Transcribed from the 1896 Longmans, Green, and Co. edition byDavid Price,
Seven Lectures
DELIVEREDON VARIOUS OCCASIONS
BY
WILLIAM MORRIS
AUTHOR OF “THE EARTHLYPARADISE”
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
LONDON, NEW YORK, AND BOMBAY
1896
Allrights reserved
| PAGE |
How we Live and How we MightLive | |
Whigs, Democrats, andSocialists | |
Feudal England | |
The Hopes of Civilization | |
The Aims of Art | |
Useful Work versus UselessToil | |
Dawn of a New Epoch |
The word Revolution, which weSocialists are so often forced to use, has a terrible sound inmost people’s ears, even when we have explained to themthat it does not necessarily mean a change accompanied by riotand all kinds of violence, and cannot mean a change mademechanically and in the teeth of opinion by a group of men whohave somehow managed to seize on the executive power for themoment. Even when we explain that we use the wordrevolution in its etymological sense, and mean by it a change inthe basis of society, people are scared at the idea of such avast change, and beg that you will speak of reform and notrevolution. As, however, we Socialists do not at all meanby our word revolution what these worthy people mean by theirword reform, I can’t help thinking that it would be amistake to use it, whatever projects we might conceal beneath itsharmless envelope. So we will stick to our word, whichmeans a change of the basis of society; it may frighten people,but it will at least warn them that there is something to befrightened about, which will be no less dangerous for beingignored; and also it may encourage some people, and will mean tothem at least not a fear, but a hope.
Fear and Hope—those are the names of the two greatpassions which rule the race of man, and with whichrevolutionists have to deal; to give hope to the many o