120 philosophical essays you must read in your life

Chapter 5

Chapter 1 Section 4 The Clown

[Russia] Turgenev
There was once a clown in the world.

He lived a very happy life for a long time, but by degrees some rumors had reached his ears that he was everywhere regarded as a very stupid and very vulgar fellow.

Embarrassed, the Joker began to think gloomily: How can we stop those nasty gossip?

A sudden idea finally opened his stupid head... So, without delay, he put his idea into practice.

He met an acquaintance in the street—and the acquaintance praised a famous colorist...

"Come on!" said the clown, raising his voice. "The colorist is dead already... Don't you know this? I didn't expect you to be so... You are a backward person."

The acquaintance was taken aback and immediately agreed with the clown.

"What a fine book I finished today!" another acquaintance told him.

"Come on!" said the clown, raising his voice. "Why aren't you shy? This book is not interesting at all, and everyone has given up reading it a long time ago. You don't know this yet? You are a backward person."

So the acquaintance was also surprised—and agreed with the clown.

"My friend So-and-so is a very nice man!" said the third acquaintance to the clown. "He is a truly noble man!"

"Come on!" said the clown, raising his voice. "So-and-so is a bastard! He has robbed all his relatives. Who doesn't know that? You are a backward person!"

The third acquaintance was equally astonished, agreed with the joker, and stopped seeing the friend.In short, no matter who or what people praise in front of the clown, he keeps refuting.

Only sometimes, he added reproachfully:

"Do you still believe in authority?"

"What a wicked man! What a vicious fellow!" His acquaintances began to talk about the clown. "However, his mind is not simple!"

"He's got a tongue, too!" added others. "Oh, he's a genius!"

Finally, the publisher of a newspaper asked the clown to come to him and host an opinion column.

And so the clown began to criticize everything and everyone, without changing his technique or his pompous air a bit.

Now he—a man who had once shouted against authority—has become an authority himself, and the young people adore him and fear him.

What should they, poor young men, do?Although generally speaking, one should not worship... But here, try not to worship - you will be a backward person!

Clowns do well among timid people.

【Together with you】

Superficial criticism is like waves floating on the sea, loud and flashy.The real classics, whether it is people or things, have to go through the test of time and everyone. It is an undercurrent hidden in the bottom of the sea, turbulent but not ostentatious.What's more valuable is that a truly stalwart person can always face the rumors and unfair criticism from outside with confidence and courage and a broad mind.Time is always the fairest judge, and the stalwart personality is exchanged for praise and immortality. Once the arrogant clown stops the lively jumping beam performance, he will definitely retreat to the corner of history and will quickly decay!Once the dignity of the human heart is close to instinct, we can only be in awe of it.

(End of this chapter)