120 philosophical essays you must read in your life

Chapter 14

Chapter 1 Section 13 Warriors and Flies

[China] Lu Xun
Schopenhauer said something like this: To evaluate the greatness of a person, the law of greatness in spirit and greatness in physique is completely opposite.The latter becomes smaller the farther the distance is, while the former appears larger.

Just because the closer you are, the smaller you are, and the more you see your flaws and wounds, so he is just like us, not a Shinto, a monster, or a strange beast.He's still human, but that's all.But only because of this, so he is a great man.

When a soldier dies in battle, the first things flies notice are his flaws and scars. They suck and squawk, taking pride in it, thinking that they are more heroes than the dead soldier.But the fighters have already died in battle, no longer come to wave them.So the flies croaked even louder, thinking that it was an immortal sound, because their completeness far surpassed the warriors.

Indeed, no one has ever discovered the flaws and wounds of the flies.

However, a flawed fighter is a fighter after all, and a perfect fly is just a fly after all.

Go, flies!Even though he has wings and can camp, he will never surpass a warrior.You insects!

【Together with you】

The poet Bei Dao said: meanness is the passport of the mean; nobleness is the epitaph of the noble.A heroic warrior has a unique trajectory of struggle; and those who are rambunctious also have their own state of survival.The only difference is that the former will win a wreath of people's glory; the latter will live and die.Roman?Roland in "John?Christophe said that heroes are not without despicable times, but that they are not enslaved by despicableness.From this we understand that what makes a hero and a scumbag is that one is brave enough to fire at what is vile, while the other prides himself on vileness!A life wearing a mask is a sad life.

Without being able to show our true selves, we are destined to only experience the life process of depression.

(End of this chapter)