Abstract
As in the War of 1914-18, so in this one, pamphlets are much in evidence. There is a saying of John Selden, who flourished in the seventeenth century, that “more solid things do not show the complexion of the times so well as ballads and libels”. .By “libels”, however, Selden meant what we mean by pamphlets, for, as Archbishop Trench remarked, the extent of meaning which a word covers is often gradually narrowed. Any little book (libellus) was a “libel” once ; now, only such as is scurrilous or injurious. The truth of Selden's saying is seen in the fact that pamphlets were plentifully produced until far into the nineteenth century, when popular magazines tended to replace them. Now they become plentiful again at times of great public excitement. The Oxford pamphlets of 1914-18 are still fresh in the memories of people who have reached or passed middle age. Pamphlets are with us again. They cover many subjects-scientific, geographical, historical, biographical, and all that relates to the Fighting Forces. For the most part they are authoritatively written, and “show the complexion of the times” very effectively.
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Pamphlets in War-Time. Nature 151, 76–77 (1943). https://doi.org/10.1038/151076c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/151076c0