现代大学英语精读6notesonenglish

现代大学英语精读6notesonenglishcharacter(总8页)

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Firstnote.Ihadbetterletthecatoutofthebagatonceandrecordmyopinionthat

thecharacteroftheEnglishisessentiallymiddleclass.Thereisasoundhistorical

reasonforthis，for，sincetheendoftheeighteenthcentury，themiddleclasses

havebeenthedominantforceinourcommunity.Theygainedwealthbythe

IndustrialRevolution，politicalpowerbytheReformBillof1832；theyare

connectedwiththeriseandorganizationoftheBritishEmpire；theyare

responsiblefortheliteratureofthenineteenthcentury.

Solidity，caution，integrity，efficiency.Lackofimagination，hypocrisy.These

qualitiescharacterizethemiddleclassesineverycountry，butinEnglandtheyarenationalcharacteristicsalso，becauseonlyinEnglandhavethemiddleclassesbeeninpowerforonehundredandfiftyyears.Napoleon，inhisrudeway，calledus"anationofshopkeepers."Weprefertocallourselves"agreatcommercialnation"--it

soundsmoredignified--butthetwophrasesamounttothesame.Ofcoursethere

areotherclasses：thereisanaristocracy，therearethepoor.Butitisonthe

middleclassesthattheeyeofthecriticrests--justasitrestsonthepoorinRussia

andonthearistocracyinJapan.Russiaissymbolizedbythepeasantorbythefactoryworker；Japanbythesamurai；thenationalfigureofEnglandisMr.Bullwithhis

tophat，hiscomfortableclothes，hissubstantialstomach，andhissubstantial

balanceatthebank.SaintGeorgemaycaperonbannersandinthespeechesof

politicians，butitisJohnBullwhodeliversthegoods.AndevenSaintGeorge--ifGibboniscorrect--woreatophatonce；hewasanarmycontractorandsupplied

indifferentbacon.Itallamountstothesameintheend.

SecondNote.JustastheheartofEnglandisthemiddleclasses，sotheheart

ofthemiddleclassesisthepublicschoolsystem.Thisextraordinaryinstitutionis

local.ItdoesnotevenexistallovertheBritishIsles.Itisunknownin

Ireland，almostunknowninScotland（countriesexcludedfrommy

survey），andthoughitmayinspireothergreatinstitutions--Aligarh，for

example，andsomeoftheschoolsintheUnitedStates--itremains

unique，becauseitwascreatedbytheAnglo-Saxonmiddleclasses，andcan

flourishonlywheretheyflourish.Howperfectlyitexpressestheircharacter--far

betterforinstance，thandoestheuniversity，intowhichsocialandspiritual

complexitieshavealreadyentered.Withitsboarding-houses，itscompulsory

games，itssystemofprefectsandfagging，itsinsistenceongoodformandon

espritdecorps，itproducesatypewhoseweightisoutofallproportiontoits

numbers.Onleavinghisschool，theboyeithersetstoworkatonce--goes

intothearmyorintobusiness，oremigrates--orelseproceedstothe

university，andafterthreeorfouryearsthereenterssomeotherprofession--

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becomesabarrister，doctor，civilservant，schoolmaster，orjournalist.（If

throughsomemishaphedoesnotbecomeamanualworkeroranartist.）Inall

thesecareershiseducation，ortheabsenceofit，influenceshim.Itsmemories

influencehimalso.Manymenlookbackontheirschooldaysasthehappiestoftheirlives.Theyrememberwithregretthatgoldentimewhenlife，thoughhard，wasnotyetcomplex，whentheyallworkedtogetherandplayedtogetherandthoughttogether，sofarastheythoughtatall；whentheyweretaughtthatschoolistheworldinminiatureandbelievedthatnoonecanlovehiscountrywhodoesnotlove

hisschool.AndtheyprolongthattimeasbesttheycanbyjoiningtheirOldBoys'

society：indeed，someofthemremainOldBoysandnothingelsefortherestof

theirlives.Theyattributeallgoodtotheschool.Theyworshipit.Theyquotethe

remarkthat"ThebattleofWaterloowaswonontheplayingfieldsofEton."Itis

nothingtothemthattheremarkisinapplicablehistoricallyandwasnevermadebytheDukeofWellington，andthattheDukeofWellingtonwasanIrishman.Theygo

onquotingitbecauseitexpressestheirsentiments；theyfeelthatiftheDukeof

Wellingtondidn'tmakeitheoughttohave，andifhewasn'tanEnglishmanhe

oughttohavebeen.Andtheygoforthintoaworldthatisnotentirelycomposedofpublic-schoolmenorevenofAnglo-Saxons，butofmenwhoareasvariousasthe

sandsofthesea；intoaworldofwhoserichnessandsubtletytheyhaveno

conception.Theygoforthintoitwithwell-developedbodies，fairlydeveloped

minds，andundevelopedhearts.Anditisthisundevelopedheartthatislargely

responsibleforthedifficultiesofEnglishmenabroad.Anundevelopedheart--nota

coldone.Thedifferenceisimportant，andonitmynextnotewillbebased.

ForitisnotthattheEnglishmancan'tfeel--itisthatheisafraidtofeel.Hehasbeentaughtathispublicschoolthatfeelingisbadform.Hemustnotexpressgreatjoyorsorrow，orevenopenhismouthtoowidewhenhetalks--hispipemightfalloutifhedid.Hemustbottleuphisemotions，orletthemoutonlyonaveryspecial

occasion.

Onceuponatime（thisisananecdote）Iwentforaweek'sholidayonthe

ContinentwithanIndianfriend.Webothenjoyedourselvesandweresorrywhen

theweekwasover，butonpartingourbehaviourwasabsolutelydifferent.Hewas

plungedindespair.

Hefeltthatbecausetheholidaywasoverallhappinesswasoveruntilthe

worldended.Hecouldnotexpresshissorrowtoomuch.ButinmetheEnglishman

cameoutstrong.Ireflectedthatweshouldmeetagaininamonthortwo，and

couldwriteintheintervalifwehadanythingtosay；andunderthese

circumstancesIcouldnotseewhattherewastomakeafussabout.Itwasn'tasifwe

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werepartingforeverordying."Buckup，"Isaid，"dobuckup."Herefusedtobuck

up，andIlefthimplungedingloom.

Theconclusionoftheanecdoteisevenmoreinstructive.Forwhenwemetthe

nextmonthourconversationthrewagooddealoflightontheEnglishcharacter.I

beganbyscoldingmyfriend.Itoldhimthathehadbeenwrongtofeelanddisplayso

muchemotionuponsoslightanoccasion；thatitwasinappropriate.Theword

"inappropriate"rousedhimtofury."What"hecried."Doyoumeasureoutyour

emotionsasiftheywerepotatoes"Ididnotlikethesimileofthepotatoebut

afteramoment'sreflectionIsaid："Yes，Ido；andwhat'smore，IthinkIought

to.Asmalloccasiondemandsalittleemotionjustasalargeoccasiondemandsa

greatone.Iwouldlikemyemotionstobeappropriate.Thismaybemeasuringthem

likepotatoes，butitisbetterthansloppingthemaboutlikewaterfroma

pail，whichiswhatyoudid."Hedidnotlikethesimileofthepail."Ifthoseareyour

opinions，theypartusforever，"hecried，andlefttheroom.Returning

immediately，headded："No--butyourwholeattitudetowardemotioniswrong.

Emotionhasnothingtodowithappropriateness.Itmattersonlythatitshallbe

sincere.Ihappenedtofeeldeeply.Ishowedit.Itdoesn'tmatterwhetherIoughtto

havefeltdeeplyornot."

Thisremarkimpressedmeverymuch.YetIcouldnotagreewithit，andsaidthatIvaluedemotionasmuchashedid，butuseditdifferently；ifIpoureditoutonsmalloccasionsIwasafraidofhavingnoneleftforthegreatones，andofbeing

bankruptatthecrisesoflife.Notetheword"bankrupt."Ispokeasamemberofa

prudentmiddle-classnation，alwaysanxioustomeetmyliabilities，butmyfriendspokeasanOriental，andtheOrientalhasbehindhimatradition，notofmiddle-

classprudencebutofkinglymunificenceandsplendour.Hefeelshisresourcesare

endless，justasJohnBullfeelshisarefinite.Asregardsmaterialresources，the

Orientalisclearlyunwise.Moneyisn'tendless.Ifwespendorgiveawayallthe

moneywehave，wehaven'tanymore，andmusttaketheconsequences，whicharefrequentlyunpleasant.But，asregardstheresourcesofthespirit，hemayberight.Theemotionsmaybeendless.Themoreweexpressthem，themorewemayhavetoexpress.Trueloveinthisdiffersfromgoldandclay，Thattodivideisnotto

takeaway.

SaysShelley.Shelley，atallevents，believesthatthewealthofthespiritisendless；thatwemayexpressitcopiously，passionately，andalways；thatwe

canneverfeelsorroworjoytooacutely.

Intheaboveanecdote，IhavefiguredasatypicalEnglishman.Iwillnow

descendfromthatdizzyandsomewhatunfamiliarheight，andreturntomy

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businessofnotetaking.AnoteontheslownessoftheEnglishcharacter.The

Englishmanappearstobecoldandunemotionalbecauseheisreallyslow.Whenaneventhappens，hemayunderstanditquicklyenoughwithhismind，buthetakesquiteawhiletofeelit.Onceuponatimeacoach，containingsomeEnglishmenand

someFrenchmen，wasdrivingovertheAlps.Thehorsesranaway，andasthey

weredashingacrossabridgethecoachcaughtonthestonework，tottered，and

nearlyfellintotheravinebelow.TheFrenchmenwerefranticwithterror：they

screamedandgesticulatedandflungthemselvesabout，asFrenchmenwould.The

Englishmensatquitecalm.Anhourlater，thecoachdrewupataninntochange

horses，andbythattimethesituationswereexactlyreversed.TheFrenchmenhad

forgottenallaboutthedanger，andwerechatteringgaily；theEnglishmenhad

justbeguntofeelit，andonehadanervousbreakdownandwasobligedtogotobed.Wehavehereaclearphysicaldifferencebetweenthetworaces--adifferencethatgoesdeepintocharacter.TheFrenchmenrespondedatonce；theEnglishmen

respondedintime.Theywereslowandtheywerealsopractical.Theirinstinct

forbadethemtothrowthemselvesaboutinthecoach，becauseitwasmorelikelytotipoveriftheydid.Theyhadthisextraordinaryappreciationoffactthatweshallnoticeagainandagain.Whenadisastercomes，theEnglishinstinctistodowhatcanbedonefirst，andtopostponethefeelingaslongaspossible.Hencetheyaresplendidatemergencies.Nodoubttheyarebrave--noonewilldenythat--braveryispartlyanaffairofthenerves，andtheEnglishnervoussystemiswellequippedfor

meetingphysicalemergency.

Itactspromptlyandfeelsslowly.Suchacombinationisfruitful，andanyonewhopossessesithasgonealongwaytowardbeingbrave.Andwhentheactionis

over，thentheEnglishmancanfeel.

Thereisonemoreconsideration--amostimportantone.IftheEnglishnature

iscold，howisitthatithasproducedagreatliteratureandaliteraturethatis

particularlygreatinpoetryJudgedbyitsprose，Englishliteraturewouldnotstand

inthefirstrank.ItisitspoetrythatraisesittothelevelofGreek，Persian，or

French.AndyettheEnglisharesupposedtobesounpoetical.HowisthisThenation

thatproducedtheElizabethandramaandtheLakePoetscannotbeacould，

unpoeticalnation.Wecan'tgetfireoutofice.Sinceliteraturealwaysrestsuponnationalcharacter，theremustbeintheEnglishnaturehiddenspringsoffireto

producethefirewesee.Thewarmsympathy，theromance，the

imagination，thatwelookforinEnglishmenwhomwemeet，andtoooftenvainlylookfor，mustexistinthenationasawhole，orwecouldnothavethisoutburst

ofnationalsong.Anundevelopedheart--notacoldone.

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ThetroubleisthattheEnglishnatureisnotatalleasytounderstand.Ithasa

greatairofsimplicity，itadvertisesitselfassimple，butthemoreweconsider

it，thegreatertheproblemsweshallencounter.Peopletalkofthemysterious

East，buttheWestalsoismysterious.Ithasdepthsthatdonotrevealthemselves

atthefirstgaze.Weknowwhatthesealookslikefromadistance：itisofone

color，andlevel，andobviouslycannotcontainsuchcreaturesasfish.Butifwe

lookintotheseaovertheedgeofaboat，weseeadozencolors，anddepth

belowdepth，andfishswimminginthem.ThatseaistheEnglishcharacter--

apparentlyimperturbableandeven.ThesedepthsandthecolorsaretheEnglish

romanticismandtheEnglishsensitiveness--wedonotexpecttofindsuch

things，buttheyexist.And--tocontinuemymetaphor--thefisharetheEnglish

emotions，whicharealwaystryingtogetuptothesurface，butdon'tquiteknow

how.Forthemostpartweseethemmovingfarbelow，distortedandobscure.

Nowandthentheysucceedandweexclaim，"Why，theEnglishmanhas

emotions！Heactuallycanfeel！"Andoccasionallyweseethatbeautifulcreaturetheflyingfish，whichrisesoutofthewateraltogetherintotheairandthesunlight.

Englishliteratureisaflyingfish.Itisasampleofthelifethatgoesondayafterday

beneaththesurface；itisaproofthatbeautyandemotionexistinthe

salt，inhospitablesea.

Andnowlet'sgetbacktoterrafirma.TheEnglishman'sattitudetoward

criticismwillgiveusanotherstartingpoint.Heisnotannoyedbycriticism.Helistens

ornotasthecasemaybesmilesandpasseson，saying，"Oh，thefellow's

jealous"；"Oh，I'musedtoBernardShaw；monkeytricksdon'thurtme."Itneveroccurstohimthatthefellowmaybeaccurateaswellasjealous，andthathemightdowelltotakethecriticismtoheartandprofitbyit.Itneverstrikeshim--exceptasa

formofwords--thatheiscapableofimprovement；hisself-complacencyis

abysmal.Othernations，bothOrientalandEuropean，haveanuneasyfeelingthattheyarenotquiteperfect.Inconsequencetheyresentcriticism.Ithurtsthem；andtheirsnappyanswersoftenmaskadeterminationtoimprovethemselves.Notsothe

Englishman.Hehasnouneasyfeeling.Letthecriticsbark.Andthe"tolerant

humorousattitude"withwhichheconfrontsthemisnotreallyhumorous，because

itisboundedbythetitterandtheguffaw.

TurnoverthepagesofPunch.Thereisneitherwit，laughter，norsatirein

ournationaljester--onlythesniggerofasuburbanhouseholderwhocanunderstand

nothingthatdoesnotresemblehimself.Weekafterweek，underMrPunch's

supervision，amanfallsoffhishorse，oracolonelmissesagolfball，oralittle

girlmakesamistakeinherprayers.Weekafterweekladiesshownottoomuchof

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theirlegs，foreignersaredeprecated，originalitycondemned.Weekafterweeka

bricklayerdoesnotdoasmuchworkasheoughtandafuturistdoesmorethanhe

need.Itisallsupposedtobesogood-temperedandclean；itisalsosupposedtobe

funny.Itisactuallyanoutstandingexampleofourattitudetowardcriticism：the

middle-classEnglishman，withasmileonhisclean-shavenlips，isengagedin

admiringhimselfandignoringtherestofmankind.If，inthosecolorlesspages，he

cameacrossanythingthatreallywasfunny--adrawingbyMaxBeerbohm，for

instance--hissmilewoulddisappear，andhewouldsaytohimself，"Thefellow's

abitofacrank，"andpasson.

Thisparticularattituderevealssuchinsensitivenessastosuggestamoreseriouscharge：istheEnglishmanaltogetherindifferenttothethingsofthe

spiritLetusglanceforamomentathisreligion--not，indeed，athis

theology，whichwouldnotmeritinspection，butattheactiononhisdailylifeof

hisbeliefintheunseen.Hereagainhisattitudeispractical.Butaninnatedecency

comesout：heisthinkingofothersratherthanofhimself.Rightconductishisaim.Heasksofhisreligionthatitshallmakehimabettermanindailylife：thatheshallbemorekind，morejust，moremerciful，moredesiroustofightwhatiseviland

toprotectwhatisgood.Noonecouldcallthisalowconception.Itis，asfarasit

goes，aspiritualone.Yet--andthisseemstobetypicaloftherace--itisonlyhalfthereligiousidea.Religionismorethananethicalcodewithadivinesanction.Itis

alsoameansthroughwhichmanmaygetintodirectconnectionwiththe

divine，and，judgingbyhistory，fewEnglishmenhavesucceededindoingthis.

Wehaveproducednoseriesofprophets，ashasJudaismorIslam.Wehavenot

evenproducedaJoanofArc，oraSavonarola.Wehaveproducedfewsaints.In

GermanytheReformationwasduetothepassionateconvictionofLuther.In

Englanditwasduetopalaceintrigue.Wecanshowasteadylevelofpiety，afixed

determinationtolivedecentlyaccordingtoourlights--littlemore.

Well，itissomething.Itclearsusofthechargeofbeinganunspiritualnation.

ThatfacilecontrastbetweenthespiritualEastandthematerialisticWestcanbe

pushedtoofar.TheWestalsoisspiritual.Onlyitexpressesitsbelief，notinfastingandvisions，notinpropheticrapture，butinthedailyround，thecommontask.Anincompleteexpression，ifyoulike.Iagree.Buttheargumentunderlyingthese

scatterednotesisthattheEnglishmanisanincompleteperson.Notacoldoran

unspiritualone.Butundeveloped，incomplete.

IhavesuggestedearlierthattheEnglisharesometimeshypocrites，anditis

notmydutytodevelopthisratherpainfulsubject.Hypocrisyistheprimechargethat

isalwaysbroughtagainstus.TheGermansarecalledbrutal，theSpanish

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cruel，theAmericanssuperficial，andsoon；butweareperfideAlbion，the

islandofhypocrites，thepeoplewhohavebuiltupanEmpirewithaBibleinone

hand，apistolintheotherandfinancialconcessionsinbothpockets.Isthecharge

trueIthinkitis；butwhatwemeanbyhypocrisyDowemeanconscious

deceitWell，theEnglisharecomparativelyguiltlessofthis；theyhavelittleofthe

Renaissancevillainaboutthem.DowemeanunconsciousdeceitMuddle-

headednessOfthisIbelievethemtobeguilty.WhenanEnglishmanhasbeenled

intoacourseofwrongaction，hehasnearlyalwaysbegunbymuddlinghimself.Apublic-schooleducationdoesnotmakeformentalclearness，andhepossessestoa

veryhighdegreethepowerofconfusinghisownmind.Howdoesitworkinthe

domainofconduct

JaneAustenmayseemanoddauthoritytocite，butJaneAustenhas，within

herlimits，amarvelousinsightintotheEnglishmind.Herrangeislimited，her

charactersneverattemptanyofthemorescarletsins.Butshehasamercilesseye

forquestionsofconduct，andtheclassicalexampleoftwoEnglishpeoplemuddlingthemselvesbeforetheyembarkuponawrongcourseofactionistobefoundinthe

openingchaptersofSenseandSensibility.OldMr.Dashwoodhasjustdied.Hehas

beentwicemarried.Byhisfirstmarriagehehasason，John；byhissecond

marriagethreedaughters.Thesoniswelloff；theyoungladiesandtheirmother--forMr.Dashwood'ssecondwifesurviveshim--arebadlyoff.Hehascalledhissontohisdeath-bedandhassolemnlyadjuredhimtoprovideforthesecondfamily.Muchmoved，theyoungmanpromises，andmentallydecidestogiveeachofhissisters

athousandpounds：andthenthecomedybegins.Forheannounceshisgenerous

intentiontohiswife，andMrs.JohnDashwoodbynomeansapprovesofdeprivingtheirownlittleboyofsolargeasum.Thethousandpoundsareaccordinglyreduced

tofivehundred.Buteventhisseemsrathermuch.Mightnotanannuitytothe

stepmotherbelessofawrenchYes--butthoughlessofawrenchitmightbemoreofadrain，for"sheisverystoutandhealthy，andscarcelyforty."Anoccasionalpresentoffiftypoundswillbebetter，"andwill，Ithink，beamplydischargingmypromisetomyfather."Or，betterstill，anoccasionalpresentoffish.Andin

theendnothingisdone，nothing；thefourimpecuniousladiesarenoteven

helpedinthemovingoftheirfurniture.

Well，aretheJohnDashwoodshypocritesItdependsuponourdefinitionof

hypocrisy.Theyoungmancouldnotseehisevilimpulsesastheygatheredforceandgainedonhim.Andevenhiswife，thoughaworsecharacter，isalsoself-deceived.ShereflectsthatoldMr.Dashwoodmayhavebeenoutofhismindathisdeath.She

thinksofherownlittleboy--andsurelyamotheroughttothinkofherownchild.

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Shehasmuddledherselfsocompletelythatinonesentenceshecanrefusethe

ladiestheincomethatwouldenablethemtokeepacarriageandinthenextcansaythattheywillnotbekeepingacarriageandsowillhavenoexpenses.Nodoubtmenandwomeninotherlandscanmuddlethemselves，too，yetthestateofmindofMr.andMrs.JohnDashwoodseemstometypicalofEngland.Theyareslow--they

taketimeeventodowrong；whereaspeopleinotherlandsdowrongquickly.

Therearenationalfaultsastherearenationaldiseases，andperhapsonecandrawaparallelbetweenthem.IthasalwaysimpressedmethatthenationaldiseasesofEnglandshouldbecancerandconsumption--slow，insidious，pretendingtobe

somethingelse；whilethediseasespropertotheSouthshouldbecholeraand

plague，whichstrikeatamanwhenheisperfectlywellandmayleavehimacorpse

byevening.Mr.andMrs.JohnDashwoodaremoralconsumptives.Theycollapse

graduallywithoutrealizingwhatthediseaseis.Thereisnothingdramaticorviolent

abouttheirsin.Youcannotcallthemvillains.

Hereistheplacetoglanceatsomeoftheotherchargesthathavebeen

broughtagainsttheEnglishasanation.Theyhave，forinstance，beenaccusedoftreachery，cruelty，andfanaticism，InthesechargesIhaveneverbeenableto

seetheleastpoint，becausetreacheryandcrueltyareconscioussins.Theman

knowsheisdoingwrong，anddoesitdeliberately，likeTartuffeorIago.He

betrayshisfriendbecausehewishesto.Hetortureshisprisonersbecauseheenjoysseeingthebloodflow.HeworshipstheDevilbecausehepreferseviltogood.From

villainiessuchasthesetheaverageEnglishmanisfree.Hischaracter，which

preventshisrisingtocertainheights，alsopreventshimfromsinkingtothese

depths.Becausehedoesn'tproducemysticshedoesn'tproducevillainseither；he

givestheworldnoprophets，butnoanarchists，nofanatics--religiousorpolitical.

OfcoursetherearecruelandtreacherouspeopleinEngland--onehasonlytolookatthepolicecourts--andexamplesofpublicinfa