orthodoxy-第14节

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of　cigars　and　slippers。　　Can　I　thank　no　one　for　the　birthday　present



of　birth？







　　　　　There　were；　then；　these　two　first　feelings；　indefensible　and



indisputable。　　The　world　was　a　shock；　but　it　was　not　merely　shocking；



existence　was　a　surprise；　but　it　was　a　pleasant　surprise。　　In　fact；



all　my　first　views　were　exactly　uttered　in　a　riddle　that　stuck



in　my　brain　from　boyhood。　　The　question　was；　〃What　did　the　first



frog　say？〃　　And　the　answer　was；　〃Lord；　how　you　made　me　jump！〃　



That　says　succinctly　all　that　I　am　saying。　　God　made　the　frog　jump；



but　the　frog　prefers　jumping。　　But　when　these　things　are　settled



there　enters　the　second　great　principle　of　the　fairy　philosophy。







　　　　　Any　one　can　see　it　who　will　simply　read　〃Grimm's　Fairy　Tales〃



or　the　fine　collections　of　Mr。　Andrew　Lang。　　For　the　pleasure



of　pedantry　I　will　call　it　the　Doctrine　of　Conditional　Joy。　



Touchstone　talked　of　much　virtue　in　an　〃if〃；　according　to　elfin　ethics



all　virtue　is　in　an　〃if。〃　　The　note　of　the　fairy　utterance　always　is；



〃You　may　live　in　a　palace　of　gold　and　sapphire；　if　you　do　not　say



the　word　‘cow'〃；　or　〃You　may　live　happily　with　the　King's　daughter；



if　you　do　not　show　her　an　onion。〃　　The　vision　always　hangs　upon　a　veto。　



All　the　dizzy　and　colossal　things　conceded　depend　upon　one　small



thing　withheld。　　All　the　wild　and　whirling　things　that　are　let



loose　depend　upon　one　thing　that　is　forbidden。　　Mr。　W。B。Yeats；



in　his　exquisite　and　piercing　elfin　poetry；　describes　the　elves



as　lawless；　they　plunge　in　innocent　anarchy　on　the　unbridled　horses



of　the　air







　　　　　〃Ride　on　the　crest　of　the　dishevelled　tide；　　　　　　And　dance



upon　the　mountains　like　a　flame。〃







It　is　a　dreadful　thing　to　say　that　Mr。　W。B。Yeats　does　not



understand　fairyland。　　But　I　do　say　it。　　He　is　an　ironical　Irishman；



full　of　intellectual　reactions。　　He　is　not　stupid　enough　to



understand　fairyland。　　Fairies　prefer　people　of　the　yokel　type



like　myself；　people　who　gape　and　grin　and　do　as　they　are　told。　



Mr。　Yeats　reads　into　elfland　all　the　righteous　insurrection　of　his



own　race。　　But　the　lawlessness　of　Ireland　is　a　Christian　lawlessness；



founded　on　reason　and　justice。　　The　Fenian　is　rebelling　against



something　he　understands　only　too　well；　but　the　true　citizen　of



fairyland　is　obeying　something　that　he　does　not　understand　at　all。　



In　the　fairy　tale　an　incomprehensible　happiness　rests　upon　an



incomprehensible　condition。　　A　box　is　opened；　and　all　evils　fly　out。　



A　word　is　forgotten；　and　cities　perish。　　A　lamp　is　lit；　and　love



flies　away。　　A　flower　is　plucked；　and　human　lives　are　forfeited。　



An　apple　is　eaten；　and　the　hope　of　God　is　gone。







　　　　　This　is　the　tone　of　fairy　tales；　and　it　is　certainly　not



lawlessness　or　even　liberty；　though　men　under　a　mean　modern　tyranny



may　think　it　liberty　by　comparison。　　People　out　of　Portland



Gaol　might　think　Fleet　Street　free；　but　closer　study　will　prove



that　both　fairies　and　journalists　are　the　slaves　of　duty。　



Fairy　godmothers　seem　at　least　as　strict　as　other　godmothers。　



Cinderella　received　a　coach　out　of　Wonderland　and　a　coachman　out



of　nowhere；　but　she　received　a　commandwhich　might　have　come　out



of　Brixtonthat　she　should　be　back　by　twelve。　　Also；　she　had　a



glass　slipper；　and　it　cannot　be　a　coincidence　that　glass　is　so　common



a　substance　in　folk…lore。　This　princess　lives　in　a　glass　castle；



that　princess　on　a　glass　hill；　this　one　sees　all　things　in　a　mirror；



they　may　all　live　in　glass　houses　if　they　will　not　throw　stones。　



For　this　thin　glitter　of　glass　everywhere　is　the　expression　of　the　fact



that　the　happiness　is　bright　but　brittle；　like　the　substance　most



easily　smashed　by　a　housemaid　or　a　cat。　　And　this　fairy…tale　sentiment



also　sank　into　me　and　became　my　sentiment　towards　the　whole　world。　



I　felt　and　feel　that　life　itself　is　as　bright　as　the　diamond；



but　as　brittle　as　the　window…pane；　and　when　the　heavens　were



compared　to　the　terrible　crystal　I　can　remember　a　shudder。　



I　was　afraid　that　God　would　drop　the　cosmos　with　a　crash。







　　　　　Remember；　however；　that　to　be　breakable　is　not　the　same　as　to



be　perishable。　　Strike　a　glass；　and　it　will　not　endure　an　instant；



simply　do　not　strike　it；　and　it　will　endure　a　thousand　years。　



Such；　it　seemed；　was　the　joy　of　man；　either　in　elfland　or　on　earth；



the　happiness　depended　on　NOT　DOING　SOMETHING　which　you　could　at　any



moment　do　and　which；　very　often；　it　was　not　obvious　why　you　should



not　do。　　Now；　the　point　here　is　that　to　ME　this　did　not　seem　unjust。　



If　the　miller's　third　son　said　to　the　fairy；　〃Explain　why　I



must　not　stand　on　my　head　in　the　fairy　palace；〃　the　other　might



fairly　reply；　〃Well；　if　it　comes　to　that；　explain　the　fairy　palace。〃　



If　Cinderella　says；　〃How　is　it　that　I　must　leave　the　ball　at　twelve？〃



her　godmother　might　answer；　〃How　is　it　that　you　are　going　there



till　twelve？〃　　If　I　leave　a　man　in　my　will　ten　talking　elephants



and　a　hundred　winged　horses；　he　cannot　complain　if　the　conditions



partake　of　the　slight　eccentricity　of　the　gift。　　He　must　not　look



a　winged　horse　in　the　mouth。　　And　it　seemed　to　me　that　existence



was　itself　so　very　eccentric　a　legacy　that　I　could　not　complain



of　not　understanding　the　limitations　of　the　vision　when　I　did



not　understand　the　vision　they　limited。　　The　frame　was　no　stranger



than　the　picture。　　The　veto　might　well　be　as　wild　as　the　vision；



it　might　be　as　startling　as　the　sun；　as　elusive　as　the　waters；



as　fantastic　and　terrible　as　the　towering　trees。







　　　　　For　this　reason　（we　may　call　it　the　fairy　godmother　philosophy）



I　never　could　join　the　young　men　of　my　time　in　feeling　what　they



called　the　general　sentiment　of　REVOLT。　　I　should　have　resisted；



let　us　hope；　any　rules　that　were　evil；　and　with　these　and　their



definition　I　shall　deal　in　another　chapter。　　But　I　did　not　feel



disposed　to　resist　any　rule　merely　because　it　was　mysterious。　



Estates　are　sometimes　held　by　foolish　forms；　the　breaking　of　a　stick



or　the　payment　of　a　peppercorn：　　I　was　willing　to　hold　the　huge



estate　of　earth　and　heaven　by　any　such　feudal　fantasy。　　It　could　not



well　be　wilder　than　the　fact　that　I　was　allowed　to　hold　it　at　all。　



At　this　stage　I　give　only　one　ethical　instance　to　show　my　meaning。　



I　could　never　mix　in　the　common　murmur　of　that　rising　generation



against　monogamy；　because　no　restriction　on　sex　seemed　so　odd　and



unexpected　as　sex　itself。　　To　be　allowed；　like　Endymion；　to　make



love　to　the　moon　and　then　to　complain　that　Jupiter　kept　his　own



moons　in　a　harem　seemed　to　me　（bred　on　fairy　tales　like　Endymion's）



a　vulgar　anti…climax。　Keeping　to　one　woman　is　a　small　price　for



so　much　as　seeing　one　woman。　　To　complain　that　I　could　only　be



married　once　was　like　complaining　that　I　had　only　been　born　once。　



It　was　incommensurate　with　the　terrible　excitement　of　which　one



was　talking。　　It　showed；　not　an　exaggerated　sensibility　to　sex；



but　a　curious　insensibility　to　it。　　A　man　is　a　fool　who　complains



that　he　cannot　enter　Eden　by　five　gates　at　once。　　Polygamy　is　a　lack



of　the　realization　of　sex；　it　is　like　a　man　plucking　five　pears



in　mere　absence　of　mind。　　The　aesthetes　touched　the　last　insane



limits　of　language　in　their　eulogy　on　lovely　things。　　The　thistledown



made　them　weep；　a　burnished　beetle　brought　them　to　their　knees。　



Yet　their　emotion　never　impressed　me　for　an　instant；　for　this　reason；



that　it　never　occurred　to　them　to　pay　for　their　pleasure　in　any



sort　of　symbolic　sacrifice。　　Men　（I　felt）　might　fast　forty　days



for　the　sake　of　hearing　a　blackbird　sing。　　Men　might　go　through　fire



to　find　a　cowslip。　　Yet　these　lovers　of　beauty　could　not　even　keep



sober　for　the　blackbird。　　They　would　not　go　through　common　Christian



marriage　by　way　of　recompense　to　the　cowslip。　　Surely　one　might



pay　for　extraordinary　joy　in　ordinary　morals。　　Oscar　Wilde　said



that　sunsets　were　not　valued　because　we　could　not　pay　for　sunsets。　



But　Oscar　Wilde　was　wrong；　we　can　pay　for　sunsets。　　We　can　pay　for　them



by　not　being　Oscar　Wilde。







　　　　　Well；　I　left　the　fairy　tales　lying　on　the　floor　of　the　nursery；



and　I　have　not　found　any　books　so　sensible　since。　　I　left　the



nurse　guardian　of　tradition　and　democracy；　and　I　have　not　found



any　modern　type　so　sanely　radical　or　so　sanely　conservative。　



But　the　matter　for　important　comment　was　here：　　that　when　I



first　went　out　into　the　mental　atmosphere　of　the　modern　world；



I　found　that　the　modern　world　was　positively　opposed　on　two　points



to　my　nurse　and　to　the　nursery