the research magnificent-第74部分

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e　was　a　perplexing　riddle。　　He　could　not　hate　and　condemn　her　for　ten　minutes　at　a　time　without　a　flow　of　exoneration；　he　could　not　think　of　her　tolerantly　or　lovingly　without　immediate　shame　and　resentment；　and　with　the　utmost　will　in　the　world　he　could　not　banish　her　from　his　mind。　During　the　intervening　years　he　had　never　ceased　to　have　her　in　his　mind；　he　would　not　think　of　her　it　is　true　if　he　could　help　it；　but　often　he　could　not　help　it；　and　as　a　negative　presence；　as　a　thing　denied；　she　was　almost　more　potent　than　she　had　been　as　a　thing　accepted。　　Meanwhile　he　worked。　　His　nervous　irritability　increased；　but　it　did　not　hinder　the　steady　development　of　his　Research。　Long　before　his　final　parting　from　Amanda　he　had　worked　out　his　idea　and　method　for　all　the　more　personal　problems　in　life；　the　problems　he　put　together　under　his　headings　of　the　first　three　〃Limitations。〃　He　had　resolved　to　emancipate　himself　from　fear；　indulgence；　and　that　instinctive　preoccupation　with　the　interests　and　dignity　of　self　which　he　chose　to　term　Jealousy；　and　with　the　one　tremendous　exception　of　Amanda　he　had　to　a　large　extent　succeeded。　　Amanda。　Amanda。　　Amanda。　　He　stuck　the　more　grimly　to　his　Research　to　drown　that　beating　in　his　brain。　Emancipation　from　all　these　personal　things　he　held　now　to　be　a　mere　prelude　to　the　real　work　of　a　man's　life；　which　was　to　serve　this　dream　of　a　larger　human　purpose。　　The　bulk　of　his　work　was　to　discover　and　define　that　purpose；　that　purpose　which　must　be　the　directing　and　comprehending　form　of　all　the　activities　of　the　noble　life。　　One　cannot　be　noble；　he　had　come　to　perceive；　at　large；　one　must　be　noble　to　an　end。　　To　make　human　life；　collectively　and　in　detail；　a　thing　more　comprehensive；　more　beautiful；　more　generous　and　coherent　than　it　is　to…day　seemed　to　him　the　fundamental　intention　of　all　nobility。　　He　believed　more　and　more　firmly　that　the　impulses　to　make　and　help　and　subserve　great　purposes　are　abundantly　present　in　the　world；　that　they　are　inhibited　by　hasty　thinking；　limited　thinking　and　bad　thinking；　and　that　the　real　ennoblement　of　human　life　was　not　so　much　a　creation　as　a　release。　He　lumped　the　preventive　and　destructive　forces　that　keep　men　dispersed；　unhappy；　and　ignoble　under　the　heading　of　Prejudice；　and　he　made　this　Prejudice　his　fourth　and　greatest　and　most　difficult　limitation。　　In　one　place　he　had　written　it；　〃Prejudice　or　Divisions。〃　　That　being　subdued　in　oneself　and　in　the　world；　then　in　the　measure　of　its　subjugation；　the　new　life　of　our　race；　the　great　age；　the　noble　age；　would　begin。　So　he　set　himself　to　examine　his　own　mind　and　the　mind　of　the　world　about　him　for　prejudice；　for　hampering　follies；　disguised　disloyalties　and　mischievous　distrusts；　and　the　great　bulk　of　the　papers　that　White　struggled　with　at　Westhaven　Street　were　devoted　to　various　aspects　of　this　search　for　〃Prejudice。〃　　It　seemed　to　White　to　be　at　once　the　most　magnificent　and　the　most　preposterous　of　enterprises。　　It　was　indeed　no　less　than　an　enquiry　into　all　the　preventable　sources　of　human　failure　and　disorder。　　。　　。　　And　it　was　all　too　manifest　to　White　also　that　the　last　place　in　which　Benham　was　capable　of　detecting　a　prejudice　was　at　the　back　of　his　own　head。　Under　this　Fourth　Limitation　he　put　the　most　remarkable　array　of　influences；　race…hatred；　national　suspicion；　the　evil　side　of　patriotism；　religious　and　social　intolerance；　every　social　consequence　of　muddle　headedness；　every　dividing　force　indeed　except　the　purely　personal　dissensions　between　man　and　man。　　And　he　developed　a　metaphysical　interpretation　of　these　troubles。　　〃No　doubt；〃　he　wrote　in　one　place；　〃much　of　th　in　a　hurry。　　Life　is　so　short　that　he　thinks　it　better　to　err　than　wait。　　He　has　no　patience；　no　faith　in　anything　but　himself。　　He　thinks　he　is　a　being　when　in　reality　he　is　only　a　link　in　a　being；　and　so　he　is　more　anxious　to　be　complete　than　right。　　The　last　devotion　of　which　he　is　capable　is　that　devotion　of　the　mind　which　suffers　partial　performance；　but　insists　upon　exhaustive　thought。　　He　scamps　his　thought　and　finishes　his　performance；　and　before　he　is　dead　it　is　already　being　abandoned　and　begun　all　over　again　by　some　one　else　in　the　same　egotistical　haste。　。　。　。〃　It　is；　I　suppose；　a　part　of　the　general　humour　of　life　that　these　words　should　have　been　written　by　a　man　who　walked　the　plank　to　fresh　ideas　with　the　dizziest　difficulty　unless　he　had　Prothero　to　drag　him　forward；　and　who　acted　time　after　time　with　an　altogether　disastrous　hastiness。

2

Yet　there　was　a　kind　of　necessity　in　this　journey　of　Benham's　from　the　cocked　hat　and　wooden　sword　of　Seagate　and　his　early　shame　at　cowardice　and　baseness　to　the　spiritual　megalomania　of　his　complete　Research　Magnificent。　　You　can　no　more　resolve　to　live　a　life　of　honour　nowadays　and　abstain　from　social　and　political　scheming　on　a　world…wide　scale；　than　you　can　profess　religion　and　refuse　to　think　about　God。　　In　the　past　it　was　possible　to　take　all　sorts　of　things　for　granted　and　be　loyal　to　unexamined　things。　　One　could　be　loyal　to　unexamined　things　because　they　were　unchallenged　things。　　But　now　everything　is　challenged。　　By　the　time　of　his　second　visit　to　Russia；　Benham's　ideas　of　conscious　and　deliberate　aristocracy　reaching　out　to　an　idea　of　universal　responsibility　had　already　grown　into　the　extraordinary　fantasy　that　he　was；　as　it　were；　an　uncrowned　king　in　the　world。　　To　be　noble　is　to　be　aristocratic；　that　is　to　say；　a　ruler。　　Thence　it　follows　that　aristocracy　is　multiple　kingship；　and　to　be　an　aristocrat　is　to　partake　both　of　the　nature　of　philosopher　and　king。　。　。　。　Yet　it　is　manifest　that　the　powerful　people　of　this　world　are　by　no　means　necessarily　noble；　and　that　most　modern　kings；　poor　in　quality；　petty　in　spirit；　conventional　in　outlook；　controlled　and　limited；　fall　far　short　of　kingship。　　Nevertheless；　there　IS　nobility；　there　IS　kingship；　or　this　earth　is　a　dustbin　and　mankind　but　a　kind　of　skin…disease　upon　a　planet。　　From　that　it　is　an　easy　step　to　this　idea；　the　idea　whose　first　expression　had　already　so　touched　the　imagination　of　Amanda；　of　a　sort　of　diffused　and　voluntary　kingship　scattered　throughout　mankind。　　The　aristocrats　are　not　at　the　high　table；　the　kings　are　not　enthroned；　those　who　are　enthroned　are　but　pretenders　and　SIMULACRA；　kings　of　the　vulgar；　the　real　king　and　ruler　is　every　man　who　sets　aside　the　naive　passions　and　self…interest　of　the　common　life　for　the　rule　and　service　of　the　world。　This　is　an　idea　that　is　now　to　be　found　in　much　contemporary　writing。　　It　is　one　of　those　ideas　that　seem　to　appear　simultaneously　at　many　points　in　the　world；　and　it　is　impossible　to　say　now　how　far　Benham　was　an　originator　of　this　idea；　and　how　far　he　simply　resonated　to　its　expression　by　others。　　It　was　far　more　likely　that　Prothero；　getting　it　heaven　knows　where；　had　spluttered　it　out　and　forgotten　it；　leaving　it　to　germinate　in　the　mind　of　his　friend。　。　。　。　This　lordly；　this　kingly　dream　became　more　and　more　essential　to　Benham　as　his　life　went　on。　　When　Benham　walked　the　Bisse　he　was　just　a　youngster　resolved　to　be　individually　brave；　when　he　prowled　in　the　jungle　by　night　he　was　there　for　all　mankind。　　With　every　year　he　became　more　and　more　de