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Never Again!
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
18 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2006
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About the author
Edward Carpenter
396 books66 followersEdward Carpenter was an English socialist poet, socialist philosopher, anthologist, and early gay activist.
A leading figure in late 19th- and early 20th-century Britain, he was instrumental in the foundation of the Fabian Society and the Labour Party. A poet and writer, he was a close friend of Walt Whitman and Rabindranath Tagore, corresponding with many famous figures such as Annie Besant, Isadora Duncan, Havelock Ellis, Roger Fry, Mahatma Gandhi, James Keir Hardie, J. K. Kinney, Jack London, George Merrill, E D Morel, William Morris, E R Pease, John Ruskin, and Olive Schreiner.[1]
As a philosopher he is particularly known for his publication of Civilisation, Its Cause and Cure in which he proposes that civilisation is a form of disease that human societies pass through. Civilisations, he says, rarely last more than a thousand years before collapsing, and no society has ever passed through civilisation successfully. His 'cure' is a closer association with the land and greater development of our inner nature. Although derived from his experience of Hindu mysticism, and referred to as 'mystical socialism', his thoughts parallel those of several writers in the field of psychology and sociology at the start of the twentieth century, such as Boris Sidis, Sigmund Freud and Wilfred Trotter who all recognised that society puts ever increasing pressure on the individual that can result in mental and physical illnesses such as neurosis and the particular nervousness which was then described as neurasthenia.
A strong advocate of sexual freedom, living in a gay community near Sheffield, he had a profound influence on both D. H. Lawrence and E. M. Forster.
A leading figure in late 19th- and early 20th-century Britain, he was instrumental in the foundation of the Fabian Society and the Labour Party. A poet and writer, he was a close friend of Walt Whitman and Rabindranath Tagore, corresponding with many famous figures such as Annie Besant, Isadora Duncan, Havelock Ellis, Roger Fry, Mahatma Gandhi, James Keir Hardie, J. K. Kinney, Jack London, George Merrill, E D Morel, William Morris, E R Pease, John Ruskin, and Olive Schreiner.[1]
As a philosopher he is particularly known for his publication of Civilisation, Its Cause and Cure in which he proposes that civilisation is a form of disease that human societies pass through. Civilisations, he says, rarely last more than a thousand years before collapsing, and no society has ever passed through civilisation successfully. His 'cure' is a closer association with the land and greater development of our inner nature. Although derived from his experience of Hindu mysticism, and referred to as 'mystical socialism', his thoughts parallel those of several writers in the field of psychology and sociology at the start of the twentieth century, such as Boris Sidis, Sigmund Freud and Wilfred Trotter who all recognised that society puts ever increasing pressure on the individual that can result in mental and physical illnesses such as neurosis and the particular nervousness which was then described as neurasthenia.
A strong advocate of sexual freedom, living in a gay community near Sheffield, he had a profound influence on both D. H. Lawrence and E. M. Forster.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 21, 2021
Boring waffle. The author sounds like an interesting person but the whole book could be explained in just one sentence, ‘war is a waste of human life’. Everything else was just pointless sentences jumping from here to there with nothing of worth to them.
June 30, 2021
I'm anti-war and pretty tendentious when it comes to this issue. So my review is probably pretty biased. I listened to the audiobook for this so I might have missed a few things, but this seemed quite good.
September 17, 2015
Edward Carpenter makes an appeal post-World War I about the selflessness of the common man, who died for the interests of the ruling class. He cites the advances of civilization, moral and technological -- as insufficient to rectify all the destruction and loss of humanity in World War I. In fact, these advances were used to further the destruction of humans.
Despite his impassioned plea, Carpenter is short on analysis and answers though. While he compares nationalism and national interests to the interests of humankind, he finds the latter insufficient to bridge the former.
All in all, this pamphlet is only meant to bring awareness to people the insensible destruction and loss of life on both sides... although Carpenter finds the German aristocracy to be to blame. Carpenter stops short of proposing any kind of constructive political change.
Despite his impassioned plea, Carpenter is short on analysis and answers though. While he compares nationalism and national interests to the interests of humankind, he finds the latter insufficient to bridge the former.
All in all, this pamphlet is only meant to bring awareness to people the insensible destruction and loss of life on both sides... although Carpenter finds the German aristocracy to be to blame. Carpenter stops short of proposing any kind of constructive political change.
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October 2, 2016Beautifully written. Sadly, people don't write with this sort of outrage and inner justification anymore. Things tend to lean toward the mellow and sarcastic. But what a beautiful piece from a time when people cared about things.
Reminds me a bit of "do not go gentle into that good night".
Reminds me a bit of "do not go gentle into that good night".
October 14, 2012
After reading this pamphlet, One wonders why it is that we ended up in a second World War. Why didn't people find a way to avoid it. This book leaves me looking into the soul of humanity, seeking to understand our unhumanity.....
December 6, 2022
"Let us believe that Love, not Hatred, is the power by which, in the end, the World will be saved;"
January 20, 2009
Project Gutenberg download. A pamphlet against war in reaction to World War I.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews