“Provided he follows the Rule.”
“Precisely — provided he follows the Rule.”
“I have heard the phrase, ‘voluntary nobility.’”
“That was the idea of our Founders11. They made a noble and privileged order — open to the whole world. No one could complain of an unjust exclusion12, for the only thing that could exclude from the order was unwillingness13 or inability to follow the Rule.”
“But the Rule might easily have been made exclusive of special lineages and races.”
“That wasn’t their intention. The Rule was planned to exclude the dull, to be unattractive to the base, and to direct and co-ordinate all sound citizens of good intent.”
“And it has succeeded?”
“As well as anything finite can. Life is still imperfect, still a thick felt of dissatisfactions and perplexing problems, but most certainly the quality of all its problems has been raised, and there has been no war, no grinding poverty, not half the disease, and an enormous increase of the order, beauty, and resources of life since the samurai, who began as a private aggressive cult14, won their way to the rule of the world.”
“I would like to have that history,” I said. “I expect there was fighting?” He nodded. “But first — tell me about the Rule.”
“The Rule aims to exclude the dull and base altogether, to discipline the impulses and emotions, to develop a moral habit and sustain a man in periods of stress, fatigue15, and temptation, to produce the maximum co-operation of all men of good intent, and, in fact, to keep all the samurai in a state of moral and bodily health and efficiency. It does as much of this as well as it can, but, of course, like all general propositions, it does not do it in any case with absolute precision. On the whole, it is so good that most men who, like myself, are doing poietic work, and who would be just as well off without obedience16, find a satisfaction in adhesion. At first, in the militant17 days, it was a trifle hard and uncompromising; it had rather too strong an appeal to the moral prig and harshly righteous man, but it has undergone, and still undergoes, revision and expansion, and every year it becomes a little better adapted to the need of a general rule of life that all men may try to follow. We have now a whole literature, with many very fine things in it, written about the Rule.”
He glanced at a little book on his desk, took it up as if to show it me, then put it down again.
“The Rule consists of three parts; there is the list of things that qualify, the list of things that must not be done, and the list of things that must be done. Qualification exacts a little exertion18, as evidence of good faith, and it is designed to weed out the duller dull and many of the base. Our schooling19 period ends now about fourteen, and a small number of boys and girls — about three per cent. — are set aside then as unteachable, as, in fact, nearly idiotic20; the rest go on to a college or upper school.”
“All your population?”
“With that exception.”
“Free?”
“Of course. And they pass out of college at eighteen. There are several different college courses, but one or other must be followed and a satisfactory examination passed at the end — perhaps ten per cent. fail — and the Rule requires that the candidate for the samurai must have passed.”
“But a very good man is sometimes an idle schoolboy.”
“We admit that. And so anyone who has failed to pass the college leaving examination may at any time in later life sit for it again — and again and again. Certain carefully specified21 things excuse it altogether.”
“That makes it fair. But aren’t there people who cannot pass examinations?”
“People of nervous instability ——”
“But they may be people of great though irregular poietic gifts.”
“Exactly. That is quite possible. But we don’t want that sort of people among our samurai. Passing an examination is a proof of a certain steadiness of purpose, a certain self-control and submission22 ——”
“Of a certain ‘ordinariness.’”
“Exactly what is wanted.”
“Of course, those others can follow other careers.”
“Yes. That’s what we want them to do. And, besides these two educational qualifications, there are two others of a similar kind of more debateable value. One is practically not in operation now. Our Founders put it that a candidate for the samurai must possess what they called a Technique, and, as it operated in the beginning, he had to hold the qualification for a doctor, for a lawyer, for a military officer, or an engineer, or teacher, or have painted acceptable pictures, or written a book, or something of the sort. He had, in fact, as people say, to ‘be something,’ or to have ‘done something.’ It was a regulation of vague intention even in the beginning, and it became catholic to the pitch of absurdity23. To play a violin skilfully24 has been accepted as sufficient for this qualification. There may have been a reason in the past for this provision; in those days there were many daughters of prosperous parents — and even some sons — who did nothing whatever but idle uninterestingly in the world, and the organisation25 might have suffered by their invasion, but that reason has gone now, and the requirement remains26 a merely ceremonial requirement. But, on the other hand, another has developed. Our Founders made a collection of several volumes, which they called, collectively, the Book of the Samurai, a compilation27 of articles and extracts, poems and prose pieces, which were supposed to embody28 the idea of the order. It was to play the part for the samurai that the Bible did for the ancient Hebrews. To tell you the truth, the stuff was of very unequal merit; there was a lot of very second-rate rhetoric29, and some nearly namby-pamby verse. There was also included some very obscure verse and prose that had the trick of seeming wise. But for all such defects, much of the Book, from the very beginning, was splendid and inspiring matter. From that time to this, the Book of the Samurai has been under revision, much has been added, much rejected, and some deliberately30 rewritten. Now, there is hardly anything in it that is not beautiful and perfect in form. The whole range of noble emotions finds expression there, and all the guiding ideas of our Modern State. We have recently admitted some terse31 criticism of its contents by a man named Henley.”
“Old Henley!”
“A man who died a little time ago.”
“I knew that man on earth. And he was in Utopia, too! He was a great red-faced man, with fiery32 hair, a noisy, intolerant maker33 of enemies, with a tender heart — and he was one of the samurai?”
“He defied the Rules.”
“He was a great man with wine. He wrote like wine; in our world he wrote wine; red wine with the light shining through.”
“He was on the Committee that revised our Canon. For the revising and bracing34 of our Canon is work for poietic as well as kinetic35 men. You knew him in your world?”
“I wish I had. But I have seen him. On earth he wrote a thing . . . it would run —
“Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever Gods may be,
For my unconquerable soul. . . . ”
“We have that here. All good earthly things are in Utopia also. We put that in the Canon almost as soon as he died,” said my double.
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1
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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expedients
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| n.应急有效的，权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
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administrative
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| adj.行政的，管理的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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uncertainties
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| 无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物 | |
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consecration
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| n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式 | |
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founders
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| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
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12
exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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unwillingness
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| n. 不愿意，不情愿 | |
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cult
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| n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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militant
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| adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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19
schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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specified
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| adj.特定的 | |
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submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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compilation
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| n.编译，编辑 | |
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embody
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| vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录 | |
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rhetoric
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| n.修辞学，浮夸之言语 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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31
terse
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| adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的 | |
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32
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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33
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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34
bracing
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| adj.令人振奋的 | |
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kinetic
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| adj.运动的；动力学的 | |
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