"A very common error," says Yoritomo, "is that which consists in classifying common sense among the amorphous1 virtues2, only applicable to things and to people whose fundamental principle is materiality.
"This is a calumny3 which is spread broadcast by fools who scatter4 their lives to the four winds of caprice and extravagance.
"Not only does common sense not exclude beauty, but it really aids in its inception5 and protects its growth by maintaining the reasons which produced its appearance.
"Without it, the reign6 of the most admired things would be of short duration, granting that the want of logic7 had not prevented their production.
"What is there more commendable8 than the love of work, devotion to science, ambition to succeed?
"Could all this exist if common sense did not intervene to permit the development of the deductions9 on which are based the resolutions that inspired in us these aspirations10.
"But this is not all; without logic, which permits us to give them solidity, the most serious resolutions would soon become nothing but vague projects, shattered as soon as formed.
"In common sense lies the cause and the object of things.
"It is common sense which makes us realize that difference that few persons are willing to analyze11, and which lies between judgment12 and opinion.
"We almost always succeed in readily confounding them, and from this mistake results a too-frequent cause of failures.
"Opinion is a conviction which is capable of modification13.
"In addition to this, as it is based on mere14 indications and probability, it is rarely free from the personal element.
"Opinion depends upon the favorite inclination15, upon the mood of the moment, upon sundry16 considerations, which direct it almost always toward the desired solution.
"Also it depends often on thoughtfulness or on the inexactness of the initial representation, which we are pleased to disguise slightly at first, then little by little to color in accordance with our desires.
"Falsehood does not necessarily enter into this process of tricking things out; it is, three-quarters of the time, the result of an illusion which we are prone17 to perpetuate18 within us.
"We are too often in the position of the three wise men who, while rummaging19 in an old sarcophagus, discovered a vase whose primitive20 function they were unable to determine with any certainty.
"One of them was a poet and an idealist.
"The second only prized positive things.
"The third belonged to the category of melancholy21 people.
"After a few days devoted22 to special research work, they met together again in order to communicate to each other their different opinions about the exhumed23 vase.
"'I have found the secret,' said the first.
"'I also,' affirmed the second.
"'I equally have found it,' replied the third.
"And each one based his opinion on preconceived notions which reflected their bent24 of mind:
"'This vase,' said the first, 'was intended to hold incense25, which they burned a that epoch27, in the belief that the smoke dispelled28 the evil spirits.'
"'Nonsense!' cried out the second; 'this vase is a pot which at that time served as a receptacle for keeping spices.'
"'Not so!' insisted the third, 'it is an urn26 of antiquated29 design used for receiving tears; that is all.'
"These three serious men were certainly sincere in giving explanations which each one of them declared decisive. They exprest opinions which they believed implicitly30 and which their respective natures directed irresistibly31 toward their peculiar32 bents of mind.
"Judgment, in order to be free from all which is not common sense, ought then to put aside all personal predilections33, all desire to form a conclusion to humor our inclinations34.
"Absolute impartiality35 of judgment is one of the rarest gifts and at the same time is the noblest quality which we can possess."
We should then conclude, with the Shogun, that common sense aids in the production of noble aspirations, and is not concerned only with that which relates to materiality, as so many people would have us understand.
The Nippon philosopher teaches us also the part which he assigns to the habitual36 practise of goodness.
"We are too easily persuaded," he says, "that goodness, like beauty, is a gift of birth.
"It is time to destroy an error rooted in our minds for too many centuries.
"Goodness is acquired by reasoning and logic, as are so many other qualities, and it is common sense which governs its formation.
"Have we ever reflected over the sum total of annoyances37 that people, who are essentially38 wicked, add every day to those imposed upon them by circumstances?
"Are we capable of appreciating the joys of life when impatience39 makes the nerves vibrate or when anger brandishes40 its torch in the bends and turns of the brain?
"People who lack goodness are the first to be punished for their defect. Serenity41 is unknown to them and they live in perpetual agitation42, caused by the irritation43 which they experience on the slightest provocation44."
Common sense indicates then in an irrefutable way that there is every advantage in being good.
And Yoritomo proves it to us, by using his favorite syllogism45:
"Happiness," he says, "is above all a combination of harmony and absence of sorrow.
"Wickedness, by inspiring us with discontent and anger, disturbs this harmony.
"We must, therefore, banish46 wickedness, that we may cultivate goodness, which is the creator of harmony."
Continuing still further the same argument, he adds:
"Common sense would have the tendency even to make us promise to be good, so as to satisfy our own egotism.
"Goodness creates smiles; to sow happiness around one, is a way of having neither eyes nor heart offended by the sight of people in tears; it is the eliciting47 of an agreeable joy, whose rays will shed a golden light over our life; is it not more pleasing to hear the ring of laughter than to listen to painful sobs48?"
So, we should never lose an opportunity of being good and that without mental reservation.
Gratitude49 is not the possession of every soul and he who does good may expect to receive ingratitude50.
He will not suffer from it, if he has done good, not in the way a creditor51 does who intends to come on the very day appointed to claim his debt, but as a giver who fulfils his mission from which he is expecting a personal satisfaction, without thinking of any acknowledgment for what he has done.
If the debtor52 is filled with gratitude, the joy of being good is that much increased.
There is a species of common sense of a particularly noble quality that is called moral sense and which the Shogun defines thus:
"The moral sense is the common sense of the soul; it is the superior power of reasoning which stands before us that we may be prevented from passively following our instincts; it is by its assistance that we succeed without too much difficulty in climbing the steep paths of duty.
"This sense discerns an important quality, which puts us on our guard against the danger of certain theories, whose brilliancy might seduce53 us.
"It is the moral sense which indicates to us the point of delimitation separating legitimate54 concessions55 from forbidden license56.
"It allows us to go as far as the dangerous place where the understanding with conscience might become compromised and, by reasoning, proves to us that there would be serious danger in proceeding57 further.
"It is the moral sense which distinguishes civilized58 man from the brute59; it is the regulator of the movements of the soul and the faithful indicator60 of the actions which depend on it."
We must really pity those who are deprived of moral sense for they are the prey61 of all the impulses created in them by the brute-nature, which sleeps in the depths of each human creature.
The man whose moral sense is developed will live at peace with himself, for he will only know the evil of doubt when he realizes the satisfaction of having conquered it.
Moral sense, like common sense, is formed by reasoning and is fostered by the practise of constant application.
It is the property of those who avoid evil, as others avoid the spatter of mud, through horror of the stains which result from it.
Those who do not have this apprehension62 flounder about, cover themselves with mud, sink in it and finally are swallowed up.
Yoritomo again takes up the defense63 of common sense, with reference to the arts.
"Can one imagine," he says, "a painter conceiving a picture and grouping his figures in such a way as to violate the rules of common sense?
"We should be doomed64, if this were true, to see men as tall as oak-trees and houses resembling children's toy constructions, placed without reference to equilibrium65 among green or pink animals, whose legs had queer shapes.
"Madmen represent nature thus, which seems to them outlined in strange forms.
"But people of common sense reproduce things just as sound judgment conceives of them; if they throw around them at times the halo of beauty which seems exaggerated, let us not decry66 them.
"Beauty exists everywhere; it dwells in the most humble67 objects, makes all around us resplendent and, if we refuse to see it, we are blinded by an unjust prejudice, or our minds are not open to the faculty68 of contemplation.
"It is revealed above all to those who cultivate common sense and reject the sophistries69 of untruth that they may surround themselves with truth.
"Such people scorn trivial casualties; they adopt an immutable70 rule, reasoning, which permits them to deduce, to judge, and afterward71 to produce.
"All beautiful creations are derived72 from this source.
"The most admirable inventions would never have been known if common sense had not helped them to be produced, strengthening those who conceived them by the support of logic, which demonstrated to them the truth of their presumptions73.
"Authority follows, based on the experience which, by maintaining the effect of judgment, has armed them with the strength of the mind, the true glory of peaceful conquerors74."
Would one not say that the Shogun, in writing these lines, foresaw the magnificent efforts which we are witnessing each day and that from the depths of time he caught a glimpse of these brave conquerors of the air and of space, whose great deeds, seeming at times the result of a crazy temerity75, are in reality only homage76 rendered to common sense, which has permitted them to calculate the value of their initiative without mistake?
And one can not be denied the pleasure of entering once more into close communion of thought with the old philosopher when he says:
"Enthusiasm is of crystal but common sense is of brass77."
The End
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1 amorphous | |
adj.无定形的 | |
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2 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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3 calumny | |
n.诽谤,污蔑,中伤 | |
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4 scatter | |
vt.撒,驱散,散开;散布/播;vi.分散,消散 | |
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5 inception | |
n.开端,开始,取得学位 | |
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6 reign | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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7 logic | |
n.逻辑(学);逻辑性 | |
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8 commendable | |
adj.值得称赞的 | |
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9 deductions | |
扣除( deduction的名词复数 ); 结论; 扣除的量; 推演 | |
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10 aspirations | |
强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 ); 志向; 发送气音; 发 h 音 | |
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11 analyze | |
vt.分析,解析 (=analyse) | |
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12 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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13 modification | |
n.修改,改进,缓和,减轻 | |
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14 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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15 inclination | |
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好 | |
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16 sundry | |
adj.各式各样的,种种的 | |
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17 prone | |
adj.(to)易于…的,很可能…的;俯卧的 | |
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18 perpetuate | |
v.使永存,使永记不忘 | |
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19 rummaging | |
翻找,搜寻( rummage的现在分词 ); 海关检查 | |
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20 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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21 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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22 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
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23 exhumed | |
v.挖出,发掘出( exhume的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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25 incense | |
v.激怒;n.香,焚香时的烟,香气 | |
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26 urn | |
n.(有座脚的)瓮;坟墓;骨灰瓮 | |
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27 epoch | |
n.(新)时代;历元 | |
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28 dispelled | |
v.驱散,赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29 antiquated | |
adj.陈旧的,过时的 | |
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30 implicitly | |
adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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31 irresistibly | |
adv.无法抵抗地,不能自持地;极为诱惑人地 | |
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32 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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33 predilections | |
n.偏爱,偏好,嗜好( predilection的名词复数 ) | |
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34 inclinations | |
倾向( inclination的名词复数 ); 倾斜; 爱好; 斜坡 | |
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35 impartiality | |
n. 公平, 无私, 不偏 | |
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36 habitual | |
adj.习惯性的;通常的,惯常的 | |
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37 annoyances | |
n.恼怒( annoyance的名词复数 );烦恼;打扰;使人烦恼的事 | |
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38 essentially | |
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上 | |
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39 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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40 brandishes | |
v.挥舞( brandish的第三人称单数 );炫耀 | |
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41 serenity | |
n.宁静,沉着,晴朗 | |
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42 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
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43 irritation | |
n.激怒,恼怒,生气 | |
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44 provocation | |
n.激怒,刺激,挑拨,挑衅的事物,激怒的原因 | |
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45 syllogism | |
n.演绎法,三段论法 | |
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46 banish | |
vt.放逐,驱逐;消除,排除 | |
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47 eliciting | |
n. 诱发, 引出 动词elicit的现在分词形式 | |
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48 sobs | |
啜泣(声),呜咽(声)( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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49 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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50 ingratitude | |
n.忘恩负义 | |
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51 creditor | |
n.债仅人,债主,贷方 | |
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52 debtor | |
n.借方,债务人 | |
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53 seduce | |
vt.勾引,诱奸,诱惑,引诱 | |
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54 legitimate | |
adj.合法的,合理的,合乎逻辑的;v.使合法 | |
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55 concessions | |
n.(尤指由政府或雇主给予的)特许权( concession的名词复数 );承认;减价;(在某地的)特许经营权 | |
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56 license | |
n.执照,许可证,特许;v.许可,特许 | |
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57 proceeding | |
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
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58 civilized | |
a.有教养的,文雅的 | |
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59 brute | |
n.野兽,兽性 | |
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60 indicator | |
n.指标;指示物,指示者;指示器 | |
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61 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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62 apprehension | |
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑 | |
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63 defense | |
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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64 doomed | |
命定的 | |
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65 equilibrium | |
n.平衡,均衡,相称,均势,平静 | |
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66 decry | |
v.危难,谴责 | |
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67 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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68 faculty | |
n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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69 sophistries | |
n.诡辩术( sophistry的名词复数 );(一次)诡辩 | |
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70 immutable | |
adj.不可改变的,永恒的 | |
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71 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
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72 derived | |
vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取 | |
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73 presumptions | |
n.假定( presumption的名词复数 );认定;推定;放肆 | |
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74 conquerors | |
征服者,占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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75 temerity | |
n.鲁莽,冒失 | |
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76 homage | |
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬 | |
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77 brass | |
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器 | |
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