NOTES 289 



an appeal to emotion pays him better than an appeal to reason, 

 and he uses his knowledge to win an election. Two evils follow 

 — the statesman who appeals to reason gets less attention, or is 

 frozen out of politics ; and the Government, which must obey 

 reason, and not emotion in its policy and executive acts, finds 

 itself hampered by pledges which either cannot be carried out 

 at all, or can only be carried out to the detriment of the 

 community. 



The only cure for these evils is education — not necessarily 

 the education of the school, or even the university, but of the 

 world — and a sense of responsibiHty. The long tradition of 

 parliamentary government in this country has in fact educated 

 the older and more limited electorate, so that there is a certain 

 stability in that section of public opinion ; but the newly 

 enfranchised seem conscious of their incompetence to form a 

 judgment, and quite frankly attend political meetings to obtain 

 information ; and not as partisans convinced in advance and 

 ready to cheer the echoes of their own views. 



It is sometimes suggested that whirlwind campaigns, plat- 

 form speeches, and a popular Press are modern evils which 

 democracy has brought in its train. But these things are only 

 organised propaganda, which is simply an attempt to influence 

 opinion ; and propaganda is the oldest and most widespread 

 of the arts. 



According to the Bible it accounted for the fall, and accord- 

 ing to anthropology, it was partially responsible for the rise of 

 man. Eve practised it on Adam when she persuaded him to 

 eat the apple against his will ; Lord Northcliffe adopted very 

 similar methods, with less successful or less disastrous results, 

 when he advocated standard bread. It is true that those who 

 reject the Garden of Eden story as itself an example of successful 

 propaganda point to the charcoal pictures and ceremonial relics 

 of far earlier times as witnesses against the truth of Genesis. 

 But the pictures and the ceremonies are sufficient evidence of 

 primitive belief, and the method of its propagation. Palaeo- 

 lithic man has vanished, but his propaganda remains. 



From the cave-man to the caucus is a long step, but the art 

 of propaganda is essentially the same in all ages. It must 

 influence and consolidate opinion ; it must be a little, but not 

 too far, in advance of the crowd. For that reason, the great 

 discoverers are not good propagandists ; they look too far 

 ahead. Their objective is out of sight of the multitude, which 

 may reverence them, but can hardly follow them. They must 

 have an interpreter, who popularises their opinions by diluting 

 them. Truth, according to the more cynical propagandists, is 

 like whisky — only the strong can take it neat ; the average 

 man prefers it mixed. The gas in the soda makes it more 



