I read the introduction to this article and need to get a word in on its premise.

Perhaps Mr. Kimball mistakes Victorian Britain for Pre-Sharia England. While the British used various euphemisms for the “unseemly” aspects of life, they were anything but timid. Have a look at any number of Victorian hot spots (Boer War, India, North Africa, the list goes on) and there you will find British subjects behaving with courage, brutality and effectively. The culture of the day required a glossy veneer but the world’s reality, and the ability of the British people to face it, were admirable. One might even gain some depth of character if we were to understand the value of the veneer rather then insist that our explanation of every activity under the sun in purely crude and direct manners and terms is the only effective one. Euphemism can go too far but one can also be too direct.