在今天的暴力世界里,个人关系,也就是人与人之间的友爱和忠诚,仍旧是最可靠的东西。我们对一个人的忠诚和友爱可以弄到和国家的要求抵触,那就得不顾国家。自由放任的原则在物质世界里行不通;我们必须有计划地办事,解决衣食住行的问题。但在精神世界里,自由放任是唯一行得通的原则;要控制人们的心灵,就会毁掉心灵,导致极权主义。衣食足并不能使人们的道德就对头。人应当在艺术或科学或私人生活上表现自己的要求,而不表现执政当局的要求。艺术的可贵在于在一个混乱的世界里表现了秩序;这是一种内在的和谐。人类历史只是一连串的无秩序状态,不过有些无秩序时期对艺术有利而已,科学上的不断发明只能打破旧秩序,而且使人们来不及建立新秩序。整个宇宙看上去只有两种秩序:神圣秩序,那只有宗教家看得见;此外就是艺术家创造的秩序。文明的唯一健全基础是健全的精神质地。这种质地有人说是爱,但是历史证明它失败了。爱在私人生活里是一个伟大力量;在公共事务上,人类不能相爱,只能提倡容忍。民主并不是理想的政体,只是比别的政体好些,因为它尊重个人,承认个人表现的自由,容许多样性和批评。一切社会都建立在暴力上,但由于执权者往往很愚蠢,所以仍有创造活动的余地;人类的好处就在于坚持创造,在暴力打盹时前进。英雄崇拜是一个危险的罪恶;民主的一个次要优点就是不鼓励英雄崇拜,而制造许多不同类型的小人物。我们需要的是一种敏感的、体贴的和勇敢的人的“贵族政治”。这类人是当政者所要罗致而罗致不了的。他们在各个阶级里都有;他们的精神至今只表现在私人生活里,从来没能控制政治,顶多影响到政治。个人主义是谁也摆脱不掉的,所以它将永远逍遥于极权主义藩篱之外。 In today’s violent world, personal relationships, that is, the love and loyalty of people, remain the most reliable things. Our loyalty and friendliness to one person can be contradicted by the demands of our country, regardless of the country. The principle of laissez-faire does not work in the physical world; we must act in a planned way to solve the basic necessities of life. However, in the spiritual world, laissez-faire is the only principle that works. To control people’s minds will destroy the soul and lead to totalitarianism. Food and clothing does not make people moral right. Instead of expressing the demands of the governing authorities, one should demonstrate his or her own requirements in the artistic or scientific or personal life. The beauty of art is to manifest order in a chaotic world; it is an inner harmony. Human history is just a series of disorderly states, but some disorderly periods are good for art. The constant invention in science can only break the old order and make it too late for people to establish a new order. The entire universe looks like only two kinds of order: the sacred order, which is visible only to religiousists; and in addition, the order created by the artist. The only sound foundation of civilization is a sound spiritual texture. Some people say that texture is love, but history proves that it failed. Love is a great force in private life; in public affairs, human beings can not love each other, but can only promote tolerance. Democracy is not an ideal form of government. It is better than other regimes because it respects individuals, recognizes the freedom of individual performance, allows diversity and criticism. All societies are based on violence, but there is still room for activity because the enforcers tend to be stupid; the benefits of mankind lie in creativity and in the event of a nap. Hero worship is a dangerous sin; one of the secondary advantages of democracy is that it discourages hero worship and makes many different types of villains. What we need is a kind of “aristocratic politics” that is sensitive, considerate and brave. Such people are incapable of being led by those in power. They are present in all classes; their spirits have so far manifested themselves only in private life, never controlling politics and, at best, affecting politics. No one can get rid of individualism, so it will always be free from totalitarian barriers.