heretics-第10节

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There　never　was　a　man　in　love　who　did　not　declare　that；　if　he　strained



every　nerve　to　breaking；　he　was　going　to　have　his　desire。



And　there　never　was　a　man　in　love　who　did　not　declare　also　that　he　ought



not　to　have　it。　　The　whole　secret　of　the　practical　success　of　Christendom



lies　in　the　Christian　humility；　however　imperfectly　fulfilled。



For　with　the　removal　of　all　question　of　merit　or　payment；　the　soul



is　suddenly　released　for　incredible　voyages。　　If　we　ask　a　sane　man



how　much　he　merits；　his　mind　shrinks　instinctively　and　instantaneously。



It　is　doubtful　whether　he　merits　six　feet　of　earth。



But　if　you　ask　him　what　he　can　conquerhe　can　conquer　the　stars。



Thus　comes　the　thing　called　Romance；　a　purely　Christian　product。



A　man　cannot　deserve　adventures；　he　cannot　earn　dragons　and　hippogriffs。



The　mediaeval　Europe　which　asserted　humility　gained　Romance；



the　civilization　which　gained　Romance　has　gained　the　habitable　globe。



How　different　the　Pagan　and　Stoical　feeling　was　from　this　has



been　admirably　expressed　in　a　famous　quotation。　　Addison　makes



the　great　Stoic　say







　　〃'Tis　not　in　mortals　to　command　success；



　　　But　we'll　do　more；　Sempronius；　we'll　deserve　it。〃







But　the　spirit　of　Romance　and　Christendom；　the　spirit　which　is　in



every　lover；　the　spirit　which　has　bestridden　the　earth　with　European



adventure；　is　quite　opposite。　　'Tis　not　in　mortals　to　deserve　success。



But　we'll　do　more；　Sempronius；　we'll　obtain　it。







And　this　gay　humility；　this　holding　of　ourselves　lightly　and　yet　ready



for　an　infinity　of　unmerited　triumphs；　this　secret　is　so　simple　that　every



one　has　supposed　that　it　must　be　something　quite　sinister　and　mysterious。



Humility　is　so　practical　a　virtue　that　men　think　it　must　be　a　vice。



Humility　is　so　successful　that　it　is　mistaken　for　pride。



It　is　mistaken　for　it　all　the　more　easily　because　it　generally　goes



with　a　certain　simple　love　of　splendour　which　amounts　to　vanity。



Humility　will　always；　by　preference；　go　clad　in　scarlet　and　gold；



pride　is　that　which　refuses　to　let　gold　and　scarlet　impress　it　or　please



it　too　much。　　In　a　word；　the　failure　of　this　virtue　actually　lies



in　its　success；　it　is　too　successful　as　an　investment　to　be　believed



in　as　a　virtue。　　Humility　is　not　merely　too　good　for　this　world；



it　is　too　practical　for　this　world；　I　had　almost　said　it　is　too



worldly　for　this　world。







The　instance　most　quoted　in　our　day　is　the　thing　called　the　humility



of　the　man　of　science；　and　certainly　it　is　a　good　instance　as　well



as　a　modern　one。　　Men　find　it　extremely　difficult　to　believe



that　a　man　who　is　obviously　uprooting　mountains　and　dividing　seas；



tearing　down　temples　and　stretching　out　hands　to　the　stars；



is　really　a　quiet　old　gentleman　who　only　asks　to　be　allowed　to



indulge　his　harmless　old　hobby　and　follow　his　harmless　old　nose。



When　a　man　splits　a　grain　of　sand　and　the　universe　is　turned　upside　down



in　consequence；　it　is　difficult　to　realize　that　to　the　man　who　did　it；



the　splitting　of　the　grain　is　the　great　affair；　and　the　capsizing



of　the　cosmos　quite　a　small　one。　　It　is　hard　to　enter　into　the　feelings



of　a　man　who　regards　a　new　heaven　and　a　new　earth　in　the　light　of　a



by…product。　But　undoubtedly　it　was　to　this　almost　eerie　innocence



of　the　intellect　that　the　great　men　of　the　great　scientific　period；



which　now　appears　to　be　closing；　owed　their　enormous　power　and　triumph。



If　they　had　brought　the　heavens　down　like　a　house　of　cards



their　plea　was　not　even　that　they　had　done　it　on　principle；



their　quite　unanswerable　plea　was　that　they　had　done　it　by　accident。



Whenever　there　was　in　them　the　least　touch　of　pride　in　what



they　had　done；　there　was　a　good　ground　for　attacking　them；



but　so　long　as　they　were　wholly　humble；　they　were　wholly　victorious。



There　were　possible　answers　to　Huxley；　there　was　no　answer　possible



to　Darwin。　　He　was　convincing　because　of　his　unconsciousness；



one　might　almost　say　because　of　his　dulness。　　This　childlike



and　prosaic　mind　is　beginning　to　wane　in　the　world　of　science。



Men　of　science　are　beginning　to　see　themselves；　as　the　fine　phrase　is；



in　the　part；　they　are　beginning　to　be　proud　of　their　humility。



They　are　beginning　to　be　aesthetic；　like　the　rest　of　the　world；



beginning　to　spell　truth　with　a　capital　T；　beginning　to　talk



of　the　creeds　they　imagine　themselves　to　have　destroyed；



of　the　discoveries　that　their　forbears　made。　　Like　the　modern　English；



they　are　beginning　to　be　soft　about　their　own　hardness。



They　are　becoming　conscious　of　their　own　strengththat　is；



they　are　growing　weaker。　　But　one　purely　modern　man　has　emerged



in　the　strictly　modern　decades　who　does　carry　into　our　world　the　clear



personal　simplicity　of　the　old　world　of　science。　　One　man　of　genius



we　have　who　is　an　artist；　but　who　was　a　man　of　science；　and　who　seems



to　be　marked　above　all　things　with　this　great　scientific　humility。



I　mean　Mr。　H。　G。　Wells。　　And　in　his　case；　as　in　the　others　above



spoken　of；　there　must　be　a　great　preliminary　difficulty　in　convincing



the　ordinary　person　that　such　a　virtue　is　predicable　of　such　a　man。



Mr。　Wells　began　his　literary　work　with　violent　visionsvisions　of



the　last　pangs　of　this　planet；　can　it　be　that　a　man　who　begins



with　violent　visions　is　humble？　　He　went　on　to　wilder　and　wilder



stories　about　carving　beasts　into　men　and　shooting　angels　like　birds。



Is　the　man　who　shoots　angels　and　carves　beasts　into　men　humble？



Since　then　he　has　done　something　bolder　than　either　of　these　blasphemies；



he　has　prophesied　the　political　future　of　all　men；　prophesied　it



with　aggressive　authority　and　a　ringing　decision　of　detail。



Is　the　prophet　of　the　future　of　all　men　humble　？　　It　will　indeed



be　difficult；　in　the　present　condition　of　current　thought　about



such　things　as　pride　and　humility；　to　answer　the　query　of　how　a　man



can　be　humble　who　does　such　big　things　and　such　bold　things。



For　the　only　answer　is　the　answer　which　I　gave　at　the　beginning



of　this　essay。　　It　is　the　humble　man　who　does　the　big　things。



It　is　the　humble　man　who　does　the　bold　things。　　It　is　the　humble



man　who　has　the　sensational　sights　vouchsafed　to　him；　and　this



for　three　obvious　reasons：　　first；　that　he　strains　his　eyes　more



than　any　other　men　to　see　them；　second；　that　he　is　more　overwhelmed



and　uplifted　with　them　when　they　come；　third；　that　he　records



them　more　exactly　and　sincerely　and　with　less　adulteration



from　his　more　commonplace　and　more　conceited　everyday　self。



Adventures　are　to　those　to　whom　they　are　most　unexpectedthat　is；



most　romantic。　　Adventures　are　to　the　shy：　　in　this　sense　adventures



are　to　the　unadventurous。







Now；　this　arresting；　mental　humility　in　Mr。　H。　G。　Wells　may　be；



like　a　great　many　other　things　that　are　vital　and　vivid；　difficult　to



illustrate　by　examples；　but　if　I　were　asked　for　an　example　of　it；



I　should　have　no　difficulty　about　which　example　to　begin　with。



The　most　interesting　thing　about　Mr。　H。　G。　Wells　is　that　he　is



the　only　one　of　his　many　brilliant　contemporaries　who　has　not



stopped　growing。　　One　can　lie　awake　at　night　and　hear　him　grow。



Of　this　growth　the　most　evident　manifestation　is　indeed　a　gradual



change　of　opinions；　but　it　is　no　mere　change　of　opinions。



It　is　not　a　perpetual　leaping　from　one　position　to　another　like



that　of　Mr。　George　Moore。　　It　is　a　quite　continuous　advance　along



a　quite　solid　road　in　a　quite　definable　direction。　　But　the　chief



proof　that　it　is　not　a　piece　of　fickleness　and　vanity　is　the　fact



that　it　has　been　upon　the　whole　in　advance　from　more　startling



opinions　to　more　humdrum　opinions。　　It　has　been　even　in　some　sense



an　advance　from　unconventional　opinions　to　conventional　opinions。



This　fact　fixes　Mr。　Wells's　honesty　and　proves　him　to　be　no　poseur。



Mr。　Wells　once　held　that　the　upper　classes　and　the　lower　classes



would　be　so　much　differentiated　in　the　future　that　one　class　would



eat　the　other。　　Certainly　no　paradoxical　charlatan　who　had　once



found　arguments　for　so　startling　a　view　would　ever　have　deserted　it



except　for　something　yet　more　startling。　　Mr。　Wells　has　deserted　it



in　favour　of　the　blameless　belief　that　both　classes　will　be　ultimately



subordinated　or　assimilated　to　a　sort　of　scientific　middle　class；



a　class　of　engineers。　　He　has　abandoned　the　sensational　theory　with



the　same　honourable　gravity　and　simplicity　with　which　he　adopted　it。



Then　he　thought　it　was　true；　now　he　thinks　it　is　not　true。



He　has　come　to　the　most　dreadful　conclusion　a　literary　man　can



come　t