第 50 节
作者:生在秋天      更新:2023-05-17 13:24      字数:9322
  in   all   things。  He   disputes;   not   government;   but   the   form   of   it。    The
  policeman is to him a religion; and; one feels; will always remain so。                    In
  England   we   regard   our   man   in   blue   as   a   harmless   necessity。      By   the
  average     citizen   he   is  employed     chiefly   as  a  signpost;    though    in  busy
  quarters of the town he is considered useful for taking old ladies across the
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  road。    Beyond   feeling   thankful   to   him   for   these   services;   I   doubt   if   we
  take    much    thought    of   him。    In   Germany;     on   the   other   hand;   he   is
  worshipped as a little god and loved as a guardian angel。                To the German
  child he is a combination of Santa Clans and the Bogie Man。                     All good
  things come from him:          Spielplatze to play in; furnished with swings and
  giant…strides; sand heaps to fight around; swimming baths; and fairs。                  All
  misbehaviour is punished by him。             It is the hope of every well…meaning
  German boy and girl to please the police。            To be smiled at by a policeman
  makes it conceited。       A German child that has been patted on the head by a
  policeman is not fit to live with; its self…importance is unbearable。
  The German citizen is a soldier; and the policeman is his officer。 The
  policeman directs him where in the street to walk; and how fast to walk。
  At the end of each bridge stands a policeman to tell the German how to
  cross it。    Were there no policeman there; he would probably sit down and
  wait   till   the   river   had   passed   by。 At   the   railway   station   the   policeman
  locks him up in the waiting…room; where he can do no harm to himself。
  When the proper time arrives; he fetches him out and hands him over to
  the guard of the train; who is only a policeman in another uniform。                   The
  guard tells him where to sit in the train; and when to get out; and sees that
  he   does   get   out。 In   Germany   you   take   no   responsibility   upon   yourself
  whatever。      Everything      is  done   for  you;   and   done   well。   You     are  not
  supposed to look after yourself; you are not blamed for being incapable of
  looking after yourself; it is the duty of the German policeman to look after
  you。    That     you   may   be   a  helpless   idiot  does   not   excuse    him   should
  anything happen to you。          Wherever you are and whatever you are doing
  you are in his charge; and he takes care of yougood care of you; there is
  no denying this。
  If you lose yourself; he finds you; and if you lose anything belonging
  to you; he recovers it for you。         If you don't know what you want; he tells
  you。    If you want anything that is good for you to have; he gets it for you。
  Private lawyers are not needed in Germany。               If you want to buy or sell a
  house   or   field;   the   State   makes   out   the   conveyance。  If   you   have   been
  swindled;   the   State   takes   up   the   case   for   you。 The   State   marries   you;
  insures you; will even gamble with you for a trifle。
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  〃You get yourself born;〃 says the German Government to the German
  citizen;   〃we   do   the   rest。  Indoors   and   out   of   doors;   in   sickness   and   in
  health; in pleasure and in work; we will tell you what to do; and we will
  see to it that you do it。      Don't you worry yourself about anything。〃
  And the German doesn't。            Where there is no policeman to be found;
  he wanders about till he comes to a police notice posted on a wall。 This he
  reads; then he goes and does what it says。
  I remember in one German townI forget which; it is immaterial; the
  incident could have happened in anynoticing an open gate leading to a
  garden     in   which    a  concert    was   being    given。    There     was    nothing    to
  prevent     anyone     who    chose   from    walking     through    that   gate;  and   thus
  gaining   admittance   to   the   concert   without   paying。        In   fact;   of   the   two
  gates   quarter   of   a   mile   apart   it   was   the   more   convenient。   Yet   of   the
  crowds      that  passed;    not   one   attempted     to  enter   by   that   gate。   They
  plodded steadily on under a blazing sun to the other gate; at which a man
  stood   to   collect   the   entrance   money。      I   have   seen   German   youngsters
  stand longingly by the margin of a lonely sheet of ice。                  They could have
  skated on that ice for hours; and nobody have been the wiser。                   The crowd
  and   the   police   were   at   the   other   end;   more   than   half   a   mile   away;   and
  round the corner。        Nothing stopped their going on but the knowledge that
  they    ought    not。   Things      such   as  these    make    one   pause    to  seriously
  wonder whether the Teuton be a member of the sinful human family or not。
  Is   it   not   possible   that   these   placid;   gentle   folk   may  in   reality  be   angels;
  come down to earth for the sake of a glass of beer; which; as they  must
  know; can only in Germany be obtained worth the drinking?
  In Germany the country roads are lined with fruit trees。                  There is no
  voice     to  stay   man    or  boy   from    picking    and    eating   the   fruit;  except
  conscience。       In    England     such    a  state  of   things   would     cause    public
  indignation。      Children would die of cholera by the hundred。 The medical
  profession   would   be   worked   off   its   legs   trying   to   cope   with   the   natural
  results   of   over…indulgence       in  sour   apples   and   unripe    walnuts。     Public
  opinion would demand that these fruit trees should be fenced about; and
  thus rendered harmless。          Fruit growers; to save themselves the expense of
  walls and palings; would not be allowed in this manner to spread sickness
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  and death throughout the community。
  But in Germany a boy will walk for miles down a lonely road; hedged
  with fruit trees; to buy a pennyworth of pears in the village at the other end。
  To pass these unprotected fruit trees; drooping under their burden of ripe
  fruit;   strikes   the Anglo…Saxon   mind   as   a   wicked   waste   of   opportunity;   a
  flouting of the blessed gifts of Providence。
  I do not know if it be so; but from what I have observed of the German
  character I should not be surprised to hear that when a man in Germany is
  condemned to death he is given a piece of rope; and told to go and hang
  himself。     It would save the State much trouble and expense; and I can see
  that German criminal taking that piece of rope home with him; reading up
  carefully the police instructions; and proceeding to carry them out in his
  own back kitchen。
  The   Germans      are   a  good   people。    On    the   whole;    the  best  people
  perhaps in the world; an amiable; unselfish; kindly people。                I am positive
  that   the   vast   majority   of   them   go   to   Heaven。 Indeed;   comparing   them
  with    the   other   Christian    nations    of  the   earth;  one    is  forced   to  the
  conclusion   that   Heaven   will   be   chiefly   of   German   manufacture。        But   I
  cannot     understand     how    they   get  there。   That     the  soul   of  any   single
  individual German has sufficient initiative to fly up by itself and knock at
  St。 Peter's door; I cannot believe。 My own opinion is that they are taken
  there    in  small   companies;     and   passed    in  under   the   charge   of   a  dead
  policeman。
  Carlyle said of the Prussians; and it is true of the whole German nation;
  that one of their chief   virtues was their power   of being drilled。              Of   the
  Germans you might say they are a people who will go anywhere; and do
  anything;   they   are   told。   Drill   him   for   the   work   and   send   him   out   to
  Africa or Asia under charge of somebody in uniform; and he is bound to
  make an excellent colonist; facing difficulties as he would face the devil
  himself; if ordered。       But   it   is   not   easy  to   conceive of   him  as   a   pioneer。
  Left to run himself; one feels he would soon fade away and die; not from
  any lack of intelligence; but from sheer want of presumption。
  The German has so long been the soldier of Europe; that the military
  instinct has entered into his blood。           The militar