SUBCONSCIOUS FEARS

 A young man writes me that he is afraid of thunderstorms, and asks if there is no way for him to overcome this weakness. “I am normal in every other respect,” he adds, “but notwithstanding my endeavors to fight off this nervousness I find it to be of no avail; it appears to be a sort of subconscious¹ fear.”

 

This is not a matter of ridicule², but a sample of very real and acute suffering to which many persons are subject by fear-panics due to various causes.

 

Many women scream with terror at the sight of a mouse. There is no use telling them that mice will not hurt them. So doing, you are addressing their reason, while 93 the trouble lies not in their intelligence—it is a nervous disease. They scare just as a horse shies at a newspaper flapping in the wind.

 

C?sar Augustus was almost convulsed at the sound of thunder.

 

Tycho Brahe changed color and his legs shook under him on meeting a rabbit.

 

Dr. Samuel Johnson would never enter a room left foot first.

 

Talleyrand trembled at the mention of the word—death.

 

Marshal Saxe was mortally afraid of a cat.

 

Peter the Great could never be persuaded to cross a bridge, and, though he tried to master his terror, was unable to do so.

 

I myself have never been able to rid myself of a fear of horses, and the tamest old nag³ gives me the creeps.

 

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And I know a senior in Wellesley College, a young lady of strong intelligence, who could be sent almost into convulsions by showing her a spider or a caterpillar⁴.

 

To determine the cause of these fear-obsessions is a business for the psychologist. They seem to have nothing to do with the mind or the will, but to be, as my correspondent suggests, rooted somewhere in the subconsciousness⁵.

 

That these weaknesses can be entirely⁶ eradicated⁷ in a grown person is doubtful. It is about as difficult to uproot⁸ an ingrained fear as to get rid of a distaste for mutton. Certain strong natures can perhaps cure themselves, but the average man has to accommodate himself to his weakness and resist it the best he can.

 

But the cruel part of this whole matter is that almost all of these fears are 95 TAUGHT US WHEN WE ARE CHILDREN. Many a child’s mind is deliberately⁹ poisoned by fear-suggestions that are to plague him his life long.

 

Whoever threatens a child, or frightens a child by the fear of thunder or lightning or the dark or ghosts or the bad man or death or hell or a vindictive¹⁰ Deity¹¹, should be flogged.

 

Many a delicate child has been more horribly tormented¹² by suggested fears than he could ever have been hurt by corporal punishment.

 

The most deeply moral lesson any mother can instil¹³ into her child is that he be UNAFRAID—of anything in life or death. And whoso teaches a child a fear has made an incurable¹⁴ wound in his soul.

1 subconscious   

n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的)

参考例句：

• Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映。
• My answer seemed to come from the subconscious.我的回答似乎出自下意识。

2 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

3 nag   

v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人

参考例句：

• Nobody likes to work with a nag.谁也不愿与好唠叨的人一起共事。
• Don't nag me like an old woman.别像个老太婆似的唠唠叨叨烦我。

4 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

5 subconsciousness   

潜意识；下意识

参考例句：

• Tucked away in our subconsciousness is an idyllic vision. 我们的潜意识里藏着一派田园诗般的风光！ 来自互联网
• If common subconsciousness is satisfied, aesthetic perception is of general charactor. 共性潜意识得到满足与否，产生的审美接受体验就有共性。 来自互联网

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。

8 uproot   

v.连根拔起，拔除；根除，灭绝；赶出家园，被迫移开

参考例句：

• The family decided to uproot themselves and emigrate to Australia.他们全家决定离开故土，移居澳大利亚。
• The trunk of an elephant is powerful enough to uproot trees.大象的长鼻强壮得足以将树木连根拔起。

9 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

10 vindictive   

adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的

参考例句：

• I have no vindictive feelings about it.我对此没有恶意。
• The vindictive little girl tore up her sister's papers.那个充满报复心的小女孩撕破了她姐姐的作业。

11 deity   

n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物)

参考例句：

• Many animals were seen as the manifestation of a deity.许多动物被看作神的化身。
• The deity was hidden in the deepest recesses of the temple.神藏在庙宇壁龛的最深处。

12 tormented   

饱受折磨的

参考例句：

• The knowledge of his guilt tormented him. 知道了自己的罪责使他非常痛苦。
• He had lain awake all night, tormented by jealousy. 他彻夜未眠，深受嫉妒的折磨。

13 instil   

v.逐渐灌输

参考例句：

• It's necessary to instil the minds of the youth with lofty ideals.把崇高理想灌输到年青人的思想中去是很必要的。
• The motive of the executions would be to instil fear.执行死刑的动机是要灌输恐惧。

14 incurable   

adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人

参考例句：

• All three babies were born with an incurable heart condition.三个婴儿都有不可治瘉的先天性心脏病。
• He has an incurable and widespread nepotism.他们有不可救药的，到处蔓延的裙带主义。