the soul of the far east-第29章

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　know　of　natural　law；　besides　contradicting　daily　experience。　　For　each　successive　generation　bears　unmistakable　testimony　to　the　fact。　　Children　of　the　same　parents　are　never　exactly　like　either　their　parents　or　one　another；　and　they　often　differ　amazingly　from　both。　　In　such　instances　they　revert　to　type；　as　we　say；　but　inasmuch　as　the　race　is　steadily　advancing　in　development；　such　reversion　must　resemble　that　of　an　estate　which　has　been　greatly　improved　since　its　previous　possession。　　The　appearance　of　the　quality　is　really　the　sprouting　of　a　seed　whose　original　germ　was　in　some　sense　coeval　with　the　beginning　of　things。　　This　mind…seed　takes　root　in　some　cases　and　not　in　others；　according　to　the　soil　it　finds。　　And　as　certain　traits　develop　and　others　do　not；　one　man　turns　out　very　differently　from　his　neighbor。　　Such　inevitable　distinction　implies　furthermore　that　the　man　shall　be　sensible　of　it。　　Consciousness　is　the　necessary　attribute　of　mental　action。　　Not　only　is　it　the　sole　way　we　have　of　knowing　mind；　without　it　there　would　be　no　mind　to　know。　　Not　to　be　conscious　of　one's　self　is；　mentally　speaking；　not　to　be。　　This　complex　entity；　this　little　cosmos　of　a　world；　the　〃I；〃　has　for　its　very　law　of　existence　self…consciousness；　while　personality　is　the　effect　it　produces　upon　the　consciousness　of　others。

But　we　may　push　our　inquiry　a　step　further；　and　find　in　imagination　the　cause　of　this　strange　force。　　For　imagination；　or　the　image…making　faculty；　may　in　a　certain　sense　be　said　to　be　the　creator　of　the　world　within。　　The　separate　senses　furnish　it　with　material；　but　to　it　alone　is　due　the　building　of　our　castles；　on　premises　of　fact　or　in　the　air。　　For　there　is　no　impassable　gulf　between　the　two。　　Coleridge's　distinction　that　imagination　drew　possible　pictures　and　fancy　impossible　ones；　is　itself；　except　as　a　classification；　an　impossible　distinction　to　draw；　for　it　is　only　the　inconceivable　that　can　never　be。　　All　else　is　purely　a　matter　of　relation。　　We　may　instance　dreams　which　are　usually　considered　to　rank　among　the　most　fanciful　creations　of　the　mind。　　Who　has　not　in　his　dreams　fallen　repeatedly　from　giddy　heights　and　invariably　escaped　unhurt？　　If　he　had　attempted　the　feat　in　his　waking　moments　he　would　assuredly　have　been　dashed　to　pieces　at　the　bottom。　　And　so　we　say　the　thing　is　impossible。　　But　is　it？　　Only　under　the　relative　conditions　of　his　mass　and　the　earth's。　　If　the　world　he　happens　to　inhabit　were　not　its　present　size；　but　the　size　of　one　of　the　tinier　asteroids；　no　such　disastrous　results　would　follow　a　chance　misstep。　He　could　there　walk　off　precipices　when　too　closely　pursued　by　bears　if　I　remember　rightly　the　usual　childish　cause　of　the　same　with　perfect　impunity。　　The　bear　could　do　likewise；　unfortunately。　　We　should　have　arrived　at　our　conclusion　even　quicker　had　we　decreased　the　size　both　of　the　man　and　his　world。　　He　would　not　then　have　had　to　tumble　actually　so　far；　and　would　therefore　have　arrived　yet　more　gently　at　the　foot。　　This　turns　out；　then；　to　be　a　mere　question　of　size。　　Decrease　the　scale　of　the　picture；　and　the　impossible　becomes　possible　at　once。　　All　fancies　are　not　so　easily　reducible　to　actual　facts　as　the　one　we　have　taken；　but　all；　perhaps；　eventually　may　be　explicable　in　the　same　general　way。　　At　present　we　certainly　cannot　affirm　that　anything　may　not　be　thus　explained。　　For　the　actual　is　widening　its　field　every　day。　　Even　in　this　little　world　of　our　own　we　are　daily　discovering　to　be　fact　what　we　should　have　thought　fiction；　like　the　sailor's　mother　the　tale　of　the　flying　fish。　Beyond　it　our　ken　is　widening　still　more。　　Gulliver's　travels　may　turn　out　truer　than　we　think。　　Could　we　traverse　the　inter…planetary　ocean　of　ether；　we　might　eventually　find　in　Jupiter　the　land　of　Lilliput　or　in　Ceres　some　old…time　country　of　the　Brobdignagians。　For　men　constituted　muscularly　like　ourselves　would　have　to　be　proportionately　small　in　the　big　planet　and　big　in　the　small　one。　Still　stranger　things　may　exist　around　other　suns。　　In　those　bright　particular　starswhich　the　little　girl　thought　pinholes　in　the　dark　canopy　of　the　sky　to　let　the　glory　beyond　shine　throughwe　are　finding　conditions　of　existence　like　yet　unlike　those　we　already　know。　　To　our　groping　speculations　of　the　night　they　almost　seem；　as　we　gaze　on　them　in　their　twinkling；　to　be　winking　us　a　sort　of　comprehension。　　Conditions　may　exist　there　under　which　our　wildest　fancies　may　be　commonplace　facts。　　There　may　be

　　　〃Some　Xanadu　where　Kublai　can　　　　　　a　stately　pleasure　dome　decree；〃

and　carry　out　his　conceptions　to　his　own　disillusionment；　perhaps。　For　if　the　embodiment　of　a　fancy；　however　complete；　left　nothing　further　to　be　wished；　imagination　would　have　no　incentive　to　work。　Coleridge's　distinction　does　very　well　to　separate；　empirically；　certain　kinds　of　imaginative　concepts　from　certain　others；　but　it　has　no　real　foundation　in　fact。　　Nor　presumably　did　he　mean　it　to　have。　　But　it　serves；　not　inaptly；　as　a　text　to　point　out　an　important　scientific　truth；　namely；　that　there　are　not　two　such　qualities　of　the　mind；　but　only　one。　　For　otherwise　we　might　have　supposed　the　fact　too　evident　to　need　mention。　　Imagination　is　the　single　source　of　the　new；　the　one　mainspring　of　psychical　advance；　reason；　like　a　balance…wheel；　only　keeping　the　action　regular。　For　reason　is　but　the　touchstone　of　experience；　our　own；　inherited；　or　acquired　from　others。　　It　compares　what　we　imagine　with　what　we　know；　and　gives　us　answer　in　terms　of　the　here　and　the　now；　which　we　call　the　actual。　　But　the　actual　is　really　nothing　but　the　local。　　It　does　not　mark　the　limits　of　the　possible。

That　imagination　has　been　the　moving　spirit　of　the　psychical　world　is　evident；　whatever　branch　of　human　thought　we　are　pleased　to　examine。　　We　are　in　the　habit；　in　common　parlance；　of　making　a　distinction　between　the　search　after　truth　and　the　search　after　beauty；　calling　the　one　science　and　the　other　art。　　Now　while　we　are　not　slow　to　impute　imagination　to　art；　we　are　by　no　means　so　ready　to　appreciate　its　connection　with　science。　　Yet　contrary；　perhaps；　to　exogeric　ideas　on　the　subject；　it　is　science　rather　than　art　that　demands　imagination　of　her　votaries。　　Not　that　art　may　not　involve　the　quality　to　a　high　degree；　but　that　a　high　degree　of　art　is　quite　compatible　with　a　very　small　amount　of　imagination。　　On　the　one　side　we　may　instance　painting。　　Now　painting　begins　its　career　in　the　humble　capacity　of　copyist；　a　pretty　poor　copyist　at　that。　　At　first　so　slight　was　its　skill　that　the　rudest　symbols　sufficed。　〃This　is　a　man〃　was　conventionally　implied　by　a　few　scratches　bearing　a　very　distant　relationship　to　the　real　thing。　　Gradually；　owing　to　human　vanity　and　a　growing　taste；　pictures　improved。　　Combinations　were　tried；　a　bit　from　one　place　with　a　piece　from　another；　a　sort　of　mosaic　requiring　but　a　slight　amount　of　imagination。　　Not　that　imagination　of　a　higher　order　has　not　been　called　into　play；　although　even　now　pictures　are　often　happy　adaptations　rather　than　creations　proper。　　Some　masters　have　been　imaginative；　others；　unfortunately　for　themselves　and　still　more　for　the　public；　have　not。　　For　that　the　art　may　attain　a　high　degree　of　excellence　for　itself　and　much　distinction　for　its　professors；　without　calling　in　the　aid　of　imagination；　is　evident　enough　on　this　side　of　the　globe；　without　travelling　to　the　other。　　

Take；　on　the　other　hand；　a　branch　of　science　which；　to　the　average　layman；　seems　peculiarly　unimaginative；　the　science　of　mathematics。　　Yet　at　the　risk　of　appearing　to　cast　doubts　upon　the　validity　of　its　conclusions；　it　might　be　called　the　most　imaginative　product　of　human　thought；　for　it　is　simply　one　vast　imagination　based　upon　a　few　so…called　axioms；　which　are　nothing　more　nor　less　than　the　results　of　experience。　　It　is　none　the　less　imaginative　because　its　discoveries　always　accord　subsequently　with　fact；　since　man　was　not　aware　of　them　beforehand。　Nor　are　its　inevitable　conclusions　inevitable　to　any　save　those　possessed　of　the　mathematician's　prophetic　sight。　　Once　discovered；　it　requires　much　less　imagination　to　understand　them。　　With　the　light　coming　from　in　front；　it　is　an　easy　matter　to　see　what　lies　behind　one。

So　w