with the hall-keeper, and not be replaced on the shelves. Mrs. T. LINDSAY, 33, Dawlish Ave., Greenford, Middx. Librarian . Miss D. W. PITT, 32, Albany Road, N.4. LITERARY CIRCLE.—Meets first Thursday and third Wednesday in each month, at 7.15 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4.—Mr. Alec Craig: "The Banned Books of England." Wednesday, Nov. 17.—Mr. J. L. Green: "Time and Mr. Priestley." Visitors and friends welcome. Hon. Sec.: Miss F. Wilkins, 7, Evelyn Mansions, Queen's Club Gardens, W.14. 19

MEMBERS' PARTY. — December 4, at 6.30 p.m. The Social and Dance Committees have pleasure in announcing that the Annual Members' Party and the December Dance are this year being combined. Details of the programme are given on the handbill inset. They include light music, a short play, refreshments and dancing. It is hoped that as many members as possible will attend. They are invited to bring friends. Tickets, price 2s., from the Dance Secretary, Secretaries of other Circles and at Conway Hall.

PLAY READING CIRCLE. — Meets in the Library on 2nd and 4th Thursdays at 7 p.m. Season October-April. Membership open to members and associates of the Society. Subscription for season 2s, 6d. Plays are chosen for literary quality as well as dramatic interest. Informal discussion and refreshments follow the readings. Visitors are welcome. Nov. Love on the Dole," by Arthur Greenwood. Nov. 25.—" Storm in a Tea Cup," by James Bridle. Hon. Sec.: Mrs. Hinchliff, 23, Russell Gardens. London, N.W.11.

POETRY CIRCLE — Meets in the Library on the third Thursdays, at 7.30 p.m. Nov. 18.—Mr. Wallis Mansford will present Swinburne's tilt/Ric romance, in prose and verse by Claudine Currey. He will be assisted by Mrs. Peg& Gilkes, L.R.A.M. (Eloc.), Gold Medallist, Poetry Society, for Verse Speaking. who will also recite " The Giant's Garden " (Oscar Wilde), "La Belle Dame sans Merci" (Keats), " The Golden Journey to Samarkand" and " The Gates of Damascus" (Flecker) and other poems. Mr. Horace Goring will render a selection of musical settings from the poets. Accompanist Mrs. Grace James. The 50th Anniversary of the birth of Rupert Brooke falling this year, a selection of his poems will be recited and sung to commemorate his life and works. Hon. Sec.: Mrs. Marianne Idiens, 85 Windsor Road, Forest Gate, E.7.

RAMBLES. — Sunday, November 7.—Chalfont St. Peter. Train 1.25 p.m., Paddington to Gerrard's Cross, cheap day return 2s. 2d. Leader: Miss D. Winter. Sunday, November 14.—Hayes Common and Downe. Train 1.1 Tim., Charing Cross (1.6 p.m. London Bridge) to Hayes, cheap day return Is. 9d. Leader: Mr. F. A. &wan. Saturday November 20.—It had been hoped to arrange a large theatre party for the Royalty (Priestley's " I Have Been Here Before"), but only eleven seats at 2s. 6d. were available and these have been procured and sold to regular ramblers and leaders. Members willing to pay 3s. ad. may, however, be able to have seats in close proximity. Applications at once to Assistant Secretary, Ealing 5579. Tea in town, prior to theatre. Sunday, November 28.—Around Havering-atte-Bower. Train 1.27 p.m., Liverpool Street to Harold Wood, cheap day return 2s. Leader: Mr. J. L. Green. Hon. Sec.: Mr. C. S. Newsom, 9, Homefield Rise, Orpington, Kent.

SOUTH PLACE STRING ORCHESTRA. — Conductor Richard H. Walthew. Practices are held every Friday evening 7 to 9 p.m., in the Small Hall or Library. An informal concert will be given in the Library about the end of each half season. It is very necessary to increase the numerical strength of the Orchestra, and members of the Society are asked to recommend the Orchestra to their musical friends. Full particulars may be obtained from Hon Sec.: Mr. E. J. Fatrhall, 18, Golden Manor, W. 7. SOUTH PLACE SUNDAY CONCERT SOCIETY THE FIFTY-SECOND SEASON of the South Place Sunday Concerts will be continued every Sunday. Oct. 31.—Griller String Quartet : Sidney Griller, Jack O'Brien, Philip Burton, ColM Hampton; Solo Piano: Guy Jonson; Vocalist: Nan Maryska; At the Piano: Ella Ivimey. String Quartets : Arnold Brix No. 3 (dedicated to the Griller String Quartet), Kassmayer Op. 14, Haydn E flat, Op. 20, No. 1; Schumann Etudes Sym- phoniques for Piano. Nov. 7.—Nancy Phillips String Quartet: Nancy PhilliPs, Jean Le Fevre, Eileen Grainger, Lilly Phillips. Solo Piano: PhiMpowsky. String Quartets: Grieg G minor, Dohnanyi A minor. Beethoven's Sonata Appassionata for Piano.

Nov. 14.— Blech Quartet: Harry Blech, Edward Silverman, Douglas Thomson,

20

William Pleeth; Piano: Irene Kohler: Vocalist: Mary Hamlin; At the Piano: Mary Dossor, Dohnanyi's String Quartet in D flat, Op. 15; Dvorak's Piano Quintet. Nov. 21.—Plano: Frank Merrick: Violoncello: Luigi Gasparini; Vocalists: Veronica Mansfield and Basil Parsons; At the Piano: S. Liddle. Piano and Cello Sonatas: Beethoven A, Op. 69, Brahms F, Op. 99; Instrumental Solos; Vocal Duets and Songs. Nov. 28.—New English Trio: Gwynneth Trotter, Audrey Piggott, Dorothea Aspinall; Vocalist: Henry Wendon: At the Piano: Geoffrey Corbett. Piano Trios: Turina No. 1, Mendelssohn C minor; Dohnanyrs Piano and Cello Sonata; Brahma' Sonatensatz for Piano and Violin. Members' Tickets 3 / - each, admitting to Reserved Seats every Sunday for First Half-Season to December 19, may be obtained at the Concert or from the Hon. Treasurer of the Concerts. Andrew E. Watson, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, W.C.1, by sending Remittance and Stamped Addressed Envelope. Hon. Treasurer: ANDREW E. WATSON, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, W.C.1. Hon. Secretary: ALFRED .1. CLEMENTS, 13, Finchley Way, N.3, Hon, Assistant 1 MRS. D. M. CLEMENTS, 8, Finchley Way, N.3. Secretaries: j GEORGE HUTCHINSON, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, W.C.1.

New Members • Mr. b. EASTGATE, 28, Stanley Road, Woodford, E.18. Miss N. FLACK, 27 Brading Road, Brixton Road, S.W.2. Miss A SHEEHAN, 36, Sandwich Street, W.C.1. Mr. E. A. S. TOWER, 16, Warwick Road, Earl's Court, S.W.5 New Associates Miss G. M. Hewn-tame, 12, Crescent Grove, Clapham Common, S.W.4, Mr. and Mrs. A. TREVILLION, " St. Martin's," Windmill Hill, Ruislip. Marriage John C. MILLINGTON to HELEN M. FAIRHALL, August 3, 1937. Changes of Address Mrs. and Major G. A. C. TAYLOR, CI 0 37, Glenntore Road, Belsize Park, N.W.3. Miss E. F. HARBURN, 15, Mortimer Crescent, Kilburn, N.W.6. Mr. and Mrs. J. E. SUTCLIFFE, C/O Barclays Bank, Rickmansworth. Mrs. J. H. TANDY, 21, York House, Highbury Crescent, N.5. Miss HOLT, 56, Govett Avenue Extension, Shepperton-on-Thames, Middx. Miss E. STAMP, 58, Valleyfield Road, Streatham, S.W.16. Mr. and Mrs. STUTTIG, " Enmore," 36, Offington Gardens, Worthing, Sussex. Mr. and Mrs. J. A. HUTCHEON, 9, Oregon Square, Orpington, Kent. Mr. E. L. Gifierr, 9, Argyle Street, W:C.1. Mrs. H. L. FAIRHALL, " Ru,119t," Grayshott, Hindhead, Surrey. Mr. D. V. WATKINS, 55, De Bohun Avenue, N.14.

DIARY FOR NOVEMBER 1 Country Dancas 7 p.m. 17 Literary Circle... •7.15 p.m. 3 General Committee 6.30 p.m. 18 Poetry Circle... .7.30 p.m. 4 Literary Circle... 7.15 p.m. 19 Orchestra..,... 7 p.m. 5 Orchestra... 7 p.m. 20 Ramble (see page 19) 6 Dance 7.30 p.m. 11 a.m. 7 Service 11 a.m. 21 At Home...... 4 p.m. 7 Ramble (see page 19) 21 Concert...... 630 p.m. 7 Concert 6.30 p.m. 22 Country Dances ... 7 p.m. 8 Country Dances ••. 7 p.m. 23 Discussion... 7 p.m. 9 Discussion 7 p.m. 24 Country Dance Party 7 30 p.m. 10 Choral Group• .• 730 p.m. 25 Play Reading... 7 p.m. 11 Play Reading••. 7 p.m. 26 Orchestra 7 p.m. 12 Orchestra... 7 p.m. 28 Service...,.... 11 a.m. 14 Service 11 a.m. 28 Ramble (see page 19) 14 Ramble (see page 19) 28 Concert...... 6 30 pm. 14 Concert... 6.30 p.m. 29 Country Dances ... 7 p.m. 15 Country Dances... 7 pm. 30 Members' Meeting 7p.m. Printed and published by THE FARLEIGH PRESS (T.H.), 17-29 Cayton Street, E.C.I.