The empire's legacy

The eclipse of empire inherent in the (Hong Kong handover) ceremony was foreseen with uncanny intuition a hundred years ago in a poem of hypnotic cadences by the 32-year-old Rudyard Kipling. The poem was "Recessional", written for a very different occasion, Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, and published in The Times of London on July 17, 1897. Unlike all the other celebratory words, Kipling's lines were steeped in pessimism and sternly warned against the "frantic boast and foolish word".

Britain in 1897 was the world's sole superpower, mistress of an enormous empire extending "over palm and pine". This was the age of New Imperialism, when most Europeans, and indeed most Americans as well, were gripped by the belief that the West had the right and duty to rule the rest. Hence the shock when Kipling, the bard of empire, gazed beyond the Jubilee to a time when the captains and kings would depart.

For Kipling, a romantic, the British empire was not just about profit or splotches of red on the map. The rulers were bound by honor to serve those they ruled, and they were beholden to the Lord of Hosts and Judge of Nations. By today's standards, his vision may be wrong, condescending and foolish, but it was not hypocritical.

In fair measure, Britain nurtured overseas belief in rules, fair play and free speech. Hong Kong's Chinese rulers will understandably dwell on the evils of colonialism. But a decent respect for truth requires an acknowledgement that Britain's legacy also includes Hong Kong's yearning for democracy and its material prosperity. As of early Tuesday, as Kipling foresaw, the empire now lives mainly in history.

-- The New York Times