德里克·雅各比爵士 | 慷慨朗讀蘇格拉底的臨終陳辭《我去赴死》

Not much time will be gained, Athenians, in return for the evil name which you will get for killing Socrates. If you had waited for a little while, your desire would've been fulfilled in the course of nature. For I am old, and not far from death.

雅典人啊，你們沒能贏得更多時間。相反，因為將蘇格拉底置之死地你們將惡名遠揚。你們若是足夠耐心，等久一些，老天自會滿足你們的心愿讓你們真正的擺脫我。只因我年事已高，時日無多。

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You think that I was convinced through deficiency of words, I mean, that if I had thought fit to leave nothing undone, nothing unsaid, I might have gained a acquittal.?But I am not the boldness or impudence or inclination to address you as you would have liked me to address you. Weeping and wailing and lamenting and saying and doing many things which you have been accustomed to hear from others, and which, are unworthy of me.

你們無疑的認為我是因為申辯不夠充分被判處極刑，要是我按你們認為合適的方式，以行為和言辭打動陪審團以求赦免，或許，我會被無罪釋放。可是，我無法用恣意妄為，恬不知恥，卑躬屈膝方式諂媚取悅你們；你們對那些痛哭流涕，抱怨哀嚎，悔恨悲嘆那些奴顏婢膝的說辭和行徑早就習以為常。但這一切，根本配不上我的名號。

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But I don’t regret my defence. I would rather die having spoken after my manner than speak in your manner and live. But often in battle there is no doubt about that if a man will throw away his arms, and fall on his knees before his pursuers, he may escape death; and in other dangers there are other ways of escaping death, if a man is willing to say and do anything.

我并不后悔申辯，我寧愿死于自己所信仰的辯護方式也不愿按照你們的方式繼續(xù)茍活。法庭如同戰(zhàn)場，戰(zhàn)斗中常有此事發(fā)生：一個人只要扔掉武器，向追捕他的敵人乞憐求饒便可以避免一死。在危險面前，總有各種逃避死亡的辦法。只要你寡廉鮮恥不惜代價，便可以死里逃生。

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The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness, for that run faster than death. I am old and move slowly, and my accusers are keen and quick, and the faster runner, who is unrighteousness, have overtaken me. Me, you have killed because you wanted to escape the accuser and not to give an account of your lives.

朋友們，真正的困難并不是逃避死亡，而是避免做出不義之事。不義之事比死亡更難逃避。我已年老體衰，行動遲緩，而指控我的人們，年輕、堅毅、敏捷；他們步伐迅速，讓我望塵莫及，可惜卻行為不義。我，將被你們奪走生命，你么指望以此來逃避世人的譴責，且不用以失掉自己的生命為代價。

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If you think that by killing men you can avoid the accuser censuring your live, you are mistaken, that is not a way of escape which is either possible or honourable. The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves.

假如你們想用置他人于死地的方式來規(guī)避世人對自己生平過失的譴責，那實在是大錯特錯。以此種方式來逃避譴責，既不可行又極為可恥。最易行且最高尚的方式并不是摧毀他人，而是改善自己，成為善人。

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Till now, the oracle within me has constantly been in the habit of warning me: Was I going to make a slip or error? But now there has come upon me that which is generally believed to be, the last and worst evil. But the oracle made no sign of opposition. Either as I was leaving my house and going out in the morning or when I was going up into this court or while I was speaking. What do I take to be the explanation of this? I will tell you.

迄今，有某種神諭伴隨著我。我若是犯錯，哪怕所犯之事無足掛齒，神諭便會顯示并示以警告?？涩F(xiàn)在即將降臨于我的是世人普遍觀念中的最終極的災難——死亡。然而，神諭卻未曾降下征兆阻止我，無論是當我早上離家之時，或是在我抵達法庭之時，又或是在我申辯立論之時，這該讓我作何解釋呢？我想告訴你們。

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I regard this as a proof that what has happened to me is a good and that those of us who think that death is an evil are in error. Either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now if you suppose that there is no consciousness but a sleep, like the sleep of him is undisturbed even by the slight of dreams, death will be an unspeakable gain. For if a person were to select the night in which his sleep was undisturbed even by dreams, and were to compare with this the other days and nights of his life, and then were to tell how many days and nights he had passed in the course of his life better and more pleasantly than this one, I think that any man, will not find many such days or nights when compared with the others.

在我看來，這恰恰證實了死亡的降臨于我是福氣。要是我們把死亡設想為最大的不幸才是大錯特錯。死亡，要么是靈魂和肉體俱滅，進入一種虛無完全無意識狀態(tài)；要么，如世俗所說，死亡，就是靈魂從這個世界到另一個世界的變化和遷移。既然你們認為死后無意識無知覺，進入沉睡狀態(tài)，那是一種甚至不會被夢境所打攪的沉睡狀態(tài)。那么，死亡真是一種難以言表的獲益啊。要是一個人選擇某個夜晚將這個沉睡無夢的夜晚，與他一生中度的日日夜夜進行比較并告訴我們，他們這一生中有多少日日夜夜要比這個無夢的夜晚過得更快樂更美好，我相信任何人在進行比較之時都會發(fā)現(xiàn)這樣的日子屈指可數。

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Now if death is like this, I say that to die is gain, for eternity is then only a single night. But if death is the journey to another place, and there, as men say, all the dead are, what good can be greater than this? What would not a man give if he might converse with Orpheus and Homer? Nay, if this be true, let me die, again and again. I too shall have a wonderful interest in a place where I can converse with Ajax and other heroes of old, who have suffered death through an unjust judgement; and there will be no small pleasure, as I think, in comparing my own sufferings with theirs.

如果死亡正是如此，我便將死亡當做一種收獲，來世的永恒也不過是一場沉睡。另一種觀點假如死亡是靈魂從此處移居至彼處，正如世人所言，所有死人都在另一個世界，還有什么事情比去那個世界更幸福呢？可以和俄耳浦斯、荷馬交流思想，還有什么不可舍棄的呢？如果死后真是這樣，我愿意一次又一次死去。我，當然對這樣的地方饒有興趣。在那里，我會碰到大埃阿斯還有含冤而死的古代英雄們，與他們交流思想。在我看來，跟他們曾經的遭遇相比，我所承受的痛苦，可以稱得上快樂了。

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Above all, I shall be able to continue my search into true and false knowledge as in this world, so also in that. I shall find out who is wise, and who is pretend to be wise and is not. For in that world , they do not put a man to death for this, certainly not. For besides being happier in that world than in this, they will be immortal, if what is said is true.

更重要的是，我可以在另一個世界繼續(xù)進行真?zhèn)沃R的研究，就如同在這個世界一樣，我要辨別出誰擁有真智慧，誰假裝自己智慧過人，還有誰毫無智慧。在那里，人們不會因為我的行為，便將我置之死地，絕對不會！那個世界的人們，除了比我們更幸福更快樂，如果傳說屬實的話，他們還永生不死。

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Wherefore, judges, be of good cheer about death, and know this for a truth - that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. He and his are not neglected by the gods, nor has my own approaching end happened by mere chance. But I see clearly, that to die and be released was better for me, and therefore the oracle gave no sign. For which reason also, I am not angry with my accusers, or my condemners. They have done me no harm, although neither of them meant to do me any good. And for this, I may gently blame them.

裁決者們，為死亡歡呼雀躍吧！毫無疑問，無論生前還是死后，善良的人是不會遭逢惡果的，諸神不會對他的命運充耳不聞。即將降臨于我的死亡之結局也絕非偶然，我看的很清楚，對我來說，死亡比在世為佳，最終獲得解脫。因此，未有某種神諭顯現(xiàn)來阻止我。出于同樣的理由，對于那些指控和將我置罪的人，我并非心懷怨恨，他們對我并未造成傷害，盡管他們此舉并非出于善意。對此，我要稍稍對他們進行譴責。

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The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways - I to die, and you to live. Which is better, God only knows.

離別的時刻已至，我們要各自上路——我去赴死，你們繼續(xù)活著。生與死，孰優(yōu)孰劣，只有神明才知道。