a treatise on parents and children(父母与子女专题研究)-第33章
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chooses good from evil； and without knowledge there can be no choice。
And even this is a dangerous simplification of what actually occurs。 We
are not choosing： we are growing。 Were you to cut all of what you call
the evil out of a child； it would drop dead。 If you try to stretch it to full
human stature when it is ten years old； you will simply pull it into two
pieces and be hanged。 And when you try to do this morally； which is
what parents and schoolmasters are doing every day； you ought to be
hanged； and some day； when we take a sensible view of the matter； you
will be； and serve you right。 The child does not stand between a good
and a bad angel： what it has to deal with is a middling angel who； in
normal healthy cases； wants to be a good angel as fast as it can without
killing itself in the process； which is a dangerous one。
Therefore there is no question of providing the child with a carefully
regulated access to good art。 There is no good art； any more than there is
good anything else in the absolute sense。 Art that is too good for the
child will either teach it nothing or drive it mad； as the Bible has driven
many people mad who might have kept their sanity had they been allowed
to read much lower forms of literature。 The practical moral is that we
must read whatever stories； see whatever pictures； hear whatever songs
and symphonies； go to whatever plays we like。 We shall not like those
which have nothing to say to us； and though everyone has a right to bias
our choice； no one has a right to deprive us of it by keeping us from any
work of art or any work of art from us。
I may now say without danger of being misunderstood that the popular
English compromise called Cowper Templeism （unsectarian Bible
education） is not so silly as it looks。 It is true that the Bible inculcates
half a dozen religions： some of them barbarous； some cynical and
pessimistic； some amoristic and romantic； some sceptical and challenging；
some kindly； simple； and intuitional； some sophistical and intellectual；
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A TREATISE ON PARENTS AND CHILDREN
none suited to the character and conditions of western civilization unless it
be the Christianity which was finally suppressed by the Crucifixion； and
has never been put into practice by any State before or since。 But the
Bible contains the ancient literature of a very remarkable Oriental race；
and the imposition of this literature； on whatever false pretences； on our
children left them more literate than if they knew no literature at all； which
was the practical alternative。 And as our Authorized Version is a great
work of art as well； to know it was better than knowing no art； which also
was the practical alternative。 It is at least not a school book； and it is not
a bad story book； horrible as some of the stories are。 Therefore as
between the Bible and the blank represented by secular education； the
choice is with the Bible。
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A TREATISE ON PARENTS AND CHILDREN
The Bible
But the Bible is not sufficient。 The real Bible of modern Europe is
the whole body of great literature in which the inspiration and revelation
of Hebrew Scripture has been continued to the present day。 Nietzsche's
Thus Spake Zoroaster is less comforting to the ill and unhappy than the
Psalms； but it is much truer； subtler； and more edifying。 The pleasure we
get from the rhetoric of the book of Job and its tragic picture of a
bewildered soul cannot disguise the ignoble irrelevance of the retort of
God with which it closes； or supply the need of such modern revelations as
Shelley's Prometheus or The Niblung's Ring of Richard Wagner。 There is
nothing in the Bible greater in inspiration than Beethoven's ninth
symphony； and the power of modern music to convey that inspiration to a
modern man is far greater than that of Elizabethan English； which is；
except for people steeped in the Bible from childhood like Sir Walter Scott
and Ruskin； a dead language。
Besides； many who have no ear for literature or for music are
accessible to architecture； to pictures； to statues； to dresses； and to the arts
of the stage。 Every device of art should be brought to bear on the young；
so that they may discover some form of it that delights them naturally； for
there will come to all of them that period between dawning adolescence
and full maturity when the pleasures and emotions of art will have to
satisfy cravings which； if starved or insulted； may become morbid and
seek disgraceful satisfactions； and； if prematurely gratified otherwise than
poetically； may destroy the stamina of the race。 And it must be borne in
mind that the most dangerous art for this necessary purpose is the art that
presents itself as religious ecstasy。 Young people are ripe for love long
before they are ripe for religion。 Only a very foolish person would
substitute the Imitation of Christ for Treasure Island as a present for a boy
or girl； or for Byron's Don Juan as a present for a swain or lass。
Pickwick is the safest saint for us in our nonage。 Flaubert's Temptation of
St Anthony is an excellent book for a man of fifty； perhaps the best within
reach as a healthy study of visionary ecstasy； but for the purposes of a boy
of fifteen Ivanhoe and the Templar make a much better saint and devil。
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And the boy of fifteen will find this out for himself if he is allowed to
wander in a well…stocked literary garden； and hear bands and see pictures
and spend his pennies on cinematograph shows。 His choice may often be
rather disgusting to his elders when they want him to choose the best
before he is ready for it。 The greatest Protestant Manifesto ever written；
as far as I know； is Houston Chamberlain's Foundations of the Nineteenth
Century： everybody capable of it should read it。 Probably the History
of Maria Monk is at the opposite extreme of merit （this is a guess： I have
never read it）； but it is certain that a boy let loose in a library would go for
Maria Monk and have no use whatever for Mr Chamberlain。 I should
probably have read Maria Monk myself if I had not had the Arabian
Nights and their like to occupy me better。 In art； children； like adults； will
find their level if they are left free to find it； and not restricted to what
adults think good for them。 Just at present our young people are going
mad over ragtimes； apparently because syncopated rhythms are new to
them。 If they had learnt what can be done with syncopation from
Beethoven's third Leonora overture； they would enjoy the ragtimes all the
