Chapter 34 Emile (Volume Five) Section Seven

No matter what class of family he was born into, no matter what kind of social occasion he first entered, he was simple and unassuming.God bless, don't let him be too good in society!All those qualities that at first glance seem to be excellent, he does not have, and he does not want to have them.He doesn't care what others say, so he is not influenced by their prejudices; before others don't understand him, he doesn't care whether others respect him or not.When meeting people, his manner is neither shy nor arrogant, but natural and authentic; he neither feels restrained nor puts on an affectation; Exactly the same as when he was alone.Does it make him crude, arrogant and contemptuous?On the contrary; if he does not despise others when he is alone, how can he despise them when he is with them?The reason why he doesn't like to imitate them and prefer to keep his own is because he doesn't think they are superior to him, but he doesn't show an attitude of indifference to them, because he doesn't have such skills at all. kind of attitude.If he didn't know a set of outward etiquette, he did understand people's concern for people.He couldn't bear to see people suffer, and he would never give up his place to another person with hypocrisy, but if he saw another person being ignored by people, and it seemed to him that person was really At this time, he will give his seat to that person out of good intentions; because my students think that it is better to stand up and take the seat by themselves than to see others standing there. Let him be more comfortable.

Generally speaking, although Emile did not think highly of others, he showed no contempt for them, because he had great sympathy and concern for them.When he was unable to make them apprehend the real good, he kept them in the verbal good they liked, lest they should lose it and be in a worse situation.Therefore, he neither argues with them nor refute them; he does not please anyone, nor flatters anyone; Yu loves everything, and frankness is one of the best expressions of freedom. He seldom speaks, because he does not wish to draw attention to him; for this reason, he only speaks of meaningful things, otherwise, why would he speak?Emile was well-bred, so she could never be a slut.The reason why we go on and on and on and on is either due to the pretentious psychology I will talk about later, or because we are too preoccupied with trivial things, and it is foolish to think that other people are the same as we are. It's important to take these things seriously.A man who knows enough about things to estimate them properly never speaks too much; for he can judge at the same time whether he is being listened to, and whether he is impressed by what he has to say. interest.Generally speaking, people with little knowledge speak a lot; people with a lot of knowledge speak very little.The reason is very simple, because an ignorant person always thinks that what he knows is very important and he should tell everyone when he sees it.However, an educated person does not easily show off the knowledge in his belly. He can talk about many things, but he thinks there are many things he can't say well, so he keeps his mouth shut.

Not only did Emile not resist other people's manners, but he followed their manners himself. The purpose was not to show that he knew those rules, nor to pretend to be polite. On the contrary, He is afraid of attracting attention, afraid of being seen as different; because he feels comfortable only when others don't pay attention to him. Although he has stepped into a social situation, he is absolutely ignorant of how it is done, but he does not feel shy and timid because of it; he does not hide behind other people because he feels cramped, but because he wants to observe them well and cannot let them see him.He doesn't mind what others think of him; he is not afraid of others' ridicule.Therefore, he can always maintain a calm mind and a clear mind, so that he will not disturb himself with unnecessary worries.Whether people pay attention to him or not, he always does his best; at the same time, because he can observe others attentively at all times, he can clearly see the meaning of their actions; People who are fooled by conventional wisdom cannot do it.We may say that he was quick to understand their methods precisely because he did not take them at all.

Don't mistake his demeanor, you can't compare his demeanor with those of those dudes.His expression is poised without conceit, his manner calm without arrogance.Roughness is for a slave, not for an independent man.I've never seen a man of noble mind show his nobility in words; the air of affectation belongs to the wicked and empty-hearted, for they have nothing else to show but this air .I once read in a book that one day a foreigner walked into the living room of the famous dancer Marcel, and Marcel asked him which country he was from, "I am British," The foreigner replied. "You are an Englishman!" continued Marcel. "Are you from that island country where citizens take part in the affairs of state and are an integral part of sovereignty? No, sir, look at your bowed head, shy eyes, and restless movements." Your appearance shows that you are nothing but a slave who is called a voter in name."

I do not know whether these words can show that he has a clear understanding of the real relationship between a person's character and appearance.As for me, who is not as respectable as a dance master, the opinion is just the opposite.I will say: "This Englishman is not a flatterer, and I have never heard of a flatterer with his head bowed and his movements restless; one who looks shy in a dancer's parlour. In the House of Representatives it is not necessarily so." There is no doubt that this Monsieur Marcel regarded every one of his countrymen as Romans. When we love others, we also want others to love us.Emile loved his companion, and he wanted his companion to love him.Besides, from a more important reason, he wanted to please women; his age, his character, and his purpose all urged him to this desire.I speak of his character, because his character will play a great part in this; the man of character is the one who really respects women, and they don't parrot a lot of gallantry like other people do. words, but they have a very real and tender passion that comes from within.Even if there are thousands of licentiousness mixed with a young woman, I can recognize the man of virtue and self-control who stands with them.Since Emile has such a fiery heart on the one hand, and such a strong reason to resist desire on the other hand, let us think about how he will behave!In order to be near them, I believe he will sometimes feel shy and uneasy; Will find a way to make him more like this.In addition, his enthusiastic expression will also change significantly with the identity of the other party.He is very stable and respectful to married women, and he is more lively and gentle to unmarried women.He never loses sight of what he is looking for, and his attention is always on those who are like him.

No one can more properly honor man according to the order of nature and the order of good society than Emile; but he always respects man first according to the order of nature and then according to the order of society. ; he has more respect for a commoner who is older than he is for an official of his own age.As one of the young men in society, he was always extremely humble, not from a desire to appear humble, but from a natural feeling based on reason.He did not put on an air of insolence and worldliness like those young men who pretend to be wise, who, to please their company, talk louder than wise men, and in old age When people speak, they often interject and interrupt their conversation; Louis XV once asked an old gentleman whether he liked his age or the present age, and the old man replied: "Your Majesty, when I was young, I wanted to be everywhere. Respect the old, and now that I am old, I have to respect the young in every way." In Emile's opinion, he did not think that the old gentleman's answer was correct.

He had a tender heart for human beings, but he was never swayed by common opinion, though he took pleasure in pleasing others, and he cared little if they thought of him or not.Therefore, we can say that he is sincere to people, not just polite, he will never be arrogant and put on airs; if you show concern for him once, his heart will be touched more than thousands of compliments.For the same reason he pays attention to his appearance and manners, and he may even pay attention to his clothes, not because he wants to appear to be a gentleman, but to make his appearance more lovable; Splendid, he never let the gorgeous clothes spoil his demeanor.

All this, as you will see, did not require me to teach him, but was entirely the result of his childhood education.People give the customs of society a thick layer of mystery, as if a person does not understand them automatically even when he is old enough to understand them, as if they do not exist in an honest heart. It's like the basic law!True politeness is manifested in kindness to people: it is not difficult for a person with good intentions to express his politeness to others; only those who have no kindness should force an appearance of politeness. "The greatest evil of customary politeness is that it teaches people a way of doing things that do not actually follow the morals it enshrines. If, in educating us, our humanity and the spirit of good will are inspired, we shall be courteous to men Yes, or rather, we don't need to be polite.

"Though we do not have the manners to be gentle, we have the manners to be honest men and citizens, and we need not play with falsehood. "In order to be liked by others, we don't need to be so pretentious, as long as we are kind; we don't need to tell lies to perfunctory others' weaknesses, as long as we adopt a tolerant attitude. No matter what Man, if we treat him in this way, it will neither make him proud nor corrupt him; he will appreciate it, and become better than he was." I think that if any kind of education can produce the courtesy which M. Duclos demands in this passage of his, it is the kind of education which I have advocated from the beginning to the present.

I think that, by such a different method of education, Emile will make a man quite different from the world, and may God bless him never to be like the world!However, although he is different from others, he will never be disliked and ridiculed: the difference may be significant, but it will not offend others.If you like, you can see Emile as a lovely Gentile.At first, everyone forgave him for his strangeness, saying "he can be taught well in the future".Later, everyone got used to his behavior and found that he hadn't changed much, so they still forgave him, saying "he was born like this".

He is not praised by everyone like a romantic and unrestrained person, but everyone still likes him, although they can't tell the reason why they like him; although everyone doesn't praise how talented he is, they are willing to ask him to judge him. his knowledge may be simple and limited, but his mind is clear, and his judgments are exact.He is never unconventional, so he does not boast of his intelligence to others.I have made him understand that all the wholesome and really useful ideas, which man first knew, were at all times the only true bonds in society, and that the ambitious want to make them If I appear to be extraordinary, I have no choice but to spread some ideas that are poisonous to human beings.Such a method of gaining the respect of others, he will not adopt; he knows both where to find his happiness and how to promote it.The extent of his knowledge extends only to beneficial things.The path he walks is narrow but definite; and since he has no intention of departing from it, he will not lose his way or show off even if he mixes with the crowd.Emile was a man of sound mind and body, and he did not want to be great; for the title was intended to be insulted to him, and he always considered it an honor to have it. He has a desire to make others happy, so he is not absolutely indifferent to what others say; but in other people's opinions, he only pays attention to the part that directly concerns him personally, and he does not care about arbitrary randomness. He does not care what he says, for it is entirely at the mercy of fashion and prejudice.He is very self-respecting and tries his best no matter what he does, and hopes to do better than others: when running a race, he should run the briskest; At times, he wants to be better than his companions, to be more familiar than them; he doesn't want to be better than others, and if he wants to be better than others, he must make his superiority obvious from the facts themselves, and Don't have to wait for others to judge him, such as judging whether he is smarter than another person, whether he is more talkative or more learned, etc.; he does not want his superiority to be superior to some external things, such as birth Nobler than others, richer than others, more prestigious than others, more airy than others in appearance. He loves all men, because they are men like himself; but he especially loves those who are most like him, because he thinks he is a good man; It is based on whether the person agrees with him about moral conduct, and therefore he is very fond of being praised in everything that requires good character.He will not say to himself: "I am happy because everyone praises me"; but he will say to himself: "I am happy because everyone praises what I do is a good thing; I like these things very much." the praise of men, for they themselves are praiseworthy; and since their judgments are very wise, it is well to be honored by them." When he was studying history, he used to study people according to their desires, but now that he has entered the society, he will study people according to their fashions. He will always think about the fashions that people like or dislike.Now, he wants to conduct philosophical research on the principles of human aesthetics, which is exactly the right time for him to do such research in the current period. The more we delve into the definition of aesthetics, the ability to judge what most people like or dislike, the more confused we become.If you don't look at it this way, you won't be able to understand what aesthetics is.But it does not follow from this that men of taste are in the majority; for, though the majority can judge wisely about everything, few men judge as much about all things; and, though the greatest The combination of most people's hobbies is good fashion, but few people know fashion, just as: although the most common feature is beauty, there are still very few beautiful people. Note that the question here is not that we love something because it works for us and hate something because it hurts us.Our aesthetic power is only used on some unimportant things, or, at most, only on some interesting things, and not on the things necessary for life. Aesthetic, as long as we have an appetite.It is for this reason that it is difficult, and seems capricious, for us to make pure judgments in aesthetics, for the aesthetic power is subject to instinct, and we cannot find such judgments except instinct. reason.We also have to distinguish its laws in the spiritual realm from its laws in the material realm.In the realm of matter, the principle of aesthetics seems absolutely inexplicable.But it should be noted that all imitation behaviors contain spiritual factors, which can explain why "beauty" seems to be material on the surface, but in fact it is not material.I would like to add that the standard of aesthetics is local. The beauty or not of many things depends on the customs and political system of a place; Different from each other, and in this respect our principles of aesthetics are indisputable. Aesthetic ability is born in every person, but not everyone's aesthetic ability is equal, and the degree of its development is also different; moreover, everyone's aesthetic ability will vary due to various reasons. Variety.The size of a person's possible aesthetic power depends on his natural sensibility; while its cultivation and form depend on the social environment in which he lives.First, we must have lived in several social environments before we can make many comparisons.Second, we also need places for entertainment and leisure, because in business dealings we do not follow interests but interests.Thirdly, there is a need for social occasions in which inequalities are neither marked nor the pressure of prejudice too great, and where sensuality rather than vanity is pursued; For, on the contrary, the fashion of the moment will overwhelm the inclinations of men, and make them choose something not whether it is to their liking, but only whether it will attract their attention. In the latter case it would be wrong to say that good manners are the taste of the majority.why?Because the purpose has changed.Therefore, the opinion of most people is not their own opinion, but the opinion of those who they think are superior to them; they say what those people say; they do not praise something because it is good , but because those people are praising it.Let every man have his own opinion at all times, and what the majority praises must be good in itself. The beauty expressed in things made by man is entirely imitative.The type of all true beauty is found in nature.The more we disobey the instructions of this teacher, the less decent we do.We choose our models, therefore, from among the things we like; and as for the beauty of fictions, they are judged solely by human whim and authority, and therefore only by virtue of those who govern Our people like it, that's why we call it beautiful. Artists, great men, and millionaires rule us, and their interests and vanities rule them.They compete to find novel ways of spending money, either to show off their wealth or to profit from it.Therefore, the habit of extravagance can be eliminated, so that people prefer things that are difficult to obtain and expensive.Therefore, the so-called beauty of the world not only does not resemble nature, but insists on being the opposite of nature.This is why luxury and bad fashion are always inseparable.Where there is luxury, there is bad fashion. Especially in the communication between men and women, aesthetic power is easy to show whether it is good or bad; its cultivation is bound to be affected by the objects it contacts in this communication.But since the pleasure of each other is diluted by the various conveniences of intercourse between men and women, the sense of taste must be degraded; and I think we find here another reason which best shows that good manners depend on good morals. . In things that are tangible and that require the judgment of the senses, the preferences of women should be considered; in things that are spiritual and that require the judgment of the intellect, the preferences of men should be considered.When women do act like women, they only ask what they are capable of asking, and their judgments are often quite right; but when they insist on criticizing literature, saying Their opinions are useless when this book is well done and that book is not well done, and when all their energies are devoted to making it.If a bookmaker asks female bachelors for his books, he will make a mess; if a fashionable man asks women for advice on how to dress, he will dress ridiculously.I shall shortly speak of the real talents of women, of the methods of cultivating their talents, and of the matters in which their advice should be heard. When I talked with Emile about the things he had to pay attention to in his current environment and the research work he was engaged in, I took the above basic points as principles.Who can say that such things have nothing to do with him?Not only the person who needs help should know what makes a person like or dislike, but also the person who helps others should have a deep understanding of this; you must first like him, and then you can like it. He helps; and as long as you write to illustrate the truth, the method of expression is never a dull thing. If, in order to cultivate the aesthetic power of my students, I had to choose between some countries whose aesthetics have not yet been formed and those whose aesthetics has been corrupted, the order of my choices is reversed; I choose the latter first, Then choose the country in front of you.The reason for this choice is: the reason for the corruption of aesthetics is that the aesthetics is too delicate, and the places that most people can't see are specially selected for appreciation.To be too delicate would be contentious; for the finer our distinctions between things, the more we need to distinguish them, and it would be difficult to agree on the finer points of beauty.Therefore, there are as many aesthetic views as there are people.Arguing about one's preferences enlarges the range of philosophy and one's knowledge so that one can learn how to think.Only those who have been widely involved in various social occasions can appreciate them delicately, because they have to see all the beauties before they can notice the subtle differences. As for those who do not often go to crowded places Humans, when they look at aesthetics, they only look at the big picture.Perhaps there is no civilized place in the present world where the general manners of the people are so bad as in Paris, but it is in this capital that good manners are formed; Not one of them had not been educated in Paris.Anyone who thinks that it is enough to read only the books published in Paris is sure to be deceived; for we can learn more from a conversation with an author than from reading their books; An educated man is not yet a writer.Only by relying on the spirit of society can a thinking mind be developed and his eyesight see as far as possible.If you have a little genius, please go to Paris and live for a year, and you will be able to fully develop your talent immediately, otherwise you will accomplish nothing. We may learn how to use our minds where morals are bad, but we must never think the same way as those who have been infected with them; but it is difficult to do so if we are with them for a long time. little bit.We should use their thoughts to improve the instruments with which we judge, if only to avoid their use.I will take great care to cultivate Emile's judgment, so as not to corrupt it; when his eyesight is sufficiently keen to recognize and compare people's preferences, I will lead him to concentrate his taste It is used to appreciate those relatively simple things. In order to preserve his healthy and pure aesthetic power, I have to start from the shallow and proceed slowly and sequentially.In the midst of this rambling, dissolute crowd, I shall seek opportunities for useful conversation with him; and what I shall speak of shall always be those which please him, and I shall be careful to make what I say amusing as well as instructive. significance.Now is the time to read interesting books, now is the time to teach him to analyze sentences and appreciate the beauty of eloquence and diction.There is little point in learning to speak for the sake of speaking; speaking is not as useful as people think, but the study of the method of speaking leads inevitably to the study of grammar in general.To learn French well, one must learn Latin well; the two languages ​​must be studied and compared with each other, in order to understand well the laws of the art of speaking. In addition, there is a very simple way of speaking that is very touching, and this simple way can only be found in the writings of the ancients.Emile discovered that the ancients' defenses, poems and various literary works, like their history books, were rich in content and cautious in making judgments.On the contrary, when our contemporary writers write articles, they say a lot, but they have very little content.To repeatedly impose their judgments on us as if they were laws is not the way to train us to make our own judgments.The difference between the two styles can be seen on all monuments, even on tombstones.Our tombstones are full of praises, but on the tombstones of the ancients, they only talk about deeds: Passers-by, please stop and think about this hero. When I see this epitaph on an ancient tombstone, I may at first take it as written by a contemporary, for there is nothing more heroic in our time, and in Among the ancients, there were very few heroes.They don't say a man is a hero, they only say what he did to become such a man.Compared with the tombstone of the hero above, let us look at the tombstone of the cowardly Sadnapelus: