the origins of contemporary france-1-第68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！



Pater；　and　Beaudouin；　and　which；　accepted　with　difficulty；　or　as　a

surprise；　by　the　official　drawing　room　are　still　to　subsist　after　the

grander　and　soberer　canvases　shall　have　　become　moldy　through　their

wearisome　exhalations。　　Everywhere　else　the　sap　dries　up；　and；　instead

of　blooming　plants；　we　encounter　only　flowers　of　painted　paper。　　What

are　all　the　serious　poems；　from　the　〃la　Henriade〃　of　Voltaire　to　the

〃Mois〃　by　Roucher　or　the　〃l'Imagination〃　by　Delille；　but　so　many

pieces　of　rhetoric　garnished　with　rhymes？　Examine　the　innumerable

tragedies　and　comedies　of　which　Grimm　and　Collé　gives　us　mortuary

extracts；　even　the　meritorious　works　of　Voltaire　and　Crébillon；　and

later；　those　of　authors　of　repute；　Du　Belloy；　Laharpe；　Ducis；　and

Marie　Chénier？　Eloquence；　art；　situations；　correct　verse；　all　exist　in

these　except　human　nature；　the　personages　are　simply　well…taught

puppets；　and　generally　mere　mouthpieces　by　which　the　author　makes　his

declamation　public；　Greeks；　Romans；　Medieval　knights；　Turks；　Arabs；

Peruvians；　Giaours；　or　Byzantines；　they　have　all　the　same　declamatory

mechanisms。　　The　public；　meanwhile；　betrays　no　surprise。　　It　is　not

aware　of　history。　　It　assumes　that　humanity　is　everywhere　the　same。　　It

establishes　the　success　alike　of　the　〃Incas〃　by　Marmontel；　and　of

〃Gonsalve〃　and　the　〃Nouvelles〃　by　Florian；　also　of　the　peasants；

mechanics；　Negroes；　Brazilians；　Parsees；　and　Malabarites　that　appear

before　it　churning　out　their　exaggerations。　　Man　is　simply　regarded　as

a　reasoning　being；　alike　in　all　ages　and　alike　in　all　places；

Bernardin　de　Saint…Pierre　endows　his　pariah　with　this　habit；　like

Diderot；　in　his　Tahitians。　　The　one　recognized　principle　is　that　every

human　being　must　think　and　talk　like　a　book。　　…　And　how　inadequate

their　historical　background！　With　the　exception　of　〃Charles　XII。；〃　a

contemporary　on　whom　Voltaire；　thanks　to　eye　eye…witnesses；　bestows

fresh　life；　also　his　spirited　sketches　of　Englishmen；　Frenchmen；

Spaniards；　Italians　and　Germans；　scattered　through　his　stories；　where

are　real　persons　to　be　found？　With　Hume；　Gibbon　and　Robertson；

belonging　to　the　French　school；　and　who　are　at　once　adopted　in　France；

in　the　researches　into　our　middle　ages　of　Dubos　and　of　Mably；　in　the

〃Louis　XI〃　of　Duclos；　in　the　〃Anarcharsis〃　of　Barthélemy；　even　in　the

〃Essai　sur　les　Moeurs；〃　and　in　the　〃Siecle　de　Louis　XIV〃　of　Voltaire；

even　in　the　〃Grandeur　des　Romains；〃　and　the　〃Esprit　des　Lois〃　of

Montesquieu；　what　peculiar　deficiency！　Erudition；　criticism；　common

sense；　an　almost　exact　exposition　of　dogmas　and　of　institutions；

philosophic　views　of　the　relationships　between　events　and　on　the

general　run　of　these；　nothing　is　lacking　but　the　people！　On　reading

these　it　seems　as　if　the　climates；　institutions　and　civilizations

which　so　completely　modifies　the　human　intellect；　are　simply　so　many

outworks；　so　many　fortuitous　exteriors；　which；　far　from　reflecting　its

depths　scarcely　penetrate　beneath　its　surface。　　The　vast　differences

separating　the　men　of　two　centuries；　or　of　two　peoples；　escape　them

entirely。＇35＇　The　ancient　Greek；　the　early　Christian；　the　conquering

Teuton；　the　feudal　man；　the　Arab　of　Mahomet；　the　German；　the

Renaissance　Englishman；　the　puritan；　appear　in　their　books　as　in

engravings　and　frontispieces；　with　some　difference　in　costume；　but　the

same　bodies；　the　same　faces；　the　same　countenances；　toned　down；

obliterated；　proper；　adapted　to　the　conventionalities　of　good　manners。

That　sympathetic　imagination　by　which　the　writer　enters　into　the　mind

of　another；　and　reproduces　in　himself　a　system　of　habits　and　feelings

so　different　from　his　own；　is　the　talent　the　most　absent　in　the

eighteenth　century。　　With　the　exception　of　Diderot；　who　uses　it　badly

and　capriciously；　it　almost　entirely　disappears　in　the　last　half　of

the　century。　　Consider　in　turn；　during　the　same　period；　in　France　and

in　England；　where　it　is　most　extensively　used；　the　romance；　a　sort　of

mirror　everywhere　transportable；　the　best　adapted　to　reflect　all

phrases　of　nature　and　of　life。　　After　reading　the　series　of　English

novelists；　Defoe；　Richardson；　Fielding；　Smollett；　Sterne；　and

Goldsmith　down　to　Miss　Burney　and　Miss　Austen；　I　have　become　familiar

with　England　in　the　eighteenth　century；　I　have　encountered　clergymen；

country　gentlemen；　farmers；　innkeepers；　sailors；　people　of　every

condition　in　life；　high　and　low；　I　know　the　details　of　fortunes　and　of

careers；　how　much　is　earned；　how　much　is　expended；　how　journeys　are

made　and　how　people　eat　and　drink：　I　have　accumulated　for　myself　a

file　of　precise　biographical　events；　a　complete　picture　in　a　thousand

scenes　of　an　entire　community；　the　amplest　stock　of　information　to

guide　me　should　I　wish　to　frame　a　history　of　this　vanished　world。　　On

reading　a　corresponding　list　of　French　novelists；　the　younger

Crébillon；　Rousseau；　Marmontel；　Laclos；　Restif　de　la　Breton；　Louvet；

Madame　de　Sta？l；　Madame　de　Genlis　and　the　rest；　including　Mercier　and

even　Mme。　　Cottin；　I　scarcely　take　any　notes；　all　precise　and

instructive　little　facts　are　left　out；　I　find　civilities；　polite　acts；

gallantries；　mischief…making；　social　dissertations　and　nothing　else。

They　carefully　abstain　from　mentioning　money；　from　giving　me　figures；

from　describing　a　wedding；　a　trial；　the　administration　of　a　piece　of

property；　I　am　ignorant　of　the　situation　of　a　curate；　of　a　rustic

noble；　of　a　resident　prior；　of　a　steward；　of　an　intendant。　　Whatever

relates　to　a　province　or　to　the　rural　districts；　to　the　bourgeoisie　or

to　the　shop；＇36＇　to　the　army　or　to　a　soldier；　to　the　clergy　or　to

convents；　to　justice　or　to　the　police；　to　business　or　to　housekeeping

remains　vaguely　in　my　mind　or　is　falsified；　to　clear　up　any　point　I　am

obliged　to　recur　to　that　marvelous　Voltaire　who；　on　laying　aside　the

great　classic　coat；　finds　plenty　of　elbow　room　and　tells　all。　　On　the

organs　of　society　of　vital　importance；　on　the　practices　and

regulations　that　provoke　revolutions；　on　feudal　rights　and　seigniorial

justice；　on　the　mode　of　recruiting　and　governing　monastic　bodies；　on

the　revenue　measures　of　the　provinces；　of　corporations　and　of　trade…

unions；　on　the　tithes　and　the　corvées；＇37＇　literature　provides　me　with

scarcely　any　information。　　Drawing…rooms　and　men　of　letters　are

apparently　its　sole　material。　　The　rest　is　null　and　void。　　Outside　the

good　society　that　is　able　to　converse　France　appears　perfectly　empty。

…　On　the　approach　of　the　Revolution　the　elimination　increases。　　Look

through　the　harangues　of　the　clubs　and　of　the　tribune；　through

reports；　legislative　bills　and　pamphlets；　and　through　the　mass　of

writings　prompted　by　passing　and　exciting　events；　in　none　of　them　do

we　see　any　sign　of　the　human　creature　as　we　see　him　in　the　fields　and

in　the　street；　he　is　always　regarded　as　a　simple　robot；　a　well　known

mechanism。　　Among　writers　he　was　a　moment　ago　a　dispenser　of

commonplaces；　among　politicians　he　is　now　a　pliable　voter　；　touch　him

in　the　proper　place　and　he　responds　in　the　desired　manner。　　Facts　are

never　apparent；　only　abstractions；　long　arrays　of　sentences　on　nature；

Reason；　and　the　people；　on　tyrants　and　liberty；　like　inflated

balloons；　uselessly　conflicting　with　each　other　in　space。　　Were　we　not

aware　that　all　this　would　terminate　in　terrible　practical　effects　then

we　could　regard　it　as　competition　in　logic；　as　school　exercises；

academic　parades；　or　ideological　compositions。　　It　is；　in　fact；

Ideology；　the　last　product　of　the　century；　which　will　stamp　the

classic　spirit　with　its　final　formula　and　last　word。



III。　　THE　MATHEMATICAL　METHOD。



The　philosophic　method　in　conformity　with　the　Classic　Sprit。　　…

Ideology。　　…　Abuse　of　the　mathematical　process。　　…　Condillac；　Rousseau；

Mably；　Condorcet；　Volney；　Sieyès；　Cabanis；　and　de　Tracy。　　…　Excesses　of

simplification　and　boldness　of　organization。



　The　natural　process　of　the　classic　spirit　is　to　pursue　in　every

research；　with　the　utmost　confidence；　without　either