Chapter 24 The first loose sand (3)

In this group of people, Christophe only had a good impression of Mannheim.Of course he was the liveliest of the five, and he took pleasure in what he said and what others said; He doesn't really know what he's thinking, but he's very kind, unambitious, and doesn't hold grudges against anyone.In fact, he is not very honest, and often plays a role, but it is not intentional, and it is harmless to others.He will be fascinated by all the absurd—often saving the world—ideals, but he never fully believes in other shrewd minds and cynical attitudes; even when he is excited, he can keep his cool, Never go to trouble in order to practice theory.But he needs something to make him Fengmo, it is a kind of game for him, and it needs to be changed all the time.A few days ago, his wind demon was compassion.Needless to say, he felt that it was not enough to be merciful as a human being, one had to appear merciful;Because he deliberately wants to be awkward, he opposes the rigid and hard life of his family, he opposes ethics, militarism, and German philistinism, so he is a follower of Tolstoy, who believes in Nirvana, the Gospel, and Buddhism. —he himself does not know what he believes,—in short, he preaches a limp, boneless, mother-in-law, magnanimous morality; it readily forgives all sins, especially sins of the flesh, I do not deny my partiality to this class of vices, but I can hardly tolerate all virtues--this morality is simply to flaunt: seeking pleasure together, if there is a bond, entertaining each other, as if in association, and finally letting go I feel happy only on a holy halo.There is a bit of hypocrisy in it, and the smell is not very pleasant to people who feel delicate, and it is even disgusting, if you take it seriously.But Mannheim didn't take this seriously, he was just playing around.This bawdy Christianity is ready to give way, and any idol will take its place: violence, imperialism, some grotesque beast.Mannheim was acting, sincerely acting; before he recovered his honest Jewish face and Jewish spirit like others, he tried out various sentiments that he did not have in turn.He is a lovable and terribly repulsive person.

In a certain period of time, Christophe became one of the objects of his wind demon.Mannheim believed him in everything, talked about his name everywhere, and flattered him in front of his family.According to him, Christophe was a genius, a great man, who wrote queer music, and whose discourses about music were especially delicate and witty,--and a man with a fine mouth and a beautiful face. teeth.He added that Christophe admired him very much. ——Finally one night he brought Christophe home for dinner.And Christophe also met the father of his new friend, the banker Lotte Mannheim, and Franz's sister, Yutes.

This was the first time he had stepped into a Jewish home.Although this nation has a large population in a small town, and occupies an important position in the locality with its wealth, unity, and wisdom, it has little contact with other societies.The folks have always held an unbreakable prejudice against it, and there is a bit of hostility in secret, and a kind of pity that is close to insult.This is what Christophe's family had in mind.Back then, my grandfather didn't like Jews;—unexpectedly, fate played a joke on him, his two best students—(one became a composer, the other became a famous performer)—happened to be Israelis; It was difficult: because sometimes he really wanted to hug these two fine musicians, but he remembered that they had crucified Jesus; he didn't know how to solve this contradiction.At the end, he still hugged them, believing that God would forgive them for their musical love. —Christophe's father, Melchior, considered himself a free thinker. He would never feel any pain in his heart after earning money from the Jews, and he thought it was very appropriate; but he often made fun of them and looked down on them. —As for his mother, it is not certain that it was a crime that she happened to be a Jew's cook.They were haughty to her: but she held no grudge, she bore no grudge against anyone, but had great sympathy for such a poor wretch whom God sent to hell.In the house where she went to help, seeing the owner's daughter passing by, or hearing the children's happy laughter, she couldn't help but think this way:

"What a beautiful girl! . . . what a beautiful child! . . . what a pity! . . . " When Christophe said that she was going to Mannheim's for dinner tonight, she dared not say a word, and felt very uncomfortable.She thinks that people who say bad things about the Jews shouldn’t believe it,—(everyone gets bad things said)——there are honest people everywhere, but Jews rule over Jews, Christians rule over Christians, and each has his own way. What is better and more decent. Christophe has no such prejudices at all, because he will always be at odds with the people around him, so he is attracted by this alien race instead.But he didn't know much about it.The few Jews with whom he came and went were of the most vulgar sort, little merchants and commoners who gathered in the streets between the Rhine and the cathedral.With the herd instinct shared by all human beings, they are turning that area into a Jewish settlement.Christophe wandered there occasionally, with curious and kind eyes, casually glanced at the women with sunken cheeks, prominent lips and cheekbones, with mysterious smiles, a little obscene, quiet The harmony of facial expressions was unfortunately spoiled by vulgar speech and uncouth laughter.But even in the lower classes, in these short and fat people with huge heads, dull eyes, and dull faces, in the fallen descendants of the noblest race, even in the filthy scum, There were also a few faint lights flickering there, like phosphorous fire floating over the swamp: there were some wonderful eyes, radiant wisdom, subtle electric currents emitted from the mud, and Jean-Christophe I was a little fascinated and a little apprehensive.He thought there must be some noble souls struggling, some great souls trying to get out of the mud; he really wanted to meet them and help them; although he didn't know them and was still a little afraid in his heart, he already liked them .But he never had any intimate relationship with a Jew, let alone the opportunity to get close to outstanding members of Jewish society.

Therefore, going to Mannheim's for dinner had a new, even forbidden, attraction for him.And Eve, who handed him the forbidden fruit, made the forbidden fruit appear more delicious.As soon as he entered the door, Christophe saw only Yudis Mannheim.She was nothing like the women he had known so far.Tall, lithe, slender, though well-built; not much black hair around his face, but thick and low, covering his temples and bony yellow forehead; somewhat short-sighted, with thick eyelids , the eyeballs are slightly protruding, and the nostrils under the high nose are large; the cheeks are thin, the chin is thick, and the complexion is quite ruddy; The cheeks are all unequal.In her, you can feel a very strong race, and you can feel the many ingredients mixed in the mold of this race, which is messy, some are extremely beautiful, and some are extremely vulgar.Her beauty, especially lies in that mouth that does not speak much, in those eyes that look deeper because of myopia, and look more sinister because of the surrounding shadows.

It took someone more experienced than Christophe to see through their wet and burning eyelids the true heart of this woman, not just an individual eye, but an entire race.And what he found in the pair of intense yet dull eyes was the soul of the whole nation of Israel, which she herself did not realize.When Christophe saw it, he was confused.It took a long time, often lost in this kind of eyes, before he could see a clue on this eastern sea. She looked at him, and there was no disturbance in her clear eyes; it seemed that she saw through the whole Christian soul.He felt it too.He felt that there was a strong, clear, and calm will under her charming gaze, searching his heart unceremoniously there; although it was unceremonious, there was no malice.She just grabbed him.There is a flirtatious woman who tries to charm everyone; Judes was not of that sort.Coquettish, she is more powerful than anyone else; but she knows her strength, and she only lets her instincts exert her strength-especially for a captive who is as easy to conquer as Christophe, it is not worth spending too much effort.She is more interested in getting to know her enemies—(all men, strangers, are enemies to her—and may join hands with them when the opportunity arises).Life is a gamble, and only the wise can win; so the first thing to do is to see the enemy's cards and not reveal your own.Being able to do this, she felt the joy of victory.She didn't care if victory would do her any favors.She does it for fun.The object of her zeal is intelligence, but not in the abstract, though she is quite solid enough to succeed in any subject, if she chooses, and is more worthy of succession than her brother Roda Mannheim, the banker. career; but she prefers a lively, clever way of dealing with people.What she likes most is to pierce a person's soul and estimate its value--(in this point, she is as careful as the Jewish woman of Macy's called Jin Yang); Seeing through the weaknesses and blemishes of others, she finds the secret key of the soul and grasps it: this is her means of controlling people.But she is not obsessed with her victories, and definitely does not take advantage of her captives.Once her curiosity and pride had been satisfied, she cast her captive aside and turned her attention to other subjects.Her strength is completely wasted.There is a breath of death in such a living soul.The two characteristics of curiosity and boredom are both in Des.

Therefore, Christophe looked at her, and she looked at Christophe.She doesn't talk much, but as long as there is an elusive smile on the corner of her mouth, Christophe can be hypnotized.After the smiling shadow flashed by, there was another cold face and indifferent eyes; she greeted dinner and talked coldly to the servants, as if she no longer listened to the guests.Then, her eyes lit up again, and she interjected a few words, clearly and clearly, to show that she heard and understood everything. She calmly checked her brother's comments on Christophe: she had always known Franz's exaggerated temper; Didn't he boast how beautiful and decent Christophe was in front of her? —It seems that Franz had a gift for seeing the opposite of the truth, or deliberately taking pleasure in it.But after studying Christophe carefully, she also admitted that what Franz said was not completely false; and when she delved into it step by step, she found that Christophe did have a kind of power, although it was not yet fixed, not yet Balanced, but thick and bold.She was very happy to see it, because she understood how rare power is than anyone else.She has the ability to teach Christophe to speak, to teach him to express his thoughts automatically, to show the limits and shortcomings of his intelligence.She wants him to play the piano.She doesn't like music, but she understands music, and can distinguish the characteristics of Christophe's music, although she is not moved.Always maintaining a cold and polite attitude, she only expressed her concern for Christophe with a few short, to the point, and no compliments.

Christophe felt this, and was very proud; for he felt that such judgments were valuable, and her approval was rare.He made no secret of his intention to conquer her, and the innocence he expressed made all three masters smile: he only spoke to Des, and only for Des; to the other two, he simply ignored them. , as if there were no such two people at all. Franz looked at him, his lips and eyes moved as Christophe spoke, with an air of admiration and playfulness.He lost eyes with his father and sister, and couldn't help laughing.The girl kept her face, just pretending not to see it. Lotte Mannheim was a tall, solid old man: a little stooped, with bright red skin, gray hair combed up like a brush, black beard and eyebrows; Air is sarcastic.He was also studying Christophe with a cunning and kindly manner; and he recognized at once that there was indeed "something" in this young man.But he cared neither for music nor for musicians: that wasn't his line of business, he didn't know a thing, and instead of hiding it, he flattered himself with it: — a man like him would admit that there was something he didn't know, yes To be proud of. ——Christophe was very rude and harmless, and made it clear that he didn't need Mr. Banker's company, as long as Miss Judith chatted with him, he would not be lonely; the old man thought it was interesting, so he went to sit down He read the newspaper by the fire, absent-mindedly and ironically, listening to Christophe's nonsense and his strange music, and secretly amused himself at the thought that anyone could understand this and found it amusing; Pay attention to their conversation, and leave it to your daughter to estimate the strangers.And she did fulfill her mission.

After Christophe left, Mrs. Lo asked Judes: "Well, you've got him telling the truth; what do you think of the artist?" She smiled, thought for a while, and made a conclusion: "He is a little confused, but he is not stupid." "Yes," Mrs. Luo went on, "I think so too. Then he will succeed?" "I'm sure he'll be successful. He's a strong man." "Okay," Mrs. Luo, who is only interested in the strong, replied with a strong logic, "then it's time to help him." Christophe also admired Des Mannheim when he went back, but he was not tempted.Yudis was wrong about this.One from sensibility, the other from instinct (which in his case took the place of tact), both misunderstood each other.The mystery of her face and the activity of her mind had indeed fascinated Christophe; but he did not love her.His eyes and spirit were tempted, but his heart was not. --why? —It's not easy to say.For seeing some ambiguous or disturbing character in her?But in other cases, it adds an additional stimulus to love: love is strongest when a person is not afraid to ask for trouble.Christophe's dislike of Yutes had nothing to do with them.The real reason, the reason they both felt a little humiliated, was that he hadn't been too close to his latest love.He didn't suffer a loss once and learn to be good once.But how much confidence, how much energy, how much illusion he had consumed when he loved Ada, what is left now is not enough to cultivate a new enthusiasm.To hope for another flame, one must kindle another fire in the heart: while the old fire is dead and the new one is not, there are only sparks that go out quickly, some leftovers from the last conflagration. Remnants of ashes, giving off a bright but fleeting light, which was immediately extinguished for lack of fuel.In another six months, he might fall in love with Yudis blindly.Now he only regarded her as a friend,--a disturbed friend, of course;--but he tried to drive away this disturbance: for it would bring up other unpleasant memories of Ada.Judice's attraction to him lay in what made her different from other women, not in what she was like.She was the first intelligent woman he had ever met.Smart, yes, she was smart all over her.Even her beauty—her manners, her movements, her countenance, the curve of her lips, her eyes, her hands, her slender, elegant figure—reflected her wit; her body was fashioned by wit; no If she is smart, she will look ugly.This cleverness made Christophe very fond of it.He thought she was broad-minded and free and easy, but she was not to this extent; he still didn't know her disappointment.He longed to confide in Yudis, to share some of his thoughts with her.He had never been able to find someone who cared about his thoughts: what a joy to have a confidant!As a child he often complained about having no sisters, thinking that a sister should understand him better than a brother.Seeing Judice revived the false hope of friendship.He hadn't thought of love at all.Because there is no love, he thinks love is trivial compared with friendship.

Christophe's subtle psychology was soon felt by Yudis, and he was very annoyed.She doesn't love Christophe; moreover, there have been many young people who have fallen for her, all of whom are rich and well-known local children. Even if Christophe fell in love with her, it would not necessarily make her very proud .But knowing that he was indifferent, she felt angry.Seeing that I can only affect him rationally, it is too wronged; it is more interesting for a woman to make a man lose his reason!What's more, she didn't use any reason to influence others. It was simply created by Christophe's wishful thinking.Yudice has a very bossy temper.She was simply used to the feeble minds of the average youth she knew.Since they were mediocre, she saw little point in controlling them.Dealing with Christophe is much more difficult and therefore much more interesting.She didn't care about his plans at all, but was happy to master that new mind, that wild force, and make them into tools-certainly according to her and not according to Christophe whom she despised to know. way.But she immediately realized that she had to go through a struggle to achieve this step; Christophe had all kinds of prejudices, and some thought she thought too radical and childish: they were all weeds, which she was determined to pull up. ; but none of them were pulled out.Her self-esteem was not satisfied at all.Christophe was very stubborn.Since he doesn't care about love, he doesn't need to give in to her in thought.

She was not convinced, and wanted to conquer him for a certain period of time.Although Christophe had a clear mind at that time, he almost made the same mistake.A man is easily duped, as long as his pride and desires are gratified by flattery; and the imaginative artist is even more gullible.It was not difficult for Judes to lure Christophe into the trap of love and destroy him again, perhaps more thoroughly.But she soon grew impatient, as usual, and felt that it was not worth the effort to conquer such a man; Christophe had already bored her; she no longer knew him. Once he passed a certain limit, she couldn't understand.Up to this point, she knew him perfectly.To go any further, she couldn't rely solely on her outstanding intelligence; that required a little enthusiasm, or a fantasy that temporarily stimulated enthusiasm, that is to say: love.She knew Christophe's criticism of people and things very well, and thought it was very interesting and quite pertinent; it's not that she didn't think so herself.What puzzled her was why she should use her ideas to affect her actual life when implementing them might be dangerous or troublesome.Christophe's rebellious attitude towards everyone will not be fruitful: he doesn't necessarily claim to reform society, does he? ... Then what does it mean? ...Didn't you just bang your head against the wall?A wise man may criticize others, secretly laugh at them, belittle them; but he behaves as they do, only a little better: that is the only way to control men.Thought is a world, action is another world.Why bother to be a victim of your own thoughts?Thoughts must be real: of course!But why speak the truth?Since human beings are so stupid that they cannot bear the truth, why force them to bear it?Endure their weaknesses, give in on the face, be contemptuous in the heart, and feel that they are all right: Aren't you proud?It's okay to say that this is the pride of a clever slave.But anyway, being a slave is unavoidable, so as far as being a slave is concerned, you should still be a slave according to your own will, and you don't have to engage in those ridiculous and useless struggles.The worst thing is to be a slave to your own thoughts and sacrifice everything for it.One should not be fooled by oneself. ——She clearly saw that if Christophe insisted on going his own way and took the road of resisting the prejudices of German art and German spirit to the end, he would definitely make everyone against him, including his protectors, and the result would be Flat out.She didn't understand why he wanted to make things difficult for her, to destroy herself and then hurry up. To understand this, you must first understand that his goal is not success but faith.He believed in art, in his art, in himself, as a reality not only above all interests, but also above his own life.When her criticism made him impatient, and he gave these reasons in a naive exaggerated tone, she shrugged her shoulders at first, and did not take him seriously.She thinks he is just a high-sounding, like her brother, who has to preach absurd and great resolutions every now and then, and never rashly loses the implementation.Later, seeing that Christophe was really fascinated by these empty words, she thought he was crazy and was not interested in him. From then on she didn't bother to show her strengths, but just showed what she was: she was a thoroughly German at heart, far more than you saw at the beginning, and far more than she imagined. ——Everyone wrongly blames the Israelis, saying that they do not belong to any nation, and that no matter where they are in Europe, they retain their uniform nationality and are not affected by the local nation.In fact, there is no people in the world who are more susceptible to the aboriginal atmosphere than the Jews; French Jews and German Jews have a lot in common, but they differ more from the country in which they live; they accept the habits of thought of foreign races. It is very fast, and it still accepts more habits than thoughts.And the so-called second nature habits are actually the unique nature of most people, so the aborigines in a place have no right to blame the Jews for lacking a deep and thoughtful national character, because this characteristic can't even be found in the aborigines. . Women used to be more sensitive to the influence of the outside world, adapt to the living situation more quickly, and are more able to adapt to the situation; while Jewish women all over Europe are especially able to learn the local material and spiritual customs vividly, and often Excessive,--while still retaining their outlines, the disturbing, intense, and enduring charm of their people.Christophe was astonished.At the Mannheim house he met the aunts, the cousins, and the girlfriends of Udis.Some of them, though very un-German, with ardent eyes set very close to their noses and noses to their mouths, were well-defined, and had thick, dark-yellow skin, though their general appearance was nothing like German women are more thoroughly Germanized than real German women: their conversation and attire are the same as those of German women, and even go too far.Yudis is superior to all of them; by comparison, you can see where her intelligence is superior and what her character is self-cultivated.But most of the faults that other people have, she also has.In thought she was much freer than the others, almost entirely solitary, but she acted no bolder; at least her practical sense of interest took the place of her solitary spirit here.She believed in society, in class, in prejudice, because on the whole, she felt that these were still beneficial to her.She laughed at the German temperament in vain, and she herself followed the German trend step by step.She feels the mediocrity of a well-known artist, but she still respects him because he is famous; and if she has contacts with him, she will admire him even more to satisfy her vanity.She did not like Brahms's work very much, and secretly suspected that he was a second-rate artist; but his name made her respectful; and because she had received half a dozen letters from him, she did not hesitate. It is concluded that he is the greatest contemporary musician.The value of Christophe, and the stupidity of Adjutant Fréché, are facts she affirms; but Fréché's pursuit of her wealth pleases her more than Christophe's pure friendship: for no matter how stupid he is An officer is, after all, a figure of another class; and it is more difficult for a German Jewish woman to enter this class than for other women.She didn't believe in these silly feudal ideas, and she knew very well that if she married Adjutant Frech, she would give him face, but she still tried desperately to seduce him, and she did not hesitate to grovel and wink at the fool and flatter him. Shoot, lest it won't happen.This proud Jewish girl, a girl who is entitled to be proud, the clever and high-minded daughter of the banker Mannheim, who simply despises the little German bourgeois women and wants to humble herself to imitate them. This time the experience is not long.Christophe's fantasies about Deis died out almost as quickly as the fantasies came.To be fair, Dees was to blame for this, since she hadn't tried to keep him under the illusion.Once a woman with this personality criticizes you and throws you away in her heart, you will cease to exist. She no longer has you in her mind, and she will expose her soul to you without any scruples. He is not ashamed, as if he is not afraid of being naked in front of cats and dogs.Christophe saw Yudis's selfishness, cruelty, and mediocrity of character.Fortunately, time was short, and he was not completely obsessed with her.But his discovery had pained him, irritated him.Although he doesn't love Des, he likes what Des can achieve—the person who should be achieved.Her beautiful eyes made him feel a painful allurement, haunting; and though he knew now that only a languid soul slept in them, he still saw them as he had seen before, and he The way I want to see it.This is the illusion of love without love.When ordinary artists are not completely indulged in their own works, that kind of illusion occupies a very important position in their hearts.A face they come across by chance will give them this state; they can see all its beauty, which they don't feel or care about; and because they don't care about it, the artist loves that beauty even more.They love a beautiful thing that is dying and unappreciated. This may be his own misjudgment. Maybe Yudis is a foregone conclusion, and there can be no further development.But Christophe once believed that she had a future; this illusion was always present, so he could not judge her with objective eyes.He feels that all her beauty is unique to her, that she is beautiful in itself; that all her vulgarity should be held responsible by the double national character of Germany and Judaism, especially Germany, because he himself is responsible for Germany. Characters suffer more.Since he doesn't know any other people, he takes the German temperament as a lamb to blame, and teaches it to bear all the sins in the world.The disillusionment that Judice gave him gave him yet another reason to attack the German temperament, which he considered unpardonable for destroying such a soul's passion. This is how he first met the Israelites.He had hoped to find a struggling ally among this strong and isolated people, but all was in vain.His impulsive intuition was so unstable that it often led him to jump from one extreme to the other, and he concluded at once that the Jewish nation was not as strong as it was supposed to be, and that it was too easy to accept foreign influences.In addition to its own weaknesses, it has to add the weaknesses it has found everywhere.Instead of finding some support to support his art here, he is in danger of being trapped in the desert with this nation. Aware of the danger, but not sure of getting past it, he suddenly stopped going to the Mannheim house.He was invited several times, but he declined without explaining the reason.Up to now, he had always been a bit too attentive, and this sudden change certainly attracted attention: everyone thought it was his "eccentricity", but the three members of the Mannheim family believed that they were not unrelated to Udis. Relationships; Mrs. Lo and Franz used to make jokes about this question at dinner.Yudice shrugged, saying that it was too wonderful to conquer a man to get this situation, and then coldly asked her brother not to keep making such jokes with her.But she did not miss the opportunity to lure Christophe back.She wrote to him on the pretext of asking him a musical question which only he could answer, and concluded by kindly mentioning that he had been so infrequently lately and that everyone was eager to see him.Christophe replied to her letter, answered her questions, and said that he was busy, but he never went.Sometimes they meet in the theater.Christophe kept turning his eyes away to avoid seeing the box of the Mannheim family; Judith wanted to give him the most charming smile, but he pretended not to even see Judith.She didn't insist either.It doesn't matter to him, and she feels that this at least artist should not waste her efforts.If he wants to come back, he will come back himself!Otherwise, forget it! ... Forget it really, it turned out; the Manzim's house wasn't very lonely at night without him.But Yutes couldn't help hating Christophe.When he was around, she didn't care about him, she thought it was normal, and he could be unhappy because of it; but if he was unhappy to the point of breaking up with him, then she thought it was arrogance, pride, selfishness without enthusiasm . ——As long as the same shortcomings are not in himself but in others, Yudis finds it intolerable. However, she paid more attention to Christophe's works and actions.She calmly teased his brother to mention these issues, told him the conversation he had with Christophe during the day, and then she made a few ironic comments, and she did not miss anything that was ridiculous. Franz's enthusiasm for Christophe subsided imperceptibly. On the magazine side, first everything is fine.Christophe hadn't seen the vulgarity of those colleagues; they also recognized his genius because he was one of his own.Mannheim, who first discovered him, had not read a word of him, and had already spread it everywhere, saying that Christophe was an excellent critic, and that he was on the wrong track as a composer. He woke up.They used mysterious wording to preview his article in the magazine, which greatly aroused the curiosity of readers.When his first review was revealed, it was like a boulder had been dropped in a duck pond in this heart-numbing town.The title is: Too Much Music! "Too much music, too much to eat, too much to drink! Everyone eats when they are not hungry, drinks when they are not thirsty, listens when they don't need to listen, just for the habit of gobbling. Like the geese in Burg. This nation is bulimic. You can give him anything. Wagner's Tristan, Seckingen's Trumpeter, Beethoven, It doesn't matter if it's Masgani, fugue, army march in two time, Atan, Bach, Puccini, Mozart, Masnier, etc. He doesn't even know what to eat, as long as he has I have to eat. I don't even feel happy when I eat. Look at him at the concert. Some people say German carnival! They don't know what fun is: they are always carnival! Their carnival and Their sorrows, too, flow like rain: joys cheap as dirt, without energy or energy. They laugh foolishly, absorbing sound, sound, sound for hours. They think nothing, Feeling nothing but sponges. True joy and true grief,—strength,—never flow for hours like beer in a barrel. It grabs you by the throat and makes you thrillingly overwhelmed , you won't want anything else later: you're already drunk! "Too much music! You spoil yourselves, spoil the music. It's your business to spoil yourselves; but music, don't be foolish! I won't let you spoil the beauty of the world, and put holy harmonies with foul things. In a single basket, insert the "Overture" of "Parsifal" between the fantasia of "The League Daughter" and the saxophone quartet, or combine Beethoven's Adagio with Native Americans or Leonga伐罗的无聊作品放在一起。你们自命为世界上最大的音乐民族，你们自命为爱音乐。可是爱哪一种音乐呢？好的还是坏的？你们不论好坏都同样的拍手喝彩。你们先挑一下行不行？究竟要哪一种？你们不知道，不愿意知道：你们怕决定，怕闹笑话……你们这种谨慎小心，替我见鬼去罢！——你们说，你们在一切偏见之上，是不是？——其实你们是被压在一切偏见之下……” 于是他引了高特弗里德·凯勒的两句诗，——那是一个苏黎世的布尔乔亚，他的光明磊落，勇于战斗的态度，本地风光的生辣的气息，是克利斯朵夫非常爱好的： “得意扬扬自命为超乎偏见之上的人， 其实是完全在偏见之下。 " 他又继续写道：“你们应当有勇气保持你们的真！应当有勇岂不怕显得丑！假如你们喜欢恶劣的音乐，就痛痛快快的说出来。把你们的本相拿出来。把你们灵魂上的不清不楚的胭脂花粉统统抹掉罢，用水洗洗干净罢。多少时候你们没有在镜中照照你们这副丑相了呢？让我来照给你们看罢。作曲家，演奏家，乐队指挥，歌唱家，还有你们，亲爱的听众，你们可以彻底明白你们是什么东西了……你们爱做什么人物都可以，但至少要真！要真，哪怕艺术和艺术家因之而受到损害也没关系！假使艺术不能和真理并存，那末就让艺术去毁灭吧！真理是生，谎言是死。” 这番激烈的血平方刚的话，再加那种不雅驯的态度，自然使大家叫起来了。可是对于这篇每个人都包括在内而没有一个人清清楚楚受到攻击的文字，谁也不愿意认为针对自己。每个人都是，都自以为，自称为真理的朋友，所以那篇文章的结论决不致受人非难。人家不过讨厌它的语气，一致认为失态，尤其是出之于一个半官方艺术家之口。一部分的音乐家开始骚动了，愤懑的抗议了：他们料到克利斯朵夫决不会这样就算了的。另外一批人自以为更聪明，去恭维克利斯朵夫有勇气，可是对他以后的文字也同样在那里惴惴不安。 抗议也好，恭维也好，结果总是一样。克利斯朵夫已经冲了出去，什么都拦不住他了；而且依着他早先说的话，作家和演奏家都免不了受到攻击。 第一批开刀的是乐队指挥。克利斯朵夫决不限于对指①挥乐队的艺术作一般性的讨论。他把本城或邻近诸城的同事一一指出姓名，或者用着极明白的隐喻，令人一望而知说的是谁。譬如，每个人都能认出那个毫无精神的宫廷乐队指挥，阿洛伊·洪·范尔奈，小心谨慎的老人，一身载满了荣誉，什么都害怕，什么都要敷衍，不敢对乐师们有何指摘，只知道俯首帖耳的跟着他们的动作。除了有过二十年的声誉，或至少经过学士院的什么大老盖过官章的作品以外，他决不敢把新作随便排入节目。克利斯朵夫用着挖苦的口吻恭维他的大胆，称赞他发见了加德，德沃夏克，柴科夫斯基；恭维他的乐队演奏准确，节拍不差毫厘，表现得细腻入微；他提议在下次音乐会中可以替他把车尔尼的《速度练习曲》配成器乐来演奏，②又劝他不要过于疲劳，过于热情，得保重身体。——再不然，克利斯朵夫对他指挥贝多芬《英雄交响曲》的作风发出愤怒的叫喊： -------- ①法、意两国，凡负责及指挥某一教堂的音乐节目的，称为教堂乐长（mai tre dechapelle）。在德国，十九世纪及以前，诸侯宫廷中的教堂乐长，亦称Kapellmeister，近代用义更广，不论教堂的、民间的、剧院的乐队指挥，均统称为Kapellmeister，比英语中的conductor多一点尊称的意味。 ②车尔尼为十九世纪钢琴家兼作曲家，所作尤多为学生练习指法用的曲子。《速度练习曲》为此种练习曲之一。 “轰啊！轰啊！给我轰死这些家伙罢！……难道你们全不知道什么叫做战斗，什么叫做对于人类的荒谬与野蛮的战斗，——还有那个一边欢笑一边把它们打倒在脚下的力吗？嘿，你们怎么会知道呢？它所攻击的就是你们！你们的英勇是在于能够听着，或忍着呵欠而演奏贝多芬的《英雄交响曲》，——（因为这个曲子使你们厌烦……那末老实说出来罢，说那个曲子使你们厌烦，厌烦得要死！）——你们的英勇还有什么表现？大概是光着脑袋，驼着背，忍着过路风而恭迎什么大人物吧。” 对于这些音乐院的长老演奏过去的名作时所用的"古典"风格，他只嫌冷嘲热讽的字不够用。 “古典！这句话把什么都包括了。自由的热情，象学校的课本一样被删改修正了！生命，这片受着长风吹打的广大的平原，——也给关在古典学院的院子中间！一颗颤动的心的犷野威武的节奏，被缩成钟锤的摆动，安安静静的，规规矩矩的，按着四拍子前进，在重拍上加强一下！……你们要把大海装入小玻璃缸，放些金鱼，才能鉴赏大海。你们要把生命扼杀之后才懂得生命。” 他对这般他称为"打包匠"式的乐队指挥固然不客气，但对"马戏班骑师"式的名指挥尤其严厉，——他们周游各地，教人家欣赏他们手舞足蹈的姿势，爬在大名家的背上显本领，把人尽皆知的作品弄得面目全非，难于辨识，在贝多芬的《第五交响曲》中表现他们的身手矫捷。克利斯朵夫把他们当做卖弄风情的老妇，走江湖的吉普赛人，走绳索的卖技者。 演奏家也是给他嘲弄的好材料。他批判他们卖弄手法的音乐会时，声明自己是外行，说这些机械的练习是属于工艺学院的范围的：时间的长短，音符的数目，耗费的精力等等，只有画成图表才能显示，才能估量它们的价值。有时，一个著名的钢琴家堆着笑脸，头发掉在眼角上，在两小时的音乐会中解决了技术上最大的困难，克利斯朵夫说他根本还不能把莫扎特的一曲简单的行板弹得象个样。 ——当然，他并非不知克服困难的乐趣。他自己也体味过来：这是人生一乐。但只看见作品的物质的一方面，认为艺术上的英勇壮烈就只有这一点，那他觉得又丑恶又可耻了。什么"钢琴之狮"，"钢琴之豹"，他都不能原谅。 ——同时他对那般在德国很出名的老学究也不大客气，因为他们苦心孤诣要保存名作的原文，便加意压制思想的奔放，并且象汉斯·冯·彪洛夫那样，表演一阕热情的奏鸣曲的时候，简直象教大家上一堂朗诵台词的课程。 ① -------- ①汉斯·冯·彪洛夫（1830—1894）为德国十九世纪最大的钢琴家和指挥家之一，此处批评其演技，系作者本人亲聆以后的评语。 歌唱家们也有挨骂的份儿。克利斯朵夫对于他们粗俗笨重的歌唱和内地式的浮夸的腔派，心中真有千言万语要说。这不但因为他记得和那位蓝衣太太的争执，而且许多使他受罪的表演更加强了他的恨意。他竟说不清他的眼睛跟耳朵哪一样更难受。至于舞台面的恶俗，服装的难看，颜色的火暴等等，克利斯朵夫因为缺少比较的材料，还不能充分的批评。他所厌恶的，尤其在于人物、举动、态度的粗俗，歌唱的不自然，演员的不能感染剧中人的精神，漠不关心的从一个角色换唱另一个角色，只要音域相仿。那些身发财发，好不得意的妇人，不管是唱伊索尔德是唱卡门，只知道卖弄自己。安福太斯居然变了费加罗！……但克利斯朵夫感觉得最清楚①的，当然是歌唱的恶劣，特别是以旋律的美为主的古典作品。德国已经没人会唱十八世纪末期的那种完美的音乐，也没人肯费心去研究了。格路克和莫扎特的清朗明净的风格，与歌德的一样，好似浴着意大利的阳光的，到韦伯已经染上狂乱颤动的气息而开始变质，到梅亚贝尔又给笨重的漫画手法变得可笑，而到瓦格纳风靡一世的时候更被完全压倒了。尖声怪叫的女武神在希腊的天空飞过。斯堪的纳维亚的神话掩蔽了南国的光明。现在再没有人想到唱音乐，只想到唱诗。细节的疏忽，丑恶的地方，甚至错误的音符，都被认为无关宏旨，借口说唯有作品的全体才重要，唯有思想才重要②…… -------- ①伊索尔德为瓦格纳歌剧《特里斯坦与伊索尔德》中的女主角，卡门为法国比才所作歌剧的女主角。两部作品的风格，女主角的性格，完全不同。安福太斯为瓦格纳歌剧《帕西法尔》中的角色，费加罗为莫扎特歌剧《费加罗的婚姻》中的角色，性质迥异，声部亦不同（一为男中音，一为男低音）。 ②以上一段均系批评瓦格纳歌剧对近代音乐的不良影响。瓦格纳对歌剧另有一套理论，意欲融音乐、诗歌、哲学、神话、戏剧于一炉。而其歌剧的歌唱风格亦另辟蹊径，此处即攻击此种风格的弊病。 “思想！好，就谈思想罢。仿佛你们是懂得思想的！……可是不管你们懂不懂，至少得尊重思想所挑选的形式。第一得让音乐成其为音乐！”