orthodoxy-第5章

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but　what　a　small　world　it　must　be！　　What　a　little　heaven　you　must　inhabit；



with　angels　no　bigger　than　butterflies！　　How　sad　it　must　be　to　be　God；



and　an　inadequate　God！　　Is　there　really　no　life　fuller　and　no　love



more　marvellous　than　yours；　and　is　it　really　in　your　small　and　painful



pity　that　all　flesh　must　put　its　faith？　　How　much　happier　you　would　be；



how　much　more　of　you　there　would　be；　if　the　hammer　of　a　higher　God



could　smash　your　small　cosmos；　scattering　the　stars　like　spangles；



and　leave　you　in　the　open；　free　like　other　men　to　look　up　as　well



as　down！〃







　　　　　And　it　must　be　remembered　that　the　most　purely　practical　science



does　take　this　view　of　mental　evil；　it　does　not　seek　to　argue　with　it



like　a　heresy　but　simply　to　snap　it　like　a　spell。　　Neither　modern



science　nor　ancient　religion　believes　in　complete　free　thought。　



Theology　rebukes　certain　thoughts　by　calling　them　blasphemous。　



Science　rebukes　certain　thoughts　by　calling　them　morbid。　　For　example；



some　religious　societies　discouraged　men　more　or　less　from　thinking



about　sex。　　The　new　scientific　society　definitely　discourages　men　from



thinking　about　death；　it　is　a　fact；　but　it　is　considered　a　morbid　fact。　



And　in　dealing　with　those　whose　morbidity　has　a　touch　of　mania；



modern　science　cares　far　less　for　pure　logic　than　a　dancing　Dervish。　



In　these　cases　it　is　not　enough　that　the　unhappy　man　should　desire　truth；



he　must　desire　health。　　Nothing　can　save　him　but　a　blind　hunger



for　normality；　like　that　of　a　beast。　　A　man　cannot　think　himself



out　of　mental　evil；　for　it　is　actually　the　organ　of　thought　that　has



become　diseased；　ungovernable；　and；　as　it　were；　independent。　　He　can



only　be　saved　by　will　or　faith。　　The　moment　his　mere　reason　moves；



it　moves　in　the　old　circular　rut；　he　will　go　round　and　round　his



logical　circle；　just　as　a　man　in　a　third…class　carriage　on　the　Inner



Circle　will　go　round　and　round　the　Inner　Circle　unless　he　performs



the　voluntary；　vigorous；　and　mystical　act　of　getting　out　at　Gower　Street。　



Decision　is　the　whole　business　here；　a　door　must　be　shut　for　ever。　



Every　remedy　is　a　desperate　remedy。　　Every　cure　is　a　miraculous　cure。　



Curing　a　madman　is　not　arguing　with　a　philosopher；　it　is　casting



out　a　devil。　　And　however　quietly　doctors　and　psychologists　may　go



to　work　in　the　matter；　their　attitude　is　profoundly　intolerant



as　intolerant　as　Bloody　Mary。　　Their　attitude　is　really　this：　



that　the　man　must　stop　thinking；　if　he　is　to　go　on　living。　



Their　counsel　is　one　of　intellectual　amputation。　　If　thy　HEAD



offend　thee；　cut　it　off；　for　it　is　better；　not　merely　to　enter



the　Kingdom　of　Heaven　as　a　child；　but　to　enter　it　as　an　imbecile；



rather　than　with　your　whole　intellect　to　be　cast　into　hell



or　into　Hanwell。







　　　　　Such　is　the　madman　of　experience；　he　is　commonly　a　reasoner；



frequently　a　successful　reasoner。　　Doubtless　he　could　be　vanquished



in　mere　reason；　and　the　case　against　him　put　logically。　　But　it　can



be　put　much　more　precisely　in　more　general　and　even　aesthetic　terms。　



He　is　in　the　clean　and　well…lit　prison　of　one　idea：　　he　is



sharpened　to　one　painful　point。　　He　is　without　healthy　hesitation



and　healthy　complexity。　　Now；　as　I　explain　in　the　introduction；



I　have　determined　in　these　early　chapters　to　give　not　so　much



a　diagram　of　a　doctrine　as　some　pictures　of　a　point　of　view。　　And　I



have　described　at　length　my　vision　of　the　maniac　for　this　reason：　



that　just　as　I　am　affected　by　the　maniac；　so　I　am　affected　by　most



modern　thinkers。　　That　unmistakable　mood　or　note　that　I　hear



from　Hanwell；　I　hear　also　from　half　the　chairs　of　science　and　seats



of　learning　to…day；　and　most　of　the　mad　doctors　are　mad　doctors



in　more　senses　than　one。　　They　all　have　exactly　that　combination　we



have　noted：　　the　combination　of　an　expansive　and　exhaustive　reason



with　a　contracted　common　sense。　　They　are　universal　only　in　the



sense　that　they　take　one　thin　explanation　and　carry　it　very　far。　



But　a　pattern　can　stretch　for　ever　and　still　be　a　small　pattern。　



They　see　a　chess…board　white　on　black；　and　if　the　universe　is　paved



with　it；　it　is　still　white　on　black。　　Like　the　lunatic；　they　cannot



alter　their　standpoint；　they　cannot　make　a　mental　effort　and　suddenly



see　it　black　on　white。







　　　　　Take　first　the　more　obvious　case　of　materialism。　　As　an　explanation



of　the　world；　materialism　has　a　sort　of　insane　simplicity。　　It　has



just　the　quality　of　the　madman's　argument；　we　have　at　once　the　sense



of　it　covering　everything　and　the　sense　of　it　leaving　everything　out。　



Contemplate　some　able　and　sincere　materialist；　as；　for　instance；



Mr。　McCabe；　and　you　will　have　exactly　this　unique　sensation。　



He　understands　everything；　and　everything　does　not　seem



worth　understanding。　　His　cosmos　may　be　complete　in　every　rivet



and　cog…wheel；　but　still　his　cosmos　is　smaller　than　our　world。　



Somehow　his　scheme；　like　the　lucid　scheme　of　the　madman；　seems　unconscious



of　the　alien　energies　and　the　large　indifference　of　the　earth；



it　is　not　thinking　of　the　real　things　of　the　earth；　of　fighting



peoples　or　proud　mothers；　or　first　love　or　fear　upon　the　sea。　



The　earth　is　so　very　large；　and　the　cosmos　is　so　very　small。　



The　cosmos　is　about　the　smallest　hole　that　a　man　can　hide　his　head　in。







　　　　　It　must　be　understood　that　I　am　not　now　discussing　the　relation



of　these　creeds　to　truth；　but；　for　the　present；　solely　their　relation



to　health。　　Later　in　the　argument　I　hope　to　attack　the　question　of



objective　verity；　here　I　speak　only　of　a　phenomenon　of　psychology。　



I　do　not　for　the　present　attempt　to　prove　to　Haeckel　that　materialism



is　untrue；　any　more　than　I　attempted　to　prove　to　the　man　who　thought



he　was　Christ　that　he　was　labouring　under　an　error。　　I　merely　remark



here　on　the　fact　that　both　cases　have　the　same　kind　of　completeness



and　the　same　kind　of　incompleteness。　　You　can　explain　a　man's



detention　at　Hanwell　by　an　indifferent　public　by　saying　that　it



is　the　crucifixion　of　a　god　of　whom　the　world　is　not　worthy。　



The　explanation　does　explain。　　Similarly　you　may　explain　the　order



in　the　universe　by　saying　that　all　things；　even　the　souls　of　men；



are　leaves　inevitably　unfolding　on　an　utterly　unconscious　tree



the　blind　destiny　of　matter。　　The　explanation　does　explain；



though　not；　of　course；　so　completely　as　the　madman's。　But　the　point



here　is　that　the　normal　human　mind　not　only　objects　to　both；



but　feels　to　both　the　same　objection。　　Its　approximate　statement



is　that　if　the　man　in　Hanwell　is　the　real　God；　he　is　not　much



of　a　god。　　And；　similarly；　if　the　cosmos　of　the　materialist　is　the



real　cosmos；　it　is　not　much　of　a　cosmos。　　The　thing　has　shrunk。　



The　deity　is　less　divine　than　many　men；　and　（according　to　Haeckel）



the　whole　of　life　is　something　much　more　grey；　narrow；　and　trivial



than　many　separate　aspects　of　it。　　The　parts　seem　greater　than



the　whole。











　　　　　For　we　must　remember　that　the　materialist　philosophy　（whether



true　or　not）　is　certainly　much　more　limiting　than　any　religion。　



In　one　sense；　of　course；　all　intelligent　ideas　are　narrow。　



They　cannot　be　broader　than　themselves。　　A　Christian　is　only



restricted　in　the　same　sense　that　an　atheist　is　restricted。　



He　cannot　think　Christianity　false　and　continue　to　be　a　Christian；



and　the　atheist　cannot　think　atheism　false　and　continue　to　be



an　atheist。　　But　as　it　happens；　there　is　a　very　special　sense



in　which　materialism　has　more　restrictions　than　spiritualism。　



Mr。　McCabe　thinks　me　a　slave　because　I　am　not　allowed　to　believe



in　determinism。