Henry Hotze: Confederate Propagandist

Dixie

H/T Gregory Hood

While the search for “Black Confederates” continues at the Southern Heritage Non-Preservation Group, I feel like quoting an extract from an essay called “The Natural History of Man” by the Swiss-born Confederate propagandist Henry Hotze who served as an official agent for the Confederacy in Europe.

Note: Hopefully, Hotze’s Swiss Catholic background will be sufficiently multicultural for Carl Roden, Don Quixote, & Co.:

“THE NATURAL HISTORY OF MAN”
The Index, 23 July 1863

“The most dangerous dogma of modern times, and that which, unconsciously to the majority of those who accept it, underlies nearly every social, political, and religious heresy which mars our civilization, is the dogma of the equality of man. Our daily experience belies it, our instinctive convictions repudiate it, our constant practice ignores it; and yet we continue to assert it, and in its various forms build upon it elaborate structures of theory. The feeblest in­tellect recognizes a difference between self and fellowman, between one nation and another; a careless glance suffices to convince even the vulgar of the broad distinctions between the white man and the negro, or between them and the Chinaman or the Hindu. Yet by some strange perversion of ideas, the popular mind has come to associate the study of the human races with infi­delity or, at least, skepticism. Every one admits the truth of the familiar line into which Pope condensed the advice of philosophers and sages. Under every aspect except one, man has been studied assiduously, and not unsuc­cessfully. As an individual, in his material relations to the material world, science knows him with an accuracy which leaves comparatively little that is attainable to desire. Even in that most difficult and dangerous path, the metaphysical study of man, there are not lacking brave and earnest laborers who are willing to hew the massive quarries of thought. But so soon as sci­ence attempts to consider man asa gregarious being, classed by the Creator into certain great and distinct groups, she is stopped at the threshold of the investigation by suspicions of the lawfulness of her proceedings. To a certain extent, the students of the science of races have doubtless themselves to blame for this prejudice against them. They have, in many instances, unnecessarily brought themselves into at least apparent contradiction to Holy Writ by in­quiries into the origin of man.” We say unnecessarily, because even if it were permitted for human shortsightedness to fathom the mysteries of the crea­tion, it could have no personal bearing on the legitimate subjects of inquiry, whether all mankind was descended from a single pair, or whether there had been—to borrow from Mr. Agassiz’s phrase—several distinct centers of creation. Whether the Great Architect primarily ordained the existing dif­ferences between distinct varieties of man, or whether He subsequently ef­fected the same object by such means as he saw proper, science has to deal only with the facts as she finds them, and her duty is confined to the solution of two problems—first, what are these differences, physical, moral, and intel­lectual; and secondly, are there any ascertainable means by which they can be modified or removed? If science does not transgress these bounds, it is diffi­cult to see how she can step upon forbidden or even dangerous ground.

The second of these questions must always remain an open one, since sci­ence is compelled to prove a negative. All that can be said with any degree of absolute certainty is, that since the beginning of profane history no race of men is known to have changed its physical characteristics from any other cause than admixture; but that the moral and intellectual characteristics of all races are susceptible of development, the degree and nature of which are yet a matter of doubt. The first question, that is, what the differences actu­ally are, is, although not easy, certainly less difficult, because the answer de­pends on positive facts which research is daily increasing in number. There are those who profess apprehensions in the interests of religion, as to what the answer may be. Let them not be disquieted. The plan of salvation, as it com­prises all colors, comprises also all grades of intellect. As we do not measure a man’s claims to Divine mercy by the weight or texture of his brains, so nei­ther need we those of races; and there is no reason why we may not admit the same relative difference to exist among races that we know and feel to ex­ist among men of the same race. To say that this or that race is distinguished by some peculiar aptitude or inaptitude cannot be more unjust or improper than to say that one man is superior in some respects while another is defi­cient. The shortest road to infidelity in morals, politics, and religion, is taken by him who sets out with the idea that all men are born equal in all respects, and that the apparent differences of later life are the results of external cir­cumstances and accident.”

If then, science shall inform us that certain races of men are distinguish-able by certain moral and intellectual, as well as physical attributes, it will only have done, in a wider field and with greater accuracy, what is habitu­ally done in assigning to different nations of the same race certain peculiarities, terming one slow, another vivacious—one prone to abstract speculations, another to practical conclusions. It will have afforded no pretext for treating any race with injustice or contempt; but it will have enabled us to facilitate and further the progress of each in the career for which the Creator of all de-signed it. It will have shed a light over much that is now dark and mysteri­ous in the history of the past, and in the history we ourselves are writing by our acts in our day. Fanaticism is always the child of ignorance or imperfect knowledge; or it is, at best, the contortion of a part of the truth from its true proportion to the whole truth. Individual man is but an insignificant atom in the society of which he forms a part; it was appointed that his onward march should not be singly, but in troops; and the more we know of the natural rela­tions of the different societies, each of which has its appointed task, the more benevolent, because the more enlightened our judgment will become.”

About Hunter Wallace 12379 Articles
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Occidental Dissent

38 Comments

  1. Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity is the motto of the Revolution. We proclaim Tradition, Family, and Property as our highest values.

    Liberty in the Enlightenment sense of the word is no true freedom. It is instead slavery to the individual stomach and to the Rousseauian “general will”.

    Equality? While all men are equal in God’s eyes, that is the only form of equality that exists. In every other realm of life, hierarchy rules.

    And fraternity? Brotherhood is a creature of blood. No shared blood, no blood brothers.

    Bring on the tumbrils. Sharpen the National Razor. Dansons la Carmagnole!

  2. Old Spice proves this point.
    Sorry, off topic, not really, but I just can’t resist moving this on.

  3. Well, well! I really npenjoyed this passage from Mr. Hotze. As a philosopher this “propagandist” is abler than virtually every Northerner reputed a master at the discipline. He appreciates the irrelevance of the origins debate to the study of race, and shows the worth of racialist philosophy for every people on earth.

  4. So there’s another German European, besides von Brocke, who came to the aid of the Confederacy.

    @ Robert: “Liberty in the Enlightenment sense of the word is no true freedom. It is instead slavery to the individual stomach and to the Rousseauian ‘general will’. ” I agree fully. Also this is well said: “While all men are equal in God’s eyes….”

  5. ““The most dangerous dogma of modern times, and that which, unconsciously to the majority of those who accept it, underlies nearly every social, political, and religious heresy which mars our civilization, is the dogma of the equality of man. ”

    This is most certainly true, as Luther’s Catechism says.
    And, to think…. we knew this as objective fact, 150 years ago.

    Fascinating… not.

  6. All the bullshit in the world– all the books and official confederate documents in the world — justifying slavery can’t cover up the fact what a disaster and what a goddamned bane the slave system has been for this country*. I know Northern big-shot businessmen ( mostly jews) were involved with slavery also– I just don’t understand why so many white Southerners defend “the peculiar institution” with so much gusto and nostalgia**. The great majority of white Southerners didn’t benefit from slavery [ about 25% of whites had slaves down south]. How many whites were thrown into poverty because of the slave system? I want a figure/percentage about white poverty in the South: ante-bellum, as well as after the war of 1861.
    * slavery was a bane on this country, ante-bellum even : Before the war of 1861. I want statistics about the white poverty rate, how many white Sotherners suffered from pellagra and rickets, how many whites were share-croppers, etc.
    ** At least Southerners who write posts to “OD”. I don’t think very many white Southerners in the real world outside of cyber-universe support slavery as the Souherners who write posts here to “OD”. I can’t imagine it.

  7. Excuse the typo: “Southerners”, not Souherners. I wasn’t be slothful. Just Frugal. I have an old keyboard. Sometimes the the keyboard locks up on me and the letter(s) don’t take. Considering that Frugality is a Virtue, I think I’ll keep my old keyboard rather than spend money on a new one. That would be wasteful and maybe even decadent. I don’t have slaves working for me and making me a fortune while I sit on the veranda and study my stock portfolio and sip mint juleps, so I have to watch my pennies.

  8. Does anyone else get pissed slightly when checking on new comments on OD just to find out that the troll Joe has posted again? I keep forgetting to look at the comment update section on the right side of the homepage.

  9. @White & Confederate – I certainly do. You’d think if Joe the Jew disliked us that much then he would stop posting, go away, and leave us alone; but then again, making a big a nuisance of themselves as possible seems to be the Jewish modus operandi.

  10. @White & Confederate
    Not my problem you have a bad memory. You can remember the Glories of the Confederacy 150 years ago, remembering to check the “comment update section” shouldn’t be much of an issue, I would imagine : Unless you suffer from some kind long-term memory fatigue, maybe somehow effects your short-term memory wiring, or some such ailment. Or maybe it’s just too much jack daniels ? I can only speculate as to why such a simple thing as checking the “comment update section” alludes you.
    Maybe you should see a neurologist.

  11. Joe,

    The average per capita income in the South was twice as high as the North in 1860. And sure, there were plenty of poor Whites in Appalachia, where the plantation system was non-existent, and where there are still poor Whites today 147 years after the demise of slavery.

  12. What does “Der ewige” mean? We at “OD” are to translate foreign words and expressions into English, that was my impression. It’s the considerate thing to do, after all.

  13. @ Nathanael Strickland
    Asking common-sense questions does not imply dislike, not at all. It’s not my problem you find common-sense questions a “nuisance”.
    @ Hunter Wallace : What’s your source as concerns “per-capita income in the South”? What book(s) and/or website(s)?

  14. “2 Germans doesn’t offset all the others. Doesn’t come close.”

    Come on, Stoney. They were just slapping some illiterate ferals back into line. You know, like you do in Iraq. The only difference I see is they actually believed the bullshit they were advancing, whereas you…don’t. You do it for money.

  15. Mangans, OneSTDV and InMalaFide all gone in the last month. I know what happened to InMalaFide (just got tired of blogging).

  16. Maybe “Wizard Corpse” put a curse on MalaFide ( “bad faith” in The Latin) when “The Corpse” woke up from his slumber in the casket and Resurrected out of the tomb to wander out through the gates of the cemetery……

  17. @ Hunter Wallace and @ Robert Oculus III
    Thank you for your language skills and acumen, and especially for your consideration to a poor illetrate guidomite. TOLL!!!! [ awesome]

  18. Poor ‘Wizard Corpse”, such a dear forced to live in a world of abridged books.
    Obscurum per Obscurius
    Latin: “The obscure by means of the more obscure” : It’s Latin alright , yet the sentiment sounds kinda/sorta ancient – Egyptian -religious to my ears. Maybe “Wizard Corpse” was an Egyptian mummy? Maybe “Wizard Corpse” is a freemason? Who knows? I can only speculate.

  19. “The average per capita income in the South was twice as high as the North in 1860.”
    Non-income of the slaves averaged in?

    It must have been hard to arrive at monetary income figures for all the pioneers in the frontier states and territories and other backwoods areas that would have been assigned mostly NOT to the South, as well as accurate estimates for rural households even in SETTLED areas, since so many lived (some still live today) partly outside cash economy. What about comparing estimates of average property values in the settled southeastern states versus other settled areas? Better houses and barns, better land, better livestock, and better human health and longevity are not necessarily in direct relationship to cash income.

    In any case, even if negro slaves are much more productive than white farm labourers, and negro slavery generates immense wealth, is that really sufficient proof that their importation was wise and beneficial OVERALL, and especially in the long term — even if there had NOT been any advance in farm machinery and technology?

  20. Bankers, taxmen and other city folk have a different understanding of what is income and wealth, than rural farm folk.

  21. German farmers generated ridiculous amounts of wealth. This wealth fueled the creation of the industrial heartland. I’d put a German farmer up against a slave for per-capita generation of wealth any day.

  22. Mosin’s post is Ja, richtig* , Or, Mosin has the correct view ; Das stimmt! : Exactly.
    @ Mosin : Danke schon**! :For truth. Excellent post.
    * [ Yes, that’s true, or Yes, that’s correct. Mosin has the correct viewpoint.]
    Or, Demerden Zie sich: ” Solve your problem yourself”, Or, to put it in the vulgar extremis*** : “Do your own goddamned work”, ** thank you @ Mosin .
    *** As bluntly as possilbe, und so weiter [ and so and so]

  23. Laborare est Orare
    [ Work is Prayer]
    @ Mosin : Toll! [ like “awesome” dude]
    @ Robert Oculus III : Yes. A man takes responsibility for his actions, his life. Very fair-minded and balanced article at your blog the other day. ( I blush to repeat the title):
    ” robert oculus report”
    crescente luce : Light Ever Increasing.

  24. If two Germans don’t matter then neither do two Jews, especially compared to the number of them in positions of influence in the north. So we’ll hear no more of that, right?

  25. I think Judah Benjamin was a Jew [ Judah was foreign-born to boot : West Indies somewhere] He’s the one being renumerated by the Queen of England while simultaneously serving as the Confederacy’s Secretary Of State and the Confederacy’s Secretay of War. Judah, I do believe, skipped town and ran back to the Queen as the Yankees took Richmond and Lee capitulated at Appomattox Courthouse.

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