orthodoxy-第37节

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enigma　is　as　comforting　as　wine　and　open　as　an　English　fireside；



that　this　thing　that　bewilders　the　intellect　utterly　quiets　the　heart：　



but　out　of　the　desert；　from　the　dry　places　and　the　dreadful　suns；



come　the　cruel　children　of　the　lonely　God；　the　real　Unitarians　who



with　scimitar　in　hand　have　laid　waste　the　world。　　For　it　is　not　well



for　God　to　be　alone。







　　　　　Again；　the　same　is　true　of　that　difficult　matter　of　the　danger



of　the　soul；　which　has　unsettled　so　many　just　minds。　　To　hope



for　all　souls　is　imperative；　and　it　is　quite　tenable　that　their



salvation　is　inevitable。　　It　is　tenable；　but　it　is　not　specially



favourable　to　activity　or　progress。　　Our　fighting　and　creative　society



ought　rather　to　insist　on　the　danger　of　everybody；　on　the　fact



that　every　man　is　hanging　by　a　thread　or　clinging　to　a　precipice。　



To　say　that　all　will　be　well　anyhow　is　a　comprehensible　remark：　



but　it　cannot　be　called　the　blast　of　a　trumpet。　　Europe　ought　rather



to　emphasize　possible　perdition；　and　Europe　always　has　emphasized　it。　



Here　its　highest　religion　is　at　one　with　all　its　cheapest　romances。　



To　the　Buddhist　or　the　eastern　fatalist　existence　is　a　science



or　a　plan；　which　must　end　up　in　a　certain　way。　　But　to　a　Christian



existence　is　a　STORY；　which　may　end　up　in　any　way。　　In　a　thrilling



novel　（that　purely　Christian　product）　the　hero　is　not　eaten



by　cannibals；　but　it　is　essential　to　the　existence　of　the　thrill



that　he　MIGHT　be　eaten　by　cannibals。　　The　hero　must　（so　to　speak）



be　an　eatable　hero。　　So　Christian　morals　have　always　said　to　the　man；



not　that　he　would　lose　his　soul；　but　that　he　must　take　care　that　he



didn't。　In　Christian　morals；　in　short；　it　is　wicked　to　call　a　man



〃damned〃：　but　it　is　strictly　religious　and　philosophic　to　call



him　damnable。







　　　　　All　Christianity　concentrates　on　the　man　at　the　cross…roads。



The　vast　and　shallow　philosophies；　the　huge　syntheses　of　humbug；



all　talk　about　ages　and　evolution　and　ultimate　developments。　



The　true　philosophy　is　concerned　with　the　instant。　　Will　a　man



take　this　road　or　that？that　is　the　only　thing　to　think　about；



if　you　enjoy　thinking。　　The　aeons　are　easy　enough　to　think　about；



any　one　can　think　about　them。　　The　instant　is　really　awful：　



and　it　is　because　our　religion　has　intensely　felt　the　instant；



that　it　has　in　literature　dealt　much　with　battle　and　in　theology



dealt　much　with　hell。　　It　is　full　of　DANGER；　like　a　boy's　book：　



it　is　at　an　immortal　crisis。　　There　is　a　great　deal　of　real　similarity



between　popular　fiction　and　the　religion　of　the　western　people。　



If　you　say　that　popular　fiction　is　vulgar　and　tawdry；　you　only　say



what　the　dreary　and　well…informed　say　also　about　the　images　in　the



Catholic　churches。　　Life　（according　to　the　faith）　is　very　like　a



serial　story　in　a　magazine：　　life　ends　with　the　promise　（or　menace）



〃to　be　continued　in　our　next。〃　　Also；　with　a　noble　vulgarity；



life　imitates　the　serial　and　leaves　off　at　the　exciting　moment。　



For　death　is　distinctly　an　exciting　moment。







　　　　　But　the　point　is　that　a　story　is　exciting　because　it　has　in　it



so　strong　an　element　of　will；　of　what　theology　calls　free…will。



You　cannot　finish　a　sum　how　you　like。　　But　you　can　finish　a　story



how　you　like。　　When　somebody　discovered　the　Differential　Calculus



there　was　only　one　Differential　Calculus　he　could　discover。　



But　when　Shakespeare　killed　Romeo　he　might　have　married　him　to



Juliet's　old　nurse　if　he　had　felt　inclined。　　And　Christendom　has



excelled　in　the　narrative　romance　exactly　because　it　has　insisted



on　the　theological　free…will。　It　is　a　large　matter　and　too　much



to　one　side　of　the　road　to　be　discussed　adequately　here；　but　this



is　the　real　objection　to　that　torrent　of　modern　talk　about　treating



crime　as　disease；　about　making　a　prison　merely　a　hygienic　environment



like　a　hospital；　of　healing　sin　by　slow　scientific　methods。　



The　fallacy　of　the　whole　thing　is　that　evil　is　a　matter　of　active



choice　whereas　disease　is　not。　　If　you　say　that　you　are　going　to　cure



a　profligate　as　you　cure　an　asthmatic；　my　cheap　and　obvious　answer　is；



〃Produce　the　people　who　want　to　be　asthmatics　as　many　people　want



to　be　profligates。〃　　A　man　may　lie　still　and　be　cured　of　a　malady。　



But　he　must　not　lie　still　if　he　wants　to　be　cured　of　a　sin；



on　the　contrary；　he　must　get　up　and　jump　about　violently。　



The　whole　point　indeed　is　perfectly　expressed　in　the　very　word



which　we　use　for　a　man　in　hospital；　〃patient〃　is　in　the　passive　mood；



〃sinner〃　is　in　the　active。　　If　a　man　is　to　be　saved　from　influenza；



he　may　be　a　patient。　　But　if　he　is　to　be　saved　from　forging；



he　must　be　not　a　patient　but　an　IMPATIENT。　　He　must　be　personally



impatient　with　forgery。　　All　moral　reform　must　start　in　the　active



not　the　passive　will。







　　　　　Here　again　we　reach　the　same　substantial　conclusion。　　In　so　far



as　we　desire　the　definite　reconstructions　and　the　dangerous　revolutions



which　have　distinguished　European　civilization；　we　shall　not　discourage



the　thought　of　possible　ruin；　we　shall　rather　encourage　it。　



If　we　want；　like　the　Eastern　saints；　merely　to　contemplate　how　right



things　are；　of　course　we　shall　only　say　that　they　must　go　right。　



But　if　we　particularly　want　to　MAKE　them　go　right；　we　must　insist



that　they　may　go　wrong。







　　　　　Lastly；　this　truth　is　yet　again　true　in　the　case　of　the　common



modern　attempts　to　diminish　or　to　explain　away　the　divinity　of　Christ。　



The　thing　may　be　true　or　not；　that　I　shall　deal　with　before　I　end。　



But　if　the　divinity　is　true　it　is　certainly　terribly　revolutionary。　



That　a　good　man　may　have　his　back　to　the　wall　is　no　more　than　we



knew　already；　but　that　God　could　have　his　back　to　the　wall　is　a　boast



for　all　insurgents　for　ever。　　Christianity　is　the　only　religion



on　earth　that　has　felt　that　omnipotence　made　God　incomplete。　



Christianity　alone　has　felt　that　God；　to　be　wholly　God；



must　have　been　a　rebel　as　well　as　a　king。　　Alone　of　all　creeds；



Christianity　has　added　courage　to　the　virtues　of　the　Creator。　



For　the　only　courage　worth　calling　courage　must　necessarily　mean



that　the　soul　passes　a　breaking　pointand　does　not　break。　



In　this　indeed　I　approach　a　matter　more　dark　and　awful　than　it



is　easy　to　discuss；　and　I　apologise　in　advance　if　any　of　my



phrases　fall　wrong　or　seem　irreverent　touching　a　matter　which　the



greatest　saints　and　thinkers　have　justly　feared　to　approach。　



But　in　that　terrific　tale　of　the　Passion　there　is　a　distinct　emotional



suggestion　that　the　author　of　all　things　（in　some　unthinkable　way）



went　not　only　through　agony；　but　through　doubt。　　It　is　written；



〃Thou　shalt　not　tempt　the　Lord　thy　God。〃　　No；　but　the　Lord　thy　God　may



tempt　Himself；　and　it　seems　as　if　this　was　what　happened　in　Gethsemane。　



In　a　garden　Satan　tempted　man：　　and　in　a　garden　God　tempted　God。　



He　passed　in　some　superhuman　manner　through　our　human　horror



of　pessimism。　　When　the　world　shook　and　the　sun　was　wiped　out　of　heaven；



it　was　not　at　the　crucifixion；　but　at　the　cry　from　the　cross：　



the　cry　which　confessed　that　God　was　forsaken　of　God。　　And　now　let



the　revolutionists　choose　a　creed　from　all　the　creeds　and　a　god　from　all



the　gods　of　the　world；　carefully　weighing　all　the　gods　of　inevitable



recurrence　and　of　unalterable　power。　　They　will　not　find　another　god



who　has　himself　been　in　revolt。　　Nay；　（the　matter　grows　too　difficult



for　human　speech；）　but　let　the　atheists　themselves　choose　a　god。　



They　will　find　only　one　divinity　who　ever　uttered　their　isolation；



only　one　religion　in　which　God　seemed　for　an　instant　to　be



an　atheist。







　　　　　These　can　be　called　the　essentials　of　the　old　orthodoxy；



of　which　the　chief　merit　is　that　it　is　the　natural　fountain　of



revolution　and　reform；　and　of　which　the　chief　defect　is　that　it



is　obviously　only　an　abstract　assertion。　　Its　main　advantage



is　that　it　is　the　most　adventurous　and　manly　of　all　theologies。　



Its　chief　disadvantage　is　simply　that　it　is　a　theology。　　It　can　always



be　urged　against　it　that　it　is　in　its　nature　arbitrary　and　in　the　air。　



But　it　is　not　so　high　in　the　air　but　that　great　archers　spend　their



whole　lives　in　shooting　arrows　at　ityes；　and　their　last　arrows；



there　are　men　who　will　ruin　themselves　and　ruin　their　civilization



if　they　may　ruin　also　this　old　fantastic　tale。　　This　is　the　last



and　most　astounding　fact　about　this　faith；　that　its　enemies　will



use　any　weapon　against　it；　the　swords　that　cut　their　own　fingers；



and　the　firebrands　that　burn　their　own　homes