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part05+-第14章

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eloquently; presented a different view。 According to the



chroniclers of the period; Pobedonostzeff told the Emperor that



all so…called liberal measures; including the constitution; were



a delusion; that; though such things might be suited to Western



Europe; they were not suited to Russia; that the constitution of



that empire had been; from time immemorial; the will of the



autocrat; directed by his own sense of responsibility to the



Almighty; that no other constitution was possible in Russia; that



this alone was fitted to the traditions; the laws; the ideas of



the hundred and twenty millions of various races under the



Russian scepter; that in other parts of the world constitutional



liberty; so called; had already shown itself an absurdity; that



socialism; anarchism; and nihilism; with their plots and bombs;



were appearing in all quarters; that murder was plotted against



rulers of nations everywhere; the best of presidents having been



assassinated in the very country where free institutions were



supposed to have taken the most complete hold; that the principle



of authority in human government was to be saved; and that this



principle existed as an effective force only in Russia。







This speech is said to have carried all before it。 As its



immediate result came the retirement of Loris…Melikoff; followed



by his death not long afterward; the entrance of Pobedonostzeff



among the most cherished councilors of the Emperor; the



suppression of the constitution; the discouragement of every



liberal tendency; and that fanatical reaction which has been in



full force ever since。







This was the man whom I especially desired to see and to



understand; and therefore it was that I was very glad to receive



from the State Department instructions to consult with him



regarding some rather delicate matters needing adjustment between



the Greek Church and our authorities in Alaska; and also in



relation to the representation of Russia at the Chicago



Exposition。







I found him; as one of the great ministers of the crown; residing



in a ministerial palace; but still retaining; in large measure;



his old quality of professor。 About him was a beautiful library;



with every evidence of a love for art and literature。 I had gone



into his presence with many feelings of doubt。 Against no one in



Russia had charges so bitter been made in my hearing: it was



universally insisted that he was responsible for the persecution



of the Roman Catholics in Poland; of the Lutherans in the Baltic



provinces and in Finland; of the Stundists in Central Russia; and



of the dissenting sects everywhere。 He had been spoken of in the



English reviews as the 〃Torquemada of the nineteenth century;〃



and this epithet seemed to be generally accepted as fitting。







I found him a scholarly; kindly man; ready to discuss the



business which I brought before him; and showing a wide interest



in public affairs。 There were few; if any; doctrines; either



political or theological; which we held in common; but he seemed



inclined to meet the wishes of our government as fully and fairly



as he could; and thus was begun one of the most interesting



acquaintances I have ever made。







His usual time of receiving his friends was on Sunday evening



between nine and twelve; and very many such evenings I passed in



his study; discussing with him; over glasses of fragrant Russian



tea; every sort of question with the utmost freedom。







I soon found that his reasons for that course of action to which



the world so generally objects are not so superficial as they are



usually thought。 The repressive policy which he has so earnestly



adopted is based not merely upon his views as a theologian; but



upon his convictions as a statesman。 While; as a Russo…Greek



churchman; he regards the established church of the empire as the



form of Christianity most primitive and pure; and while he sees



in its ritual; in its art; and in all the characteristics of its



worship the nearest approach to his ideals; he looks at it also



from the point of view of a statesmanas the greatest cementing



power of the vast empire through which it is spread。







This being the case; he naturally opposes all other religious



bodies in Russia as not merely inflicting injury upon



Christianity; but as tending to the political disintegration of



the empire。 Never; in any of our conversations; did I hear him



speak a harsh word of any other church or of any religious ideas



opposed to his own; but it was clear that he regarded Protestants



and dissident sects generally as but agents in the progress of



disintegration which; in Western Europe; seemed approaching a



crisis; and that he considered the Roman Catholic Church in



Poland as practically a political machine managed by a hierarchy



in deadly hostility to the Russian Empire and to Russian



influence everywhere。







In discussing his own church; he never hesitated to speak plainly



of its evident shortcomings。 Unquestionably; one of the wishes



nearest his heart is to reform the abuses which have grown up



among its clergy; especially in their personal habits。 Here; too;



is a reason for any repressive policy which he may have exercised



against other religious bodies。 Everything that detracts from the



established Russo…Greek Church detracts from the revenues of its



clergy; and; as these are pitifully small; aids to keep the



priests and their families in the low condition from which he is



so earnestly endeavoring to raise them。 As regards the severe



policy inaugurated by Alexander III against the Jews of the



empire; which Pobedonostzeff; more than any other man; is



supposed to have inspired; he seemed to have no harsh feelings



against Israelites as such; but his conduct seemed based upon a



theory which; in various conversations; he presented with much



force: namely; that Russia; having within its borders more Jews



than exist in all the world besides; and having suffered greatly



from these as from an organization really incapable of



assimilation with the body politic; must pursue a repressive



policy toward them and isolate them in order to protect its rural



population。







While he was very civil in his expressions regarding the United



States; he clearly considered all Western civilization a failure。



He seemed to anticipate; before long; a collapse in the systems



and institutions of Western Europe。 To him socialism and



anarchism; with all they imply; were but symptoms of a



wide…spread political and social diseaseindications of an



approaching catastrophe destined to end a civilization which;



having rejected orthodoxy; had cast aside authority; given the



force of law to the whimsies of illiterate majorities; and



accepted; as the voice of God; the voice of unthinking mobs;



blind to their own interests and utterly incapable of working out



their own good。 It was evident that he regarded Russia as



representing among the nations the idea of Heaven…given and



church…anointed authority; as the empire destined to save the



principle of divine right and the rule of the fittest。







Revolutionary efforts in Russia he discussed calmly。 Referring to



Loris…Melikoff; the representative of the principles most



strongly opposed to his own; no word of censure escaped him。 The



only evidence of deep feeling on this subject he ever showed in



my presence was when he referred to the writings of a well…known



Russian refugee in London; and said; 〃He is a murderer。〃







As to public instruction; he evidently held to the idea so



thoroughly carried out in Russia: namely; that the upper class;



which is to conduct the business of the state; should be highly



educated; but that the mass of the people need no education



beyond what will keep them contented in the humble station to



which it has pleased God to call them。 A very curious example of



his conservatism I noted in his remarks regarding the droshkies



of St。 Petersburg。 The droshky…drivers are Russian peasants;



simple and; as a rule; pious; rarely failing to make the sign of



the cross on passing a church or shrine; or at any other moment



which seems to them solemn。 They are possibly picturesque; but



certainly dirty; in their clothing and in all their surroundings。



A conveyance more wretched than the ordinary street…droshky of a



Russian city could hardly be conceived; and measures had been



proposed for improving this system; but he could see 
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