Read Books Online, for Free |
Part II: The Explanations of Innocent Smith | Gilbert K. Chesterton | |
Chapter I. The Eye of Death; or, the Murder Charge |
Page 11 of 15 |
"`Of course,' he went on dreamily, `one or two men see the sober fact a long way off--they go mad. Do you notice that maniacs mostly try either to destroy other things, or (if they are thoughtful) to destroy themselves? The madman is the man behind the scenes, like the man that wanders about the coulisse of a theater. He has only opened the wrong door and come into the right place. He sees things at the right angle. But the common world--' "`Oh, hang the common world!' said the sullen Smith, letting his fist fall on the table in an idle despair. "`Let's give it a bad name first,' said the Professor calmly, `and then hang it. A puppy with hydrophobia would probably struggle for life while we killed it; but if we were kind we should kill it. So an omniscient god would put us out of our pain. He would strike us dead.' "`Why doesn't he strike us dead?' asked the undergraduate abstractedly, plunging his hands into his pockets. "`He is dead himself,' said the philosopher; `that is where he is really enviable.' "`To any one who thinks,' proceeded Eames, `the pleasures of life, trivial and soon tasteless, and bribes to bring us into a torture chamber. We all see that for any thinking man mere extinction is the... What are you doing?... Are you mad?... Put that thing down.' |
Who's On Your Reading List? Read Classic Books Online for Free at Page by Page Books.TM |
Manalive Gilbert K. Chesterton |
Home | More Books | About Us | Copyright 2004