latter-day pamphlets-第2章
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the glory departing from us? Under the sun is nothing baser; by all accounts and evidences; than the system of repression and corruption; of shameless dishonesty and unbelief in anything but human baseness; that we now live under。 The Italians; the very Pope; have become apostles of liberty; and France iswhat is France!〃We know what France suddenly became in the end of February next; and by a clear enough genealogy; we can trace a considerable share in that event to the good simple Pope with the New Testament in his hand。 An outbreak; or at least a radical change and even inversion of affairs hardly to be achieved without an outbreak; everybody felt was inevitable in France: but it had been universally expected that France would as usual take the initiative in that matter; and had there been no reforming Pope; no insurrectionary Sicily; France had certainly not broken out then and so; but only afterwards and otherwise。 The French explosion; not anticipated by the cunningest men there on the spot scrutinizing it; burst up unlimited; complete; defying computation or control。
Close following which; as if by sympathetic subterranean electricities; all Europe exploded; boundless; uncontrollable; and we had the year 1848; one of the most singular; disastrous; amazing; and; on the whole; humiliating years the European world ever saw。 Not since the irruption of the Northern Barbarians has there been the like。 Everywhere immeasurable Democracy rose monstrous; loud; blatant; inarticulate as the voice of Chaos。 Everywhere the Official holy…of…holies was scandalously laid bare to dogs and the profane:Enter; all the world; see what kind of Official holy it is。 Kings everywhere; and reigning persons; stared in sudden horror; the voice of the whole world bellowing in their ear; 〃Begone; ye imbecile hypocrites; histrios not heroes! Off with you; off!〃 and; what was peculiar and notable in this year for the first time; the Kings all made haste to go; as if exclaiming; 〃We _are_ poor histrios; we sure enough;did you want heroes? Don't kill us; we couldn't help it!〃 Not one of them turned round; and stood upon his Kingship; as upon a right he could afford to die for; or to risk his skin upon; by no manner of means。 That; I say; is the alarming peculiarity at present。 Democracy; on this new occasion; finds all Kings conscious that they are but Play…actors。 The miserable mortals; enacting their High Life Below Stairs; with faith only that this Universe may perhaps be all a phantasm and hypocrisis;the truculent Constable of the Destinies suddenly enters: 〃Scandalous Phantasms; what do _you_ here? Are 'solemnly constituted Impostors' the proper Kings of men? Did you think the Life of Man was a grimacing dance of apes? To be led always by the squeak of your paltry fiddle? Ye miserable; this Universe is not an upholstery Puppet…play; but a terrible God's Fact; and you; I think;had not you better begone!〃 They fled precipitately; some of them with what we may call an exquisite ignominy;in terror of the treadmill or worse。 And everywhere the people; or the populace; take their own government upon themselves; and open 〃kinglessness;〃 what we call _anarchy_;how happy if it be anarchy _plus_ a street…constable!is everywhere the order of the day。 Such was the history; from Baltic to Mediterranean; in Italy; France; Prussia; Austria; from end to end of Europe; in those March days of 1848。 Since the destruction of the old Roman Empire by inroad of the Northern Barbarians; I have known nothing similar。
And so; then; there remained no King in Europe; no King except the Public Haranguer; haranguing on barrel…head; in leading article; or getting himself aggregated into a National Parliament to harangue。 And for about four months all France; and to a great degree all Europe; rough…ridden by every species of delirium; except happily the murderous for most part; was a weltering mob; presided over by M。 de Lamartine; at the Hotel…de…Ville; a most eloquent fair…spoken literary gentleman; whom thoughtless persons took for a prophet; priest and heaven…sent evangelist; and whom a wise Yankee friend of mine discerned to be properly 〃the first stump…orator in the world; standing too on the highest stump;for the time。〃 A sorrowful spectacle to men of reflection; during the time he lasted; that poor M。 de Lamartine; with nothing in him but melodious wind and _soft sawder_; which he and others took for something divine and not diabolic! Sad enough; the eloquent latest impersonation of Chaos…come…again; able to talk for itself; and declare persuasively that it is Cosmos! However; you have but to wait a little; in such cases; all balloons do and must give up their gas in the pressure of things; and are collapsed in a sufficiently wretched manner before long。
And so in City after City; street…barricades are piled; and truculent; more or less murderous insurrection begins; populace after populace rises; King after King capitulates or absconds; and from end to end of Europe Democracy has blazed up explosive; much higher; more irresistible and less resisted than ever before; testifying too sadly on what a bottomless volcano; or universal powder…mine of most inflammable mutinous chaotic elements; separated from us by a thin earth…rind; Society with all its arrangements and acquirements everywhere; in the present epoch; rests! The kind of persons who excite or give signal to such revolutionsstudents; young men of letters; advocates; editors; hot inexperienced enthusiasts; or fierce and justly bankrupt desperadoes; acting everywhere on the discontent of the millions and blowing it into flame;might give rise to reflections as to the character of our epoch。 Never till now did young men; and almost children; take such a command in human affairs。 A changed time since the word _Senior_ (Seigneur; or _Elder_) was first devised to signify 〃lord;〃 or superior;as in all languages of men we find it to have been! Not an honorable document this either; as to the spiritual condition of our epoch。 In times when men love wisdom; the old man will ever be venerable; and be venerated; and reckoned noble: in times that love something else than wisdom; and indeed have little or no wisdom; and see little or none to love; the old man will cease to be venerated; and looking more closely; also; you will find that in fact he has ceased to be venerable; and has begun to be contemptible; a foolish boy still; a boy without the graces; generosities and opulent strength of young boys。 In these days; what of _lordship_ or leadership is still to be done; the youth must do it; not the mature or aged man; the mature man; hardened into sceptical egoism; knows no monition but that of his own frigid cautious; avarices; mean timidities; and can lead no…whither towards an object that even seems noble。 But to return。
This mad state of matters will of course before long allay itself; as it has everywhere begun to do; the ordinary necessities of men's daily existence cannot comport with it; and these; whatever else is cast aside; will have their way。 Some remountingvery temporary remountingof the old machine; under new colors and altered forms; will probably ensue soon in most countries: the old histrionic Kings will be admitted back under conditions; under 〃Constitutions;〃 with national Parliaments; or the like fashionable adjuncts; and everywhere the old daily life will try to begin again。 But there is now no hope that such arrangements can be permanent; that they can be other than poor temporary makeshifts; which; if they try to fancy and make themselves permanent; will be displaced by new explosions recurring more speedily than last time。 In such baleful oscillation; afloat as amid raging bottomless eddies and conflicting sea…currents; not steadfast as on fixed foundations; must European Society continue swaying; now disastrously tumbling; then painfully readjusting itself; at ever shorter intervals;till once the _new_ rock…basis does come to light; and the weltering deluges of mutiny; and of need to mutiny; abate again!
For universal _Democracy_; whatever we may think of it; has declared itself as an inevitable fact of the days in which we live; and he who has any chance to inst