第 35 节
作者:嘟嘟      更新:2021-02-20 05:57      字数:9320
  colder than any ice on earth; and   yet; simply by pressing against the   air
  above our heads; they had their motion turned into heat; till they burned
  themselves up into trains of fiery dust。           So remember that wherever you
  have pressure you have heat; and that the pressure of the upper rocks upon
  the lower is quite enough; some think; to account for the older and lower
  rocks being harder than the upper and newer ones。
  But why should the lower rocks be older and the upper rocks newer?
  You told me just now that the high mountains in Wales were ages older
  than Windsor Forest; upon which we stand:               but yet how much lower we
  are here than if we were on a Welsh mountain。
  Ah; my dear child; of course that puzzles you; and I am afraid it must
  puzzle you still till we have another talk; or rather it seems to me that the
  best way to explain that puzzle to you would be for you and me to go a
  journey into the far west; and look into the matter for ourselves; and from
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  here to the far west we will go; either in fancy or on a real railroad and
  steamboat; before we have another talk about these things。
  Now it is time to stop。        Is there anything more you want to know? for
  you look as if something was puzzling you still。
  Were there any men in the world while all this was going on?
  I think not。     We have no proof that there were not:             but also we have
  no proof that there were; the cave…men; of whom I told you; lived many
  ages after the coal was covered up。            You seem to be sorry that there were
  no men in the world then。
  Because it seems   a   pity  that   there   was no one   to   see those   beautiful
  coral…reefs and coal…forests。
  No one to see them; my child?             Who told you that?          Who told you
  there are not; and never have been any rational beings in this vast universe;
  save   certain   weak;   ignorant;  short…sighted   creatures   shaped   like   you   and
  me?     But   even   if   it   were   so;   and   no   created   eye   had   ever   beheld   those
  ancient wonders; and no created heart ever enjoyed them; is there not one
  Uncreated   who   has   seen   them   and   enjoyed   them   from   the   beginning?
  Were not these creatures enjoying themselves each after their kind?                     And
  was there not a Father in Heaven who was enjoying their enjoyment; and
  enjoying too their beauty; which He had formed according to the ideas of
  His   Eternal   Mind?      Recollect   what   you   were   told   on   Trinity   Sunday
  That   this   world   was   not   made   for   man   alone:     but   that   man;   and   this
  world;   and   the   whole   Universe   was   made   for   God;   for   He   created   all
  things; and for His pleasure they are; and were created。
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  MADAM HOW AND LADY WHY
  CHAPTER X
  FIELD AND WILD
  Where were we to go next?           Into the far west; to see how all the way
  along   the   railroads   the   new   rocks   and   soils   lie   above   the   older;   and   yet
  how; when we get westward; the oldest rocks rise highest into the air。
  Well;   we   will   go:  but   not;   I   think;   to…day。 Indeed   I   hardly   know
  how we could get as far as Reading; for all the world is in the hay…field;
  and even the old horse must go thither too; and take his turn at the hay…cart。
  Well; the rocks have been where they are for many a year; and they will
  wait our leisure patiently enough:          but Midsummer and the hay…field will
  not   wait。   Let   us   take   what   God   gives   when   He  sends   it;   and   learn   the
  lesson that lies nearest to us。        After all; it is more to my old mind; and
  perhaps to your   young mind too;  to look   at things which   are young and
  fresh and living; rather than things which are old and worn and dead。                 Let
  us leave the old stones; and the old bones; and the old shells; the wrecks of
  ancient worlds which have gone down into the kingdom of death; to teach
  us their grand lessons some other day; and let us look now at the world of
  light and life and beauty; which begins here at the open door; and stretches
  away over the hay…fields; over the woods; over the southern moors; over
  sunny   France;   and   sunnier   Spain;   and   over   the   tropic   seas;   down   to   the
  equator;  and   the palm…groves   of the   eternal   summer。        If   we   cannot   find
  something; even at starting from the open door; to teach us about Why and
  How; we must be very short…sighted; or very shallow…hearted。
  There   is   the   old   cock   starling   screeching   in   the   eaves;   because   he
  wants to frighten us away; and take a worm to his children; without our
  finding out whereabouts his hole is。            How does he know that we might
  hurt him? and how again does he not know that we shall not hurt him? we;
  who for five…and…twenty years have let him and his ancestors build under
  those eaves in peace?        How did he get that quantity of half…wit; that sort
  of stupid cunning; into his   little brain;  and yet   get no   more?          And  why
  (for this is a question of Why; and not of How) does he labour all day long;
  hunting for worms and insects for his children; while his wife nurses them
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  in the nest?     Why; too; did he help her to build that nest with toil and care
  this spring; for the sake of a set of nestlings who can be of no gain or use
  to   him;   but   only   take   the   food   out   of   his   mouth? Simply   out   ofwhat
  shall I call it; my child?Love; that same sense of love and duty; coming
  surely from that one Fountain of all duty and all love; which makes your
  father work for you。         That the mother should take care of her young; is
  wonderful enough; but that (at least among many birds) the father should
  help likewise; is (as you will find out as you grow older) more wonderful
  far。   So there already the old starling has set us two fresh puzzles about
  How and Why; neither of which we shall get answered; at least on this side
  of the grave。
  Come on; up the field; under the great generous sun; who quarrels with
  no   one;   grudges   no   one;   but   shines   alike   upon   the   evil   and   the   good。
  What a gay picture he is painting now; with his light… pencils; for in them;
  remember;   and   not   in   the   things   themselves   the   colour   lies。    See   how;
  where   the   hay   has   been   already   carried;   he   floods   all   the   slopes   with
  yellow light;   making them  stand   out sharp   against   the black shadows of
  the wood; while where the grass is standing still; he makes the sheets of
  sorrel…flower blush rosy red; or dapples the field with white oxeyes。
  But is not the sorrel itself red; and the oxeyes white?
  What colour are they at night; when the sun is gone?
  Dark。
  That is; no colour。      The very grass is not green at night。
  Oh; but it is if you look at it with a lantern。
  No;   no。    It   is   the   light   of   the   lantern;   which   happens   to   be   strong
  enough to make the leaves look green; though it is not strong enough to
  make a geranium look red。
  Not red?
  No;   the   geranium   flowers   by   a   lantern   look   black;   while   the   leaves
  look green。      If you don't believe me; we will try。
  But why is that?
  Why; I cannot tell:        and how; you had best ask Professor Tyndall; if
  you ever have the honour of meeting him。
  But nowhark   to the   mowing…machine;  humming   like   a   giant   night…
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  jar。   Come up and look at it; and see how swift and smooth it shears the
  long   grass   down;   so   that   in   the   middle   of   the   swathe   it   seems   to   have
  merely fallen flat; and you must move it before you find that it has been
  cut off。
  Ah; there is a proof to us of what men may do if they will only learn
  the lessons which Madam How can teach them。                     There is that boy; fresh
  from   the   National   School;   cutting   more   grass   in   a   day   than   six   strong
  mowers could have cut; and cutting it better; too; for the mowing…machine
  goes so much nearer to the ground than the scythe; that we gain by it two
  hundredweight of   hay  on   every  acre。 And   see;  too;  how