350
European book-guilds are for the
benefit of the reader, the Ameri–
can book-clubs for the benefit of
the publisher.
It
makes one shud–
der to think of it.
In his last book, Toynbee called
the society of Western civilization
"post-Christian."
The
Jewish
Catholic Matthias reserves the un–
christian label for America, his
bete noire.
"One can no longer
call the American nation a Chris–
tian one," says he. Even American
Catholics are no longer to be
counted as such according to Mat–
thias, who was himself a Catholic
teacher at an American Catholic
school. America's eternal hatred of
Europe, of which Jefferson is rep–
resentative, is nothing but hatred
of Christianity. Rosenberg's
Myth
of the Twentieth Century
(first
half) has found a worthy succes–
sor here in the second half.
Men and women do not exist
on this dreadful continent. Hence
both sexes are unhappy. Further–
more, an officers' corps and troops
in the European sense have never
existed here. "The officer has no
respect for the soldier and the
soldier none for the officer."
Where politics and history are con–
cerned, it is said that the most
rapacious businessmen have ruled
here since 1787. All wars have been
business wars; each peace a busi–
ness peace. It was for reasons of
business that America entered the
two World Wars. By the way, it
was not Russia but the U.S.A.
which destroyed the sovereignty of
Czechoslovakia, for with the Mar–
shall Plan America provoked the
Russian coup. . . .
In spite of all this, and although
East Germany will surely make
much of the Matthias quotes, one
should not call this anti-American
a Bolshevist without qualifications.
He is made of rarer stuff. He is a
Catholic commissar unmarxistically
in love with hierarchy. "Order of
rank" is his concern. Jefferson (his
whipping-boy) was the personifi–
cation of "ranklessness." Of such
impudent generalizations is this
book made up.
The metaphysical sauce which
is supposed to bind this ragout of
"facts" contains only that most
fashionable of ingredients: sociol–
ogy. Europe (in the center) is said
to consist of two elements: the
business or class society and the
society of rank. Russia (on top)
is said to consist of only one ele–
ment: the classless society of rank.
And America (on the bottom) is
supposed to consist of only one
the hans hofmann school of fine arts
52 west 8th street
new york city
phone gramercy 7-3491
provincetown, mass.
june 14 - september 3
summer sessIOn
personally conducted
by mr. hofmann
