Unit Eight
The Harm That Good
Men Do
Bertrand Russell
Introduction to Bertrand Russell
Introduction to Text
Text Structure
About the author:

Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell (18721970), British philosopher, mathematician,
and social reformer. Nobel Prize for
Literature (1950).
Russell is an iconoclastic modern
philosopher (打破传统信仰的哲学家) who
writes this witty essay against conventional
beliefs, arguing in it that good and evil can
be defined only through the exercise of
reason.
About the author:

Over the course of his long career, Russell
made significant contributions, not just to
logic and philosophy, but to a broad range
of other subjects (including education,
politics, history, religion and science), and
many of his writings on a wide variety of
topics have influenced generations of
general readers.
Introduction to Text
In “The Harm That Good Men Do”, Russell, the
inimitable British Voltaire (无与伦比的英国哲学家）
evaluated the difficulty and dilemma of answering
children, or their more adult versions, just what is
a “good man?” Russell deflates（挫傲气）, debunks
（驳斥） and denigrates （贬低） the conventionally
defined “good man,” as generally a moralistic fop
（花花公子） , a mere defender of the superficial
status quo.
 Russell attacks these “good men” who represent
the unjust power of the dominant classes.

Introduction to the Text

However, on closing his critical litany against the
conventional “good man,” Russell offers the hope of
science and reason; they eventually will enable men to
realize that institutions based on hatred and injustice will
not produce happy societies, and that “good man” need a
morality based on “love of life … pleasure in growth, and
not upon repression or exploitation”. Though difficult and
painful to follow, Russell’s criticism and positive
suggestions are a positive beacon of lucidity（洞彻事理）
and light for all who would like to be called “good man,”
or “woman”.
Part 1: Para. 1
Part 2: Paras. 2-4
Part 3: Paras. 5-7
Part 4: Para. 8
The End
 Part
I (Para. 1)
Comprehension
Lang. Points
Paraphrases
Paragraph 1
Main idea of the paragraph:
A brief introduction to the generally
accepted concept of “ good men.”
Why does the author use quotation marks for
the words “good” and “morals”?
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He indicates that the real meaning of
good and morals may be debatable
even though there is a general public
acceptance of what they mean.
“Good works” that a “ good man” does besides his
professional duties:

1.encouraging patriotism and military
training
 2.promoting industry, sobriety and virtue
 3.preserving a misguided respect for
learning to allow professors who have
subversive ideas to be employed
Paragraph 1 Synonyms or Definitions
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A. wholesome
B. horror
C. safeguard
D. assiduous
E. subversive
F. irreproachable
G. castigate
H. sobriety
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1. protect
2. diligent
3. beyond criticism
4. punish
5. healthy
6. being selfcontrolled
7. disgust
8. destroying
Key to the Exercises
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wholesome – health
horror – disgust
safeguard – protect
assiduous – diligent
subversive –
destroying
irreproachable –
beyond criticism
 castigate – punish
 sobriety – being selfcontrolled/ being
serious
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a wholesome horror of wrongdoing
a healthy/reasonable disgust of the bad
behavior
wholesome a. : healthy; good for you
physically, morally or emotionally
e.g.A healthy diet includes lots of
wholesome natural food with plenty of
protein and vitamins.
Question sth./whether-clause: to express one’s doubt
about its value or whether it is true
 E.g.1) Experts have questioned the usefulness of vitamin
pills.

2) Two months ago, results from a European study
questioned whether early treatment with the drug really
improved survival.
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Question sb.: ask someone about sth., especially, officially
E.g. 1)When questioned about the issue, the Foreign
Minister declined to comment.
2) Several men were questioned by police yesterday
about the burglary.
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In the broad/broadest sense (of sth): If you define a term
in the broad/broadest sense, it means getting causes,
reasons, understandings, etc. at the root. The opposite of
the broad sense is the narrow sense
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Irreproachable : [not gradable] without fault and
therefore impossible to criticize
e.g.1) If you say that someone’s character or behaviors is
irreproachable, you mean that they behave so well that
they cannot be criticized.
2) The way she tackled the problem was
irreproachable.
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…it is our painful duty to castigate Sin.
 … it is painful for us to punish someone
whose behavior has broken God’s laws or
has gone against principles of morality.
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He has a still greater horror … by
middle-aged successful citizens. (line 5)
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He has a still stronger dislike of wrong
thinking, and consider it the business of the
authorities to protect the young from being
exposed to those who feel doubt about the
wisdom of the view which have already been
accepted by middle-aged successful citizens.
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… he may promote industry, sobriety, and virtue
among wage-earners and their children by seeing to it
that failures in these respects receive due
punishment; … (line 11)
… he may encourage workers and their children
to be diligent, serious, and moral by making sure
that those who are not so will be punished; …
See to (it that): make sure; care for; attend to
E.g. 1) We must see to it that party policies are
implemented.
2) Please see to it that no one comes in
without identification.
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…he may be a trustee of a university and prevent
an ill-judged respect for learning from allowing the
employment of professors with subversive idea.
(line13)
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…he may be a person who is responsible for
managing a university and he may be aware
that an unwise respect for learning should be
stopped in order not to allow the employment
of professors with the ideas which tend to
destroy, overthrow religion, a government etc.
by weakening people’s trust, confidence, belief.
Above all, of course, his “morals,” in the narrow sense,
must be irreproachable. (line15)
 Most importantly, it should be certain that his so called
standard of behavior and principles of right and wrong,
superficially, must be free from blame or fault.
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Above all: most importantly
 e.g. 1) Above all don’t forget to write.

2) max is fair, hardworking, and above all, honest.
 In the narrow sense: superficially
 e.g. In a narrow sense, computer can organize, allocate
and project. And they can do it a lot better, a lot cheaper
and a lot faster than we can.
Part II (Para. 2-4)
Main Idea:
Three uses of good men among politicians:
 1. affording a smoke-screen (para. 2)
 2. keeping undesirables out of politics (para. 3)
 3. getting good men themselves murdered (para. 4)
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What is the implied meaning of the three uses ?
These three uses of good men actually are the harm
good men do.
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Para. 2
Comprehension
Lang. Points
Paraphrases
Para. 3
Comprehension
Lang. Points
Paraphrases
Para 4.
Comprehension
Lang. Points
Paraphrases
Para. 2
What are the two reasons, mentioned
in this part, for good men used as
smoke screen?
1. Part of his goodness: a good men is quite
credulous, trusting and will never suspect his
friends of shady actions
 2. Part of his utility: a good men will never be
suspected by the public of using his goodness to
screen villains
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Background Knowledge
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An American President: probably referring to Warren
Gamaliel Harding. Harding (1865-1923), 29th president
of the United States. He was elected president in 1920 by
an overwhelming vote in a postwar reaction against
President Wilson’s international policies. The first
American president to take office after World War I,
Harding was also the first president to be born after the
Civil war.
Under Harding’s tenure the White House took on the lax
atmosphere of his frequent poker evenings. Among his
subordinates corruption grew blatant( 明显 的 ). With the
collapse of the war boom, with wage cuts, unemployment,
growing farm distress, and urban resentment( 愤 慨 ) of
prohibition, Harding by midterm found that much of his
popularity had slipped away.
Background Knowledge
Harding’s reputation did not long survive his death,
as scandal after scandal came to light. Harding’s
announced ambition was to be his country’s “bestloved” president. Upright, limited, and overtrusting,
he had the misfortune to be thrust into a position
beyond his capacities.
 Russell is the author of The Shadow of Blooming
Grove: Warren G. Harding in His Times

Para. 2: Language Points
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the deserving rich (para. 2):
people who are rich, but have “good” qualities (here
sarcastic: the rich aren’t deserving of money taken from
the general public.) It implies that the rich have gotten
the money secretly and underhandedness.
e.g deserving poor ; to give money to a deserving cause

be deserving of: be worthy of
e.g. Such people will never be deserving of trust.
These are the problem deserving of public attention.
c.f. deserve doing
e.g. Xiao li deserves praising.
Para. 2 Paraphrases
Among politicians good man … on their
activities unsuspected. (line 1)
 Some of the politicians make use of good men and
the main one of their uses is to provide smokescreen behind which the politicians can carry on
their activities without any risk of being suspected.
 A good man will never be suspected … of his
utility.(line 4)
 The public will never feel that a good man is guilty
of using his strict and lofty morality to prevent evil
acts from being seen: this is one of the good man’s
use.

Para. 2 Paraphrases
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It is clear that this combination of qualities … of the
deserving rich. (line 6)
It is clear that the combination of good man’s
goodness and utility makes a good man extremely
useful wherever public refuses to accept and
objects to the transference of public money into
the hands of the rich people.
 narrow-minded a.: not ready to listen to or
tolerate the views of others
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e.g. 1) If you describe someone as narrow-minded, you are
criticizing them because they are unwilling to consider
new ideas or other people’s opinion.
2) narrow-minded views/opinions; narrow-minded person
Para. 2 Paraphrases
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I am told – though far be it from me … this purpose.
(line 9)
I am told – though I would never approve the statement -that not long ago in American history there was an
President who was “a good man” and used as a smokescreen.
far be it from me to do sth: I certainly would not want to
do sth.
e.g.1) Far be it from me to advice you what to do.
2) Far be it from me to hurt his feelings.
far be it from me to disagree/criticize: neither hope nor
dare
e.g. Far be it from me to criticize her. I just think she’s
behaved extremely bad.
Para. 3 Comprehension
Who are the “undesirables”? (para.3)
 people who may or may not have
committed breaches(违规) of the moral
law but who are not wanted for one
reason or another, often chiefly
political.(被排斥的异己)

Para. 3
Comprehension
Three ways to keep such people
(undesirables) out of politics after his private
activities has been kept track of and
something has been discovered:
 1. to publicize the facts and cause the
person to disappear
 2. to compel the person to retire into
private life by treats of exposure
 3. to use blackmail
Para. 3 Language Points
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venture into: risk going into
venture into/through/out of: risk going
somewhere when it could be risky
e.g. Today is the first time I’ve ventured out of
doors since my illness.
venture to do sth: risk doing sth
e.g. 1) I venture to say that men will live in the
moon.
2) Nothing ventured, nothing gained. 不入虎穴，焉得
虎子
Venture …. On
e.g. Jeff ventured his whole fortune on one throw of the
dice.
Para. 3
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keep track (of): keep in touch with ; follow
the course or development (of)
 e.g.1. I read the newspapers to keep track of
current events.
 2. I always make sure I keep track of all the
money I spend.
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c.f.lose track (of): fail to follow the course
or development (of)
Para. 3
derive v. : get, obtain sth
 derive…from…: get…from…
e.g. She derives great joy (pleasure
satisfaction) from playing the violin.
The institute derives all its money
from foreign investments.
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Para. 3 Paraphrases
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Another of the uses of good men … by means of
scandals. (line 1)
Another of the uses of good men is that any
undesirable people/things can avoid becoming
involved in politics by means of the general feeling
of indignation of the good men.
keep out of: prevent sth; (cause sb to) avoid sth; not
enter (a place); remain outside
e.g.1) I prefer to keep out of arguments about
money.
2) I kept out of their quarrel.
3) Keep that dog out of my study.
Para. 3 Paraphrases
Ninety-nine men out of a hundred … does not
become public. (line 2)
 Ninety-nine men out of a hundred break the moral
law, but mainly this fact does not become known to
the public.
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commit a breach/breaches: break or neglect
 e.g.commit a breach of international practice 违反
国际惯例
Para. 3 Paraphrases
And when in the ninety-ninth case … of being
suspected (line 4)
 And when in the ninety-ninth case it (breaking the
moral law) becomes public concerning anyone in
the hundred, the one man in the hundred who is
really innocent expresses his real indignation, but
the other ninety-eight are reduced to doing the
same (not genuinely) because they don’t want to be
suspected.
 follow suit: (fig.) do what someone else has done
 e.g. One of the major banks has lowered its interest
rates and the other banks are expected to follow
suit.

Para. 3 Understanding and Language Points
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When, therefore, any man of obnoxious
opinions … will ruin his political career. (line 7)
 Therefore (according to what discussed above),
when any man who has very different and
disagreeable opinions risks going into political
affairs and political life, people who want to keep
the long-established laws or customs think it is
necessary for them to watch the activities of the
“difficult” politician (because his opinions are in
conflict with the majority of other people’s) until
they discover something which, if made known to
the public, will destroy his political career.
Para. 3
They then have three courses open to them.
(Line 12)
There are three available
options/activities for them to choose.
 (be) open to (sb.): available
e.g. The competition is open to anyone
over the age of sixteen.

Para. 3
All three, therefore, are to be commended, and all three
are only rendered possible through the existence of good
men. (Line 15)
Therefore, all three courses (mentioned above) seem to be
spoken favorably, and the three outlined courses are made
possible because of the existence of good men. (It is a
cynical statement(嘲讽的说法) because at least one of the
courses is illegal, other two perhaps unethical)
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render v.: cause… to become
e.g. 1. I rejected his advice in term which rendered it
impossible for him to address me again.我用使得他再也不可
能与我对话的措辞来拒绝他的劝说。
2.新的技术使我的老计算器过时了。 New technology has
rendered my old computer obsolete.
Para. 4 Comprehension
Tune of paragraph 4: the third use of
“good man” , which is written in
Sarcastic tune.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand :
 heir to the throne of the AustroHungarian Empire (奥匈帝国)
 assassinated on June 28, 1914 when
returning from an official visit to City Hall
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Para. 4
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safe for (sth): (para. 4) not causing or likely to
cause harm or danger to (sth)
(be) safe from: (be) not harmed by
(be) safe with: not (tell) anyone who is not
supposed to know
e.g.1. Are these toys safe for small children?
2. Is this safe for bathing?
3. The house is not safe from theft.
4. The secret will be quite safe with her.
Para.4 Paraphrase
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If he had not died as he did, we might not have had the
war, and then the world would not have been made safe
for democracy, nor would militarism have been
overthrown, nor should we be now enjoying military
despotisms in Spain, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria. (line
3)
If the Archduke had not gotten himself murdered, we
might not have had war (we had war); and then democracy
would have been endangered in the world; militarism
(believing in or depending on military strength and
methods) would not have been overthrown; and we should
not be now enjoying military tyranny in Spain, Italy,
Hungary and Bulgaria. (The tone of this sentence, or
rather, of the whole paragraph, is sarcastic.)
Part III (Para. 5-7)
 Main
Idea
Factors attributing to the harm that
good men do

Para. 5
Para. 6
Para. 7
Comprehension
Lang. Points
Paraphrases
Comprehension
Lang. Points
Comprehension
Lang. Points
Paraphrases
Para. 5: Language Points
Sir J.G. Frazer:
 Sir James George (1854-1941),
Scottish anthropologist. In The Golden
Bough (1890-1915) he proposed an
evolutionary theory of the development
of human thought, from the magical and
religious to the scientific.

Para. 5 Comprehension
According to the author the standards of
so-called “goodness” are not those
carefully planned to make the world a
happier place.
Two main causes giving rise to these
standards:
 1. Tradition
 2. The unjust power of dominant
classes
Questions:

Where did, historically, primitive morality
originate from?
The notion of taboo.
 What did they continue to do to people for
generations?
They continued to have authority over
people’s feelings when nobody know the
original reason.
What are morals nowadays?
Large parts of them are still of this sort.
Language Points
… on the supposed ground that they produced
disaster by magical means.(para.5)
…on the assumption that completely
harmless acts caused tragedy through
magic.
 on the ground(s): because
 Peter always declines his friends’
invitations on the ground that his wife
would blame him for coming back late.

Language Points
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In this way there came to be prohibitions.
Therefore the prohibitions were formed and
became necessary at last.
Come +to V : reach a point at which one realizes,
understands, believes something
e.g.She had come to see the problem in a new
light.
I have come to believe that the Government’s
economic policy is misguided.
Language Points
 speak
of… as... : mention…as…
e.g. 1)He is spoken of as a good
teacher.
2)The wealth and honor of a
man are usually spoken of as
his ‘credit’.
Paraphrase
To speak seriously: the standard of “goodness”
which are generally recognized by public opinion
are not those which are calculated to make the
world a happier place.(line 1,para. 5)
To speak seriously: the standards of so called the
goodness which are generally accepted by public
opinion are not the standards which are designed to
make the world a happier place.(The sentence indicates
that the standards of genuine goodness should be those
which are planned to make the world a happier place.)
be calculated to do sth.: be planned or arranged
in order to produce a particular effect
 e.g. This advertisement is calculated to attract
the attention of house wives.
Paraphrase

Primitive morality seems to have developed out of the
notion of taboo; that is to say, it was originally purely
superstitious, and forbade certain perfectly harmless
acts on the supposed ground that they produced
disaster by magical means. (line 5)
 The earliest morality seems to have originated from the
idea of taboo; that is to say, the earliest morality was
originally only superstitious, and prohibited certain
completely harmless actions because they were supposed
to cause tragedy through magic means.
 On the ground(s) that/of: because (of)
 Peter always declines his friends’ invitations on the ground
that his wife would blame him for coming back late.
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6 is mainly about:
our current ethic is a curious mixture of
superstition and rationalism
 Why do we say our current ethic is a mixture of
superstition and rationalism?
Because in social practice we now still
believe that the virtue consists in not
doing instead of doing.

Language Points
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set apart: make noticeable or different;
separated from
 e.g. 1) The separation of words into sense
groupings is one of the things that sets this
dictionary apart.
 2) What set her apart from the other
candidates for the job was that she had a lot
of original ideas.
Language Points
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abstain form: hold oneself back; refrain
 e.g.1) His doctor told him to abstain from beer and
wine.
 2) At the last election he abstained from voting.
 inculcate…in…: fix ideas, beliefs, etc., in one’s mind
by repetition灌输
 e.g.1) We need to inculcate in young people the duty
of loyalty.
 2) Our football couch has worked hard to inculcate a
team spirit in the players.
Language Points
profit by/from sth.: to achieve an
advantage from it; learn from it
 e.g.1) He’s getting married again, after
two divorces, so he obviously hasn’t
profited by his experience.
 2) I certainly profited from the two years
I spent in that company.

Language Points
know of: have information about or
experience of sb./sth.
 e.g. 1) Do you know of any way to stop
a person snoring?
 2) I don’t know him personally, though I
know of him.

Paragraph 7
Benthan advocated and expected:
“The greatest happiness of the
greatest number” as the basis of
morals.
 The author’s attitude towards Benthan’s ideas:
Support them. (much more arduous life;
make himself the champion of the
oppressed; incur the enmity of the
great etc.)

Comprehension
official morality:
morality that is held to be the norm by
society but which society may or may
not actually live by.
 Author’s opinion about ‘official morality’:
It has always been oppressive and
negative. It seems unlikely that any
large-scale improvements will come.

Main idea of paragraph 7
Traditional morality (seems) not perfect,
but large-scale improvement (seems)
unlikely.
Para7 language Points
alienate (from): cause someone to stop
supporting and agreeing; cause
someone to feel very distant from or
not welcome
 e.g.The prime Minister’s policy
alienated many of his followers.

Ten years in prison has alienated
him from his family.

Para 7 Paraphase
 …but only if it is conducted with a view to
nothing more than momentary pleasure.
…but it will be the case only if it is
done with the idea of gaining
temporary pleasure.
Part IV (Para. 8)
 Conclusion drawn from the last
paragraph:

With the progress of reason and
science, men gradually come to realize
that the world whose institutions are
based upon hatred and injustice is not
the one most likely to produce
happiness. The harm that good men
do results from such a world.
The End
Translation
1.So-called ideally good men, in fact, are not
always of benefit to society and the standards of
goodness have long been argued.
2.The morals of good men must be irreproachable
and they mustn’t be so indifferent to the things
causing harm to society.
3.They try to be assiduous and earnest and see to
it that they finish their work smoothly; they never
give any thought to personal fame and position.
4.Scandals can defame a genuinely good man,
while flattery can make an evil man a good man.
5.He cannot tell good men from evil ones, so bad
men often use the goodness of good men to
screen their villains.
6.They often elbowed out the undesirable, which
made it impossible for them to continue their
work.
7.Although he was forced,he was not afraid of that
and continued his own experiment, which was
calculated to be successful.
8.The poor man was sentenced to be imprisoned
for life on the ground that he had stolen bread
from a store.
9.They have kept track of his activities, but haven’t
found any suspected behavior.
10.Many people were against him for his violation
of some conventional concepts. But still some
others followed suit.