Jehovah's Witnesses and the Secular

World: From the 1870s to the Present

1st Edition Zoe Knox (Auth.)
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://textbookfull.com/product/jehovahs-witnesses-and-the-secular-world-from-the-1
870s-to-the-present-1st-edition-zoe-knox-auth/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Secular Martyrdom in Britain and Ireland: From Peterloo

to the Present 1st Edition Quentin Outram

https://textbookfull.com/product/secular-martyrdom-in-britain-
and-ireland-from-peterloo-to-the-present-1st-edition-quentin-
outram/

The Oxford movement in practice : the tractarian

parochial world from the 1830s to the 1870s 1st Edition
Herring

https://textbookfull.com/product/the-oxford-movement-in-practice-
the-tractarian-parochial-world-from-the-1830s-to-the-1870s-1st-
edition-herring/

A history of European literature : the West and the

world from antiquity to the present First Edition Cohen

https://textbookfull.com/product/a-history-of-european-
literature-the-west-and-the-world-from-antiquity-to-the-present-
first-edition-cohen/

The Fourth Reich: The Specter of Nazism from World War

II to the Present Gavriel D. Rosenfeld

https://textbookfull.com/product/the-fourth-reich-the-specter-of-
nazism-from-world-war-ii-to-the-present-gavriel-d-rosenfeld/
Demography of Russia: From the Past to the Present 1st
Edition Tatiana Karabchuk

https://textbookfull.com/product/demography-of-russia-from-the-
past-to-the-present-1st-edition-tatiana-karabchuk/

Labour United and Divided from the 1830s to the Present

Yann Béliard

https://textbookfull.com/product/labour-united-and-divided-from-
the-1830s-to-the-present-yann-beliard/

The Victorian Ghost Story and Theology: From Le Fanu to

James 1st Edition Zoe Lehmann Imfeld (Auth.)

https://textbookfull.com/product/the-victorian-ghost-story-and-
theology-from-le-fanu-to-james-1st-edition-zoe-lehmann-imfeld-
auth/

Epidemics and Society From the Black Death to the

Present 1st Edition Frank M. Snowden

https://textbookfull.com/product/epidemics-and-society-from-the-
black-death-to-the-present-1st-edition-frank-m-snowden/

Dante and Polish Writers : From Romanticism to the

Present 1st Edition Andrea Ceccherelli

https://textbookfull.com/product/dante-and-polish-writers-from-
romanticism-to-the-present-1st-edition-andrea-ceccherelli/
HISTORIES OF THE SACRED AND SECULAR

Jehovah’s
Witnesses
and the
Secular World
From the 1870s to the Present

Zoe Knox
Histories of the Sacred and Secular, 1700-2000

Series Editor
David Nash
Department of History
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford, UK
This series reflects the awakened and expanding profile of the history of
religion within the academy in recent years. It intends publishing exciting
new and high quality work on the history of religion and belief since 1700
and will encourage the production of interdisciplinary proposals and the
use of innovative methodologies. The series will also welcome book pro-
posals on the history of Atheism, Secularism, Humanism and unbelief/
secularity and to encourage research agendas in this area alongside those
in religious belief. The series will be happy to reflect the work of new
scholars entering the field as well as the work of established scholars. The
series welcomes proposals covering subjects in Britain, Europe, the United
States and Oceania.

Editorial board:
Professor Callum Brown (University of Glasgow, UK)
Professor William Gibson (Oxford Brookes University, UK)
Dr Carole Cusack (University of Sydney, Australia)
Professor Beverley Clack (Oxford Brookes University, UK)
Dr Bert Gasenbeek (Humanist University, Utrecht, Netherlands)
Professor Paul Harvey (University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, USA)

More information about this series at

http://www.palgrave.com/series/14868
 Zoe Knox

Jehovah’s Witnesses
and the Secular World
From the 1870s to the Present
Zoe Knox
School of History, Politics & International Relations
University of Leicester
Leicester, UK

Histories of the Sacred and Secular, 1700-2000

ISBN 978-1-137-39604-4    ISBN 978-1-137-39605-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-39605-1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017955670

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub-
lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The
publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu-
tional affiliations.

Cover illustration: © Granger Historical Picture Archive / Alamy Stock Photo

Printed on acid-free paper

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW,
United Kingdom
For ULEK & DLEK
 Preface

In summer 2015, my friend Mikey, whom I had not seen for almost a
decade, came to stay. There had been many changes in his life since we last
met. Most notable was his purchase of shares in a rainforest community in
the Sunshine Coast hinterland in Queensland, Australia. Since the early
1970s, the residents have sought to live off grid, creating a self-sufficient
eco-community that eschews the pressures of modern life and the subur-
ban sprawl that characterises coastal development. They aim to preserve
and protect the native flora and fauna of the regenerating rainforest in
which they live. Mikey had spent a year building a house from several trees
he had felled on his twenty-three-acre property. A small area was set aside
for this modest dwelling; the remainder of the land, he explained to me,
was for the creatures.
After discussion of his new lifestyle, the conversation turned to my
research. When I told Mikey I was writing a book on the history of the
Watch Tower Society, he said that in the four years since he had entered
the community, he had only had one visit from an uninvited party: two
Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was impressed by their commitment in negotiat-
ing the six kilometres of dirt track to his home and their determination to
reach him despite the isolated location, physical barriers, and commune
arrangement. Why had they gone to all that trouble, he asked me. What
had they expected would happen when they reached him?
Mikey received a long reply. The Witnesses’ visit was fascinating to me
because it was so typical and yet so remarkable. It was typical in the sense
that hundreds of thousands of Witnesses surprise households by knocking
on their door or ringing their bell every day, all over the world, sometimes

vii
viii PREFACE

after traversing more challenging terrain than the driveway to Mikey’s.

The visit was remarkable because this one experience encapsulates the
determination of ordinary, rank-and-file Witnesses to minister to non-­
Witnesses, the urgency they feel to share their beliefs, and the curiosity
(and occasionally, although not in this instance, animosity) of those they
seek to reach with their message of salvation.
The questions my friend asked are at the heart of this study. The rea-
sons for Jehovah’s Witnesses’ emphasis on ministry, and the issues it raises
in modern society, for both governments and the public, are explored
here. There are many tensions between their theological convictions and
the demands of the modern world and yet their spiritual mission has
remained largely unchanged since the late nineteenth century: to reach
every corner of the earth with the Kingdom Message. It was this impera-
tive that led them down the track into the deep, almost impassable, rain-
forest wilderness that is Mikey’s home.

Leicester, UK Zoe Knox

 Acknowledgments

This book took my research in a new and exciting direction. It started with
an interest in religious diversity and democracy in the former Soviet Union
and grew into a preoccupation with one particular religious group, which,
I discovered, had tested the boundaries of tolerance not just behind the
Iron Curtain but worldwide.
Many people helped me to complete this work. A great number of
archivists and librarians assisted in locating the primary source materials
underpinning this study. Most of them played brief (albeit important)
parts, but Jackie Hanes at the University of Leicester library has been con-
sistently helpful and resourceful. Chloe Renwick, a student intern, assisted
me for a few fruitful months. Various bodies awarded funding that enabled
archival research for other, smaller projects that have fed into this book,
among them the Nuffield Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Keston Institute
and the College of Arts, Humanities and Law Development Fund. A
period of Academic Study Leave from the University of Leicester helped
me to finalise it.
By far my greatest debt of gratitude is to George Chryssides. He was
very encouraging when I first contacted him with questions regarding
Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2007 and in the decade since has been hugely gen-
erous with his resources, time, and expertise. I am also very grateful to
Emily Baran, who provided valuable feedback on the final manuscript at
short notice. The various (and varied) contributors to the JW Scholars
listserv have offered keen insights into Witness history and theology, and
I am thankful to them. Any errors that appear are of course my own.
Portions of chapters 1, 4 and 7 appeared in a different form in Journal of

ix
x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Religious History 35, no. 2, (2011), Journal of American Studies 47, no. 4
(2013) and a chapter in M. D. Steinberg & C. Wanner (eds), Religion,
Morality, and Community in Post-Soviet Societies (2012).
Colleagues at Leicester have been supportive of my endeavours, chief
among them Clare Anderson, James Campbell, Andrew Johnstone, and
George Lewis. I have benefited from discussions and email exchanges with
Miriam Dobson, Jayne Persian, and Tim Richter. Zoe Coulson, Stella
Rock, and Susan Venz were important in ways they will likely be unaware
of. Firm words from Robyn Woodrow helped during the final push.
Conversations with Mikey offered inspiration. I thought often of the late,
the great, Grant McLennan.
My family has played a vital part in pushing this project forward by
constantly asking when it would be finished. I am deeply saddened that
Granny Grey did not live to see its completion. I wish to thank my parents,
who read and commented on the manuscript at various stages, and my
husband, who accompanied me on fact-finding missions at home and
abroad. My sister provided a base in Geneva and was in other ways sup-
portive. This book is dedicated to my sons. It is my hope that one day they
will read it and perhaps even find something of interest in its pages.
 Contents

1 Introduction   1

2 Watch Tower, Witnesses, and the World  29

3 Politics  61

4 Ministry 107

5 Blood 149

6 Religion 203

7 Opposition 245

8 Conclusion 293

Index 307

xi
 List of Figures

Image 1.1 Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916), founder-leader of the

Bible Students, known from 1931 as Jehovah’s Witnesses.
© Granger Historical Picture Archive/Alamy Stock Photo 7
Image 2.1 A typical Kingdom Hall in Antrim, Northern Ireland in
2012. Congregational meetings are now less frequent than
this noticeboard indicates. © Stephen Barnes/Alamy Stock
Photo45
Image 3.1 Walter Gobitas with Lillian and William in 1940. The
children’s refusal to salute the American flag at school led to
important US Supreme Court cases. © Granger Historical
Picture Archive/Alamy Stock Photo 69
Image 4.1 A slide from Russell’s The Photo-Drama of Creation, first
screened in 1914. It was an innovative ministry tool and a
significant development in motion picture history. © Ryan
McGinnis/Alamy Stock Photo 117
Image 5.1 The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses determines
policy on all matters, including blood transfusion. It is based
at the world headquarters, which was located in Brooklyn
(the complex can be seen here to the right of Brooklyn
Bridge) until a recent move to Orange County, New York.
© Ryan McGinnis/Alamy Stock Photo 164
Image 6.1 Men awaiting baptism at a Jehovah’s Witness convention
at Twickenham Stadium, London in 2014. Temporary
pools were erected on the rugby pitch for the occasion.
© Matthew Chattle/Alamy Stock Photo 230

xiii
xiv List of Figures

Image 7.1 A Soviet anti-Witness poster produced in 1981. It is rich with

symbolism, aligning the organisation with interests allegedly
governing capitalist America, including American Jewry,
banking and finance, and war-mongering. Image courtesy of
The Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society, Baylor
University, Waco, Texas 260
Image 8.1 The Watch Tower stand at the Miami-Dade County Youth
Fair and Exposition in Florida, USA in 2017. Note the
prominence of the web site address. © RosaIreneBetancourt
3/Alamy Stock Photo 298
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Jehovah’s Witnesses have their origins in the tremendous religious fer-

ment of nineteenth-century America. The writer Ralph Waldo Emerson
captured the energy and fervour of the faithful and the intellectual and
spiritual mood of the times in his description of those assembled to discuss
the topic of priesthood at the Chardon Street Chapel in Boston,
Massachusetts in November 1841. ‘The composition of the assembly was
rich and various’, Emerson observed. It drew together,

…from all parts of New England, and also from the Middle States, men of
every shade of opinion from the straitest orthodoxy to the wildest heresy,
and many persons whose church was a church of one member only. A great
variety of dialect and of costume was noticed; a great deal of confusion,
eccentricity, and freak appeared, as well as of zeal and enthusiasm. If the
assembly was disorderly, it was picturesque. Madmen, madwomen, men
with beards, Dunkers, Muggletonians, Come-outers, Groaners, Agrarians,
Seventh-day-Baptists, Quakers, Abolitionists, Calvinists, Unitarians and
Philosophers—all came successively to the top, and seized their moment, if
not their hour, wherein to chide, or pray, or preach, or protest.1

The early part of the century had seen a revival within Protestantism
and, alongside this, a rise in premillennialism, the belief that Jesus Christ
would return to the earth and take the righteous up to heaven, thus mark-
ing the start of the thousand-year epoch before the final judgment. A wide

© The Author(s) 2018 1

Z. Knox, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Secular World,
Histories of the Sacred and Secular, 1700-2000,
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-39605-1_1
2 Z. KNOX

interest in premillennialism was further fuelled by the prophecies of

William Miller, a Baptist preacher born in Massachusetts and raised in
upstate New York. Miller predicted that the second coming would occur
‘about the year 1843’.2 When the year passed uneventfully, the Millerites,
as his followers were known, were not discouraged. On the contrary, they
identified a precise date for the second coming: 22 October 1844. In
Miller’s own estimation, some 50,000 Millerites eagerly awaited the return
of Christ.3 The day elapsed without incident. Hiram Edson, a Methodist
preacher and dedicated Millerite, wrote vividly of their despair: ‘Our fond-
est hopes and expectations were blasted, and such a spirit of weeping came
over us as I never experienced before. It seemed that the loss of all earthly
friends could have been no comparison. We wept, and wept, until the day
dawn’.4
While the failure of Millerite prophecy gave many cause for disillu-
sionment, for others it served to reinvigorate their study of biblical chro-
nology. The major denominations that emerged under the broad
umbrella of the Adventist movement essentially arose from the varied
responses to what became known as the ‘Great Disappointment’. Edson
was a prominent figure in the early history of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church, for example, along with other former Millerites, among them
Ellen G. White. The search to identify the precise date of Christ’s return
also animated Charles Taze Russell, a haberdasher from Allegheny City,
now a part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is in his quest for clarity on
biblical chronology that the origins of the Watch Tower organisation can
be found. Small groups of men gathered in what they called ‘ecclesias’ to
discuss scripture, guided by Russell’s own tracts. These study circles
prompted the men, eventually known as Bible Students, to forge an
identity that marked them apart from the established Christian churches.
Russell’s differences from key Adventist figures amounted to no greater
a deviation than many of the Second Adventist (sometimes called First-
day Adventist) offshoots, but, in due course, the distinctiveness of their
interpretations became more apparent and they developed an indepen-
dent identity.
Thus, from their humble origins as small, loose-knit groups of Bible
Students, Russell and his followers laid the foundations of a highly visi-
ble, and frequently controversial, worldwide religious organisation,
known since 1931 as Jehovah’s Witnesses. The growth and spread of the
faith was remarkable, even by the standards of the day, when spiritual
ferment in fin de siècle United States, Great Britain, and Germany led to
 INTRODUCTION 3

the emergence of a great number of new religious communities. Since

the 1940s, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania,5
the corporate body of Witnesses, has become genuinely international,
using its distinctive doorstep ministry to spread its teachings (‘the
Truth’) around the world. There are congregations of Jehovah’s
Witnesses in 240 countries, from Albania to Zimbabwe. Most Witnesses
reside outside of the United States, giving the organisation a greater
global presence than any other ‘American original’, to use the American
historian Paul K. Conkin’s term for ‘homemade varieties of Christianity’.6
Of the 8,220,105 active Witnesses worldwide in 2015, only 1,231,867
were in the United States.7 For this reason, a study of the history of the
organisation must look beyond its birthplace and to its global commu-
nity (Image 1.1).
The number of Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide is small compared to
the major Christian churches. The Vatican counts 1.2 billion Catholics;
there are 105 million adherents of Baptist churches; and 125 million
Russian Orthodox believers. Despite its modest membership, the Watch
Tower Society has historically been at the forefront of debates about a
remarkably wide range of issues related to religious toleration.
Throughout their history, Witnesses’ unique interpretation of the Bible
has repeatedly brought them into conflict with state authorities, in both
democratic and authoritarian settings. This continues in the twenty-first
century. In 2015, for example, hundreds of Witnesses were imprisoned
around the world, the majority of them for refusing to perform military
service, organising Bible study sessions in private homes, or evangelising.
One Brussels-based human rights group documented 555 Witnesses
serving terms in South Korea for refusing to perform military service. It
also recorded cases of Witnesses imprisoned for their beliefs in Azerbaijan,
Eritrea, Singapore, and Turkmenistan.8 Historically, religious identities
have often been forged through shared persecution (the Protestant tradi-
tion in England is one such example). In the twentieth century, there
were few religious communities that so clearly forged collective identities
through oppression, and on such a large scale. This has strengthened
their group identity and cohesion. The persecution of ordinary Witnesses
around the world is a major theme in the Society’s literature to the pres-
ent day.
Far from being passive in the face of opposition, the Society has brought
cases before the highest courts and won landmark legal decisions. Mark
McGarvie, a historian of American law, argued that Witnesses were con-
4 Z. KNOX

temptuous of American values: ‘Professing their acceptance of God’s true

laws, they [Jehovah’s Witnesses] expressed disdain for many of the legal
and cultural values of the United States’.9 By casting Witnesses as
­opponents of American values we miss the extent to which they have
defined and upheld these values, particularly when it comes to legal cul-
ture. In addition to its many historic victories, the Society secured a major
win in the United States Supreme Court in 2002. The decision in
Watchtower Society v. Village of Stratton overturned an ordinance in
Stratton, Ohio which required would-be canvassers to obtain a permit
from the mayor’s office by completing a registration form. The decision
was important for the organisation because it allowed Witnesses to access
private residential property without first securing a permit. It benefited
other itinerant evangelists in the same way. More broadly, the decision
protected free speech, one of the bedrocks of the First Amendment. It
declared unlawful the requirement that anonymity be lifted through a reg-
istration process before canvassing, thus protecting the right of every
American to engage in anonymous speech.10 They have had a defining
influence on rights legislation beyond the American context, too: the
European Court of Human Rights has made multiple rulings in the
Society’s favour, overturning decisions by state authorities particularly in
Greece and the former Soviet Union.11 The impact of Witnesses on mod-
ern conceptions of religious freedom is far out of proportion to their num-
bers and cannot be dismissed as merely a product of their hostility towards
the secular world.
The determined effort to remain aloof from the world has, paradoxi-
cally, drawn the Watch Tower organisation into a remarkably wide range
of issues. Some of these are historically linked with religious minorities,
such as conscientious objection, and others not so obviously connected
with belief, such as medical treatment. M. James Penton, a historian, for-
mer Witness and fierce critic of the Society, has argued that Witnesses have
provoked a harsh response from governmental authorities because of their
interactions with the world and their persistent proselytism. He observed:
‘Most societies can and will tolerate a small, uncooperative religious
minority which submits to a ghetto-like existence. But when such a group
refuses to be isolated and attempts to make converts by the millions, then
in the eyes of many political leaders it becomes a socially disturbing force
which should be curbed or outlawed’.12
 INTRODUCTION 5

The Watch Tower Society’s interpretation of biblical verse has led to

fundamental challenges to the traditional jurisdictions of modern gov-
ernments, such as inculcating patriotism and conscripting armies, and
to more modern mandates, such as facilitating harmony in inter-­
denominational relations. Coupled with the intransigence of Jehovah’s
Witnesses in the face of obstacles to their meetings and ministry, this
has meant that Witnesses have suffered for their convictions and have
been subjected to both legal and extra-legal persecution in a wide range
of geographical contexts. These experiences have, in turn, shaped the
culture of this religious community.13 Sustained opposition can
entrench, rather than overturn, marginal positions. The persecution of
Witnesses has reinforced their conviction of the righteousness of their
cause. The Society frequently raises the Nazi Party’s repression of
Witnesses in Germany in articles on the challenges that Witnesses must
face as the only true Christians. It likens the persecution of the early
Christians for their message to the persecution of Witnesses in the mod-
ern world.14
This book examines how Jehovah’s Witnesses have challenged the
jurisdictions of modern states and influenced understandings of religious
tolerance and freedom of worship worldwide. Their influence is all the
more remarkable given that they aim to remain aloof from the world.
This detachment differs markedly from many other religious organisa-
tions, including those derived from Adventist roots. For example, the
Seventh-­day Adventist Church lobbies for religious freedom around the
world through its Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty
(PARL), which is based in the Church’s headquarters in the United
States. PARL reaches beyond the Seventh-day Adventist community to
lobby national governments and international organisations as well as to
cooperate with other faith communities on a range of policy issues, from
health care to prisoners’ rights. In contrast, the Watch Tower Society is
remarkably insular. Whilst it engages with the secular state through
courts of law, this is to a narrow end, namely opposing attempts to
inhibit the public ministry of Witnesses. They have unintentionally
championed the rights of a wide range of other religious minorities
around the world. The Society has long acknowledged the broader
impact of its legal advocacy but has never presented this as a motivation
for legal challenges.15
6 Z. KNOX

In addition to how and why Jehovah’s Witnesses have come into con-
flict with governmental authorities, this book also explores the ways in
which the secular world has shaped the organisation. Like other religious
groups, the Society has had to respond to new technologies, secular ide-
ologies, and geopolitical configurations to avoid obsolescence. Its inter-
pretation of scripture has altered along with worldly developments, which
has in turn led to new policies, some of which have posed novel chal-
lenges to governments. Since 1971, the Society’s doctrines have ema-
nated from the Governing Body, a group of men based at the world
headquarters. Between seven and eighteen men have served on the
Governing Body at any one time.16 The Body has determined policies and
procedures that shape the behaviour of Witnesses worldwide. This
includes public conduct, such as deportment when manning information
stalls, and intimate acts, such as the sexual positions permitted between
husband and wife.17 These behavioural guidelines sometimes shift: sexual
relations within marriage are now regarded as a matter of individual con-
science, for example. More generally, the rapid pace of the modern world
has challenged it to adapt to ever-changing conditions, just as it has the
leadership of other Christian churches. The theological foundations of
even the best known of the Society’s doctrines have not been investigated
by historians, nor has the evolving position of the Governing Body on
these issues.
It is a truism that all evangelical churches regard evangelism as a funda-
mental Christian calling. The emphasis on ministry is not unique to the
Watch Tower Society. It is the scale of this endeavour that marks Witnesses
apart from other Christian communities. The insistence on public ministry
coupled with their unusual beliefs and condemnation of other Christian
churches lends Witnesses a presence and a visibility that is far greater than
their numbers, from the densest of human societies to the most sparsely
populated. For the Mam people in Chiapas on the southern border of
Mexico, for example, Witnesses’ ‘presence in the Sierra [Madre de Chiapas]
and rain forest regions stands out more for the confrontational character
of their religious and antinationalist discourse than for their numerical
importance’.18 It is not only their approach to evangelism but also their
lifestyle that attracts attention to Witnesses and marks them apart from
other religious communities. The earliest analysts of Witnesses saw in their
day-to-day practices an entirely different way of living to that of other
faiths.19
 INTRODUCTION 7

Image 1.1 Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916), founder-leader of the Bible

Students, known from 1931 as Jehovah’s Witnesses. © Granger Historical Picture
Archive/Alamy Stock Photo

Making Witness History

In 1967, W. C. Stevenson, a sociologist (and ex-Witness), wrote:
‘Considering the size and influence of Jehovah’s Witnesses as a move-
ment, there has been surprisingly little written about it, and much of that
has come from sources so hopelessly prejudiced that their contribution is
quite worthless’.20 Precisely the same may be said half a century later.
8 Z. KNOX

There is a vast ocean of literature on Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watch

Tower Society, much of it so partial and methodologically impoverished as
to be of limited use to those seeking an understanding of the history of the
Society and the beliefs and practices of its members. Serious historians
have paid little attention to the subject. There are four main bodies of lit-
erature on Witness history: the material produced by the Society itself;
memoirs and accounts by former Witnesses; critiques written by oppo-
nents of the organisation; and historical studies. From the mid-1990s,
there was a brief flowering of Witness apologetic material, although this
has largely disappeared. Each of these will be outlined briefly here.21
The publication of religious literature has been of paramount impor-
tance to Witnesses since Charles Russell began publishing Bible tracts with
proceeds from his family’s haberdashery business. Even today, members
engaged in house-to-house ministry are known by the Society as ‘publish-
ers’ and figures on membership are given as ‘publishing statistics’.22
Consequently, historians of Witnesses have a wide range of printed mate-
rial at their disposal, including books, yearbooks, magazines, and bro-
chures, dating back to the earliest days of the movement. This body of
material offers unique opportunities and challenges for the historian.
There is a remarkable degree of uniformity in the Society’s literature
worldwide. The literature distributed by its branch offices (the national or
regional headquarters) around the world is produced by the Writing
Committee, one of six committees charged with articulating the policies of
the Governing Body. After translation into the vernacular by a linguistic
team 2500-strong, this material is published in its own printing plants. The
flagship magazine The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom (hereaf-
ter The Watchtower) is published in 303 languages simultaneously, which
includes thirty-six sign languages. It is also published in Braille in twenty
languages.23 The Society maintains a website (www.jw.org) with countless
pages of easily accessible and searchable information about Witnesses’ beliefs
and the organisation’s activities worldwide. This publicly available material
presents a sanitised and selective version of its history. This does not mark it
apart from other religious bodies, most of which make efforts to manipulate
their public image, although of course they would not use those terms.
The organisation is unusual in that it places little importance on the pro-
duction and preservation of sources on its past history, which has led to a
limited engagement with historical inquiry. Witnesses generally do not pub-
lish material on their own spiritual journeys or provide accounts of congre-
gational life independent of the official organisation, although these do
 INTRODUCTION 9

appear.24 Historians are largely denied the insights of rank-and-file Witnesses

into their organisation. The sociologist Ronald Lawson (an Adventist him-
self) observed that Seventh-­day Adventist universities and colleges have his-
torically had strong history departments due to the early preoccupation with
the fulfilment of ­prophecy.25 As a result a great deal of work has been done
on the early history of Adventism. Similarly, the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints’ emphasis on record keeping, archival collection, and his-
tory writing has led Mormon scholars to produce important work on the
origins and development of the Church.26 In stark contrast, there is no seri-
ous academic study even of Russell, the founder-leader of the organisation.27
This oversight has served to obscure the origins of the organisation.
There is a vast body of ‘apostate’ literature penned by former Witnesses
who have either defected (in the Society’s parlance, ‘disassociated’) or
been ex-communicated (‘disfellowshipped’). The purpose of these publi-
cations is usually to tell the author’s story and, in doing so, uncover the
inner workings of the world headquarters, expose the inhumanity of the
Governing Body, or reveal how the organisation ‘controls’ ordinary
Witnesses. The sociologist Bryan R. Wilson argued for the necessity of
treating the testimonies of ex-members of any faith with caution:

The disaffected and the apostate are in particular informants whose evidence
has to be used with circumspection. The apostate is generally in need of self-­
justification. He seeks to reconstruct his own past, to excuse his former affili-
ations, and to blame those who were formerly his closest associates. Not
uncommonly the apostate learns to rehearse an ‘atrocity story’ to explain
how, by manipulation, trickery, coercion, or deceit, he was induced to join or
to remain within an organization that he now forswears and condemns.28

The material produced by former Witnesses must be analysed with

Wilson’s caution in mind. As a rule, apostate literature can be identified by
its title; two widely read books are Blood on the Altar: Confessions of a
Jehovah’s Witness Minister and 30 Years a Watch Tower Slave.29 For the
most part, these kinds of accounts do not purport to contribute to the
reader’s understanding of Witness history and theology beyond exposing
the evils of the organisation, but are nonetheless often cited uncritically,
even in academic publications. This speaks to the paucity of historical
scholarship on the group.
A third type of literature is produced by those who write from a
Christian denominational perspective. Very often the explicit aim is to
help Witness readers to escape from the Society’s clutches and to find ‘true
10 Z. KNOX

Christianity’ (which takes any number of forms). Its authors use the emo-
tive language of the Christian Countercult Movement (CCM), which has
its origins in the early twentieth century, and the Anti-Cult Movement
(ACM), which emerged in the United States in the 1970s, and usually
aims to expose the fallacies in the Watch Tower Society’s interpretation of
scripture. These authors have, by and large, failed to engage with aca-
demic studies, as Religious Studies scholars George D. Chryssides and
Benjamin E. Zeller have observed: ‘… the ACM has largely decided to
disparage academic study, frequently referring to prominent academics in
the field [of New Religious Movements] as “cult apologists”’.30 Although
most of this material has very little scholarly value, it is relied upon by
scholars outside of the discipline of history who seek to understand the
fundamentals of Witness history. It has had a profound influence on public
perceptions of Witnesses (explored in Chap. 7) despite its inherent biases.
Related to this is a genre of literature that has now largely receded but
is important by virtue of its very existence, however diminished: Witness
apologetics. The best known Witness apologist, Marley Cole, wrote his
popular Jehovah’s Witnesses: The New World Society (1955) in the voice of
an outside observer, but Cole was a Witness and the book was c­ ommissioned
by the Society.31 At the turn of the millennium, the apologetic genre flour-
ished as a number of Witnesses published defences of their faith indepen-
dent of the organisation’s oversight.32 This was partly in response to the
ongoing campaign against them by members of the CCM and partly in
response to the new opportunities afforded to them by the Internet to
foster a network of like-minded believers. In addition to books, in contri-
butions to conferences, websites, blogs and chat rooms, Witnesses dis-
cussed elements of Watch Tower theology free from official scrutiny. By
2007, however, this activity had become too high profile for the Governing
Body to ignore. A short piece in Our Kingdom Ministry unequivocally
condemned the ‘independent groups of Witnesses who meet together to
engage in Scriptural research or debate’.33 The emerging apologetic com-
munity was largely silenced in the wake of this opprobrium.34
Finally, there is a slowly expanding body of literature written by profes-
sional historians. There are only two scholarly books focusing on the
organisation’s history, which is remarkable given its renown. Herbert
H. Stroup’s The Jehovah’s Witnesses (1945) was published more than sev-
enty years ago, and is thoroughly outdated. It does not address the dra-
matic international expansion after World War II, for example. M. James
Penton’s Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah’s Witnesses (first pub-
lished in 1985 and most recently revised in 2015) is deservedly regarded a
 INTRODUCTION 11

landmark study in the field of Witness history. His estrangement from the
Witness community colours his analysis, however.35 Penton was disfellow-
shipped from his congregation in Lethbridge, Canada in 1981 and expe-
rienced a traumatic exit from the organisation, one which was covered in
the national media and has since been well documented.36 A recent book
by Chryssides matches Apocalypse Delayed in its comprehensive coverage
of the Watch Tower Society’s teachings. Jehovah’s Witnesses: Continuity
and Change (2016) is important for its recognition of the pressing chal-
lenges facing the Society and examination of how these shape the modern
organisation. Chryssides is not a historian and his treatment of the history
of the community is therefore not detailed.37
In the last decade there has been a surge of interest in Witness history
that is overturning historical orthodoxies in some areas. For example,
rather than regard them as a unique case, recent scholarship has sought to
situate the Bible Students/Jehovah’s Witnesses more firmly within the
Protestant tradition (this is directly opposed to the position taken by ACM
and CCM writers, who emphasise their departure from it). The historians
Gerhard Besier and Katarzyna Stokłosa, for example, identify many
Witness beliefs, such as the denial of the Trinity, as ‘merely part and parcel
of the history of Christian minorities’. They note that such minority
groups have always been viewed as heretics and ‘dismissed as irrelevant by
the majority’.38 The denigration and dismissal of Witnesses by the main-
stream Christian churches might therefore be seen as part of a broader
effort to marginalise newcomers. The efforts of amateur historians B. W.
Schulz and Rachael de Vienne to uncover the origins of the Bible Students
and trace their transition to a distinctive community revealed not Russell’s
radical departure from the Protestant dissenters of the day but, on the
contrary, many shared positions, at least initially, and a more organic pro-
cess of community formation than previously appreciated.39 It was during
the Rutherford era that the Bible Students/Jehovah’s Witnesses became
further removed, indeed irrevocably separated, from other premillennial
groups. Despite these recent studies, there remains a dearth of historical
scholarship on Witnesses. Besier and Stokłosa, co-editors of two essay
­collections on the community, went so far as to refer to the contributing
authors’ ‘pioneer spirit’ in their efforts to chart Witness history.40
There are only two areas on which there is a sizeable body of historical
literature on Jehovah’s Witnesses: Nazi Germany and the United States
and Canada in World War II. The focus of these studies have been remark-
ably narrow. Histories of German Witnesses have centred on the reasons
for Nazi persecution of the community and, more recently, the Society’s
12 Z. KNOX

stance towards Nazism in the first years of the regime.41 Histories of

Witnesses in Canada and the United States have largely focused on their
role in shaping civil liberties and religious rights.42 Complementing legal
historian Shaun Francis Peters’ important work, which examined the
implications of the Society’s landmark legal trials for the development of
civil rights,43 Jennifer Jacobs Henderson has opened up a new area of
inquiry by drawing on local, regional, and state rulings, tracing the
Society’s campaign of litigation down to the local level.44 This offers
insights into the priorities of the organisation’s leadership in the 1930s
and 1940s, decades when, as Chap. 2 explains, Witnesses further consoli-
dated their position as a community standing apart from other Christians.
Examining the historical contexts of Nazi Germany and wartime America
is useful for pointing to instances of sharpest conflict between Jehovah’s
Witnesses and twentieth-century governments. It is not only during war-
time that Witnesses have historically been persecuted, however, although
the historiography would suggest this. In the Soviet Union, for example,
the communist regime portrayed Witnesses as a highly politicised, fanati-
cally anti-Soviet, bellicose, misanthropic, conspiratorial religious organisa-
tion directed from the heart of the capitalist West, New York City.45 In the
late 1960s and early 1970s, Witnesses in Malawi were beaten and even
lynched for their refusal to buy membership cards for the ruling Malawi
Congress Party and expelled from the country en masse.46 During times of
peace the community has continued to test the limits of what is acceptable
in any number of countries and has often been defined explicitly in opposi-
tion to it. Moving the historiography beyond wartime experiences is essen-
tial to appreciate the influence of Witnesses across the modern world.
Historians have yet to analyse the confrontation between Jehovah’s
Witnesses and modern governments outside the United States, Soviet
Union, and Germany in a detailed manner. Important articles on Japan by
Witness researcher Caroline Wah and Australia by historian Jayne Persian
have expanded the geographic scope in crucial ways, but these analyses
focus on wartime experiences.47 There have been essays on a range of
other countries, most notably in three edited collections published in
2016.48 These essays tend to be rich in detail, often providing extensive
information about individual or family biographies or cases of intense or
sustained persecution, but weak on analysis, generally failing to connect
these developments with broader trends in religious history, compare the
experiences of Witnesses with other religious minority groups, or consider
the treatment of Witnesses across different countries or continents. The
 INTRODUCTION 13

tendency of the existing literature to focus on a single country precludes

insights that might be gained from examining the broader context. This
book situates Jehovah’s Witnesses more firmly in the broader field of reli-
gious history by attending to these historical lacunae.
It is not so much the history of the movement per se that has interested
historians but almost exclusively their persecution. The literature therefore
appraises the historical role of Witnesses in very narrow terms. Typical is
the opening sentence of an essay on Greece: ‘The modern history of
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Greece has largely been a history of persecution’.49
It is rare that historians have moved beyond this to consider the contribu-
tions Witness communities have made in other areas of history, although
there have been some recent efforts.50 As such, this book also aims to
move the field beyond the current preoccupation with casting Witness his-
tory as a story of repression. It examines the historic tensions between
Witnesses and governmental authorities, civic organisations, established
churches, and the broader public, focusing on what in Watch Tower theol-
ogy has led to conflict between Witnesses on the one hand and state and
society on the other, rather than charting a history of persecution.
The shortcomings of the existing literature is partly a reflection of the
way the history of the organisation has been presented in the Society’s
own materials. The Society tends to focus on individual countries, from
the first missionaries and converts, to obstacles overcome, and finally
growth and current status. This book draws on a wide range of sources to
offer the reader an alternative to the Society’s own publications and to the
material produced by critics of the organisation, which together largely
comprise the existing body of literature on Jehovah’s Witnesses. It also
looks beyond the limited historical contexts that have preoccupied Witness
historians. In doing so, it attends to spheres of conflict in Witnesses’ rela-
tions with the world which have been hitherto largely ignored.

Structure
The next chapter (‘Watch Tower, Witnesses, and the World’) examines the
growth of the movement from its earliest incarnation as groups of Bible
Students in Pennsylvania to its current status as an international organisa-
tion of more than eight million active (i.e., evangelising) members in 240
countries. It focuses in particular on how the organisation maintains unity
given this global reach. The chapter also explains how the Society’s bibli-
cal literalism determines Witnesses’ interactions with the world and shapes
14 Z. KNOX

their lifestyle. Readers desirous of a primer on the history of the Society

and the beliefs and practices of Witnesses are advised to consult Penton’s
Apocalypse Delayed or Chryssides’ Jehovah’s Witnesses, which both take a
more systematic, chronological approach to the subject than here.
Chapter 3, ‘Politics’, examines the historical junctures at which both
public and political hostility towards Jehovah’s Witnesses has been sharp-
est: during times of war. Since 1915, the Bible Students/Witnesses refusal
to serve in the military has led to persecution. The chapter examines the
organisation’s position on secular war, which derives from the doctrine of
political neutrality. The claim to neutrality has been rejected outright by
some states; in the Soviet Union, for example, the Watch Tower Society
was identified as an anti-Soviet political organisation and Witnesses were
subjected to state reprisals, among them mass arrest and deportation. The
refusal to bear arms has led them to be regarded with hostility by regimes
of various political stripes all over the world. The question of why
Witnesses, who repeatedly claim to be politically neutral, are so often
regarded as a highly politicised group is a key concern of this chapter.
Chapter 4, ‘Ministry’, considers how the Watch Tower organisation’s
distinctive emphasis on public ministry has brought Jehovah’s Witnesses
into conflict with governmental authorities. The imperative to spread the
truth in the Bible is not merely one component of Witnesses’ belief system
(the way field service is for Mormons, for example), but integral to their
very definition of who is considered one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The
imperative to evangelise has brought its adherents into direct conflict with
state authorities in arenas that are not traditionally the domain of religion,
such as trespass laws and child labour laws.
Jehovah’s Witnesses’ doctrinal position on blood is entirely unique.
They do not object to medical treatment per se but to the ingestion of
blood and the primary components of blood, which they believe the Bible
proscribes. Since 1945, the doctrine on blood has been the most conten-
tious of the Watch Tower Society’s teachings. It banned the storage, dona-
tion, and transfusion of blood for Witnesses of all ages. Chapter 5, ‘Blood’,
examines the scriptural basis of the Society’s teachings on blood and the
response of governments to this stance. In the modern era it has brought
into particularly sharp focus questions about the respect of the informed
refusal of treatment and the legal rights of patients, parental rights and the
welfare of children and adolescents, and the legal issues surrounding the
treatment of minors.
 INTRODUCTION 15

Chapter 6, ‘Religion’, charts the dramatic shift in attitudes towards

other religions by the organisation. Russell spoke alongside Jewish leaders
at public events and was open to dialogue and debate with clergy from
other Christian groups, regarding them as capable of achieving salvation.
His position hardened towards the end of his life, however, and the Bible
Students came to regard themselves as the exclusive bearers of ‘the Truth’.
Under Russell’s successor, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, the position
towards the mainstream Christian churches became openly hostile. He
mounted scathing attacks on the established churches, blaming Catholic
and Protestant clergy for Witnesses’ persecution throughout the world
and, after Witnesses were present on Soviet soil in large numbers after
World War II, the Orthodox Church. It examines how the Society has
presented the Christian churches and how, in turn, they have responded
to this vitriol.
Chapter 7, ‘Opposition’, examines how the mainstream media has
drawn on the issues examined in the previous four chapters (neutrality,
ministry, blood, and religion) to present Witnesses as deviant, both reli-
giously and socially. It examines how popular understandings of the
Society have been shaped by coordinated campaigns against Witnesses and
by media representations of them as a deviant, marginal community.
Witnesses were cast as the enemy other in both the United States and
Soviet Union during the Cold War, and the chapter considers why they
were appropriated in this way by these ideological opponents. It also
assesses the transmission of the ACM’s agenda to governmental policy,
focusing on initiatives prompted by the European Parliament in 1984 that
stigmatised, marginalised and, in some countries, even criminalised the
Society.
The concluding chapter identifies the major challenges for modern
states arising from the Watch Tower organisation’s unique doctrinal sys-
tem. In doing so, it demonstrates that Witnesses have repeatedly chal-
lenged the traditional jurisdictions of the state. It is not the size or spread
of the organisation that has encouraged opposition to Witnesses, both
popular and political, but instead their departures from mainstream
Christian beliefs and practices. These have resulted in challenges to under-
standings of religious freedom, civil liberties, and individual rights, from
Russell’s day to the present. As this book will show, this has led Witnesses
to be viewed as subversive by governments of all ideological stripes.
16 Z. KNOX

Sources and Methodology

This book is not a critique of the Watch Tower Society’s theology or an
exposé of its inner workings. There is plenty of published material with
those foci. Readers interested solely in criticism of the Society’s teachings
are advised to consult the voluminous body of literature written by its
countless critics in the Christian churches rather than the research of an
academic historian. This is a historical analysis of the organisation that is
at once respectful of its adherents’ convictions whilst also casting a critical
eye on what the Society’s teachings have meant for the Bible Students/
Jehovah’s Witnesses since the 1870s and the historical conflict, oftentimes
of their own making, with the government authorities and agencies which
have sought to monitor, control, and sometimes restrict their activities at
the international, national, and local levels. The author is an ‘outsider’
rather than an ‘insider’ and has no claim to unique knowledge of Jehovah’s
Witnesses or perspective beyond her academic training.51 The historical
sources informing this study are, for the most part, accessible to any seri-
ous visitor to the relevant archives and libraries.
The deliberations of the Governing Body are almost entirely unknown
to those outside this small circle.52 The lack of access to sources frustrated
the earliest scholars of Witnesses. Stroup, whose The Jehovah’s Witnesses was
the earliest book-length study of the community, wrote: ‘Since the move-
ment is in many ways a “secret” one, the membership were loathe to give
me openly any information. Moreover, the leaders issued orders to all local
groups that I should not be aided in any direct way in securing my informa-
tion’. Stroup reported receiving a letter from Nathan Homer Knorr, who
became president in 1942 after Rutherford’s death. Knorr informed Stroup
that the Society ‘does not have the time, nor will it take the time, to assist
you in your publication concerning Jehovah’s witnesses’.53 This was not
merely obstructionism; as we shall see, there is an urgency to the Witnesses’
message, which means, to them, time really is of the essence. There is no
blanket policy of non-cooperation, however. The Watch Tower Society has
been willing to help researchers with their inquiries in some areas, as shown
by the fruitful correspondence from the early 1950s (when Knorr was still
president) between the world headquarters and George Shepperson, a
historian at Edinburgh University, who sought to trace the influence of the
organisation on independence movements in southern Africa. It is notable
that one response was from Milton Henschel, who became president of the
Society in 1992 (succeeding Frederick W. Franz).54
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 — Une femme qui aurait de l’argent et le sens des affaires
pourrait s’acheter une barque comme celle-ci : on tendrait les
cabines de mousseline Liberty.
— Oh ! ça existe au Japon : on les appelle des bateaux de fleurs.
— Eh bien, pourquoi personne n’a-t-il encore tenté cela ici, dans
une ville maritime ? Moi, je ne le savais pas, et maintenant je suis
vieille…
Angelinette s’était désintéressée de la conversation ; elle avait
cherché du fil et enfilait des coquillages. La marée montait, la barque
oscilla, ondula et se remit à flot.
Ils voguèrent encore pendant dix jours sur l’Escaut et se firent
tous les jours échouer.
Les matins de brume, Angelinette apparaissait, dans sa nudité
enfantine, comme une perle sortant d’une huître entr’ouverte, qui,
dans l’éloignement, se refermait et l’absorbait toute ; et alors, prise
de peur de se sentir enveloppée de cette chose impalpable, elle
appelait : « Hélène ! Seigneur ! » et ne se sentait à l’aise que
lorsqu’ils répondaient.
Ils retournèrent à Anvers quand ils n’eurent plus le sou, et
n’oublièrent pas le sac de coquillages et les petits moulins à vent.
Angelinette les distribua aux enfants du quartier et elle raconta aux
femmes son voyage.
— Il y avait…
Et toutes, bouche bée, comme des enfants, écoutaient.

Elle eut de la peine à se remettre au métier. Le premier verre

d’alcool la fit frissonner de haut en bas ; puis elle étouffait dans le
quartier : ça manquait d’air. Sa maigreur s’accentua ; elle devenait
boudeuse ; son indifférence s’accrut ; la fatigue la paralysa
lentement, jusqu’à ce que le patron lui dît :
— Écoute, il te faut des soins, nous avons trop d’ouvrage. Vas à
l’hôpital : quand tu seras guérie, tu reviendras.
 Elle y fut, accompagnée de la vieille Hélène. On la mit dans un lit
blanc. La nuit, la sœur de ronde l’entendit murmurer :
— Être seule dans un lit, je ne savais pas quel délice c’est. Oh !
quel délice !
Quand la vieille Hélène revint, elle la trouva souriante :
— Eh bien, petite ?
— Oh ! quel délice d’être seule dans un lit, de faire dodo sans
qu’on vous réveille pour recommencer encore et encore ! Oh ! quel
délice !
— Mais tu n’avais pas le dégoût.
— Non, mais c’était comme si l’on me coulait la fatigue dans les
membres. Et maintenant, être seule dans un lit… je ne connaissais
pas ça.
Elle s’informa de la maison : « le patron n’était pas encore venu ;
et le seigneur, ne l’avait-on pas vu ? elle était tout de même sa fille. »
Puis elle lui donna la clef de sa malle et la pria d’y prendre les
portraits de sa mère et de sa grand’mère et de les lui apporter. La
vieille Hélène ne voulait pas lui dire que le patron, sûr qu’elle ne
reviendrait plus, avait déjà ouvert sa malle, et qu’Adèle se promenait
dans sa robe blanche à ceinture mauve, et que cela lui donnait une
allure d’acrobate habillée à la vierge.
Puis Angelinette revint encore sur le bonheur d’être seule dans
un lit.
— Pas de peau chaude qui vous touche, pas de ronflements, pas
d’haleine puante de genièvre qu’on vous souffle au visage ou dans
la nuque. Aucune odeur qui traîne et tout l’espace pour soi. Quel
délice ! Quel délice !
Et elle écarta les bras et les jambes.
— Tu vois, tu vois, je ne rencontre que le drap frais.
La vieille Hélène se leva bouleversée, la prit dans ses bras et la
tint longtemps contre elle.
 — Tu me les apporteras, dis, les portraits ? Puis informe-toi du
seigneur : je suis tout de même sa fille.
Quand la vieille Hélène revint le dimanche d’après, Angelinette
était morte depuis la nuit. La sœur lui remit quelques lettres de
matelots, pas ouvertes, trouvées sous son oreiller, et lui dit qu’elle
était morte en disant : « Quel délice d’être seule dans un lit ! Quel
délice ! »
 JE VOULAIS EN FAIRE UN HOMME

Il avait quatre ans quand j’allai le chercher. Il était un hideux

enfant de la misère : les jambes arquées, le ventre ballonné, la
figure bouffie, le nez et les oreilles coulants, le teint terreux.
Bah ! je le pris tout de même : le sourire autour de la bouche était
charmant ; des yeux lumineux qui m’observaient, une voix claire et
pleine comme un jeu de clochettes. Le soir, en chemin de fer, il
s’endormit et fit caca dans sa culotte : sa première culotte, que je lui
avais achetée ; je dus lui donner un bain avant de le coucher.
Il mangeait en se pourléchant ct me demandait :
— Tout ça, c’est pour moi, tante ?
Il se laissait baigner avec volupté. Il n’était pas difficile pour ses
jouets : il n’en avait jamais eu et la moindre horreur achetée au
bazar le faisait jubiler. Je lui fis un trousseau de linge et des habits,
et sa joie était, quand je les lui essayais, de se mettre devant la
glace et de se regarder, ainsi métamorphosé.
Ses pauvres petites entrailles ne supportaient que mal le
changement de nourriture, ou plutôt la nourriture : il en avait eu si
peu. Oh ! la misère vous donne toutes sortes de sales
incommodités… Son nez fut long à guérir, son ventre ne se
déballonna que lentement et ses jambes se redressèrent seulement
à mesure qu’il se fortifiait et perdait sa mauvaise graisse.
 Au bout de quelques mois il était devenu délicieux : long, mince,
avec une jolie ligne de dos, et une chevelure soyeuse, ondulée et
d’un beau blond avait remplacé la sale tignasse pisseuse, pouilleuse
et raide. Il avait un nez aux narines palpitantes au lieu du bouchon
tuméfié et suintant, et un beau regard brillant de bonheur au lieu du
regard inquiet, si pénible chez les enfants. Il avait aussi une
sensibilité exquise : lorsqu’il voyait des enfants en haillons, il croyait
que c’était ses frères et ses sœurs, et quand il s’était rendu compte
que ce n’était pas eux, il leur donnait les quelques sous que je lui
mettais habituellement en poche, ainsi que son mouchoir.
— Un nez comme ça, ts, ts, ts, ce n’est pas humain.
Il avait entendu dire ces mots par mon ami, qui les employait
dans le sens d’injuste ou de douloureux.
Un jour, il vit au coin d’une rue une petite fille qui pleurait devant
une pâtisserie.
— Cette Katootje a faim, tante.
Katootje était le nom de sa petite sœur.
Et il entra en bombe dans le magasin, prit une grande couque
aux corinthes sur le comptoir et sortit en criant, dans sa langue, au
pâtissier :
— Tante va le payer, tante va le payer ! Là, Katootje, ne pleure
plus, fit-il, en embrassant délicatement la petite fille sur la bouche.

Maintenant qu’il était heureux, il avait surtout un rire qui vous

réchauffait l’âme : un rire qui résonnait dans la maison comme une
cloche annonçant le bonheur, comme un écho de joie et de
confiance.
Plus tard… dans quelle voie le diriger ? Médecin, avocat,
ingénieur ?… Il aime tout ce qui est mécanique, mais il aime aussi
les fleurs, les bêtes, et il m’oblige de m’arrêter pour écouter les
orgues. S’il est artiste, je le laisserai faire, mais je veux avant tout
qu’il fasse des études sérieuses et qu’il apprenne la musique comme
la grammaire. Tant de beautés m’échappent en musique parce que
je ne la connais pas et que je ne suis pas assez instruite. J’ai tant,
tant de sensations sur lesquelles je ne puis mettre de nom à cause
de cette lacune, et j’aime, dans mes joies et mes peines, être
consciente. Oh ! je ne parle pas de l’instruction sèche et pédante :
l’autre, vous savez bien, celle qui vous dégage l’âme et vous fait
sentir la beauté de ce nuage. Il me semble que la nature a fait de
nous des embryons et que la culture nous met au point. Je n’ai
compris la beauté de la Diane chasseresse du Louvre, la force
nerveuse et l’élan de son corps souple, que lorsque j’ai su la
mythologie et que j’ai connu la légende de sa vie dans les bois à la
tête de ses soixante nymphes. Avant cela, je la trouvais une belle
fille sauvage.

Un petit bonhomme comme ça vous prend exactement tout votre

temps : mais quel beau livre ! je n’en ai jamais lu de semblable, et
ma vie est devenue tout espérance. Ainsi je songeais, quand je le
voyais heureux autour de moi.

Une lettre de la mère pour demander de l’argent.

— Il a tout et les autres rien !
Au lieu de se réjouir de ce qu’au moins un de ses enfants en est
sorti ! Enfin j’envoyai de l’argent. Cependant, j’en avais trop peu
depuis que le petit était là : la mère de mon ami ne nous donnait pas
un sou de plus ; elle disait même à son fils :
— Tout ira à cet enfant ; c’est lui qu’on aimera et toi, on te
supportera.
Encore ça comme souci : cette vilaine vieille, jalouse de l’amour
de son fils, va se servir de l’enfant pour éloigner de moi le seul
homme que je me crois capable d’aimer dans ce pays, mon unique
ami…
Ainsi mon bonheur de sentir cette jeune vie s’épanouir près de
moi dans l’aisance était mélangé de la crainte qu’on me le reprît et
du souci de l’ombrage que cette affection pourrait jeter sur mon
amour.

J’étais allée avec Jantje chez une vieille amie. Là vint une dame
française avec un petit garçon de l’âge de Jantje. Les deux enfants
se rapprochèrent vivement l’un de l’autre. Le petit Français était
foncé comme une gaillette, les cheveux coupés ras, une figure mate
et de gros sourcils noirs. Il se planta devant Jantje et dit :
— Je suis Français.
Jantje ne répondit pas, se promena devant lui, la tête levée, avec
des yeux qui demandaient : « Et après ? » Puis il dit :
— J’ai travaillé deux heures ce matin pour ajuster des tuyaux de
poële.
— Ah ! pas mal, s’écria ma vieille amie.
J’étais fière aussi : l’un faisait valoir un état dont il ne pouvait
mais, et l’autre son travail. Il avait décoché cela d’un trait, sans une
hésitation. Ces mots lui étaient restés dans la mémoire : le matin, il
était descendu tout noir du grenier ; mon ami lui avait demandé :
« Qu’as-tu fait pour être si noir ? » et le petit lui avait expliqué, avec
des gestes, et des mots hollandais et français, qu’il avait bien
travaillé deux heures pour ajuster des tuyaux de poële.
— Eh bien, dis : « J’ai travaillé deux heures pour ajuster des
tuyaux de poële. »
Il avait répété et retenu.
Les petits ne se dirent plus rien ; dans leur désillusion, ils
s’étaient, chacun, approchés de leur tante et de là s’observaient. Je
n’ai jamais été mieux à même de juger de la différence entre la
vanité et la fierté.

Oui, quelle voie prendra-t-il, et par où le diriger ? Un sociologue,

— ç’avait été le rêve de mon ami — un savant, un homme d’action ?
Il se décortiquait tous les jours : plus rien de la larve amorphe d’il y a
six mois ; s’il continue ainsi, comme il sera beau et bon ! Et je courais
l’embrasser. Il s’était déjà habitué à cette pluie de baisers qui lui
tombaient à l’improviste ; il les rendait ou secouait impatiemment la
tête.
— Tante, je ne peux rien faire si tu me déranges tout le temps.
Encore des paroles de son oncle. Il l’appelait « oncle »
maintenant. Décidément, il l’écoute encore plus que moi : il est vrai
que mon ami a la voix la plus pénétrante et le ton le plus persuasif
qui soient.
Ah ! que je suis heureuse en ce moment pour l’enfant et pour
moi ! Tout ce passé d’abjecte misère est mort ; et ce que nous avons
de bien-être, nous pouvons en jouir : c’est l’affection qui nous l’a
donné.
Grand Dieu, la vieille ! Tous les jours, une goutte d’eau sur cet
amour, sur cette volonté, pourrait bien finir par y creuser un trou. Ah !
quelle angoisse, maintenant surtout que je ne serais plus seule à en
pâtir ! Mais il nous aime tant ! Tous les jours, quand j’accours sur
mes mules lui ouvrir la porte, avec le petit qui me suit, son regard
m’apaise immédiatement ; toujours il sourit et me dit :
— Clic-clac, clic-clac.
Ce clic-clac lui est si familier qu’il distingue le clic-clac spécial de
mes différentes mules.
— Tu as des mules neuves, ou « celles en velours vert », ou
« celles doublées de rouge ».
Depuis que le petit est là, il m’oublie quelquefois et s’amuse
souvent à se cacher derrière moi et à dire d’une grosse voix :
— Qui va aller au bois avec ce méchant garçon ?
Hé ! hé ! la mère pourrait bien se tromper : si c’était donc moi
qu’on aimerait moins au profit du petit ? Cependant je veux le garder,
lui, mon amour, intégralement. Allons, nous sommes assez bien
bâtis tous trois pour ne pas nous porter ombrage.
 Un jour, je lui avais mis un béret neuf pour aller se promener
avec son oncle. Quand celui-ci entra, le petit se planta devant lui, le
béret de côté, et lui demanda :
— Est-ce que tu trouves moi je beau ?
Une autre fois, à la campagne, ils jouaient à se jeter une vieille
poupée, et voilà que mon ami la jeta si haut qu’elle s’accrocha dans
un arbre. Jantje resta la tête levée. Je crois qu’Élisée, quand il vit
monter Élie dans les nues, ne le regarda pas avec plus de stupeur.
— Que faire maintenant, que faire maintenant ? La nuit, elle aura
froid, cria-t-il.

— Jean, prends ton traîneau, nous irons au parc, où l’on fait des
statues de neige.
— Statues, tante ?
— Oui, ce sont des hommes ou des bêtes, en quelque chose
comme la belle dame sans vêtements qui tient une coquille et que tu
aimes bien.
— Mais puisque ça devient de l’eau, tante.
— Oui, ça ne durera pas, mais on aura pendant quelques jours le
plaisir de les regarder, et quelques jours, c’est long pour du plaisir.
Dès l’entrée du parc, devant l’amas étincelant de neige, il entra
en joie ; mais, quand nous arrivâmes à l’un des carrefours, où
plusieurs sculpteurs, emmitouflés et bleuis de froid, échafaudaient
de la neige et maniaient l’ébauchoir, il courut de l’un à l’autre,
regarda tout, puis s’arrêta devant un groupe que modelait un jeune
sculpteur : c’était un âne monté par le bonhomme Noël.
— Tante, c’est saint Nicolas. Il ne me fera pas de mal ?
— Non, tu as été sage.
— Puis-je travailler avec le monsieur ? Je peux apporter de la
neige dans le traîneau.
— Je ne sais pas, demande au monsieur.
 Et pas timide, sa voix sonnant clair, il demanda :
— Monsieur, je aider ?
Le jeune sculpteur le regarda.
— Tiens, quel gentil petit homme !
— Je aider, monsieur ?
Le sculpteur se tourna vers moi, me dévisagea aussi,
curieusement, me salua et dit à Jantje :
— Mais oui, tu peux m’aider, apporte-moi de la neige.
Jan se mit à la besogne et, avec sa bêche, remplissait le
traîneau. Je n’avais pas à craindre le froid pour lui, il se remuait
fiévreusement, mails moi, comment résister ?
— Jan, monsieur est ton patron, fais ce qu’il te dira ; moi je vais
courir de long en large ou je gèlerai.
— Oui, tante, je ferai ce que le monsieur dira.
Je me mis à courir. Et Jantje amassait de la neige à côté du
sculpteur, qui eut la gentillesse d’employer surtout cette neige-là. Il
lui parlait en néerlandais et lui demanda son avis.
— Ajouterai-je aux oreilles de l’âne ou à la queue ?
Jantje trouva qu’il ne fallait rien ajouter à la queue ni aux oreilles,
mais ajouter tout de suite le bras droit du bonhomme Noël.
Le sculpteur et moi demandâmes en même temps pourquoi ce
bras pressait tant.
— C’est avec ce bras-là qu’il jette les bonbons, n’est-ce pas,
tante ?
— Ah ! voilà l’affaire ! Je vais vite mettre le bras, riait le sculpteur.
Et il appliqua de la neige autour de l’armature rudimentaire. Vers
midi, le travail était ébauché.
— Nous devons rentrer, Jantje.
— Tante, comment faire ? le monsieur ne peut pas travailler sans
moi.
— Ah ! oui, il faudra revenir, j’aurai besoin de neige.
 — Eh bien, nous reviendrons.
A peine eûmes-nous déjeuné, il fallut qu’il y retournât.
Et voilà que le bonhomme Noël avait, pendu à son poing de
neige, un cornet de caramels sur lequel était écrit : « Pour Jantje, le
bon ouvrier. »
Jantje ne fut pas très étonné, mais fier.
— Tante, il a vu que je travaillais bien et que j’ai fait ajouter son
bras pour les bonbons, puisque de l’autre bras il porte la verge.
Jusque vers la brune, Jantje se démena, le sculpteur travailla, et
le tout fut achevé.
Alors le sculpteur dit à Jantje :
— Demain, de beaux messieurs viendront pour juger le meilleur
travail. Tâche de revenir, je dirai que tu m’as bien aidé. Et c’est vrai,
madame, fit-il en se tournant vers moi, son émotion m’en a donné et
je crois que je l’ai communiquée un peu à mon travail. Ce petit-là ne
fera rien froidement dans la vie ; et plus, il galvanisera les autres.
Quelle conviction et quel exquis petit homme !
— Donne la main au monsieur et dis « à demain ».
Nous revînmes le lendemain avec André. Il connaissait le jeune
sculpteur.
Les beaux messieurs ne lui donnèrent pas leurs suffrages, mais
nous avions trouvé un ami.

Mon professeur de chant était venue donner sa leçon,

accompagnée de son petit garçon de trois ans.
— Je me suis dit que Pierre pourrait jouer au jardin avec Jantje
pendant la leçon.
Jantje était aux anges d’avoir un compagnon de son âge pour
jouer. Il le prit par la main, le conduisit au jardin, et tout de suite
l’assit dans son traîneau, devant lequel il s’attela, et le traîna par les
sentiers.
 Le petit Pierre avait pris le fouet et tapait si fort que nous dûmes
intervenir.
— Tante, il me prend pour un cheval, mais on ne doit pas taper
fort sur un cheval non plus, n’est-ce pas ?
Quand Jantje fut en nage, il mit le petit garçon dans le hamac et
le berça.
— Doucement, fit-il, car si je berce fort, tu vas vomir comme moi
l’autre jour.
L’autre se laissait faire, mais n’offrit pas de rendre la pareille.
La leçon finie, nous goûtâmes.
— Tante, tu le feras boire dans la belle tasse que mon oncle m’a
donnée ?
— Certes, mon grand.
Le petit garçon fit la remarque que sa belle tasse était plus petite
que celle de Jantje.
— Mais tu peux lui donner deux fois du chocolat, tante.
— Oui, mon grand.
Mon professeur invita Jantje à venir jouer le lendemain chez
Pierre, qui a un beau « hobby », ajouta-t-elle.
Nous y allâmes.
Le petit Pierre se mit sur son dada et se balança. Mais quand
Jantje voulut y monter, il l’en fit descendre en disant :
— C’est mon cheval.
Puis il prit sa boîte avec les maisons, les vaches et les arbres de
bois et composa un village ; mais il arrachait les objets à Jantje dès
que celui-ci voulait l’aider.
Mon professeur était honteuse. Cependant son gosse lui
ressemblait : il manquait seulement de discernement pour cacher
son âpre égoïsme.
A la fin, Jantje, penaud, se réfugia près de moi :
— Que dois-je faire, tante ?
 — Rien, mon grand, nous allons rentrer et tu joueras avec ton
oncle : il fera le cheval.
— Mais je ne le frapperai pas ?
— Non.
Nous rentrâmes ; mon ami nous attendait. Deux minutes après,
le jardin résonnait de gaies clameurs et de rires d’or.
« Voilà, pensais-je, en chantant des gammes : ils ont besoin l’un
de l’autre pour s’épanouir, et c’est moi qui possède ces deux êtres
exquis qui m’aiment et que j’adore. »

Un autre jour, mon professeur de chant amena, avec son gamin,

une petite fille.
Quand on les annonça, Jantje était à la cuisine ; il remonta,
bégayant d’émotion, et, quand il prit la main de la petite fille, la salive
lui montait aux lèvres.
Jantje ne s’occupa que d’elle et l’embrassa en l’entourant de ses
bras ; il la traîna doucement dans son traîneau, se retournant à
chaque instant, et, quand Pierre voulut faire le cocher et frapper
Jantje avec le fouet, la petite fille fit un tel bond qu’elle tomba hors
du traîneau, qui passa sur elle. Jantje la ramassa avec un émoi
indescriptible.
— Tante, elle est cassée ! Elle doit être cassée !
La petite fille, devant sa terreur, se reprit et, se frappant sur ses
petits bras rouges, déclara qu’elle n’avait rien. Pierre s’était caché
derrière les rosiers.
Nous goûtâmes, mais Jantje avait eu une telle émotion qu’il en
était tout pâle et ne disait mot. Au moment de leur départ, il me
demanda s’il pouvait donner sa poupée à la petite fille.
— Parce qu’elle a eu mal, tante.
 Nous étions allés à Anvers. André et moi voulions nous enivrer
de la lumière de l’Escaut et du souffle du large, et je désirais montrer
à Jantje le jardin zoologique. Nous nous rendîmes d’abord au port,
où la lumière, les vagues de la marée haute mettaient tout en
mouvement sur le fleuve. Le bruit des grues et l’animation des quais
nous mirent en mouvement aussi et nous versèrent la joie dans le
cœur.
Jantje nous posa mille questions auxquelles nous ne pûmes
répondre grand’chose, ignorants que nous étions nous-mêmes des
rouages de cette vie intense qui se déroulait devant nous. Nous ne
pouvions que jouir de la beauté qui s’en dégageait et qui nous
exaltait.
Jantje, avec son impressionnabilité, en prit instinctivement sa
part. Du reste le bruit et l’excès de mouvement commençaient à
m’abasourdir.
Le plus grand étonnement de Jantje, après le travail des grues
mécaniques, fut une petite mulâtresse très foncée, de son âge,
conduite à la main par sa maman toute blonde.
— Mais, tante, elle a travaillé dans les tuyaux de poële et sa
mère ne l’a pas lavée.
— Non, mon grand, elle est ainsi : on aura beau la mettre au bain
et la savonner, elle restera comme tu la vois. Va lui donner la main,
tu verras.
Il se pressa contre mes jupes. Pour rien au monde, il n’aurait
touché la petite mulâtresse.
Nous allâmes déjeuner, puis au jardin Zoologique. Rien ne lui
échappa. Devant la grue du Sénégal :
— Tu vois, tante, elle met sa tête de côté pour mieux voir la
fourmi qui marche à ses pieds. Pourquoi ses yeux sont-ils de côté ?
— Je ne sais pas.
La grue se mit à trompetter.
— Regarde donc, tante, des deux côtés de sa tête : ces plaques
sans plumes montent et descendent pendant qu’elle appelle.
 — Et que dis-tu de cette touffe de brins d’or sur le derrière du
crâne ? lui demanda André.
— Tu appelles ça une aigrette, n’est-ce pas, tante ?
— Oui, mais elle ne doit pas l’acheter : ça lui tient à la tête.
— Oh ! tante ! tante ! Voilà d’autres oiseaux qui dansent l’un
devant l’autre.
Et il courut vers une cage, où en effet des oiseaux ressemblant à
des autruches dansaient des vis-à-vis en battant des ailes et
exécutaient des pas tout autour de la cage.
Devant le chimpanzé qui buvait son urine, je le vis frissonner.
Mais la petite guenon, qui, en souriant, lui exprima le désir d’un
bonbon, lui fit presque vider son sac.
Les ébats des otaries dans leur bassin l’amusaient fort et il ne
comprenait pas que les deux cormorans, perchés sur le bord, ne
voulussent pas jouer avec elles et les laissassent crier d’ennui.
— Je jouerais bien avec elles, tante.
— Il faudrait savoir nager.
— Mais je sais nager.
— Tu l’as appris ?
— Non, mais père va nager.
— C’est qu’il l’a appris. Un veau et un cochon savent nager sans
l’avoir appris, mais l’homme doit tout apprendre, surtout à être bon.
— Tu l’as appris, tante, à être bonne ?
— Oui, par la vie. Si la vie rend mauvais, c’est qu’on n’a pas le
cœur à la bonne place.
— Tante ?
— Plus tard, chéri, quand tu seras grand : il faudra encore aller
dormir et te lever souvent avant de comprendre.
— Tu comprends, tante ?
— Oui, mon grand, un peu trop, mais j’ai été soumise à un
gavage de misère, comme d’autres sont gavés de choux à la crème,
et j’ai mûri avant l’âge.
André, ironique, tira sa moustache, puis :
— Tu sais, toi, si tu crois qu’il te comprend…
— Mais je sais : aussi je me réponds plutôt à moi-même.
— Ça ne va pas ?
— Je suis fatiguée : il y a trop de bruit brutal dans cette ville ; tout
fait vacarme.
— Ils parlent vilain, n’est-ce pas, tante ?
— Je te crois.
— Ah ! voilà les fauves ! Regarde, Jan.
Et il regarda.
— Comme ils marchent devant les barreaux ! Pourquoi ne les
laisse-t-on pas courir dans le jardin, tante ?
— Mais ils nous mangeraient !
— Ils sont méchants, tante ?
— Mais pas plus que nous. Nous mangeons toutes les bêtes. Ce
n’est pas parce que nous mangeons leur cervelle à la sauce blanche
que…
— Tout de même, tu n’es pas gaie aujourd’hui.
Jantje me regarda, soucieux. Il me prit la main, se frôla tout
contre moi, et je dus me baisser à plusieurs reprises pour me laisser
embrasser.
André se frappa le front.
— J’y suis ! Ce sont les grappes d’émigrants que tu as vus
grouiller sur les navires qui t’ont mise dans cet état.
— Oui, je me suis revue, avec les miens, entassés dans une
charrette, allant d’une ville à l’autre pour voir si le pain y était plus
facile à gagner.
Je me tournai vers lui, agressive.
— Tu crois qu’ils ne sentent pas ?
 — C’est atténué tout de même, sinon ils chambarderaient tout.
— Tu te trompes : même petite, je sentais tout, et mes angoisses
de ce qui nous attendait étaient indicibles.
— Et tu parles de bonté ?
— Il ne peut y avoir qu’elle !
— Tu te trompes, c’est le self defense qui fera tout. Allons goûter.
Le thé et le calme du jardin me remirent d’aplomb.
— Maintenant, viens.
Et je les conduisis vers un des bouts du jardin, où un éléphant
tout harnaché attendait les clients.
— Jan, on va te mettre sur l’éléphant, et tu feras un tour de
jardin.
Le gardien le hissa sur le siège, et en avant !
Jantje était si ahuri qu’il ne dit d’abord rien, mais il regarda vers le
bas, où il nous vit, puis, vers le haut, les cimes des arbres, et il se
mit à jubiler.
— Tante ! tante ! je vois au-dessus de tout. Veux-tu une branche ?
Et, en passant, il arracha une fleur d’acacia qu’il me jeta.
— Tante, je vois toutes les bêtes dans leurs cages, mais elles ne
me regardent pas. Tante, si toi et oncle vous preniez aussi des
éléphants, ils pourraient nous reconduire à Bruxelles.
— Non, mon grand, ça ne va pas.
Il eut un petit vertige de se retrouver à terre. Nous nous hâtâmes
vers le train. A peine assis, il s’endormit. Il ne soupa pas, mort de
fatigue. Je le couchai : il ferma les yeux et sans doute rêva de
l’éléphant et des grues qui dansaient. Moi, je craignais de rêver des
émigrants.

J’entendais le petit chat crier piteusement et je vis par la fenêtre

Jantje qui prenait la petite bête, la déposait dans le gazon et se
couchait dessus à plat ventre, puis la prenait encore, la secouait et
recommençait la manœuvre.
— Mais, Jantje, que fais-tu ? Tu le tortures et l’étoufferas.
Il me regarda, bouche bée.
— Voyons ! tu es pour le moins cinquante fois plus grand que ce
petit chat. Si maintenant une bête grande comme la salle à manger
te prenait dans ses pattes, te secouait et se couchait sur toi, que
deviendrais-tu ?
— Mais, tante, j’étoufferais.
— Eh bien, et que fais-tu ? Palpe-le, il a de petits os comme des
arêtes. Pourvu que tu ne lui en aies pas froissé déjà !
— Mais un chat, est-ce comme moi, tante ?
— Mais certainement : si tu le tortures, il crie, souffre et meurt, et
ce serait bien dommage, joli comme il est et fait comme en peluche
orange ; puis il sent, ne l’oublie pas. Tu sais, tu n’as que quelques
facultés plus développées que lui, mais le chien, par exemple, en a
de plus développées que toi : son odorat, son ouïe, et certes il est
plus fidèle que nous. Et le chat, vois quand il saute, quelle
souplesse : tu peux à peine t’élever, en sautant, à deux pieds de
terre. Puis ne trouves-tu pas qu’il est plus beau que nous ? Regarde
sa fourrure dorée.
— Mais, tante, tu as d’aussi beaux cheveux que lui.
— Tu trouves ?
— Oui, tante, oui, tante.
Et il regarda avec conviction mes cheveux qui étaient justement
au soleil.
— Viens, que je t’embrasse.
— Est-ce que je pourrais étouffer Pierre en me couchant
dessus ?
— Mais certes, seulement il ne mérite pas ça : quand il est
méchant, c’est à sa maman de le punir.
— Mais elle ne le fait pas, tante, elle le laisse être méchant.
 — Écoute, tu ne feras plus mal au petit chat, n’est-ce pas ?
Pense à ce que tu souffrirais si la grande bête dont je t’ai parlé en
faisait autant avec toi. Si tu fais de ces choses-là, je n’oserai plus te
laisser seul, il faudrait te surveiller comme Pierre.
— Comme Pierre ! fit-il.
Dès ce moment, il mania le petit chat avec délicatesse et disait
souvent :
— Palpe-le, il a des os comme des arêtes.
« Nous ne sommes tout de même pas bons, pensais-je, notre
geste initial est de nuire ; le bon, nous devons l’apprendre. »
Quand j’essaie de lui faire comprendre quelque chose, je ne
trouve pas toujours les expressions à sa portée : ainsi « facultés
développées »… Comment faudrait-il dire pour qu’il comprît ? Je ne
trouve pas… Je demanderai à André, il saura.

Jantje était occupé à faire des pâtés au jardin ; moi, je rêvassais.

J’avais commencé à lire Darwin…
« Le besoin crée l’organe. » Tout de même !… Possible… Voyez
les femmes hottentotes : c’est certes la nécessité d’un porte-charge
qui leur a développé ainsi le… derrière. M. Levaillant en parle dans
les récits de ses voyages au Cap, au XVIIIe siècle.
« Dans leurs migrations, que ne devaient-elles pas porter sur
cette partie du corps, pendant que l’homme courait aux alentours,
chassait pour la nourriture et musardait pour son plaisir ? Un enfant
ou deux, des hardes, des ustensiles, des provisions. Alors, se pliant
en deux, elles chargeaient, et le plateau s’élargissait et remplissait
ses fonctions selon les besoins…
« C’est sans doute aussi par besoin qu’il s’est créé un troisième
sexe, ou un « sans sexe » chez les fourmis et les abeilles ? Que
feraient-elles d’un sexe, ces bêtes de somme toujours au travail ?…
Chez l’homme, le besoin d’un « sans sexe », seulement bon aux
gros travaux, s’est bien fait sentir ; sa place était tout indiquée sans
doute, car il est odieux de voir un être fragile comme ce paveur
devant ma porte, avec des bras minces et des mains longues et
fines, porter des pavés depuis le petit jour jusqu’à la nuit, tandis que
Mme P…, ma voisine, faite pour pousser une charrette de moules, le
regarde avec mépris par sa fenêtre. Oui, une catégorie faite pour le
travail s’imposait, mais personne ne voulait en être… Ah non ! moi
non plus ! Bête de somme soit, mais être « neutre », n’avoir pas la
faculté d’aimer ou de se faire aimer… hou !! Personne n’a voulu en
être, et voilà pourquoi, évidemment, le besoin n’a pas créé
l’organe. »
Mon ami entra ; je ne l’avais pas entendu sonner, Jantje était allé
ouvrir, et ils me firent tous deux tressauter.
— Tu te racontais une histoire ?
— Non… oui, fis-je évasivement.
Même lui n’avait pas accès dans mon arrière-boutique. Puis il
n’avait pas passé par ce stade d’ignorance dans lequel je me
trouvais et où la lumière ne commençait qu’à poindre. Il ne savait
pas quelle ombre il jette sur les mieux doués et comme l’âme se
dégage lentement si elle ne s’ensevelit pas tout à fait.
Ils allèrent au jardin ; je continuai à rêvasser :
« Heureusement qu’André ne professe pas la théorie que
l’instinct, la nature, remédient à tout et qu’avec ces deux éléments,
la science vous vient toute seule. La nature… Quand sommes-nous
à l’état de nature ?… Il me semble que notre terre a commencé son
évolution quand elle s’est détachée du soleil et que, dès ce moment,
elle n’était plus le lendemain ce qu’elle avait été la veille, et que tout
ce qui s’est mis à pousser dessus n’était plus le soir comme le
matin ; que le singe qui se couvrait de branches pour se tenir chaud
était déjà très civilisé, et que le hottentot sauvage qui offrait sa
femme au blanc pour obtenir tel ou tel objet l’était aussi. Je ne
conçois pas ce que c’est que l’état de nature… »
André faisait balancer Jantje dans le hamac. La voix jubilante du
petit me fit me lever et me mêler à leurs jeux.