The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas 离开欧麦拉的人(2)

奥米勒斯人等他们的孩子长到八至十二岁，能懂事明理的时候便把这一道理讲给他们听。去地窖里看那孩子的多半是青年人，不过还有一个成年人更经常去看那孩子。不管大人们把这事对那些青年人怎么解释，这些青年看到那孩子的悲惨情状都不禁大为震惊并感到恶心。他们感到厌恶，这是他们原来所没有料到的。尽管他们听了许多的解释，他们还是感到气愤、愤怒但又无能为力。他们本想为那孩子做点什么的，但却什么也不能做。假若能把那孩子弄出那个悲惨的地方，让他(她)重见天日，假若能把他(她)洗得干干净净，将他(她)喂得饱饱的，并让他(她)有个舒舒服服的睡觉的地方，那无疑是一件很好的事情。但只要那样做了，奥米勒斯的一切，包括她的繁荣气象、美丽景色和欢乐生活等都会立刻化为乌有。这是条约上有明文规定的。为了做那一件微不足道的善事而牺牲善良的奥米勒斯全体众生，为了给一个人创造幸福的机会而破坏千万人的幸福，那无疑是将罪恶引进奥米勒斯城。

中英对照

条约上的规定极其严格，没有半点变通的余地。就连对那孩子讲一句仁慈友善的话都在被禁止之列。

当那些青年去看了那个孩子，面对那种痛苦的矛盾处境后再回到家里时，他们往往会痛哭流涕，或是悲愤难抑。他们可能要为此悲伤若干个星期，甚至若干年。但随着时间的推移，他们会渐渐认识到，即使那孩子获得释放，他(她)也不会感受到自由的好处。当然，他(她)可能因为温饱问题得到解决而感受到一点模模糊糊的愉悦，再不会有多少别的好处了。他(她)太低能了，他(她)太愚笨了。甚至真正的欢乐也不能体味到。他(她)担惊受怕的时日太久，再也不可能摆脱恐惧了。他(她)缺乏教养，性情也很朴拙，即使再对他(她)施以人道的待遇，他(她)也会无动于衷。说实在的，他(她)对那种生活已经习以为常了，若是将他(她)放出来，失去了牢笼的保护，失去了他(她)的眼睛所习惯的黑暗，再也不能坐在自己的屎尿上，他(她)倒可能觉得难受。当那些青年人开始认识到现实的这种悲哀的公正性后，他们因看到那孩子的悲惨遭遇而悲伤的泪水便自动地干了。然而，正因为他们在自己的仁义之心经受考验时悲伤流泪，无可奈何地接受现实时悲愤难抑，他们的生活才如此光辉灿烂。他们的幸福并不是一种平淡无奇的、不带义务和条件的幸福。他们完全明白，他们自己其实也像那孩子一样没有自由。他们懂得怜悯。正是因为有了那孩子的存在以及他们对这一事实的认识，他们的建筑才有可能如此的雄伟壮观，他们的音乐才有可能如此的震撼人心，他们的科学才有可能如此的高明玄妙。他们对一般儿童也那样温和，也正是因为那孩子的关系。他们懂得，假如没有那个可怜的孩子在黑暗的地窖中悲泣，那另一个孩子，即那个吹木笛的孩子，就不可能在那些青年骑手骑着美丽的骏马迎着第一个夏日列队等候赛马开始时吹奏出那样欢快的乐曲来。

现在你相信我描述的这一切了吗?它们的可信度是否增加了一些?不过，我还有一件事情要讲，这件事情却是真有点令人难以置信。

有的时候，某个青年男女去看了那孩子之后并不回家痛苦流涕或是震怒发狂，事实上，他或她根本就不回家。也有的时候，某个年纪大得多的成年男女去看了那孩子之后会沉默一两天，然后便离家出走。这些人走到街上，独个儿一路走去。他们一直往前走，穿过漂亮的城门径直走出奥米勒斯城。出城之后，他们穿越奥米勒斯的田野继续向前走。每个人，无论是男青年还是女青年，无论是成年男子还是成年女子，都是一人独行。夜幕降临了，他们还得沿着村镇的街道，穿过街道两边窗户亮着萤光的房屋，继续往前走，走进一片黑暗的旷野之中。每个人都是单独地向西或向北，朝深山里走去。他们一直向前走。他们离开奥米勒斯城，头也不回地向黑暗中走去。他们要去的地方是一个对我们大多数人来说比奥米勒斯城更难想象的地方。我根本无法描述那个地方。也许根本就不存在那样一个地方。但那些离开奥米勒斯城的人似乎知道他们要去的是一个什么样的地方。

中英对照

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

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by Ursula K. Le Guin

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

中英对照

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 racecourse 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.

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

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 th …… 此处隐藏：4745字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……