THE CHARACTER OF MAN
Concerning Man--he is too large a subject to be treated as a whole; so I will merely discuss a detail or two of him at this time. I desire to contemplate1 him from this point of view--this premise2: that he was not made for any useful purpose, for the reason that he hasn't served any; that he was most likely not even made intentionally3; and that his working himself up out of the oyster4 bed to his present position was probably matter of surprise and regret to the Creator. . . . For his history, in all climes, all ages and all circumstances, furnishes oceans and continents of proof that of all the creatures that were made he is the most detestable. Of the entire brood he is the only one--the solitary5 one--that possesses malice6.
That is the basest of all instincts, passions, vices--the most hateful. That one thing puts him below the rats, the grubs, the trichinae. He is the only creature that inflicts7 pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. But if the cat knows she is inflicting8 pain when she plays with the frightened mouse, then we must make an exception here; we must grant that in one detail man is the moral peer of the cat. All creatures kill--there seems to be no exception; but of the whole list, man is the only one that kills for fun; he is the only one that kills in malice, the only one that kills for revenge. Also--in all the list he is the only creature that has a nasty mind.
Shall he be extolled9 for his noble qualities, for his gentleness, his sweetness, his amiability10, his lovingness, his courage, his devotion, his patience, his fortitude11, his prudence12, the various charms and graces of his spirit? The other animals share all these with him, yet are free from the blacknesses and rottennesses of his character.
. . . There are certain sweet-smelling sugar-coated lies current in the world which all politic13 men have apparently14 tacitly conspired15 together to support and perpetuate16. One of these is, that there is such a thing in the world as independence: independence of thought, independence of opinion, independence of action. Another is, that the world loves to see independence--admires it, applauds it. Another is, that there is such a thing in the world as toleration--in religion, in politics, and such matters; and with it trains that already mentioned auxiliary17 lie that toleration is admired and applauded. Out of these trunk-lies spring many branch ones: to wit, the lie that not all men are slaves: the lie that men are glad when other men succeed; glad when they prosper18; glad to see them reach lofty heights; sorry to see them fall again. And yet other branch lies: to wit, that there is heroism19 in man; that he is not mainly made up of malice and treachery; that he is sometimes not a coward; that there is something about him that ought to be perpetuated--in heaven, or hell, or somewhere. And these other branch lies, to wit: that conscience, man's moral medicine chest, is not only created by the Creator, but is put into man ready charged with the right and only true and authentic20 correctives of conduct--and the duplicate chest, with the self-same correctives, unchanged, unmodified, distributed to all nations and all epochs. And yet one other branch lie: to wit, that I am I, and you are you; that we are units, individuals, and have natures of our own, instead of being the tail end of a tapeworm eternity21 of ancestors extending in linked procession back and back and back--to our source in the monkeys, with this so-called individuality of ours a decayed and rancid mush of inherited instincts and teachings derived22, atom by atom, stench by stench, from the entire line of that sorry column, and not so much new and original matter in it as you could balance on a needle point and examine under a microscope. This makes well-nigh fantastic the suggestion that there can be such a thing as a personal, original, and responsible nature in a man, separable from that in him which is not original, and findable in such quantity as to enable the observer to say, This is a man, not a procession.
. . . Consider the first-mentioned lie: that there is such a thing in the world as independence; that it exists in individuals; that it exists in bodies of men. Surely if anything is proven, by whole oceans and continents of evidence, it is that the quality of independence was almost wholly left out of the human race. The scattering23 exceptions to the rule only emphasize it, light it up, make it glare. The whole population of New England meekly24 took their turns, for years, in standing25 up in the railway trains, without so much as a complaint above their breath, till at last these uncounted millions were able to produce exactly one single independent man, who stood to his rights and made the railroad give him a seat. Statistics and the law of probabilities warrant the assumption that it will take New England forty years to breed his fellow. There is a law, with a penalty attached, forbidding trains to occupy the Asylum26 Street crossing more than five minutes at a time. For years people and carriages used to wait there nightly as much as twenty minutes on a stretch while New England trains monopolized27 that crossing. I used to hear men use vigorous language about that insolent28 wrong--but they waited, just the same.
We are discreet29 sheep; we wait to see how the drove is going, and then go with the drove. We have two opinions: one private, which we are afraid to express; and another one--the one we use--which we force ourselves to wear to please Mrs. Grundy, until habit makes us comfortable in it, and the custom of defending it presently makes us love it, adore it, and forget how pitifully we came by it. Look at it in politics. Look at the candidates whom we loathe30, one year, and are afraid to vote against, the next; whom we cover with unimaginable filth31, one year, and fall down on the public platform and worship, the next--and keep on doing it until the habitual32 shutting of our eyes to last year's evidences brings us presently to a sincere and stupid belief in this year's. Look at the tyranny of party--at what is called party allegiance, party loyalty--a snare33 invented by designing men for selfish purposes--and which turns voters into chattels34, slaves, rabbits, and all the while their masters, and they themselves are shouting rubbish about liberty, independence, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, honestly unconscious of the fantastic contradiction; and forgetting or ignoring that their fathers and the churches shouted the same blasphemies35 a generation earlier when they were closing their doors against the hunted slave, beating his handful of humane36 defenders37 with Bible texts and billies, and pocketing the insults and licking the shoes of his Southern master.
If we would learn what the human race really is at bottom, we need only observe it in election times. A Hartford clergyman met me in the street and spoke38 of a new nominee39--denounced the nomination40, in strong, earnest words--words that were refreshing41 for their independence, their manliness42. He said, "I ought to be proud, perhaps, for this nominee is a relative of mine; on the contrary, I am humiliated43 and disgusted, for I know him intimately--familiarly--and I know that he is an unscrupulous scoundrel, and always has been." You should have seen this clergyman preside at a political meeting forty days later, and urge, and plead, and gush--and you should have heard him paint the character of this same nominee. You would have supposed he was describing the Cid, and Greatheart, and Sir Galahad, and Bayard the Spotless all rolled into one. Was he sincere? Yes--by that time; and therein lies the pathos44 of it all, the hopelessness of it all. It shows at what trivial cost of effort a man can teach himself to lie, and learn to believe it, when he perceives, by the general drift, that that is the popular thing to do. Does he believe his lie yet? Oh, probably not; he has no further use for it. It was but a passing incident; he spared to it the moment that was its due, then hastened back to the serious business of his life.
And what a paltry45 poor lie is that one which teaches that independence of action and opinion is prized in men, admired, honored, rewarded. When a man leaves a political party, he is treated as if the party owned him--as if he were its bond slave, as most party men plainly are--and had stolen himself, gone off with what was not his own. And he is traduced46, derided47, despised, held up to public obloquy48 and loathing49. His character is remorselessly assassinated50; no means, however vile51, are spared to injure his property and his business.
The preacher who casts a vote for conscience' sake runs the risk of starving. And is rightly served, for he has been teaching a falsity--that men respect and honor independence of thought and action.
Mr. Beecher may be charged with a crime, and his whole following will rise as one man, and stand by him to the bitter end; but who so poor to be his friend when he is charged with casting a vote for conscience' sake? Take the editor so charged--take--take anybody.
All the talk about tolerance52, in anything or anywhere, is plainly a gentle lie. It does not exist. It is in no man's heart; but it unconsciously, and by moss-grown inherited habit, drivels and slobbers from all men's lips. Intolerance is everything for oneself, and nothing for the other person. The mainspring of man's nature is just that--selfishness. Let us skip the other lies, for brevity's sake. To consider them would prove nothing, except that man is what he is--loving toward his own, lovable to his own--his family, his friends--and otherwise the buzzing, busy, trivial enemy of his race--who tarries his little day, does his little dirt, commends himself to God, and then goes out into the darkness, to return no more, and send no messages back--selfish even in death.
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1
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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premise
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| n.前提；v.提论，预述 | |
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intentionally
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| ad.故意地，有意地 | |
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oyster
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| n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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inflicts
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的第三人称单数 ) | |
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inflicting
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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extolled
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| v.赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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amiability
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| n.和蔼可亲的，亲切的，友善的 | |
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fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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politic
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| adj.有智虑的；精明的；v.从政 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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conspired
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| 密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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perpetuate
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| v.使永存，使永记不忘 | |
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auxiliary
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| adj.辅助的，备用的 | |
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prosper
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| v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣 | |
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heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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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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scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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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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asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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monopolized
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| v.垄断( monopolize的过去式和过去分词 )；独占；专卖；专营 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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loathe
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| v.厌恶，嫌恶 | |
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filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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chattels
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| n.动产，奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
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blasphemies
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| n.对上帝的亵渎，亵渎的言词[行为]( blasphemy的名词复数 )；侮慢的言词（或行为） | |
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humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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nominee
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| n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者 | |
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nomination
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| n.提名，任命，提名权 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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manliness
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| 刚毅 | |
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humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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traduced
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| v.诋毁( traduce的过去式和过去分词 )；诽谤；违反；背叛 | |
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derided
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| v.取笑，嘲笑( deride的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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obloquy
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| n.斥责，大骂 | |
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loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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assassinated
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| v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏 | |
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51
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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tolerance
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| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 | |
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