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than as slaves are governed。 You may pile Bills of Right and Habeas
Corpus Acts on Great Charters； promulgate American Constitutions； burn
the chateaux and guillotine the seigneurs； chop off the heads of kings and
queens and set up Democracy on the ruins of feudalism： the end of it all
for us is that already in the twentieth century there has been as much brute
coercion and savage intolerance； as much flogging and hanging； as much
impudent injustice on the bench and lustful rancor in the pulpit； as much
naive resort to torture； persecution； and suppression of free speech and
freedom of the press； as much war； as much of the vilest excess of
mutilation； rapine； and delirious indiscriminate slaughter of helpless non…
combatants； old and young； as much prostitution of professional talent；
literary and political； in defence of manifest wrong； as much cowardly
sycophancy giving fine names to all this villainy or pretending that it is
〃greatly exaggerated；〃 as we can find any record of from the days when
the advocacy of liberty was a capital offence and Democracy was hardly
thinkable。 Democracy exhibits the vanity of Louis XIV； the savagery of
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Peter of Russia； the nepotism and provinciality of Napoleon； the fickleness
of Catherine II： in short； all the childishnesses of all the despots without
any of the qualities that enabled the greatest of them to fascinate and
dominate their contemporaries。
And the flatterers of Democracy are as impudently servile to the
successful； and insolent to common honest folk； as the flatterers of the
monarchs。 Democracy in America has led to the withdrawal of ordinary
refined persons from politics； and the same result is coming in England as
fast as we make Democracy as democratic as it is in America。 This is
true also of popular religion： it is so horribly irreligious that nobody with
the smallest pretence to culture； or the least inkling of what the great
prophets vainly tried to make the world understand； will have anything to
do with it except for purely secular reasons。
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Imagination
Before we can clearly understand how baleful is this condition of
intimidation in which we live； it is necessary to clear up the confusion
made by our use of the word imagination to denote two very different
powers of mind。 One is the power to imagine things as they are not：
this I call the romantic imagination。 The other is the power to imagine
things as they are without actually sensing them； and this I will call the
realistic imagination。 Take for example marriage and war。 One man
has a vision of perpetual bliss with a domestic angel at home； and of
flashing sabres； thundering guns； victorious cavalry charges； and routed
enemies in the field。 That is romantic imagination； and the mischief it
does is incalculable。 It begins in silly and selfish expectations of the
impossible； and ends in spiteful disappointment； sour grievance； cynicism；
and misanthropic resistance to any attempt to better a hopeless world。
The wise man knows that imagination is not only a means of pleasing
himself and beguiling tedious hours with romances and fairy tales and
fools' paradises （a quite defensible and delightful amusement when you
know exactly what you are doing and where fancy ends and facts begin）；
but also a means of foreseeing and being prepared for realities as yet
unexperienced； and of testing the possibility and desirability of serious
Utopias。 He does not expect his wife to be an angel； nor does he overlook
the facts that war depends on the rousing of all the murderous
blackguardism still latent in mankind； that every victory means a defeat；
that fatigue； hunger； terror； and disease are the raw material which
romancers work up into military glory； and that soldiers for the most part
go to war as children go to school； because they are afraid not to。 They
are afraid even to say they are afraid； as such candor is punishable by
death in the military code。
A very little realistic imagination gives an ambitious person enormous
power over the multitudinous victims of the romantic imagination。 For
the romancer not only pleases himself with fictitious glories： he also
terrifies himself with imaginary dangers。 He does not even picture what
these dangers are： he conceives the unknown as always dangerous。
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When you say to a realist 〃You must do this〃 or 〃You must not do that；〃 he
instantly asks what will happen to him if he does （or does not； as the case
may be）。 Failing an unromantic convincing answer； he does just as he
pleases unless he can find for himself a real reason for refraining。 In
short； though you can intimidate him； you cannot bluff him。 But you can
always bluff the romantic person： indeed his grasp of real considerations is
so feeble that you find it necessary to bluff him even when you have solid
considerations to offer him instead。 The campaigns of Napoleon； with
their atmosphere of glory； illustrate this。 In the Russian campaign
Napoleon's marshals achieved miracles of bluff； especially Ney； who； with
a handful of men； monstrously outnumbered； repeatedly kept the Russian
troops paralyzed with terror by pure bounce。 Napoleon himself； much
more a realist than Ney （that was why he dominated him）； would probably
have surrendered； for sometimes the bravest of the brave will achieve
successes never attempted by the cleverest of the clever。 Wellington was a
completer realist than Napoleon。 It was impossible to persuade
Wellington that he