Preface to Major Barbara: First Aid to Critics
1905
Preface to Major Barbara: First Aid to Critics
1905
Preface to Major Barbara: First Aid to Critics, published in 1905 by Bernard Shaw, is a critical commentary accompanying his play 'Major Barbara.' In this preface, Shaw defends his exploration of poverty and morality, particularly through the character of Andrew Undershaft, and critiques societal complacency regarding wealth inequality. He argues against the romanticization of the poor and emphasizes the need for radical change in societal values, urging critics to engage with the deeper issues presented in his work.
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“He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.””
— Bernard Shaw
“You have learnt something. That always feels at first as if you have lost something.””
— Bernard Shaw
“You cannot have power for good without having power for evil too. Even mother's milk nourishes murderers as well as heroes.””
— Bernard Shaw
“Like all young men, you greatly exaggerate the difference between one young woman and another.””
— Bernard Shaw
“All professions are conspiracies against the laity.””
— Bernard Shaw
“When you vote, you only change the names of the cabinet. When you shoot, you pull down governments, inaugurate new epochs, abolish old orders and set up new.””
— Bernard Shaw
“Nothing is ever done in this world until men are prepared to kill one another if it is not done””
— Bernard Shaw
“It is quite useless to declare that all men are born free if you deny that they are born good.””
— Bernard Shaw
“CUSINS. No: the price is settled: that is all. The real tug of war is still to come. What about the moral question? LADY BRITOMART. There is no moral question in the matter at all, Adolphus. You must simply sell cannons and weapons to people whose cause is right and just, and refuse them to foreigners and criminals. UNDERSHAFT [determinedly] No: none of that. You must keep the true faith of an Armorer, or you don't come in here. CUSINS. What on earth is the true faith of an Armorer? UNDERSHAFT. To give arms to all men who offer an honest price for them, without respect of persons or principles: to aristocrat and republican, to Nihilist and Tsar, to Capitalist and Socialist, to Protestant and Catholic, to burglar and policeman, to black man white man and yellow man, to all sorts and conditions, all nationalities, all faiths, all follies, all causes and all crimes. The first Undershaft wrote up in his shop IF GOD GAVE THE HAND, LET NOT MAN WITHHOLD THE SWORD. The second wrote up ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO FIGHT: NONE HAVE THE RIGHT TO JUDGE. The third wrote up TO MAN THE WEAPON: TO HEAVEN THE VICTORY. The fourth had no literary turn; so he did not write up anything; but he sold cannons to Napoleon under the nose of George the Third. The fifth wrote up PEACE SHALL NOT PREVAIL SAVE WITH A SWORD IN HER HAND. The sixth, my master, was the best of all. He wrote up NOTHING IS EVER DONE IN THIS WORLD UNTIL MEN ARE PREPARED TO KILL ONE ANOTHER IF IT IS NOT DONE. After that, there was nothing left for the seventh to say. So he wrote up, simply, UNASHAMED. CUSINS.””
— Bernard Shaw
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Shaw, Bernard. Preface to Major Barbara: First Aid to Critics. Lex, lex-books.com/book/preface-to-major-barbara-first-aid-to-critics-ae8b2006-3f08-4fd9-9d78-faf9a18d2d86.Shaw, B. (1905). Preface to Major Barbara: First Aid to Critics. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/preface-to-major-barbara-first-aid-to-critics-ae8b2006-3f08-4fd9-9d78-faf9a18d2d86Shaw, Bernard. Preface to Major Barbara: First Aid to Critics. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/preface-to-major-barbara-first-aid-to-critics-ae8b2006-3f08-4fd9-9d78-faf9a18d2d86.
