669小说网

第29部分（第1页）

does　not　believe。　The　hypocrite　may　have；　most　likely　has；　（for　he　is　a　man　of　brains；）　a　conscious　rule　of　life；　but　it　is　never　that　of　the　person　to　whom　his　hypocrisy　is　directed。　Tartufe　incarnates　him　once　for　all。　Tartufe　is　by　conviction　an　atheist　and　a　sensualist；　he　despises　all　who　regard　life　from　the　contrasted　point　of　view。　But　among　Englishmen　such　an　attitude　of　mind　has　always　been　extremely　rare；　to　presume　it　in　our　typical　money…maker　who　has　edifying　sentiments　on　his　lips　is　to　fall　into　a　grotesque　error　of　judgment。　No　doubt　that　error　is　mitted　by　the　ordinary　foreign　journalist；　a　man　who　knows　less　than　little　of　English　civilization。　More　enlightened　critics；　if　they　use　the　word　at　all；　do　so　carelessly；　when　speaking　with　more　precision；　they　call　the　English　〃pharisaic〃……and　e　nearer　the　truth。

Our　vice　is　self…righteousness。　We　are　essentially　an　Old　Testament　people；　Christianity　has　never　entered　into　our　soul　we　see　ourselves　as　the　Chosen；　and　by　no　effort　of　spiritual　aspiration　can　attain　unto　humility。　In　this　there　is　nothing　hypocritic。　The　blatant　upstart　who　builds　a　church；　lays　out　his　money　in　that　way　not　merely　to　win　social　consideration；　in　his　curious　little　soul　he　believes　（so　far　as　he　can　believe　anything）　that　what　he　has　done　is　pleasing　to　God　and　beneficial　to　mankind。　He　may　have　lied　and　cheated　for　every　sovereign　he　possesses；　he　may　have　polluted　his　life　with　uncleanness；　he　may　have　perpetrated　many　kinds　of　cruelty　and　baseness……but　all　these　things　has　he　done　against　his　conscience；　and；　as　soon　as　the　opportunity　es；　he　will　make　atonement　for　them　in　the　way　suggested　by　such　faith　as　he　has；　the　way　approved　by　public　opinion。　His　religion；　strictly　defined；　is　AN　INERADICABLE　BELIEF　IN　HIS　OWN　RELIGIOUSNESS。　As　an　Englishman；　he　holds　as　birthright　the　true　Piety；　the　true　Morals。　That　he　has　〃gone　wrong〃　is；　alas；　undeniable；　but　never……even　when　leering　most　satirically……did　he　deny　his　creed。　When；　at　public　dinners　and　elsewhere；　he　tuned　his　voice　to　the　note　of　edification；　this　man　did　not　utter　the　lie　of　the　hypocrite　he　MEANT　EVERY　WORD　HE　SAID。　Uttering　high　sentiments；　he　spoke；　not　as　an　individual；　but　as　an　Englishman；　and　most　thoroughly　did　he　believe　that　all　who　heard　him　owed　in　their　hearts　allegiance　to　the　same　faith。　He　is；　if　you　like；　a　Pharisee……but　do　not　misunderstand；　his　Pharisaism　has　nothing　personal。　That　would　be　quite　another　kind　of　man；　existing；　to　be　sure；　in　England；　but　not　as　a　national　type。　No；　he　is　a　Pharisee　in　the　minor　degree　with　regard　to　those　of　his　countrymen　who　differ　from　him　in　dogma；　he　is　Pharisee　absolute　with　regard　to　the　foreigner。　And　there　he　stands；　representing　an　Empire。

The　word　hypocrisy　is　perhaps　most　of　all　applied　to　our　behaviour　in　matters　of　sexual　morality；　and　here　with　specially　flagrant　misuse。　Multitudes　of　Englishmen　have　thrown　aside　the　national　religious　dogma；　but　very　few　indeed　have　abandoned　the　conviction　that　the　rules　of　morality　publicly　upheld　in　England　are　the　best　known　in　the　world。　Any　one　interested　in　doing　so　can　but　too　easily　demonstrate　that　English　social　life　is　no　purer　than　that　of　most　other　countries。　Scandals　of　peculiar　grossness；　at　no　long　intervals；　give　rich　opportunity　to　the　scoffer。　The　streets　of　our　great　towns　nightly　present　an　exhibition　the　like　of　which　cannot　be　seen　elsewhere　in　the　world。　Despite　all　this；　your　average　Englishman　takes　for　granted　his　countrys　moral　superiority；　and　loses　no　chance　of　proclaiming　it　at　the　expense　of　other　peoples。　To　call　him　hypocrite；　is　simply　not　to　know　the　man。　He　may；　for　his　own　part；　be　gross…minded　and　lax　of　life；　that　has　nothing　to　do　with　the　matter；　HE　BELIEVES　IN　VIRTUE。　Tell　him　that　English　morality　is　mere　lip…service；　and　he　will　blaze　with　as　honest　anger　as　man　ever　felt。　He　is　a　monument　of　self…righteousness；　again　not　personal　but　national。

XXI

I　make　use　of　the　present　tense；　but　am　I　speaking　truly　of　present　England？　Such　powerful　agencies　of　change　have　been　at　work　during　the　last　thirty　years；　and　it　is　difficult；　nay　impossible；　to　ascertain　in　what　degree　they　have　affected　the　national　character；　thus　far。　One　notes　the　obvious：　decline　of　conventional　religion；　free　discussion　of　the　old　moral　standards；　therewith；　a　growth　of　materialism　which　favours　every　anarchic　tendency。　Is　it　to　be　feared　that　self…righteousness　may　be　degenerating　into　the　darker　vice　of　true　hypocrisy？　For　the　English　to　lose　belief　in　themselves……not　merely　in　their　potential　goodness；　but　in　their　pre…eminence　as　examples　and　agents　of　good……would　mean　as　hopeless　a　national　corruption　as　any　recorded　in　history。　To　doubt　their　genuine　worship；　in　the　past；　of　a　very　high　（though　not；　of　course；　the　highest）　ethical　ideal；　is　impossible　for　any　one　born　and　bred　in　England；　no　less　impossible　to　deny　that　those　who　are　rightly　deemed　〃best〃　among　us；　the　men　and　women　of　gentle　or　humble　birth　who　are　not　infected　by　the　evils　of　the　new　spirit；　still　lead；　in　a　very　true　sense；　〃honest；　sober；　and　godly〃　lives。　Such　folk；　one　knows；　were　never　in　a　majority；　but　of　old　they　had　a　power　which　made　them　veritable　representatives　of　the　English　ETHOS。　If　they　thought　highly　of　themselves；　why；　the　fact　justified　them；　if　they　spoke；　at　times；　as　Pharisees；　it　was　a　fault　of　temper　which　carried　with　it　no　grave　condemnation。　Hypocrisy　was；　of　all　forms　of　baseness；　that　which　they　most　abhorred。　So　is　it　still　with　their　descendants。　Whether　these　continue　to　speak　among　us　with　authority；　no　man　can　certainly　say。　If　their　power　is　lost；　and　those　who　talk　of　English　hypocrisy　no　longer　use　the　word　amiss；　we　shall　soon　know　it。

XXII

It　is　time　that　we　gave　a　second　thought　to　Puritanism。　In　the　heyday　of　release　from　forms　which　had　lost　their　meaning；　it　was　natural　to　look　back　on　that　period　of　our　history　with　eyes　that　saw　in　it　nothing　but　fanatical　excess；　we　approved　the　picturesque　phrase　which　showed　the　English　mind　going　into　prison　and　having　the　key　turned　upon　it。　Now；　when　the　peril　of　emancipation　bees　as　manifest　as　was　the　hardship　of　restraint；　we　shall　do　well　to　remember　all　the　good　that　lay　in　that　stern　Puritan　discipline；　how　it　renewed　the　spiritual　vitality　of　our　race；　and　made　for　the　civic　freedom　which　is　our　highest　national　privilege。　An　age　of　intellectual　glory　is　wont　to　be　paid　for　in　the　general　decline　of　that　which　follows。　Imagine　England　under　Stuart　rule；　with　no　faith　but　the　Protestantism　of　the　Tudor。　Imagine　（not　to　think　of　worse）　English　literature　represented　by　Cowley；　and　the　name　of　Milton　unknown。　The　Puritan　came　as　the　physician；　he　brought　his　tonic　at　the　moment　when　lassitude　and　supineness　would　naturally　have　followed　upon　a　supreme　display　of　racial　vitality。　Regret；　if　you　will；　that　England　turned　for　her　religion　to　the　books　of　Israel；　this　suddenly　revealed　sympathy　of　our　race　with　a　fierce　Oriental　theocracy　is　perhaps　not　difficult　to　explain；　but　one　cannot　help　wishing　that　its　piety　had　taken　another　form；　later；　there　had　to　e　the　〃exodus　from　Houndsditch；〃　with　how　much　conflict　and　misery！　Such；　however；　was　the　price　of　the　souls　health；　we　must　accept　the　fact；　and　be　content　to　see　its　better　meaning。　Health；　of　course；　in　speaking　of　mankind；　is　always　a　relative　term。　From　the　point　of　view　of　a　conceivable　civilization；　Puritan　England　was　lamentably　ailing；　but　we　must　always　ask；　not　how　much　better　off　a　people　might　be；　but　how　much　worse。　Of　all　theological　systems；　the　most　convincing　is　Manicheism；　which；　of　course；　under　another　name；　was　held　by　the　Puritans　themselves。　What　we　call　Restoration　morality……the　morality；　that　is　to　say；　of　a　king　and　court……might　well　have　bee　that　of　the　nation　at　large　under　a　Stuart　dynasty　safe　from　religious　revolution。

The　political　services　of　Puritanism　were　inestimable；　they　will　be　more　feelingly　remembered　when　England　has　once　more　to　face　the　danger　of　political　tyranny。　I　am　thinking　now　of　its　effects　upon　social　life。　To　it　we　owe　the　characteristic　which；　in　some　other　countries；　is　expressed　by　the　term　English　prudery；　the　accusation　implied　being　part　of　the　general　charge　of　hypocrisy。　It　is　said　by　observers　among　ourselves　that　the　prudish　habit　of　mind　is　dying　out；　and　this　is　looked　upon　as　a　satisfactory　thing；　as　a　sign　of　healthy　emancipation。　If　by　prude　be　meant　a　secretly　vicious　person　who　affects　an　excessive　decorum；　by　all　means　let　the　prude　disappear；　even　at　the　cost　of　some　shamelessness。　If；　on　the　other　hand；　a　prude　is　one　who；　living　a　decent　life；　cultivates；　either　by　bent　or　principle；　a　somewhat　extreme　delicacy　of　thought　and　speech　with　regard　to　elementary　facts　of　human　nature；　then　I　say　that　this　is　most　emphatically　a　fault　in　the　right　direction；　and　I　have　no　desire　to　see　its　prevalence　diminish。　On　the　whole；　it　is　the　latter　meaning　which　certain　foreigners　have　in　mind　when　they　speak　of　English　prudery……at　all　events；　as　exhibited　by　women；　it　being；　not　so　much　an　imputation　on　chastity；　as　a　charge　of　conceited　foolishness。　An　English　woman　who　typifies　the　begueule　may　be　spotless　as　snow；　but　she　is　presumed　to　have　snows　other　quality；　and　at　the　same　time　to　be　a　thoroughly　absurd　and　intolerable　creature。　Well；　here　is　the　point　of　difference。　Fastidiousness　of　speech　is　not　a　direct　oute　of　Puritanism；　as　our　literature　sufficiently　proves；　it　is　a　refinement　of　civilization　following　upon　absorption　into　the　national　life　of　all　the　best　things　which　Puritanism　had　to　teach。　We　who　know　English　women　by　the　experience　of　a　lifetime　are　well　aware　that　their　careful　choice　of　language　betokens；　far　more　often　than　not；　a　corresponding　delicacy　of　mind。　Landor　saw　it　as　a　ridiculous　trait　that　English　people　were　so　mealy…mouthed　in　speaking　of　their　bodies；　De　Quincey；　taking　him　to　task　for　this　remark；　declared　it　a　proof　of　blunted　sensibility　due　to　long　residence　in　Italy；　and；　whether　the　particular　explanation　held　good　or　not；　as　regards　the　question　at　issue；　De　Quincey　was　perfectly　right。　It　is　very　good　to　be　mealy…mouthed　with　respect　to　everything　that　reminds　us　of　the　animal　in　man。　Verbal　delicacy　in　itself　will　not　prove　an　advanced　civilization；　but　civilization；　as　it　advances；　assuredly　tends　that　way。

XXIII

All　through　the　morning；　the　air　was　held　in　an　ominous　stillness。　Sitting　over　my　books；　I　seemed　to　feel　the　silence；　when　I　turned　my　look　to　the　window；　I　saw　nothing　but　the　broad；　grey　sky；　a　featureless　expanse；　cold；　melancholy。　Later；　just　as　I　was　bestirring　myself　to　go　out　for　an　afternoon　walk；　something　white　fell　softly　across　my　vision。　A　few　minutes　more；　and　all　was　hidden　with　a　descending　veil　of　silent　snow。

It　is　a　disappointment。　Yesterday　I　half　believed　that　the　winter　drew　to　its　end；　the　breath　of　the　hills　was　soft；　spaces　of　limpid　azure　shone　amid　slow…drifting　clouds；　and　seemed　the　promise　of　spring。　Idle　by　the　fireside；　in　the　gathering　dusk；　I　began　to　long　for　the　days　of　light　and　warmth。　My　fancy　wandered；　leading　me　far　and　wide　in　a　dream　of　summer　England。　。　。　。

This　is　the　valley　of　the　Blythe。　The　stream　ripples　and　glances　o