现代大学英语精读6 notes on english character

现代大学英语精读6notesonenglishcharacter现代大学英语精读6notesonenglishcharacter现代大学英语精读6notesonenglishcharacterV:1.0精细整理，仅供参考现代大学英语精读6notesonenglishcharacter日期：20xx年X月Firstnote.IhadbetterletthecatoutofthebagatonceandrecordmyopinionthatthecharacteroftheEnglishisessentiallymiddleclass.Thereisasoundhistoricalreasonforthis，

for，sincetheendoftheeighteenthcentury，

themiddleclasseshavebeenthedominantforceinourcommunity.TheygainedwealthbytheIndustrialRevolution，

politicalpowerbytheReformBillof1832；

theyareconnectedwiththeriseandorganizationoftheBritishEmpire；

theyareresponsiblefortheliteratureofthenineteenthcentury.Solidity，

caution，

integrity，

efficiency.Lackofimagination，

hypocrisy.Thesequalitiescharacterizethemiddleclassesineverycountry，

butinEnglandtheyarenationalcharacteristicsalso，

becauseonlyinEnglandhavethemiddleclassesbeeninpowerforonehundredandfiftyyears.Napoleon，

inhisrudeway，

calledus"anationofshopkeepers."Weprefertocallourselves"agreatcommercialnation"--itsoundsmoredignified--butthetwophrasesamounttothesame.Ofcoursethereareotherclasses：

thereisanaristocracy，

therearethepoor.Butitisonthemiddleclassesthattheeyeofthecriticrests--justasitrestsonthepoorinRussiaandonthearistocracyinJapan.Russiaissymbolizedbythepeasantorbythefactoryworker；

Japanbythesamurai；

thenationalfigureofEnglandisMr.Bullwithhistophat，

hiscomfortableclothes，

hissubstantialstomach，

andhissubstantialbalanceatthebank.SaintGeorgemaycaperonbannersandinthespeechesofpoliticians，

butitisJohnBullwhodeliversthegoods.AndevenSaintGeorge--ifGibboniscorrect--woreatophatonce；

hewasanarmycontractorandsuppliedindifferentbacon.Itallamountstothesameintheend.

SecondNote.JustastheheartofEnglandisthemiddleclasses，

sotheheartofthemiddleclassesisthepublicschoolsystem.Thisextraordinaryinstitutionislocal.ItdoesnotevenexistallovertheBritishIsles.ItisunknowninIreland，

almostunknowninScotland

（countriesexcludedfrommysurvey），

andthoughitmayinspireothergreatinstitutions--Aligarh，

forexample，

andsomeoftheschoolsintheUnitedStates--itremainsunique，

becauseitwascreatedbytheAnglo-Saxonmiddleclasses，

andcanflourishonlywheretheyflourish.Howperfectlyitexpressestheircharacter--farbetterforinstance，

thandoestheuniversity，

intowhichsocialandspiritualcomplexitieshavealreadyentered.Withitsboarding-houses，

itscompulsorygames，

itssystemofprefectsandfagging，

itsinsistenceongoodformandonespritdecorps，

itproducesatypewhoseweightisoutofallproportiontoitsnumbers.

Onleavinghisschool，

theboyeithersetstoworkatonce--goesintothearmyorintobusiness，

oremigrates--orelseproceedstotheuniversity，

andafterthreeorfouryearsthereenterssomeotherprofession--becomesabarrister，

doctor，

civilservant，

schoolmaster，

orjournalist.

（Ifthroughsomemishaphedoesnotbecomeamanualworkeroranartist.）

Inallthesecareershiseducation，

ortheabsenceofit，influenceshim.Itsmemoriesinfluencehimalso.Manymenlookbackontheirschooldaysasthehappiestoftheirlives.Theyrememberwithregretthatgoldentimewhenlife，

thoughhard，

wasnotyetcomplex，

whentheyallworkedtogetherandplayedtogetherandthoughttogether，

sofarastheythoughtatall；

whentheyweretaughtthatschoolistheworldinminiatureandbelievedthatnoonecanlovehiscountrywhodoesnotlovehisschool.AndtheyprolongthattimeasbesttheycanbyjoiningtheirOldBoys'society：

indeed，

someofthemremainOldBoysandnothingelsefortherestoftheirlives.Theyattributeallgoodtotheschool.Theyworshipit.Theyquotetheremarkthat"ThebattleofWaterloowaswonontheplayingfieldsofEton."ItisnothingtothemthattheremarkisinapplicablehistoricallyandwasnevermadebytheDukeofWellington，

andthattheDukeofWellingtonwasanIrishman.Theygoonquotingitbecauseitexpressestheirsentiments；

theyfeelthatiftheDukeofWellingtondidn'tmakeitheoughttohave，

andifhewasn'tanEnglishmanheoughttohavebeen.Andtheygoforthintoaworldthatisnotentirelycomposedofpublic-schoolmenorevenofAnglo-Saxons，

butofmenwhoareasvariousasthesandsofthesea；

intoaworldofwhoserichnessandsubtletytheyhavenoconception.Theygoforthintoitwithwell-developedbodies，

fairlydevelopedminds，

andundevelopedhearts.AnditisthisundevelopedheartthatislargelyresponsibleforthedifficultiesofEnglishmenabroad.Anundevelopedheart--notacoldone.Thedifferenceisimportant，

andonitmynextnotewillbebased.

ForitisnotthattheEnglishmancan'tfeel--itisthatheisafraidtofeel.Hehasbeentaughtathispublicschoolthatfeelingisbadform.Hemustnotexpressgreatjoyorsorrow，

orevenopenhismouthtoowidewhenhetalks--hispipemightfalloutifhedid.Hemustbottleuphisemotions，orletthemoutonlyonaveryspecialoccasion.

Onceuponatime

（thisisananecdote）

Iwentforaweek'sholidayontheContinentwithanIndianfriend.Webothenjoyedourselvesandweresorrywhentheweekwasover，

butonpartingourbehaviourwasabsolutelydifferent.Hewasplungedindespair.

Hefeltthatbecausetheholidaywasoverallhappinesswasoveruntiltheworldended.Hecouldnotexpresshissorrowtoomuch.ButinmetheEnglishmancameoutstrong.Ireflectedthatweshouldmeetagaininamonthortwo，

andcouldwriteintheintervalifwehadanythingtosay；

andunderthesecircumstancesIcouldnotseewhattherewastomakeafussabout.Itwasn'tasifwewerepartingforeverordying."Buckup，"Isaid，

"dobuckup."Herefusedtobuckup，

andIlefthimplungedingloom.

Theconclusionoftheanecdoteisevenmoreinstructive.ForwhenwemetthenextmonthourconversationthrewagooddealoflightontheEnglishcharacter.Ibeganbyscoldingmyfriend.Itoldhimthathehadbeenwrongtofeelanddisplaysomuchemotionuponsoslightanoccasion；

thatitwasinappropriate.Theword"inappropriate"rousedhimtofury."What"hecried."Doyoumeasureoutyouremotionsasiftheywerepotatoes"Ididnotlikethesimileofthepotatoes，

butafteramoment'sreflectionIsaid：

"Yes，

Ido；

andwhat'smore，

IthinkIoughtto.Asmalloccasiondemandsalittleemotionjustasalargeoccasiondemandsagreatone.Iwouldlikemyemotionstobeappropriate.Thismaybemeasuringthemlikepotatoes，

butitisbetterthansloppingthemaboutlikewaterfromapail，

whichiswhatyoudid."Hedidnotlikethesimileofthepail."Ifthoseareyouropinions，

theypartusforever，"hecried，

andlefttheroom.Returningimmediately，

headded：

"No--butyourwholeattitudetowardemotioniswrong.Emotionhasnothingtodowithappropriateness.Itmattersonlythatitshallbesincere.Ihappenedtofeeldeeply.Ishowedit.Itdoesn'tmatterwhetherIoughttohavefeltdeeplyornot."

Thisremarkimpressedmeverymuch.YetIcouldnotagreewithit，

andsaidthatIvaluedemotionasmuchashedid，

butuseditdifferently；

ifIpoureditoutonsmalloccasionsIwasafraidofhavingnoneleftforthegreatones，

andofbeingbankruptatthecrisesoflife.Notetheword"bankrupt."Ispokeasamemberofaprudentmiddle-classnation，

alwaysanxioustomeetmyliabilities，

butmyfriendspokeasanOriental，

andtheOrientalhasbehindhimatradition，

notofmiddle-classprudencebutofkinglymunificenceandsplendour.Hefeelshisresourcesareendless，justasJohnBullfeelshisarefinite.Asregardsmaterialresources，

theOrientalisclearlyunwise.Moneyisn'tendless.Ifwespendorgiveawayallthemoneywehave，

wehaven'tanymore，

andmusttaketheconsequences，

whicharefrequentlyunpleasant.But，

asregardstheresourcesofthespirit，

hemayberight.Theemotionsmaybeendless.Themoreweexpressthem，

themorewemayhavetoexpress.

Trueloveinthisdiffersfromgoldandclay，

Thattodivideisnottotakeaway.

SaysShelley.Shelley，

atallevents，

believesthatthewealthofthespiritisendless；

thatwemayexpressitcopiously，

passionately，

andalways；

thatwecanneverfeelsorroworjoytooacutely.

Intheaboveanecdote，

IhavefiguredasatypicalEnglishman.Iwillnowdescendfromthatdizzyandsomewhatunfamiliarheight，

andreturntomybusinessofnotetaking.AnoteontheslownessoftheEnglishcharacter.TheEnglishmanappearstobecoldandunemotionalbecauseheisreallyslow.Whenaneventhappens，

hemayunderstanditquicklyenoughwithhismind，

buthetakesquiteawhiletofeelit.Onceuponatimeacoach，

containingsomeEnglishmenandsomeFrenchmen，

wasdrivingovertheAlps.Thehorsesranaway，

andastheyweredashingacrossabridgethecoachcaughtonthestonework，

tottered，

andnearlyfellintotheravinebelow.TheFrenchmenwerefranticwithterror：

theyscreamedandgesticulatedandflungthemselvesabout，asFrenchmenwould.TheEnglishmensatquitecalm.Anhourlater，

thecoachdrewupataninntochangehorses，

andbythattimethesituationswereexactlyreversed.TheFrenchmenhadforgottenallaboutthedanger，

andwerechatteringgaily；

theEnglishmenhadjustbeguntofeelit，

andonehadanervousbreakdownandwasobligedtogotobed.Wehavehereaclearphysicaldifferencebetweenthetworaces--adifferencethatgoesdeepintocharacter.TheFrenchmenrespondedatonce；

theEnglishmenrespondedintime.Theywereslowandtheywerealsopractical.Theirinstinctforbadethemtothrowthemselvesaboutinthecoach，

becauseitwasmorelikelytotipoveriftheydid.Theyhadthisextraordinaryappreciationoffactthatweshallnoticeagainandagain.Whenadisastercomes，

theEnglishinstinctistodowhatcanbedonefirst，

andtopostponethefeelingaslongaspossible.Hencetheyaresplendidatemergencies.Nodoubttheyarebrave--noonewilldenythat--braveryispartlyanaffairofthenerves，

andtheEnglishnervoussystemiswellequippedformeetingphysicalemergency.

Itactspromptlyandfeelsslowly.Suchacombinationisfruitful，

andanyonewhopossessesithasgonealongwaytowardbeingbrave.Andwhentheactionisover，

thentheEnglishmancanfeel.

Thereisonemoreconsideration--amostimportantone.IftheEnglishnatureiscold，

howisitthatithasproducedagreatliteratureandaliteraturethatisparticularlygreatinpoetry

Judgedbyitsprose，

Englishliteraturewouldnotstandinthefirstrank.ItisitspoetrythatraisesittothelevelofGreek，

Persian，

orFrench.AndyettheEnglisharesupposedtobesounpoetical.Howisthis

ThenationthatproducedtheElizabethandramaandtheLakePoetscannotbeacould，unpoeticalnation.Wecan'tgetfireoutofice.Sinceliteraturealwaysrestsuponnationalcharacter，theremustbeintheEnglishnaturehiddenspringsoffiretoproducethefirewesee.Thewarmsympathy，

theromance，

theimagination，

thatwelookforinEnglishmenwhomwemeet，

andtoooftenvainlylookfor，

mustexistinthenationasawhole，

orwecouldnothavethisoutburstofnationalsong.Anundevelopedheart--notacoldone.

ThetroubleisthattheEnglishnatureisnotatalleasytounderstand.Ithasagreatairofsimplicity，

itadvertisesitselfassimple，

butthemoreweconsiderit，

thegreatertheproblemsweshallencounter.PeopletalkofthemysteriousEast，

buttheWestalsoismysterious.Ithasdepthsthatdonotrevealthemselvesatthefirstgaze.Weknowwhatthesealookslikefromadistance：

itisofonecolor，

andlevel，

andobviouslycannotcontainsuchcreaturesasfish.Butifwelookintotheseaovertheedgeofaboat，

weseeadozencolors，

anddepthbelowdepth，

andfishswimminginthem.ThatseaistheEnglishcharacter--apparentlyimperturbableandeven.ThesedepthsandthecolorsaretheEnglishromanticismandtheEnglishsensitiveness--wedonotexpecttofindsuchthings，

buttheyexist.And--tocontinuemymetaphor--thefisharetheEnglishemotions，

whicharealwaystryingtogetuptothesurface，

butdon'tquiteknowhow.Forthemostpartweseethemmovingfarbelow，

distortedandobscure.Nowandthentheysucceedandweexclaim，

"Why，

theEnglishmanhasemotions！

Heactuallycanfeel！"Andoccasionallyweseethatbeautifulcreaturetheflyingfish，

whichrisesoutofthewateraltogetherintotheairandthesunlight.Englishliteratureisaflyingfish.Itisasampleofthelifethatgoesondayafterdaybeneaththesurface；

itisaproofthatbeautyandemotionexistinthesalt，

inhospitablesea.

Andnowlet'sgetbacktoterrafirma.TheEnglishman'sattitudetowardcriticismwillgiveusanotherstartingpoint.Heisnotannoyedbycriticism.Helistensornotasthecasemaybesmilesandpasseson，

saying，

"Oh，

thefellow'sjealous"；

"Oh，

I'musedtoBernardShaw；

monkeytricksdon'thurtme."Itneveroccurstohimthatthefellowmaybeaccurateaswellasjealous，

andthathemightdowelltotakethecriticismtoheartandprofitbyit.Itneverstrikeshim--exceptasaformofwords--thatheiscapableofimprovement；

hisself-complacencyisabysmal.Othernations，

bothOrientalandEuropean，

haveanuneasyfeelingthattheyarenotquiteperfect.Inconsequencetheyresentcriticism.Ithurtsthem；

andtheirsnappyanswersoftenmaskadeterminationtoimprovethemselves.NotsotheEnglishman.Hehasnouneasyfeeling.Letthecriticsbark.Andthe"toleranthumorousattitude"withwhichheconfrontsthemisnotreallyhumorous，

becauseitisboundedbythetitterandtheguffaw.

TurnoverthepagesofPunch.Thereisneitherwit，

laughter，

norsatireinournationaljester--onlythesniggerofasuburbanhouseholderwhocanunderstandnothingthatdoesnotresemblehimself.Weekafterweek，

underMrPunch'ssupervision，

amanfallsoffhishorse，

oracolonelmissesagolfball，

oralittlegirlmakesamistakeinherprayers.Weekafterweekladiesshownottoomuchoftheirlegs，

foreignersaredeprecated，

originalitycondemned.Weekafterweekabricklayerdoesnotdoasmuchworkasheoughtandafuturistdoesmorethanheneed.Itisallsupposedtobesogood-temperedandclean；

itisalsosupposedtobefunny.Itisactuallyanoutstandingexampleofourattitudetowardcriticism：

themiddle-classEnglishman，

withasmileonhisclean-shavenlips，

isengagedinadmiringhimselfandignoringtherestofmankind.If，

inthosecolorlesspages，

hecameacrossanythingthatreallywasfunny--adrawingbyMaxBeerbohm，

forinstance--hissmilewoulddisappear，

andhewouldsaytohimself，

"Thefellow'sabitofacrank，"andpasson.

Thisparticularattituderevealssuchinsensitivenessastosuggestamoreseriouscharge：

istheEnglishmanaltogetherindifferenttothethingsofthespirit

Letusglanceforamomentathisreligion--not，

indeed，

athistheology，

whichwouldnotmeritinspection，

butattheactiononhisdailylifeofhisbeliefintheunseen.Hereagainhisattitudeispractical.Butaninnatedecencycomesout：

heisthinkingofothersratherthanofhimself.Rightconductishisaim.Heasksofhisreligionthatitshallmakehimabettermanindailylife：

thatheshallbemorekind，

morejust，moremerciful，

moredesiroustofightwhatisevilandtoprotectwhatisgood.Noonecouldcallthisalowconception.Itis，

asfarasitgoes，

aspiritualone.Yet--andthisseemstobetypicaloftherace--itisonlyhalfthereligiousidea.Religionismorethananethicalcodewithadivinesanction.Itisalsoameansthroughwhichmanmaygetintodirectconnectionwiththedivine，

and，

judgingbyhistory，

fewEnglishmenhavesucceededindoingthis.Wehaveproducednoseriesofprophets，ashasJudaismorIslam.WehavenotevenproducedaJoanofArc，

oraSavonarola.Wehaveproducedfewsaints.InGermanytheReformationwasduetothepassionateconvictionofLuther.InEnglanditwasduetopalaceintrigue.Wecanshowasteadylevelofpiety，

afixeddeterminationtolivedecentlyaccordingtoourlights--littlemore.

Well，

itissomething.Itclearsusofthechargeofbeinganunspiritualnation.ThatfacilecontrastbetweenthespiritualEastandthematerialisticWestcanbepushedtoofar.TheWestalsoisspiritual.Onlyitexpressesitsbelief，

notinfastingandvisions，

notinpropheticrapture，

butinthedailyround，

thecommontask.Anincompleteexpression，

ifyoulike.Iagree.ButtheargumentunderlyingthesescatterednotesisthattheEnglishmanisanincompleteperson.Notacoldoranunspiritualone.Butundeveloped，

incomplete.

IhavesuggestedearlierthattheEnglisharesometimeshypocrites，

anditisnotmydutytodevelopthisratherpainfulsubject.Hypocrisyistheprimechargethatisalwaysbroughtagainstus.TheGermansarecalledbrutal，

theSpanishcruel，

theAmericanssuperficial，

andsoon；

butweareperfideAlbion，

theislandofhypocrites，

thepeoplewhohavebuiltupanEmpirewithaBibleinonehand，

apistolintheotherandfinancialconcessionsinbothpockets.Isthechargetrue

Ithinkitis；

butwhatwemeanbyhypocrisy

Dowemeanconsciousdeceit

Well，

theEnglisharecomparativelyguiltlessofthis；

theyhavelittleoftheRenaissancevillainaboutthem.Dowemeanunconsciousdeceit

Muddle-headedness

OfthisIbelievethemtobeguilty.WhenanEnglishmanhasbeenledintoacourseofwrongaction，

hehasnearlyalwaysbegunbymuddlinghimself.Apublic-schooleducationdoesnotmakeformentalclearness，

andhepossessestoaveryhighdegreethepowerofconfusinghisownmind.Howdoesitworkinthedomainofconduct

JaneAustenmayseemanoddauthoritytocite，

butJaneAustenhas，

withinherlimits，

amarvelousinsightintotheEnglishmind.Herrangeislimited，

hercharactersneverattemptanyofthemorescarletsins.Butshehasamercilesseyeforquestionsofconduct，

andtheclassicalexampleoftwoEnglishpeoplemuddlingthemselvesbeforetheyembarkuponawrongcourseofactionistobefoundintheopeningchaptersofSenseandSensibility.OldMr.Dashwoodhasjustdied.Hehasbeentwicemarried.Byhisfirstmarriagehehasason，

John；

byhissecondmarriagethreedaughters.Thesoniswelloff；

theyoungladiesandtheirmother--forMr.Dashwood'ssecondwifesurviveshim--arebadlyoff.Hehascalledhissontohisdeath-bedandhassolemnlyadjuredhimtoprovideforthesecondfamily.Muchmoved，

theyoungmanpromises，

andmentallydecidestogiveeachofhissistersathousandpounds：

andthenthecomedybegins.Forheannounceshisgenerousintentiontohiswife，

andMrs.JohnDashwoodbynomeansapprovesofdeprivingtheirownlittleboyofsolargeasum.Thethousandpoundsareaccordinglyreducedtofivehundred.Buteventhisseemsrathermuch.Mightnotanannuitytothestepmotherbelessofawrench

Yes--butthoughlessofawrenchitmightbemoreofadrain，

for"sheisverystoutandhealthy，

andscarcelyforty."Anoccasionalpresentoffiftypoundswillbebetter，

"andwill，

Ithink，

beamplydischargingmypromisetomyfather."Or，

betterstill，

anoccasionalpresentoffish.Andintheendnothingisdone，

nothing；

thefourimpecuniousladiesarenotevenhelpedinthemovingoftheirfurniture.

Well，

aretheJohnDashwoodshypocrites

Itdependsuponourdefinitionofhypocrisy.Theyoungmancouldnotseehisevilimpulsesastheygatheredforceandgainedonhim.Andevenhiswife，

thoughaworsecharacter，

isalsoself-deceived.ShereflectsthatoldMr.Dashwoodmayhavebeenoutofhismindathisdeath.Shethinksofherownlittleboy--andsurelyamotheroughttothinkofherownchild.Shehasmuddledherselfsocompletelythatinonesentenceshecanrefusetheladiestheincomethatwouldenablethemtokeepacarriageandinthenextcansaythattheywillnotbekeepingacarriageandsowillhavenoexpenses.Nodoubtmenandwomeninotherlandscanmuddlethemselves，

too，

yetthestateofmindofMr.andMrs.JohnDashwoodseemstometypicalofEngland.Theyareslow--theytaketimeeventodowrong；

whereaspeopleinotherlandsdowrongquickly.

Therearenationalfaultsastherearenationaldiseases，

andperhapsonecandrawaparallelbetweenthem.IthasalwaysimpressedmethatthenationaldiseasesofEnglandshouldbecancerandconsumption--slow，

insidious，

pretendingtobesomethingelse；

whilethediseasespropertotheSouthshouldbecholeraandplague，

whichstrikeatamanwhenheisperfectlywellandmayleavehimacorpsebyevening.Mr.andMrs.JohnDashwoodaremoralconsumptives.Theycollapsegraduallywithoutrealizingwhatthediseaseis.Thereisnothingdramaticorviolentabouttheirsin.Youcannotcallthemvillains.

HereistheplacetoglanceatsomeoftheotherchargesthathavebeenbroughtagainsttheEnglishasanation.Theyhave，

forinstance，

beenaccusedoftreachery，

cruelty，

andfanaticism，

InthesechargesIhaveneverbeenabletoseetheleastpoint，

becausetreacheryandcrueltyareconscioussins.Themanknowsheisdoingwrong，

anddoesitdeliberately，

likeTartuffeorIago.Hebetrayshisfriendbecausehewishesto.Hetortureshisprisonersbecauseheenjoysseeingthebloodflow.HeworshipstheDevilbecausehepreferseviltogood.FromvillainiessuchasthesetheaverageEnglishmanisfree.Hischaracter，

whichpreventshisrisingtocertainheights，alsopreventshimfromsinkingtothesedepths.Becausehedoesn'tproducemysticshedoesn'tproducevillainseither；

hegivestheworldnoprophets，

butnoanarchists，

nofanatics--religiousorpolitical.

OfcoursetherearecruelandtreacherouspeopleinEngland--onehasonlytolookatthepolicecourts--andexamplesofpublicinfamycan