What is natural law?
A.
The instinct by which we feel justice.
B.
What do you call just and unjust?
A.
That which appears so to the whole world.
B.
The world is made up of a great many heads. It is said that at Laced?mon thieves were applauded, while at Athens they were condemned1 to the mines.
A.
That is all a mere2 abuse of words, mere logomachy and ambiguity3. Theft was impossible at Sparta, where all property was common. What you call theft was the punishment of avarice4.
B.
It was forbidden for a man to marry his sister at Rome. Among the Egyptians, the Athenians, and even the Jews, a man was permitted to marry his sister by the father’s side. It is not without regret that I cite the small and wretched nation of the Jews, who certainly ought never to be considered as a rule for any person, and who — setting aside religion — were never anything better than an ignorant, fanatical, and plundering6 horde7. According to their books, however, the young Tamar, before she was violated by her brother Ammon, addressed him in these words: “I pray thee, my brother, do not so foolishly, but ask me in marriage of my father: he will not refuse thee.”
A.
All these cases amount to mere laws of convention, arbitrary usages, transient modes. What is essential remains8 ever the same. Point out to me any country where it would be deemed respectable or decent to plunder5 me of the fruits of my labor9, to break a solemn promise, to tell an injurious lie, to slander10, murder, or poison, to be ungrateful to a benefactor11, or to beat a father or mother presenting food to you.
B.
Have you forgotten that Jean Jacques, one of the fathers of the modern Church, has said that the first person who dared to enclose and cultivate a piece of ground was an enemy of the human race; that he ought to be exterminated12; and that the fruits of the earth belonged to all, and the land to none? Have we not already examined this proposition, so beautiful in itself, and so conducive13 to the happiness of society?
A.
Who is this Jean Jacques? It is certainly not John the Baptist, nor John the Evangelist, nor James the Greater, nor James the Less; he must inevitably14 be some witling of a Hun, to write such abominable15 impertinence, or some ill-conditioned, malicious16 “bufo magro,” who is never more happy than when sneering17 at what all the rest of the world deem most valuable and sacred. For, instead of damaging and spoiling the estate of a wise and industrious18 neighbor, he had only to imitate him, and induce every head of a family to follow his example, in order to form in a short time a most flourishing and happy village. The author of the passage quoted seems to me a thoroughly19 unsocial animal.
B.
You are of opinion, then, that by insulting and plundering the good man, for surrounding his garden and farmyard with a quick-set hedge, he has offended against natural law.
A.
Yes, most certainly; there is, I must repeat, a natural law; and it consists in neither doing ill to another, nor rejoicing at it, when from any cause whatsoever20 it befalls him.
B.
I conceive that man neither loves ill nor does it with any other view than to his own advantage. But so many men are urged on to obtain advantage to themselves by the injury of another; revenge is a passion of such violence; there are examples of it so terrible and fatal; and ambition, more terrible and fatal still, has so drenched21 the world with blood; that when I survey the frightful22 picture, I am tempted23 to confess, that a man is a being truly diabolical24. I may certainly possess, deeply rooted in my heart, the notion of what is just and unjust; but an Attila, whom St. Leon extols25 and pays his court to; a Phocas, whom St. Gregory flatters with the most abject26 meanness; Alexander VI., polluted by so many incests, murders, and poisonings, and with whom the feeble Louis XII., commonly called “the Good,” enters into the most strict and base alliance; a Cromwell, whose protection Cardinal27 Mazarin eagerly solicits28, and to gratify whom he expels from France the heirs of Charles I., cousins-german of Louis XIV. — these, and a thousand similar examples, easily to be found in the records of history, totally disturb and derange29 my ideas, and I no longer know what I am doing or where I am.
A.
Well; but should the knowledge that storms are coming prevent our enjoying the beautiful sunshine and gentle and fragrant30 gales31 of the present day? Did the earthquake that destroyed half the city of Lisbon prevent your making a very pleasant journey from Madrid? If Attila was a bandit, and Cardinal Mazarin a knave32, are there not some princes and ministers respectable and amiable33 men? Has it not been remarked, that in the war of 1701, the Council of Louis XIV. consisted of some of the most virtuous34 of mankind — the duke of Beauvilliers, the Marquis de Torcy, Marshal Villars, and finally Chamillard, who was not indeed considered a very able but still an honorable man? Does not the idea of just and unjust still exist? It is in fact on this that all laws are founded. The Greeks call laws “the daughters of heaven,” which means simply, the daughters of nature. Have you no laws in your country?
B.
Yes; some good, and others bad.
A.
Where could you have taken the idea of them, but from the notions of natural law which every well-constructed mind has within itself? They must have been derived35 from these or nothing.
B.
You are right; there is a natural law, but it is still more natural to many people to forget or neglect it.
A.
It is natural also to be one-eyed, humpbacked, lame36, deformed37, and sickly; but we prefer persons well made and healthy.
B.
Why are there so many one-eyed and deformed minds?
A.
Hush38! Consult, however, the article on “Omnipotence.”
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收听单词发音
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1
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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2
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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3
ambiguity
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| n.模棱两可；意义不明确 | |
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avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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plundering
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 ) | |
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7
horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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8
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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slander
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| n./v.诽谤，污蔑 | |
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benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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12
exterminated
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| v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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conducive
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| adj.有益的，有助的 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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15
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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16
malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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17
sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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18
industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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19
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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20
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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21
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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22
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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23
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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24
diabolical
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| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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25
extols
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| v.赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的第三人称单数 ) | |
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26
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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27
cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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28
solicits
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| 恳请 | |
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29
derange
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| v.使精神错乱 | |
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30
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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31
gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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32
knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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33
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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34
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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35
derived
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| 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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36
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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37
deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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38
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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