阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦:原子能時代的和平
I am grateful to you for the opportunity to express my conviction in this most important political question.
感謝你們使我有機會就這個最重要的政治問題發(fā)表意見。
The idea of achieving security through national armament is, at the present state of military technique, a disastrous illusion. On the part of the United States this illusion has been particularly fostered by the fact that this country succeeded first in producing an atomic bomb. The belief seemed to prevail that in the end it were possible to achieve decisive military superiority.
愛國斯坦,著名物理學(xué)家。生于德國,1933年遷居美國。本篇闡述了原子能武器對人類的威脅。呼吁美蘇兩霸放棄武力。在軍事技術(shù)已發(fā)展到目前狀況的今天,加強國家軍備以保證安全的想法,只是一個會帶來災(zāi)難后果的幻想。美國首先制成了原子彈,所以特別容易抱有這種幻想??磥矶鄶?shù)人相信,美國最終可能在軍事上取得決定性的優(yōu)勢。
In this way, any potential opponent would be intimidated, and security, so ardently desired by all of us, brought to us and all of humanity. The maxim which we have been following during these last five years has been, in short: security through superior military power, whatever the cost.
這樣,任何潛在的敵人就會被震懾,而我們和全人類就可以得到大家所熱望的安全了。我們近五年來一直信守的格言,簡而言之,就是:不惜一切代價,通過得到軍事力量的優(yōu)勢以保證安全。
The armament race between the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R., originally supposed to be a preventive measure, assumes hysterical character. On both sides, the means to mass destruction are perfected with feverish haste - behind the respective walls of secrecy. The H-bomb appears on the public horizon as a probably attainable goal.
美國與蘇聯(lián)之間的軍備競賽,最初只是作為一種防止戰(zhàn)爭的手段,現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)帶有歇斯底里的性質(zhì)。在保證安全的漂亮帷幕后面,雙方都以狂熱的速度改善大規(guī)模的破壞手段,在人們的眼光里,制成氫彈似乎已是可能達(dá)到的目標(biāo)。
If successful, radioactive poisoning of the atmosphere and hence annihilation of any life on earth has been brought within the range of technical possibilities. The ghostlike character of this development lies in its apparently compulsory trend. Every step appears as the unavoidable consequence of the preceding one. In the end, it beckons more and more clearly general annihilation.
一旦達(dá)到這個目標(biāo),大氣層的放射性污染以及由此導(dǎo)致地球上一切生命的滅絕,從技術(shù)角度而言將成為可能。這種發(fā)展的可怕之處在于它已明顯地成為不可遏止的趨勢。第一步必然引出第二步。最后,越來越清楚地,必然招致全人類的普遍滅絕。
Is there any way out of this impasse created by man himself? All of us, and particularly those who are responsible for the attitude of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., should realized that we may have vanquished an external enemy, but have been incapable of getting rid of the mentality created by the war.
人類自己走進(jìn)的這條死胡同還有出路嗎?我們所有人,特別是那些對美國和蘇聯(lián)的立場負(fù)責(zé)的人,應(yīng)該認(rèn)識到:我們可能戰(zhàn)勝外部的敵人,但卻不可能消除由戰(zhàn)爭產(chǎn)生的那種精神狀態(tài)。
It is impossible to achieve peaces as long as every single action is taken with a possible future conflict in view. The leading point of view of all political action should therefore be: What can we do to bring about a peaceful co-existence and even loyal cooperation of the nations?
如果每采取一項行動都考慮將來可能要發(fā)生沖突,那么要取得和平便是不可能的。因此,一切政治行動的指導(dǎo)思想應(yīng)該是:為了實現(xiàn)國與國之間的和平共存甚至真誠合作,我們能做些什么?
The first problem is to do away with mutual fear and distrust. Solemn renunciation of violence (not only with respect to means of mass destruction) is undoubtedly necessary.
首先要做到的是去除雙方的恐懼和猜疑。鄭重宣布廢棄使用武力 (不僅是廢棄大規(guī)模的破壞手段),無疑是必要的。
Such renunciation, however, can only be effective if at the same time a supra-national judicial and executive body is set up empowered to decide questions of immediate concern to the security of the nations. Even a declaration of the nations to collaborate loyally in the realization of such a "restricted world government" would considerably reduce the imminent danger of war.
然而,只有同時成立一個超國家的司法和執(zhí)行機構(gòu),使它有權(quán)決定直接關(guān)系到各國安全的問題,才能有效地廢絕使用武力。即使是各國發(fā)表共同宣言,保證忠誠地通力合作,使成立這樣一個 “權(quán)力有限的世界政府”得以實現(xiàn),也會大為緩和戰(zhàn)爭發(fā)生的危險。
In the last analysis, every kind of peaceful cooperation among men is primarily based on mutual trust and only secondly on institutions such as courts of justice and police. This holds for nations as well as for individuals. And the basis of trust is loyal give and take.
總括地說,一切人類和平分作的基礎(chǔ)首先是相互信任,其次才是法庭和警察一類的機構(gòu)。對于個人是這樣,對于國家也是這樣。信任的基礎(chǔ)是:取和予都要正直忠實。
【人物簡介】
阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦(Albert Einstein)(1879年3月14日-1955年4月18日),世界十大杰出物理學(xué)家之一,現(xiàn)代物理學(xué)的開創(chuàng)者、集大成者和奠基人。作為20世紀(jì)猶太裔理論物理學(xué)家,愛因斯坦創(chuàng)立了相對論——現(xiàn)代物理學(xué)的兩大支柱之一(另一個是量子力學(xué)),其質(zhì)能方程E = mc2 著稱于世,并因為“對理論物理的貢獻(xiàn),特別是發(fā)現(xiàn)了光電效應(yīng)”而獲得1921年諾貝爾物理學(xué)獎。愛因斯坦一生成就卓越,其名字已成為“天才”的代名詞。