Every form of insanity13, one may say, has a physiological14 prototype. Melancholia takes for its model the little depressive attacks of everyday life; mania8 has its prototype in the unrestrained enthusiasm of the baseball “fan”; and even the various forms of paranoia15, the true insanity, have their typical representatives [Pg 92]among normal persons. To bring out this kinship we need no better example than that offered by the delusion3 of greatness. This delusion is so bound up with the requirements of the human psyche16, so organically knit together with the ego17, that it constitutes an indispensable element of our ethical18 consciousness. Every one of us thinks himself the wisest, best, most conscientious19, and so forth20. Each one thinks himself indispensable. It is this delusional21 greatness of the normal person which makes life tolerable under even the hardest conditions. It gives us the strength to bear all our humiliations, disappointments, failures, and the “whips and scorns of time.”
Of course we are very careful to conceal22 this delusional greatness from the rest of the world. We all have our secret chapels23 in which we offer daily prayers and into which no one, not even our nearest, is permitted even to glance. In this chapel24 our idol25 sits enthroned, the prototype of majesty26, “our ego,” before whom we bend our knees in humble27 supplication28. But out there—in the world without—it is different. There we play the role of the humble, respectful, subservient29 fellow. We swear allegiance to alien gods and mock our ego and its powers.
But sometimes the delusional greatness breaks out with pathological elementary force. We ought to keep our light under a bushel, trudge30 along with the multitude, day in, day out. Then all would be well. But destiny must not [Pg 93]lift us to heights where our behaviour cannot escape observation and every one of our thoughts will be deduced from our actions. Success must not narcotise us to the extent of depriving us of that vestige31 of self-criticism which we so imperatively32 need in whatever situation life may place us. Success does not pacify33 the roaring of our megalomania. Success goads34 it with a thousand lashes35 of the whip so that it becomes restive36 and escapes from the security of the preserves of the soul. Is this still a healthy manifestation37? Or are we already in the realm of the pathological? Is it the first delusion or the ultimate wisdom?
The delusion of greatness penetrates38 whole classes of humanity, infecting them like a subtle poison against which there is almost no immunity39. We have only to refer to the “affairs” of all kinds of artists of the first, second, and third rank. The delusional greatness of the artist usually appears along with the belittling40 mania displayed by his confreres, his immediate41 competitors. The higher we esteem42 ourselves, the more we depreciate43 our fellow climbers. That is the reason why the artist, drunk with his own ego, loses the power to be just, to measure the work of others by any but an egocentric standard. Should any one venture to show this megalomania its true image in the calm mirror of justice, he would be characterized a malicious44 enemy. In the struggle to maintain the hypertrophied ego-consciousness the delusion [Pg 94]of greatness is assisted by a willing servant: the delusion of persecution45.
Along with the artist class there are many other vocations46 which to a certain extent gratify the delusion of greatness. In some callings this is a kind of idealistic compensation for the poor material returns. The megalomania of the Prussian officer, or the American professor (who are the butts47 of even the so-called harmless comic-journals) is an example. A close second to this is the megalomania of certain exclusive student organizations, patriotic48 megalomania, etc.
We can no longer escape a generalization49. We note that delusional greatness is a compensation for some privation or hardship. This is especially illuminating50 with reference to that patriotic delusional greatness which has nothing whatever to do with a wholly justifiable51 self-consciousness. The self-consciousness of the Briton emanates52 from his proud history and the imposing53 power of his nation. But we note that it is especially small nations, who ought in reason to be very modest, who are guilty of a tremendous self-overestimation. And they do not scruple54 to invent an illustrious past which is calculated to lend some show of historic justification55 for the national delusion. Exempla sunt odiosa.
This mechanism56 teaches us how to estimate folk-psychology57. A people behaves like an individual. So that our findings with reference [Pg 95]to the psychology of individuals may be applied58 to whole races, and vice59 versa.
And here we note that the individual’s delusional greatness invariably has one and the same root: it is an over-compensation for an oppressive diminution60 of the ego-consciousness. The daily life about us offers innumerable proofs of this assertion. Persons particularly prone61 to delusional greatness are those who suffer from certain defects and who in youth had been subjected to painful, derisive62, scornful, or depreciative criticism. Amongst these we find especially the halt, the lame63, the partly blind, the stutterer, the humpbacked, the red-haired, the sick, etc.—in short, persons with some stigma64. By the mechanism of over-compensation such individuals may manifest inordinately65 ambitious natures. Is it accidental that so many celebrated66 generals—C?sar, Napoleon, Prince Eugene, Radetzky—were of small stature67? Was it not precisely68 this smallness of stature which furnished the driving power that made them “great”? Instead of looking for the essence of genius in peculiar69 bodily proportions (which Popper finds to be in a long trunk and short legs!) it would prove a more gratifying task to ferret out those primary factors that have brought about an unusual expenditure70 of psychic71 energy in one particular direction.
A very brilliant and suggestive hypothesis (advanced by Dr. Alfred Adler) attempts to [Pg 96]account for all superior human gifts as an over-compensation for some original “inferiority.” Even if this principle may not prove true in every case, it can be demonstrated to have played a part in the development of many a case of superior merit in some field of mental endeavour. We are all familiar with largely authentic72 anecdotes73 about distinguished74 scholars, who have just managed to squeeze through in their final professional examinations. In their case, too, by over-compensation a conviction of their inferiority brought about a heightened interest in their work and this interest then became permanently75 fixed76.
Unawares we have wandered from the delusional greatness to true greatness. But who will presume to decide what is true greatness and what delusion? How many discoverers and inventors were ridiculed77 and their imposing greatness stigmatized78 as delusion, and how many intellectual ciphers79 rejoiced in the applause and the worship of their contemporaries! It is this fact which encourages a megalomaniac to permit the criticism of his contemporaries to “fly by him as the idle wind which he respects not.” If it is not true that all greatness is ignored, the opposite is true: every ignored person is one of the great ones. At least he is so to himself. Delusional greatness unites both criticism and recognition in a single tremendous ego-complex.
The roots of this delusion, as of all purely80 [Pg 97]psychic maladies, are infantile. There was a time in the lives of all of us when we were the victims of a genuinely pathological delusion of greatness. In the days of our childhood we were consumed by a longing81 to be “big.” At first it was only the desire to be a “big man,” to be grown up. A little later and our desires fluttered across the sea of our thoughts like sea-gulls or flew like falcons82 into the unknown vast. We were kings, ministers of state, princes, ambassadors, generals, trapeze artists, conductors, firemen, or even butlers.
And yet we are all surprised when a butler plants himself squarely before the door and assumes the easy port of a person of some standing10 and identifies himself with the master of the house and graciously dispenses83 his domestic favours. Are we then, much better, more sensible, or freer from prejudice? We too stand before the doors of our desires and act as if we believed that they are realities which we are obliged to guard.
点击收听单词发音
1 lyric | |
n.抒情诗,歌词;adj.抒情的 | |
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2 epic | |
n.史诗,叙事诗;adj.史诗般的,壮丽的 | |
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3 delusion | |
n.谬见,欺骗,幻觉,迷惑 | |
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4 delusions | |
n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 );谬见;错觉;妄想 | |
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5 slumber | |
n.睡眠,沉睡状态 | |
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6 prey | |
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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7 raving | |
adj.说胡话的;疯狂的,怒吼的;非常漂亮的;令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话;疯话adv.胡言乱语地;疯狂地 | |
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8 mania | |
n.疯狂;躁狂症,狂热,癖好 | |
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9 maniac | |
n.精神癫狂的人;疯子 | |
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10 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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11 bustle | |
v.喧扰地忙乱,匆忙,奔忙;n.忙碌;喧闹 | |
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12 tumult | |
n.喧哗;激动,混乱;吵闹 | |
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13 insanity | |
n.疯狂,精神错乱;极端的愚蠢,荒唐 | |
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14 physiological | |
adj.生理学的,生理学上的 | |
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15 paranoia | |
n.妄想狂,偏执狂;多疑症 | |
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16 psyche | |
n.精神;灵魂 | |
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17 ego | |
n.自我,自己,自尊 | |
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18 ethical | |
adj.伦理的,道德的,合乎道德的 | |
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19 conscientious | |
adj.审慎正直的,认真的,本着良心的 | |
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20 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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21 delusional | |
妄想的 | |
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22 conceal | |
v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽 | |
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23 chapels | |
n.小教堂, (医院、监狱等的)附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 );(在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的)礼拜仪式 | |
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24 chapel | |
n.小教堂,殡仪馆 | |
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25 idol | |
n.偶像,红人,宠儿 | |
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26 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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27 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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28 supplication | |
n.恳求,祈愿,哀求 | |
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29 subservient | |
adj.卑屈的,阿谀的 | |
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30 trudge | |
v.步履艰难地走;n.跋涉,费力艰难的步行 | |
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31 vestige | |
n.痕迹,遗迹,残余 | |
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32 imperatively | |
adv.命令式地 | |
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33 pacify | |
vt.使(某人)平静(或息怒);抚慰 | |
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34 goads | |
n.赶牲口的尖棒( goad的名词复数 )v.刺激( goad的第三人称单数 );激励;(用尖棒)驱赶;驱使(或怂恿、刺激)某人 | |
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35 lashes | |
n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 );鞭子;突然猛烈的一击;急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 );煽动;紧系;怒斥 | |
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36 restive | |
adj.不安宁的,不安静的 | |
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37 manifestation | |
n.表现形式;表明;现象 | |
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38 penetrates | |
v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 );刺入;了解;渗透 | |
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39 immunity | |
n.优惠;免除;豁免,豁免权 | |
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40 belittling | |
使显得微小,轻视,贬低( belittle的现在分词 ) | |
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41 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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42 esteem | |
n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作 | |
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43 depreciate | |
v.降价,贬值,折旧 | |
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44 malicious | |
adj.有恶意的,心怀恶意的 | |
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45 persecution | |
n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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46 vocations | |
n.(认为特别适合自己的)职业( vocation的名词复数 );使命;神召;(认为某种工作或生活方式特别适合自己的)信心 | |
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47 butts | |
笑柄( butt的名词复数 ); (武器或工具的)粗大的一端; 屁股; 烟蒂 | |
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48 patriotic | |
adj.爱国的,有爱国心的 | |
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49 generalization | |
n.普遍性,一般性,概括 | |
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50 illuminating | |
a.富于启发性的,有助阐明的 | |
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51 justifiable | |
adj.有理由的,无可非议的 | |
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52 emanates | |
v.从…处传出,传出( emanate的第三人称单数 );产生,表现,显示 | |
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53 imposing | |
adj.使人难忘的,壮丽的,堂皇的,雄伟的 | |
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54 scruple | |
n./v.顾忌,迟疑 | |
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55 justification | |
n.正当的理由;辩解的理由 | |
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56 mechanism | |
n.机械装置;机构,结构 | |
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57 psychology | |
n.心理,心理学,心理状态 | |
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58 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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59 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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60 diminution | |
n.减少;变小 | |
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61 prone | |
adj.(to)易于…的,很可能…的;俯卧的 | |
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62 derisive | |
adj.嘲弄的 | |
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63 lame | |
adj.跛的,(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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64 stigma | |
n.耻辱,污名;(花的)柱头 | |
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65 inordinately | |
adv.无度地,非常地 | |
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66 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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67 stature | |
n.(高度)水平,(高度)境界,身高,身材 | |
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68 precisely | |
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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69 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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70 expenditure | |
n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出;使用,消耗 | |
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71 psychic | |
n.对超自然力敏感的人;adj.有超自然力的 | |
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72 authentic | |
a.真的,真正的;可靠的,可信的,有根据的 | |
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73 anecdotes | |
n.掌故,趣闻,轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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74 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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75 permanently | |
adv.永恒地,永久地,固定不变地 | |
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76 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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77 ridiculed | |
v.嘲笑,嘲弄,奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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78 stigmatized | |
v.使受耻辱,指责,污辱( stigmatize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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79 ciphers | |
n.密码( cipher的名词复数 );零;不重要的人;无价值的东西 | |
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80 purely | |
adv.纯粹地,完全地 | |
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81 longing | |
n.(for)渴望 | |
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82 falcons | |
n.猎鹰( falcon的名词复数 ) | |
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83 dispenses | |
v.分配,分与;分配( dispense的第三人称单数 );施与;配(药) | |
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