胡適留學日記卷十二二〇、論革命

卷十二二〇、論革命

　　（一月卅一日）

　　I do not condemn revolutions, because I believe that they are necessary stages in the process of evolution. But I do not favor premature revolutions, because they are usually wasteful and therefore unfruitful. "When the fruit is ripe, it will fall", says a Chinese proverb. Premature plucking only injures the fruit. It is for this reason that I do not entertain much hope for the revolutions now going on in China, although I have deep sympathy for the revolutionists.

　　Personally I prefer to build from the bottom up. I have come to believe that there is no short-cut to political decency and efficiency. The monarchists have no desire for political decency and efficiency. The revolutionists desire them, but they want to attain them by a short-cut—by a revolution. My personal attitude is: "Come what may, let us educate the people. Let us lay a foundation for our future generations to build upon. "

　　This is necessarily a very slow process, and mankind is impatient! But, so far as I can see, this slow process is the only process: "It is requisite to revolutions as well as to evolutions."

　　To Professor H. S. Williams Jan. 31

　　〔中譯〕

　　吾並非指責革命，因為，吾相信，這也是人類進化之一必經階段。可是，吾不贊成早熟之革命，因為，它通常是徒勞的，因而是一事無成的。中國有句古話，叫做「瓜熟蒂落」。果子還未成熟，即去採摘，只會弄壞果子。基於此理由，吾對當前正在進行的中國之革命，不抱太多的希望。誠然，吾對這些革命者則深表同情。

　　作為個人來說，吾倒寧願從基礎建設起。吾一貫相信，通向開明而有效之政治，無捷徑可走。持君主論者並不期望開明而有效之政治。革命論者倒是非常渴望，但是，他們卻想走捷徑——即通過革命。吾個人之態度則是：「不管怎樣，總以教育民眾為主。讓我們為下一代，打一個扎實之基礎。」

　　這是一個極其緩慢之過程，十分必需之過程，可是，人卻是最沒耐心的！以愚所見，這個緩慢之過程是唯一必需的：「它既是革命之必需，又是人類進化之必需。」

　　致H. S. 維廉斯教授

　　1月31日

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