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industrial biography-第42节

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without tools he is nothing; with tools he is all。〃  His very first

contrivances to support life were tools of the simplest and rudest

construction; and his latest achievements in the substitution of

machinery for the relief of the human hand and intellect are founded

on the use of tools of a still higher order。  Hence it is not without

good reason that man has by some philosophers been defined as A

TOOL…MAKING ANIMAL。



Tools; like everything else; had small beginnings。  With the primitive

stone…hammer and chisel very little could be done。  The felling of a

tree would occupy a workman a month; unless helped by the destructive

action of fire。  Dwellings could not be built; the soil could not be

tilled; clothes could not be fashioned and made; and the hewing out

of a boat was so tedious a process that the wood must have been far

gone in decay before it could be launched。  It was a great step in

advance to discover the art of working in metals; more especially in

steel; one of the few metals capable of taking a sharp edge and

keeping it。  From the date of this discovery; working in wood and

stone would be found comparatively easy; and the results must

speedily have been felt not only in the improvement of man's daily

food; but in his domestic and social condition。  Clothing could then

be made; the primitive forest could be cleared and tillage carried

on; abundant fuel could be obtained; dwellings erected; ships built;

temples reared; every improvement in tools marking a new step in the

development of the human intellect; and a further stage in the

progress of human civilization。



The earliest tools were of the simplest possible character;

consisting principally of modifications of the wedge; such as the

knife; the shears (formed of two knives working on a joint); the

chisel; and the axe。  These; with the primitive hammer; formed the

principal stock…in…trade of the early mechanics; who were

handicraftsmen in the literal sense of the word。  But the work which

the early craftsmen in wood; stone; brass; and iron; contrived to

execute; sufficed to show how much expertness in the handling of

tools will serve to compensate for their mechanical imperfections。

Workmen then sought rather to aid muscular strength than to supersede

it; and mainly to facilitate the efforts of manual skill。  Another

tool became added to those mentioned above; which proved an

additional source of power to the workman。  We mean the Saw; which was

considered of so much importance that its inventor was honoured with

a place among the gods in the mythology of the Greeks。  This invention

is said to have been suggested by the arrangement of the teeth in the

jaw of a serpent; used by Talus the nephew of Daedalus in dividing a

piece of wood。  From the representations of ancient tools found in the

paintings at Herculaneum it appears that the frame…saw used by the

ancients very nearly resembled that still in use; and we are informed

that the tools employed in the carpenters' shops at Nazareth at this

day are in most respects the same as those represented in the buried

Roman city。  Another very ancient tool referred to in the Bible and in

Homer was the File; which was used to sharpen weapons and implements。

Thus the Hebrews 〃had a file for the mattocks; and for the coulters;

and for the forks; and for the axes; and to sharpen the goads。〃*

 'footnote。。。

1 Samuel; ch。 xiii。 v。 21。

 。。。'

When to these we add the adze; plane…irons; the anger; and the

chisel; we sum up the tools principally relied on by the early

mechanics for working in wood and iron。



Such continued to be the chief tools in use down almost to our own

day。  The smith was at first the principal tool…maker; but special

branches of trade were gradually established; devoted to tool…making。

So long; however; as the workman relied mainly on his dexterity of

hand; the amount of production was comparatively limited; for the

number of skilled workmen was but small。  The articles turned out by

them; being the product of tedious manual labour; were too dear to

come into common use; and were made almost exclusively for the richer

classes of the community。  It was not until machinery had been

invented and become generally adopted that many of the ordinary

articles of necessity and of comfort were produced in sufficient

abundance and at such prices as enabled them to enter into the

consumption of the great body of the people。



But every improver of tools had a long and difficult battle to fight;

for any improvement in their effective power was sure to touch the

interests of some established craft。  Especially was this the case

with machines; which are but tools of a more complete though

complicated kind than those above described。



Take; for instance; the case of the Saw。  The tedious drudgery of

dividing timber by the old fashioned hand…saw is well known。  To avoid

it; some ingenious person suggested that a number of saws should be

fixed to a frame in a mill; so contrived as to work with a

reciprocating motion; upwards and downwards; or backwards and

forwards; and that this frame so mounted should be yoked to the mill

wheel; and the saws driven by the power of wind or water。  The plan

was tried; and; as may readily be imagined; the amount of effective

work done by this machine…saw was immense; compared with the tedious

process of sawing by hand。



It will be observed; however; that the new method must have seriously

interfered with the labour of the hand…sawyers; and it was but

natural that they should regard the establishment of the saw…mills

with suspicion and hostility。  Hence a long period elapsed before the

hand…sawyers would permit the new machinery to be set up and worked。

The first saw…mill in England was erected by a Dutchman; near London;

in 1663; but was shortly abandoned in consequence of the determined

hostility of the workmen。  More than a century passed before a second

saw…mill was set up; when; in 1767; Mr。 John Houghton; a London

timber…merchant; by the desire and with the approbation of the

Society of Arts; erected one at Limehouse; to be driven by wind。  The

work was directed by one James Stansfield; who had gone over to

Holland for the purpose of learning the art of constructing and

managing the sawing machinery。  But the mill was no sooner erected

than a mob assembled and razed it to the ground。  The principal

rioters having been punished; and the loss to the proprietor having

been made good by the nation; a new mill was shortly after built; and

it was suffered to work without further molestation。



Improved methods of manufacture have usually had to encounter the

same kind of opposition。  Thus; when the Flemish weavers came over to

England in the seventeenth century; bringing with them their skill

and their industry; they excited great jealousy and hostility amongst

the native workmen。  Their competition as workmen was resented as an

injury; but their improved machinery was regarded as a far greater

source of mischief。  In a memorial presented to the king in 1621 we

find the London weavers complaining of the foreigners' competition;

but especially that 〃they have made so bould of late as to devise

engines for working of tape; lace; ribbin; and such like; wherein one

man doth more among them than 7 Englishe men can doe; so as their

cheap sale of commodities beggereth all our Englishe artificers of

that trade; and enricheth them。〃*

 'footnote。。。

State Papers; Dom。 1621; Vol。 88; No。 112。

 。。。'



At a much more recent period new inventions have had to encounter

serious rioting and machine…breaking fury。  Kay of the fly…shuttle;

Hargreaves of the spinning…jenny; and Arkwright of the

spinning…frame; all had to fly from Lancashire; glad to escape with

their lives。  Indeed; says Mr。 Bazley; 〃so jealous were the people;

and also the legislature; of everything calculated to supersede men's

labour; that when the Sankey Canal; six miles long; near Warrington;

was authorized about the middle of last century; it was on the

express condition that the boats plying on it should be drawn by men

only!〃*

 'footnote。。。

Lectures on the Results of the Great Exhibition of 1851; 2nd Series;

117。

 。。。'

Even improved agricultural tools and machines have had the same

opposition to encounter; and in our own time bands of rural labourers

have gone from farm to farm breaking drill…ploughs; winnowing;

threshing; and other machines; down even to the common drills;not

perceiving that if their policy had proved successful; and tools

could have been effectually destroyed; the human race would at once

have been reduced to their teeth and nails; and civilization

summarily abolished。*

 'footnote。。。

Dr。 Kirwan; late President of the Royal Irish Academy; who had

travelled much on the continent of Europe; used to relate; when

speaking of the difficulty of introducing improvements in the arts

and manufac

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