第6章

类别:其他 作者:Henry Adams字数:1916更新时间:18/12/17 14:19:27
Butwouldthisalonebeasufficientsafeguard?Toeducatetheintelligenceistoenlargethehorizonofitsdesiresandwants。Anditiswellthatthisshouldbeso。Buttheenterprisemustgodeeperandpreparethewayforsatisfyingthosedesiresandwantsinsofarastheyarelegitimate。Whatisreallyominousofdangertotheexistingorderofthingsisnotdemocracy(which,properlyunderstood,isaconservativeforce),buttheSocialism,whichmayfindafulcruminit。Ifwecannotequalizeconditionsandfortunesanymorethanwecanequalizethebrainsofmen-andaverysagaciouspersonhassaidthat\"wheretwomenrideofahorseonemustridebehind\"-wecanyet,perhaps,dosomethingtocorrectthosemethodsandinfluencesthatleadtoenormousinequalities,andtopreventtheirgrowingmoreenormous。Itisallverywelltopooh-poohMr。Georgeandtoprovehimmistakeninhispoliticaleconomy。 Idonotbelievethatlandshouldbedividedbecausethequantityofitislimitedbynature。Ofwhatmaythisnotbesaid?Afortiori,wemightonthesameprincipleinsistonadivisionofhumanwit,forIhaveobservedthatthequantityofthishasbeenevenmoreinconvenientlylimited。Mr。Georgehimselfhasaninequitablylargeshareofit。Butheisrightinhisimpellingmotive;right,also,Iamconvinced,ininsistingthathumanitymakesapart,byfarthemostimportantpart,ofpoliticaleconomy;andinthinkingmantobeofmoreconcernandmoreconvincingthanthelongestcolumnsoffiguresintheworld。 Forunlessyouincludehumannatureinyouraddition,yourtotalissuretobewrongandyourdeductionsfromitfallacious。Communismmeansbarbarism,butSocialismmeans,orwishestomean,cooperationandcommunityofinterests,sympathy,thegivingtothehandsnotsolargeashareastothebrains,butalargersharethanhithertointhewealththeymustcombinetoproduce-means,inshort,thepracticalapplicationofChristianitytolife,andhasinitthesecretofanorderlyandbenignreconstruction。StateSocialismwouldcutofftheveryrootsinpersonalcharacter-self-help,forethought,andfrugality-whichnourishandsustainthetrunkandbranchesofeveryvigorousCommonwealth。 ConcludingRemarksIdonotbelieveinviolentchanges,nordoIexpectthem。Thingsinpossessionhaveaveryfirmgrip。Oneofthestrongestcementsofsocietyistheconvictionofmankindthatthestateofthingsintowhichtheyarebornisapartoftheorderoftheuniverse,asnatural,letussay,asthatthesunshouldgoroundtheearth。Itisaconvictionthattheywillnotsurrenderexceptoncompulsion,andawisesocietyshouldlooktoitthatthiscompulsionbenotputuponthem。 Fortheindividualmanthereisnoradicalcure,outsideofhumannatureitself,fortheevilstowhichhumannatureisheir。Therulewillalwaysholdgoodthatyoumust\"Beyourownpalaceortheworld\'syourgaol。\" Butforartificialevils,forevilsthatspringfromwantofthought,thoughtmustfindaremedysomewhere。Therehasbeennoperiodoftimeinwhichwealthhasbeenmoresensibleofitsdutiesthannow。Itbuildshospitals,itestablishesmissionsamongthepoor,itendowsschools。Itisoneoftheadvantagesofaccumulatedwealth,andoftheleisureitrenderspossible,thatpeoplehavetimetothinkofthewantsandsorrowsoftheirfellows。Butalltheseremediesarepartialandpalliativemerely。Itisasifweshouldapplyplasterstoasinglepustuleofthesmall-poxwithaviewofdrivingoutthedisease。 Thetruewayistodiscoverandtoextirpatethegerms。Associetyisnowconstitutedtheseareintheairitbreathes,inthewateritdrinks,inthingsthatseem,andwhichithasalwaysbelieved,tobethemostinnocentandhealthful。Theevilelementsitneglectscorrupttheseintheirspringsandpollutethemintheircourses。 Letusbeofgoodcheer,however,rememberingthatthemisfortuneshardesttobeararethosewhichnevercome。Theworldhasoutlivedmuch,andwilloutliveagreatdealmore,andmenhavecontrivedtobehappyinit。Ithasshownthestrengthofitsconstitutioninnothingmorethaninsurvivingthequackmedicinesithastried。Inthescalesofthedestiniesbrawnwillneverweighsomuchasbrain。Ourhealingisnotinthestormorinthewhirlwind,itisnotinmonarchies,oraristocracies,ordemocracies,butwillberevealedbythestillsmallvoicethatspeakstotheconscienceandtheheart,promptingustoawiderandwiserhumanity。