第 61 节
作者:乐乐陶陶      更新:2021-02-24 23:08      字数:9322
  ever done more to instruct the world;to enable men to rise not in
  fortune merely; but in virtue and patriotism; in those things which
  are of themselves the only reward?  We should consider these
  labors; as well as the new method he taught to arrive at knowledge;
  in our estimate of the sage as well as of the man。  He was a moral
  philosopher; like Socrates。  He even soared into the realm of
  supposititious truth; like Plato。  He observed Nature; like
  Aristotle。  He took away the syllogism from Thomas Aquinas;not to
  throw contempt on metaphysical inquiry or dialectical reasoning;
  but to arrive by a better method at the knowledge of first
  principles; which once established; he allowed deductions to be
  drawn from them; leading to other truths as certainly as induction
  itself。  Yea; he was also a Moses on the mount of Pisgah; from
  which with prophetic eye he could survey the promised land of
  indefinite wealth and boundless material prosperity; which he was
  not permitted to enter; but which he had bequeathed to
  civilization。  This may have been his greatest gift in the view of
  scientific men;this inductive process of reasoning; by which
  great discoveries have been made after he was dead。  But this was
  not his only legacy; for other things which he taught were as
  valuable; not merely in his sight; but to the eye of enlightened
  reason。  There are other truths besides those of physical science;
  there is greatness in deduction as well as in induction。  Geometry
  whose successive and progressive revelations are so inspiring; and
  which have come down to us from a remote antiquity; which are even
  now taught in our modern schools as Euclid demonstrated them; since
  they cannot be improvedis a purely deductive science。  The
  scholastic philosophy; even if it was barren and unfruitful in
  leading to new truths; yet confirmed what was valuable in the old
  systems; and by the severity of its logic and its dialectical
  subtleties trained the European mind for the reception of the
  message of Luther and Bacon; and this was based on deductions;
  never wrong unless the premises are unsound。  Theology is deductive
  reasoning from truths assumed to be fundamental; and is inductive
  only so far as it collates Scripture declarations; and interprets
  their meaning by the aid which learning brings。  Is not this
  science worthy of some regard?  Will it not live when all the
  speculations of evolutionists are forgotten; and occupy the
  thoughts of the greatest and profoundest minds so long as anything
  shall be studied; so long as the Bible shall be the guide of life?
  Is it not by deduction that we ascend from Nature herself to the
  God of Nature?  What is more certain than deduction when the
  principles from which it reasons are indisputably established?
  Is induction; great as it is; especially in the explorations of
  Nature and science; always certain?  Are not most of the sciences
  which are based upon it progressive?  Have we yet learned the
  ultimate principles of political economy; or of geology; or of
  government; or even of art?  The theory of induction; though
  supposed by Dr。 Whewell to lead to certain results; is regarded by
  Professor Jevons as leading to results only 〃almost certain。〃  〃All
  inductive inference is merely probable;〃 says the present professor
  of logic; Thomas Fowler; in the University of Oxford。
  And although it is supposed that the inductive method of Bacon has
  led to the noblest discoveries of modern times; is this strictly
  true?  Galileo made his discoveries in the heavens before Bacon
  died。  Physical improvements must need follow such inventions as
  gunpowder and the mariners' compass; and printing and the pictures
  of Italy; and the discovery of mines and the revived arts of the
  Romans and Greeks; and the glorious emancipation which the
  Reformation produced。  Why should not the modern races follow in
  the track of Carthage and Alexandria and Rome; with the progress of
  wealth; and carry out inventions as those cities did; and all other
  civilized peoples since Babel towered above the plains of Babylon?
  Physical developments arise from the developments of man; whatever
  method may be recommended by philosophers。  What philosophical
  teachings led to the machinery of the mines of California; or to
  that of the mills of Lowell?  Some think that our modern
  improvements would have come whether Bacon had lived or not。  But I
  would not disparage the labors of Bacon in pointing out the method
  which leads to scientific discoveries。  Granting that he sought
  merely utility; an improvement in the outward condition of society;
  which is the view that Macaulay takes; I would not underrate his
  legacy。  And even supposing that the blessings of material life
  〃the acre of Middlesex〃are as much to be desired as Macaulay;
  with the complacency of an eminently practical and prosperous man;
  seems to argue; I would not sneer at them。  Who does not value
  them?  Who will not value them so long as our mortal bodies are to
  be cared for?  It is a pleasant thing to ride in 〃cars without
  horses;〃 to feel in winter the genial warmth of grates and
  furnaces; to receive messages from distant friends in a moment of
  time; to cross the ocean without discomfort; with the 〃almost
  certainty〃 of safety; and save our wives and daughters from the
  ancient drudgeries of the loom and the knitting…needle。  Who ever
  tires in gazing at a locomotive as it whirls along with the power
  of destiny?  Who is not astonished at the triumphs of the engineer;
  the wonders of an ocean…steamer; the marvellous tunnels under lofty
  mountains?  We feel that Titans have been sent to ease us of our
  burdens。
  But great and beneficent as are these blessings; they are not the
  only certitudes; nor are they the greatest。  An outward life of
  ease and comfort is not the chief end of man。  The interests of the
  soul are more important than any comforts of the body。  The higher
  life is only reached by lofty contemplation on the true; the
  beautiful; and the good。  Subjective wisdom is worth more than
  objective knowledge。  What are the great realities;machinery; new
  breeds of horses; carpets; diamonds; mirrors; gas? or are they
  affections; friendships; generous impulses; inspiring thoughts?
  Look to Socrates: what raised that barefooted; ugly…looking;
  impecunious; persecuted; cross…questioning; self…constituted
  teacher; without pay; to the loftiest pedestal of Athenian fame?
  What was the spirit of the truths HE taught?  Was it objective or
  subjective truth; the way to become rich and comfortable; or the
  search for the indefinite; the infinite; the eternal;Utopia; not
  Middlesex;that which fed the wants of the immaterial soul; and
  enabled it to rise above temptation and vulgar rewards?  What
  raised Plato to the highest pinnacle of intellectual life?  Was it
  definite and practical knowledge of outward phenomena; or was it 〃a
  longing after love; in the contemplation of which the mortal soul
  sustains itself; and becomes participant in the glories of
  immortality〃?  What were realities to Anselm; Bernard; and
  Bonaventura?  What gave beauty and placidity to Descartes and
  Leibnitz and Kant?  It may be very dignified for a modern savant to
  sit serenely on his tower of observation; indifferent to all the
  lofty speculations of the great men of bygone ages; yet those
  profound questions pertaining to the 'Greek text omitted' and the
  'Greek text omitted'; which had such attractions for Augustine and
  Pascal and Calvin; did have as real bearing on human life and on
  what is best worth knowing; as the scales of a leuciscus cephalus
  or the limbs of a magnified animalculus; or any of the facts of
  which physical science can boast。  The wonders of science are
  great; but so also are the secrets of the soul; the mysteries of
  the spiritual life; the truths which come from divine revelation。
  Whatever most dignifies humanity; and makes our labors sweet; and
  causes us to forget our pains; and kindles us to lofty
  contemplations; and prompts us to heroic sacrifice; is the most
  real and the most useful。  Even the leaves of a barren and
  neglected philosophy may be in some important respects of more
  value than all the boasted fruit of utilitarian science。  Is that
  which is most useful always the most valuable;that; I mean; which
  gives the highest pleasure?  Do we not plant our grounds with the
  acacia; the oak; the cedar; the elm; as well as with the apple; the
  pear; and the cherry?  Are not flowers and shrubs which beautify
  the lawn as desirable as beans and turnips and cabbages?  Is not
  the rose or tulip as great an addition to even a poor man's cottage
  as his bed of onions or patch of potatoes?  What is the scale to
  measure even mortal happiness?  What is the marketable value of
  friendship or of love?  What makes the dinner of herbs sometimes
  more refreshing than the stalled ox?  What is the material profit
  of a first love?  What is the value in tangible dollars and