Page:The Spirit of Russia by T G Masaryk, volume 1.pdf/300

274 of numerous questions concerning the relationship between national character and religion; above all it would have been desirable to examine to what extent the adoption and maintenance of true religion was due to national character, or what had caused the peculiar Russian competence in these respects. The founders of slavophilism would have done well, too, to formulate the problem of nationality in far more precise terms.

INCE from the philosophers and publicists with whom we have now to deal we shall bear a great deal more about the problem of "nation" and "nationality," it seems wise at this stage to discuss the most important problems of a critical philosophy of nationality, so that I may expound the grounds for my judgment of the various views.

Even in scientific works, the definitions given of the vaguely used terms "nation" and "nationality" have hitherto been far from precise. When further, the concept of nation and nationality is used in conjunction with the equally vague concepts of state, church, and humanity, an absolute chaos of disconnected thoughts is apt to be presented.

Great care is needed in the use of these terms. If when we speak of "nation" we refer to the great collectivity itself, by "nationality" we shall understand the essence of the qualities of the nation, although the word "nationality" is sometimes used as a synonym for "nation." The terms "idea of nationality," "sentiment of nationality," and "principle of nationality," are sufficiently comprehensible. The use of the words "nation" and "folk" involves difficulties. "Nation" signifies rather the political whole organised as a state. "Folk" is used in a more democratic sense, denoting the nation intensively considered as a mass engaged in collective action. We speak of folk-songs, folk-art, and the folk-spirit; less often of national songs and the national spirit, and when we use the latter terms it is in a somewhat different sense.