heretics-第17部分

快捷操作: 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! 如果本书没有阅读完，想下次继续接着阅读，可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能！




their　idea　of　being　bold　and　bright　is　to　attack　the　War　Office。



They　might　as　well　start　a　campaign　against　the　weather；　or　form



a　secret　society　in　order　to　make　jokes　about　mothers…in…law。　Nor　is　it



only　from　the　point　of　view　of　particular　amateurs　of　the　sensational



such　as　myself；　that　it　is　permissible　to　say；　in　the　words　of



Cowper's　Alexander　Selkirk；　that　〃their　tameness　is　shocking　to　me。〃



The　whole　modern　world　is　pining　for　a　genuinely　sensational　journalism。



This　has　been　discovered　by　that　very　able　and　honest　journalist；



Mr。　Blatchford；　who　started　his　campaign　against　Christianity；



warned　on　all　sides；　I　believe；　that　it　would　ruin　his　paper；　but　who



continued　from　an　honourable　sense　of　intellectual　responsibility。



He　discovered；　however；　that　while　he　had　undoubtedly　shocked



his　readers；　he　had　also　greatly　advanced　his　newspaper。



It　was　boughtfirst；　by　all　the　people　who　agreed　with　him　and　wanted



to　read　it；　and　secondly；　by　all　the　people　who　disagreed　with　him；



and　wanted　to　write　him　letters。　　Those　letters　were　voluminous　（I　helped；



I　am　glad　to　say；　to　swell　their　volume）；　and　they　were　generally



inserted　with　a　generous　fulness。　　Thus　was　accidentally　discovered



（like　the　steam…engine）　the　great　journalistic　maximthat　if　an



editor　can　only　make　people　angry　enough；　they　will　write　half



his　newspaper　for　him　for　nothing。







Some　hold　that　such　papers　as　these　are　scarcely　the　proper



objects　of　so　serious　a　consideration；　but　that　can　scarcely



be　maintained　from　a　political　or　ethical　point　of　view。



In　this　problem　of　the　mildness　and　tameness　of　the　Harmsworth　mind



there　is　mirrored　the　outlines　of　a　much　larger　problem　which　is



akin　to　it。







The　Harmsworthian　journalist　begins　with　a　worship　of　success



and　violence；　and　ends　in　sheer　timidity　and　mediocrity。



But　he　is　not　alone　in　this；　nor　does　he　come　by　this　fate　merely



because　he　happens　personally　to　be　stupid。　　Every　man；　however　brave；



who　begins　by　worshipping　violence；　must　end　in　mere　timidity。



Every　man；　however　wise；　who　begins　by　worshipping　success；　must　end



in　mere　mediocrity。　　This　strange　and　paradoxical　fate　is　involved；



not　in　the　individual；　but　in　the　philosophy；　in　the　point　of　view。



It　is　not　the　folly　of　the　man　which　brings　about　this



necessary　fall；　it　is　his　wisdom。　　The　worship　of　success　is



the　only　one　out　of　all　possible　worships　of　which　this　is　true；



that　its　followers　are　foredoomed　to　become　slaves　and　cowards。



A　man　may　be　a　hero　for　the　sake　of　Mrs。　Gallup's　ciphers　or　for



the　sake　of　human　sacrifice；　but　not　for　the　sake　of　success。



For　obviously　a　man　may　choose　to　fail　because　he　loves



Mrs。　Gallup　or　human　sacrifice；　but　he　cannot　choose　to　fail



because　he　loves　success。　　When　the　test　of　triumph　is　men's　test



of　everything；　they　never　endure　long　enough　to　triumph　at　all。



As　long　as　matters　are　really　hopeful；　hope　is　a　mere　flattery



or　platitude；　it　is　only　when　everything　is　hopeless　that　hope



begins　to　be　a　strength　at　all。　　Like　all　the　Christian　virtues；



it　is　as　unreasonable　as　it　is　indispensable。







It　was　through　this　fatal　paradox　in　the　nature　of　things　that　all　these



modern　adventurers　come　at　last　to　a　sort　of　tedium　and　acquiescence。



They　desired　strength；　and　to　them　to　desire　strength　was　to



admire　strength；　to　admire　strength　was　simply　to　admire　the　statu　quo。



They　thought　that　he　who　wished　to　be　strong　ought　to　respect　the　strong。



They　did　not　realize　the　obvious　verity　that　he　who　wishes　to　be



strong　must　despise　the　strong。　　They　sought　to　be　everything；



to　have　the　whole　force　of　the　cosmos　behind　them；　to　have　an　energy



that　would　drive　the　stars。　　But　they　did　not　realize　the　two



great　factsfirst；　that　in　the　attempt　to　be　everything　the　first



and　most　difficult　step　is　to　be　something；　second；　that　the　moment



a　man　is　something；　he　is　essentially　defying　everything。



The　lower　animals；　say　the　men　of　science；　fought　their　way　up



with　a　blind　selfishness。　　If　this　be　so；　the　only　real　moral　of　it



is　that　our　unselfishness；　if　it　is　to　triumph；　must　be　equally　blind。



The　mammoth　did　not　put　his　head　on　one　side　and　wonder　whether



mammoths　were　a　little　out　of　date。　　Mammoths　were　at　least



as　much　up　to　date　as　that　individual　mammoth　could　make　them。



The　great　elk　did　not　say；　〃Cloven　hoofs　are　very　much　worn　now。〃



He　polished　his　own　weapons　for　his　own　use。　　But　in　the　reasoning



animal　there　has　arisen　a　more　horrible　danger；　that　he　may　fail



through　perceiving　his　own　failure。　　When　modern　sociologists　talk



of　the　necessity　of　accommodating　one's　self　to　the　trend　of　the　time；



they　forget　that　the　trend　of　the　time　at　its　best　consists　entirely



of　people　who　will　not　accommodate　themselves　to　anything。



At　its　worst　it　consists　of　many　millions　of　frightened　creatures



all　accommodating　themselves　to　a　trend　that　is　not　there。



And　that　is　becoming　more　and　more　the　situation　of　modern　England。



Every　man　speaks　of　public　opinion；　and　means　by　public　opinion；



public　opinion　minus　his　opinion。　　Every　man　makes　his



contribution　negative　under　the　erroneous　impression　that



the　next　man's　contribution　is　positive。　　Every　man　surrenders



his　fancy　to　a　general　tone　which　is　itself　a　surrender。



And　over　all　the　heartless　and　fatuous　unity　spreads　this　new



and　wearisome　and　platitudinous　press；　incapable　of　invention；



incapable　of　audacity；　capable　only　of　a　servility　all　the　more



contemptible　because　it　is　not　even　a　servility　to　the　strong。



But　all　who　begin　with　force　and　conquest　will　end　in　this。







The　chief　characteristic　of　the　〃New　journalism〃　is　simply　that　it



is　bad　journalism。　　It　is　beyond　all　comparison　the　most　shapeless；



careless；　and　colourless　work　done　in　our　day。







I　read　yesterday　a　sentence　which　should　be　written　in　letters　of　gold



and　adamant；　it　is　the　very　motto　of　the　new　philosophy　of　Empire。



I　found　it　（as　the　reader　has　already　eagerly　guessed）　in　Pearson's



Magazine；　while　I　was　communing　（soul　to　soul）　with　Mr。　C。　Arthur　Pearson；



whose　first　and　suppressed　name　I　am　afraid　is　Chilperic。



It　occurred　in　an　article　on　the　American　Presidential　Election。



This　is　the　sentence；　and　every　one　should　read　it　carefully；



and　roll　it　on　the　tongue；　till　all　the　honey　be　tasted。







〃A　little　sound　common　sense　often　goes　further　with　an　audience



of　American　working…men　than　much　high…flown　argument。　　A　speaker　who；



as　he　brought　forward　his　points；　hammered　nails　into　a　board；



won　hundreds　of　votes　for　his　side　at　the　last　Presidential　Election。〃







I　do　not　wish　to　soil　this　perfect　thing　with　comment；



the　words　of　Mercury　are　harsh　after　the　songs　of　Apollo。



But　just　think　for　a　moment　of　the　mind；　the　strange　inscrutable　mind；



of　the　man　who　wrote　that；　of　the　editor　who　approved　it；



of　the　people　who　are　probably　impressed　by　it；　of　the　incredible



American　working…man；　of　whom；　for　all　I　know；　it　may　be　true。



Think　what　their　notion　of　〃common　sense〃　must　be！　　It　is　delightful



to　realize　that　you　and　I　are　now　able　to　win　thousands　of　votes



should　we　ever　be　engaged　in　a　Presidential　Election；　by　doing　something



of　this　kind。　　For　I　suppose　the　nails　and　the　board　are　not　essential



to　the　exhibition　of　〃common　sense；〃　there　may　be　variations。



We　may　read







〃A　little　common　sense　impresses　American　working…men　more　than



high…flown　argument。　　A　speaker　who；　as　he　made　his　points；



pulled　buttons　off　his　waistcoat；　won　thousands　of　votes　for　his　side。〃



Or；　〃Sound　common　sense　tells　better　in　America　than　high…flown　argument。



Thus　Senator　Budge；　who　threw　his　false　teeth　in　the　air　every　time



he　made　an　epigram；　won　the　solid　approval　of　American　working…men。〃



Or　again；　〃The　sound　common　sense　of　a　gentleman　from　Earlswood；



who　stuck　straws　in　his　hair　during　the　progress　of　his　speech；



assured　the　victory　of　Mr。　Roosevelt。〃







There　are　many　other　elements　in　this　article　on　which　I　should



love　to　linger。　　But　the　matter　which　I　wish　to　point　out　is　that



in　that　sentence　is　perfectly　revealed　the　whole　truth　of　what



our　Chamberlainites；　hustlers；　bustlers；　Empire…builders；　and　strong；



silent　men；　really　mean　by　〃commonsense。〃　　They　mean　knocking；



with　deafening　noise　and　dramatic　effect；　meaningless　bits



of　iron　into　a　useless　bit　of　wood。　　A　man　goes　on　to　an　American



platform　and　behaves　like　a　mountebank　fool　with　a　board　and



a　hammer