书城文学吕碧城文选集
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第28章 普告教育家

凡负有教育青年之责任者,须知男女儿童必期其成长为良善之人。盖战争之危险恐怖,吾人遭受已久,亟应解除之,但如何方能养成良善必先摈其自私自利之习。欲免战争,须知战争系由何种精神产生而出,则应断绝其根株。归结言之,吾人皆负有战争之罪,其祸根即在吾人人之身,不能辞其咎。吾人对于不相知者,则怀疑,相知者则生媢忌。苟不伤及吾人自己之生命者,则对他类之痛苦,熟视无睹,漠不关心。吾人从不自承其所享之物质文明,系向动物作无限之侵略而来。动物之痛苦,其较小部分虽由无知残忍之人等所直接施行。(如屠户猎户等)然大部分皆由吾人间接指使所致,不能推诿也。动物与人之关系,可分为二大部,一为吾人所豢养者,一为天然之野物。吾人对此二部,皆大违反其自然之律,惯行生杀予夺之权。第一部赅括豢养为伴侣者(如猫狗鸟等)、工作游戏者(如牛马及射钓等事)、科学之试验者(如医学中之活剖)屠为食品者。凡此种种,彼等天然之状况及生涯,吾人一概否认之。干涉其牝牡生殖,拘囿之终身如囚犯,随意置之死敌,处处使受“无必需”之痛苦。第二部则赅括一切野物,彼等为牺牲品,供给狩猎射钓者、博物院之搜集者、动物园之采办者、马戏场之售与者,以及捕鲸者、拔翎者、皮毛货品之设机括者。(吾人所衣之皮质,皆由猎人以设阱陷或机括取得。)凡野物类之受害者,其中尤以皮货商所肆之毒,较其它各种为烈。每日画夜,无论何时,皆有百千之生物,宛转撑札。痛苦呼号于猎人之机括上,如此吾人方得着皮衣。千万牲畜轮流等待其惨酷之死于屠场,如此吾人方得食肉。屠杀之总计,每年至若干万万。野禽野兽之遭猎杀,速于彼等生殖之数。方今世界中之生物,已有若干类,灭种绝迹,永不再见,距野物完全灭种之期,已不甚远矣。吾人所施行者,实系一种战争。此战争施于吾人之同时生存于宇宙之伴侣,彼等既无保护,对吾人亦无雠怨及侵害。吾人虽不尽知此种状况,然其所以成为此种状况,致有今日之地步者,人人皆为原动力,而负有责任焉。吾人须急救彼等,否则虽欲挽救而永远无及。但此问题,关于心理与境遇有相等之重要。人类乃富于摹仿性者,因仿效而后成理性之人。若其每日所行之事,按常不变的于教育之训言相反,则虽有教育,亦不能接受遵从。现有种种矛盾相反之事,介于吾人之教育与行事之间。即空言之教训,于事实之榜样,不相调和也。吾人皆言生命乃天赐者也,杀之则为罪恶,然而豢养物类使生殖以供屠杀则无罪。吾人皆知剥夺“自由”为谬,然而野鸟野兽,捕至笼中,终身囚禁,以供吾人之赏玩。吾人皆知杀伤残害之行为为罪,然而鸟兽则被毁裂肢体,寸磔碎脔,种种惨刑,谓为医学试验,或吾人因此得食肉及着衣裘。凡此种种行为态度,以全无援助之动物为牺牲,养成习惯,认为宇宙之自然律。但吾人之“良知”不承认吾人诡辩所援,待遇较弱之同类人群以及待遇更弱之同类动物二者间之“区别”(知诡辩乃怙恶饰非之词),由此而不可免之结果,遂产生自信之定见,深植根蒂,成为下意识。其识为何?即是就利害计划。吾人不宜伤害本类之人群或其它国家。盖恐彼等施其报复伤害于吾人而已,若吾人有较强之力抵御之,则无妨也。由此彼等观念,遂播植疑忌瞋恨之种子。吾人虽欲铲除其根芽,但吾人之行为,乃继续培植之,使滋荣新盛。此种空气,益以所标明对他类因吾而受之痛苦,漠不相关之主义,使吾人之儿童生长其间。欲求和平,岂可得乎。除非吾人所求之和平注明系自私自利,及吾人所教训之人道博爱系伪善系假君子之谈,则吾人对于自己日常之行为,应作密切之反省。吾人应承认人类与物类间理性之标准,施以公道,以替代表面上肤浅之小仁小惠。不得因欲餍足吾人之利益、浮华、安适之故,而伤害彼等。吾人欲求达到合于此等有理性之标准,或甚为难。但虽不能完全符合,至少吾人应以诚实之态度,自认其缺点,努力向此标准进行,以力之可能为止。且定此标准为蒙童教育之始,为一部分之基础。彼等(指儿童)之生命,当以此构造而成也。

附J。I,Cather 君原稿如左:

To All Who Teach

It must be the most earnest desire of all who are concerned in teaching the young that children should grow up into kindly men and women,and that the menace of war,under which we have lived so long,should be lifted from them。

But,to arouse kindliness,we must overcome selfishness,and to remove the menace of war it is necessary to do away with the spirit of which it is born。Ultimately,it is within each of us that the trouble lies。We are full of fears of the unknown,of jealousies of others whom we do know and,unfortunately,of indifference to the suffering which does not touch our own lives or which wo do not see。

Our civilization,though we may not realize it,depends to an ever-increasing extent upon exploitation of the animal kindom。Only a comparatively small part of the suffering which results is due to the actions of ignorant and,therefore,brutal men。The greater part is inflicated either by or on behalf of people who cannot plead ignorance as an excuse。

In this relationship to mankind,we may consider the animal kingdom to be divided into two great groups:those animals which we breed,and the wild animals。Over both groups we claim and exercise the sovereign powers of life and death:in both we grossly abuse nature。

The first group includes animals bred for companionship,industry,sport,scientific experiment and food。In all these cases the natural conditions of animal life are denied:in many,the sex life of the animal is interfered with,it lives in confinement,its death-occurring at our pleasure-is often accompanied with great and needless suffering。

In the second group almost all wild creatures are included。It provides the victimms of sportsmen,collectors for museums,agents of menageries and circuses,whalers,feather hunters,fur trappers-the lastmentioned casuing more toument and destruction than all the others together。

At every moment of the day or night hundreds of creatures ate struggling and screaming in traps that we may wear furs,hundreds are waiting in terror their turn at the shambles that we may be fed。The tale of slaughter mounts by hundreds of millions ecery year。Wild animals are being killed off more rapidly than they are being born:many species have already vanished from the earth and the enrite extermination of wild creatures seems now not cery far away。It is a ceritable war which we are conducting;and a war against fellow-creatures which hace no enmity against us and no defence。

However ignorant we may hace been,every one of us must bear responsibility for these present conditions。We need to remedy them quickly,or they will be for ever beyond remedy。

But the problem is one which affects psychology as well as circum stances。Man is an imitative before he becomes a reasoning being,and will not follow teaching which is invariably contradicted by practice。There are irreconcilable inconsistencies between our precept and our example。Life,we say,is the gifr of god,and it is an ecil thing to destroy it:but it is no offence to breed animals in order that they may be killed for amusement or for food。It is wrong to take away liberty:but wild animals may be captured and caged for their whole lives for our gratification。It is wrong to terrify and torment:but animals may be hunted and torn to pieces,and maimed and tortured in the name of research or in order that their skins may be made into coats。

We affirm by our actions and our attitude that this remorseless victimization of entirely helpless creatures is the natural order of the world。Our consciousness does not recognize the distinction which our casuistry draws between our treatment of the weak human being and the weaker animal。The inevitable result is a conviction-deeply implanted and sometimes sub-conscious-that it is inadcisable to injure other human beijings,or nations,only because they may be able to retaliate upon us,and that they will injure us unless we are strong enough to resisr them。Yhus are sown the seeds of suspicion,jealousy,fear and hatred:and houecer much we may try to uproot their grouths,we are continually planting them afresh。

It is in this atmosphere,with our patent indifference to the suffering which we cause added thereto,that our children are being brought up。Unless our desire for peace is to be branded as selfishness,and our teaching of sympathy and brotherly love as hypocrisy,we need to reconsider very closely our attitude to life,we need to recognize the ideal standard of relationship berween ourselces and the animals:a relationship in which we offer them justice instead of a superficial kindness,and inflict no injury upon them for the sake of our own comfort or vanity or profit。We ourselves may be too hardened in our ways to conform fully to such a standard。Let us at least be honest enough to acknowledge wherein we fall short of it,and make whatever adwance towards it we can。We may then set ideal before the young at the very outset of their education,as a part of the foundation on which their lives should be built。J。L。C。