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第4章

the higher learning in america-第4章

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such a disinterested pursuit of unprofitable knowledge has; by



and large; not been freely avowed as a legitimate end of



endeavour; or such has at any rate been the state of the case



through that later segment of history which students commonly



take account of。 A quest of knowledge has overtly been rated as



meritorious; or even blameless; only in so far as it has appeared



to serve the ends of one or another of the practical interests



that have from time to time occupied men's attention。 But



latterly; during the past few generations; this learning has so



far become an avowed 〃end in itself〃 that 〃the increase and



diffusion of knowledge among men〃 is now freely rated as the most



humane and meritorious work to be taken care of by any



enlightened community or any public…spirited friend of



civilization。



    The expediency of such 〃increase and diffusion〃 is no longer



held in doubt; because it has ceased to be a question of



expediency among the enlightened nations; being itself the



consummation upon which; in the apprehension of civilized men;



the advance of culture must converge。 Such has come to be the



long…term common sense judgment of enlightened public opinion。 A



settled presumption to some such effect has found lodgment as a



commonplace conviction in the popular mind; in much the same



measure and in much the same period of time as the current body



of systematic knowledge has taken on the character of matter of



fact。 For good or ill; civilized men have come to hold that this



matter…of…fact knowledge of things is the only end in life that



indubitably justifies itself。 So that nothing more irretrievably



shameful could overtake modern civilization than the miscarriage



of this modern learning; which is the most valued spiritual asset



of civilized mankind。



    The truth of this view is borne out by the professions even



of those lieutenants of the powers of darkness who are straining



to lay waste and debauch the peoples of Christendom。 In



high…pitched concert they all swear by the name of a 〃culture〃



whose sole inalienable asset is this same intellectual mastery of



matters of fact。 At the same time it is only by drawing on the



resources of this matter…of…fact knowledge that the protagonists



of reaction are able to carry on their campaign of debauchery and



desolation。







    Other interests that have once been held in higher esteem



appear by comparison to have fallen into abeyance;  religious



devotion; political prestige; fighting capacity; gentility;



pecuniary distinction; profuse consumption of goods。 But it is



only by comparison with the higher value given to this enterprise



of the intellect that such other interests appear to have lost



ground。 These and the like have fallen into relative disesteem;



as being sordid and insubstantial by comparison。 Not that these



〃lower〃 human interests; answering to the 〃lower〃 ranges of human



intellect; have fallen into neglect; it is only that they have



come to be accounted 〃lower;〃 as contrasted with the quest of



knowledge; and it is only on sober second thought; and perhaps



only for the ephemeral present; that they are so accounted by the



common run of civilized mankind。 Men still are in sufficiently



hot pursuit of all these time…worn amenities; and each for



himself is; in point of fact; more than likely to make the



pursuit of such self…seeking ends the burden of his life; but on



a dispassionate rating; and under the corrective of deliberate



avowal; it will appear that none of these commend themselves as



intrinsically worth while at large。 At the best they are rated as



expedient concessions to human infirmity or as measures of



defense against human perversity and the outrages of fortune。 The



last resort of the apologists for these more sordid endeavours is



the plea that only by this means can the ulterior ends of a



civilization of intelligence be served。 The argument may fairly



be paraphrased to the effect that in order to serve God in the



end; we must all be ready to serve the Devil in the meantime。







    It is always possible; of course; that this pre…eminence of



intellectual enterprise in the civilization of the Western



peoples is a transient episode; that it may eventually  perhaps



even precipitately; with the next impending turn in the fortunes



of this civilization  again be relegated to a secondary place



in the scheme of things and become only an instrumentality in the



service of some dominant aim or impulse; such as a vainglorious



patriotism; or dynastic politics; or the breeding of a commercial



aristocracy。 More than one of the nations of Europe have moved so



far in this matter already as to place the primacy of science and



scholarship in doubt as against warlike ambitions; and the



aspirations of the American community appear to be divided 



between patriotism in the service of the captains of war; and



commerce in the service of the captains of finance。 But hitherto



the spokesmen of any such cultural reversion are careful to



declare a perfunctory faith in that civilization of disinterested



intellectual achievement which they are endeavouring to suborn to



their several ends。 That such pro forma declarations are found



necessary argues that the faith in a civilization of intelligence



is still so far intact as to require all reactionaries to make



their peace with it。



    Meantime the easy matter…of…course presumption that such a



civilization of intelligence justifies itself goes to argue that



the current bias which so comes to expression will be the outcome



of a secure and protracted experience。 What underlies and has



brought on this bent in the temper of the civilized peoples is a



somewhat intricate question of institutional growth; and can not



be gone into here; but the gradual shifting of this



matter…of…fact outlook into the primacy among the ideals of



modern。 Christendom is sufficiently evident in point of fact; to



any attentive student of modern times。 Conceivably; there may



come an abrupt term to its paramount vogue; through some



precipitate sweep of circumstances; but it did not come in by



anything like the sudden intrusion of a new invention in ideals



 after the fashion of a religious conversion nor by the



incursion of a hitherto alien element into the current scheme of



life; but rather by force of a gradual and unintended; scarcely



perceptible; shifting of emphasis between the several cultural



factors that conjointly go to make up the working scheme of



things。



    Along with this shifting of matter…of…fact knowledge into the



foreground among the ideals of civilized life; there has also



gone on a similarly unpremeditated change in the attitude of



those persons and establishments that have to do with this



learning; as well as in the rating accorded them by the community



at large。 Again it is a matter of institutional growth; of



self…wrought changes in the scheme of use and wont; and here as



in other cases of institutional growth and displacement; the



changes have gone forward for the most part blindly; by impulse;



without much foreknowledge of any ulterior consequences to which



such a sequence of change might be said to tend。 It is only after



the new growth of use and wont has taken effect in an altered



range of principles and standards; that its direction and



ulterior consequences can be appreciated with any degree of



confidence。 But this development that has thrown up



matter…of…fact knowledge into its place of paramount value for



modern 

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