of the Moslem fury.
But this is one of those arguments which really carry their own answer.
It is like the sceptical saying that man is only an animal,
which of itself provokes the retort, "What an animal!"
The very similarity only emphasises the contrast. Is it seriously
suggested that we can substitute the Armenian for the Jew in
the study of a world-wide problem like that of the Jews? Could we
talk of the competition of Armenians among Welsh shop-keepers,
or of the crowd of Armenians on Brighton Parade? Can Armenian usury
be a common topic of talk in a camp in California and in a club
in Piccadilly? Does Shakespeare show us a tragic Armenian towering
over the great Venice of the Renascence? Does Dickens show us
a realistic Armenian teaching in the thieves' kitchens of the slums?
When we meet Mr. Vernon Vavasour, that brilliant financier, do we
speculate on the probability of his really having an Armenian name
to match his Armenian nose? Is it true, in short, that all sorts
of people, from the peasants of Poland to the peasants of Portugal,
can agree more or less upon the special subject of Armenia? Obviously it
is not in the least true; obviously the Armenian question is only
a local question of certain Christians, who may be more avaricious
than other Christians. But it is the truth about the Jews.
It is only half the truth, and one which by itself would be very unjust
to the Jews. But it is the truth, and we must realise it as sharply
and clearly as we can. The truth is that it is rather strange
that the Jews should be so anxious for international agreements.
For one of the few really international agreements is a suspicion
of the Jews.

A more practical comparison would be one between the Jews
and gipsies; for the latter at least cover several countries,
and can be tested by the impressions of very different districts.
And in some preliminary respects the comparison is really useful.
Both races are in different ways landless, and therefore in
different ways lawless. For the fundamental laws are land laws.
In both cases a reasonable man will see reasons for unpopularity,
without wishing to indulge any task for persecution.
In both cases he will probably recognise the reality of a racial fault,
while admitting that it may be largely a racial misfortune.
That is to say, the drifting and detached condition may be largely
the cause of Jewish usury or gipsy pilfering; but it is not common sense
to contrad