heretics- 第23部分

in　subjugation；　like　Ireland。　　Sometimes　it　is　a　large　thing



cohering　out　of　many　smaller　things；　like　Italy。　　Sometimes　it



is　a　small　thing　breaking　away　from　larger　things；　like　Poland。



But　in　each　and　every　case　its　quality　is　purely　spiritual；　or；



if　you　will；　purely　psychological。　　It　is　a　moment　when　five　men



become　a　sixth　man。　　Every　one　knows　it　who　has　ever　founded



a　club。　　It　is　a　moment　when　five　places　become　one　place。



Every　one　must　know　it　who　has　ever　had　to　repel　an　invasion。



Mr。　Timothy　Healy；　the　most　serious　intellect　in　the　present



House　of　Commons；　summed　up　nationality　to　perfection　when



he　simply　called　it　something　for　which　people　will　die；



As　he　excellently　said　in　reply　to　Lord　Hugh　Cecil；　〃No　one；



not　even　the　noble　lord；　would　die　for　the　meridian　of　Greenwich。〃



And　that　is　the　great　tribute　to　its　purely　psychological　character。



It　is　idle　to　ask　why　Greenwich　should　not　cohere　in　this　spiritual



manner　while　Athens　or　Sparta　did。　　It　is　like　asking　why　a　man



falls　in　love　with　one　woman　and　not　with　another。







Now；　of　this　great　spiritual　coherence；　independent　of　external



circumstances；　or　of　race；　or　of　any　obvious　physical　thing；　Ireland　is



the　most　remarkable　example。　　Rome　conquered　nations；　but　Ireland



has　conquered　races。　　The　Norman　has　gone　there　and　become　Irish；



the　Scotchman　has　gone　there　and　become　Irish；　the　Spaniard　has　gone



there　and　become　Irish；　even　the　bitter　soldier　of　Cromwell　has　gone



there　and　become　Irish。　　Ireland；　which　did　not　exist　even　politically；



has　been　stronger　than　all　the　races　that　existed　scientifically。



The　purest　Germanic　blood；　the　purest　Norman　blood；　the　purest



blood　of　the　passionate　Scotch　patriot；　has　not　been　so　attractive



as　a　nation　without　a　flag。　　Ireland；　unrecognized　and　oppressed；



has　easily　absorbed　races；　as　such　trifles　are　easily　absorbed。



She　has　easily　disposed　of　physical　science；　as　such　superstitions



are　easily　disposed　of。　　Nationality　in　its　weakness　has　been



stronger　than　ethnology　in　its　strength。　　Five　triumphant　races



have　been　absorbed；　have　been　defeated　by　a　defeated　nationality。







This　being　the　true　and　strange　glory　of　Ireland；　it　is　impossible



to　hear　without　impatience　of　the　attempt　so　constantly　made



among　her　modern　sympathizers　to　talk　about　Celts　and　Celticism。



Who　were　the　Celts？　　I　defy　anybody　to　say。　　Who　are　the　Irish？



I　defy　any　one　to　be　indifferent；　or　to　pretend　not　to　know。



Mr。　W。　B。　Yeats；　the　great　Irish　genius　who　has　appeared　in　our　time；



shows　his　own　admirable　penetration　in　discarding　altogether　the　argument



from　a　Celtic　race。　　But　he　does　not　wholly　escape；　and　his　followers



hardly　ever　escape；　the　general　objection　to　the　Celtic　argument。



The　tendency　of　that　argument　is　to　represent　the　Irish　or　the　Celts



as　a　strange　and　separate　race；　as　a　tribe　of　eccentrics　in



the　modern　world　immersed　in　dim　legends　and　fruitless　dreams。



Its　tendency　is　to　exhibit　the　Irish　as　odd；　because　they　see



the　fairies。　　Its　trend　is　to　make　the　Irish　seem　weird　and　wild



because　they　sing　old　songs　and　join　in　strange　dances。



But　this　is　quite　an　error；　indeed；　it　is　the　opposite　of　the　truth。



It　is　the　English　who　are　odd　because　they　do　not　see　the　fairies。



It　is　the　inhabitants　of　Kensington　who　are　weird　and　wild



because　they　do　not　sing　old　songs　and　join　in　strange　dances。



In　all　this　the　Irish　are　not　in　the　least　strange　and　separate；



are　not　in　the　least　Celtic；　as　the　word　is　commonly　and　popularly　used。



In　all　this　the　Irish　are　simply　an　ordinary　sensible　nation；



living　the　life　of　any　other　ordinary　and　sensible　nation



which　has　not　been　either　sodden　with　smoke　or　oppressed　by



money…lenders；　or　otherwise　corrupted　with　wealth　and　science。



There　is　nothing　Celtic　about　having　legends。　　It　is　merely　human。



The　Germans；　who　are　（I　suppose）　Teutonic；　have　hundreds　of　legends；



wherever　it　happens　that　the　Germans　are　human。　　There　is　nothing



Celtic　about　loving　poetry；　the　English　loved　poetry　more；　perhaps；



than　any　other　people　before　they　came　under　the　shadow　of　the



chimney…pot　and　the　shadow　of　the　chimney…pot　hat。　　It　is　not　Ireland



which　is　mad　and　mystic；　it　is　Manchester　which　is　mad　and　mystic；



which　is　incredible；　which　is　a　wild　exception　among　human　things。



Ireland　has　no　need　to　play　the　silly　game　of　the　science　of　races；



Ireland　has　no　need　to　pretend　to　be　a　tribe　of　visionaries　apart。



In　the　matter　of　visions；　Ireland　is　more　than　a　nation；　it　is



a　model　nation。















XIV　On　Certain　Modern　Writers　and　the　Institution　of　the　Family











The　family　may　fairly　be　considered；　one　would　think；　an　ultimate



human　institution。　　Every　one　would　admit　that　it　has　been



the　main　cell　and　central　unit　of　almost　all　societies　hitherto；



except；　indeed；　such　societies　as　that　of　Lacedaemon；　which　went



in　for　〃efficiency；〃　and　has；　therefore；　perished；　and　left　not



a　trace　behind。　　Christianity；　even　enormous　as　was　its　revolution；



did　not　alter　this　ancient　and　savage　sanctity；　it　merely　reversed　it。



It　did　not　deny　the　trinity　of　father；　mother；　and　child。



It　merely　read　it　backwards；　making　it　run　child；　mother；　father。



This　it　called；　not　the　family；　but　the　Holy　Family；



for　many　things　are　made　holy　by　being　turned　upside　down。



But　some　sages　of　our　own　decadence　have　made　a　serious　attack



on　the　family。　　They　have　impugned　it；　as　I　think　wrongly；



and　its　defenders　have　defended　it；　and　defended　it　wrongly。



The　common　defence　of　the　family　is　that；　amid　the　stress



and　fickleness　of　life；　it　is　peaceful；　pleasant；　and　at　one。



But　there　is　another　defence　of　the　family　which　is　possible；



and　to　me　evident；　this　defence　is　that　the　family　is　not　peaceful



and　not　pleasant　and　not　at　one。







It　is　not　fashionable　to　say　much　nowadays　of　the　advantages　of



the　small　community。　　We　are　told　that　we　must　go　in　for　large　empires



and　large　ideas。　　There　is　one　advantage；　however；　in　the　small　state；



the　city；　or　the　village；　which　only　the　wilfully　blind　can　overlook。



The　man　who　lives　in　a　small　community　lives　in　a　much　larger　world。



He　knows　much　more　of　the　fierce　varieties　and　uncompromising　divergences



of　men。　　The　reason　is　obvious。　　In　a　large　community　we　can　choose



our　companions。　　In　a　small　community　our　companions　are　chosen　for　us。



Thus　in　all　extensive　and　highly　civilized　societies　groups　come



into　existence　founded　upon　what　is　called　sympathy；　and　shut



out　the　real　world　more　sharply　than　the　gates　of　a　monastery。



There　is　nothing　really　narrow　about　the　clan；　the　thing　which　is



really　narrow　is　the　clique。　　The　men　of　the　clan　live　together



because　they　all　wear　the　same　tartan　or　are　all　descended



from　the　same　sacred　cow；　but　in　their　souls；　by　the　divine　luck



of　things；　there　will　always　be　more　colours　than　in　any　tartan。



But　the　men　of　the　clique　live　together　because　they　have　the　same



kind　of　soul；　and　their　narrowness　is　a　narrowness　of　spiritual



coherence　and　contentment；　like　that　which　exists　in　hell。



A　big　society　exists　in　order　to　form　cliques。　　A　big　society



is　a　society　for　the　promotion　of　narrowness。　　It　is　a　machinery



for　the　purpose　of　guarding　the　solitary　and　sensitive　individual



from　all　experience　of　the　bitter　and　bracing　human　compromises。



It　is；　in　the　most　literal　sense　of　the　words；　a　society　for



the　prevention　of　Christian　knowledge。







We　can　see　this　change；　for　instance；　in　the　modern　transformation



of　the　thing　called　a　club。　　When　London　was　smaller；　and　the　parts



of　London　more　self…contained　and　parochial；　the　club　was　what　it



still　is　in　villages；　the　opposite　of　what　it　is　now　in　great　cities。



Then　the　club　was　valued　as　a　place　where　a　man　could　be　sociable。



Now　the　club　is　valued　as　a　place　where　a　man　can　be　unsociable。



The　more　the　enlargement　and　elaboration　of　our　civilization　goes



on　the　more　the　club　ceases　to　be　a　place　where　a　man　can　have



a　noisy　argument；　and　becomes　more　and　more　a　place　where　a　man



can　have　what　is　somewhat　fantastically　called　a　quiet　chop。



Its　aim　is　to　make　a　man　comfortable；　and　to　make　a　man　comfortable



is　to　make　him　the　opposite　of　sociable。　　Sociability；　like　all



good　things；　is　full　of　discomforts；　dangers；　and　renunciations。



The　club　tends　to　produce　the　most　degraded　of　all　combinations



the　luxurious　anchorite；　the　man　who　combines　the　self…indulgence



of　Lucullus　with　the　insane　loneliness　of　St。　Simeon　Stylites。







If　we　were　to…morrow　morning　snowed　up　in　the　street　in　which　we　live；



we　should　step　suddenly　into　a　much　larger　and　much　wilder　world



than　we　have　ever　known。　　And　it　is　the　whole　effort　of　the　typically



modern　person　to　escape　from　the　street　in　which　he　lives。



First　he　invents　modern　hygiene　and　goes　to　Margate。



Then　he　invents　modern　culture　and　goes　to　Florence。



Then　he　invents　modern　imperialism　and　goes　to　Timbuctoo。　　He　goes



to　the　fantastic　borders　of　the　earth。　　He　pretends　to　shoot　tigers。



He　almost　rides　on　a　camel。　　And　in　all　this　he　is　still　essentially



fleeing　from　the　street　in　which　he　was　born；　and　of　this　flight



he　is　always　ready　with　his　own　explanation。　　He　says　he　is　fleeing



from　his　street　because　it　is　dull；　he　is　lying。　　He　is　really



fleeing　from　his　street　because　it　is　a　great　deal　too　exciting。



It　is　exciting　because　it　is　exacting；　it