Thoughts on Kiplings The Gods of the Copybook Headings

Some Things Never Change

Some Thoughts on The Gods of the Copybook Headings

The Gods of the Copybook Headings is a poem written by Rudyard Kipling in 1919. In those days school children would practice penmanship in copy books. At the top of the page would be an old bit of everyday wisdom such as “ a stitch in time saves nine.” The idea being that the student would get the ideas into his head while learning penmanship. After all, they needed to write something, so why not? The Gods of the Market-Place refers to the many ideas people are prone to supporting, thinking to improve life. As you can see, they go way back. (Whether or not you believe in reincarnation, Kipling did.) Below is the poem:

As I pass through my incarnations in every age and race,
I Make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market-Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market-Place.
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings.
So we worshiped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Heading said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew,
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four —
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man —
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began —
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire —

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

The gist of this seems to be that people have forever, as now, been thinking up utopian and “progressive” ideas that lead to trouble.

Consider the three examples:

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Heading said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

Does this not reek of Leftist thought? Everything from gun control to de-funding the police to decimating our military forces comes under this rubric. People with a genuine desire for peace may fall into accepting this, but the consequences are usually severe. Cities that have de-funded their police forces are finding that it was disatrous. The Romans might be blamed for always conquering those around them, but that was just the nature of their world. If they hadn't played that game they would have been run over by their neighbors. The Romans were just better at it.

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

Now we have the views of the libertines. This also has been going on a long time, but it has accelerated recently due to political forces wishing more control over individuals by attacking families. It's one of those things that attracts people, but with more experience is seen as bad. It's much like children who can eat whatever they want eating cake and candy, then discovering that's not so good.

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Here we have classic Socialist ideas. I'm sure this one has been around as long as humanity as well. If only we had a philosopher king who would just redistribute wealth properly, all would be good. We know how well that has worked, and so did Kipling.

Notice that Kipling gave the warning that these ideas are not only bad, but downright dangerous. He winds up the poem with this:

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

Terror and slaughter return? Ouch. Writing in1919 was right after World War 1, so he may have been thinking that all of these ideas contributed. They certainly tended to group people into opposing power blocks.

Another takeaway is that, as we go through life, we should concentrate on the issues of our own life and family. Worry about the warnings of the copybook headings more and less about grand themes of changing the world. Don't let your children play with fire.

I am of the opinion that an average conservative will be concerned about if he is a good person in all it's aspects. The average Leftists will just think that he is okay since he went to the latest Leftist protest.

I make it a point to ask God for wisdom, strength and courage. I think we should all do that if we hope to escape the wrath of the gods of the copybook headings.

Stay brave, stay free.