第2章

Yet，justasintheeffeteFrenchsocietybeforetheRevolutiontheQueenplayedatArcadia，theKingplayedatbeingamechanic，everyoneplayedatsimplicityanduniversalphilanthropy，leavingformostdurableoutcomeoftheirphilanthropytheguillotine，asthemostdurableoutcomeofoursmaybeexecutionbyelectricity;— soinourownsocietythetalkofbenevolenceandthecultofchildhoodaretheveryfashionofthehour。We，ofthisself— conscious，incredulousgeneration，sentimentaliseourchildren，analyseourchildren，thinkweareendowedwithaspecialcapacitytosympathiseandidentifyourselveswithchildren;weplayatbeingchildren。Andtheresultisthatwearenotmorechild—like，butourchildrenarelesschild—like。Itissotiringtostooptothechild，somucheasiertoliftthechilduptoyou。Knowyouwhatitistobeachild？Itistobesomethingverydifferentfromthemanofto—day。Itistohaveaspirityetstreamingfromthewatersofbaptism;itistobelieveinlove，tobelieveinloveliness，tobelieveinbelief;itistobesolittlethattheelvescanreachtowhisperinyourear;itistoturnpumpkinsintocoaches，andmiceintohorses，lownessintoloftiness，andnothingintoeverything，foreachchildhasitsfairygodmotherinitsownsoul;itistoliveinanutshellandtocountyourselfthekingofinfinitespace; itisToseeaworldinagrainofsand，Andaheaveninawildflower，Holdinfinityinthepalmofyourhand，Andeternityinanhour; itistoknownotasyetthatyouareundersentenceoflife，norpetitionthatitbecommutedintodeath。Whenwebecomeconsciousindreamingthatwedream，thedreamisonthepointofbreaking; whenwebecomeconsciousinlivingthatwelive，theilldreamisbutjustbeginning。NowifShelleywasbuttooconsciousofthedream，inotherrespectsDryden\'sfalseandfamouslinemighthavebeenappliedtohimwithverymuchlessthanit\'susualuntruth。{5} Tothelast，inadegreeuncommonevenamongpoets，heretainedtheidiosyncrasyofchildhood，expandedandmaturedwithoutdifferentiation。Tothelasthewastheenchantedchild。 Thiswas，asiswellknown，patentinhislife。Itisasreally，thoughperhapslessobviously，manifestinhispoetry，thesincereeffluenceofhislife。Anditmaynot，therefore，beamisstoconsiderwhetheritwasconditionedbyanythingbeyondhiscongenitalnature。Forourpart，webelieveittohavebeenequallylargelytheoutcomeofhisearlyandlongisolation。Mengiventoretirementandabstractstudyarenotoriouslyliabletocontractacertaindegreeofchildlikeness:andifthisbethecasewhenwesegregateaman，howmuchmorewhenwesegregateachild！Itiswhentheyaretakenintothesolutionofschool—lifethatchildren，bythereciprocalinterchangeofinfluencewiththeirfellows，undergotheseriesofreactionswhichconvertsthemfromchildrenintoboysandfromboysintomen。Theintermediatestagemustbetraversedtoreachthefinalone。 NowShelleynevercouldhavebeenaman，forheneverwasaboy。 Andthereasonlayinthepersecutionwhichovercloudedhisschool— days。Ofthatpersecution\'seffectuponhim，hehasleftus，inTheRevoltofIslam，apicturewhichtomanyormostpeopleveryprobablyseemsapoeticalexaggeration;partlybecauseShelleyappearstohaveescapedphysicalbrutality，partlybecauseadultsareinclinedtosmiletenderlyatchildishsorrowswhicharenotcausedbyphysicalsuffering。Thatheescapedforthemostpartbodilyviolenceisnothingtothepurpose。Itisthepettymalignantannoyancerecurringhourbyhour，daybyday，monthbymonth，untilitsaccumulationbecomesanagony;itisthiswhichisthemostterribleweaponthatboyshaveagainsttheirfellowboy，whoispowerlesstoshunitbecause，unliketheman，hehasvirtuallynoprivacy。Hisisthetorturewhichtheancientsused，whentheyanointedtheirvictimwithhoneyandexposedhimnakedtotherestlessfeveroftheflies。HeisalittleSt。Sebastian，sinkingundertheincessantflightofshaftswhichskilfullyavoidthevitalparts。 Wedonot，therefore，suspectShelleyofexaggeration:hewas，nodoubt，interriblemisery。Thosewhothinkotherwisemustforgettheirownpast。Mostpeople，wesuppose，MUSTforgetwhattheywerelikewhentheywerechildren:otherwisetheywouldknowthatthegriefsoftheirchildhoodwerepassionateabandonment，DECHIRANTS （touseacharacteristicallyfavouritephraseofmodernFrenchliterature）asthegriefsoftheirmaturity。Children\'sgriefsarelittle，certainly;butsoisthechild，soisitsendurance，soisitsfieldofvision，whileitsnervousimpressionabilityiskeenerthanours。Griefisamatterofrelativity;thesorrowshouldbeestimatedbyitsproportiontothesorrower;agashisaspainfultooneasanamputationtoanother。Pourapuddleintoathimble，oranAtlanticintoEtna;boththimbleandmountainoverflow。Adultfools，wouldnottheangelssmileatourgriefs，werenotangelstoowisetosmileatthem？ Sobeset，thechildfledintothetowerofhisownsoul，andraisedthedrawbridge。Hethrewoutareserve，encystedinwhichhegrewtomaturityunaffectedbytheintercoursesthatmodifythematurityofothersintothethingwecallaman。Theencystedchilddevelopeduntilitreachedyearsofvirility，untilthoselaterOxforddaysinwhichHoggencounteredit;then，burstingatoncefromitscystandtheuniversity，itswamintoaworldnotillegitimatelyperplexedbysuchawhimofthegods。Itwas，ofcourse，onlythecompletenessanddurationofthisseclusion— lastingfromthegateofboyhoodtothethresholdofyouth—whichwaspeculiartoShelley。Mostpoets，probably，likemostsaints，arepreparedfortheirmissionbyaninitialsegregation，astheseedisburiedtogerminate:beforetheycanuttertheoracleofpoetry，theymustfirstbedividedfromthebodyofmen。Itistheseveredheadthatmakestheseraph。 Shelley\'slifefrequentlyexhibitsinhimthemagnifiedchild。Itisseeninhisfondnessforapparentlyfutileamusements，suchasthesailingofpaperboats。Thiswas，inthetruestsenseoftheword，child—like;not，asitisfrequentlycalledandconsidered，childish。Thatistosay，itwasnotamindlesstriviality，butthegenuinechild\'spowerofinvestinglittlethingswithimaginativeinterest;thesamepower，thoughdifferentlydevoted，whichproducedmuchofhispoetry。VerypossiblyinthepaperboathesawthemagicbarkofLaonandCythna，orThatthinnestboatInwhichthemotherofthemonthsisborneByebbingnightintoherwesterncave。 Infact，ifyoumarkhowfavouriteanidea，undervaryingforms，isthisinhisverse，youwillperceivethatallthecharmedboatswhichglidedownthestreamofhispoetryarebutglorifiedresurrectionsofthelittlepaperargosieswhichtrembleddowntheIsis。 AndthechildappearednolessofteninShelleythephilosopherthaninShelleytheidler。Itisseeninhisrepellentnolessthaninhisamiableweaknesses;intheunteachablefollyofalovethatmadeitsgoalitsstarting—point，andfirmlyexpectedspiritualrestfromeachnewdivinity，thoughithadfoundnonefromthedivinitiesantecedent。Forweareclearthatthiswasnomerestrayingofsensualappetite，butastraying，strangeanddeplorable，ofthespirit;that（contrarytowhatMr。CoventryPatmorehassaid）heleftawomannotbecausehewastiredofherarms，butbecausehewastiredofhersoul。WhenhefoundMaryShelleywanting，heseemstohavefallenintothemistakeofWordsworth，whocomplainedinacharmingpieceofunreasonablenessthathiswife\'slove，whichhadbeenafountain，wasnowonlyawell: Suchchange，andattheverydoorOfmyfondheart，hathmademepoor。