flatland-第12部分

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The　weak　point　in　the　system　of　the　Circles　　if　a　humble　Square　may　venture　to　speak　of　anything　Circular　as　containing　any　element　of　weakness　　appears　to　me　to　be　found　in　their　relations　with　Women。

As　it　is　of　the　utmost　importance　for　Society　that　Irregular　births　should　be　discouraged；　it　follows　that　no　Woman　who　has　any　Irregularities　in　her　ancestry　is　a　fit　partner　for　one　who　desires　that　his　posterity　should　rise　by　regular　degrees　in　the　social　scale。

Now　the　Irregularity　of　a　Male　is　a　matter　of　measurement；　but　as　all　Women　are　straight；　and　therefore　visibly　Regular　so　to　speak；　one　has　to　devise　some　other　means　of　ascertaining　what　I　may　call　their　invisible　Irregularity；　that　is　to　say　their　potential　Irregularities　as　regards　possible　offspring。　This　is　effected　by　carefully…kept　pedigrees；　which　are　preserved　and　supervised　by　the　State；　and　without　a　certified　pedigree　no　Woman　is　allowed　to　marry。

Now　it　might　have　been　supposed　that　a　Circle　　proud　of　his　ancestry　and　regardful　for　a　posterity　which　might　possibly　issue　hereafter　in　a　Chief　Circle　　would　be　more　careful　than　any　other　to　choose　a　wife　who　had　no　blot　on　her　escutcheon。　　But　it　is　not　so。　The　care　in　choosing　a　Regular　wife　appears　to　diminish　as　one　rises　in　the　social　scale。　　Nothing　would　induce　an　aspiring　Isosceles；　who　had　hopes　of　generating　an　Equilateral　Son；　to　take　a　wife　who　reckoned　a　single　Irregularity　among　her　Ancestors；　a　Square　or　Pentagon；　who　is　confident　that　his　family　is　steadily　on　the　rise；　does　not　inquire　above　the　five…hundredth　generation；　a　Hexagon　or　Dodecagon　is　even　more　careless　of　the　wife's　pedigree；　but　a　Circle　has　been　known　deliberately　to　take　a　wife　who　has　had　an　Irregular　Great…Grandfather；　and　all　because　of　some　slight　superiority　of　lustre；　or　because　of　the　charms　of　a　low　voice　　which；　with　us；　even　more　than　you；　is　thought　〃an　excellent　thing　in　Woman〃。

Such　ill…judged　marriages　are；　as　might　be　expected；　barren；　if　they　do　not　result　in　positive　Irregularity　or　in　diminution　of　sides；　but　none　of　these　evils　have　hitherto　proved　sufficiently　deterrent。　　The　loss　of　a　few　sides　in　a　highly…developed　Polygon　is　not　easily　noticed；　and　is　sometimes　compensated　by　a　successful　operation　in　the　Neo…Therapeutic　Gymnasium；　as　I　have　described　above；　and　the　Circles　are　too　much　disposed　to　acquiesce　in　infecundity　as　a　Law　of　the　superior　development。　Yet；　if　this　evil　be　not　arrested；　the　gradual　diminution　of　the　Circular　class　may　soon　become　more　rapid；　and　the　time　may　be　not　far　distant　when；　the　race　being　no　longer　able　to　produce　a　Chief　Circle；　the　Constitution　of　Flatland　must　fall。

One　other　word　of　warning　suggests　itself　to　me；　though　I　cannot　so　easily　mention　a　remedy；　and　this　also　refers　to　our　relations　with　Women。　　About　three　hundred　years　ago；　it　was　decreed　by　the　Chief　Circle　that；　since　women　are　deficient　in　Reason　but　abundant　in　Emotion；　they　ought　no　longer　to　be　treated　as　rational；　nor　receive　any　mental　education。　　The　consequence　was　that　they　were　no　longer　taught　to　read；　nor　even　to　master　Arithmetic　enough　to　enable　them　to　count　the　angles　of　their　husband　or　children；　and　hence　they　sensibly　declined　during　each　generation　in　intellectual　power。　　And　this　system　of　female　non…education　or　quietism　still　prevails。

My　fear　is　that；　with　the　best　intentions；　this　policy　has　been　carried　so　far　as　to　react　injuriously　on　the　Male　Sex。

For　the　consequence　is　that；　as　things　now　are；　we　Males　have　to　lead　a　kind　of　bi…lingual；　and　I　may　almost　say　bi…mental；　existence。　With　Women；　we　speak　of　〃love〃；　〃duty〃；　〃right〃；　〃wrong〃；　〃pity〃；　〃hope〃；　and　other　irrational　and　emotional　conceptions；　which　have　no　existence；　and　the　fiction　of　which　has　no　object　except　to　control　feminine　exuberances；　but　among　ourselves；　and　in　our　books；　we　have　an　entirely　different　vocabulary　and　I　may　almost　say；　idiom。　　〃Love〃　then　becomes　〃the　anticipation　of　benefits〃；　〃duty〃　becomes　〃necessity〃　or　〃fitness〃；　and　other　words　are　correspondingly　transmuted。　　Moreover；　among　Women；　we　use　language　implying　the　utmost　deference　for　their　Sex；　and　they　fully　believe　that　the　Chief　Circle　Himself　is　not　more　devoutly　adored　by　us　than　they　are：　　but　behind　their　backs　they　are　both　regarded　and　spoken　of　　by　all　except　the　very　young　　as　being　little　better　than　〃mindless　organisms〃。

Our　Theology　also　in　the　Women's　chambers　is　entirely　different　from　our　Theology　elsewhere。

Now　my　humble　fear　is　that　this　double　training；　in　language　as　well　as　in　thought；　imposes　somewhat　too　heavy　a　burden　upon　the　young；　especially　when；　at　the　age　of　three　years　old；　they　are　taken　from　the　maternal　care　and　taught　to　unlearn　the　old　language　　except　for　the　purpose　of　repeating　it　in　the　presence　of　their　Mothers　and　Nurses　　and　to　learn　the　vocabulary　and　idiom　of　science。　　Already　methinks　I　discern　a　weakness　in　the　grasp　of　mathematical　truth　at　the　present　time　as　compared　with　the　more　robust　intellect　of　our　ancestors　three　hundred　years　ago。　I　say　nothing　of　the　possible　danger　if　a　Woman　should　ever　surreptitiously　learn　to　read　and　convey　to　her　Sex　the　result　of　her　perusal　of　a　single　popular　volume；　nor　of　the　possibility　that　the　indiscretion　or　disobedience　of　some　infant　Male　might　reveal　to　a　Mother　the　secrets　of　the　logical　dialect。　On　the　simple　ground　of　the　enfeebling　of　the　Male　intellect；　I　rest　this　humble　appeal　to　the　highest　Authorities　to　reconsider　the　regulations　of　Female　education。






PART　II：　　OTHER　WORLDS

〃O　brave　new　worlds；　that　have　such　people　in　them！〃






Section　13。　　How　I　had　a　Vision　of　Lineland



It　was　the　last　day　but　one　of　the　1999th　year　of　our　era；　and　the　first　day　of　the　Long　Vacation。　　Having　amused　myself　till　a　late　hour　with　my　favourite　recreation　of　Geometry；　I　had　retired　to　rest　with　an　unsolved　problem　in　my　mind。　In　the　night　I　had　a　dream。

I　saw　before　me　a　vast　multitude　of　small　Straight　Lines　（which　I　naturally　assumed　to　be　Women）　interspersed　with　other　Beings　still　smaller　and　of　the　nature　of　lustrous　points　　all　moving　to　and　fro　in　one　and　the　same　Straight　Line；　and；　as　nearly　as　I　could　judge；　with　the　same　velocity。

A　noise　of　confused；　multitudinous　chirping　or　twittering　issued　from　them　at　intervals　as　long　as　they　were　moving；　but　sometimes　they　ceased　from　motion；　and　then　all　was　silence。

Approaching　one　of　the　largest　of　what　I　thought　to　be　Women；　I　accosted　her；　but　received　no　answer。　　A　second　and　a　third　appeal　on　my　part　were　equally　ineffectual。　　Losing　patience　at　what　appeared　to　me　intolerable　rudeness；　I　brought　my　mouth　into　a　position　full　in　front　of　her　mouth　so　as　to　intercept　her　motion；　and　loudly　repeated　my　question；　〃Woman；　what　signifies　this　concourse；　and　this　strange　and　confused　chirping；　and　this　monotonous　motion　to　and　fro　in　one　and　the　same　Straight　Line？〃









〃I　am　no　Woman；〃　replied　the　small　Line。　　〃I　am　the　Monarch　of　the　world。　　But　thou；　whence　intrudest　thou　into　my　realm　of　Lineland？〃　　Receiving　this　abrupt　reply；　I　begged　pardon　if　I　had　in　any　way　startled　or　molested　his　Royal　Highness；　and　describing　myself　as　a　stranger　I　besought　the　King　to　give　me　some　account　of　his　dominions。　　But　I　had　the　greatest　possible　difficulty　in　obtaining　any　information　on　points　that　really　interested　me；　for　the　Monarch　could　not　refrain　from　constantly　assuming　that　whatever　was　familiar　to　him　must　also　be　known　to　me　and　that　I　was　simulating　ignorance　in　jest。　　However；　by　persevering　questions　I　elicited　the　following　facts：

It　seemed　that　this　poor　ignorant　Monarch　　as　he　called　himself　　was　persuaded　that　the　Straight　Line　which　he　called　his　Kingdom；　and　in　which　he　passed　his　existence；　constituted　the　whole　of　the　world；　and　indeed　the　whole　of　Space。　　Not　being　able　either　to　move　or　to　see；　save　in　his　Straight　Line；　he　had　no　conception　of　anything　out　of　it。　　Though　he　had　heard　my　voice　when　I　first　addressed　him；　the　sounds　had　come　to　him　in　a　manner　so　contrary　to　his　experience　that　he　had　made　no　answer；　〃seeing　no　man〃；　as　he　expressed　it；　〃and　hearing　a　voice　as　it　were　from　my　own　intestines。〃　　Until　the　moment　when　I　placed　my　mouth　in　his　World；　he　had　neither　seen　me；　nor　heard　anything　except　confused　sounds　beating　against　　what　I　called　his　side；　but　what　he　called　his　INSIDE　or　STOMACH；　nor　had　he　even　now　the　least　conception　of　the　region　from　which　I　had　come。　Outside　his　World；　or　Line；　all　was　a　blank　to　him；　nay；　not　even　a　blank；　for　a　blank　implies　Space；　say；　rather；　all　was　non…existent。

His　subjects　　of　whom　the　small　Lines　were　men　and　the　Points　Women　　were　all　alike　confined　in　motion　and　eye…sight　to　that　single　Straight　Line；　which　was　their　World。　　It　need　scarcely　be　added　that　the　whole　of　their　horizon　was　limited　to　a　Point；　nor　could　any　one　ever　see　anything　but　a　Point。　　Man；　woman；　child；　thing　　each　was　a　Point　to　the　eye　of　a　Linelander。　　Only　by　the　sound　of　the　voice　could　sex　or　age　be　distinguished。　　Moreover；　as　each　individual　occupied　the　whole　of　the　narrow　path；　so　to　speak；　which　constituted　his　Univ