按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
they turned their backs upon the future and tried to
peer into the vast darkness of the past。 The worship of the
ancestors became a positive religious system。 Rather than
disturb a cemetery situated upon the sunny and fertile side of
a mountain； they would plant their rice and wheat upon the
barren rocks of the other slope where nothing could possibly
grow。 And they preferred hunger and famine to the desecration
of the ancestral grave。
At the same time the wise words of Confucius never quite
lost their hold upon the increasing millions of eastern Asia。
Confucianism； with its profound sayings and shrewd observations；
added a touch of common…sense philosophy to the soul of
every Chinaman and influenced his entire life； whether he was
a simple laundry man in a steaming basement or the ruler of vast
provinces who dwelt behind the high walls of a secluded palace。
In the sixteenth century the enthusiastic but rather uncivilised
Christians of the western world came face to face with
the older creeds of the East。 The early Spaniards and Portuguese
looked upon the peaceful statues of Buddha and contemplated
the venerable pictures of Confucius and did not in
the least know what to make of those worthy prophets with
their far…away smile。 They came to the easy conclusion that
these strange divinities were just plain devils who represented
something idolatrous and heretical and did not deserve the
respect of the true sons of the Church。 Whenever the spirit
of Buddha or Confucius seemed to interfere with the trade in
spices and silks； the Europeans attacked the ‘‘evil influence''
with bullets and grape…shot。 That system had certain very
definite disadvantages。 It has left us an unpleasant heritage
of ill…will which promises little good for the immediate future。
THE REFORMATION
THE PROGRESS OF THE HUMAN RACE IS BEST
COMPARED TO A GIGANTIC PENDULUM
WHICH FOREVER SWINGS FORWARD AND
BACKWARD。 THE RELIGIOUS INDIFFERENCE
AND THE ARTISTIC AND LITERARY
ENTHUSIASM OF THE RENAISSANCE
WERE FOLLOWED BY THE ARTISTIC AND
LITERARY INDIFFERENCE AND THE RELIGIOUS
ENTHUSIASM OF THE REFORMATION
OF course you have heard of the Reformation。 You think
of a small but courageous group of pilgrims who crossed the
ocean to have ‘‘freedom of religious worship。'' Vaguely in the
course of time （and more especially in our Protestant countries）
the Reformation has come to stand for the idea of
‘‘liberty of thought。'' Martin Luther is represented as the
leader of the vanguard of progress。 But when history is
something more than a series of flattering speeches addressed
to our own glorious ancestors； when to use the words of the
German historian Ranke； we try to discover what ‘‘actually
happened；'' then much of the past is seen in a very different
light。
Few things in human life are either entirely good or entirely
bad。 Few things are either black or white。 It is the duty of
the honest chronicler to give a true account of all the good and
bad sides of every historical event。 It is very difficult to do
this because we all have our personal likes and dislikes。 But
we ought to try and be as fair as we can be； and must not allow
our prejudices to influence us too much。
Take my own case as an example。 I grew up in the very
Protestant centre of a very Protestant country。 I never saw
any Catholics until I was about twelve years old。 Then I felt
very uncomfortable when I met them。 I was a little bit afraid。
I knew the story of the many thousand people who had been
burned and hanged and quartered by the Spanish Inquisition
when the Duke of Alba tried to cure the Dutch people of their
Lutheran and Calvinistic heresies。 All that was very real
to me。 It seemed to have happened only the day before。 It
might occur again。 There might be another Saint Bartholomew's
night； and poor little me would be slaughtered in my
nightie and my body would be thrown out of the window； as
had happened to the noble Admiral de Coligny。
Much later I went to live for a number of years in a Catholic
country。 I found the people much pleasanter and much
more tolerant and quite as intelligent as my former countrymen。
To my great surprise； I began to discover that there
was a Catholic side to the Reformation； quite as much as a
Protestant。
Of course the good people of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries； who actually lived through the Reformation； did
not see things that way。 They were always right and their
enemy was always wrong。 It was a question of hang or be
hanged； and both sides preferred to do the hanging。 Which
was no more than human and for which they deserve no blame。
When we look at the world as it appeared in the year 1500；
an easy date to remember； and the year in which the Emperor
Charles V was born； this is what we see。 The feudal disorder
of the Middle Ages has given way before the order of a number
of highly centralised kingdoms。 The most powerful of
all sovereigns is the great Charles； then a baby in a cradle。
He is the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella and of Maxi…
milian of Habsburg； the last of the mediaeval knights； and of
his wife Mary； the daughter of Charles the Bold； the ambitious
Burgundian duke who had made successful war upon France
but had been killed by the independent Swiss peasants。 The
child Charles； therefore； has fallen heir to the greater part of
the map； to all the lands of his parents； grandparents； uncles；
cousins and aunts in Germany； in Austria； in Holland； in
Belgium； in Italy； and in Spain； together with all their colonies
in Asia； Africa and America。 By a strange irony of fate； he
has been born in Ghent； in that same castle of the counts of
Flanders； which the Germans used as a prison during their
recent occupation of Belgium； and although a Spanish king
and a German emperor； he receives the training of a Fleming。
As his father is dead （poisoned； so people say； but this is
never proved）； and his mother has lost her mind （she is travelling
through her domains with the coffin containing the body
of her departed husband）； the child is left to the strict
discipline of his Aunt Margaret。 Forced to rule Germans and
Italians and Spaniards and a hundred strange races； Charles
grows up a Fleming； a faithful son of the Catholic Church；
but quite averse to religious intolerance。 He is rather lazy；
both as a boy and as a man。 But fate condemns him to rule
the world when the world is in a turmoil of religious fervour。
Forever he is speeding from Madrid to Innsbruck and from
Bruges to Vienna。 He loves peace and quiet and he is always
at war。 At the age of fifty…five； we see him turn his back upon
the human race in utter disgust at so much hate and so much
stupidity。 Three years later he dies； a very tired and disappointed
man。
So much for Charles the Emperor。 How about the Church；
the second great power in the world？ The Church has changed
greatly since the ea