thoughts on man-第25章

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！


to　whom　his　personal　presence　shall　be　unknown。　　Mighty　are　the　struggles；　everlasting　the　efforts。　　The　greater　part　of　these　we　well　know　are　in　vain。　　It　is　Aesop's　mountain　in　labour：　　〃Dire　was　the　tossing；　deep　the　groans：〃　and　the　result　is　a　mouse。　　But　is　it　always　so？

This　brings　us　back　to　the　question：　　〃Is　there　indeed　nothing　new　under　the　sun？〃

Most　certainly　there　is　something　that　is　new。　　If；　as　the　beast　dies；　so　died　man；　then　indeed　we　should　be　without　hope。　　But　it　is　his　distinguishing　faculty；　that　he　can　leave　something　behind；　to　testify　that　he　has　lived。　　And　this　is　not　only　true　of　the　pyramids　of　Egypt；　and　certain　other　works　of　human　industry；　that　time　seems　to　have　no　force　to　destroy。　　It　is　often　true　of　a　single　sentence；　a　single　word；　which　the　multitudinous　sea　is　incapable　of　washing　away：

　　　　　　Quod　non　imber　edax；　non　Aquilo　impotens　　　　　　　Possit　diruere；　aut　innumerabilis　　　　　　　Annorum　series；　et　fuga　temporum。


It　is　the　characteristic　of　the　mind　and　the　heart　of　man；　that　they　are　progressive。　　One　word；　happily　interposed；　reaching　to　the　inmost　soul；　may　〃take　away　the　heart　of　stone；　and　introduce　a　heart　of　flesh。〃　　And；　if　an　individual　may　be　thus　changed；　then　his　children；　and　his　connections；　to　the　latest　page　of　unborn　history。

This　is　the　true　glory　of　man；　that　〃one　generation　doth　not　pass　away；　and　another　come；　velut　unda　supervenit　undam；　but　that　we　leave　our　improvements　behind　us。　　What　infinite　ages　of　refinement　on　refinement；　and　ingenuity　on　ingenuity；　seem　each　to　have　contributed　its　quota；　to　make　up　the　accommodations　of　every　day　of　civilised　man；　his　table；　his　chair；　the　bed　he　lies　on；　the　food　he　eats；　the　garments　that　cover　him！　　It　has　often　been　said；　that　the　four　quarters　of　the　world　are　put　under　contribution；　to　provide　the　most　moderate　table。　　To　this　what　mills；　what　looms；　what　machinery　of　a　thousand　denominations；　what　ship…building；　what　navigation；　what　fleets　are　required！　Man　seems　to　have　been　sent　into　the　world　a　naked；　forked；　helpless　animal；　on　purpose　to　call　forth　his　ingenuity　to　supply　the　accommodations　that　may　conduce　to　his　well…being。　　The　saying；　that　〃there　is　nothing　new　under　the　sun；〃　could　never　have　been　struck　out；　but　in　one　of　the　two　extreme　states　of　man；　by　the　naked　savage；　or　by　the　highly　civilised　beings　among　whom　the　perfection　of　refinement　has　produced　an　artificial　feeling　of　uniformity。

The　thing　most　obviously　calculated　to　impress　us　with　a　sense　of　the　power；　and　the　comparative　sublimity　of　man；　is；　if　we　could　make　a　voyage　of　some　duration　in　a　balloon；　over　a　considerable　tract　of　the　cultivated　and　the　desert　parts　of　the　earth。　　A　brute　can　scarcely　move　a　stone　out　of　his　way；　if　it　has　fallen　upon　the　couch　where　he　would　repose。　　But　man　cultivates　fields；　and　plants　gardens；　he　constructs　parks　and　canals；　he　turns　the　course　of　rivers；　and　stretches　vast　artificial　moles　into　the　sea；　he　levels　mountains；　and　builds　a　bridge；　joining　in　giddy　height　one　segment　of　the　Alps　to　another；　lastly；　he　founds　castles；　and　churches；　and　towers；　and　distributes　mighty　cities　at　his　pleasure　over　the　face　of　the　globe。　　〃The　first　earth　has　passed　away；　and　another　earth　has　come；　and　all　things　are　made　new。〃

It　is　true；　that　the　basest　treacheries；　the　most　atrocious　cruelties；　butcheries；　massacres；　violations　of　all　the　restraints　of　decency；　and　all　the　ties　of　nature；　fields　covered　with　dead　bodies；　and　flooded　with　human　gore；　are　all　of　them　vulgar　repetitions　of　what　had　been　acted　countless　times　already。　　If　Nero　or　Caligula　thought　to　perpetrate　that　which　should　stand　unparalleled；　they　fell　into　the　grossest　error。　　The　conqueror；　who　should　lay　waste　vast　portions　of　the　globe；　and　destroy　mighty　cities；　so　that　〃thorns　should　come　up　in　the　palaces；　and　nettles　in　the　fortresses　thereof；　and　they　should　be　a　habitation　of　serpents；　and　a　court　for　owls；　and　the　wild　beasts　of　the　desert　should　meet　there；〃　would　only　do　what　Tamerlane；　and　Aurengzebe；　and　Zingis；　and　a　hundred　other　conquerors；　in　every　age　and　quarter　of　the　world；　had　done　before。　　The　splendour　of　triumphs；　and　the　magnificence　of　courts；　are　so　essentially　vulgar；　that　history　almost　disdains　to　record　them。

And　yet　there　is　something　that　is　new；　and　that　by　the　reader　of　discernment　is　immediately　felt　to　be　so。

We　read　of　Moses；　that　he　was　a　child　of　ordinary　birth；　and；　when　he　was　born；　was　presently　marked；　as　well　as　all　the　male　children　of　his　race；　for　destruction。　　He　was　unexpectedly　preserved；　and　his　first　act；　when　he　grew　up；　was　to　slay　an　Egyptian；　one　of　the　race　to　whom　all　his　countrymen　were　slaves；　and　to　fly　into　exile。　　This　man；　thus　friendless　and　alone；　in　due　time　returned；　and　by　the　mere　energy　of　his　character　prevailed　upon　his　whole　race　to　make　common　cause　with　him；　and　to　migrate　to　a　region；　in　which　they　should　become　sovereign　and　independent。　　He　had　no　soldiers；　but　what　were　made　so　by　the　ascendancy　of　his　spirit　no　counsellors　but　such　as　he　taught　to　be　wise；　no　friends　but　those　who　were　moved　by　the　sentiment　they　caught　from　him。　　The　Jews　he　commanded　were　sordid　and　low　of　disposition；　perpetually　murmuring　against　his　rule；　and　at　every　unfavourable　accident　calling　to　remembrance　〃the　land　of　Egypt；　where　they　had　sat　by　the　fleshpots；　and　were　full。〃　　Yet　over　this　race　he　retained　a　constant　mastery；　and　finally　made　of　them　a　nation　whose　customs　and　habits　and　ways　of　thinking　no　time　has　availed　to　destroy。　　This　was　a　man　then；　that　possessed　the　true　secret　to　make　other　men　his　creatures；　and　lead　them　with　an　irresistible　power　wherever　he　pleased。　　This　history；　taken　entire；　has　probably　no　parallel　in　the　annals　of　the　world。

The　invasion　of　Greece　by　the　Persians；　and　its　result；　seem　to　constitute　an　event　that　stands　alone　among　men。　　Xerxes　led　against　this　little　territory　an　army　of　5；280；000　men。　　They　drank　up　rivers；　and　cut　their　way　through　giant…mountains。　　They　were　first　stopped　at　Thermopylae　by　Leonidas　and　his　three　hundred　Spartans。　　They　fought　for　a　country　too　narrow　to　contain　the　army　by　which　the　question　was　to　be　tried。　　The　contest　was　here　to　be　decided　between　despotism　and　liberty；　whether　there　is　a　principle　in　man；　by　which　a　handful　of　individuals；　pervaded　with　lofty　sentiments；　and　a　conviction　of　what　is　of　most　worth　in　our　nature；　can　defy　the　brute　force；　and　put　to　flight　the　attack；　of　bones；　joints　and　sinews；　though　congregated　in　multitudes；　numberless　as　the　waves　of　the　sea；　or　the　sands　on　its　shore。　　The　flood　finally　rolled　back：　　and　in　process　of　time　Alexander；　with　these　Greeks　whom　the　ignorance　of　the　East　affected　to　despise；　founded　another　universal　monarchy　on　the　ruins　of　Persia。　　This　is　certainly　no　vulgar　history。

Christianity　is　another　of　those　memorable　chapters　in　the　annals　of　mankind；　to　which　there　is　probably　no　second。　　The　son　of　a　carpenter　in　a　little；　rocky　country；　among　a　nation　despised　and　enslaved；　undertook　to　reform　the　manners　of　the　people　of　whom　he　was　a　citizen。　　The　reformation　he　preached　was　unpalatable　to　the　leaders　of　the　state；　he　was　persecuted；　and　finally　suffered　the　death　reserved　for　the　lowest　malefactors；　being　nailed　to　a　cross。　　He　was　cut　off　in　the　very　beginning　of　his　career；　before　he　had　time　to　form　a　sect。　　His　immediate　representatives　and　successors　were　tax…gatherers　and　fishermen。　　What　could　be　more　incredible；　till　proved　by　the　event；　than　that　a　religion　thus　begun；　should　have　embraced　in　a　manner　the　whole　civilised　world；　and　that　of　its　kingdom　there　should　be　no　visible　end？　　This　is　a　novelty　in　the　history　of　the　world；　equally　if　we　consider　it　as　brought　about　by　the　immediate　interposition　of　the　author　of　all　things；　or　regard　it；　as　some　pretend　to　do；　as　happening　in　the　course　of　mere　human　events。

Rome；　〃the　eternal　city；〃　is　likewise　a　subject　that　stands　out　from　the　vulgar　history　of　the　human　race。　　Three　times；　in　three　successive　forms；　has　she　been　the　mistress　of　the　world。　　First；　by　the　purity；　the　simplicity；　the　single…heartedness；　the　fervour　and　perseverance　of　her　original　character　she　qualified　herself　to　subdue　all　the　nations　of　mankind。　　Next；　having　conquered　the　earth　by　her　virtue　and　by　the　spirit　of　liberty；　she　was　able　to　maintain　her　ascendancy　for　centuries　under　the　emperors；　notwithstanding　all　her　astonishing　profligacy　and　anarchy。　　And；　lastly；　after　her　secular　ascendancy　had　been　destroyed　by　the　inroads　of　the　northern　barbarians；　she　rose　like　the　phoenix　from　her　ashes；　and；　though　powerless　in　material　force；　held　mankind　in　subjection　by　the　chains　of　the　mind；　and　the　consummateness　of　her　policy。　　Never　was　any　thing　so　admirably　contrived　as　the　Catholic　religion；　to　subdue　the　souls　of　men　by　the　power　of　its　worship　over　the　senses；　and；　by　its　contrivances　in　auricular　confession；　purgatory；　masses　for　the　dead；　and　its　claim　magisterially　to　determine　controversies；　to　hold　the　subjects　it　had　gained　in　everlasting　submission。

The　great　principle　of　originality　is　in　the　soul　of　man。　　And　here　again　we　may　recur　to　Greece；　the　parent　of　all　that　is　excellent　in　art。　　Painting；　statuary；　architecture；　poetry；　in　their　most　exquisite　and　ravishing　forms；　originated　in　this　little　province。　　Is　not　the　Iliad　a　thing　new；　and　that　will　for　ever　remain　new？　　Whether　it　was　written　by　one　man；　as　I　believe；　or；　as　the　levellers　of　human　glory　would　have　us　think；　by　many；　there　it　stands：　　all　the　ages　of　the　world　present　us　nothing　that　can　come　in　competition　with　it。

Shakespear　is　another　example　of　unrivalled　originality。　　His　fame　is　like　the　giant…rivers　of　the　world：　　the　further　it　flows；　the　wider　it　spreads　out　its　stream；　and　the　more　marvellous　is　the　power　with　which　it　sweeps　along。

But；　in　reality；　all　poetry　and　all　art；　that　have　a　genuine　claim　to　originality；　are　new；　the　smallest；　as　well　as　the　greatest。

It　is　the　mistake　of　dull　minds　only；　to　suppose　that　every　thing　has　been　said；　that　human　wit　is　exhausted；　and　that　we；　who　have　unfortunately　fallen　upon　the　dregs　of　time；　have　no　alternative　left；　but　either　to　be　silent；　or　to　say　over　and　over　again；　what　has　been　well　said　already。

There　remain　yet　immense　tracts　of　invention；　the　mines　of　which　have　been　untouched。　　We　perceive　nothing　of　the　strata　of　earth；　and　the　hidden　fountains　of　water；　that　we　travel　over；　unconscious　of　the　treasures　that　are　immediately　within　our　reach；　till　some　person；　endowed　with　the　gift　of　a　superior　sagacity；　comes　into　the　country；　who　appears　to　see　through　the　opake　and　solid　mass；　as　we　see　through　the　translucent　air；　and　tells　us　of　things　yet　undiscovered；　and　enriches　us　with　treasures；　of　which　we　had　been　hitherto　entirely　ignorant。　　The　nature　of　the　human　mind；　and　the　capabilities　of　our　species　are　in　like　manner　a　magazine　of　undiscovered　things；　till　some　mighty　genius　comes　to　break　the　surface；　and　shew　us　the　wonderful　treasures　that　lay　beneath　uncalled　for　and　idle。

Human　character　is　like　the　contents　of　an　ample　cabinet；　brought　together　by　the　untired　zeal　of　some　curious　collector；　wh