The Naturalist by Thom Conroy

Author:Thom Conroy [Thom Conroy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781775536499
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand
Published: 2014-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

The three men exchanged looks, and Ernst saw how pained Humboldt appeared. The sudden eruption of such prejudice seemed to embarrass him. Ernst said, ‘While in New Zealand, I sought this difference between savage and civilised man. I interviewed chiefs, warriors, priests, old women, children, slaves. I collected mythology and scrutinised the language. In short, I cast a bold scientific eye in all directions. In the end, I could not but conclude that the essential differences did not render us essentially separate. On the contrary, what impressed me regarding the Māori were the similarities they bore to the civilised European.’

‘I couldn’t agree more,’ Humboldt said. He sat forward and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘If you’ll pardon me for pointing it out, all that I have read suggests that these similarities do not exclude an inclination toward the most unenviable of European customs—the consumption of spirits.’

‘Sadly, true,’ Ernst said. He then told the two men of the strict sobriety of the Māori he met in the Sounds. This he contrasted with the dissolution he encountered among those he had met in the Bay of Islands. ‘The only difference,’ he concluded, ‘was in the time passed in the company of the European. Nor is our unwholesome influence limited to alcohol.’

‘Come now,’ Friedrich said, tapping the table. ‘You speak as if the European were a sort of pestilence unleashed upon the native.’ Here, he stopped to chuckle, but when Humboldt and Ernst remained silent, his laughter tapered off.

‘It may not be far from the mark,’ Ernst said. ‘We should never underestimate the hazard of colonisation to the native. I did, and I shall forever regret it … Only consider the pernicious influence of our weaponry in New Zealand. Everywhere the Company went, it was the same—How many muskets for our land? How much gunpowder? Can you guarantee it’s dry?’

‘And yet what can be done?’ Humboldt said, throwing up his hands. His voice became more urgent as he spoke. ‘Your Māori are no different from the rest. All the world, it seems, is doomed to adopt that level of aggression most extreme. And consider the escalation: our capacity for violence ever climbs!’ Something in the darkened window of Humboldt’s study seemed to catch his attention and he stopped short, panting. After a few beats had passed he spoke again, more quietly.

‘Gentlemen, sometimes I sit here alone at night, and I fear that the age following ours shall be one of brutality such as the world has never imagined.’

‘It cannot be,’ Friedrich said. ‘The innate nobility of man will only allow the violence to increase to a certain point.’ Here he unthinkingly wagged his lecturing finger at them. ‘I believe the world is as brutal as it shall ever be. Who knows but the future shall be a period of enduring peace.’

‘It is possible,’ Ernst replied. He took in a long, slow breath. ‘And yet without understanding and respect between different peoples, that hope must be an empty dream.’

Humboldt came to his feet and crossed into the collection room.

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