Chapter 22 Chapter 2: New initiatives cause disappointment

Yeobright loves his kind.He was convinced that what most people lacked was a kind of knowledge that would bring them wisdom rather than wealth.He wishes to raise a class at the expense of individuals, not to raise individuals at the expense of a class.More importantly, he was ready to make the first sacrifice immediately. There are at least two stages, and usually many more, in the transition from the pastoral life to the intellectual life;It is difficult for us to imagine that the peaceful pastoral life can quickly turn to the goal of knowledge without taking the imaginary social goal as a transitional stage.What is peculiar about Yeobright is that, in spite of his strivings for a high intellectual height, he still clings to a life of tranquility, no, in many ways a wild and rough life, and at the same time he is like a brother to his neighbors. get along.

He is John the Baptist [Note: A prophet who appeared in Judea around AD 28. ], but the subject of his sermons was ennoblement rather than repentance.At heart, he had his eyes on the future of the countryside, which means that he was not inferior in many points of view to those of his contemporaries in the big cities.Perhaps he attributed a large part of his progressive thinking to his assiduous life in Paris, where he became acquainted with the moral system that was in keeping with the times. This relatively advanced position may be regarded as Yeobright's misfortune.For him, the country world was far from mature.A man should be ahead of his time only in certain respects: if a man is wholly ahead of his aspirations, it is a mortal wound to his fate.If Philip's belligerent son had been so intellectually gifted as to advance civilization without bloodshed, he would not have been the hero he appeared to be, but a double godlike hero, and yet we You will never hear of an Alexander the Great.

From the perspective of fame and fortune, this kind of advancement should be mainly reflected in the ability to grasp things.Successful agitators succeed because they preach a doctrine that their audience can understand for a while but cannot express.If a person pursues elegant beauty and abandons worldly fame, only those who have regarded fame as trite can understand him.To talk about the possibility of culture before luxury to the country world is perhaps one of its own. Its authenticity, but doing so is trying to disturb a pattern that people are already familiar with.Yeobright preached to these hermits of the Moor of Eden that they would rise to a state of discerning rigor without enriching themselves, as if he were arguing with the ancient astrologers, and proclaimed , if you want to ascend from the earthly world to the pure heaven, there is no need to enter the etheric space in the middle.

Could it be said that Yeobright's mind has been fully developed?No.A fully sanely developed mind is one without particular deviations; and we may safely say that such a mind will never be imprisoned for a madman, nor imprisoned for a heretic. To suffer, or suffer like a blasphemer.On the other hand, a man of this mind is not praised like a prophet, revered as a priest, or worshiped like a king.People with this kind of mind usually feel happy and ordinary.This kind of mind made Rogers ]'s poem, West [Note: England was a well-known portrait painter in London at that time. ]'s painting, North [Note: Prime Minister of King George III. ]'s statecraft, Tomlin [Note: Archbishop of Winchester, England. ]; people with this kind of mind can find the way to get rich, get a good end after many twists and turns, can retire from the political arena with dignity, sleep comfortably and peacefully, and in many cases, they also get it for granted. A monument.This kind of mind will not allow Yeobright to make such an absurd act of abandoning his career to do good for his countrymen.

He didn't pay attention to the path under his feet at all, and walked straight home.If anyone knew this wasteland well, it was Climb.He is closely related to the scenery here, everything on the ground and the breath of the wilderness.It can almost be said that he is a product of the wasteland.The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the wilderness, and the wilderness became the first scene in his memory; his judgment on life was also affected by it; his toys were the stone knives and stones he found on the wilderness. arrow when At that time, he was still wondering: how could the stone grow into such a strange shape; the flowers he admired were purple bells and yellow gorse; his animal kingdom was snakes and wasteland ponies; People who come and go.Who put Eustacia.Vey's feelings of hatred for the wilderness turned into loves for it, and that man had won Clem's heart.As he walked, he stared at the scene of the desert, feeling very happy.

In the eyes of many, the Moor of Eden is an uncivilized wasteland that has sneaked out of the place where generations before have been and invaded this era.It's a place so outdated that few people bother to think about it.The square fields, the braided hedges, the squares of the plains, look like silver grills on a clear day, when the wasteland still appears to the human eye. What other appearance?A farmer on a horse will smile at the artificially planted gramineous plants, look at the corn being unearthed with relief, look at the radishes eaten by flies sadly, but can only frown at the wilderness in the distance. see.For Yeobright, however, as he walked home, he looked up at the wilderness and saw that some people were trying to convert the wasteland into arable land, and then after a year or two, it would He fell into despair again, because the heather was still stubbornly growing again, and he couldn't help feeling a wild satisfaction.

He went down the slope, came to the valley, and soon walked to his home in Hualuo Village.His mother was cutting off the leaves of the flowers and plants on the windowsill.She looked up at him, as if not understanding why he had been with her so long; it had been on her face for days.He could see that the curiosity of the crowd waiting for their haircuts had also caught his mother's attention.But she didn't ask what was wrong, not even when his luggage arrived, indicating that he wasn't planning to leave her anytime soon.Her silence was stronger than words, and he had to explain it.

Mom, I don't want to go back to Paris, he said.At least not doing old jobs anymore.I have given up on this industry. Mrs. Yeobright turned round, looking astonished and distressed.When I saw these boxes, I thought something was wrong.I'm surprised you didn't tell me sooner. I should have told you sooner.But I have never been sure whether my plan will please you.I haven't fully figured out some issues myself.I'm going to do a whole new thing. Clem, I'm so surprised.How can what you want to do be better than what you originally did? very simple.But I wouldn't do better than what you're referring to; I think that would be called worse.I hate my kind of business though, I want to do something worthwhile before I die.I want to be a teacher of the poor and the illiterate, teaching them what no one else will teach them.

You have worked so hard to start your career, you can go straight to riches, there will be no obstacles, but at this time, you say you want to be a teacher of the poor.Clem, your whims will ruin you. Mrs. Yeobright spoke quietly, but with an intensity of emotion which was evident to her son, who knew her so well.He didn't answer.There was a look of hopelessness on his face, which was caused by the fact that the opponents never considered the problem logically and rationally, even if the logic was in an atmosphere that was very conducive to discussing the problem, and it was necessary to argue something rather serious. Delicate issues are also really unsatisfactory.

The subject was not brought up again until the end of lunch.His mother spoke first, as if there had never been such a period of silence since the morning.Clem, it's disturbing to find you coming home with all these thoughts.It never occurred to me at all that you were going backwards in the world at will.Of course, I've always thought that you, like some other men, who are worthy of manliness, thrive when you put them on a path that allows them to fully develop. I can't help it, said Clem in a troubled voice, Mom, I hate the bling business.When it comes to being a man worthy of manhood, isn't it hard to see that because no one is willing to step up and teach men half the world how to face up to the sufferings that are inherent in them? Can any man worthy of the name of man waste his time on so delicate a thing when it comes to ruin?Every morning when I wake up together, I see the whole human race moaning and suffering just like St. Paul said, while I am dealing with those rich women and titled libertines among the jewels to cater to the most What a despicable world of vanity I, a man healthy and strong enough to do anything.I've been struggling with this for a year, and finally I've decided I can't go on like this.

Why can't you go on like everyone else? I don't know, unless it's a lot of things that other people care about that I don't, and that's part of the reason why I think I should.One thing is, my body doesn't ask for anything from me.I take no pleasure in that elegance; it is a waste that the fine things befall me.Well, I should turn this shortcoming into a positive, and I can get by without what other people are after, so I can save all this money and spend it on other people. Yeobright had inherited these instincts from the woman in front of him, so although she couldn't be persuaded by reason, it was impossible not to arouse a kind of emotional resonance in her, although she deliberately concealed it for the sake of her son. feeling.She opened her mouth a little uncertainly.As long as you stick to it, you can become a rich man.What could be a better pursuit for one man than to be the manager of that big jewelry store?What a trusted and respected position that is!I think you're probably going to be like your father, and you're getting a little bored of being like him and not wanting to work hard. No, said her son: I am not tired of doing that, but I am tired of what you say you can achieve by doing that line of work.Mom, how can I do a good job? Mrs. Yeobright is a very thoughtful woman. She will not be satisfied with the existing ready-made definitions.Like Pilate's question of what is truth, Yeobright's urgent question is left unanswered. The courtyard door slammed, breaking the silence in the house, and then there was a knock on the door and the sound of the door opening.Christine.Kanter emerged in Sunday attire. There is such a custom in Eden Moor that the reporter must make a preface before entering the house, and then he will enter the house completely, and the host and guest face to face.Just as the door was so open, Christine said to them, Come to think of it, I'm a person who doesn't leave home very often, and yet I was there this morning! So, Christine, you have news for us?asked Mrs Yeobright. Well, of course, about a witch, you must pardon me for coming at such a time; for I said, I must go there and tell 'em, though they haven't finished their supper yet.You've got to believe me, that made me shake like a fallen leaf.Do you think this will do any harm? So what is it? We were all standing in church this morning, and the priest said, let's pray.Well, I thought, a man could kneel down just as well standing up.So I knelt down; and what was more, all the others willingly obeyed the man, and knelt down as I did.We had not been kneeling for a minute when suddenly there was a most dreadful cry in the church, which sounded like the blood of someone's heart being poured out.Everyone jumped up, and then we found out it was Susan.Nasage stabbed Miss Vey with a long hosiery needle, which she had threatened to do if she could see the lady go to church, which was not where Miss Vey was often.She had waited for weeks for this chance, so that the poking of her blood would break the spell that had enchanted Susan's child for so long.Susan followed her into church, sat down next to her, and drove her hosiery needle into the young lady's arm at every opportunity. Omg it was horrible!said Mrs Yeobright. Susan drove the needle so deep that the young lady fainted; and I, fearing a commotion, hid behind the double bass, and saw nothing of what followed.But it was said that they carried her outside the church; and when they looked up for Susan, she was gone.What a scream the girl made, poor thing!The priest stood there in his white cassock, raised his hands and said, Sit down, my good people, sit down!It can be seen that ghosts, who will sit down?Oh, Mrs Yeobright, what do you think I've found?The priest wore a suit under his white vestment!I could see his black sleeves when he raised his arms. It was cruel to do that, Yeobright said. yes!His mother replied. The country should look into this, said Christine, and I think it's Humphrey. Humphrey walked in.Hey, have you heard the news?But I see you have heard.It's weird how weird things always happen whenever someone walks into a church in Eden.The last time one of us went to church, that was last autumn when the Fairway folks went; the day, Mrs. Yeobright, you spoke out against the marriage announcement. Will this brutally wounded girl walk home by herself?Clem asked. She was said to be better and returned home safe and sound.Well, this is over, and I must go home myself. Me too, said Humphrey, seriously, now we'll see if some of the stories people say about her are true. When they had re-entered the moor, Yeobright said calmly to his mother, Do you think my change to being a teacher has changed too quickly? There should be teachers and missionaries and such, that's right, she replied, but I should try to get you out of this life and into a richer one, that's right, and you shouldn't come back, it seems I didn't seem to make any effort at all. Later in the day, Sam the peat digger came in.Mrs. Yeobright, let me borrow something from you.I think you've heard what happened to the beauty who lived on the hill? Yes, Sam, we've pretty much heard that. Beauty?Clem asked. Yes, quite beautiful, said Sam, my God!Everyone in the neighborhood admitted that it was the strangest thing that such a woman should live there. Is the skin dark or light? Why, though I've seen her twenty times, I can't remember the color of her skin. Deeper than Tansy's.muttered Mrs Yeobright. You'd say that's a woman who doesn't seem to care about anything. So, she was depressed?Clem asked. She was always so sad by herself, and she didn't see anyone at all. She's a very adventurous woman, isn't she? I don't know. Or take part in the lads' games and have some fun in such a deserted place? No. Take part in a masquerade, for example? No.She has her own opinion.I'd rather say that her mind was far away from that, and that her thoughts were only of those gentlemen and ladies she never knew, and those great estates she could never see again. Seeing Clem's interest, Mrs. Yeobright said to Sam, a little disturbedly, that none of us see her as much as you do.In my mind Miss Veil was too lazy to be liked.I never heard of her doing anything for herself or anyone else.If she was such a good girl, she wouldn't make anyone a witch, even in Eden. Nonsense that proves nothing anyway.Yobright said. Well, of course I don't understand such minutiae, said Sam, who didn't want to get into a potentially unpleasant argument about who she was, we'll have to wait until later.The business I came here was to borrow the longest and strongest rope you have at home.The old captain's bucket fell into the well, and he was going to draw water; and all the boys are at home today, and we thought we could help him get the bucket up.We've got three ropes, but we still can't get to the bottom of the well. Mrs. Yeobright told him to just look in the outhouse and take any rope, so Sam went out.Clem followed him as he passed the door, and followed him to the gate. Is this little witch-like lady going to stay at Misty Hill forever?he asks. I think so. How cruel and shameful it was to treat her so wrongly!She must have suffered a lot. The pain in her heart surpassed that of her body. It was a trick that didn't work on the surface, and it was for such a beautiful girl.You should go and see her, Mr. Yeobright, you are a young man returning from a journey, and you are more experienced in this matter than most of us at your age. Do you think she would be happy to teach children to read?Clem asked. Sam shook his head.I don't think she's the type to do that at all. Oh, this is just an idea that came to me.Of course I should go and see her and talk to her about it, and by the way, it's not going to be easy because my family doesn't know her family well. I'll tell you how to see her, Mr. Yeobright, said Sam. We're going to her house at six o'clock tonight to get that bucket, and you can help.Five or six people will come, but the well is deep, and one extra might help, as long as you don't mind showing up that way.She's definitely walking around. Let me see, said Yeobright, they parted. He gave the matter much thought; but not a word of Eustacia was said in the room all this time.It is not known whether this victim of romantic superstition was the same melancholy masquerade with whom he spoke under the full moon.