orthodoxy-第16章

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！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！





may　think　it　liberty　by　comparison。　　People　out　of　Portland



Gaol　might　think　Fleet　Street　free；　but　closer　study　will　prove



that　both　fairies　and　journalists　are　the　slaves　of　duty。　



Fairy　godmothers　seem　at　least　as　strict　as　other　godmothers。　



Cinderella　received　a　coach　out　of　Wonderland　and　a　coachman　out



of　nowhere；　but　she　received　a　commandwhich　might　have　come　out



of　Brixtonthat　she　should　be　back　by　twelve。　　Also；　she　had　a



glass　slipper；　and　it　cannot　be　a　coincidence　that　glass　is　so　common



a　substance　in　folk…lore。　This　princess　lives　in　a　glass　castle；



that　princess　on　a　glass　hill；　this　one　sees　all　things　in　a　mirror；



they　may　all　live　in　glass　houses　if　they　will　not　throw　stones。　



For　this　thin　glitter　of　glass　everywhere　is　the　expression　of　the　fact



that　the　happiness　is　bright　but　brittle；　like　the　substance　most



easily　smashed　by　a　housemaid　or　a　cat。　　And　this　fairy…tale　sentiment



also　sank　into　me　and　became　my　sentiment　towards　the　whole　world。　



I　felt　and　feel　that　life　itself　is　as　bright　as　the　diamond；



but　as　brittle　as　the　window…pane；　and　when　the　heavens　were



compared　to　the　terrible　crystal　I　can　remember　a　shudder。　



I　was　afraid　that　God　would　drop　the　cosmos　with　a　crash。







　　　　　Remember；　however；　that　to　be　breakable　is　not　the　same　as　to



be　perishable。　　Strike　a　glass；　and　it　will　not　endure　an　instant；



simply　do　not　strike　it；　and　it　will　endure　a　thousand　years。　



Such；　it　seemed；　was　the　joy　of　man；　either　in　elfland　or　on　earth；



the　happiness　depended　on　NOT　DOING　SOMETHING　which　you　could　at　any



moment　do　and　which；　very　often；　it　was　not　obvious　why　you　should



not　do。　　Now；　the　point　here　is　that　to　ME　this　did　not　seem　unjust。　



If　the　miller's　third　son　said　to　the　fairy；　〃Explain　why　I



must　not　stand　on　my　head　in　the　fairy　palace；〃　the　other　might



fairly　reply；　〃Well；　if　it　comes　to　that；　explain　the　fairy　palace。〃　



If　Cinderella　says；　〃How　is　it　that　I　must　leave　the　ball　at　twelve？〃



her　godmother　might　answer；　〃How　is　it　that　you　are　going　there



till　twelve？〃　　If　I　leave　a　man　in　my　will　ten　talking　elephants



and　a　hundred　winged　horses；　he　cannot　complain　if　the　conditions



partake　of　the　slight　eccentricity　of　the　gift。　　He　must　not　look



a　winged　horse　in　the　mouth。　　And　it　seemed　to　me　that　existence



was　itself　so　very　eccentric　a　legacy　that　I　could　not　complain



of　not　understanding　the　limitations　of　the　vision　when　I　did



not　understand　the　vision　they　limited。　　The　frame　was　no　stranger



than　the　picture。　　The　veto　might　well　be　as　wild　as　the　vision；



it　might　be　as　startling　as　the　sun；　as　elusive　as　the　waters；



as　fantastic　and　terrible　as　the　towering　trees。







　　　　　For　this　reason　（we　may　call　it　the　fairy　godmother　philosophy）



I　never　could　join　the　young　men　of　my　time　in　feeling　what　they



called　the　general　sentiment　of　REVOLT。　　I　should　have　resisted；



let　us　hope；　any　rules　that　were　evil；　and　with　these　and　their



definition　I　shall　deal　in　another　chapter。　　But　I　did　not　feel



disposed　to　resist　any　rule　merely　because　it　was　mysterious。　



Estates　are　sometimes　held　by　foolish　forms；　the　breaking　of　a　stick



or　the　payment　of　a　peppercorn：　　I　was　willing　to　hold　the　huge



estate　of　earth　and　heaven　by　any　such　feudal　fantasy。　　It　could　not



well　be　wilder　than　the　fact　that　I　was　allowed　to　hold　it　at　all。　



At　this　stage　I　give　only　one　ethical　instance　to　show　my　meaning。　



I　could　never　mix　in　the　common　murmur　of　that　rising　generation



against　monogamy；　because　no　restriction　on　sex　seemed　so　odd　and



unexpected　as　sex　itself。　　To　be　allowed；　like　Endymion；　to　make



love　to　the　moon　and　then　to　complain　that　Jupiter　kept　his　own



moons　in　a　harem　seemed　to　me　（bred　on　fairy　tales　like　Endymion's）



a　vulgar　anti…climax。　Keeping　to　one　woman　is　a　small　price　for



so　much　as　seeing　one　woman。　　To　complain　that　I　could　only　be



married　once　was　like　complaining　that　I　had　only　been　born　once。　



It　was　incommensurate　with　the　terrible　excitement　of　which　one



was　talking。　　It　showed；　not　an　exaggerated　sensibility　to　sex；



but　a　curious　insensibility　to　it。　　A　man　is　a　fool　who　complains



that　he　cannot　enter　Eden　by　five　gates　at　once。　　Polygamy　is　a　lack



of　the　realization　of　sex；　it　is　like　a　man　plucking　five　pears



in　mere　absence　of　mind。　　The　aesthetes　touched　the　last　insane



limits　of　language　in　their　eulogy　on　lovely　things。　　The　thistledown



made　them　weep；　a　burnished　beetle　brought　them　to　their　knees。　



Yet　their　emotion　never　impressed　me　for　an　instant；　for　this　reason；



that　it　never　occurred　to　them　to　pay　for　their　pleasure　in　any



sort　of　symbolic　sacrifice。　　Men　（I　felt）　might　fast　forty　days



for　the　sake　of　hearing　a　blackbird　sing。　　Men　might　go　through　fire



to　find　a　cowslip。　　Yet　these　lovers　of　beauty　could　not　even　keep



sober　for　the　blackbird。　　They　would　not　go　through　common　Christian



marriage　by　way　of　recompense　to　the　cowslip。　　Surely　one　might



pay　for　extraordinary　joy　in　ordinary　morals。　　Oscar　Wilde　said



that　sunsets　were　not　valued　because　we　could　not　pay　for　sunsets。　



But　Oscar　Wilde　was　wrong；　we　can　pay　for　sunsets。　　We　can　pay　for　them



by　not　being　Oscar　Wilde。







　　　　　Well；　I　left　the　fairy　tales　lying　on　the　floor　of　the　nursery；



and　I　have　not　found　any　books　so　sensible　since。　　I　left　the



nurse　guardian　of　tradition　and　democracy；　and　I　have　not　found



any　modern　type　so　sanely　radical　or　so　sanely　conservative。　



But　the　matter　for　important　comment　was　here：　　that　when　I



first　went　out　into　the　mental　atmosphere　of　the　modern　world；



I　found　that　the　modern　world　was　positively　opposed　on　two　points



to　my　nurse　and　to　the　nursery　tales。　　It　has　taken　me　a　long　time



to　find　out　that　the　modern　world　is　wrong　and　my　nurse　was　right。　



The　really　curious　thing　was　this：　　that　modern　thought　contradicted



this　basic　creed　of　my　boyhood　on　its　two　most　essential　doctrines。　



I　have　explained　that　the　fairy　tales　founded　in　me　two　convictions；



first；　that　this　world　is　a　wild　and　startling　place；　which　might



have　been　quite　different；　but　which　is　quite　delightful；　second；



that　before　this　wildness　and　delight　one　may　well　be　modest　and



submit　to　the　queerest　limitations　of　so　queer　a　kindness。　　But　I



found　the　whole　modern　world　running　like　a　high　tide　against　both



my　tendernesses；　and　the　shock　of　that　collision　created　two　sudden



and　spontaneous　sentiments；　which　I　have　had　ever　since　and　which；



crude　as　they　were；　have　since　hardened　into　convictions。







　　　　　First；　I　found　the　whole　modern　world　talking　scientific　fatalism；



saying　that　everything　is　as　it　must　always　have　been；　being　unfolded



without　fault　from　the　beginning。　　The　leaf　on　the　tree　is　green



because　it　could　never　have　been　anything　else。　　Now；　the　fairy…tale



philosopher　is　glad　that　the　leaf　is　green　precisely　because　it



might　have　been　scarlet。　　He　feels　as　if　it　had　turned　green　an



instant　before　he　looked　at　it。　　He　is　pleased　that　snow　is　white



on　the　strictly　reasonable　ground　that　it　might　have　been　black。　



Every　colour　has　in　it　a　bold　quality　as　of　choice；　the　red　of　garden



roses　is　not　only　decisive　but　dramatic；　like　suddenly　spilt　blood。　



He　feels　that　something　has　been　DONE。　　But　the　great　determinists



of　the　nineteenth　century　were　strongly　against　this　native



feeling　that　something　had　happened　an　instant　before。　　In　fact；



according　to　them；　nothing　ever　really　had　happened　since　the　beginning



of　the　world。　　Nothing　ever　had　happened　since　existence　had　happened；



and　e