humanity is the answer. Of course, there is art. A bomb in the National
Gallery would make some noise. But it would not be serious enough. Art
has never been their fetish. It's like breaking a few back windows in a
man's house; whereas, if you want to make him really sit up, you must try
at least to raise the roof. There would be some screaming of course, but
from whom? Artists--art critics and such like--people of no account.
Nobody minds what they say. But there is learning--science. Any
imbecile that has got an income believes in that. He does not know why,
but he believes it matters somehow. It is the sacrosanct fetish. All
the damned professors are radicals at heart. Let them know that their
great panjandrum has got to go too, to make room for the Future of the
Proletariat. A howl from all these intellectual idiots is bound to help
forward the labours of the Milan Conference. They will be writing to the
papers. Their indignation would be above suspicion, no material
interests being openly at stake, and it will alarm every selfishness of
the class which should be impressed. They believe that in some
mysterious way science is at the source of their material prosperity.
They do. And the absurd ferocity of such a demonstration will affect
them more profoundly than the mangling of a whole street--or theatre--full
of their own kind. To that last they can always say: 'Oh! it's mere
class hate.' But what is one to say to an act of destructive ferocity so
absurd as to be incomprehensible, inexplicable, almost unthinkable; in
fact, mad? Madness alone is truly terrifying, inasmuch as you cannot
placate it either by threats, persuasion, or bribes. Moreover, I am a
civilised man. I would never dream of directing you to organise a mere
butchery, even if I expected the best results from it. But I wouldn't
expect from a butchery the result I want. Murder is always with us. It
is almost an institution. The demonstration must be against
learning--science. But not every science will do. The attack must have
all the shocking senselessness of gratuitous blasphemy. Since bombs are