The Shield/On Nationalism
Vladimir Serggyevich Solovyov is known to the world as the noblest and the most profound of Russian thinkers. The author of a large number of philosophical and theological treatises, he is also responsible for a slender volume of exquisite poems and a series of publicistic works, wherein the cause of progress is vigorously upheld. Solovyov was born in 1853 and died in 1900.
ON NATIONALISM
A speech delivered by Vladimir Solovyov at a University
Dinner on February 8th, 1890
THE dominating idea of the present time is the national idea. Of course, there is nothing bad about this. But the national idea as well as any other, can be very differently interpreted. The conception of nationalism which is very popular in our country reminds one of the famous answer made by a Hottentot to a missionary, who asked him whether he knows the difference between good and bad. "Sure I know," retorted the Hottentot. "Good—is when I steal other people's cattle and wives, and bad—when my own are stolen." In a like manner, many of our nationalists praise the love for their people and brand other people's patriotism as treason.
In spite of the wide diffusion of this view, I persist in my belief that the Russian national idea cannot be based on a Hottentot-like morality, that it cannot exclude the principles of justice and all-human solidarity. It is time that we should see the realisation of the true Russian idea and of all that it implies, namely: Poland's autonomy, Jewish equal rights and the untrammelled development of all the nationalities that people the Russian Empire.
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| Original: |
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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| Translation: |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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