Travels in Southeastern Europe

The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.

104 THE BURDEN OF THE BALKANS. those of extreme youth. The atrocities which they will all commit upon occasion are a mere survival of mediaeval customs once common to all Europe. 'Humanity' was not invented even in England till the beginning of the nineteenth century; up till then punishments of thq most brutal description were inflicted for comparatively trivial offences. In dealing with the Balkan Peninsula, far too much ' copy' has been made out of ' atrocities' for party purposes, and the supply of them has been thereby stimulated. Nor are they presented in proper perspective. When a Moslem kills a Moslem it does not count; when a Christian kills a Moslem it is a righteous act; when a Christian kills a Christian it is an, error of judgment better not talked about; it is only when a Moslem kills a Christian that we arrive at a full-blown ' atrocity.' When the circumstances under which the Balkan peoples have lived are considered, the wonder is not that they are so behindhand, but that they are so advanced. Their friends hope for them liberty to develop each on their own natural lines. Those who blame the lands already freed, because in a few years they have not reached a pitch of civilization which it has taken the West five centuries to evolve, are unjust to them. And some of their worst enemies are the friends who wish to hurry them up. Their civilization, if it is to be firm and lasting, and suited to their own peculiar needs, must be a solid structure slowly
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Title
The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.
Author
Durham, Mary Edith, 1863-1944.
Canvas
Page 104
Publication
London :: Nelson,
[1905]
Subject terms
Eastern question (Balkan)
Balkan Peninsula -- Description and travel.

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"The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham." In the digital collection Travels in Southeastern Europe. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ans3900.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 30, 2025.
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