the miscellaneous writings and speeches-1-第12节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


n　evil；　but　where　every　man　is　a　soldier　there　will　be　no　standing　army。　　And　is　it　no　evil　that　one　man　in　every　fifty　should　be　bred　to　the　trade　of　slaughter；　should　live　only　by　destroying　and　by　exposing　himself　to　be　destroyed；　should　fight　without　enthusiasm　and　conquer　without　glory；　be　sent　to　a　hospital　when　wounded；　and　rot　on　a　dunghill　when　old？　Such；　over　more　than　two…thirds　of　Europe；　is　the　fate　of　soldiers。　　It　was　something　that　the　citizen　of　Milan　or　Florence　fought；　not　merely　in　the　vague　and　rhetorical　sense　in　which　the　words　are　often　used；　but　in　sober　truth；　for　his　parents；　his　children；　his　lands；　his　house；　his　altars。　　It　was　something　that　he　marched　forth　to　battle　beneath　the　Carroccio；　which　had　been　the　object　of　his　childish　veneration：　　that　his　aged　father　looked　down　from　the　battlements　on　his　exploits；　that　his　friends　and　his　rivals　were　the　witnesses　of　his　glory。　　If　he　fell；　he　was　consigned　to　no　venal　or　heedless　guardians。　　The　same　day　saw　him　conveyed　within　the　walls　which　he　had　defended。　His　wounds　were　dressed　by　his　mother；　his　confession　was　whispered　to　the　friendly　priest　who　had　heard　and　absolved　the　follies　of　his　youth；　his　last　sigh　was　breathed　upon　the　lips　of　the　lady　of　his　love。　　Surely　there　is　no　sword　like　that　which　is　beaten　out　of　a　ploughshare。　　Surely　this　state　of　things　was　not　unmixedly　bad；　its　evils　were　alleviated　by　enthusiasm　and　by　tenderness；　and　it　will　at　least　be　acknowledged　that　it　was　well　fitted　to　nurse　poetical　genius　in　an　imaginative　and　observant　mind。

Nor　did　the　religious　spirit　of　the　age　tend　less　to　this　result　than　its　political　circumstances。　　Fanaticism　is　an　evil；　but　it　is　not　the　greatest　of　evils。　　It　is　good　that　a　people　should　be　roused　by　any　means　from　a　state　of　utter　torpor；that　their　minds　should　be　diverted　from　objects　merely　sensual；　to　meditations；　however　erroneous；　on　the　mysteries　of　the　moral　and　intellectual　world；　and　from　interests　which　are　immediately　selfish　to　those　which　relate　to　the　past；　the　future；　and　the　remote。　　These　effects　have　sometimes　been　produced　by　the　worst　superstitions　that　ever　existed；　but　the　Catholic　religion；　even　in　the　time　of　its　utmost　extravagance　and　atrocity；　never　wholly　lost　the　spirit　of　the　Great　Teacher；　whose　precepts　form　the　noblest　code；　as　His　conduct　furnished　the　purest　example；　of　moral　excellence。　　It　is　of　all　religions　the　most　poetical。　　The　ancient　superstitions　furnished　the　fancy　with　beautiful　images；　but　took　no　hold　on　the　heart。　　The　doctrines　of　the　Reformed　Churches　have　most　powerfully　influenced　the　feelings　and　the　conduct　of　men；　but　have　not　presented　them　with　visions　of　sensible　beauty　and　grandeur。　　The　Roman　Catholic　Church　has　united　to　the　awful　doctrines　of　the　one　that　Mr　Coleridge　calls　the　〃fair　humanities〃　of　the　other。　　It　has　enriched　sculpture　and　painting　with　the　loveliest　and　most　majestic　forms。　　To　the　Phidian　Jupiter　it　can　oppose　the　Moses　of　Michael　Angelo；　and　to　the　voluptuous　beauty　of　the　Queen　of　Cyprus；　the　serene　and　pensive　loveliness　of　the　Virgin　Mother。　　The　legends　of　its　martyrs　and　its　saints　may　vie　in　ingenuity　and　interest　with　the　mythological　fables　of　Greece；　its　ceremonies　and　processions　were　the　delight　of　the　vulgar；　the　huge　fabric　of　secular　power　with　which　it　was　connected　attracted　the　admiration　of　the　statesman。　　At　the　same　time；　it　never　lost　sight　of　the　most　solemn　and　tremendous　doctrines　of　Christianity；the　incarnate　God；the　judgment；the　retribution；the　eternity　of　happiness　or　torment。　　Thus；　while；　like　the　ancient　religions；　it　received　incalculable　support　from　policy　and　ceremony；　it　never　wholly　became；　like　those　religions；　a　merely　political　and　ceremonial　institution。

The　beginning　of　the　thirteenth　century　was；　as　Machiavelli　has　remarked；　the　era　of　a　great　revival　of　this　extraordinary　system。　　The　policy　of　Innocent；the　growth　of　the　Inquisition　and　the　mendicant　orders；the　wars　against　the　Albigenses；　the　Pagans　of　the　East；　and　the　unfortunate　princes　of　the　house　of　Swabia；　agitated　Italy　during　the　two　following　generations。　　In　this　point　Dante　was　completely　under　the　influence　of　his　age。　He　was　a　man　of　a　turbid　and　melancholy　spirit。　　In　early　youth　he　had　entertained　a　strong　and　unfortunate　passion；　which；　long　after　the　death　of　her　whom　he　loved；　continued　to　haunt　him。　Dissipation；　ambition；　misfortunes　had　not　effaced　it。　　He　was　not　only　a　sincere；　but　a　passionate；　believer。　　The　crimes　and　abuses　of　the　Church　of　Rome　were　indeed　loathsome　to　him；　but　to　all　its　doctrines　and　all　its　rites　he　adhered　with　enthusiastic　fondness　and　veneration；　and；　at　length；　driven　from　his　native　country；　reduced　to　a　situation　the　most　painful　to　a　man　of　his　disposition；　condemned　to　learn　by　experience　that　no　food　is　so　bitter　as　the　bread　of　dependence　（〃Tu　proverai　si　come　sa　di　sale　Lo　pane　altrui；　e　come　e　duro　calle　Lo　scendere　e'l　sa'ir　per　l'altrui　scale。〃　Paradiso；　canto　xvii。）；

and　no　ascent　so　painful　as　the　staircase　of　a　patron；his　wounded　spirit　took　refuge　in　visionary　devotion。　　Beatrice；　the　unforgotten　object　of　his　early　tenderness；　was　invested　by　his　imagination　with　glorious　and　mysterious　attributes；　she　was　enthroned　among　the　highest　of　the　celestial　hierarchy：　　Almighty　Wisdom　had　assigned　to　her　the　care　of　the　sinful　and　unhappy　wanderer　who　had　loved　her　with　such　a　perfect　love。　　（〃L'amico　mio；　e　non　della　ventura。〃　　Inferno；　canto　ii。）　　By　a　confusion；　like　that　which　often　takes　place　in　dreams；　he　has　sometimes　lost　sight　of　her　human　nature；　and　even　of　her　personal　existence；　and　seems　to　consider　her　as　one　of　the　attributes　of　the　Deity。

But　those　religious　hopes　which　had　released　the　mind　of　the　sublime　enthusiast　from　the　terrors　of　death　had　not　rendered　his　speculations　on　human　life　more　cheerful。　　This　is　an　inconsistency　which　may　often　be　observed　in　men　of　a　similar　temperament。　　He　hoped　for　happiness　beyond　the　grave：　　but　he　felt　none　on　earth。　　It　is　from　this　cause；　more　than　from　any　other；　that　his　description　of　Heaven　is　so　far　inferior　to　the　Hell　or　the　Purgatory。　　With　the　passions　and　miseries　of　the　suffering　spirits　he　feels　a　strong　sympathy。　　But　among　the　beatified　he　appears　as　one　who　has　nothing　in　common　with　them；…　…as　one　who　is　incapable　of　comprehending；　not　only　the　degree；　but　the　nature　of　their　enjoyment。　　We　think　that　we　see　him　standing　amidst　those　smiling　and　radiant　spirits　with　that　scowl　of　unutterable　misery　on　his　brow；　and　that　curl　of　bitter　disdain　on　his　lips；　which　all　his　portraits　have　preserved；　and　which　might　furnish　Chantrey　with　hints　for　the　head　of　his　projected　Satan。

There　is　no　poet　whose　intellectual　and　moral　character　are　so　closely　connected。　　The　great　source；　as　it　appears　to　me；　of　the　power　of　the　Divine　Comedy　is　the　strong　belief　with　which　the　story　seems　to　be　told。　　In　this　respect；　the　only　books　which　approach　to　its　excellence　are　Gulliver's　Travels　and　Robinson　Crusoe。　　The　solemnity　of　his　asseverations；　the　consistency　and　minuteness　of　his　details；　the　earnestness　with　which　he　labours　to　make　the　reader　understand　the　exact　shape　and　size　of　everything　that　he　describes；　give　an　air　of　reality　to　his　wildest　fictions。　　I　should　only　weaken　this　statement　by　quoting　instances　of　a　feeling　which　pervades　the　whole　work；　and　to　which　it　owes　much　of　its　fascination。　　This　is　the　real　justification　of　the　many　passages　in　his　poem　which　bad　critics　have　condemned　as　grotesque。　　I　am　concerned　to　see　that　Mr　Cary；　to　whom　Dante　owes　more　than　ever　poet　owed　to　translator；　has　sanctioned　an　accusation　utterly　unworthy　of　his　abilities。　　〃His　solicitude；〃　says　that　gentleman；　〃to　define　all　his　images　in　such　a　manner　as　to　bring　them　within　the　circle　of　our　vision；　and　to　subject　them　to　the　power　of　the　pencil；　renders　him　little　better　than　grotesque；　where　Milton　has　since　taught　us　to　expect　sublimity。〃　　It　is　true　that　Dante　has　never　shrunk　from　embodying　his　conceptions　in　determinate　words；　that　he　has　even　given　measures　and　numbers；　where　Milton　would　have　left　his　images　to　float　undefined　in　a　gorgeous　haze　of　language。　　Both　were　right。　　Milton　did　not　profess　to　have　been　in　heaven　or　hell。　　He　might　therefore　reasonably　confine　himself　to　magnificent　generalities。　　Far　different　was　the　office　of　the　lonely　traveller；　who　had　wandered　through　the　nations　of　the　dead。　　Had　he　described　the　abode　of　the　rejected　spirits　in　language　resembling　the　splendid　lines　of　the　English　Poet；had　he　told　us　of

〃An　universe　of　death；　which　God　by　curse　Created　evil；　for　evil　only　good；　Where　all　life　dies；　death　lives；　and　Nature　breeds　Perverse　all　monstrous；　all　prodigious　things；　Abominable；　unutterable；　and　worse　Than　fables　yet　have　feigned；　or　fear　conceived；　Gorgons；　and　hydras；　and　chimaeras　dire〃

this　would　doubtless　have　been　noble　writing。　　But　where　would　have　been　that　strong　impression　of　reality；　which；　in　accordance　with　his　plan；　it　should　have　been　his　great　object　to　produce？　It　was　absolutely　necessary　for　him　to　delineate　accurately　〃all　monstrous；　all　prodigious　things；〃to　utter　what　might　to　others　appear　〃u