creatures that once were men-第1章

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Creatures　That　Once　Were　Men



by　Maxim　Gorky






Translated　from　the　Russian　by　J。　M。　SHIRAZI　and　Others

Introduction　by　G。　K。　CHESTERTON






CONTENTS

　　　　　

INTRODUCTION　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　　V

Creatures　That　Once　were　Men　。　。　。　。　13

Twenty…Six　Men　and　a　Girl　　。　。　。　。　。104

Chelkash　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。125

My　Fellow…Traveller　　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。178

On　a　Raft　　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。　。229













INTRODUCTION



By　G。　K。　CHESTERTON





It　is　certainly　a　curious　fact　that　so　many　of　the　voices　of　

what　is　called　our　modern　religion　have　come　from　countries　

which　are　not　only　simple；　but　may　even　be　called　barbaric。　

A　nation　like　Norway　has　a　great　realistic　drama　without　

having　ever　had　either　a　great　classical　drama　or　a　great　

romantic　drama。　　A　nation　like　Russia　makes　us　feel　its　modern　

fiction　when　we　have　never　felt　its　ancient　fiction。　　It　has　

produced　its　Gissing　without　producing　its　Scott。　　Everything　

that　is　most　sad　and　scientific；　everything　that　is　most　grim

and　analytical；　everything　that　can　truly　be　called　most

modern；　everything　that　can　without　unreasonableness　be　

called　most　morbid；　comes　from　these　fresh　and　untried　and　

unexhausted　nationalities。　　Out　of　these　infant　peoples　come　

the　oldest　voices　of　the　earth。



This　contradiction；　like　many　other　contradictions；　is　one　

which　ought　first　of　all　to　be　registered　as　a　mere　fact；　

long　before　we　attempt　to　explain　why　things　contradict　

themselves；　we　ought；　if　we　are　honest　men　and　good　critics；　

to　register　the　preliminary　truth　that　things　do　contradict　

themselves。　　In　this　case；　as　I　say；　there　are　many　possible　

and　suggestive　explanations。　　It　may　be；　to　take　an　example；　

that　our　modern　Europe　is　so　exhausted　that　even　the　vigorous　

expression　of　that　exhaustion　is　difficult　for　every　one　

except　the　most　robust。





vi　　INTRODUCTION





It　may　be　that　all　the　nations　are　tired；　and　it　may　be　that　

only　the　boldest　and　breeziest　are　not　too　tired　to　say　that　

they　are　tired。　　It　may　be　that　a　man　like　Ibsen　in　Norway　or　

a　man　like　Gorky　in　Russia　are　the　only　people　left　who　have　

so　much　faith　that　they　can　really　believe　in　scepticism。　　It　

may　be　that　they　are　the　only　people　left　who　have　so　much　

animal　spirits　that　they　can　really　feast　high　and　drink　

deep　at　the　ancient　banquet　of　pessimism。　　This　is　one　of　the　

possible　hypotheses　or　explanations　in　the　matter：　　that　all　

Europe　feels　these　things　and　that　only　have　strength　to

believe　them　also。　　Many　other　explanations　might；　however；　

also　be　offered。　　It　might　be　suggested　that　half…barbaric　

countries；　like　Russia　or　Norway；　which　have　always　lain；　

to　say　the　least　of　it；　on　the　extreme　edge　of　the　circle　of　

our　European　civilization；　have　a　certain　primal　melancholy　

which　belongs　to　them　through　all　the　ages。　　It　is　highly　

probable　that　this　sadness；　which　to　us　is　modern；　is　to　

them　eternal。　　It　is　highly　probable　that　what　we　have　

solemnly　and　suddenly　discovered　in　scientific　text…books　

and　philosophical　magazines　they　absorbed　and　experienced　

thousands　of　years　ago；　when　they　offered　human　sacrifice　

in　black　and　cruel　forests　and　cried　to　their　gods　in　the　

dark。　　Their　agnosticism　is　perhaps　merely　paganism；　their

paganism；　as　in　old　times；　is　merely　devil…worship。　Certainly；　

Schopenhauer　could　hardly　have　written　his　hideous　essay　on　

women　except　in　a　country　which　had　once　been　full　of　slavery　

and　the　service　of　fiends。　　It　may　be　that　these　moderns　are　

tricking　us　altogether；　and　are　hiding　in　their　current　

scientific　jargon　things　that　they　knew　before　science　or　

civilization　were。





vii　　INTRODUCTION





They　say　that　they　are　determinists；　but　the　truth　is；　

probably；　that　they　are　still　worshipping　the　Norns。　　They

say　that　they　describe　scenes　which　are　sickening　and

dehumanizing　in　the　name　of　art　or　in　the　name　of　truth；　but　

it　may　be　that　they　do　it　in　the　name　of　some　deity　

indescribable；　whom　they　propitiated　with　blood　and　terror　

before　the　beginning　of　history。



This　hypothesis；　like　the　hypothesis　mentioned　before　it；　

is　highly　disputable；　and　is　at　best　a　suggestion。　But　there　

is　one　broad　truth　in　the　matter　which　may　in　any　case　be　

considered　as　established。　　A　country　like　Russia　has　far　

more　inherent　capacity　for　producing　revolution　in　

revolutionists　than　any　country　of　the　type　of　England　or　

America。　　Communities　highly　civilized　and　largely　urban　tend　

to　a　thing　which　is　now　called　evolution；　the　most　cautious　

and　the　most　conservative　of　all　social　influences。　　The　

loyal　Russian　obeys　the　Czar　because　he　remembers　the　Czar　

and　the　Czar's　importance。　　The　disloyal　Russian　frets　

against　the　Czar　because　he　also　remembers　the　Czar；　and　

makes　a　note　of　the　necessity　of　knifing　him。　　But　the　loyal　

Englishman　obeys　the　upper　classes　because　he　has　forgotten

that　they　are　there。　　Their　operation　has　become　to　him　like　

daylight；　or　gravitation；　or　any　of　the　forces　of　nature。　

And　there　are　no　disloyal　Englishmen；　there　are　no　English　

revolutionists；　because　the　oligarchic　management　of　England　

is　so　complete　as　to　be　invisible。　　The　thing　which　can　once　

get　itself　forgotten　can　make　itself　omnipotent。





viii　　INTRODUCTION





Gorky　is　preeminently　Russian；　in　that　he　is　a　revolutionist；　

not　because　most　Russians　are　revolutionists　（for　I　imagine　

that　they　are　not）；　but　because　most　Russiansindeed；　nearly　

all　Russianare　in　that　attitude　of　mind　which　makes　

revolution　possible；　and　which　makes　religion　possible；　an　

attitude　of　primary　and　dogmatic　assertion。　　To　be　a　

revolutionist　it　is　first　necessary　to　be　a　revelationist。　

It　is　necessary　to　believe　in　the　sufficiency　of　some　theory　

of　the　universe　or　the　State。　　But　in　countries　that　have　

come　under　the　influence　of　what　is　called　the　evolutionary　

idea；　there　has　been　no　dramatic　righting　of　wrongs；　and　

（unless　the　evolutionary　idea　loses　its　hold）　there　never　

will　be。　　These　countries　have　no　revolution；　they　have　to　

put　up　with　an　inferior　and　largely　fictitious　thing　which

they　call　progress。



The　interest　of　the　Gorky　tale；　like　the　interest　of　so　many　

other　Russian　masterpieces；　consists　in　this　sharp　contact　

between　a　simplicity；　which　we　in　the　West　feel　to　be　very　

old；　and　a　rebelliousness　which　we　in　the　West　feel　to　he　

very　new。　　We　cannot　in　our　graduated　and　polite　civilization　

quite　make　head　or　tail　of　the　Russian　anarch；　we　can　only　

feel　in　a　vague　way　that　his　tale　is　the　tale　of　the　Missing　

Link；　and　that　his　head　is　the　head　of　the　superman。　　We　hear　

his　lonely　cry　of　anger。　　But　we　cannot　be　quite　certain　

whether　his　protest　is　the　protest　of　the　first　anarchist　

against　government；　or　whether　it　is　the　protest　of　the　last　

savage　against　civilization。　　The　cruelty　of　ages　and　of

political　cynicism　or　necessity　has　done　much　to　burden　the　

race　of　which　Gorky　writes；　but　time　has　left　them　one　thing　

which　it　has　not　left　to　the　people　in　Poplar　or　West　Ham。





ix　　INTRODUCTION





It　has　left　them；　apparently；　the　clear　and　childlike　power　

of　seeing　the　cruelty　which　encompasses　them。　　Gorky　is　a　

tramp；　a　man　of　the　people；　and　also　a　critic；　and　a　bitter　

one。　　In　the　West　poor　men；　when　they　become　articulate　in　

literature；　are　always　sentimentalists　and　nearly　always　

optimists。



It　is　no　exaggeration　to　say　that　these　people　of　whom　Gorky　

writes　in　such　a　story　as　〃Creatures　that　once　were　Men〃　

are　to　the　Western　mind　children。　　They　have；　indeed；　been　

tortured　and　broken　by　experience　and　sin。　But　this　has　only　

sufficed　to　make　them　sad　children　or　naughty　children　or　

bewildered　children。　　They　have　absolutely　no　trace　of　that　

quality　upon　which　secure　government　rests　so　largely　in　

Western　Europe；　the　qualit