登陆注册
15427500000018

第18章 FATHER DAMIEN(1)

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE REVEREND

DR.HYDE OF HONOLULU

SYDNEY,FEBRUARY 25,1890.

SIR,-It may probably occur to you that we have met,and visited,and conversed;on my side,with interest.You may remember that you have done me several courtesies,for which I was prepared to be grateful.But there are duties which come before gratitude,and offences which justly divide friends,far more acquaintances.Your letter to the Reverend H.B.Gage is a document which,in my sight,if you had filled me with bread when I was starving,if you had sat up to nurse my father when he lay a-dying,would yet absolve me from the bonds of gratitude.You know enough,doubtless,of the process of canonisation to be aware that,a hundred years after the death of Damien,there will appear a man charged with the painful office of the DEVIL'S ADVOCATE.After that noble brother of mine,and of all frail clay,shall have lain a century at rest,one shall accuse,one defend him.The circumstance is unusual that the devil's advocate should be a volunteer,should be a member of a sect immediately rival,and should make haste to take upon himself his ugly office ere the bones are cold;unusual,and of a taste which I shall leave my readers free to qualify;unusual,and to me inspiring.If I have at all learned the trade of using words to convey truth and to arouse emotion,you have at last furnished me with a subject.For it is in the interest of all mankind,and the cause of public decency in every quarter of the world,not only that Damien should be righted,but that you and your letter should be displayed at length,in their true colours,to the public eye.

To do this properly,I must begin by quoting you at large:Ishall then proceed to criticise your utterance from several points of view,divine and human,in the course of which Ishall attempt to draw again,and with more specification,the character of the dead saint whom it has pleased you to vilify:so much being done,I shall say farewell to you for ever.

'HONOLULU,'AUGUST 2,1889.

'Rev.H.B.GAGE.

'DEAR BROTHER,-In answer to your inquiries about Father Damien,I can only reply that we who knew the man are surprised at the extravagant newspaper laudations,as if he was a most saintly philanthropist.The simple truth is,he was a coarse,dirty man,head-strong and bigoted.He was not sent to Molokai,but went there without orders;did not stay at the leper settlement (before he became one himself),but circulated freely over the whole island (less than half the island is devoted to the lepers),and he came often to Honolulu.He had no hand in the reforms and improvements inaugurated,which were the work of our Board of Health,as occasion required and means were provided.He was not a pure man in his relations with women,and the leprosy of which he died should be attributed to his vices and carelessness.

Others have done much for the lepers,our own ministers,the government physicians,and so forth,but never with the Catholic idea of meriting eternal life.-Yours,etc.,'C.M.HYDE.'(1)To deal fitly with a letter so extraordinary,I must draw at the outset on my private knowledge of the signatory and his sect.It may offend others;scarcely you,who have been so busy to collect,so bold to publish,gossip on your rivals.

And this is perhaps the moment when I may best explain to you the character of what you are to read:I conceive you as a man quite beyond and below the reticences of civility:with what measure you mete,with that shall it be measured you again;with you,at last,I rejoice to feel the button off the foil and to plunge home.And if in aught that I shall say I should offend others,your colleagues,whom I respect and remember with affection,I can but offer them my regret;I am not free,I am inspired by the consideration of interests far more large;and such pain as can be inflicted by anything from me must be indeed trifling when compared with the pain with which they read your letter.It is not the hangman,but the criminal,that brings dishonour on the house.

You belong,sir,to a sect -I believe my sect,and that in which my ancestors laboured -which has enjoyed,and partly failed to utilise,an exceptional advantage in the islands of Hawaii.The first missionaries came;they found the land already self-purged of its old and bloody faith;they were embraced,almost on their arrival,with enthusiasm;what troubles they supported came far more from whites than from Hawaiians;and to these last they stood (in a rough figure)in the shoes of God.This is not the place to enter into the degree or causes of their failure,such as it is.One element alone is pertinent,and must here be plainly dealt with.In the course of their evangelical calling,they -or too many of them -grew rich.It may be news to you that the houses of missionaries are a cause of mocking on the streets of Honolulu.It will at least be news to you,that when Ireturned your civil visit,the driver of my cab commented on the size,the taste,and the comfort of your home.It would have been news certainly to myself,had any one told me that afternoon that I should live to drag such matter into print.

But you see,sir,how you degrade better men to your own level;and it is needful that those who are to judge betwixt you and me,betwixt Damien and the devil's advocate,should understand your letter to have been penned in a house which could raise,and that very justly,the envy and the comments of the passers-by.I think (to employ a phrase of yours which I admire)it 'should be attributed'to you that you have never visited the scene of Damien's life and death.If you had,and had recalled it,and looked about your pleasant rooms,even your pen perhaps would have been stayed.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 一口气读懂中国史

    一口气读懂中国史

    本书从浩瀚的历史长河中精心选取了对中国历史进程产生深远影响的一百九十多个重要问题,按时间顺序,以点连线;语言简洁生动,将浩繁的中国历史深入浅出地展现在读者面前,使各个阶层的读者能够以轻松愉悦的心态最大限度地获取历史知识。此外,本书还选取很多相关历史图片,使事件更加立体,人物更加丰满,让读者能真实地感受到历史演进的全过程。本书融科学性、知识性、趣味性为一体,不仅是学生课外知识的补充读物,也是各阶层读者全面了解中国历史的优良读本
  • 龙诀鼎

    龙诀鼎

    龙、诀、鼎,是龙族三宝,代表着青龙刀,龙变诀,神龙鼎。这三宝在二十多年前相继遗失……
  • 异界里的游戏狂人

    异界里的游戏狂人

    林松本是一名普普通通的在校大学生。只因长期以来对游戏的依恋,导致他“幸运”的被神给选中,丢到了游戏的世界里!可这还不算完!刚在第一场游戏中存活下来的林松,再次睁开双眼时,眼前的一切已经不是那自己熟知的地球了……既然是游戏那自然就有奖励!《仙剑奇侠传》中的御剑术!《鬼泣》中的恶魔变身!《真三国无双》中的无双乱舞!带着游戏的道具和技能,我们的主角林松,他会在这异界大陆做出怎样的举措?且看一名地球人能否在异界之中一步步登上至尊之境……
  • 史上最牛打工仔

    史上最牛打工仔

    俗话说得好:“拿人饭碗,受人管;你要别人的钱,别人要你的命。"至古以来,但凡有人的地方就会有打工的存在,但是打工,从来都不是一件容易的事,辛苦与受气像是早已注定的好宿命,无论怎么躲,怎么逃,都没有办法躲掉。当需要需要你的时候,就说好听的让你留下来继续工作,可实际上给他当牛当马一样使唤,当不需要你的时候,就会像踢垃圾一样,毫不留情的一脚把你踢开。可谁说打工就要受别人的气?我是来赚钱的,又不是来受气的。又是谁说顾客就是上帝的?有钱了了不起啊!惹到我,我就让去见真的上帝。李克同样是个打工的,但他却不是个会受气的主,谁要是敢让他受气,那这个人下场通常都会很惨。且看他如何演绎一种不一样的打工人生。
  • 相思谋:妃常难娶

    相思谋:妃常难娶

    某日某王府张灯结彩,婚礼进行时,突然不知从哪冒出来一个小孩,对着新郎道:“爹爹,今天您的大婚之喜,娘亲让我来还一样东西。”说完提着手中的玉佩在新郎面前晃悠。此话一出,一府宾客哗然,然当大家看清这小孩与新郎如一个模子刻出来的面容时,顿时石化。此时某屋顶,一个绝色女子不耐烦的声音响起:“儿子,事情办完了我们走,别在那磨矶,耽误时间。”新郎一看屋顶上的女子,当下怒火攻心,扔下新娘就往女子所在的方向扑去,吼道:“女人,你给本王站住。”一场爱与被爱的追逐正式开始、、、、、、、
  • 蛊真人狂想

    蛊真人狂想

    一时兴起,即兴创作,随便写写,顺眼就看,不喜勿喷
  • 中国男足勇夺世界杯

    中国男足勇夺世界杯

    追亡逐北,伏尸百万,流血漂橹。因利乘便,宰割天下,分裂山河。奋六世之余烈,振长策而御宇内,吞二周而亡诸侯,履至尊而制六合,执敲扑而鞭笞天下,威振四海。《中国男足勇夺世界杯》书友交流群:332835712
  • 福妻驾到

    福妻驾到

    现代饭店彪悍老板娘魂穿古代。不分是非的极品婆婆?三年未归生死不明的丈夫?心狠手辣的阴毒亲戚?贪婪而好色的地主老财?吃上顿没下顿的贫困宭境?不怕不怕,神仙相助,一技在手,天下我有!且看现代张悦娘,如何身带福气玩转古代,开面馆、收小弟、左纳财富,右傍美男,共绘幸福生活大好蓝图!!!!快本新书《天媒地聘》已经上架开始销售,只要3.99元即可将整本书抱回家,你还等什么哪,赶紧点击下面的直通车,享受乐乐精心为您准备的美食盛宴吧!)
  • 那人那情那词

    那人那情那词

    我国古代诗词一如灿烂的珠贝,点缀着历史的海滩:又如明媚的星光,照耀人们的心灵。虽然那些诗词已是过去的辉煌,但是却依然值得我们一读再品。有这样的符号激荡在我们的心口,有这样的文字充盈在我们的脑海。每一次的品鉴都像一次远游,使我们的灵魂挣脱枷锁,在那片或美丽或凄婉的世界里徜徉,放眼望去,美不胜收。温健所著的《那人那情那词》把影响了整个宋词走向的词人一一罗列,并把他们的代表作一一解析,不是用那种冰冷的专家式的口吻,而是用一种热情洋溢的笔法,以词为主轴,人为主角,铺陈出一篇篇令人心驰神往的故事。
  • 成神超市

    成神超市

    俞升一个普通人一次偶然机会发现了一个‘成神超市’可以加各种武功之后他在实现和奇异环境中来回穿梭,当然也遇到了属于他的爱情