On the Rule of the Road -AG Gardiner

(June 2.1865- March 3.1946)

About the Author

Alfred George Gardiner (June 2.1865- March 3.1946) was a renowned British author, newspaper editor, an English journalist. He was born in Chelmsford (UK) and in his early life he started working at the Chelmsford Chronicle and the Bournemouth Directory. He joined the Northem Daily Telegraph in 1887 and later on the Blackburm Weekly Telegraph in 1899 in its editorial team. He worked as an editor of the Daily News during 1902 to 1915. He is specially recognised for his essays, written under the pseudonym "Alpha of the Plough". His essays are written under his own initials too are well known. The daily life of the English and the common issues in their lives stand at the core of his writings. His most celebrated and universally recognised works include - Prophets, Priests and Kings, Pillars of Society. The War Lords, Pebbles on the Shore, Windfalls, Leaves in the Wind, The Anglo-American Fu- ture, Whdt I saw in Germany: letters from Germany and Austria, Ufe of George Cddbury, The Life of Sir William Harcourt, Many Furrows, John Benn and the Progressive Movement, Portraits and Portents and Certain People of Importance. Through his writings, along with common issues of the English people, he projected the sociopolitical, intel- * lectual, economic. and religious issues and problems of contemporary British society.

Summary

The essay, who was a British author, newspaper editor, and English Journalist. He was born in Chelmsford (UK). The essay deals with the theme of the importance of our adherence to lawand order, appropriate and civilised behaviour and the necessity of certain restrictions on individual liberty. to keep others' freedom intact. In this essay, he deals with the very fundamental socio-political issue i.e. individual and social liberty and discusses what constitutes true freedom. In this essay, Gardiner gives examples like the role of the traffic police officer in Controlling road traffic to make his point clear. WVe should have to adhere to set rules of traffic. So, we must consider liberty as a social contract and not a personal affair then only everyone in society can live together in hamony.

According to the writer liberty isa social contract instead of a personal affair. The writer begins the essay by giving the example of individual freedom which should not be disturbed to social freedom. It describes it by giving an amusing story of a fat old lady who is walking in the middle of the road on a busy street instead of the footpath. obviously, that leads to confusion and chaos in the traffic. Being a pedestrain, she must walk on the footpath but she was enjoying her personal freedom to walk anywhere she likes, as that was a public road. He then gives the example of traffic police who is doing his duty on the road to control the traffic but most of us thought that it is a nuisance work and the traffic police are interfering with our personal liberty. But later we realize that he is performing his own duty to control and regulate the traffic and helping us to enjoy our freedom. If we do not let him with his work there would be utter chaos, confusion in the traffic and the traffic would be blockcd and nobody will reach to his or her destination safely and in time.

Gardiner says that liberty is an accommodation of interests. It is not a personal affair only, but a social contract, we are free in matters which do not touch anybody else's liberty. These are personal matters in which anyone wants to dye his/her hair or wants to hear tall hat and in that case, other people have the liberty to look at the person who is wearing funny clothes and they have a liberty to laugh at him. But at the same time, the person who is wearing funny clothes has the liberty to ignore such people in our own minds. These are matters like how we would prefer to cook food at our home, what religion to follow, or the subjects like marriage etc. in all these matters we have the liberty to behave according to our own wish. This is the kingdom of our liberty in which we rule independently. But if we disturb to others we have to Step out of this kingdom. We have the liberty to play musical instruments whenever and wherever we like but if that sound disturbs the neighbours, we are misusing our liberty. Our liberty must not interfere with the liberty of others.

The narrator described a railway Journey where he wanted to read a book quictly but one of his fellow travellers began talking loudly and he was unable to concentrate on the book. He could not ask the other person to speak in a low voice because maybe the person. Would not have liked it. But the person should have taken care not to disturbanyone with his talk. This person had not the social sense, Gardiner Wants to demonstrate that proper social conduct is based on a reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings of others. Generally, it is said that women are less civilised than men. He gives the example that at the ticket countet a well-dressed woman would thrust herself in front of a man in the queue because she knows that men do not oppose her and men do not break the queue. A man is better trained in social behaviour. He gives another example that on the road, some motorists deliberately use their loud horns for bullying others. This is like the bullying of a small nation of Belgium by a big nation Germany. No one has any right to bully other motorists on the road. It is not a civilized way. It is improper behaviour like harassment of smaller nations by a big nation like prussia. The narrator gives the example of William Haz litt, a great writer, who said that a person who wants to learn a musical instrument like a trombone, has a right to learn it in his own home, but he should try to create a minimum disturbance. He should practice the trombone in his attic and should Keep the windows closed. Similarly, if one would like to play the gramophone at the house, that person should keep the volume low, so as not to disturb the neighbours, bisturbing the peace of others is like going to their gardens without permission and Pluck out the flowers beds. It is very difficult to decide whose liberty is most important.

The narrator's friend does not like Street Pianos and whenever he finds them, he orders them away. But there is an old lady who loves to listen to the music played on the street piano. Both of them have the liberty either to listen to or not to listen to the Street piano, it is difficult to decide whose liberty is more important. The world is complex and we should try to find a balance between individual liberty and social liberty. The rule of the road is an example of the social rules that we need to follow. It is true that all of us have liberty but we Should also understand our responsibility. our responsibility is to see that others are not harmed or disturbed because of our behaviour. People give up a small amount of individual liberty in order to preserve collective liberty. People agree to obey traffic laws, they give up some liberties to maximize the liberty of all to drive in a safe and efficient fashion. Hence, Social liberties can only be guaranteed by collective agreement to surrender certain individual liberties.

AG Gardiner

Short Answer type Question

Q. 1:- Why is it necessary to follow the rules of the road ?

Ans:- The essay, "on the Rule of the Road", is written by AG Gardiner who was a British author, newspaper editor, an English Journalist. He was born in Chelmsford (UK). The essay deals with the theme of importance of our adherence to lawand order, appropriate and civilised behaviour and the necessity of certain restrictions on individual liberty to keep others freedom intact. In this essay, he deals with the very . fundamental socio-political issue i.e. individual and social liberty and discusses what constitute's true freedom ? In this essay he gives emphasis to conform to a set of principles existing in society and ensuring that our liberties must be curtailed. Gardiner gives examples like the role of the traffic police officers in controlling road traffic to make his point clear. We should have to adhere to set rules of traffic, otherwise, if everyone tries to keep their liberty to drive as per their wish the road would be Jammed and that would lead to accidents and chaotic situations. So, we must consider liberty as a social contract and not a personal affair then only everyone in society can live together in harmony.

The writer is giving the example of individual freedom which should not be disturbed to socia freedom. He describes it by giving an amusing story of a fat old lady who is walking in the middle of the road on a busy street instead of the footpath. Obviously, that leads to confusion and Chaos in the traffic. Being a pedestrain, she must walk on the footpath but she was enjoying her personal freedom to walk anywhere she likes, as that was a public road. He then gives the example of a traffic police who is doing his duty on the road to control the traffic but most of us thought that it is a nuisance work and the traffic police are interfering with our personal liberty. But later we realize that he is performing his own duty to control and regulate the traffic andhelping us to enjoy our freedom. If we do not let him with his work there would be utter chaos, confusion in the traffic and the traffic would be blocked, nobody will reach to his or her destination Safely and in time. So it is necessary to follow the rules of the road in order that the liberties of all may be preserved the liberties of everybody must be curtailed.

Q. 2:-How sacrifice is the foundation of liberty, according to Gardiner?

Ans:- The essay," on the Rule of the Road", is written by A G Gardiner who was a British Author, newspaper editor, and English Journalist. The essay deals with the very fundamental Socio-political issues i.e. individual and political liberty and discusses what constitutes "true freedom" ? He wrote on the common issues of lives of people and projected socio-economic, intellectual and religious issues of his time.

Gardiner gives examples like the role of the traffic police officer in controlling road traffic to make his point clear. We should have to adhere to set rules of traffic otherwise, if every one tries to keep their liberty to drive as per their wish, the road would be jammed and that would lead to accidents and chaotic Situation. So, we must consider liberty as a social contract and not a personal affair then only everyone in society can live together in harmony. According to the writer, liberty is a social contract instead of personal affairs. It is an accommodation of interests. We are free in matters which do not touch anybody else's liberty. These are personal matters in which anyone wants to dyeing his/ her hair or wants to wear a tall hat and in that case Other people have a liberty to look at the person who is wearing funny clothes and they have a liberty to laugh at him. But at the same time, the person who is wearing funny clothes has the liberty to ignore such people in our own minds. These are matters like how we would prefer to cook food at our home, what religion to follow or the subjects like marriage etc. in all these matters we have liberty to behave according to our own wish. This is the kingdom of our liberty in which we rule independently. But if we disturb to others we have to step out of this kindom. We have libertyto play musical instruments whenever and wherever we like but if that sound distutbs the neighbours; we are misusing our liberty. Our liberty must not interfere with the liberty of others.

According to Glardiner Sacrifice is the foundation of liberty but we should also understand our responsibility. Sometimes it is difficult to decide whose liberty is important. The world is complex and we should try to find a blalance between individual liberty and social liberty. It is true that all of us have liberty but we should also understand our responsibility. Our responsibility is to see that the others are not harmed or disturbed or troubled because of our behaviour.

Q. 3:- Describe the possible consequences of the old lady walking down the middle of the road?

Ans :- "on the rule of the Road" is written by AG Giardiner who was a renowned British author, newspaper editor, an English journalist. The essay deals with the theme of the importance of our adherence to law and orders appropriate and civilised behaviour and the necessity of certain restrictions on individual liberty to keep others The essay freedom intact for the betterment of our society.

The writer gives the examples like the role of the traffic police officer in controlling road traflic to make his point clear. We should have to abound to set the rules of the traffic. Otherwise, if everyone tries to keep their liberty to drive as per their wish, the road would be Jammed and that would lead to accidents and chaotic situations. So, we must consider liberty as a social contract and not a personal affair then only everyone in society can live together in harmony. According to the writer liberty is an accomodation of interests. It is not a personal affair only, but a social contact. The writer gives an example of individual freedom which should not be disturbed to social freedom. He describe it by giving an amusing story of a fat old lady who is walking in the middle of the road on a busy street instead of the footpath. Obviously, that leads to confusion and chaos in the traffic.

The woman must walk on the footpath but she was enjoying her personal freedom to walk anywhere she likes, as that was a public road. He then gives the example of traffic police who is doing their duty on the road to control the traffic but most of us thought it is nuisance work and the traffic police are interfering with our personal liberty. But later we realize that he is performing his own duty to control and regulate the traffic and helping us to enjoy our freedom. If we do not let him with his work there would be utter chaos, confusion in the traffic and the traffic would be blocked and nobody will reach to his or her destination safely and in time.

Q. 4:- What was Gardiner's experience during his train. Journey?

Ans:- The essay, "on the Rule of the Road", is written byAG Gardiner. He was a renowned British author, newspaper editor, and English journalist. The essay deals with the theme of the importance of our adherence to law and order, appropriate and civilised behaviour and the necessity of certain restrictions on individual liberty to keep others' freedom intact for the betterment of our society. The writer gives examples like the role of the traffic police officer in controlling road traffic to make his point clear. We should have to abound to set rules of traffic. Otherwise, ifevery one tries to keep their liberty to drive as per their wish, the road would be jammed and that would lead to accidents and chaotic situations. So, we must consider liberty as a social contract and not a personal affair then only everyone in society can live together in harmony. In this essay the writer tells about liberty and individual freedom which Should not be disturbed to social freedom.

According to the writer liberty is a social contract instead of a personal affair. Lib- erty is an accomodation of interests. It is very difficult to decide whose liberty is most important. The writer described a railway journey where he wanted to read a book quietly but one of his fellow travellers began talking loudly and he was unable to concentrate on his book reading. He could not ask the other person to speak in a low voice because may be the person would not have liked it. But the person should have taken care not to disturb anyone with talk. This person had not the social sense. Gardiner wants to demonstrate that proper social conduct is based on a reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings of others. Generally, is said that women are less civilised than men. He gives the example that at the ticket counter a well-dressed woman would thrust herself in front of a man in the queue because she knows that men do not oppose her and men do not break the queue. A man is better trained in social behaviour. He gives them another example that on the road, some motorists deli bereately use the loud horn for bullying others. This is like the bullying of a small nation of Belgium by a big nation Germany. No one has any right to bully oher motorists on the road.

It is not a civilized way. It is improper behaviour like harassment of smaller nations by a big nation like Prussia. It is true that all of us have liberty, but we should also understand our responsibility. Our responsibility is to see that the others are not harmed or disturbed or troubled because of our behaviour.

Long Answer Type Question

Q. 1:- Liberty is not a personal affair only, but a social contract."-Discuss.

Ans:- The essay "On the Rule of the Road", is written by AG Gardiner, a British author, newspaper editor, and English Journalist. The essay deals with the theme of the importance of our adherence to law and order, appropriate and civilised behaviour and the necessity of certain restrictions on individual liberty to keep others' freedom intact for the betterment of our society. The writer gives examples like the role of the traffic police officer in controlling road traffic to make his point clear. We should have to adhere to set rules of traffic. Otherwise, if everyone tries to keep their liberty to drive as per their wish, the road would be jammed and that would lead to accidents and chaotic situation. so we must consider liberty as a social cor ract and not a personal affair then only everyone in society can live together in harmony.

Gardiner looks towards liberty as a social contract instead of a personal affair. The world is complex and we should try to find a balance between individual liberty and social liberty, People giye up small amount of individual liberty in order to preserve collective liberty, people agree to obey traffic laws. They give up some liberties to maximize the liberty of all to drive in a safe and efficiant fashion. The writer gives an example of a fat old woman who was walking in the middle of the road on a busy strcet instead of the footpath. It lecads to confusion and Chaos in the traffic. Being a pedestrain, she must walk on the footpath but she was enjoying her personal freedom to walk anywhere she likes, as that was a public road. Then the traffic Police arrives at the place about whom most of us thinks as a nuisance but later we realize that he is performing his duty to control and regulate the traffic and helping us to enjoy our freedom.

If the traffic police do not control and regulate the traffic, then the traffic would be blocked and nobody will reach to his or her destination safely and in time. Gardiner says that libetry is an accommodation of interests. We are free in matters which do not touch anybody else's liberty. There are personal matters like dyeing one's hair or wearing a tall hat people may look. At the person who is wearing funny clothes and they are at liberty to laugh at him. But the person also has the liberty to ignore such people in our own minds. he can play musical instrument whenever and wherever we like but if that sound disturbs the neighbours, we are misusing our liberty. our liberty must not interfere with the libenty of others.

The writer wants to demonstrate that proper social onduct is based on a resonable consideration for the rights of feelings of others. He gives the example of a woman who is well-dressed, would thurst herselfin front of a man in the queue at the ticket office. The woman does this because men do not oppose her and men do not break the queue. Aman is better trained in social behaviour on the road, some motorists deliberately use the loud norn for bullying others. This is like the bullying of a small nation of Belgium by a big nation Germany. No one has any right to bully other motorists on the road. It is not the civilized way. A person who has bought a gramophone and played the songs loudly on sunday afternoon has distuebed all the surrounding people, This is not civilised conduct. The great writer, William Hazlitt, said that a person, who wants to learn the musical instrument like trombone, has a right to learn it at his ownhome but he should try to create minimum disturbance. He should practice the trombone in his attic and should keep the windows closed. Similarly, if one would like to play the gramophone at the house, that person should keep the volume low, so as not to disturb the neighbours. Disturbing the peace of others is like going to their gardens without invitation and trampling their flower beds. Sometimes it becomes difficult to decide whose liberty is important. The writer's friend does not like street pianos and whenever he finds them, he orders them away. But there is an old lady who loves to listen to the music played on the street piano. Both of them have a liberty either to listen to and not to listen to the street piano, it is difficult to decide whose liberty is more important.

The world is complex and we should try to find a balance between individual liberty and social liberty. The rule of the road is an example of the Social rules that we need to follow. It is true that all of us have liberty, but we should also understand our responsibility. Our responsibility is to see that the others are not harmed or disturbed or troubled because of our behaviour. The essay speaks about social liberty. People give up a small amount of individual liberty in order to preserve collective liberty. people agree to obey traffic laws, they gives up some liberties to maximize the liberty of all to drive in a safe and efficient way. Hence, the social liberties can only be guaranteed by collective agreement to surrender certain individual liberties.

Q. 2:- What is the difference between "Individual liberty" and "Social liberty", according to Gardiner?

Ans:- suy The essay "on the Rule of the Road", is written by AG Gardiner who was a British author, newspaper editor, and English Journalist. The essay deals with the theme of importance of our adherence to law and order, appropriate and civilsed behaviour and the necessity of certain restrictions on individual liberty to Keep others freedom intact for the betterment of our society. In it, he gives emphasis to conform to the set of principles existing in society and ensuring that Our liberties must be curtailed. We must consider liberty as a social contract and not a personal affair then only everyone in society can live together in har- The writer is giving the example of individual liberty which should not be disturbed to social liberty.

He describe it by giving an example of an old lady who is enjoying her individual liberty by walking in the middle of the road on a busy street instead of walking on foothpath. The lady is enjoying her individual liberty but enjoying individual liberty does not mean that anyone should break the rule of the road and disturbed to social liberty. Being a pedestrian, she must Walk on the footpath and enjoy her individual liberty. Then he gives anotherexample of a traffic police who is doing his duty on the road to control the traflic but most of us thinking that the traffic police is interfering with our individual liberty. But he is performing his own duty to control and regulate the traffic and helping us to enjoy our individual freedom. If we do not let him with his work then the traffic would be blocked and nobody will reach to his or her destination safely and in time. Auoui According to the writer liberty is an accommodation of inter- ests. We are free in matters which do not touch anybody else's liberty. The writer gives some example of individual liberty to understand our responsiblity to social liberty. In personal matters like dyeing one's hair, wearing a tall hat, or wearing funny clothes, we have individual liberty to do what we like and at the same time people may look at the person and they are at liberty to even laugh at them. But the person who is wearing a tall hat or funny clothes also has the liberty to ignore such people who laugh at him.

There are many personal matters like how we would prefer to cook food at our home what religion to follow, or the subject like marriage, living style etc. In all these matters we behave according to our own wishes because we have individual liberty. We can play musical instruments whenever and wherever we like because we have individual liberty but if that sound disturbs the neighbours, we are misusing our liberty. In that case, we Should try to create minimum dis- turbance which does not disturb other person's liberty. If we follow it then we can enjoy individual liberty with social liberty. According to the writer, proper social Conduct is based on a reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings of others. The writer described his railway journey to explain the difference between social and individual liberty.

The narrator was enjoying his railway jour-. ney while he wanted to read a book quietly but one of his fellow travellers began talking loudly and he was unable to concentrate on the book. The narrator could not ask the other person to speak in a low voice as the person would not have liked it. But the person should have taken care not to disturb anyone with his talk. In this case, the narrator is enjoying individual liberty and the fellow traveller is enjoying social liberty but we should have taken care of that while enjoying our liberty we should disturb the liberty of other people.

The narrator gives another example of social behaviour on the road, some motorists deliberately use the loud horn for bullying others. No one has any right to bully other motorists on the road. It is not the civilized way. In another case, the narrator describes a person who has bought a gramophone and played the songs loudly on Sunday afternoon but it disturbed all the surrounding people. This is not civilised conduct. Playing a gramophone is individual liberty but disturbing all the surrounding people is as like disturbed social liberty. The person should keep the volume low, so as not to disturb the people's liberty. According to the writer, disturbing the peace of others is like going to their gardens without invitation and trampling their flower beds. Some- times it is difficult to decide whose liberty is important. The world is complex and we should try to find a balance between individual liberty and social liberty. The rule of the road is an example of the social rules that we need to follow, It is true that all of us have liberty, but we should also understand our responsibility. Our responsibility is to see that others are not harmed or disturbed because of our behaviour.

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