the new machiavelli-第51部分

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Like　a　donkey　that　drags　its　cart　up　a　bank　to　get　thistles。　　

There's　depths　in　Liberalism〃



〃We　were　talking　about　Liberals。〃



〃Liberty！〃



〃Liberty！　　What　do　YOOR　little　lot　know　of　liberty？〃



〃What　does　any　little　lot　know　of　liberty？〃



〃It　waits　outside；　too　big　for　our　understanding。　　Like　the　night　

and　the　stars。　　And　lust；　Remington！　lust　and　bitterness！　　Don't　I　

know　them？　with　all　the　sweetness　and　hope　of　life　bitten　and　

trampled；　the　dear　eyes　and　the　brain　that　loved　and　understoodand　

my　poor　mumble　of　a　life　going　on！　　I'm　within　sight　of　being　a　

drunkard；　Remington！　　I'm　a　failure　by　most　standards！　　Life　has　cut　

me　to　the　bone。　　But　I'm　not　afraid　of　it　any　more。　　I've　paid　

something　of　the　price；　I've　seen　something　of　the　meaning。〃



He　flew　off　at　a　tangent。　　〃I'd　rather　die　in　Delirium　Tremens；〃　he　

cried；　〃than　be　a　Crampton　or　a　Lewis。　。　。　。〃



〃Make…believe。　　Make…believe。〃　　The　phrase　and　Britten's　squat　

gestures　haunted　me　as　I　walked　homeward　alone。　　I　went　to　my　room　

and　stood　before　my　desk　and　surveyed　papers　and　files　and　

Margaret's　admirable　equipment　of　me。



I　perceived　in　the　lurid　light　of　Britten's　suggestions　that　so　it　

was　Mr。　George　Alexander　would　have　mounted　a　statesman's　private　

room。　。　。　。







3





I　was　never　at　any　stage　a　loyal　party　man。　　I　doubt　if　party　will　

ever　again　be　the　force　it　was　during　the　eighteenth　and　nineteenth　

centuries。　　Men　are　becoming　increasingly　constructive　and　

selective；　less　patient　under　tradition　and　the　bondage　of　initial　

circumstances。　　As　education　becomes　more　universal　and　liberating；　

men　will　sort　themselves　more　and　more　by　their　intellectual　

temperaments　and　less　and　less　by　their　accidental　associations。　　

The　past　will　rule　them　less；　the　future　more。　　It　is　not　simply　

party　but　school　and　college　and　county　and　country　that　lose　their　

glamour。　　One　does　not　hear　nearly　as　much　as　our　forefathers　did　of　

the　〃old　Harrovian；〃　〃old　Arvonian；〃　〃old　Etonian〃　claim　to　this　or　

that　unfair　advantage　or　unearnt　sympathy。　　Even　the　Scotch　and　the　

Devonians　weaken　a　little　in　their　clannishness。　　A　widening　sense　

of　fair　play　destroys　such　things。　　They　follow　freemasonry　down

freemasonry　of　which　one　is　chiefly　reminded　nowadays　in　England　by　

propitiatory　symbols　outside　shady　public…houses。　。　。　。



There　is；　of　course；　a　type　of　man　which　clings　very　obstinately　to　

party　ties。　　These　are　the　men　with　strong　reproductive　imaginations　

and　no　imaginative　initiative；　such　men　as　Cladingbowl；　for　example；　

or　Dayton。　　They　are　the　scholars…at…large　in　life。　　For　them　the　

fact　that　the　party　system　has　been　essential　in　the　history　of　

England　for　two　hundred　years　gives　it　an　overwhelming　glamour。　　

They　have　read　histories　and　memoirs；　they　see　the　great　grey　pile　

of　Westminster　not　so　much　for　what　it　is　as　for　what　it　was；　rich　

with　dramatic　memories；　populous　with　glorious　ghosts；　phrasing　

itself　inevitably　in　anecdotes　and　quotations。　　It　seems　almost　

scandalous　that　new　things　should　continue　to　happen；　swamping　with　

strange　qualities　the　savour　of　these　old　associations。



That　Mr。　Ramsay　Macdonald　should　walk　through　Westminster　Hall；　

thrust　himself；　it　may　be；　through　the　very　piece　of　space　that　once　

held　Charles　the　Martyr　pleading　for　his　life；　seems　horrible　

profanation　to　Dayton；　a　last　posthumous　outrage；　and　he　would；　I　

think；　like　to　have　the　front　benches　left　empty　now　for　ever；　or　at　

most　adorned　with　laureated　ivory　tablets：　〃Here　Dizzy　sat；〃　and　〃On　

this　Spot　William　Ewart　Gladstone　made　his　First　Budget　Speech。〃　　

Failing　this；　he　demands；　if　only　as　signs　of　modesty　and　respect　on　

the　part　of　the　survivors；　meticulous　imitation。　　〃Mr。　G。；〃　he　

murmurs；　〃would　not　have　done　that；〃　and　laments　a　vanished　subtlety　

even　while　Mr。　Evesham　is　speaking。　　He　is　always　gloomily　disposed　

to　lapse　into　wonderings　about　what　things　are　coming　to；　wonderings　

that　have　no　grain　of　curiosity。　　His　conception　of　perfect　conduct　

is　industrious　persistence　along　the　worn…down；　well…marked　grooves　

of　the　great　recorded　days。　　So　infinitely　more　important　to　him　is　

the　documented；　respected　thing　than　the　elusive　present。



Cladingbowl　and　Dayton　do　not　shine　in　the　House；　though　Cladingbowl　

is　a　sound　man　on　a　committee；　and　Dayton　keeps　the　OLD　COUNTRY　

GAZETTE；　the　most　gentlemanly　paper　in　London。　　They　prevail；　

however；　in　their　clubs　at　lunch　time。　　There；　with　the　pleasant　

consciousness　of　a　morning's　work　free　from　either　zeal　or　shirking；　

they　mingle　with　permanent　officials；　prominent　lawyers；　even　a　few　

of　the　soberer　type　of　business　men；　and　relax　their　minds　in　the　

discussion　of　the　morning　paper；　of　the　architecture　of　the　West　

End；　and　of　the　latest　public　appointments；　of　golf；　of　holiday　

resorts；　of　the　last　judicial　witticisms　and　forensic　〃crushers。〃　　

The　New　Year　and　Birthday　honours　lists　are　always　very　sagely　and　

exhaustively　considered；　and　anecdotes　are　popular　and　keenly　

judged。　　They　do　not　talk　of　the　things　that　are　really　active　in　

their　minds；　but　in　the　formal　and　habitual　manner　they　suppose　to　

be　proper　to　intelligent　but　still　honourable　men。　　Socialism；　

individual　money　matters；　and　religion　are　forbidden　topics；　and　sex　

and　women　only　in　so　far　as　they　appear　in　the　law　courts。　　It　is　to　

me　the　strangest　of　conventions；　this　assumption　of　unreal　loyalties　

and　traditional　respects；　this　repudiation　and　concealment　of　

passionate　interests。　　It　is　like　wearing　gloves　in　summer　fields；　

or　bathing　in　a　gown；　or　falling　in　love　with　the　heroine　of　a　

novel；　or　writing　under　a　pseudonym；　or　becoming　a　masked　Tuareg。　。　。　。



It　is　not；　I　think；　that　men　of　my　species　are　insensitive　to　the　

great　past　that　is　embodied　in　Westminster　and　its　traditions；　we　

are　not　so　much　wanting　in　the　historical　sense　as　alive　to　the　

greatness　of　our　present　opportunities　and　the　still　vaster　future　

that　is　possible　to　us。　　London　is　the　most　interesting；　beautiful；　

and　wonderful　city　in　the　world　to　me；　delicate　in　her　incidental　

and　multitudinous　littleness；　and　stupendous　in　her　pregnant　

totality；　I　cannot　bring　myself　to　use　her　as　a　museum　or　an　old　

bookshop。　　When　I　think　of　Whitehall　that　little　affair　on　the　

scaffold　outside　the　Banqueting　Hall　seems　trivial　and　remote　in　

comparison　with　the　possibilities　that　offer　themselves　to　my　

imagination　within　the　great　grey　Government　buildings　close　at　

hand。



It　gives　me　a　qualm　of　nostalgia　even　to　name　those　places　now。　　I　

think　of　St。　Stephen's　tower　streaming　upwards　into　the　misty　London　

night　and　the　great　wet　quadrangle　of　New　Palace　Yard；　from　which　

the　hansom　cabs　of　my　first　experiences　were　ousted　more　and　more　by　

taxicabs　as　the　second　Parliament　of　King　Edward　the　Seventh　aged；　I　

think　of　the　Admiralty　and　War　office　with　their　tall　Marconi　masts　

sending　out　invisible　threads　of　direction　to　the　armies　in　the　

camps；　to　great　fleets　about　the　world。　　The　crowded；　darkly　shining　

river　goes　flooding　through　my　memory　once　again；　on　to　those　narrow　

seas　that　part　us　from　our　rival　nations；　I　see　quadrangles　and　

corridors　of　spacious　grey…toned　offices　in　which　undistinguished　

little　men　and　little　files　of　papers　link　us　to　islands　in　the　

tropics；　to　frozen　wildernesses　gashed　for　gold；　to　vast　temple…

studded　plains；　to　forest　worlds　and　mountain　worlds；　to　ports　and　

fortresses　and　lighthouses　and　watch…towers　and　grazing　lands　and　

corn　lands　all　about　the　globe。　　Once　more　I　traverse　Victoria　

Street；　grimy　and　dark；　where　the　Agents　of　the　Empire　jostle　one　

another；　pass　the　big　embassies　in　the　West　End　with　their　flags　and　

scutcheons；　follow　the　broad　avenue　that　leads　to　Buckingham　Palace；　

witness　the　coming　and　going　of　troops　and　officials　and　guests　

along　it　from　every　land　on　earth。　。　。　。　　Interwoven　in　the　texture　

of　it　all；　mocking；　perplexing；　stimulating　beyond　measure；　is　the　

gleaming　consciousness；　the　challenging　knowledge：　〃You　and　your　

kind　might　still；　if　you　could　but　grasp　it　here；　mould　all　the　

destiny　of　Man！〃







4





My　first　three　years　in　Parliament　were　years　of　active　discontent。　　

The　little　group　of　younger　Liberals　to　which　I　belonged　was　very　

ignorant　of　the　traditions　and　qualities　of　our　older　leaders；　and　

quite　out　of　touch　with　the　mass　of　the　party。　　For　a　time　

Parliament　was　enormously　taken　up　with　moribund　issues　and　old　

quarrels。　　The　early　Educational　legislation　was　sectarian　and　

unenterprising；　and　the　Licensing　Bill　went　little　further　than　the　

attempted　rectification　of　a　Conservative　mistake。　　I　was　altogether　

for　the　nationalisation　of　the　public…houses；　and　of　this　end　the　

Bill　gave　no　intimations。　　It　was　just　beer…baiting。　　I　was　

recalcitrant　almost　from　the　beginning；　and　spoke　against　the　

Government　so　early　as　the　second　reading　of　the　first　Education　

Bill；　the　one　the　Lords　rejected　in　1906。　　I　went　a　little　beyond　my　

intention　in　the　heat　of　speaking；it　is　a　way　with　inexperienced　

man。　　I　called　the　Bill　timid；　narrow；　a　mere　sop　to　the　jealousies　

of　sects　and　little…minded　people。　　I　contrasted　its　aim　and　methods　

with　the　manifest　needs　of　the　time。



I　am　not　a　particularly　good　speaker；　after　the　manner　of　a　writer　I　

worry　to　find　my　meaning　too　much；　but　this　was　one　of　my　successes。　　

I　spoke　after　dinner　and　to　a　fairly　full　House；　for　people　were　

already　a　little　curious　about　me　because　of　my　writings。　　Several　

of　the　Conservative　leaders　were　present　and　stayed；　and　Mr。　

Evesham；　I　remember；　came　ostentatiously　to　hear　me；　with　that　

engaging　friendliness　of　his；　and　gave　me　at　the　first　chance　an　

approving　〃Hear；　Hear！〃　　I　can　still　recall　quite　distinctly　my　two　

futile　attempts　to　catch　the　Speake