高級(jí)英語 Advanced English(張漢熙) 第二冊(cè) 9.The Ones Who Walk Away from Ome

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

URSULA LE GUIN

1 WITH a clamor of bells that set the swallows soaring, the Festival of Summer came to the city Omelas, bright-towered by the sea. The rigging of the boats in harbor sparkled with flags. In the streets between houses with red roofs and painted walls, between old moss-grown gardens and under avenues of trees, past great parks and public buildings, processions moved. Some were decorous: old people in long stiff robes of mauve and grey, grave master workmen, quiet, merry women carrying their babies and chatting as they walked. In other streets the music beat faster, a shimmering of gong and tambourine, and the people went dancing, the procession was a dance. Children dodged in and out, their high calls rising like the swallows' crossing flights over the music and the singing. All the processions wound towards the north side of the city, where on the great water-meadow called the Green Fields boys and girls, naked in the bright air, with mud-stained feet and ankles and long, lithe arms, exercised their restive horses before the race. The horses wore no gear at all but a halter without bit. Their manes were braided with streamers of silver, gold, and green. They flared their nostrils and pranced and boasted to one another; they were vastly excited, the horse being the only animal who has adopted our ceremonies as his own. Far off to the north and west the mountains stood up half encircling Omelas on her bay. The air of morning was so clear that the snow still crowning the Eighteen Peaks burned with white-gold fire across the miles of sunlit air, under the dark blue of the sky. There was just enough wind to make the banners that marked the race course snap and flutter now and then. In the silence of the broad green meadows one could hear the music winding through the city streets, farther and nearer and ever approaching, a cheerful faint sweetness of the air that from time to time trembled and gathered together and broke out into the great joyous clanging of the bells.

2 joyous! How is one to tell about joy? How describe the citizens of Omelas?

3 They were not simple folk, you see, though they were happy. But we do not say the words of cheer much any more. All smiles have become archaic. Given a description such as this one tends to make certain assumptions. Given a description such as this one tends to look next for the King, mounted on a splendid stallion and surrounded by his noble knights, or perhaps in a golden litter borne by great-muscled slaves. But there was no king. They did not use swords, or keep slaves. They were not barbarians. I do not know the rules and laws of their society, but I suspect that they were singularly few. As they did without monarchy and slavery, so they also got on without the stock exohan6e, the advertisement, the secret police, and the bomb. Yet I repeat that these were not simple folk, not dulcet shepherds, noble savages, bland utopians. They were not less complex than us. The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist: a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain. If you can't lick 'em, join 'em. If it hurts, repeat it. But to praise despair is to condemn you about the people of Omelas? They were not naive and happy children-though their children were, in fact, happy.They were mature, intelli6ent, passionate adults whose delight, to embrace violence is to lose hold of everything else. We have almost lost hold, we can no longer describe a happy man, nor make any celebration of joy. How can I tell lives were not wretched? O miracle! but I wish I could describe it better. I wish I could convince you. Omelas sounds in my words like a city-in a fairy tale, long ago and far away, once upon a time. Perhaps it would be best if you imagined it as your own fancy bids, assuming it will rise to the occasion, for certainly I cannot suit you all. For instance, how about technology? I think that there would be no oars or helicopters in and above the streets; this follows from the fact that the people of Omelas are happy people.Happiness is based on a just discrimination of what is necessary, what is neither necessary nor destructive, and what is destructive. In the middle category, however—that of the unnecessary but undestructive, that of comfort, luxury, exuberance, etc.--they could perfectly well have central heating, subway trains, washing machines, and all kinds of marvelous devices not yet invented here, floating light-sources, fuelless power, a cure for the common cold. Or they could have none of that: it doesn't matter. As you like it. One thing I know there is none of in Omelas is guilt .But what else should there be? I thought at first there were no drugs, but that is puritanical. For those who like it, the faint insistent sweetness of drooz may perfume the ways of the city, drooz which first brings a great lightness and brilliance to the mind and limbs, and then after some hours a dreamy languor, and wonderful visions at last of the very arcana and inmost secrets of the Universe, as well as ex-citing the pleasure of sex beyond all belief; and it is not habit-forming. For more modest tastes I think there ought to be beer. What else, what else belongs in the joyous city? The sense of victory, surely, the celebration of courage .But as we did without clergy, let us do without soldiers. The joy built upon successful slaughter is not the right kind of joy: it will not do; it is fearful and it is trivial. A bound-less and generous contentment, a magnanimous triumph felt not against some outer enemy but in communion with the finest and fairest in the souls of all men everywhere and the splendor of the world's summer: this is what swells the hearts of the people of Ometas, and the victory they celebrate is that of life. I really don't think many of them need to take drooz.

4 Most of the processions have reached the Green Fields by now. A marvelous smell of cooking goes forth from the red and blue tents of the provisioners. The faces of small children are amiably sticky; in the benign grey beard of a man a couple of crumbs of rich pastry are entangled. The youths and girls have mounted their horses and are beginning to group around the starting line of the course. Anold woman, small, fat, and laughing, is passing out flowers

from a basket, and tall young men wear her flowers in their shining hair. A child of nine or ten sits at the edge of the crowd, alone, playing on a wooden flute. People pause to listen, and they smile, but they do not speak to him, for he never ceases playing and never sees them, his dark eyes wholly rapt in the sweet, thin magic of the tune.

5 He finishes, and slowly lowers his hands holding the wooden flute.

6 As if that little private silence were the signal, all at once a trumpet sounds from the pavilion near the starting line: imperious, melancholy, piercing. The horses rear

on their slender legs, and some of them neigh in answer. Sober-faced, the young riders stroke the horses' necks and soothe them, whispering, "Quiet, quiet, there my beauty, my hope " They begin to form in rank along the starting line. The crowds along the racecourse are like a field of grass and flowers in the wind. The Festival of Summer has begun.

7 Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city,the joy? No? Then let me describe one more thing.

8 In a basement under one of the beautiful public buildings of Omelas, or perhaps in the cellar of one of its spacious private homes, there is a room. It has one locked door, and no window. A little light seeps in dustily between cracks in the boards, secondhand from a cobwebbed window somewhere across the cellar. In one corner of the little room a couple of mops, with stiff, clotted, foul-smelling heads, stand near a rusty bucket. The floor is dirt, a little damp to the touch, as celar dirt usually is. The room is about three paces long and two wide: a mere broom closet or disused tool room. In the room a child is sitting. It could be a boy or a girl. It looks about six, but actually is nearly ten. It is feeble-minded. Perhaps it was born defective, or perhaps it has become imbecile through fear, malnutrition, and neglect. It picks its nose and occasionally fumbles vaguely with its toes or genitals, as it sits hunched in the corner farthest from the bucket and the two mops. It is afraid of the mops. It finds them horrible. It shuts its eyes, but it knows the mops are still standing there; and the door is locked; and nobody will come. The door is always locked; and nobody ever comes, except that sometimes--the child has no understanding of time or interval--sometimes the door rattles terribly and opens, and a person, or several people, are there. One of them may come in and kick the child to make it stand up, The others never come close, but peer in at it with frightened, disgusted eyes. The food bowl and the water jug are hastily filled, the door is locked, the eyes disappear. The people at the door never say anything, but the child, who has not always lived in the tool room, and can remember sunlight and its mother's voice, sometimes speaks. "1 will be good," it says. "Please let me out. I will be good!" They never answer. The child used to scream for help at night, and cry a good deal, but now it only makes a kind of whining, "eh-haa, eh-haa," and it speaks less and less often. It ls so thin there are no calves to its legs; its belly protrudes; it lives on a half-bowl of corn meal and grease a day. It is naked. Its buttocks and thighs are a mass of festered sores, as it sits in its own excrement continually.

9 They all know it is there, all the people of Omelas.Some of them have come to see it, others are content merely to know it is there. They all know that it has to be there. Some of them understand why, and some do not, but they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest and the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this child's abominable misery.

10 This is usually explained to children when they are between eight and twelve, whenever they seem capable of understanding; and most of those who come to see the child are young people, though often enough an adult comes, or comes back, to see the child. No matter how well the matter has been explained to them, these young spectators are always shocked and sickened at the sight. They feel disgust, which they had thought themselves superior to. They feel anger, outrage, impotence, despite all the explanations. They would like to do something for the child. But there is nothing they can do. If the child were brought up into the sunlight out of the vile place, if it were cleaned and fed and comforted, that would be a good thing, indeed; but if it were done, in that day and hour all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither and be destroyed. Those are the terms. To exchange all the goodness and grace of every life in Omelas for that single, small improvement: to throw away the happiness of thousands for the chance of the happiness of one: that would be to let guilt within the walls indeed.

11 The terms are strict and absolute; there may not even be a kind word spoken to the child.

12 Often the young people go home in tears, or in a tearless rage, when they have seen the child and faced this terrible paradox. They may brood over it for weeks or years. But as time goes on they begin to realize that even if the child could be released, it would not get much good of its freedom: a little vague pleasure of warmth and food, no doubt, but little more. It is too degraded and imbecile to know any real joy. It has been afraid too long ever to be free of fear. Its habits are too uncouth for it to respond to humane treatment. Indeed, after so long it would probably be wretched without walls about it to protect it, and darkness for its eyes, and its own excrement to sit in. Their tears at the bitter injustice dry when they begin to perceive the terrible justice of reality, and to accept it. Yet it is their tears and anger, the trying of their generosity and the acceptance of their helplessness, which are perhaps the true source of the splendor of their lives. Theirs is no vapid, irresponsible happiness. They know that they, like the child, are not free. They know compassion. It is the existence of the child, and their knowledge of its existence ,that makes possible the nobility of their architecture, the poignancy of their music, the profundity of their science. It is because of the child that they are so gentle with children. They know that if the wretched one were not There snivelling in the dark, the other one, the flute-player ,could make no joyful music as the young riders line up in their beauty for the race in the sunlight of the first morning of summer.

13 Now do you believe in them? Are they not more credible? But there is one more thing to tell, and this is quite incredible.

14 At times one of the adolescent girls or boys who go to see the child does not go home to weep or rage, does not, in fact, go home at all. Sometimes also a man or woman much older falls silent for a day or two, and then leaves home. These people go out into the street, and walk down the street alone. They keep walking, and walk straight out of the city of Omelas, through the beautiful gates. They keep walking across the farmlands of Omelas. Each one goes alone, youth or girl, man or woman. Night falls; the traveler must pass down village streets, between the houses with yellow-lit windows, and on out into the darkness of the fields. Each alone, they go west or north, towards the mountains. They go on. They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back. The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at all. It is possible that it does not exist. But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.

(from The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction)

第九課從奧米勒斯城出走的人

(編校整理本)

威廉詹姆斯對(duì)一個(gè)主題的多角度闡發(fā)

烏爾蘇拉勒吉恩

隨著一陣響徹云霄的鐘聲的敲響，一群燕子驚得展翅高翔，白塔映日的海濱城市奧米勒斯迎來了她的夏慶節(jié)。港灣里停泊的船只的纜索上都飄揚(yáng)著鮮艷奪目的彩旗。市區(qū)的大街小巷上，一支支游行隊(duì)伍穿過街道兩旁那一排排紅頂彩漆墻面的房屋，穿過一座座長滿青苔的古老庭園，走過一條條林蔭大道，一座座公園和公共建筑，迤邐而行。游行隊(duì)伍有的顯得十分文雅莊重，其參加者或是一些身著紫衣灰袍的老者，或是一些沉郁肅穆的工人師傅，或是一些文文靜靜、歡歡喜喜的婦女，她們抱著孩子，邊走邊聊天。另外一些游行隊(duì)伍的情形卻迥然不同：那兒奏著歡快的音樂，鑼鼓喧天，游行的人們一路上載歌載舞。成群的小孩在隊(duì)伍中興高采烈地穿來穿去，他們的歡叫聲像高翔于空中的燕子的嗚叫聲一樣，蓋過游行隊(duì)伍的鼓樂聲和歌唱聲。所有游行隊(duì)伍都沿著蜿蜒曲折的街道迤邐向北行進(jìn)，來到一個(gè)稱作綠野的大草坪上。草坪上早有一些光著身子、腳踝沾滿泥巴、手臂長大而靈活的青年男女在那兒對(duì)他們的劣馬進(jìn)行賽前訓(xùn)練。那些馬都沒有上鞍具，只套了一根不帶嚼子的韁繩。馬的鬃毛上扎著一些銀色、金色和綠色飾帶。那些馬都揚(yáng)著鼻子，歡騰跳躍相互炫耀;它們都興奮異常，因?yàn)轳R是唯一將人的喜慶活動(dòng)看作自己的喜慶活動(dòng)的動(dòng)物。城外較遠(yuǎn)處，環(huán)繞奧米勒斯西面和北面的是一道半圓形的山脈。早晨的天空晴明如鏡，湛藍(lán)的天幕下積雪未化的十八座峰頂上，白雪映著陽光，猶如燃燒的火焰，發(fā)出沖天的金光。賽馬跑道上插著的彩旗在微風(fēng)吹拂下呼啦啦地飄擺。置身于一片寂靜的大草坪上，人們就可以聽到城區(qū)街道上的鼓樂聲由遠(yuǎn)及近，猶如陣陣醉人的香風(fēng)迎面撲來。鼓樂聲時(shí)而微弱下去，時(shí)而響亮起來，直至最后融入一片歡樂喧鬧的鐘聲之中。

歡樂!究竟怎樣才叫歡樂?該怎樣描述奧米勒斯城的市民的歡樂情形呢?

說起來，他們并不是一些頭腦簡單的人，盡管他們過得很快活。人們不再把快樂一類的字眼掛在嘴邊上了，因?yàn)榭鞓返臍g笑也已變成了過時(shí)的時(shí)尚。聽到這樣的描述，人們可能會(huì)作出一些想當(dāng)然的推斷;聽到這樣的描述，人們也許就會(huì)意想到那君臨天下的國王，騎在一匹高頭大馬上，身邊簇?fù)碇蝗和涞尿T士，或是踞坐在一乘由一隊(duì)健壯如牛的奴隸抬著的金轎上。然而，奧米勒斯城并沒有國王。奧米勒斯人不用劍，也不養(yǎng)奴隸。他們并不是化外的野蠻人。我不知道他們的社會(huì)有些什么條令和法規(guī)，但我猜想他們的條規(guī)一定很少。他們的社會(huì)既不存在君主制和奴隸制，同樣也沒有股票交易，沒有商業(yè)廣告，沒有秘密警察，沒有原子彈。不過，我再次說明，這些人并不是頭腦簡單的原始人，不是溫厚善良的牧羊人，不是出身高貴的野蠻人，也不是溫文有禮的烏托邦主義者。他們的頭腦并不比我們的簡單。我們的社會(huì)的弊病在于，由于一些賣弄學(xué)問的人和深諳世故的人的推波助瀾，我們養(yǎng)成了一種惡習(xí)，認(rèn)為歡樂是一種無聊乏味的東西，只有痛苦才能啟迪人的智慧，只有邪惡才能激發(fā)人的興趣。拒絕承認(rèn)邪惡的平淡無奇和痛苦的枯燥無味性是藝術(shù)家的負(fù)義失職。倘若你無法戰(zhàn)勝這些，不如干脆與之同流合污;倘若你受到打擊覺得痛苦，不如重施一次打擊，以減輕痛苦。可是，贊美絕望即等于消滅歡樂，擁抱暴力即意味著喪失一切。我們已幾乎失去一切，再也不知如何去描述一個(gè)快樂的人了，也無法舉行什么快樂的活動(dòng)。我怎樣才能對(duì)你們講清奧米勒斯人的快樂情形呢?他們并不是一群天真快樂的孩子--盡管他們的孩子也的確是天真快樂的。他們是成熟的、智慧的、充滿激情的成年人，而且過著不錯(cuò)的生活。啊，真是奇跡!不過，我真希望把這一切描寫得更好!我真希望你們?nèi)巳硕寄苄欧叫我說來，奧米勒斯城就似乎是很久很久以前存在于童話世界的某個(gè)遙遠(yuǎn)地方的一座城市。倘若讀者有足夠的想象力的話，最好還是自己去想象奧米勒斯城的情形吧。因?yàn)樽屛乙粋€(gè)人來描述，肯定是難合所有讀者的口味。比如，奧米勒斯城的科技發(fā)展?fàn)顩r如何?我認(rèn)為那兒的街道上不會(huì)有汽車奔馳，空中不會(huì)有飛機(jī)盤旋。其依據(jù)是這樣的事實(shí)：奧米勒斯人民是快樂幸福的人民。快樂幸福的基礎(chǔ)是能分辨什么是生活必需之物，什么是既不必需又無危害之物，以及什么是有害之物。奧米勒斯人自然不會(huì)要汽車、飛機(jī)等有害之物。不過，在第二類物品中--那些雖不必需但卻無害的物品，即那些給人帶來舒適享受的奢侈品中--他們卻完全可能擁有中央空調(diào)、地鐵火車、洗衣機(jī)以及其他各種各樣尚未發(fā)明出來的東西，如流動(dòng)光源、無燃料動(dòng)力、治療傷風(fēng)感冒的秘方等等。也許他們根本沒有這些玩意，那也無關(guān)緊要。就由你自己去想象吧。有一樣?xùn)|西我確知是奧米勒斯城所沒有的，那就是罪惡。除此以外還有些什么呢?我想，首先是他們沒有毒品，但那樣他們的生活又顯得太像苦行僧了。如果人們喜歡的話，城區(qū)的街道上也可以聞到一種稱作"德魯斯"的麻醉藥品散發(fā)出的清淡而沁人心脾的香味。服了這種麻醉品后最初的反應(yīng)是四肢變得十分輕靈，頭腦變得十分靈活;過幾個(gè)小時(shí)以后，便昏昏沉沉地進(jìn)入一種夢(mèng)境，并產(chǎn)生各種各樣奇妙的幻覺，使人得以窺視宇宙間最玄妙、隱藏最深的奧秘;另外，它還能極大的增強(qiáng)性交的快感。這不是一種會(huì)使人上癮的麻醉毒品。對(duì)于那些認(rèn)為其烈性太強(qiáng)的人，我想應(yīng)該為他們提供啤酒。除此以外，還有什么，還有什么屬于這座快樂的城市所有呢?勝利的榮譽(yù)感，當(dāng)然還有尚武精神。但既然我們已經(jīng)排除了教士，我們也理應(yīng)排除武士。建筑在爭斗拼殺的成功之上的歡樂不是正當(dāng)?shù)臍g樂。那種歡樂是要不得的，是可怕的，也是不值得的。使奧米勒斯人心中充滿歡樂和自豪的是一種巨大無邊的滿足感，是一種巨大的勝利的喜悅，但這勝利不是指擊敗外敵的勝利，而是指自己心靈上與一切美好的心靈以及光輝燦爛的自然世界產(chǎn)生共鳴的勝利。他們所慶祝的勝利是人生的勝利。說實(shí)話，我覺得沒有多少奧米勒斯人有服食"德魯斯"的必要。

大多數(shù)游行隊(duì)伍此時(shí)都已到達(dá)綠野大草坪。炊事隊(duì)的紅藍(lán)雙色帳篷里散發(fā)出美妙的食品香味。一些小孩子的天真可愛的臉蛋上都因吃甜食弄得粘糊糊的，還有一位慈眉善目的老人的灰白胡子上也粘著幾片奶油蛋糕碎屑。參加賽馬的青年男女騎手都已騎馬來到起跑線上等候著。一位胖胖的小個(gè)子老嫗提著一籃子鮮花微笑著向他們發(fā)花，高高大大的青年男子都接過她的花插在自己油光發(fā)亮的頭發(fā)上。一個(gè)大約九到十歲的小孩獨(dú)自坐在邊上吹奏一支木笛。人們都停下其他的活動(dòng)，微笑著聽他吹奏，但都不同他說話，因?yàn)樗恢辈煌５卮担瑥牟惶ь^望他們一眼，他的一雙烏黑的眼睛全神貫注于那美妙而動(dòng)人的樂曲上。

吹奏完畢，他徐徐地放下握笛子的雙手。

笛聲一停，場(chǎng)上緊接著出現(xiàn)一陣寂靜，這似乎成了一個(gè)信號(hào)，片刻寂靜之后，立刻便聽到起跑線附近的一個(gè)亭子里響起了一陣威嚴(yán)、低沉、尖銳的號(hào)聲。那些在等候的馬一聽號(hào)聲，便人立而起，有的還發(fā)出嘶叫聲。那些青年騎手們此時(shí)一本正經(jīng)地?fù)崦R頸，輕聲細(xì)語地安慰道："安靜點(diǎn)，安靜點(diǎn)，我的美人兒，我的希望……"他們開始在起跑線上列隊(duì)。聚集在賽馬跑道沿線的人群東倒西歪，宛如原野上的一片花草迎風(fēng)起伏著。夏慶節(jié)正式開始了。

你相信了嗎?上面描述的這種節(jié)慶，這個(gè)城市以及歡樂景象，你都覺得可信了嗎?不可信?那么，請(qǐng)讓我再講述一件事情吧。

在奧米勒斯城某幢漂亮的公共建筑下面的地下室里，也許是在一所寬敞的私宅的地窖里，有一個(gè)房間。這房間有個(gè)上了鎖的門，但沒有窗戶。一絲充滿塵埃的光線從有隙縫的板墻里透過來。這光線間接來自地窖某處一個(gè)結(jié)滿蛛網(wǎng)的窗戶。小房間的一個(gè)墻角，靠近一個(gè)生銹的水桶立著幾把拖把，拖把頭發(fā)硬，結(jié)成一團(tuán)，散發(fā)著臭氣。地是泥土地，碰上去有點(diǎn)潮濕，地窖的泥土地都這樣。房間大約三步長，兩步寬，只是一個(gè)放掃帚的小問，或是久已不用的工具問。小間里坐著一個(gè)小孩，可能是個(gè)男孩.也可能是個(gè)女孩。他(她)看上去六歲左右，但實(shí)際上已近十歲。他(她)是低能兒。也許他(她)生來就是低能，也許是由于恐懼，營養(yǎng)不良和無人照管才變成低能。他(她)弓著背，坐在離水桶和兩把拖把最遠(yuǎn)的一個(gè)角落里，摳摳鼻子，偶爾漫不經(jīng)心的摸摸自己的腳趾或者生殖器。他(她)怕這拖把。他(她)覺得這些拖把很可怕。他(她)閉上眼睛，但他(她)知道拖把還立在那兒，門還是鎖著，而且沒有人會(huì)來。門總是鎖著的;從來沒有人來過。除了有時(shí)候一一這孩子沒有時(shí)間概念，也不知時(shí)間間隔是什么--有時(shí)候門嘎嘎直響。然后門開了，門口站著一個(gè)人或幾個(gè)人。他們中有一個(gè)可能進(jìn)屋，踢踢這孩子讓他(她)站起來。其他的人從來不走近，只是用恐懼、厭惡的眼睛往里瞧，看著他(她)。盛食物的碗和盛水的缽被匆匆填滿，然后門給鎖上，眼睛消失了。站在門口的人從來不說話，但這小孩并不是生來就住在這工具間的，他(她)還能記得陽光和母親的聲音，有時(shí)候張口說話。"我一定不淘氣，"他(她)說道。"請(qǐng)放我出去。我一定好好的，不淘氣!''他們從不回答。孩子過去晚上總是尖聲呼救，大聲地哭，而且哭很久。但現(xiàn)在只發(fā)出一種"哎--啊，哎--啊"的哀鳴聲，話也說得越來越少了。他(她)瘦極了，瘦到腿肚子都沒有，肚子卻鼓著，一天就靠半碗玉米粉和一點(diǎn)動(dòng)物油維持生命。他(她)赤身裸體，臀部和股部是一大串化膿的瘡，因?yàn)樗?她)老坐在自己的屎尿里。

所有的奧米勒斯人都知道他(她)在那兒。有些人還去看過他(她)還有些人則覺得沒必要親自去看，知道他(她)在那兒就夠了。大家都明白他(她)必須呆在那兒。至于他(她)為什么必須呆在那兒，這原因就只有一部分才明白，有些人并不知曉。但所有的人都清楚一個(gè)道理：他們的幸福生活，他們城市的美景，他們之間的親愛和睦的關(guān)系，他們的孩子的健康成長，他們的學(xué)者們的智慧，他們的工人的技藝，甚至連他們那片天地里的風(fēng)調(diào)雨順、五谷豐登的繁榮景象，這一切全都有賴于那孩子所受的苦難。

奧米勒斯人等他們的孩子長到八至十二歲，能懂事明理的時(shí)候便把這一道理講給他們聽。去地窖里看那孩子的多半是青年人，不過還有一個(gè)成年人更經(jīng)常去看那孩子。不管大人們把這事對(duì)那些青年人怎么解釋，這些青年看到那孩子的悲慘情狀都不禁大為震驚并感到惡心。他們感到厭惡，這是他們?cè)瓉硭鶝]有料到的。盡管他們聽了許多的解釋，他們還是感到氣憤、憤怒但又無能為力。他們本想為那孩子做點(diǎn)什么的，但卻什么也不能做。假若能把那孩子弄出那個(gè)悲慘的地方，讓他(她)重見天日，假若能把他(她)洗得干干凈凈，將他(她)喂得飽飽的，并讓他(她)有個(gè)舒舒服服的睡覺的地方，那無疑是一件很好的事情。但只要那樣做了，奧米勒斯的一切，包括她的繁榮氣象、美麗景色和歡樂生活等都會(huì)立刻化為烏有。這是條約上有明文規(guī)定的。為了做那一件微不足道的善事而犧牲善良的奧米勒斯全體眾生，為了給一個(gè)人創(chuàng)造幸福的機(jī)會(huì)而破壞千萬人的幸福，那無疑是將罪惡引進(jìn)奧米勒斯城。

條約上的規(guī)定極其嚴(yán)格，沒有半點(diǎn)變通的余地。就連對(duì)那孩子講一句仁慈友善的話都在被禁止之列。

當(dāng)那些青年去看了那個(gè)孩子，面對(duì)那種痛苦的矛盾處境后再回到家里時(shí)，他們往往會(huì)痛哭流涕，或是悲憤難抑。他們可能要為此悲傷若干個(gè)星期，甚至若干年。但隨著時(shí)間的推移，他們會(huì)漸漸認(rèn)識(shí)到，即使那孩子獲得釋放，他(她)也不會(huì)感受到自由的好處。當(dāng)然，他(她)可能因?yàn)闇仫枂栴}得到解決而感受到一點(diǎn)模模糊糊的愉悅，再不會(huì)有多少別的好處了。他(她)太低能了，他(她)太愚笨了。甚至真正的歡樂也不能體味到。他(她)擔(dān)驚受怕的時(shí)日太久，再也不可能擺脫恐懼了。他(她)缺乏教養(yǎng)，性情也很樸拙，即使再對(duì)他(她)施以人道的待遇，他(她)也會(huì)無動(dòng)于衷。說實(shí)在的，他(她)對(duì)那種生活已經(jīng)習(xí)以為常了，若是將他(她)放出來，失去了牢籠的保護(hù)，失去了他(她)的眼睛所習(xí)慣的黑暗，再也不能坐在自己的屎尿上，他(她)倒可能覺得難受。當(dāng)那些青年人開始認(rèn)識(shí)到現(xiàn)實(shí)的這種悲哀的公正性后，他們因看到那孩子的悲慘遭遇而悲傷的淚水便自動(dòng)地干了。然而，正因?yàn)樗麄冊(cè)谧约旱娜柿x之心經(jīng)受考驗(yàn)時(shí)悲傷流淚，無可奈何地接受現(xiàn)實(shí)時(shí)悲憤難抑，他們的生活才如此光輝燦爛。他們的幸福并不是一種平淡無奇的、不帶義務(wù)和條件的幸福。他們完全明白，他們自己其實(shí)也像那孩子一樣沒有自由。他們懂得憐憫。正是因?yàn)橛辛四呛⒆拥拇嬖谝约八麄儗?duì)這一事實(shí)的認(rèn)識(shí)，他們的建筑才有可能如此的雄偉壯觀，他們的音樂才有可能如此的震撼人心，他們的科學(xué)才有可能如此的高明玄妙。他們對(duì)一般兒童也那樣溫和，也正是因?yàn)槟呛⒆拥年P(guān)系。他們懂得，假如沒有那個(gè)可憐的孩子在黑暗的地窖中悲泣，那另一個(gè)孩子，即那個(gè)吹木笛的孩子，就不可能在那些青年騎手騎著美麗的駿馬迎著第一個(gè)夏日列隊(duì)等候賽馬開始時(shí)吹奏出那樣歡快的樂曲來。

現(xiàn)在你相信我描述的這一切了嗎?它們的可信度是否增加了一些?不過，我還有一件事情要講，這件事情卻是真有點(diǎn)令人難以置信。

有的時(shí)候，某個(gè)青年男女去看了那孩子之后并不回家痛苦流涕或是震怒發(fā)狂，事實(shí)上，他或她根本就不回家。也有的時(shí)候，某個(gè)年紀(jì)大得多的成年男女去看了那孩子之后會(huì)沉默一兩天，然后便離家出走。這些人走到街上，獨(dú)個(gè)兒一路走去。他們一直往前走，穿過漂亮的城門徑直走出奧米勒斯城。出城之后，他們穿越奧米勒斯的田野繼續(xù)向前走。每個(gè)人，無論是男青年還是女青年，無論是成年男子還是成年女子，都是一人獨(dú)行。夜幕降臨了，他們還得沿著村鎮(zhèn)的街道，穿過街道兩邊窗戶亮著螢光的房屋，繼續(xù)往前走，走進(jìn)一片黑暗的曠野之中。每個(gè)人都是單獨(dú)地向西或向北，朝深山里走去。他們一直向前走。他們離開奧米勒斯城，頭也不回地向黑暗中走去。他們要去的地方是一個(gè)對(duì)我們大多數(shù)人來說比奧米勒斯城更難想象的地方。我根本無法描述那個(gè)地方。也許根本就不存在那樣一個(gè)地方。但那些離開奧米勒斯城的人似乎知道他們要去的是一個(gè)什么樣的地方。

(摘自《諾頓短篇小說集》)

詞匯(Vocabulary)

rigging (n.) : tackle，esp. the chains，ropes，etc.,used for supporting and working in the masts，sails，yards，etc.，of a vessel索具

decorous (adj.) : characterized by or showing decorum，propriety，good taste，etc.有禮貌的，正派的;有教養(yǎng)的，高雅的

mauve (n.) : any of several shades or delicate purple淡紫色

tambourine (n.) : a shallow，single-headed hand drum having jingling metal disks in the rim(鼓框周圍裝有金屬片的)鈴鼓;小手鼓

dodge (v.) : move or twist quickly aside;shift suddenly，as to avoid a blow閃開，躲閃,躲避

lithe (adj.) : bending easily;flexible;supple;limber;lissome柔軟的;易彎曲的

gear (n.) : a harness馬具，挽具

halter (n.) : a rope，cord，strap，etc.，usually with a headstall.for tying or leading an animal;a bitless headstall，with or without a lead rope韁繩;(馬)籠頭

mane (n.) : the long hair growing from the top or sides of the neck of certain animals，as the horse，lion，etc. (馬、獅等的)鬃毛

braid (v.) : interweave three or more strands of(hair，straw，etc.)編織(毛發(fā)、草等)

nostril(n.) : either of the external openings of the nose鼻孔

prance (v.) :(said of a horse)rise up on the hind legs in a lively way,esp.while moving along(馬)后足立地騰躍

archaic (adj.) : antiquated;old-fashioned;ancient陳舊的，過時(shí)的，老式的;古代的

stallion (n.) : an uncastrated male horse，esp. one used as a stud未經(jīng)閹割的雄馬(尤指種馬)

barbarian (n.) : member of a people or group with a civilization regarded as primitive，savage，etc.原始人，野蠻人，未開化的人

dulcet (adj.) : sweet-sounding;pleasant;calming悅耳的;好看的;使人感到舒服的

utopian (n.) : a person who believes m a utopia，esp. of a social or political nature;visionary空想家;空想社會(huì)主義者

treason (n.) : betrayal of trust or faith;betrayal of one's country背信棄義;判國行為;通敵

banal (adj.) : dull or stale as because of overuse;trite; hackneyed;commonplace陳腐的;平庸的;老一套的/banality n.

exuberance (n.) : the state or quality of being exuberant;great abundance;luxuriance繁茂;茂盛;豐富，充裕

puritanical (adj.) : of the Puritans;extremely or excessively strict In matters of morals and religion清教徒的;宗教(或道德上)極端拘謹(jǐn)?shù)?/p>

languor (n.) : a lack of vigor or vitality;weakness：indifference;lethargy倦怠;衰弱無力;漠不關(guān)心

arcane (adj.) : hidden or secret深?yuàn)W的;秘密的;神秘的

magnanimous (adj.) : noble in mind;high-souled：generous in overlooking injury or insult;rising above pettiness or meanness寬宏大量的;品德高尚的

provisioner (n.) : the person who supplies with provisions，esp. with a stock of food糧食供應(yīng)者

amiable (adj.) : having a pleasant and friendly disposition;good-natured悅?cè)说模焉频?溫柔的

sticky (adj. [colloq.]) : overly sentimental;maudlin：adhesive[口]感情脆弱的;愛哭的;粘的

benign (adj.) : good-natured;kindly性善的;仁慈的;寬厚的

pastry (n.) : flour dough or paste made with shortening and used for the crust of pies，tarts，etc.：foods made with this制作糕點(diǎn)用的生面團(tuán);面制糕點(diǎn)

rapt (adj.) : completely absorbed or engrossed(in meditation，study，etc.)(思考、學(xué)習(xí)等)全神貫注的

imperious (adj.) : overbearing;arrogant;urgent;imperative傲慢的;專橫的;緊急的;迫切的

neigh (v.) : utter the loud，characteristic cry of a horse：whinny(馬)嘶;發(fā)馬嘶般的聲音

seep (v.) : 1eak，drip，or flow out slowly through small openings or pores;ooze滲出;滲漏

cobweb (v.) : cover with or as with the web spun by a spider使布滿蛛網(wǎng)(或蛛網(wǎng)狀物)

defective (adj.) : having a defect or defects;imperfect;faulty有缺陷的，有缺點(diǎn)的

imbecile (n.) : showing feeble intellect;foolish or stupid極愚蠢的;愚笨的;低能的

malnutrition (n.) : faulty or inadequate nutrition;poor nourishment resulting from insufficient food。improper diet，etc.營養(yǎng)不良;營養(yǎng)失調(diào)

fumble (v.) : make(one's way)clumsily or by groping;handle(a thing)clumsily or unskillfully摸索著行進(jìn);笨拙地做事

genitals (n.) : the reproductive organs生殖器

hunch (v.) : sit or stand with the back arched弓背彎腰地坐(或站立)

rattle (v.) : make a series of sharp，short sounds m quick succession發(fā)出嘎嘎聲

whine (v.) : utter a peevish，high-pitched. somewhat nasal sound，as in complaint，distress，fear，etc.;cmplain or beg in a childishly undignified way，as with a whine哭訴，哀訴;嗚咽;發(fā)牢騷，抱怨

buttocks (n.) : the rump屁股，臀部

fester (v.) : form pus;ulcerate;decay生瘡，化膿;潰爛，腐爛

excrement (n.) : waste，matter from the bowels：feces排泄物;糞(便)

impotence (n.) : the quality or condition of being impotent，weak無力，虛弱，衰弱

paradox (n.) :a statement that is self-contradictory in fact and，hence，false;a person，situation，act，etc.that seems to have contradictory or inconsistent qualities自相矛盾的話(或事);充滿矛盾的人(或事)

uncouth (adj.) : uncultured;crude;boorish;awkward不文明的;粗魯?shù)?笨拙的

vapid (adj.) :tasteless;flavorless;flat;dull;boring乏味的;枯燥的;無趣味的

poignant (adj.) :emotionally touching or moving深深打動(dòng)人心的/poignancy n

snivel (v.) :cry and sniffle;have mucus running from the nose啜泣，抽噎;流鼻涕

短語(Expressions)

far Off : far a way在遠(yuǎn)處

例：Far off to the edge of cliff stood aIl eagle.遠(yuǎn)處，在懸崖在邊緣站著一只老鷹。

rise to the occasion : show that one is equal to what needs to be done 顯出具有應(yīng)付特殊事故的能力，應(yīng)付自如

例：this system is designed in such a way that it can rise to the occasion.這個(gè)系統(tǒng)被設(shè)計(jì)成這個(gè)樣子，就是為了使它能隨機(jī)應(yīng)變。

in communion with : have a special relationship with sth.in which one feels that he undemtands it very well與……有交流，與……有聯(lián)絡(luò)，有共同利害關(guān)系

brood on/over(sth.) : think about(troubles，etc.)for a long time 沉思，憂思

例：He lay in t王1e shade of the tree broodjng over whether life was wonll living.他躺在樹蔭下沉思人生是否值得活下去。