The Henson Journals

[31]

Friday, April 19th, 1929.

BIARRITZ.

Another magnificent morning. Several small fishing boats in the bay: they are more congruous with the general scheme than the steamers. Nothing can ever harmonize the creations and processes of "Science" with Nature. While man stumbles along with such aids as his own hands & the world about him can provide, he is still sufficiently at home with Nature to fit in to her methods & aspects: but when he becomes "witty" and "seeks out many inventions", he is as disturbing as a man in a crowd who insists on walking faster than the general movement permits. Science is a conspiracy against the beauty & harmony of Nature, organized in the interest of man's exorbitant greed and vanity: and at every fresh triumph, he obliterates something distinctive in order to stamp on the world his own vulgar purposes. His completest achievment is the most hideous thing in the universe – a "centre of industry" with its nimbus of slums, drink–shops, & cinemas.

[32]

We left the Hotel punctually at 8 a.m. and were brought back thereto punctually at 7 p.m. In the interval we made the expedition to Pampeluna. The Spanish cathedral is very impressive; and the cloisters are the finest that I have ever seen. They are far loftier than those of Westminster Abbey. The City is set on a hill, and makes a noble figure in the landscape as it is approached on the level country. The view from the old walls is striking, and the narrow streets lined by lofty & projecting houses are very picturesque. We consumed the lunch which the Hotel Victoria had provided us in the Hotel at which the char–à–banc stopped, but was much more than we could eat, & we gave it to the waitress. The road lay through precipitous mountains, and the most wonderful vistas opened to our eyes at every turn of the road. The skill of the chauffeur & the excellence of his car moved our admiration. A violent wind, moving clouds of dust, did something to mar our felicity.

[33]

The Bishop of Chester writes to me inviting my comments on a letter which he has received from the son of Canon Jones of Winlaton, practically asking for the appointment to his father's living in order to facilitate his father's resignation. I wrote to say that in my judgment the father was a humbug, and had inspired the son's letter. I said that I should regret the son's appointment to Winlaton, & entreated the Bishop, when the opportunity came, to send there a really good man. "Judge not" said the Lord, but He could not have intended His words to apply to the case of one, such as a magistrate or a bishop, whose prescribed duty is to judge the character & achievments of their fellow–men. The bishop is worse placed for judgment than the magistrate, for, unlike the latter, he most commonly judges, and must judge, on no better grounds than those which his own impressions & observations together with the reports & opinions of others can provide. There is no formal trial, no sifting of evidence, nothing beyond what his own sense of justice and ability can provide.

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