Heretics (G.K. Chesterton) 35：第八章第5-8段

第8章 

第5段

It was through this fatal paradox in the nature of things that all these modern adventurers come at last to a sort of tedium and acquiescence. They desired strength; and to them to desire strength was to admire strength; to admire strength was simply to admire the statu quo. They thought that he who wished to be strong ought to respect the strong. They did not realize the obvious verity that he who wishes to be strong must despise the strong. They sought to be everything, to have the whole force of the cosmos behind them, to have an energy that would drive the stars. But they did not realize the two great facts—first, that in the attempt to be everything the first and most difficult step is to be something; second, that the moment a man is something, he is essentially defying everything. The lower animals, say the men of science, fought their way up with a blind selfishness. If this be so, the only real moral of it is that our unselfishness, if it is to triumph, must be equally blind. The mammoth did not put his head on one side and wonder whether mammoths were a little out of date. Mammoths were at least as much up to date as that individual mammoth could make them. The great elk did not say, "Cloven hoofs are very much worn now." He polished his own weapons for his own use. But in the reasoning animal there has arisen a more horrible danger, that he may fail through perceiving his own failure. When modern sociologists talk of the necessity of accommodating one's self to the trend of the time, they forget that the trend of the time at its best consists entirely of people who will not accommodate themselves to anything. At its worst it consists of many millions of frightened creatures all accommodating themselves to a trend that is not there. And that is becoming more and more the situation of modern England. Every man speaks of public opinion, and means by public opinion, public opinion minus his opinion. Every man makes his contribution negative under the erroneous impression that the next man's contribution is positive. Every man surrenders his fancy to a general tone which is itself a surrender. And over all the heartless and fatuous unity spreads this new and wearisome and platitudinous press, incapable of invention, incapable of audacity, capable only of a servility all the more contemptible because it is not even a servility to the strong. But all who begin with force and conquest will end in this.

正因萬事萬物本質內這致命的悖論，現代一切充滿激情的冒險，最終變得乏善可陳。他們渴望強大的力量，對他們而言，渴望力量，就是崇拜敬奉力量，但崇拜力量其實不過只是崇拜現況。他們以為人若想要變得強壯有力，便應尊重敬奉強者，他們未能領略那明顯的道理，也就是人若想變得強壯有力，必得看輕鄙視強者。他們尋求成為那無處不在、無所不能的萬有，企圖擁有整個宇宙的力量，擁有能使星辰運轉的動能，但他們卻未明白兩個重要的事實，第一，若想要成為那萬能萬有者，首先也是最困難的步驟，是得先成個人物；再來，人成為一個人物的那刻，他就開始對抗萬事萬物。根據科學人士，低等生物出於盲目的自私動機，掙扎著往上演化以求生存。若這是真的，那當中唯一的教訓就是，我們的無私若要能勝利，也必須得同樣盲目才行。長毛象沒有側著頭沈思長毛象群是否太落伍。長毛象群跟得上時代的程度取決於個別長毛象的觀點。麋鹿也沒有說：「分趾蹄（偶蹄）已不流行了」，牠保養擦拭牠的武器以供使用。但在會推理、有理性的生物中，卻出現一種令人感到恐慌的危機，就是這種生物會因察覺到自己的失敗而失敗。當現代社會學家提到人為了順應時代而調整自己的必要性時，他們忽略了最美好的時代是由一群無需再調整自己、順應任何潮流的人所組成的。而最糟的時代，則是充滿了千百萬個對不存在的趨勢感到焦慮不安，深怕落伍而不斷調整自己配合的生物。而這描述愈來愈符合今日的英格蘭。每個人都談論公眾的意見，以公眾意見為自己的意見，以公眾意見取代自己的意見。每個人都因誤以為另一個人的想法對這社會的貢獻是正面的，而否定自己的觀點。每個人都讓自己的幻想屈從於大眾主流觀點下，而這主流觀點本身也是鄉愿盲從之言。而在這毫無熱忱、昏庸沈悶的團結觀點下，這嶄新、乏味、陳腐的媒體開始放送，難有任何創新，缺乏任何大膽的創意，僅能成為可鄙的奴隸，因爲就連為強者提供服務都辦不到。但任何以追求力量與勝利出發的，最終都將走向這結局。

6

The chief characteristic of the "New journalism" is simply that it is bad journalism. It is beyond all comparison the most shapeless, careless, and colourless work done in our day.

「新新聞」的主要特色，簡單來說就是糟糕的新聞，且無疑是我們這時代最不成樣、最無關緊要、最乏善可陳的成就。

7

I read yesterday a sentence which should be written in letters of gold and adamant; it is the very motto of the new philosophy of Empire. I found it (as the reader has already eagerly guessed) in Pearson's Magazine, while I was communing (soul to soul) with Mr. C. Arthur Pearson, whose first and suppressed name I am afraid is Chilperic. It occurred in an article on the American Presidential Election. This is the sentence, and every one should read it carefully, and roll it on the tongue, till all the honey be tasted.

"A little sound common sense often goes further with an audience of American workingmen than much highflown argument. A speaker who, as he brought forward his points, hammered nails into a board, won hundreds of votes for his side at the last Presidential Election."

我昨天讀到一句應該用金刻印下來的句子，這句子正好是偉大帝國新哲學思想的箴言。我是在皮爾森雜誌（譯註：1896年起在英國發行的月刊，內容包含文學與政治評論）中讀到這句話（讀者或許已經猜到），那時我正在與皮爾森先生（C. Arthur Pearson）進行心靈上的交流，這位皮爾森先生的名字很不幸的是希爾佩里克（譯註：Chilperic希爾佩里克是法蘭克王國墨洛溫王朝的國王，在法蘭克王國分裂後，他統治四個王國中最小的王國，後被刺殺而死。）這句話出現在一篇關於美國總統選舉的文章中，文字如下，每個人都應仔細閱讀，反覆誦念，直到將其通透理解、牢記不忘。

「在美國勞工階級中，通達小常識常比高談闊論的深奧道理更能引發迴響。當發言人提出他的觀點，如同釘錘入板、鞭辟入裡，為他在這場總統大選中所支持的陣營贏得數百張票。」

8

I do not wish to soil this perfect thing with comment; the words of Mercury are harsh after the songs of Apollo. But just think for a moment of the mind, the strange inscrutable mind, of the man who wrote that, of the editor who approved it, of the people who are probably impressed by it, of the incredible American workingman, of whom, for all I know, it may be true. Think what their notion of "common sense" must be! It is delightful to realize that you and I are now able to win thousands of votes should we ever be engaged in a Presidential Election, by doing something of this kind. For I suppose the nails and the board are not essential to the exhibition of "common sense;" there may be variations. We may read—

"A little common sense impresses American workingmen more than highflown argument. A

speaker who, as he made his points, pulled buttons off his waistcoat, won thousands of votes for his side." Or, "Sound common sense tells better in America than highflown argument. Thus Senator Budge, who threw his false teeth in the air every time he made an epigram, won the solid approval of American workingmen." Or again, "The sound common sense of a gentleman from Earlswood, who stuck straws in his hair during the progress of his speech, assured the victory of Mr. Roosevelt."

我不想以我的評論破壞這完美的場景。在阿波羅的詩歌頌唱後，墨丘利所傳遞的訊息總是殘酷。但只要稍微思考一下人的心思，想想寫出這句子的作者、同意刊出這句子的編輯、對這句子留下深刻印象的讀者、了不起的美國勞工，以及所有深信這句子內道理的人，他們那怪異莫測的心思，忖思他們的「常識」會是指什麼呀！明白你我若今日參加總統大選，只要照著句子內描述的做，將能夠贏得數千張選票，的確令人開心。我想釘子跟錘子應該也不是展現出「常識」所必需的，可有其他變通做法，我們也可這樣說：

「小常識比高談闊論更能引發美國工人階級的共鳴，當發言人提出他的觀點，鈕扣立時從他的西裝背心上迸發，為其陣營贏得數千張選票。」或是「通達常識要比高談闊論更受美國人歡迎，因此每次參議員巴吉（Budge）說出詼諧諷刺之言時，都把他的假牙往空中拋，這舉動擄獲美國勞工階級的死忠支持。」又或是「這位來自厄爾斯伍德（Earlswood），在演講中將麥稈插在頭髮裡的先生，他的通達常識確保了羅斯福先生的勝利。」