heartbreak house-第4章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


or　lie　quaking　in　bed；　whilst　bombs　crashed；　houses　crumbled；　and
aircraft　guns　distributed　shrapnel　on　friend　and　foe　alike　until
certain　shop　windows　in　London；　formerly　full　of　fashionable
hats；　were　filled　with　steel　helmets。　Slain　and　mutilated　women
and　children；　and　burnt　and　wrecked　dwellings；　excuse　a　good　deal
of　violent　language；　and　produce　a　wrath　on　which　many　suns　go
down　before　it　is　appeased。　Yet　it　was　in　the　United　States　of
America　where　nobody　slept　the　worse　for　the　war；　that　the　war
fever　went　beyond　all　sense　and　reason。　In　European　Courts　there
was　vindictive　illegality：　in　American　Courts　there　was　raving
lunacy。　It　is　not　for　me　to　chronicle　the　extravagances　of　an
Ally：　let　some　candid　American　do　that。　I　can　only　say　that　to　us
sitting　in　our　gardens　in　England；　with　the　guns　in　France　making
themselves　felt　by　a　throb　in　the　air　as　unmistakeable　as　an
audible　sound；　or　with　tightening　hearts　studying　the　phases　of
the　moon　in　London　in　their　bearing　on　the　chances　whether　our
houses　would　be　standing　or　ourselves　alive　next　morning；　the
newspaper　accounts　of　the　sentences　American　Courts　were　passing
on　young　girls　and　old　men　alike　for　the　expression　of　opinions
which　were　being　uttered　amid　thundering　applause　before　huge
audiences　in　England；　and　the　more　private　records　of　the　methods
by　which　the　American　War　Loans　were　raised；　were　so　amazing　that
they　put　the　guns　and　the　possibilities　of　a　raid　clean　out　of
our　heads　for　the　moment。



The　Rabid　Watchdogs　of　Liberty

Not　content　with　these　rancorous　abuses　of　the　existing　law；　the
war　maniacs　made　a　frantic　rush　to　abolish　all　constitutional
guarantees　of　liberty　and　well…being。　The　ordinary　law　was
superseded　by　Acts　under　which　newspapers　were　seized　and　their
printing　machinery　destroyed　by　simple　police　raids　a　la　Russe；
and　persons　arrested　and　shot　without　any　pretence　of　trial　by
jury　or　publicity　of　procedure　or　evidence。　Though　it　was
urgently　necessary　that　production　should　be　increased　by　the
most　scientific　organization　and　economy　of　labor；　and　though　no
fact　was　better　established　than　that　excessive　duration　and
intensity　of　toil　reduces　production　heavily　instead　of
increasing　it；　the　factory　laws　were　suspended；　and　men　and　women
recklessly　over…worked　until　the　loss　of　their　efficiency　became
too　glaring　to　be　ignored。　Remonstrances　and　warnings　were　met
either　with　an　accusation　of　pro…Germanism　or　the　formula；
〃Remember　that　we　are　at　war　now。〃　I　have　said　that　men　assumed
that　war　had　reversed　the　order　of　nature；　and　that　all　was　lost
unless　we　did　the　exact　opposite　of　everything　we　had　found
necessary　and　beneficial　in　peace。　But　the　truth　was　worse　than
that。　The　war　did　not　change　men's　minds　in　any　such　impossible
way。　What　really　happened　was　that　the　impact　of　physical　death
and　destruction；　the　one　reality　that　every　fool　can　understand；
tore　off　the　masks　of　education；　art；　science　and　religion　from
our　ignorance　and　barbarism；　and　left　us　glorying　grotesquely　in
the　licence　suddenly　accorded　to　our　vilest　passions　and　most
abject　terrors。　Ever　since　Thucydides　wrote　his　history；　it　has
been　on　record　that　when　the　angel　of　death　sounds　his　trumpet
the　pretences　of　civilization　are　blown　from　men's　heads　into　the
mud　like　hats　in　a　gust　of　wind。　But　when　this　scripture　was
fulfilled　among　us；　the　shock　was　not　the　less　appalling　because
a　few　students　of　Greek　history　were　not　surprised　by　it。　Indeed
these　students　threw　themselves　into　the　orgy　as　shamelessly　as
the　illiterate。　The　Christian　priest；　joining　in　the　war　dance
without　even　throwing　off　his　cassock　first；　and　the　respectable
school　governor　expelling　the　German　professor　with　insult　and
bodily　violence；　and　declaring　that　no　English　child　should
ever　again　be　taught　the　language　of　Luther　and　Goethe；　were　kept
in　countenance　by　the　most　impudent　repudiations　of　every　decency
of　civilization　and　every　lesson　of　political　experience　on　the
part　of　the　very　persons　who；　as　university　professors；
historians；　philosophers；　and　men　of　science；　were　the　accredited
custodians　of　culture。　It　was　crudely　natural；　and　perhaps
necessary　for　recruiting　purposes；　that　German　militarism　and
German　dynastic　ambition　should　be　painted　by　journalists　and
recruiters　in　black　and　red　as　European　dangers　（as　in　fact　they
are）；　leaving　it　to　be　inferred　that　our　own　militarism　and　our
own　political　constitution　are　millennially　democratic　（which
they　certainly　are　not）；　but　when　it　came　to　frantic
denunciations　of　German　chemistry；　German　biology；　German　poetry；
German　music；　German　literature；　German　philosophy；　and　even
German　engineering；　as　malignant　abominations　standing　towards
British　and　French　chemistry　and　so　forth　in　the　relation　of
heaven　to　hell；　it　was　clear　that　the　utterers　of　such　barbarous
ravings　had　never　really　understood　or　cared　for　the　arts　and
sciences　they　professed　and　were　profaning；　and　were　only　the
appallingly　degenerate　descendants　of　the　men　of　the　seventeenth
and　eighteenth　centuries　who；　recognizing　no　national　frontiers
in　the　great　realm　of　the　human　mind；　kept　the　European　comity　of
that　realm　loftily　and　even　ostentatiously　above　the　rancors　of
the　battle…field。　Tearing　the　Garter　from　the　Kaiser's　leg；
striking　the　German　dukes　from　the　roll　of　our　peerage；　changing
the　King's　illustrious　and　historically　appropriate　surname　（for
the　war　was　the　old　war　of　Guelph　against　Ghibelline；　with　the
Kaiser　as　Arch…Ghibelline）　to　that　of　a　traditionless　locality。
One　felt　that　the　figure　of　St。　George　and　the　Dragon　on　our
coinage　should　be　replaced　by　that　of　the　soldier　driving　his
spear　through　Archimedes。　But　by　that　time　there　was　no　coinage：
only　paper　money　in　which　ten　shillings　called　itself　a　pound　as
confidently　as　the　people　who　were　disgracing　their　country
called　themselves　patriots。



The　Sufferings　of　the　Sane

The　mental　distress　of　living　amid　the　obscene　din　of　all　these
carmagnoles　and　corobberies　was　not　the　only　burden　that　lay　on
sane　people　during　the　war。　There　was　also　the　emotional　strain；
complicated　by　the　offended　economic　sense；　produced　by　the
casualty　lists。　The　stupid；　the　selfish；　the　narrow…minded；　the
callous　and　unimaginative　were　spared　a　great　deal。　〃Blood　and
destruction　shall　be　so　in　use　that　mothers　shall　but　smile　when
they　behold　their　infantes　quartered　by　the　hands　of　war；〃　was　a
Shakespearean　prophecy　that　very　nearly　came　true；　for　when
nearly　every　house　had　a　slaughtered　son　to　mourn；　we　should　all
have　gone　quite　out　of　our　senses　if　we　had　taken　our　own　and　our
friend's　bereavements　at　their　peace　value。　It　became　necessary
to　give　them　a　false　value；　to　proclaim　the　young　life　worthily
and　gloriously　sacrificed　to　redeem　the　liberty　of　mankind；
instead　of　to　expiate　the　heedlessness　and　folly　of　their
fathers；　and　expiate　it　in　vain。　We　had　even　to　assume　that　the
parents　and　not　the　children　had　made　the　sacrifice；　until　at
last　the　comic　papers　were　driven　to　satirize　fat　old　men；
sitting　comfortably　in　club　chairs；　and　boasting　of　the　sons　they
had　〃given〃　to　their　country。

No　one　grudged　these　anodynes　to　acute　personal　grief；　but　they
only　embittered　those　who　knew　that　the　young　men　were　having
their　teeth　set　on　edge　because　their　parents　had　eaten　sour
political　grapes。　Then　think　of　the　young　men　themselves！　Many　of
them　had　no　illusions　about　the　policy　that　led　to　the　war：　they
went　clear…sighted　to　a　horribly　repugnant　duty。　Men　essentially
gentle　and　essentially　wise；　with　really　valuable　work　in　hand；
laid　it　down　voluntarily　and　spent　months　forming　fours　in　the
barrack　yard；　and　stabbing　sacks　of　straw　in　the　public　eye；　so
that　they　might　go　out　to　kill　and　maim　men　as　gentle　as
themselves。　These　men；　who　were　perhaps；　as　a　class；　our　most
efficient　soldiers　（Frederick　Keeling；　for　example）；　were　not
duped　for　a　moment　by　the　hypocritical　melodrama　that　consoled
and　stimulated　the　others。　They　left　their　creative　work　to
drudge　at　destruction；　exactly　as　they　would　have　left　it　to　take
their　turn　at　the　pumps　in　a　sinking　ship。　They