a treatise on parents and children(父母与子女专题研究)-第26章
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monarchs。 Democracy in America has led to the withdrawal of ordinary
refined persons from politics； and the same result is coming in England as
fast as we make Democracy as democratic as it is in America。 This is
true also of popular religion： it is so horribly irreligious that nobody with
the smallest pretence to culture； or the least inkling of what the great
prophets vainly tried to make the world understand； will have anything to
do with it except for purely secular reasons。
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Imagination
Before we can clearly understand how baleful is this condition of
intimidation in which we live； it is necessary to clear up the confusion
made by our use of the word imagination to denote two very different
powers of mind。 One is the power to imagine things as they are not：
this I call the romantic imagination。 The other is the power to imagine
things as they are without actually sensing them； and this I will call the
realistic imagination。 Take for example marriage and war。 One man
has a vision of perpetual bliss with a domestic angel at home； and of
flashing sabres； thundering guns； victorious cavalry charges； and routed
enemies in the field。 That is romantic imagination； and the mischief it
does is incalculable。 It begins in silly and selfish expectations of the
impossible； and ends in spiteful disappointment； sour grievance； cynicism；
and misanthropic resistance to any attempt to better a hopeless world。
The wise man knows that imagination is not only a means of pleasing
himself and beguiling tedious hours with romances and fairy tales and
fools' paradises （a quite defensible and delightful amusement when you
know exactly what you are doing and where fancy ends and facts begin）；
but also a means of foreseeing and being prepared for realities as yet
unexperienced； and of testing the possibility and desirability of serious
Utopias。 He does not expect his wife to be an angel； nor does he overlook
the facts that war depends on the rousing of all the murderous
blackguardism still latent in mankind； that every victory means a defeat；
that fatigue； hunger； terror； and disease are the raw material which
romancers work up into military glory； and that soldiers for the most part
go to war as children go to school； because they are afraid not to。 They
are afraid even to say they are afraid； as such candor is punishable by
death in the military code。
A very little realistic imagination gives an ambitious person enormous
power over the multitudinous victims of the romantic imagination。 For
the romancer not only pleases himself with fictitious glories： he also
terrifies himself with imaginary dangers。 He does not even picture what
these dangers are： he conceives the unknown as always dangerous。
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When you say to a realist 〃You must do this〃 or 〃You must not do that；〃 he
instantly asks what will happen to him if he does （or does not； as the case
may be）。 Failing an unromantic convincing answer； he does just as he
pleases unless he can find for himself a real reason for refraining。 In
short； though you can intimidate him； you cannot bluff him。 But you can
always bluff the romantic person： indeed his grasp of real considerations is
so feeble that you find it necessary to bluff him even when you have solid
considerations to offer him instead。 The campaigns of Napoleon； with
their atmosphere of glory； illustrate this。 In the Russian campaign
Napoleon's marshals achieved miracles of bluff； especially Ney； who； with
a handful of men； monstrously outnumbered； repeatedly kept the Russian
troops paralyzed with terror by pure bounce。 Napoleon himself； much
more a realist than Ney （that was why he dominated him）； would probably
have surrendered； for sometimes the bravest of the brave will achieve
successes never attempted by the cleverest of the clever。 Wellington was a
completer realist than Napoleon。 It was impossible to persuade
Wellington that he was beaten until he actually was beaten。 He was
unbluffable； and if Napoleon had understood the nature of Wellington's
strength instead of returning Wellington's snobbish contempt for him by an
academic contempt for Wellington； he would not have left the attack at
Waterloo to Ney and D'Erlon； who； on that field； did not know when they
were beaten； whereas Wellington knew precisely when he was not beaten。
The unbluffable would have triumphed anyhow； probably； because
Napoleon was an academic soldier； doing the academic thing （the attack in
columns and so forth） with superlative ability and energy； whilst
Wellington was an original soldier who； instead of outdoing the terrible
academic columns with still more terrible and academic columns；
outwitted them with the thin red line； not of heroes； but； as this
uncompromising realist never hesitated to testify； of the scum of the earth。
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Government by Bullies
These picturesque martial incidents are being reproduced every day in
our ordinary life。 We are bluffed by hardy simpletons and headstrong
bounders as the Russians were bluffed by Ney； and our Wellingtons are
threadbound by slave…democracy as Gulliver was threadbound by the
Lilliputians。 We are a mass of people living in a submissive routine to
which we have been drilled from our childhood。 When you ask us to
take the simplest step outside that routine； we say shyly； 〃Oh； I really
couldnt；〃 or 〃Oh； I shouldnt like to；〃 without being able to point out the
smallest harm that could possibly ensue： victims； not of a rational fear of
real dangers； but of pure abstract fear； the quintessence of cowardice； the
very negation of 〃the fear of God。〃 Dotted about among us are a few
spirits relatively free from this inculcated paralysis； sometimes because
they are half…witted； sometimes because they are unscrupulously selfish；
sometimes because they are realists as to money and unimaginative as to
other things； sometimes even because they are exceptionally able； but
always because they are not afraid of shadows nor oppressed with
nightmares。 And we see these few rising as if by magic into power and
affluence； and forming； with the millionaires who have accidentally gained
huge riches by the occasional windfalls of our commerce； the governing
class。 Now nothing is more disastrous than a governing class that does
not know how to govern。 And how can this rabble of the casual products
of luck； cunning； and folly； be expected to know how to govern？ The
merely lucky ones and the hereditary ones do not owe their position to
their qualifications at all。 As to the rest； the realism which seems their
essential qualification often consists not only in a lack of romantic
imagination； which lack is a merit； but of the realistic； constructive；
Utopian imagination； which lack is a ghastly defect。 Freedom from
imaginative illusion is therefore no guarantee whatever of nobility of
character： that is why inculcated submissiveness makes us slaves to
people much worse than ourselves； and why it is so important that
submissiveness should no longer be inculcated。
And yet as long as you have the compulsory school as we know it； we
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shall have submissiveness inculcated。 What is more； until the active
hours of child life are organized separately from the active hours of adult
life； so that adults can enjoy the society of children in reason without
being tormented； disturbed； harried； burdened； and hindered in their work
by them as they would be now if there were no compulsory schools and no
children hypnotized into the belief that they must tamely go to them and
be imprisoned and beaten and over…tasked in them； we shall have schools
under one pretext or another； and we shall have all the evil consequences
and all the social hopelessness that result from turning a nation of potential
freemen and freewomen into a nation of two…legged spoilt spaniels with
everything crushed out of their nature except dread of the whip。 Liberty
is the breath of life to nations； and liberty is the one thing that parents；
schoolmasters； and rulers spend their lives in extirpating for the sake of an
immediately quiet and finally disastrous life。
End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of A Treatise on Parents and
Children
This text was taken from a printed volume containing the plays
〃Misalliance〃； 〃The Dark Lady of the Sonnets〃； 〃Fanny's First Play〃； and
the essay 〃A Treatise on Parents and Children〃。
Notes on the editing： Italicized text is delimited with underlines （〃_〃）。
Punctuation and spelling retained as in the printed text。 Shaw intentionally
spelled many words according to a non…standard system。 For example；
〃don't〃 is
