友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!阅读过程发现任何错误请告诉我们,谢谢!! 报告错误
飞读中文网 返回本书目录 我的书架 我的书签 TXT全本下载 进入书吧 加入书签

the origins of contemporary france-5-第111章

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!




myself' I served him zealously; when he said; 'myself and France;' I

served him with devotion。 It is only when he said; 'Myself without

France;' that I left him。〃



'63' An expression found by Joseph de Maistre。



'64' An expression heard by Mickiewicz in his childhood。



'65' These sums are given; the former by Mérimée and the latter by

Sainte… Beuve。



'66' M。 de Champagny 〃Souvenirs;〃 III。; 183。 Napoleon; passing his

marshals in review; said to him (1811): 〃None of them can take my

place in the command of my armies; some are without the talent; and

others would carry on war for their own benefit。 Didn't that burly

Soult want to be king of Portugal?〃 〃Well; sire; war need not be

carried on any longer。〃 〃Yes; but how maintain my army? And I must

have an army。〃



'67' 〃Souvenirs〃; by PASQUIER (Etienne…Dennis; duc); chancelier de

France。 in VI volumes; Librarie Plon;  Paris 1893。 IV。; 112。

(According to the papers of Savary; many of Napoleon's letters and

statements by M。 de Saint…Aignan。)



'68' 〃Mémorial;〃 Aug。26; 1816。



'69'  The driving motor of unlimited capitalism as well; a driving

force only to be tempered by the law and by a desire for social

admiration of different kinds。 (SR。)



'70' 〃Travels in France during the years 1814 and 1815。〃 (Edinburgh;

1816; 2 vols。) … The author; a very good observer; thus sums up the

principle of the system: 〃To give active employment to all men of

talent and enterprise。〃 There is no other condition: 〃Birth;

education; moral character were completely set aside。〃 … Hence the

general defect of the system。 〃The French have literally no idea of

any duties which they must voluntarily; without the prospect of

reward; undertake for their country。 It never enters their heads that

a man may be responsible for the neglect of those public duties for

the performance of which he receives no regular salary。〃







BOOK FOURTH。 Defect and Effects of the System。



CHAPTER I。 Local Society。





I。 Human Incentives。



The two Stimuli of human action。 … The egoistic instinct and the

social instinct。 … Motives for not weakening the social instinct。 …

Influence on society of the law it prescribes。 … The clauses of a

statute depend on the legislator who adopts or imposes them。 …

Conditions of a good statute。 … It favors the social instinct。 …

Different for different societies。 … Determined by the peculiar and

permanent traits of the society it governs。 … Capital defect of the

statute under the new régime。



So long as a man takes an interest only in himself; in his own

fortune; in his own advancement; in his own success; his interests are

trivial: all that is; like himself; of little importance and of short

duration。 Alongside of the small boat which he steers so carefully

there are thousands and millions of others of like it; none of them

are worth much; and his own is not worth more。 However well he may

have provisioned and sailed it; it will always remain what it is;

slight and fragile; in vain will he hoist his flags; decorate it; and

shove ahead to get the first place; in three steps he has reached its

length。 However well he handles and maintains it; in a few years it

leaks; sooner or later it crumbles and sinks; and with it goes all his

effort。 Is it reasonable to work so hard for this; and is so slight an

object worth so great an effort?



Fortunately; man has; for a better placement of his effort; other

aims; more vast and more substantial: a family; a commune; a church; a

country; all the associations of which he is or becomes a member; all

the collective undertakings in behalf of science; education; and

charity; of local or general utility; most of them provided with legal

statutes and organized as corporations or even as a legal entity。 They

are as well defined and protected as he is; but more precious and more

viable: for they are of service to a large number of men and last for

ever。 Some; even; have a secular history; and their age predicts their

longevity。 In the countless fleet of boats which so constantly sink;

and which are so constantly replaced by others; they last like top

rated liners。 The men from the flotilla now and then sign on these

large vessels; and the result of their labor is not; as it is at home;

futile or short…lived; it will remain above the surface after he and

his boat have disappeared。 It has entered into the common mass of work

which owes its protection to its mass; undoubtedly the portion he

contributes may be worked over again later on; but its substance

remains; and often also its form:



* like a precept of Jesus;

* like Archimedes' theorem



which rests a definite acquisition; intact and permanently fixed for

two thousand years; immortal from the first day。 … Consequently; the

individual may take an interest; no longer merely in his own boat; but

again in some ship; in this or that particular one; in this or that

association or community; according to his preferences and his

aptitudes; according to attractiveness; proximity; and convenience of

access; all of which is a new motivation for his activities; opposing

his egoism; which; powerful as it may be; may still be overcome; since

a soul might be very generous or qualified by long and special

discipline。 Out of this issues every sacrifice; the surrender of

one's…self to one's work or to a cause;



* the devotion of the sister of charity or of the missionary;

* the abnegation of the scientist who buries himself for twenty years

in the minutia of a thankless task;

* the heroism of the explorer who risks himself on a desert or among

savages;

* the courage of the soldier who stakes his life in defense of his

flag。



But these cases are rare; with the mass of men; and in most of their

actions; personal interest prevails against common interest; while

against the egoistic instinct the social instinct is feeble。 Hence the

danger of weakening this。 The temptation of the individual to prefer

his own boat to the large ship is only too great; if it is desirable

for him to go aboard and work there; he must be provided with the

facilities and motives which prompt him to go aboard and do the work;

at the very least; he must not be deprived of them。 Now; that depends

on the State; a sort of central flag…ship; the only one that is armed;

and which has all subordinate vessels under its guns; for; whatever

the society may be; provincial or municipal; educational or

charitable; religious or laic; it is the State which sanctions or

adopts its statues; good or bad; and which; by its laws; tribunals;

and police; insures their execution; whether rigidly or carelessly。

Therefore; on this point; it is responsible; it must adopt or impose

the proper statute; the most suitable social form for strengthening

the social instinct; for maintaining disinterested zeal; for the

encouragement of voluntary and gratuitous labor。



This form; of course; differs according to di
返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0
未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!