the research magnificent-第48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！


f　diffused　and　voluntary　kingship　scattered　throughout　mankind。　　The　aristocrats　are　not　at　the　high　table；　the　kings　are　not　enthroned；　those　who　are　enthroned　are　but　pretenders　and　SIMULACRA；　kings　of　the　vulgar；　the　real　king　and　ruler　is　every　man　who　sets　aside　the　naive　passions　and　self…interest　of　the　common　life　for　the　rule　and　service　of　the　world。　This　is　an　idea　that　is　now　to　be　found　in　much　contemporary　writing。　　It　is　one　of　those　ideas　that　seem　to　appear　simultaneously　at　many　points　in　the　world；　and　it　is　impossible　to　say　now　how　far　Benham　was　an　originator　of　this　idea；　and　how　far　he　simply　resonated　to　its　expression　by　others。　　It　was　far　more　likely　that　Prothero；　getting　it　heaven　knows　where；　had　spluttered　it　out　and　forgotten　it；　leaving　it　to　germinate　in　the　mind　of　his　friend。　。　。　。　This　lordly；　this　kingly　dream　became　more　and　more　essential　to　Benham　as　his　life　went　on。　　When　Benham　walked　the　Bisse　he　was　just　a　youngster　resolved　to　be　individually　brave；　when　he　prowled　in　the　jungle　by　night　he　was　there　for　all　mankind。　　With　every　year　he　became　more　and　more　definitely　to　himself　a　consecrated　man　as　kings　are　consecrated。　　Only　that　he　was　self…consecrated；　and　anointed　only　in　his　heart。　　At　last　he　was；　so　to　speak；　Haroun　al　Raschid　again；　going　unsuspected　about　the　world；　because　the　palace　of　his　security　would　not　tell　him　the　secrets　of　men's　disorders。　He　was　no　longer　a　creature　of　circumstances；　he　was　kingly；　unknown；　Alfred　in　the　Camp　of　the　Danes。　　In　the　great　later　accumulations　of　his　Research　the　personal　matter；　the　introspection；　the　intimate　discussion　of　motive；　becomes　less　and　less。　　He　forgets　himself　in　the　exaltation　of　kingliness。　　He　worries　less　and　less　over　the　particular　rightness　of　his　definite　acts。　　In　these　later　papers　White　found　Benham　abstracted；　self…　forgetful；　trying　to　find　out　with　an　ever　increased　self…　detachment；　with　an　ever　deepening　regal　solicitude；　why　there　are　massacres；　wars；　tyrannies　and　persecutions；　why　we　let　famine；　disease　and　beasts　assail　us；　and　want　dwarf　and　cripple　vast　multitudes　in　the　midst　of　possible　plenty。　　And　when　he　foundrejudice。　　His　examination　of　the　social　and　political　condition　of　Russiaty　and　swarming　with　naked　black　children；　and　yet　all　the　time　they　seemed　to　be　in　a　wilderness。　　They　forded　rivers；　they　had　at　times　to　force　themselves　through　thickets；　once　or　twice　they　lost　their　way；　and　always　ahead　of　them；　purple　and　sullen；　the　great　mountain　peak　with　La　Ferriere　upon　its　crest　rose　slowly　out　of　the　background　until　it　domina　out　and　as　far　as　he　found　out；　he　meant　quite　simply　and　earnestly　to　apply　his　knowledge。　。　。　。

3

The　intellectualism　of　Benham　intensified　to　the　end。　　His　definition　of　Prejudice　impressed　White　as　being　the　most　bloodless　and　philosophical　formula　that　ever　dominated　the　mind　of　a　man。　〃Prejudice；〃　Benham　had　written；　〃is　that　common　incapacity　of　the　human　mind　to　understand　that　a　difference　in　any　respect　is　not　a　difference　in　all　respects；　reinforced　and　rendered　malignant　by　an　instinctive　hostility　to　what　is　unlike　ourselves。　　We　exaggerate　classification　and　then　charge　it　with　mischievous　emotion　by　referring　it　to　ourselves。〃　　And　under　this　comprehensive　formula　he　proceeded　to　study　and　attack　Family　Prejudice；　National　Prejudice；　Race　Prejudice；　War；　Class　Prejudice；　Professional　Prejudice；　Sex　Prejudice；　in　the　most　industrious　and　elaborate　manner。　　Whether　one　regards　one's　self　or　others　he　held　that　these　prejudices　are　evil　things。　　〃From　the　point　of　view　of　human　welfare　they　break　men　up　into　wars　and　conflicts；　make　them　an　easy　prey　to　those　who　trade　upon　suspicion　and　hostility；　prevent　sane　collective　co…　operations；　cripple　and　embitter　life。　　From　the　point　of　view　of　personal　aristocracy　they　make　men　vulgar；　violent；　unjust　and　futile。　　All　the　conscious　life　of　the　aristocrat　must　be　a　constant　struggle　against　false　generalizations；　it　is　as　much　his　duty　to　free　himself　from　that　as　from　fear；　indulgence；　and　jealousy；　it　is　a　larger　and　more　elaborate　task；　but　it　is　none　the　less　cardinal　and　essential。　　Indeed　it　is　more　cardinal　and　essential。　　The　true　knight　has　to　be　not　only　no　coward；　no　self…pamperer；　no　egotist。　He　has　to　be　a　philosopher。　　He　has　to　be　no　hasty　or　foolish　thinker。　　His　judgment　no　more　than　his　courage　is　to　be　taken　by　surprise。　〃To　subdue　fear；　desire　and　jealousy；　is　the　aristocrat's　personal　affair；　it　is　his　ritual　and　discipline；　like　a　knight　watching　his　arms；　but　the　destruction　of　division　and　prejudice　and　all　their　forms　and　establishments；　is　his　real　task；　that　is　the　common　work　of　knighthood。　　It　is　a　task　to　be　done　in　a　thousand　ways；　one　man　working　by　persuasion；　another　by　example；　this　one　overthrowing　some　crippling　restraint　upon　the　freedom　of　speech　and　the　spread　of　knowledge；　and　that　preparing　himself　for　a　war　that　will　shatter　a　tyrannous　presumption。　　Most　imaginative　literature；　all　scientific　investigation；　all　sound　criticism；　all　good　building；　all　good　manufacture；　all　sound　politics；　every　honesty　and　every　reasoned　kindliness　contribute　to　this　release　of　men　from　the　heat　and　confusions　of　our　present　world。〃　It　was　clear　to　White　that　as　Benham　progressed　with　this　major　part　of　his　research；　he　was　more　and　more　possessed　by　the　idea　that　he　was　not　making　his　own　personal　research　alone；　but；　side　by　side　with　a　vast；　masked；　hidden　and　once　unsuspected　multitude　of　others；　that　this　great　idea　of　his　was　under　kindred　forms　the　great　idea　of　thousands；　that　it　was　breaking　as　the　dawn　breaks；　simultaneously　to　great　numbers　of　people；　and　that　the　time　was　not　far　off　when　the　new　aristocracy；　the　disguised　rulers　of　the　world；　would　begin　to　realize　their　common　bent　and　effort。　　Into　these　latter　papers　there　creeps　more　and　more　frequently　a　new　phraseology；　such　expressions　as　the　〃Invisible　King〃　and　the　〃Spirit　of　Kingship；〃　so　that　as　Benham　became　personally　more　and　more　solitary；　his　thoughts　became　more　and　more　public　and　social。　Benham　was　not　content　to　define　and　denounce　the　prejudices　of　mankind。　　He　set　himself　to　study　just　exactly　how　these　prejudices　worked；　to　get　at　the　nature　and　habits　and　strengths　of　each　kind　of　prejudice；　and　to　devise　means　for　its　treatment；　destruction　or　neutralization。　　He　had　no　great　faith　in　the　power　of　pure　reasonableness；　his　psychological　ideas　were　modern；　and　he　had　grasped　the　fact　that　the　power　of　most　of　the　great　prejudices　that　strain　humanity　lies　deeper　than　the　intellectual　level。　Consequently　he　sought　to　bring　himself　into　the　closest　contact　with　prejudices　in　action　and　prejudices　in　conflict　in　order　to　discover　their　sub…rational　springs。　A　large　proportion　of　that　larger　moiety　of　the　material　at　Westhaven　Street　which　White　from　his　extensive　experience　of　the　public　patience　decided　could　not　possibly　〃make　a　book；〃　consisted　of　notes　and　discussions　upon　the　first…hand　observations　Benham　had　made　in　this　or　that　part　of　the　world。　　He　began　in　Russia　during　the　revolutionary　trouble　of　1906；　he　went　thence　to　Odessa；　and　from　place　to　place　in　Bessarabia　and　Kieff；　where　during　a　pogrom　he　had　his　first　really　illuminating　encounter　with　race　and　culture　p　seems　to　have　left　him　much　more　hopeful　than　was　the　common　feeling　of　liberal…minded　people　during　the　years　of　depression　that　followed　the　revolution　of　1906；　and　it　was　upon　the　race　question　that　his　attention　concentrated。　The　Swadeshi　outbreak　drew　him　from　Russia　to　India。　　Here　in　an　entirely　different　environment　was　another　discord　of　race　and　culture；　and　he　found　in　his　study　of　it　much　that　illuminated　and　corrected　his　impressions　of　the　Russian　issue。　　A　whole　drawer　was　devoted　to　a　comparatively　finished　and　very　thorough　enquiry　into　human　dissensions　in　lower　Bengal。　　Here　there　were　not　only　race　but　culture　conflicts；　and　he　could　work　particularly　upon　the　differences　between　men　of　the　same　race　who　were　Hindus；　Christians　and　Mahometans　respectively。　　He　could　compare　the　Bengali　Mahometan　not　only　with　the　Bengali　Brahminist；　but　also　with　the　Mahometan　from　the　north…west。　　〃If　one　could　scrape　off　all　the　creed　and　training；　would　one　find　much　the　same　thing　at　the　bottom；　or　something　fundamentally　so　different　that　no　close　homogeneous　social　life　and　not　even　perhaps　a　life　of　just　compromise　is　possible　between　the　different　races　of　mankind？〃　His　answer　to　that　was　a　confident　one。　　〃There　are　no　such　natural　and　unalterable　differences　in　character　and　quality　between　any　two　sorts　of　men　whatever；　as　would　make　their　peaceful　and　kindly　co…　operation　in　the　world　impossible；〃　he　wrote。　But　he　was　not　satisfied　with　his　observations　in　India。　　He　found　the　prevalence　of　caste　ideas　antipathetic　and　complicating。　　He　went　on　after　his　last　parting　from　Amanda　into　China；　it　was　the　first　of　several　visits　to　China；　and　thence　he　crossed　to　America。　White　found　a　number　of　American　press…cuttings　of　a　vehemently　anti…Japanese　quality　still　awaiting　digestion　in　a　drawer；　and　it　was　clear　to　him　that　Benham　had　given　a　considerable　amount　of　attention　to　the　development　of　the　〃white〃　and　〃yellow〃　race　hostility　on　the　Pacific　slope；　but　his　chief　interest　at　that　time　had　been　the　negro。　　He　went　to　Washington　and　thence　south；　he　visited　Tuskegee　and　Atlanta；　and　then　went　off　at　a　tangent　to　Hayti。　　He　was　drawn　to　Hayti　by　Hesketh　Pritchard's　vivid　book；　WHERE　BLACK　RULES　WHITE；　and　like　Hesketh　Pritchard　he　was　able　to　visit　that　wonderful　monument　to　kingship；　the　hidden　fastness　of　La　Ferriere；　the　citadel　built　a　century　ago　by　the　〃Black　Napoleon；〃　the　Emperor　Christophe。　　He　went　with　a　young　American　demonstrator　from　Harvard。

4

It　was　a　memorable　excursion。　　They　rode　from　Cap　Haytien　for　a　day's　journey　along　dusty　uneven　tracks　through　a　steaming　plain　of　luxurious　vegetation；　that　presented　the　strangest　mixture　of　unbridled　jungle　with　populous　country。　　They　passed　countless　villages　of　thatched　huts　alive　with　curiosited　the　landscape。　　Long　after　dark　they　blundered　upon　rather　than　came　to　the　village　at　its　foot　where　they　were　to　pass　the　night。　　They　were　interrogated　under　a　flaring　torch　by　peering　ragged　black　soldiers；　and　passed　through　a　firelit　crowd　into　the　presence　of　the　local　commandant　to　dispute　volubly　about　their　right　to　go　further。　　They　might　have　been　in　some　remote　corner　of　Nigeria。　　Their　papers；　laboriously　got　in　order；　were　vitiated　by　the　fact；　which　only　became　apparent　by　degrees；　that　the　commandant　could　not　read。　　They　carried　their　point　with　difficulty。　But　they　carried　their　point；　and；　watched　and　guarded　by　a　hungry　half…naked　negro　in　a　kepi　and　the　remains　of　a　sky…blue　pair　of　trousers；　they　explored　one　of　the　most　exemplary　memorials　of　imperialism　that　humanity　has　ever　made。　　The　roads　and　parks　and　prospects　constructed　by　this　vanished　Emperor　of　Hayti；　had　long　since　disappeared；　and　the　three　men　clambered　for　hours　up　ravines　and　precipitous　jungle　tracks；　occasionally　crossing　the　winding　traces　of　a　choked　and　ruined　road　that　had　once　been　the　lordly　approach　to　his　fastness。　　Below　they　passed　an　abandoned　palace