- erally unfitted for it by reason of that course of treatment which
was commonly called his education."
Erewhon Revisited deals more specifically with the miraculous
and doctrinal side of Christianity, mirrored in the
account of the origin of Sunchildism and its connection
with the old Musical Banks. The two main characters
are Hanky and Panky, Professors respectively of Wordly
and Unworldly Wisdom. They are carefully distinguished:[1]
"Panky was the greater humbug of the two, for he would
humbug even himself—a thing, by the way, not very hard to do;
and yet he was the less successful humbug; * * * Hanky
was the mere common, superficial, perfunctory Professor, who,
being a Professor, would of course profess, but would not lie
more than was in the bond. * * * Panky, on the other
hand, was hardly human; he had thrown himself so earnestly
into his work, that he had become a living lie. If he had had to
play the part of Othello he would have blacked himself all over,
and very likely have smothered his Desdemona in good earnest.
Hanky would hardly have blacked himself behind the ears,
and his Desdemona would have been quite safe."
The School is another favorite satirical topic. The only
novelists who refrain from depicting the shortcomings of
the educational system are Disraeli, Reade, Mrs. Gaskell,
and George Eliot. On the public side, Meredith might be
added, as the theme of Richard Feverel, though educational,
is made an individual matter.
The adverse opinion handed down on the methods and
- ↑ Erewhon Revisited, 39-40. Panky, who wore his Sunchild suit backward, as a matter of dogma, is supposed to represent the Anglican, and Hanky the Jesuit. The broad church is represented by the far superior Dr. Downie. Butler's positive philosophy is expressed, though still in the indirect manner, in the account of Ydgrun and the Ydgrunites: Erewhon, Chap. XVII.
