登陆注册
5589700000075

第75章 BENTHAM'S LIFE(19)

Another light of the Edinburgh Review,who at this time took Brougham at his own valuation,did an incidental service to Bentham.Upon the publication of the Book of Fallacies in 1825,Sydney Smith reviewed or rather condensed it in the Edinburgh Review,and gave the pith of the whole in his famous Noodle's Oration.The noodle utters all the commonplaces by which the stupid conservatives,with Eldon at their head,met the demands of reformers.Nothing could be wittier than Smith's brilliant summary.Whigs and Radicals for the time agreed in ridiculing blind prejudice.The day was to come when the Whigs at least would see that some principles might be worse than prejudice.All the fools,said Lord Melbourne,'were against Catholic Emancipation,and the worst of it is,the fools were in the right.'Sydney Smith was glad to be Bentham's mouthpiece for the moment:though,when Benthamism was applied to church reform,Smith began to perceive that Noodle was not so silly as he seemed.

One other ally of Bentham deserves notice.O'Connell had in 1828,in speaking of legal abuses,called himself 'an humble disciple of the immortal Bentham.'(143)Bentham wrote to acknowledge the compliment.He invited O'Connell to become an inmate of his hermitage at Queen's Square Place,and O'Connell responded warmly to the letters of his 'revered master.'Bentham's aversion to Catholicism was as strong as his objection to Catholic disqualifications,and he took some trouble to smooth down the difficulties which threatened an alliance between ardent believers and thorough-going sceptics.O'Connell had attacked some who were politically upon his side.'Dan,dear child,'says Bentham,'whom in imagination I am at this moment pressing to my fond bosom,put off,if it be possible,your intolerance.'(144)Their friendship,however,did not suffer from this discord,and their correspondence is in the same tone till the end.In one of Bentham's letters he speaks of a contemporary correspondence with another great man,whom he does not appear to have met personally.He was writing long letters,entreating the duke of Wellington to eclipse Cromwell by successfully attacking the lawyers.The duke wrote 'immediate answers in his own hand,'and took good-humouredly a remonstrance from Bentham upon the duel with Lord Winchilsea in 1829.(145)Bentham was ready to the end to seek allies in any quarter.When Lord Sidmouth took office in 1812,Bentham had an interview with him,and had some hopes of being employed to prepare a penal code.(146)Although experience had convinced him of the futility of expectations from the Sidmouths and Eldons,he was always on the look out for sympathy;and the venerable old man was naturally treated with respect by people who had little enough of real interest in his doctrines.

During the last ten years of his life,Bentham was cheered by symptoms of the triumph of his creed.The approach of the millennium seemed to be indicated by the gathering of the various forces which carried Roman Catholic Emancipation and the Reform Bill.Bentham still received testimonies of his fame abroad.In 1825he visited Paris to consult some physicians.He was received with the respect which the French can always pay to intellectual eminence.(147)All the lawyers in a court of justice rose to receive him,and he was placed at the president's right hand.On the revolution of 1830,he addressed some good advice to the country of which he had been made a citizen nearly forty years before.In 1832,Talleyrand,to whom he had talked about the Panopticon in 1792,dined with him alone in his hermitage.(148)When Bowring observed to the prince that Bentham's works had been plundered,the polite diplomatist replied,et pilléde tout le monde,il est toujours riche.Bentham was by this time failing.At eighty-two he was still,as he put it,'codifying like any dragon.'(149)On 18th May 1832he did his last bit of his life-long labour,upon the 'Constitutional Code.'The great reform agitation was reaching the land of promise,but Bentham was to die in the wilderness.He sank without a struggle on 6th June 1832,his head resting on Bowring's bosom.He left the characteristic direction that his body should be dissected for the benefit of science.An incision was formally made;and the old gentleman,in his clothes as he lived,his face covered by a wax mask,is still to be seen at University College in Gower Street.

Bentham,as we are told,had a strong personal resemblance to Benjamin Franklin.Sagacity,benevolence,and playfulness were expressed in both physiognomies.

Bentham,however,differed from the man whose intellect presents many points of likeness,in that he was not a man of the market-place or the office.

Bentham was in many respects a child through life:(150)a child in simplicity,good humour,and vivacity;his health was unbroken;he knew no great sorrow;and after emerging from the discouragement of his youth,he was placidly contemplating a continuous growth of fame and influence.He is said to have expressed the wis that he could awake once in a century to contemplate th prospect of a world gradually adopting his principles and so making steady progress in happiness and wisdom.

No man could lead a simpler life.His chief luxuries at table were fruit,bread,and tea.He had a 'sacred teapot'called Dick,with associations of its own,and carefully regulated its functions.He refrained from wine during the greatest part of his life,and was never guilty of a single act of intemperance.

同类推荐
  • The Japanese Twins

    The Japanese Twins

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 大丹直指

    大丹直指

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 春日游曲江

    春日游曲江

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 得配本草

    得配本草

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 特牲单

    特牲单

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 阿姨

    阿姨

    她们是给人家当“阿姨”的。阿姨的专业名称是“家政工”。现代汉语里,阿姨的词条有三:一,是指母亲的姐妹。二,是称呼跟母亲辈分相同、年纪差不多的无亲属关系的妇女。三,是对保育员或保姆的称呼。广义上的家政工都可以算在内。这称呼透着亲切,熟稔,不把人当外人的尊重和好意。深圳许多人家都请着这样的阿姨。袁木兰就是其中一个。做家政的女人,你通常可以从她们的着装打扮、样貌举止识别得出来的。一种职业有一种职业的共相,家政工也不例外。一般说来,她们的年纪都在30岁到50岁上下,太年轻的,才不要给人当“阿姨”呢——“小姐”都好过它啦。
  • 铁面歌女

    铁面歌女

    陆毅、于荣光、张娜拉、蒋林静领衔主演,陆毅转型挑战反面角色,韩国喜剧小天后张娜拉潜心发愤之作,一部融惊悚、悬疑、爱情于一体的同名小说,一部用爱情来复仇的民园传奇,一部灰姑娘浴火重生的辛酸奋斗史,一部催人泪下的苦情大剧。一座种满玫瑰的神秘庄园,一个戴着面具的神秘女人,一曲缠绵悱恻的苦恋之歌,一部悬疑重重的惊悚长篇。该剧作讲述的是,民国年间,上海滩一座神秘的玫瑰庄园里接连不断发生的扑朔迷离的怪事。海飞称,这是一部女性在寻爱路上的辛酸爱情史,男女主人公的情感纠葛与挣扎贯穿全剧始终,兄弟反目,夫妻成仇;在阴谋中前行,在黑暗中寻找光明……故事流向悬疑重重,每一个故事都扣人心弦。
  • 太上洞玄灵宝三元品戒功德轻重经

    太上洞玄灵宝三元品戒功德轻重经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 卖产品不如卖服务

    卖产品不如卖服务

    时代在变化,服务的意识也在发生改变。作者认为,服务不再只是做产品的简单售后,产品从设计到生产,从销售到售后,所有的产品链条都要以顾客为中心,但凡与顾客挂钩的内容,都应该属于服务的体系。在市场交易中,顾客不仅期望买到优质的产品,而且希望得到更优质的服务。本书从多个方面讲述了好服务的内涵、表现、要求、作用等,启发商家以及提供服务的工作人员应该重视服务,把服务当成是工作的出发点,这样才能在市场竞争中立于不败之地。
  • 非人途

    非人途

    一个名叫牧南的毛头小子,无意中得到了“神胎”,不久之后,他便成为了“非人途”的一员,从此,整个世界观都被彻底颠覆了,原来这个世界上竟然拥有那么多我们不知道的秘密!
  • 当我遇上你

    当我遇上你

    我从未想过此生仍有美好,直到当我遇上你——四年前的一场致命误会,让萧致远与桑子衿拥有了这段名存实亡的婚姻。他们同在一个屋檐下,抚养着共同的女儿,近在咫尺,彼此的心却仿佛隔着天涯。他明明深爱,却也只能这样不远不近地守候;她明明说恨,却从未真的去选择伤害。往事总有真相大白的一天,他们也终究会知道彼此在心底里的位置。原来,一切的美好,都是从遇上你开始。
  • 藏医养生密码:藏医养生大智慧

    藏医养生密码:藏医养生大智慧

    药师佛,藏语音“桑给眉拉”,曾经发了十二誓愿,希望解除众生的一切病痛。绵延至今,藏医学已经有两千多年的历史,它融合了古印度、古希腊、古波斯、古中国和古阿拉伯医学的精华而自成体系,见解独到。本书既辑录了藏医从饮食、起居上调理身体的方法,又介绍了密宗修习之道,还有稀有珍贵的藏药奇方,为您破解藏医养生的密码。
  • 鹿鸣之什

    鹿鸣之什

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 谁撬动了银川经济

    谁撬动了银川经济

    九尺之台,起于垒土,任何一段辉煌的背后,都有血汗、泪水、艰辛和失败。本书是一部着眼经济、落笔人生、弘扬创业、宣传励志的书籍,它可以见证企业家们从一个专业的经济工作者向宣传思想工作者转变的心路转折,但更为重要的,是它同时“撬动”了企业家们对宣传思想工作为经济发展服务的初衷和工作理念。
  • 灵魂密码

    灵魂密码

    一个最优秀的大学学生会主席甄铁汉和他的女班主任老师尚小云暗暗发生了恋情。炽热的火花引起了一场爱情风波。