Chapter 59 Letter fifty-seven from Julie

My friend, I am well aware of what happened between you and gentleman Edward.It is precisely because I know the matter so well that I want to inquire with you how, in such a case, you should deal with the matter according to the emotion you profess.I don't think you just talk but don't do it? I don't want to know at all whether you are proficient in swordsmanship, or whether you are really capable of fighting with a man who is famous in Europe for being good at wielding swords. This man has dueled five or six times in his life, always Either stab the opponent, or end the opponent, or make the opponent surrender.I know, judging from your current situation, you don't care about your own martial arts, but only rely on your blood and courage, and you feel that you must fight this person who insulted you, even if you are killed by the other party, you will not insult yourself .Although your argument is sonorous and powerful, it is better not to publicize it.You will surely tell me that your honor and mine are more precious than life, and that must be said.

Let's start with something that concerns you.Can you tell me what offended you in the conversation which only concerned me?If you feel like you have to defend me in this situation, let's talk about it.You will not deny that this quarrel has nothing to do with your personal honour, unless you consider it an offense to be suspected that I love you.You have been insulted, I admit that, but you were the first to insult someone.I have many members of the military in my family and I have heard them debate these terrible issues many times and it is clear to me that responding to insults with insulting words does not solve the problem at all and that the first insulted are the only insulted The same is true for fighting and fighting. The person who strikes first is the only culprit. The person who injures or kills someone due to self-defense is definitely not the murderer.

Now to the relation of this matter to me.I agree that Gentleman Edward's words hurt me, though he meant to do me justice.But do you know the consequences of defending me so violently and rashly?The more you salute him with insults, the more you prove him right. You think you are doing it for my honor, but you are doing it to my honor. You are ruining your lover's honor. At most it was just gaining a reputation as a good fighter.Please, tell me, what is the relationship between the way you defend me and the way you can actually defend me?Do you think that the fact that you are fighting me so fiercely proves that there is no such relationship between us?You only need to be seen to be brave to show that you are not my lover?You know, all the words of Mr. Edward have done me less harm than your conduct.It's you who are getting his word out and proving him right.As for him, in a duel he may escape your sword, but my reputation and my life may never be safe from your blow.

I think the truth is so clear that you have absolutely nothing to refute.But I can guess that you will say that these principles are at odds with customary practice, that there are some troubles which are beyond our own control, that under no circumstances should we tolerate being a coward, that it would be disgraceful not to use force, which is certain.If you think so, let's take a look again. Once, on a great matter, you told me the difference between real honor and apparent honor, do you remember?Which of these two honors are we arguing about today?In my opinion, this is no longer a problem.What do killing for honor have in common with proving your integrity?What can other people's gossip do to the true honor rooted in the heart?how!Can genuine moral qualities be blotted out by the gossip of a detractor?Does the abuse of a drunk person prove that you deserve it?Is the honor of a sensible man swayed by a random rough man he meets on the road?Do you mean to tell me that a duel proves a man's courage, and is enough to remove shame or all other faults in you?I would like to ask you, what honor did you do this for?What is your reason for doing this?In this way, as long as a liar goes to fight with another person, he is no longer a liar; as long as a liar draws his sword to each other, what he says is the truth; if someone accuses you of killing a person, go and kill the second Two people can prove that what others say is wrong.In this way, morality, vice, honor, meanness, truth, lies, etc., can all be justified by dueling.Then, the fencing hall becomes a place to judge whether it is fair or not; the fist is the law, and whoever can kill is justified; the remedy for the person you insulted is to kill him. the blood of the dead to wash away.Tell me, if wolves could reason, what creed would they follow?Use your own example to judge whether I am alarmist or exaggerating.What exactly are you getting so angry about?Is it because someone told the truth and exposed your lies, so you want to kill the person who told the truth?Do you think that if you kill him, the facts will disappear?You want to gamble through a duel, let God testify for you that the person is lying, so you dare to say to the witnesses of the duel, "You will support the unreasonable side and let the lie prevail"?Are you not afraid of retribution for uttering such blasphemy?Are you not ashamed of doing such absurdities?Oh, God!What kind of honor is this sad honor that is not afraid of shamelessness?It is not afraid of committing crimes, but it is afraid of being accused, and it does not allow others to expose its lies before its own conscience finds out.

You are someone who wants people to read, so take advantage of what you read and ask if there is only one calling in the world of heroes we live in.Those upright people in ancient times, have they ever thought of using a duel to wash away the insults they received?Caesar and Cato often attacked each other, and Pompey and Caesar had constant disputes, but did they ever think about using a duel to wash away their insults?Did the great Greek general feel ashamed once when he was threatened with a club?Of course, I know that there are customs in any era, but are there only good customs?Will any one venture to ask whether the customs of an age are such as are required by true honor?No, true honor is constant, independent of time, place, and prejudice.It will neither become obsolete nor be regenerated; its roots will always be in the heart of the upright, in the unshapeable and twisted rules of man's duty.If the wisest, bravest, most virtuous men in the world never fight, I dare say it is because they see it not as an honorable practice, but as an ugly and barbarous one. This method is a method that only cruel and bad people will use.Now what needs to be clarified is, is this how honest people have to deal with problems when their own lives or the lives of others are at stake?Are there no truly brave men who challenge it instead of following it?In your opinion, how should a man who behaves in this way behave in a place where the customs are just the opposite?In Messina or Naples, he would hide on a street corner, wait for his enemy, and stab him in the back.In these places, this practice is called bravery, and it is considered an honorary thing to kill one's enemies instead of being killed by them.

Remember not to confuse the sacred word of honor with that prejudice which, by adding force to all things, necessarily makes strong and villainous.This approach is at best a means to show one's integrity, and wherever righteousness is up, this means is not useless. However, if a person does not want to be an honest person but is willing to be a desperate Man, what would you think of him?Can't you see that some people who have a sense of shame and honor commit more and more crimes because they have a wrong idea of ​​shame?It is this false shame which makes men false and liars; The life of one's own friend; it is this false shame that turns a deceived timid girl into a shrew; it is this false shame, O Almighty God!Prompting a mother to kill her own baby with her own hands... It makes me sick to think about such a horrible concept, at least I have to thank the understanding man who took the kind of thing that can only promote people to commit heinous crimes. , The dreadful notion of honor, which only stirs the human nature, was driven out of my mind.

Please reflect on yourself, and consider whether you can take the life of others and risk your own life based on an outrageous and extremely dangerous idea that you think that someone has offended you?Moreover, can the memory of the misery of causing the bloodshed disappear in the heart of the bleeding man, and no longer cry for vengeance?Do you know of any crime comparable to willful killing?If the basis of all morality is humanism, what do you think of bloodthirsty people who dare to kill their own kind in everyday life?Recall well what you said to me yourself against serving in foreign armies.Have you forgotten that a citizen is a son of his own country, and that he has no right to dispose of his life without the permission of the law, let alone to do anything against it?O my friend, if you love virtue sincerely, learn to work for it after its way, and not after anyone else's.I know that there is something unpleasant in the service of virtue, but does that make you think the word virtue is a useless word?Are you willing to be a virtuous person only if you are not harmed yourself?

So, what kind of unpleasant things will happen?Gossip from idlers and villains?They gloat over others' misfortune and always want to find some new stories to pass on.This is really the biggest reason why people fight each other to the death!If philosophers and sages act according to the crazy words of the crowd in the major issues of life, then what is the use of learning so many things, anyway, we are still mediocre in the end?Is it because you are afraid of being accused that you are afraid of death that you dare not abandon your inner grievances for the sake of duty, dignity and friendship?If you weigh these things, my friend, you will surely find that you are more afraid of being accused of cowardice than of dying.But all braggarts and cowards are pretending to be heroes:

Anyone who pretends to face death in the face is lying.It is a great law of all sentient beings that all men are afraid of death, without which the world would soon be dead.This fear is a common instinctive reaction, not only justified, but good and natural in itself.The reason why this fear is called shameful and reprehensible is because it prevents us from doing our duty well.Cowardice would cease to be a defect if it were not at all an obstacle to the practice of virtue.I agree that no one who values ​​his own life more than his calling will be a moral man.However, you are a self-proclaimed person who understands righteousness, please tell me, what is so great about a person who is not afraid of death for committing a crime?

It is true that a man may be looked down upon if he refuses to do his best, but which kind of contempt is more terrible, between the man who is despised for his good behavior and the man who is despised for his own behavior?Believe me, a man who really cherishes himself does not take the groundless accusations of others seriously, and he is only afraid that he deserves the contempt he deserves, because a good and upright man is not judged by others, but by the nature of his dealings .Even if the whole world agrees with what you are about to do, should it be shameful or shameful.If you quit doing it because of moral considerations, you will not be held in contempt.A person who has no stains in his life and has never shown any cowardice will certainly not have blood on his hands, and he will be more respected.He is always ready to serve his country, to protect the weak, to perform the most dangerous missions, and in all honorable things, he will sacrifice his blood to defend what he holds dear.He is resolute and resolute in his affairs, and he is unwavering, which is impossible for those who are not courageous.He is open-minded, with his head held high, and he neither avoids nor provokes enemies when he encounters them.Everyone can clearly see that he is not afraid of death but of doing bad things, and he is not afraid of danger but of crime.If it is said that others had some bad opinions about him at that moment, then every day of his frank life can prove that these prejudices are groundless.And in one very important matter, one can tell how he behaves by what he does in everything else.

However, do you know what makes it difficult for ordinary people to achieve this kind of restraint?That's because it's hard to combine restraint without losing dignity, without making any mistakes you're accused of.If in the latter case fear did not restrain him from wrongdoing, why should it restrain him in the former case, if there had been a more natural motive?Therefore, we can clearly see that the reason why he is not restrained is not that he is moral, but that he is cowardly, so it is not unreasonable for people to ridicule the mental state of being hesitant when seeing danger.Haven't you noticed that most of the people who are suspicious by nature and want to find others desperately are mostly dishonest people?For fear of being openly contemptuous of them, they endeavor to cover up the meanness of their lives by some decency.Do you want to imitate some of these people?We also have to talk specifically about those professional soldiers who die for money, because they want to maintain their status, they consider their honor in terms of their own interests, and their lives are counted in money, and pennies are counted.My friend, let such a man fight and kill.Nothing could be more dishonorable than the accolades they trumpet.What they have done is absurd and crazy. It seems to be very moral, but in fact it is unforgivable.The honor of a man like you is not at all in the hands of others, but in himself, and is defended neither by sword nor shield, but by a life of integrity, which is more important than the former. Can prove a person's bravery. It is on these principles that you should understand the true valor which I have been extolling, and my contempt for the valor of the common man.I prefer the brave to the coward; I would cut off the cowardly lover who runs away from danger, and, like all women, I think that the flame of love will burn brighter with the fire of valor.But I hope that heroism will be shown at the right time, and not in an untimely rush to show off, as if once the opportunity is lost, it will never be shown again.Some people try to cover up a lifetime of cowardice with a moment of physical courage.A truly courageous person displays tenacity, not blood.He always does things as they should, neither provoking him nor suppressing him.The upright man is upright wherever he is, bravely confronts the enemy, bravely defends the absent and the truth in a community, bravely fights pain and death on the sickbed.The power that inspires his heart is at his disposal at any time and place, it is always based on morality rather than following the trend, and it is not manifested in daring to fight, but in fearlessness.Such, my friend, is the courage which I have so often celebrated, and which I would like to find in you.All the others are reckless, reckless, ferocious, such as only cowards, and I despise both those who take risks, and those who run away from danger because they dare not face it. If I am not mistaken, I have made it clear to you that in your quarrel with Gentleman Edward nothing was done to your honour, and that you have done mine by the way you fought. It is neither right, unjust, unreasonable, nor permissible, it is incompatible with your professed sentiments, and it is only suitable for unrighteous men, who want to make up for their lack of morality by valor, Or just for officers who don't fight for honor at all, but are motivated by profit.A truly brave man would despise such a course, and would never take it.In renouncing this approach, there are inevitably difficulties which affect the fulfillment of real duties, though these duties are apparent rather than real.In short, the honesty and integrity of those who are prone to violence must be questionable.I venture, therefore, that in this matter you will not, either actively or passively, fail to cast aside reason, virtue, honor, and me.Consider what I have said, and quibble if you will; but one thing is always certain: a brave man is never a coward, and a good man is never an honorless man. sensitive people.I think I have made it clear to you that the brave disdain duels and the good detest duels. My friend, I think that in dealing with matters of this magnitude only reason is to be had, and that things should be taken as they are.If I wanted to speak with feeling and humanity according to my own view of the matter, I would speak a very different language.In a duel my father had the misfortune to kill a man who was a friend of his, as you know.They didn't want to fight at first, but when their heads got hot, they didn't care about honor or dishonesty, so they started fighting.A fatal blow that takes the life of one man but leaves the conscience of another forever.Since then, the deep guilt in this person's heart has never been erased, and people often hear him lamenting and weeping alone.He felt that the scene of stabbing his friend's heart with a sharp sword was still vivid in his memory.In the dark, he saw his friend's pale face and blood-stained body appear. He tremblingly stared at the fatal wound of the other party, trying to stop the blood flowing, but he felt scared and screamed.This horrible corpse has been chasing him.Five years ago, he lost the hope of his dear son and family, and he blamed his son's death as the punishment he deserved from God, who took the life of his only son to avenge the unfortunate father who took his son from him avenge. I must confess that this incident, combined with my natural distaste for cruelty, made me hate dueling as the most cruel and merciless of human endeavors.A man who takes pleasure in fighting is, in my opinion, simply a ferocious beast bent on tearing and biting.If there is still some conscience in the hearts of these murderous people, I think that although the dead are pitiful, those who kill others are even more pitiful.Look at those bloodthirsty people: they ignore the reproach of conscience only because they suppress the voice of nature; they become more and more cruel and indifferent; The punishment for the victims is to completely dehumanize them.If so, what would they look like?You answer me, do you want to be like them?No, you are not by nature such a despicable person, but you have to be careful not to take the first step in this direction.Your soul is still innocent, healthy and simple; don't you risk your moral recklessness, commit sins without reason, and degrade your soul beyond redemption through a little sense of unreasonable honor. I'm not saying this from your Julie's point of view at all, but she will undoubtedly gain in letting your conscience speak.Say a word, just a word, and I'll give you back to her... Sometimes I'm honored to hear you call me a good wife, maybe at this moment I should be called a good mother.You don't want me to be a widow before a holy bond binds us! PS: In this letter, I am using an authority that a sensible man would never rebel against.If you refuse to submit to my authority, I have nothing more to say to you, but you must think first.I give you one week to consider this important question.I am not setting this time limit for you in the name of reason, but in my own name.Remember, I am using here the right which you yourself have given me, at least in this case.