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And those who quit their proper sphere change their surroundings merely, not their natures. They do not acquire the thoughts or passions appropriate to the sphere they enter. It is not in their power to do so. Emotional forces, as I say somewhere in Intentions,[157.1] are as limited in extent and duration as the forces of physical energy. The little cup that is made to hold so much can hold so much and no more[157a], though all the purple vats of Burgundy be filled with wine to the brim, and the treaders stand knee-deep in the gathered grapes of the stony vineyards of Spain. There is no error more common than that of thinking that those who are the causes or occasions of great tragedies share in the feelings suitable to the tragic mood: no error more fatal than expecting it of them. The martyr in his “shirt of flame” [157.2] may be looking on the face of God, but to him who is piling the faggots or loosening the logs for the blast the whole scene is no more than the slaying of an ox is to the butcher, or the felling of a tree to the charcoal-burner in the forest, or the fall of a flower to one who is mowing down the grass with a scythe[157b]. Great passions are for the great of soul, and great events can be seen only by those who are on a level with them.那些舍弃了他们正当的范围的人，改变的不过是他们的周围环境，而非他们的本性。他们并没有获得所进入的那个范围要求的思想或激情。他们做不到这一点。情感力量，正如我在《意图》一书里什么地方说的，在时空范围上同物理能量的力一样有限。小小一个杯子，造出来为了装这一点便只能装这一点，再多就不行了[157a]，哪怕是勃艮第紫色的酒桶个个装满了葡萄酒，西班牙嶙峋的葡萄园采摘的葡萄堆到了踩榨工人的膝盖。最普遍的错误莫过于以为那些引起或促成伟大悲剧的人，都同样怀着与那悲剧气氛相合的情感：没有比这个要他们情感相通的错误更致命了。那披着“火之裳”的殉道者也许在仰望着上帝的脸，但是对那个在堆放柴捆、松开木条要执行火刑的人，整个场面不过如屠夫杀死一条牛、烧炭人伐倒一棵树、挥镰割草的人劈落一朵花罢了[157b]。伟大的激情是留给伟大的灵魂的，伟大的事件只有与之水平相当的人才能理解。
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