第5章
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  `Asamatteroffact,’saidtheleanandfreckledTommyDukes,wholookedmuchmoreIrishthanMay,whowaspaleandratherfat:`Asamatteroffact,Hammond,youhaveastrongpropertyinstinct,andastrongwilltoself-assertion,andyouwantsuccess。SinceI’vebeeninthearmydefinitely,I’vegotoutofthewayoftheworld,andnowIseehowinordinatelystrongthecravingforself-assertionandsuccessisinmen。Itisenormouslyoverdeveloped。Allourindividualityhasrunthatway。Andofcoursemenlikeyouthinkyou’llgetthroughbetterwithawoman’sbacking。That’swhyyou’resojealous。That’swhatsexistoyou……avitallittledynamobetweenyouandJulia,tobringsuccess。Ifyoubegantobeunsuccessfulyou’dbegintoflirt,likeCharlie,whoisn’tsuccessful。MarriedpeoplelikeyouandJuliahavelabelsonyou,liketravellers’trunks。JuliaislabelledMrsArnoldB。Hammond——justlikeatrunkontherailwaythatbelongstosomebody。AndyouarelabelledArnoldB。Hammond,c/oMrsArnoldB。Hammond。Oh,you’requiteright,you’requiteright!

  Thelifeofthemindneedsacomfortablehouseanddecentcooking。You’requiteright。Itevenneedsposterity。Butitallhingesontheinstinctforsuccess。Thatisthepivotonwhichallthingsturn。’

  Hammondlookedratherpiqued。Hewasratherproudoftheintegrityofhismind,andofhisnotbeingatime-server。Nonetheless,hedidwantsuccess。

  `It’squitetrue,youcan’tlivewithoutcash,’saidMay。`You’vegottohaveacertainamountofittobeabletoliveandgetalong……eventobefreetothinkyoumusthaveacertainamountofmoney,oryourstomachstopsyou。Butitseemstomeyoumightleavethelabelsoffsex。We’refreetotalktoanybody;sowhyshouldn’twebefreetomakelovetoanywomanwhoinclinesusthatway?’

  `TherespeaksthelasciviousCelt,’saidClifford。

  `Lascivious!well,whynot——?Ican’tseeIdoawomananymoreharmbysleepingwithherthanbydancingwithher……oreventalkingtoherabouttheweather。It’sjustaninterchangeofsensationsinsteadofideas,sowhynot?’

  `Beaspromiscuousastherabbits!’saidHammond。

  `Whynot?What’swrongwithrabbits?Aretheyanyworsethananeurotic,revolutionaryhumanity,fullofnervoushate?’

  `Butwe’renotrabbits,evenso,’saidHammond。

  `Precisely!Ihavemymind:Ihavecertaincalculationstomakeincertainastronomicalmattersthatconcernmealmostmorethanlifeordeath。Sometimesindigestioninterfereswithme。Hungerwouldinterferewithmedisastrously。

  Inthesamewaystarvedsexinterfereswithme。Whatthen?’

  `Ishouldhavethoughtsexualindigestionfromsurfeitwouldhaveinterferedwithyoumoreseriously,’saidHammondsatirically。

  `Notit!Idon’tover-eatmyselfandIdon’tover-fuckmyself。Onehasachoiceabouteatingtoomuch。Butyouwouldabsolutelystarveme。’

  `Notatall!Youcanmarry。’

  `HowdoyouknowIcan?Itmaynotsuittheprocessofmymind。Marriagemight……andwould……stultifymymentalprocesses。I’mnotproperlypivotedthatway……andsomustIbechainedinakennellikeamonk?Allrotandfunk,myboy。Imustliveanddomycalculations。Ineedwomensometimes。

  Irefusetomakeamountainofit,andIrefuseanybody’smoralcondemnationorprohibition。I’dbeashamedtoseeawomanwalkingaroundwithmyname-labelonher,addressandrailwaystation,likeawardrobetrunk。’

  ThesetwomenhadnotforgiveneachotherabouttheJuliaflirtation。

  `It’sanamusingidea,Charlie,’saidDukes,`thatsexisjustanotherformoftalk,whereyouactthewordsinsteadofsayingthem。Isupposeit’squitetrue。Isupposewemightexchangeasmanysensationsandemotionswithwomenaswedoideasabouttheweather,andsoon。Sexmightbeasortofnormalphysicalconversationbetweenamanandawoman。Youdon’ttalktoawomanunlessyouhaveideasincommon:thatisyoudon’ttalkwithanyinterest。Andinthesameway,unlessyouhadsomeemotionorsympathyincommonwithawomanyouwouldn’tsleepwithher。Butifyouhad……’

  `Ifyouhavethepropersortofemotionorsympathywithawoman,yououghttosleepwithher,’saidMay。`It’stheonlydecentthing,togotobedwithher。Justas,whenyouareinterestedtalkingtosomeone,theOnlydecentthingistohavethetalkout。Youdon’tprudishlyputyourtonguebetweenyourteethandbiteit。Youjustsayoutyoursay。

  Andthesametheotherway。’

  `No,’saidHammond。`It’swrong。You,forexample,May,yousquanderhalfyourforcewithwomen。You’llneverreallydowhatyoushoulddo,withafinemindsuchasyours。Toomuchofitgoestheotherway。’

  `Maybeitdoes……andtoolittleofyougoesthatway,Hammond,myboy,marriedornot。Youcankeepthepurityandintegrityofyourmind,butit’sgoingdamneddry。Yourpuremindisgoingasdryasfiddlesticks,fromwhatIseeofit。You’resimplytalkingitdown。’

  TommyDukesburstintoalaugh。

  `Goit,youtwominds!’hesaid。`Lookatme……Idon’tdoanyhighandpurementalwork,nothingbutjotdownafewideas。AndyetIneithermarrynorrunafterwomen。IthinkCharlie’squiteright;ifhewantstorunafterthewomen,he’squitefreenottoruntoooften。ButIwouldn’tprohibithimfromrunning。AsforHammond,he’sgotapropertyinstinct,sonaturallythestraightroadandthenarrowgatearerightforhim。You’llseehe’llbeanEnglishManofLettersbeforehe’sdone。A。B。C。fromtoptotoe。

  Thenthere’sme。I’mnothing。Justasquib。Andwhataboutyou,Clifford?

  Doyouthinksexisadynamotohelpamanontosuccessintheworld?’

  Cliffordrarelytalkedmuchatthesetimes。Heneverheldforth;hisideaswerereallynotvitalenoughforit,hewastooconfusedandemotional。

  Nowheblushedandlookeduncomfortable。

  `Well!’hesaid,`beingmyselfhorsdecombat,Idon’tseeI’veanythingtosayonthematter。’

  `Notatall,’saidDukes;`thetopofyou’sbynomeanshorsdecombat。You’vegotthelifeofthemindsoundandintact。Soletushearyourideas。’

  `Well,’stammeredClifford,`eventhenIdon’tsupposeIhavemuchidea……I

  supposemarry-and-have-done-with-itwouldprettywellstandforwhatI

  think。Thoughofcoursebetweenamanandwomanwhocareforoneanother,itisagreatthing。’

  `Whatsortofgreatthing?’saidTommy。

  `Oh……itperfectstheintimacy,’saidClifford,uneasyasawomaninsuchtalk。

  `Well,CharlieandIbelievethatsexisasortofcommunicationlikespeech。Letanywomanstartasexconversationwithme,andit’snaturalformetogotobedwithhertofinishit,allindueseason。Unfortunatelynowomanmakesanyparticularstartwithme,soIgotobedbymyself;

  andamnonetheworseforit……Ihopeso,anyway,forhowshouldIknow?

  AnyhowI’venostarrycalculationstobeinterferedwith,andnoimmortalworkstowrite。I’mmerelyafellowskulkinginthearmy……’

  Silencefell。Thefourmensmoked。AndConniesatthereandputanotherstitchinhersewing……Yes,shesatthere!Shehadtositmum。Shehadtobequietasamouse,nottointerferewiththeimmenselyimportantspeculationsofthesehighly-mentalgentlemen。Butshehadtobethere。Theydidn’tgetonsowellwithouther;theirideasdidn’tflowsofreely。Cliffordwasmuchmorehedgyandnervous,hegotcoldfeetmuchquickerinConnie’sabsence,andthetalkdidn’trun。TommyDukescameoffbest;hewasalittleinspiredbyherpresence。Hammondshedidn’treallylike;heseemedsoselfishinamentalway。AndCharlesMay,thoughshelikedsomethingabouthim,seemedalittledistastefulandmessy,inspiteofhisstars。

  HowmanyeveningshadConniesatandlistenedtothemanifestationsofthesefourmen!these,andoneortwoothers。Thattheyneverseemedtogetanywheredidn’ttroubleherdeeply。Shelikedtohearwhattheyhadtosay,especiallywhenTommywasthere。Itwasfun。Insteadofmenkissingyou,andtouchingyouwiththeirbodies,theyrevealedtheirmindstoyou。Itwasgreatfun!Butwhatcoldminds!

  Andalsoitwasalittleirritating。ShehadmorerespectforMichaelis,onwhosenametheyallpouredsuchwitheringcontempt,asalittlemongrelarriviste,anduneducatedbounderoftheworstsort。Mongrelandbounderornot,hejumpedtohisownconclusions。Hedidn’tmerelywalkroundthemwithmillionsofwords,intheparadeofthelifeofthemind。

  Conniequitelikedthelifeofthemind,andgotagreatthrilloutofit。Butshedidthinkitoverdiditselfalittle。Shelovedbeingthere,amidstthetobaccosmokeofthosefamouseveningsofthecronies,asshecalledthemprivatelytoherself。Shewasinfinitelyamused,andproudtoo,thateventheirtalkingtheycouldnotdo,withouthersilentpresence。

  Shehadanimmenserespectforthought……andthesemen,atleast,triedtothinkhonestly。Butsomehowtherewasacat,anditwouldn’tjump。Theyallaliketalkedatsomething,thoughwhatitwas,forthelifeofhershecouldn’tsay。ItwassomethingthatMickdidn’tclear,either。

  ButthenMickwasn’ttryingtodoanything,butjustgetthroughhislife,andputasmuchacrossotherpeopleastheytriedtoputacrosshim。

  Hewasreallyanti-social,whichwaswhatCliffordandhiscronieshadagainsthim。Cliffordandhiscronieswerenotanti-social;theyweremoreorlessbentonsavingmankind,oroninstructingit,tosaytheleast。

  TherewasagorgeoustalkonSundayevening,whentheconversationdriftedagaintolove。

  `BlestbethetiethatbindsOurheartsinkindredsomething-or-other’——

  saidTommyDukes。`I’dliketoknowwhatthetieis……Thetiethatbindsusjustnowismentalfrictionononeanother。And,apartfromthat,there’sdamnedlittletiebetweenus。Webustapart,andsayspitefulthingsaboutoneanother,likealltheotherdamnedintellectualsintheworld。Damnedeverybodies,asfarasthatgoes,fortheyalldoit。Elsewebustapart,andcoverupthespitefulthingswefeelagainstoneanotherbysayingfalsesugaries。It’sacuriousthingthatthementallifeseemstoflourishwithitsrootsinspite,ineffableandfathomlessspite。Alwayshasbeenso!LookatSocrates,inPlato,andhisbunchroundhim!Thesheerspiteofitall,justsheerjoyinpullingsomebodyelsetobits……Protagoras,orwhoeveritwas!AndAlcibiades,andalltheotherlittlediscipledogsjoininginthefray!ImustsayitmakesonepreferBuddha,quietlysittingunderabo-tree,orJesus,tellinghisdiscipleslittleSundaystories,peacefully,andwithoutanymentalfireworks。No,there’ssomethingwrongwiththementallife,radically。It’srootedinspiteandenvy,envyandspite。Yeshallknowthetreebyitsfruit。’

  `Idon’tthinkwe’realtogethersospiteful,’protestedClifford。

  `MydearClifford,thinkofthewaywetalkeachotherover,allofus。I’mratherworsethananybodyelse,myself。BecauseIinfinitelypreferthespontaneousspitetotheconcoctedsugaries;nowtheyarepoison;

  whenIbeginsayingwhatafinefellowCliffordis,etc。,etc。,thenpoorCliffordistobepitied。ForGod’ssake,allofyou,sayspitefulthingsaboutme,thenIshallknowImeansomethingtoyou。Don’tsaysugaries,orI’mdone。’

  `Oh,butIdothinkwehonestlylikeoneanother,’saidHammond。

  `Itellyouwemust……wesaysuchspitefulthingstooneanother,aboutoneanother,behindourbacks!I’mtheworst。’

  `AndIdothinkyouconfusethementallifewiththecriticalactivity。

  Iagreewithyou,Socratesgavethecriticalactivityagrandstart,buthedidmorethanthat,’saidCharlieMay,rathermagisterially。Thecronieshadsuchacuriouspomposityundertheirassumedmodesty。Itwasallsoexcathedra,anditallpretendedtobesohumble。

  DukesrefusedtobedrawnaboutSocrates。

  `That’squitetrue,criticismandknowledgearenotthesamething,’

  saidHammond。

  `Theyaren’t,ofcourse,’chimedinBerry,abrown,shyyoungman,whohadcalledtoseeDukes,andwasstayingthenight。

  Theyalllookedathimasiftheasshadspoken。

  `Iwasn’ttalkingaboutknowledge……Iwastalkingaboutthementallife,’

  laughedDukes。`Realknowledgecomesoutofthewholecorpusoftheconsciousness;

  outofyourbellyandyourpenisasmuchasoutofyourbrainandmind。

  Themindcanonlyanalyseandrationalize。Setthemindandthereasontocockitovertherest,andalltheycandoistocriticize,andmakeadeadness。Isayalltheycando。Itisvastlyimportant。MyGod,theworldneedscriticizingtoday……criticizingtodeath。Thereforelet’slivethementallife,andgloryinourspite,andstriptherottenoldshow。But,mindyou,it’slikethis:whileyouliveyourlife,youareinsomewayanOrganicwholewithalllife。Butonceyoustartthementallifeyouplucktheapple。You’veseveredtheconnexionbetween,theappleandthetree:theorganicconnexion。Andifyou’vegotnothinginyourlifebutthementallife,thenyouyourselfareapluckedapple……you’vefallenoffthetree。Andthenitisalogicalnecessitytobespiteful,justasit’sanaturalnecessityforapluckedappletogobad。’

  Cliffordmadebigeyes:itwasallstufftohim。Conniesecretlylaughedtoherself。

  `Wellthenwe’reallpluckedapples,’saidHammond,ratheracidlyandpetulantly。

  `Solet’smakeciderofourselves,’saidCharlie。

  `ButwhatdoyouthinkofBolshevism?’putinthebrownBerry,asifeverythinghadleduptoit。

  `Bravo!’roaredCharlie。`WhatdoyouthinkofBolshevism?’

  `Comeon!Let’smakehayofBolshevism!’saidDukes。

  `I’mafraidBolshevismisalargequestion,’saidHammond,shakinghisheadseriously。

  `Bolshevism,itseemstome,’saidCharlie,`isjustasuperlativehatredofthethingtheycallthebourgeois;andwhatthebourgeoisis,isn’tquitedefined。ItisCapitalism,amongotherthings。Feelingsandemotionsarealsosodecidedlybourgeoisthatyouhavetoinventamanwithoutthem。

  `Thentheindividual,especiallythepersonalman,isbourgeois:

  sohemustbesuppressed。Youmustsubmergeyourselvesinthegreaterthing,theSoviet-socialthing。Evenanorganismisbourgeois:sotheidealmustbemechanical。Theonlythingthatisaunit,non-organic,composedofmanydifferent,yetequallyessentialparts,isthemachine。Eachmanamachine-part,andthedrivingpowerofthemachine,hate……hateofthebourgeois。That,tome,isBolshevism。’

  `Absolutely!’saidTommy。`Butalso,itseemstomeaperfectdescriptionofthewholeoftheindustrialideal。It’sthefactory-owner’sidealinanut-shell;exceptthathewoulddenythatthedrivingpowerwashate。

  Hateitis,allthesame;hateoflifeitself。JustlookattheseMidlands,ifitisn’tplainlywrittenup……butit’sallpartofthelifeofthemind,it’salogicaldevelopment。’

  `IdenythatBolshevismislogical,itrejectsthemajorpartofthepremisses,’saidHammond。

  `Mydearman,itallowsthematerialpremiss;sodoesthepuremind……exclusively。’

  `AtleastBolshevismhasgotdowntorockbottom,’saidCharlie。

  `Rockbottom!Thebottomthathasnobottom!TheBolshevistswillhavethefinestarmyintheworldinaveryshorttime,withthefinestmechanicalequipment。

  `Butthisthingcan’tgoon……thishatebusiness。Theremustbeareaction……’

  saidHammond。

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