Paine's rebuttal to Burke on the point of heredity and kingship (Burke seemed to argue that the monarchy of England stretched back to before time itself, providing the stability and tradition that made Albion great), was roughly as follows:
1) The unelected rulers of England had taken the country into frivolous and damaging wars, often over no great a matter as to which family member would get to play divine ruler; hardly the mark of 'stability'.
and,
2) There wasn't a continuous line of hereditary monarchs. Paine saw the (often violent) transferral of power between families as usurpations, and always against the consent of the natives.
Paine brought up, in particular, the Norman conquest as an example of this, and from the point of view of those who gained the least from 1066. (He would raise the subject time and again).
Hitchens:
"it is easy to forget...how long and how late the idea of 'the Norman yoke' survived in English and indeed American consciousness. Thomas Jefferson grounded his claim of American rights on the ancient liberties of the Anglo-Saxons, which had not been nullified by a Norman subjugation and which had transferred themselves across the Atlantic and out of the monarchy's reach. There was a popular joke in my own very conservative Hampshire grandfather's day about a dispute between an English peasant and his hereditary landlord. 'Do you realise?' enquires the exasperated squire, 'that my ancestors came over with King William?' 'Yes,' replied the tenant. 'We were ready for you.'"
Quoted after this is Kipling's poem 'Norman and Saxon' (1911). Kipling imagines a Norman aristocrat in the year 1100 giving advice to his first-born son before he dies. In particular, I love the last four words of the second stanza: it says so much.
Norman and Saxon
(A.D. 1100)
"My son," said the Norman Baron, "I am dying, and you will be heir
To all the broad acres in England that William gave me for my share
When we conquered the Saxon at Hastings, and a nice little handful it is.
But before you go over to rule it I want you to understand this:--
"The Saxon is not like us Normans. His manners are not so polite.
But he never means anything serious till he talks about justice and right.
When he stands like an ox in the furrow with his sullen set eyes on your own,
And grumbles, 'This isn't fair dealing,' my son, leave the Saxon alone.
"You can horsewhip your Gascony archers, or torture your Picardy spears;
But don't try that game on the Saxon; you'll have the whole brood round your ears.
From the richest old Thane in the country to the poorest chained serf in the field,
They'll be at you and on you like hornets, and, if you are wise, you will yield.
"But first you must master their language, their dialect, proverbs and songs.
Don't trust any clerk to interpret when they come with the tale of their wrongs.
Let them know that you know what they're saying; let them feel that you know what to say.
Yes, even when you want to go hunting, hear 'em out if it takes you all day.
"They'll drink every hour of the daylight and poach every hour of the dark.
It's the sport not the rabbits they're after (we've plenty of game in the park).
Don't hang them or cut off their fingers. That's wasteful as well as unkind,
For a hard-bitten, South-country poacher makes the best man-at-arms you can find.
"Appear with your wife and the children at their weddings and funerals and feasts.
Be polite but not friendly to Bishops; be good to all poor parish priests.
Say 'we', 'us' and 'ours' when you're talking, instead of 'you fellows' and 'I.'
Dont' ride over seeds; keep your temper; and never you tell 'em a lie!"
No comments:
Post a Comment