lecture01-第6章

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〃What　right　have　we　to　believe　Nature　under　any　obligation　to　do



her　work　by　means　of　complete　minds　only？　　She　may　find　an



incomplete　mind　a　more　suitable　instrument　for　a　particular



purpose。　　It　is　the　work　that　is　done；　and　the　quality　in　the



worker　by　which　it　was　done；　that　is　alone　of　moment；　and　it　may



be　no　great　matter　from　a　cosmical　standpoint；　if　in　other



qualities　of　character　he　was　singularly　defectiveif　indeed　he



were　hypocrite；　adulterer；　eccentric；　or　lunatic。　。　。　。　　Home　we



come　again；　then；　to　the　old　and　last　resort　of　certitudenamely



the　common　assent　of　mankind；　or　of　the　competent　by　instruction



and　training　among　mankind。〃＇5＇







＇5＇　　H。　Maudsley：　　Natural　Causes　and　Supernatural　Seemings；



1886；　pp。　256；　257。















In　other　words；　not　its　origin；　but　THE　WAY　IN　WHICH　IT　WORKS　ON



THE　WHOLE；　is　Dr。　Maudsley's　final　test　of　a　belief。　　This　is　our



own　empiricist　criterion；　and　this　criterion　the　stoutest



insisters　on　supernatural　origin　have　also　been　forced　to　use　in



the　end。　　Among　the　visions　and　messages　some　have　always　been



too　patently　silly；　among　the　trances　and　convulsive　seizures



some　have　been　too　fruitless　for　conduct　and　character；　to　pass



themselves　off　as　significant；　still　less　as　divine。　　In　the



history　of　Christian　mysticism　the　problem　how　to　discriminate



between　such　messages　and　experiences　as　were　really　divine



miracles；　and　such　others　as　the　demon　in　his　malice　was　able　to



counterfeit；　thus　making　the　religious　person　twofold　more　the



child　of　hell　he　was　before；　has　always　been　a　difficult　one　to



solve；　needing　all　the　sagacity　and　experience　of　the　best



directors　of　conscience。　　In　the　end　it　had　to　come　to　our



empiricist　criterion：　　By　their　fruits　ye　shall　know　them；　not　by



their　roots。　　Jonathan　Edwards's　Treatise　on　Religious　Affections



is　an　elaborate　working　out　of　this　thesis。　　The　ROOTS　of　a　man's



virtue　are　inaccessible　to　us。　　No　appearances　whatever　are



infallible　proofs　of　grace。　　Our　practice　is　the　only　sure



evidence；　even　to　ourselves；　that　we　are　genuinely　Christians。







〃In　forming　a　judgment　of　ourselves　now；〃　Edwards　writes；　we



should　certainly　adopt　that　evidence　which　our　supreme　Judge　will



chiefly　make　use　of　when　we　come　to　stand　before　him　at　the　last



day。　。　。　。　　There　is　not　one　grace　of　the　Spirit　of　God；　of　the



existence　of　which；　in　any　professor　of　religion；　Christian



practice　is　not　the　most　decisive　evidence。　。　。　。　　The　degree　in



which　our　experience　is　productive　of　practice　shows　the　degree



in　which　our　experience　is　spiritual　and　divine。〃







Catholic　writers　are　equally　emphatic。　　The　good　dispositions



which　a　vision；　or　voice；　or　other　apparent　heavenly　favor　leave



behind　them　are　the　only　marks　by　which　we　　may　be　sure　they



are　not　possible　deceptions　of　the　tempter。　　Says　Saint　Teresa：







〃Like　imperfect　sleep　which；　instead　of　giving　more　strength　to



the　head；　doth　but　leave　it　the　more　exhausted；　the　result　of



mere　operations　of　the　imagination　is　but　to　weaken　the　soul。



Instead　of　nourishment　and　energy　she　reaps　only　lassitude　and



disgust：　　whereas　a　genuine　heavenly　vision　yields　to　her　a



harvest　of　ineffable　spiritual　riches；　and　an　admirable　renewal



of　bodily　strength。　　I　alleged　these　reasons　to　those　who　so



often　accused　my　visions　of　being　the　work　of　the　enemy　of



mankind　and　the　sport　of　my　imagination。　。　。　。　　I　showed　them　the



jewels　which　the　divine　hand　had　left　with　me：they　were　my



actual　dispositions。　　All　those　who　knew　me　saw　that　I　was



changed；　my　confessor　bore　witness　to　the　fact；　this　improvement；



palpable　in　all　respects；　far　from　being　hidden；　was　brilliantly



evident　to　all　men。　　As　for　myself；　it　was　impossible　to　believe



that　if　the　demon　were　its　author；　he　could　have　used；　in　order



to　lose　me　and　lead　me　to　hell；　an　expedient　so　contrary　to　his



own　interests　as　that　of　uprooting　my　vices；　and　filling　me　with



masculine　courage　and　other　virtues　instead；　for　I　saw　clearly



that　a　single　one　of　these　visions　was　enough　to　enrich　me　with



all　that　wealth。〃＇6＇







＇6＇　　Autobiography；　ch。　xxviii。















I　fear　I　may　have　made　a　longer　excursus　than　was　necessary；　and



that　fewer　words　would　have　dispelled　the　uneasiness　which　may



have　arisen　among　some　of　you　as　I　announced　my　pathological



programme。　　At　any　rate　you　must　all　be　ready　now　to　judge　the



religious　life　by　its　results　exclusively；　and　I　shall　assume



that　the　bugaboo　of　morbid　origin　will　scandalize　your　piety　no



more。







Still；　you　may　ask　me；　if　its　results　are　to　be　the　ground　of　our



final　spiritual　estimate　of　a　religious　phenomenon；　why　threaten



us　at　all　with　so　much　existential　study　of　its　conditions？　　Why



not　simply　leave　pathological　questions　out？







To　this　I　reply　in　two　ways。　　First；　I　say；　irrepressible



curiosity　imperiously　leads　one　on；　and　I　say；　secondly；　that　it



always　leads　to　a　better　understanding　of　a　thing's　significance



to　consider　its　exaggerations　and　perversions　its　equivalents　and



substitutes　and　nearest　relatives　elsewhere。　　Not　that　we　may



thereby　swamp　the　thing　in　the　wholesale　condemnation　which　we



pass　on　its　inferior　congeners；　but　rather　that　we　may　by



contrast　ascertain　the　more　precisely　in　what　its　merits　consist；



by　learning　at　the　same　time　to　what　particular　dangers　of



corruption　it　may　also　be　exposed。







Insane　conditions　have　this　advantage；　that　they　isolate　special



factors　of　the　mental　life；　and　enable　us　to　inspect　them



unmasked　by　their　more　usual　surroundings。　　They　play　the　part　in



mental　anatomy　which　the　scalpel　and　the　microscope　play　in　the



anatomy　of　the　body。　　To　understand　a　thing　rightly　we　need　to



see　it　both　out　of　its　environment　and　in　it；　and　to　have



acquaintance　with　the　whole　range　of　its　variations。　　The　study



of　hallucinations　has　in　this　way　been　for　psychologists　the　key



to　their　comprehension　of　normal　sensation；　that　of　illusions　has



been　the　key　to　the　right　comprehension　of　perception。　　Morbid



impulses　and　imperative　conceptions；　〃fixed　ideas；〃　so　called；



have　thrown　a　flood　of　light　on　the　psychology　of　the　normal



will；　and　obsessions　and　delusions　have　performed　the　same



service　for　that　of　the　normal　faculty　of　belief。







Similarly；　the　nature　of　genius　has　been　illuminated　by　the



attempts；　of　which　I　already　made　mention；　to　class　it　with



psychopathical　phenomena。　　Borderland　insanity；　crankiness；



insane　temperament；　loss　of　mental　balance；　psychopathic



degeneration　（to　use　a　few　of　the　many　synonyms　by　which　it　has



been　called）；　has　certain　peculiarities　and　liabilities　which；



when　combined　with　a　superior　quality　of　intellect　in　an



individual；　make　it　more　probable　that　he　will　make　his　mark　and



affect　his　age；　than　if　his　temperament　were　less　neurotic。　



There　is　of　course　no　special　affinity　between　crankiness　as　such



and　superior　intellect；＇7＇　for　most　psychopaths　have　feeble



intellects；　and　superior　intellects　more　commonly　have　normal



nervous　systems。　But　the　psychopathic　temperament；　whatever　be



the　intellect　with　which　it　finds　itself　paired；　often　brings



with　it　ardor　and　excitability　of　character。　　The　cranky　person



has　extraordinary　emotional　susceptibility。　　He



is　liable　to　fixed　ideas　and　obsessions。　　His　conceptions　tend　to



pass　immediately　into　belief　and　action；　and　when　he　gets　a　new



idea；　he　has　no　rest　till　he　proclaims　it；　or　in　some　way　〃works



i