《the world i live in-海伦·凯勒自传(英文版)》海伦·凯勒自传(英文版)-第12章

skies；　the　purple　of　distant　hills；　yet　their　souls　voyage　through　this
enchanted　world　with　a　barren　stare。
The　calamity　of　the　blind　is　immense；　irreparable。　But　it　does　not　take
away　our　share　of　the　things　that　count……service；　friendship；　humour；
imagination；　wisdom。　It　is　the　secret　inner　will　that　controls　one"s
fate。　We　are　capable　of　willing　to　be　good；　of　loving　and　being　loved；
of　thinking　to　the　end　that　we　may　be　wiser。　We　possess　these
spirit…born　forces　equally　with　all　God"s　children。　Therefore　we；　too；
see　the　lightnings　and　hear　the　thunders　of　Sinai。　We；　too；　march
through　the　wilderness　and　the　solitary　place　that　shall　be　glad　for　us；
and　as　we　pass；　God　maketh　the　desert　to　blossom　like　the　rose。　We；　too；
go　in　unto　the　Promised　Land　to　possess　the　treasures　of　the　spirit；　the
unseen　permanence　of　life　and　nature。
The　blind　man　of　spirit　faces　the　unknown　and　grapples　with　it；　and　what
else　does　the　world　of　seeing　men　do？　He　has　imagination；　sympathy；
humanity；　and　these　ineradicable　existences　pel　him　to　share　by　a
sort　of　proxy　in　a　sense　he　has　not。　When　he　meets　terms　of　colour；
light；　physiognomy；　he　guesses；　divines；　puzzles　out　their　meaning　by
analogies　drawn　from　the　senses　he　has。　I　naturally　tend　to　think；
reason；　draw　inferences　as　if　I　had　five　senses　instead　of　three。　This
tendency　is　beyond　my　control；　it　is　involuntary；　habitual；　instinctive。
I　cannot　pel　my　mind　to　say　〃I　feel〃　instead　of　〃I　see〃　or　〃I　hear。〃
The　word　〃feel〃　proves　on　examination　to　be　no　less　a　convention　than
〃see〃　and　〃hear〃　when　I　seek　for　words　accurately　to　describe　the
outward　things　that　affect　my　three　bodily　senses。　When　a　man　loses　a
leg；　his　brain　persists　in　impelling　him　to　use　what　he　has　not　and　yet
feels　to　be　there。　Can　it　be　that　the　brain　is　so　constituted　that　it
will　continue　the　activity　which　animates　the　sight　and　the　hearing；
after　the　eye　and　the　ear　have　been　destroyed？
It　might　seem　that　the　five　senses　would　work　intelligently　together
only　when　resident　in　the　same　body。　Yet　when　two　or　three　are　left
unaided；　they　reach　out　for　their　plements　in　another　body；　and　find
that　they　yoke　easily　with　the　borrowed　team。　When　my　hand　aches　from
overtouching；　I　find　relief　in　the　sight　of　another。　When　my　mind　lags；
wearied　with　the　strain　of　forcing　out　thoughts　about　dark；　musicless；
colourless；　detached　substance；　it　recovers　its　elasticity　as　soon　as　I
resort　to　the　powers　of　another　mind　which　mands　light；　harmony；
colour。　Now；　if　the　five　senses　will　not　remain　disassociated；　the　life
of　the　deaf…blind　cannot　be　severed　from　the　life　of　the　seeing；　hearing
race。
The　deaf…blind　person　may　be　plunged　and　replunged　like　Schiller"s
diver　into　seas　of　the　unknown。　But；　unlike　the　doomed　hero；　he　returns
triumphant；　grasping　the　priceless　truth　that　his　mind　is　not　crippled；
not　limited　to　the　infirmity　of　his　senses。　The　world　of　the　eye　and　the
ear　bees　to　him　a　subject　of　fateful　interest。　He　seizes　every　word
of　sight　and　hearing　because　his　sensations　pel　it。　Light　and　colour；
of　which　he　has　no　tactual　evidence；　he　studies　fearlessly；　believing
that　all　humanly　knowable　truth　is　open　to　him。　He　is　in　a　position
similar　to　that　of　the　astronomer　who；　firm；　patient；　watches　a　star
night　after　night　for　many　years　and　feels　rewarded　if　he　discovers　a
single　fact　about　it。　The　man　deaf…blind　to　ordinary　outward　things；　and
the　man　deaf…blind　to　the　immeasurable　universe；　are　both　limited　by
time　and　space；　but　they　have　made　a　pact　to　wring　service　from　their
limitations。
The　bulk　of　the　world"s　knowledge　is　an　imaginary　construction。　History
is　but　a　mode　of　imagining；　of　making　us　see　civilizations　that　no
longer　appear　upon　the　earth。　Some　of　the　most　significant　discoveries
in　modern　science　owe　their　origin　to　the　imagination　of　men　who　had
neither　accurate　knowledge　nor　exact　instruments　to　demonstrate　their
beliefs。　If　astronomy　had　not　kept　always　in　advance　of　the　telescope；
no　one　would　ever　have　thought　a　telescope　worth　making。　What　great
invention　has　not　existed　in　the　inventor"s　mind　long　before　he　gave　it
tangible　shape？
A　more　splendid　example　of　imaginative　knowledge　is　the　unity　with　which
philosophers　start　their　study　of　the　world。　They　can　never　perceive　the
world　in　its　entire　reality。　Yet　their　imagination；　with　its　magnificent
allowance　for　error；　its　power　of　treating　uncertainty　as　negligible；
has　pointed　the　way　for　empirical　knowledge。
In　their　highest　creative　moments　the　great　poet；　the　great　musician
cease　to　use　the　crude　instruments　of　sight　and　hearing。　They　break　away
from　their　sense…moorings；　rise　on　strong；　pelling　wings　of　spirit
far　above　our　misty　hills　and　darkened　valleys　into　the　region　of　light；
music；　intellect。
What　eye　hath　seen　the　glories　of　the　New　Jerusalem？　What　ear　hath　heard
the　music　of　the　spheres；　the　steps　of　time；　the　strokes　of　chance；　the
blows　of　death？　Men　have　not　heard　with　their　physical　sense　the　tumult
of　sweet　voices　above　the　hills　of　Judea　nor　seen　the　heavenly　vision；
but　millions　have　listened　to　that　spiritual　message　through　many　ages。
Our　blindness　changes　not　a　whit　the　course　of　inner　realities。　Of　us　it
is　as　true　as　it　is　of　the　seeing　that　the　most　beautiful　world　is
always　entered　through　the　imagination。　If　you　wish　to　be　something　that
you　are　not；……something　fine；　noble；　good；……you　shut　your　eyes；　and　for
one　dreamy　moment　you　are　that　which　you　long　to　be。
INWARD　VISIONS
IX
INWARD　VISIONS
ACCORDING　to　all　art；　all　nature；　all　coherent　human　thought；　we　know
that　order；　proportion；　form；　are　essential　elements　of　beauty。　Now
order；　proportion；　and　form；　are　palpable　to　the　touch。　But　beauty　and
rhythm　are　deeper　than　sense。　They　are　like　love　and　faith。　They　spring
out　of　a　spiritual　process　only　slightly　dependent　upon　sensations。
Order；　proportion；　form；　cannot　generate　in　the　mind　the　abstract　idea
of　beauty；　unless　there　is　already　a　soul　intelligence　to　breathe　life
into　the　elements。　Many　persons；　having　perfect　eyes；　are　blind　in
their　perceptions。　Many　persons；　having　perf