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the professor at the breakfast table-第30部分
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see by this extract that the Rev。 Cotton Mather did not like
intermeddling with his business very well。
〃Let the Levites of the Lord keep close to their Instructions;〃 he
says; 〃and God will smite thro' the loins of those that rise up
against them。 I will report unto you a Thing which many Hundreds
among us know to be true。 The Godly Minister of a certain Town in
Connecticut; when he had occasion to be absent on a Lord's Day from
his Flock; employ'd an honest Neighbour of some small Talents for a
Mechanick; to read a Sermon out of some good Book unto 'em。 This
Honest; whom they ever counted also a Pious Man; had so much conceit
of his Talents; that instead of Reading a Sermon appointed; he to the
Surprize of the People; fell to preaching one of his own。 For his
Text he took these Words; 'Despise not Prophecyings'; and in his
Preachment he betook himself to bewail the Envy of the Clergy in the
Land; in that they did not wish all the Lord's People to be Prophets;
and call forth Private Brethren publickly to prophesie。 While he was
thus in the midst of his Exercise; God smote him with horrible
Madness; he was taken ravingly distracted; the People were forc'd
with violent Hands to carry him home。 I will not mention his Name:
He was reputed a Pious Man。〃This is one of Cotton Mather's
〃Remarkable Judgments of God; on Several Sorts of Offenders;〃and
the next cases referred to are the Judgments on the 〃 Abominable
Sacrilege〃 of not paying the Ministers' Salaries。
This sort of thing does n't do here and now; you see; my young
friend! We talk about our free institutions;they are nothing but a
coarse outside machinery to secure the freedom of individual thought。
The President of the United States is only the engine driver of our
broad…gauge mail…train; and every honest; independent thinker has a
seat in the first…class cars behind him。
There is something in what you say;replied the divinity…student;…
…and yet it seems to me there are places and times where disputed
doctrines of religion should not be introduced。 You would not attack
a church dogmasay Total Depravityin a lyceum…lecture; for
instance?
Certainly not; I should choose another place;I answered。 But;
mind you; at this table I think it is very different。 I shall
express my ideas on any subject I like。 The laws of the lecture…
room; to which my friends and myself are always amenable; do not hold
here。 I shall not often give arguments; but frequently opinions;I
trust with courtesy and propriety; but; at any rate; with such
natural forms of expression as it has pleased the Almighty to bestow
upon me。
A man's opinions; look you; are generally of much more value than his
arguments。 These last are made by his brain; and perhaps he does not
believe the proposition they tend to prove;as is often the case
with paid lawyers; but opinions are formed by our whole nature;
brain; heart; instinct; brute life; everything all our experience has
shaped for us by contact with the whole circle of our being。
There is one thing more;said the divinity…student;that I wished
to speak of; I mean that idea of yours; expressed some time since; of
depolarizing the text of sacred books in order to judge them fairly。
May I ask why you do not try the experiment yourself?
Certainly;I replied;if it gives you any pleasure to ask foolish
questions。 I think the ocean telegraph…wire ought to be laid and
will be laid; but I don't know that you have any right to ask me to
go and lay it。 But; for that matter; I have heard a good deal of
Scripture depolarized in and out of the pulpit。 I heard the Rev。
Mr。 F。 once depolarize the story of the Prodigal Son in Park…Street
Church。 Many years afterwards; I heard him repeat the same or a
similar depolarized version in Rome; New York。 I heard an admirable
depolarization of the story of the young man who 〃had great
possessions〃 from the Rev。 Mr。 H。 in another pulpit; and felt that
I had never half understood it before。 All paraphrases are more or
less perfect depolarizations。 But I tell you this: the faith of our
Christian community is not robust enough to bear the turning of our
most sacred language into its depolarized equivalents。 You have only
to look back to Dr。 Channing's famous Baltimore discourse and
remember the shrieks of blasphemy with which it was greeted; to
satisfy yourself on this point。 Time; time only; can gradually wean
us from our Epeolatry; or word…worship; by spiritualizing our ideas
of the thing signified。 Man is an idolater or symbol…worshipper by
nature; which; of course; is no fault of his; but sooner or later all
his local and temporary symbols must be ground to powder; like the
golden calf;word…images as well as metal and wooden ones。 Rough
work; iconoclasm;but the only way to get at truth。 It is; indeed;
as that quaint and rare old discourse; 〃A Summons for Sleepers;〃 hath
it; 〃no doubt a thankless office; and a verie unthriftie occupation;
veritas odium parit; truth never goeth without a scratcht face; he
that will be busie with voe vobis; let him looke shortly for coram
nobas。〃
The very aim and end of our institutions is just this: that we may
think what we like and say what we think。
Think what we like! said the divinity…student;think what we
like! What! against all human and divine authority?
Against all human versions of its own or any other authority。 At our
own peril always; if we do not like the right;but not at the risk
of being hanged and quartered for political heresy; or broiled on
green fagots for ecclesiastical treason! Nay; we have got so far;
that the very word heresy has fallen into comparative disuse among
us。
And now; my young friend; let…us shake hands and stop our discussion;
which we will not make a quarrel。 I trust you know; or will learn; a
great many things in your profession which we common scholars do not
know; but mark this: when the common people of New England stop
talking politics and theology; it will be because they have got an
Emperor to teach them the one; and a Pope to teach them the other!
That was the end of my long conference with the divinity…student。
The next morning we got talking a little on the same subject; very
good…naturedly; as people return to a matter they have talked out。
You must look to yourself;said the divinity…student;if your
democratic notions get into print。 You will be fired into from all
quarters。
If it were only a bullet; with the marksman's name on it! I said。
I can't stop to pick out the peep…shot of the anonymous scribblers。
Right; Sir! right!said the Little Gentleman。 The scamps! I know
the fellows。 They can't give fifty cents to one of the Antipodes;
but they must have it jingled along through everybody's palms all the
way; till it reaches him;and forty cents of it gets spilt; like the
water out of the fire…buckets passed along a 〃lane〃 at a fire;but
when it comes to anonymo
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