the coming race-第21章

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e　love　of　fame…　perhaps；　now　and　then；　in　the　want　of　money。〃

〃Precisely　so。　　But　in　our　society　we　attach　fame　to　nothing　which　man；　in　that　moment　of　his　duration　which　is　called　'life；'　can　perform。　　We　should　soon　lose　that　equality　which　constitutes　the　felicitous　essence　of　our　commonwealth　if　we　selected　any　individual　for　pre…eminent　praise：　pre…eminent　praise　would　confer　pre…eminent　power；　and　the　moment　it　were　given；　evil　passions；　now　dormant；　would　awake：　other　men　would　immediately　covet　praise；　then　would　arise　envy；　and　with　envy　hate；　and　with　hate　calumny　and　persecution。　　Our　history　tells　us　that　most　of　the　poets　and　most　of　the　writers　who；　in　the　old　time；　were　favoured　with　the　greatest　praise；　were　also　assailed　by　the　greatest　vituperation；　and　even；　on　the　whole；　87rendered　very　unhappy；　partly　by　the　attacks　of　jealous　rivals；　partly　by　the　diseased　mental　constitution　which　an　acquired　sensitiveness　to　praise　and　to　blame　tends　to　engender。　　As　for　the　stimulus　of　want；　in　the　first　place；　no　man　in　our　community　knows　the　goad　of　poverty；　and；　secondly；　if　he　did；　almost　every　occupation　would　be　more　lucrative　than　writing。

〃Our　public　libraries　contain　all　the　books　of　the　past　which　time　has　preserved；　those　books；　for　the　reasons　above　stated；　are　infinitely　better　than　any　can　write　nowadays；　and　they　are　open　to　all　to　read　without　cost。　　We　are　not　such　fools　as　to　pay　for　reading　inferior　books；　when　we　can　read　superior　books　for　nothing。〃

〃With　us；　novelty　has　an　attraction；　and　a　new　book；　if　bad；　is　read　when　an　old　book；　though　good；　is　neglected。〃

〃Novelty；　to　barbarous　states　of　society　struggling　in　despair　for　something　better；　has　no　doubt　an　attraction；　denied　to　us；　who　see　nothing　to　gain　in　novelties；　but　after　all；　it　is　observed　by　one　of　our　great　authors　four　thousand　years　ago；　that　'he　who　studies　old　books　will　always　find　in　them　something　new；　and　he　who　reads　new　books　will　always　find　in　them　something　old。'　But　to　return　to　the　question　you　have　raised；　there　being　then　amongst　us　no　stimulus　to　painstaking　labour；　whether　in　desire　of　fame　or　in　pressure　of　want；　such　as　have　the　poetic　temperament；　no　doubt　vent　it　in　song；　as　you　say　the　bird　sings；　but　for　lack　of　elaborate　culture　it　fails　of　an　audience；　and；　failing　of　an　audience；　dies　out；　of　itself；　amidst　the　ordinary　avocations　of　life。〃

〃But　how　is　it　that　these　discouragements　to　the　cultivation　of　literature　do　not　operate　against　that　of　science？〃

〃Your　question　amazes　me。　　The　motive　to　science　is　the　love　of　truth　apart　from　all　consideration　of　fame；　and　science　with　us　too　is　devoted　almost　solely　to　practical　uses；　essential　to　our　social　conversation　and　the　comforts　of　our　daily　life。　　No　88fame　is　asked　by　the　inventor；　and　none　is　given　to　him；　he　enjoys　an　occupation　congenial　to　his　tastes；　and　needing　no　wear　and　tear　of　the　passions。　　Man　must　have　exercise　for　his　mind　as　well　as　body；　and　continuous　exercise；　rather　than　violent；　is　best　for　both。　　Our　most　ingenious　cultivators　of　science　are；　as　a　general　rule；　the　longest　lived　and　the　most　free　from　disease。　　Painting　is　an　amusement　to　many；　but　the　art　is　not　what　it　was　in　former　times；　when　the　great　painters　in　our　various　communities　vied　with　each　other　for　the　prize　of　a　golden　crown；　which　gave　them　a　social　rank　equal　to　that　of　the　kings　under　whom　they　lived。　　You　will　thus　doubtless　have　observed　in　our　archaeological　department　how　superior　in　point　of　art　the　pictures　were　several　thousand　years　ago。　　Perhaps　it　is　because　music　is；　in　reality；　more　allied　to　science　than　it　is　to　poetry；　that；　of　all　the　pleasurable　arts；　music　is　that　which　flourishes　the　most　amongst　us。　　Still；　even　in　music　the　absence　of　stimulus　in　praise　or　fame　has　served　to　prevent　any　great　superiority　of　one　individual　over　another；　and　we　rather　excel　in　choral　music；　with　the　aid　of　our　vast　mechanical　instruments；　in　which　we　make　great　use　of　the　agency　of　water；*　than　in　single　performers。〃

*　This　may　remind　the　student　of　Nero's　invention　of　a　musical　machine；　by　which　water　was　made　to　perform　the　part　of　an　orchestra；　and　on　which　he　was　employed　when　the　conspiracy　against　him　broke　out。

〃We　have　had　scarcely　any　original　composer　for　some　ages。　　Our　favorite　airs　are　very　ancient　in　substance；　but　have　admitted　many　complicated　variations　by　inferior；　though　ingenious；　musicians。〃

〃Are　there　no　political　societies　among　the　Ana　which　are　animated　by　those　passions；　subjected　to　those　crimes；　and　admitting　those　disparities　in　condition；　in　intellect；　and　in　morality；　which　the　state　of　your　tribe；　or　indeed　of　the　Vril…ya　generally；　has　left　behind　in　its　progress　to　perfection？　If　so；　among　such　societies　perhaps　Poetry　and　her　sister　arts　still　continue　to　be　honoured　and　to　improve？〃　89　〃There　are　such　societies　in　remote　regions；　but　we　do　not　admit　them　within　the　pale　of　civilised　communities；　we　scarcely　even　give　them　the　name　of　Ana；　and　certainly　not　that　of　Vril…ya。　　They　are　savages；　living　chiefly　in　that　low　stage　of　being；　Koom…Posh；　tending　necessarily　to　its　own　hideous　dissolution　in　Glek…Nas。　　Their　wretched　existence　is　passed　in　perpetual　contest　and　perpetual　change。　　When　they　do　not　fight　with　their　neighbours；　they　fight　among　themselves。　　They　are　divided　into　sections；　which　abuse；　plunder；　and　sometimes　murder　each　other；　and　on　the　most　frivolous　points　of　difference　that　would　be　unintelligible　to　us　if　we　had　not　read　history；　and　seen　that　we　too　have　passed　through　the　same　early　state　of　ignorance　and　barbarism。　　Any　trifle　is　sufficient　to　set　them　together　by　the　ears。　　They　pretend　to　be　all　equals；　and　the　more　they　have　struggled　to　be　so；　by　removing　old　distinctions；　and　starting　afresh；　the　more　glaring　and　intolerable　the　disparity　becomes；　because　nothing　in　hereditary　affections　and　associations　is　left　to　soften　the　one　naked　distinction　between　the　many　who　have　nothing　and　the　few　who　have　much。　　Of　course　the　many　hate　the　few；　but　without　the　few　they　could　not　live。　　The　many　are　always　assailing　the　few；　sometimes　they　exterminate　the　few；　but　as　soon　as　they　have　done　so；　a　new　few　starts　out　of　the　many；　and　is　harder　to　deal　with　than　the　old　few。　　For　where　societies　are　large；　and　competition　to　have　something　is　the　predominant　fever；　there　must　be　always　many　losers　and　few　gainers。　　In　short；　they　are　savages　groping　their　way　in　the　dark　towards　some　gleam　of　light；　and　would　demand　our　commiseration　for　their　infirmities；　if；　like　all　savages；　they　did　not　provoke　their　own　destruction　by　their　arrogance　and　cruelty。　　Can　you　imagine　that　creatures　of　this　kind；　armed　only　with　such　miserable　weapons　as　you　may　see　in　our　museum　of　antiquities；　clumsy　iron　tubes　charged　with　saltpetre；　have　more　than　once　threatened　with　destruction　a　tribe　of　the　90Vril…ya；　which　dwells　nearest　to　them；　because　they　say　they　have　thirty　millions　of　population…　and　that　tribe　may　have　fifty　thousand…　if　the　latter　do　not　accept　their　notions　of　Soc…Sec　（money　getting）　on　some　trading　principles　which　they　have　the　impudence　to　call　'a　law　of　civilisation'？〃

〃But　thirty　millions　of　population　are　formidable　odds　against　fifty　thousand！〃

My　host　stared　at　me　astonished。　　〃Stranger；〃　said　he；　〃you　could　not　have　heard　me　say　that　this　threatened　tribe　belongs　to　the　Vril…ya；　and　it　only　waits　for　these　savages　to　declare　war；　in　order　to　commission　some　half…a…dozen　small　children　to　sweep　away　their　whole　population。〃

At　these　words　I　felt　a　thrill　of　horror；　recognising　much　more　affinity　with　〃the　savages〃　than　I　did　with　the　Vril…ya；　and　remembering　all　I　had　said　in　praise　of　the　glorious　American　institutions；　which　Aph…Lin　stigmatised　as　Koom…Posh。　　Recovering　my　self…possession；　I　asked　if　there　were　modes　of　transit　by　which　I　could　safely　visit　this　temerarious　and　remote　people。

〃You　can　travel　with　safety；　by　vril　agency；　either　along　the　ground　or　amid　the　air；　throughout　all　the　range　of　the　communities　with　which　we　are　allied　and　akin；　but　I　cannot　vouch　for　your　safety　in　barbarous　nations　governed　by　different　laws　from　ours；　nations；　i