“Yes, and what will you do then? Have you another position in prospect12?”
[Pg 58]
“Certainly,” he replied, with a certain alacrity13 which was in striking contrast with his careless melancholy14. “I want to make myself independent. I am not fitted for office work, and I can’t bear to be bossed around and instructed by every Tom, Dick, or Harry15 who happens to have been on the job a few years longer than I.”
“Ah! now I understand your inability to figure. You are living in a state of permanent psychic16 conflict. Because you have no desire to work you cannot work. But what kind of business do you wish to go into? What have you learned?”
“Learned? To tell the truth, only what one learns in a trade school. I don’t want to go into business. I only want the certificate to show my father that my health will not permit me to work in an office. Do you think it’s good for anybody to work from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with only one hour for luncheon17?”
“That would be only eight hours work a day! I assure you that there are thousands who would be happy to work only so little. Shall you work less when you are independent?”
“Certainly. Then I won’t have to work at all.”
“So!” I replied in amazement18. “I am curious to know what sort of business that is where one doesn’t have to work. What do you intend to do when your father gives you money?”
A blissful smile passed over the interesting [Pg 59]youth’s face like a beam of celestial19 light. “I know all about sports. I’m going to play the races!”
I must admit I was considerably20 taken aback. I know how reluctant to work many a modern man is whose whole energy is expended21 in dreams. But that a sensible man should think of such a thing was new to me. Such a peculiar22 motivation for the purpose of becoming independent. The matter kept running through my head a long time. I soon noticed that this youth was only an extreme type of a very common species—a species that expresses itself in a passion for independence. When we investigate the deeper causes of this passion we invariably find the desire to secure for oneself the utmost amount of pleasure from a very small investment. But independence is only apparently23 the coveted24 ideal; behind it lies not only the desire for freedom, not only the proud feeling of self-reliance. No, in many cases the kernel25 of the matter is—laziness.
Independence! Proud, brazen26 word! How many sacrifices hast thou not demanded and dost still demand daily! Who is ignorant of these little daily tragedies of which no newspaper makes mention! The salesman who, after he had for years enjoyed a care-free and assured position, has fallen a victim to the craving27 for independence, and has to contend with cares and worries so long that at last, broken down and battered28, he renounces29 his beautiful dream and [Pg 60]willingly submits his once proud neck to the yoke30; the writer who starts his own newspaper and sees his hard-saved gold flow away in beautifully printed sheets; the actor who becomes the director of his own company; the merchant who builds his own factory,—an endless procession of men who wished to make themselves independent.
It would be one-sided not to admit that in addition to the aforementioned element of wanting to make one’s work easier there is also a certain ambition to get ahead of one’s neighbours. Modern man is linked to life by a thousand bonds. He is only a little screw in a vast machine—a screw that has little or no influence on the working efficacy of the complicated apparatus31, that can be lightly thrown aside or replaced. We all feel the burden of modern life, and instinctively32 we all fret33 under it and work against it. We long to sever34 the link that ties us to commonplace day and to become the lever that sets the machinery35 in motion.
Stupid beginning! Hopeless and thankless! Who can be independent and absolute nowadays? Is there any calling that can boast of standing36 outside life? It is a delusive37 dream which beckons38 and betrays us. We change masters only. That’s very simple. But we are far from becoming independent thereby39. We have a hundred masters instead of one. The employee who has made himself “independent” has lost his master but becomes the slave of innumerable [Pg 61]new tyrants40 to whose wills he must bow: his customers. Therein he resembles the so-called free professions which are in reality not free. The physician is dependent upon the whims41 of his patients; the lawyer woos the favour of his clients; the writer groans42 under the knout of the cruelest of all tyrants: the public. And, strange to say, it is this last calling that appeals to most persons as the ideal of independence. It is almost a weekly occurrence to see some discontented youngster or an unhappy girl with a thick manuscript in his or her portfolio43, begging to be recommended to some publisher and thus open a writer’s career to them. They want to become self reliant, independent. It is vain to point out to them that an author’s bread is not sweetened with the raisins44 of independence. Others who have never written a line suddenly make up their minds to become journalists. They think that the will to become a journalist is all that is needed to be so. Evidences of adequate preparation and qualification they find in the excellence45 of their school compositions. They do not suspect that the journalist’s independence is a myth that is credited only by those who have never smelled to journalism46. That the journalist is the slave not only of the public but also of the hour. That not a minute of the day is his, and that he would gladly exchange his pen for any other, more massy tool, if such a thing were possible.
Dissatisfaction with one’s calling is also one [Pg 62]of the factors that sets the feeling for independence in motion. Who is nowadays satisfied with his calling, or with himself?! This may be easily proved by referring to a striking phenomenon. In doing so we need not sing the praises of the “good old days.” But happiness in one’s work and contentment with one’s calling were certainly much more common than they are now. Otherwise it could never have come to pass that the father’s calling should be transmitted to the sons generation after generation. How is it with us to-day? The physician cries: My son may be anything but a physician. The public official: My son shall be more fortunate than I; under no circumstances shall he be a public official. The actor: Be what you will, my son, but not an artist; art is the bitterest bread. The merchant wants to make a lawyer of his son, the lawyer a merchant, etc.
We envy others because we are all dissatisfied with ourselves and unhappy. The great ideal that floats before our eyes is to become a clipper of coupons47. Money alone guarantees the road to independence. But if we were to ask the rich about this we would hear some surprising things. I know a lady who possesses a vast fortune and who is the absolute slave of her money. I recommended her to take a trip for her health’s sake. She replied: “Do you think that I can go away for a week? You have no idea of all the work I have to do. Now [Pg 63]it’s something with the bureau of taxes, now it’s engaging a new superintendent49! Then there are the receptions! I am busy from morning till night.” When I advised her to hire a manager she laughed merrily: “I’d be in a fine fix if I did that! Then I would lose the only recompense I have: my independence!”
Wherever we look, the higher we go, the less of true independence do we find. What does the psychology50 of modern social feelings teach us? It shows us everywhere the same cry for independence which in the single individual we have described as the basic feeling of his social attitude. Norway wanted its independence and got it. Hungary stormily clamoured for independence. Ireland, Poland, Persia, India, Egypt, and numerous colonies are struggling for independence. In the structure of the State the urge for independence begets51 continual turmoil52. Austria can sing a plaintive53 song as to this. The demand of certain states for autonomy is the outcome of the same motive54.
Political tune48—scurvy tune. However—wholly unintentionally our analysis brings us from the consideration of the individual to that of the group. That a modern state can never again attain55 that measure of independence that it once enjoyed is as clear to the political economist56 as to the sociologist57. What we have said of the individual applies also to peoples.
Must we then conclude that there is no independence? Isn’t it possible then for man to [Pg 64]elevate himself above his environment and take a loftier point of view?
There certainly is such a thing as independence. But we must draw a sharp line of distinction between two different kinds of independence. There is an inner and an outer independence. But it is only the inner independence that one can hope to attain wholly. It alone is capable of giving us that modicum58 of outward independence which may be laboriously59 wrested60 from life. A healthy philosophy of life that frees the spirit, makes renunciation easier and wishing harder, and a certain spiritual and bodily freedom from wanting for things,—these alone can give us that independence that the world affords. That is why the poorest of the poor is more independent than the richest of the rich.
We all know the beautiful story of the king whose physicians promised him health if he could wear the shirt of a happy man. Messengers searched every corner of the world but, alas61! could not find a happy man, till finally they came upon a merry hermit62 in the thickest part of a dark forest who seemed to be perfectly63 happy. But he, the only happy man in the wide world, had no shirt!
We would have to divest64 ourselves of many shirts to become independent within. We wear and lug65 about with us numberless suits, wrappings, which cover up our true selves and apparently safeguard us, whereas in reality they drag us down to the base earth.
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1
attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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3
snob
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| n.势利小人，自以为高雅、有学问的人 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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neurotic
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| adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者 | |
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7
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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9
vouch
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| v.担保；断定；n.被担保者 | |
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10
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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incompetence
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| n.不胜任，不称职 | |
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12
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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13
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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14
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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15
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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16
psychic
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| n.对超自然力敏感的人；adj.有超自然力的 | |
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17
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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18
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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19
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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20
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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21
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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22
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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23
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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24
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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25
kernel
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| n.(果实的)核，仁；(问题)的中心，核心 | |
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26
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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28
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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29
renounces
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的第三人称单数 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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30
yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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31
apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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32
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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33
fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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34
sever
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| v.切开，割开；断绝，中断 | |
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35
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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36
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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37
delusive
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| adj.欺骗的，妄想的 | |
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38
beckons
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的第三人称单数 ) | |
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39
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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40
tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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41
WHIMS
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| 虚妄，禅病 | |
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42
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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43
portfolio
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| n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位 | |
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44
raisins
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| n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 ) | |
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45
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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46
journalism
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| n.新闻工作，报业 | |
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47
coupons
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| n.礼券( coupon的名词复数 )；优惠券；订货单；参赛表 | |
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48
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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49
superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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50
psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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51
begets
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| v.为…之生父( beget的第三人称单数 )；产生，引起 | |
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52
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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53
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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54
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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55
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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56
economist
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| n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人 | |
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57
sociologist
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| n.研究社会学的人，社会学家 | |
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58
modicum
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| n.少量，一小份 | |
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59
laboriously
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| adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地 | |
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60
wrested
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| （用力）拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 )； 费力取得； （从…）攫取； （ 从… ） 强行取去… | |
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61
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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62
hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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63
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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64
divest
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| v.脱去，剥除 | |
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65
lug
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| n.柄，突出部，螺帽；(英）耳朵；（俚）笨蛋；vt.拖，拉，用力拖动 | |
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