索尔仁尼琴：莫要靠谎言过日子--独角兽资讯

索尔仁尼琴：莫要靠谎言过日子

独角兽资讯发表于 2008-8-4 12:51:00

中新社莫斯科8月4日报道俄罗斯著名作家、诺贝尔文学奖获得者亚历山大·索尔仁尼琴八月三日夜在莫斯科病逝，享年九十岁。

从前，我们连窃窃私议都不敢。而现在，我们撰写和阅读地下出版物。我们聚在科学研究所的吸烟室里，彼此敞开心扉，发发牢骚：

他们什么勾当干不出来呀，哪件坏事不把我们拖进去！民穷财尽，家徒四壁，他们却毫无必要地在宇宙方面大吹大擂。他们加强远方的野蛮制度，他们挑起（别国的）内战。我们卤莽地花钱把个斯大林扶植起来——而后却驱使我们去跟他打仗，只好去，有什么办法！他们想整谁就整谁，他们把健康的人赶进疯人院。一切全是“他们”，我们呢，——无能为力。

事情简直糟透了。普遍的精神毁灭已经降临到我们大家头上，肉体毁灭也即将象野火一样蔓延开来，把我们和我们的孩子统统吞没。而我们却依然故我，总是怯生生地微笑着，含含糊糊地嗫嚅着：

“我们又有什么法子去阻止呢？我们没有力量呀。”

我们是如此绝望地失去了人性。如今粗陋的食物配给制，害得我们甘愿放弃所有的原则，放弃我们的灵魂，放弃一切前人的努力和一切后代的机会——然而所有这些，只能让我们苟延残喘。我们丢了坚定，失了傲骨，也没了激情。世界的核毁灭我们也不怕，第三次世界大战我们也不怕，我们早躲到了缝隙里面。我们只怕勇敢地做事，我们只怕落在旁人后面，只怕要我们独自采取行动—猛可里，我们发现自己丢了白面包，丢了暖气和莫斯科的户口。

我们在政治学习小组里反复受到灌输，要愉快地生活，一辈子循规蹈矩。我们已经习以为常：环境、社会条件，是超脱不了的，存在决定意识嘛，我们有什么用？我们毫无办法。

可我们有办法——什么事都办得到！但是我们自己欺骗自己，以便自我安慰。根本不能全怪“他们”，要怪我们自己，只怪我们！

有人会反驳：的确一点法子也想不出来呀！人家堵住我们的嘴，不听我们的，也不来征求我们的意见。如何才能迫使他们听我们的呢？

要说动他们改弦易辙，是不可能的。

自然的办法是把他们改选掉——可是在我们的国家，根本就没有选举。在西方，人们知道罢工、*示威表示抗议——可是我们被折磨得胆小如鼠，我们对此都感到害怕：怎么能一下子拒绝工作，怎么能一下子走上街头？近百年来苦难的俄罗斯历史上所尝试过的其他一切不幸的道路全都不是为了我们而选择，而且确实都是不必要的。

现在，当斧钺开始砍人的脑袋，所有播下的种子都发了芽的时候，我们看到：当年那些想通过恐怖手段、通过流血起义和国内战争使国家成为正义幸福之邦的过于自信的年轻人，是何等误入歧途，何等愚不可及。不，谢谢你们这些启蒙的老前辈！现在我们知道，结果的卑鄙助长了手段的卑鄙。我们的双手将是干净的！

难道就毫无办法了？真的没有出路了？莫非我们只好无所作为地等待：什么事情会突然自动发生？……

但是，暴政永远不会自动放过我们，如果我们大家天天承认它、赞颂它和强化它，如果我们连它的哪怕最敏感的弱点都不肯唾弃的话。

唾弃谎言！

当暴力闯入人们宁静的生活时，它满面红光、充满自信、神气十足地在旗帜上标榜着，并且叫喊着：“我是暴力！大家散开，让开，否则我将你们踩扁！”但是暴力很快便衰老了，没过几年，它已经失去自信。于是，为了支撑下去，为了显得道貌岸然，它必然要求谎言作为自己的盟友。因为：除了谎言之外，暴力没有任何东西可作护身符，而谎言也只有靠暴力才能生存。然而，暴力不是每天，也不是在每个人的肩膀上落下它那沉重的魔掌；它只要求我们对谎言俯首听命，每天参加说谎 ——这就是“忠”字的全部内容。

其实，这里就有一把被我们忽视的、最简单、最方便的解放我们的钥匙：个人不参加说谎！纵然谎言铺天盖地，纵然谎言主宰一切，但是我们要坚持最起码的一点：不让谎言通过我兴风作浪！

这一点，便打开了我们无所作为造成的虚幻链环上的一个缺口！对于我们是最容易做到的，对于谎言则是最致命的。因为，当人们唾弃谎言的时候，它简直无法生存下去。它象传染病一样，只能生存在活的机体中间。

我们用不着鼓足勇气。我们也无意走向广场和大声宣扬真理，公开讲出我们的想法——不需要，这是危险的。只要我们不讲违心话就行了！

这便是我们的办法，在我们普遍天生胆小怕事的条件下，这是一条最容易、最方便的办法，比（说起来怪玄的）甘地的“非暴力反抗（ｃｉｖｉｌ　ｄｉｓｏｂｅｄｉｅｎｃｅ）”容易多了！

我们的办法是，决不自觉地支持谎言！一旦认识到谎言的界限在哪里（这界限在每个人眼里还是不同的），就象避开瘟疫一样避而远之！不为那“意识形态”僵尸涂脂抹粉，不为那腐朽的破衣烂衫缝补漏洞——那时我们将惊奇地发现，谎言必将一败涂地，徒唤奈何，而真相终将大白于天下。

总之，由于我们畏首畏尾，还是让每个人去选择吧：是继续自觉地做谎言的奴仆呢（诚然，对此我们并不心甘情愿，但总要养家糊口吧，只好听任孩子在谎言里长大），还是抖擞精神，做一个值得自己的子女和同时代人尊敬的老实人。若是后者，那么从今以后他：

——决不以任何方式书写、签署和发表他认为歪曲真相的片言只字。

——不论在私人谈话、还是有许多人在场，都绝对不说这样的话；自己不做，也不怂恿旁人，不鼓动、不宣传、不讲解、不炫耀。

——在绘画中、雕塑中、摄影中、技术处理中和音乐中，不捏造、不涉及、不转播任何虚假的思想、任何被发现的歪曲失实之处。

——既不在口头上、也不在书面上，为了迎合上面、为了增加保险系数、为了自己工作的顺利而援引“领导”言论，如果被援引的思想他不完全赞同或者文不切题的话。

——不参加强制性的*集会，只要这样的*集会与他的意愿相反；不举标语，不喊口号，只要这标语口号他不完全赞同。　

——不举手赞成不真心同意的提案；既不公开也不秘密投票赞成不称职或不可靠的人。

——不让人赶着去参加强制性地、颠倒黑白地讨论问题的会议。

——一听到发言者的谎言、荒诞无稽的空论或恬不知耻的宣传，立刻离开会场、讲堂、剧院和电影院。

——不订阅和不零买报道失实或隐瞒重大事实的报刊杂志。

当然，以上所举并非所有可能的和必要的抵制谎言的途径。然而，一个人只要心地纯洁，通过纯洁的眼睛，其他情况也容易分辨。

不错，开头一段时间境况会不一样。有人会暂时失去工作。对于想堂堂正正生活的年轻人来说，这会使他们的人生之路在开始时困难重重：因为，人生这所大学所要回答的功课也充满了谎言，应当进行选择。但是，在这方面任何一个想诚实做人的人都无后路可退：每天我们当中的每个人，即便从事最保险的技术科学工作，都逃不脱采取上述哪怕一种行动——是老老实实，还是欺骗撒；是在精神上保持独立，还是做精神奴隶。

即便没有足够的勇气捍卫自己的灵魂也罢——别让他对自己“进步”的想法而自豪，别让他自吹自擂，觉得自己是什么学者、什么人民的艺术家，觉得他受之无愧，代表了所有人——让他告诉他自己：我属于畜群，我是个懦夫。其实，我在丰衣足食时的做法，也与此一模一样。

甚至这条道路 ——所有抵抗道路中最温文尔雅的一条，对于因循苟且的我们来说，也将是不容易的。但是，比起自焚甚或绝食来，毕竟轻松多了：火焰不会吞噬你的躯体，眼睛不会烧瞎，而黑面包和白开水总归有你家里人吃的。被我们出卖、被我们欺骗的伟大的欧洲人——捷克斯洛伐克人，难道不是已经向我们证明：他们如何面对坦克挺起毫无遮拦的胸膛，既然胸膛中跳动着一颗高贵的心？

这将是一条不容易的道路吧？然而却是可能的道路中最容易的。对于肉体来说是不容易的选择，而对于灵魂来说却是唯一的选择。一条不容易的道路，但是我们已经有了一些人，哪怕只是几十个也罢，他们多少年来一直遵循着所有这些做人的道理。

总之，我们不是第一批走上这条道路，而是加入先行者的行列！我们大家把这条道路看得愈是容易、愈是简短，我们便会愈加迅速、愈加踊跃地走上去！等我们有了数千人，那时当局将一筹莫展、无奈我何；待到我们有了数万人，我国面貌便会认不出来了！

假如我们前怕狼后怕虎，那就莫怨人家不让我们喘气，是我们自己不让自己喘气！那么，让我们继续鞠躬好了，让我们等待好了，当我们的生物学家兄弟能够读到我们的想法，他们准会帮助我们。让这样的一天快快到来。

假如我们连不参加撒谎的这点勇气都没有，我们真的一钱不值、无可救药了。那么，是我们，应该受到普希金的蔑视：

    干吗赐给牲口以自由？
    它们世世代代继承的遗产，
    就是带响铃的轭和鞭子。

——译自《亚历山大·索尔仁尼琴文集》第９集译者不详

英文原文

Alexander Solzhenitsyn (December 11, 1918 – August 3, 2008)

Live Not By Lies

此文原载1974年2月18日《华盛顿邮报》，A26版

At one time we dared not even to whisper. Now we write and read samizdat, and sometimes when we gather in the smoking room at the Science Institute we complain frankly to one another: What kind of tricks are they playing on us, and where are they dragging us? gratuitous boasting of cosmic achievements while there is poverty and destruction at home. Propping up remote, uncivilized regimes. Fanning up civil war. And we recklessly fostered Mao Tse-tung at our expense-- and it will be we who are sent to war against him, and will have to go. Is there any way out? And they put on trial anybody they want and they put sane people in asylums--always they, and we are powerless.

Things have almost reached rock bottom. A universal spiritual death has already touched us all, and physical death will soon flare up and consume us both and our children--but as before we still smile in a cowardly way and mumble without tounges tied. But what can we do to stop it? We haven't the strength?

We have been so hopelessly dehumanized that for today's modest ration of food we are willing to abandon all our principles, our souls, and all the efforts of our predecessors and all opportunities for our descendants--but just don't disturb our fragile existence. We lack staunchness, pride and enthusiasm. We don't even fear universal nuclear death, and we don't fear a third world war. We have already taken refuge in the crevices. We just fear acts of civil courage.

We fear only to lag behind the herd and to take a step alone-and suddenly find ourselves without white bread, without heating gas and without a Moscow registration.

We have been indoctrinated in political courses, and in just the same way was fostered the idea to live comfortably, and all will be well for the rest of our lives. You can't escape your environment and social conditions. Everyday life defines consciousness. What does it have to do with us? We can't do anything about it?

But we can--everything. But we lie to ourselves for assurance. And it is not they who are to blame for everything-we ourselves, only we. One can object: But actually toy can think anything you like. Gags have been stuffed into our mouths. Nobody wants to listen to us and nobody asks us. How can we force them to listen? It is impossible to change their minds.

It would be natural to vote them out of office-but there are not elections in our country. In the West people know about strikes and protest demonstrations-but we are too oppressed, and it is a horrible prospect for us: How can one suddenly renounce a job and take to the streets? Yet the other fatal paths probed during the past century by our bitter Russian history are, nevertheless, not for us, and truly we don't need them.

Now that the axes have done their work, when everything which was sown has sprouted anew, we can see that the young and presumptuous people who thought they would make out country just and happy through terror, bloody rebellion and civil war were themselves misled. No thanks, fathers of education! Now we know that infamous methods breed infamous results. Let our hands be clean!

The circle--is it closed? And is there really no way out? And is there only one thing left for us to do, to wait without taking action? Maybe something will happen by itself? It will never happen as long as we daily acknowledge, extol, and strengthen--and do not sever ourselves from--the most perceptible of its aspects: Lies.

When violence intrudes into peaceful life, its face glows with self-confidence, as if it were carrying a banner and shouting: ``I am violence. Run away, make way for me--I will crush you.'' But violence quickly grows old. And it has lost confidence in itself, and in order to maintain a respectable face it summons falsehood as its ally--since violence lays its ponderous paw not every day and not on every shoulder. It demands from us only obedience to lies and daily participation in lies--all loyalty lies in that.

And the simplest and most accessible key to our self-neglected liberation lies right here: Personal non-participation in lies. Though lies conceal everything, though lies embrace everything, but not with any help from me.

This opens a breach in the imaginary encirclement caused by our inaction. It is the easiest thing to do for us, but the most devastating for the lies. Because when people renounce lies it simply cuts short their existence. Like an infection, they can exist only in a living organism.

We do not exhort ourselves. We have not sufficiently matured to march into the squares and shout the truth our loud or to express aloud what we think. It's not necessary.

It's dangerous. But let us refuse to say that which we do not think.

This is our path, the easiest and most accessible one, which takes into account out inherent cowardice, already well rooted. And it is much easier--it's dangerous even to say this--than the sort of civil disobedience which Gandhi advocated.

Our path is to talk away from the gangrenous boundary. If we did not paste together the dead bones and scales of ideology, if we did not sew together the rotting rags, we would be astonished how quickly the lies would be rendered helpless and subside.

That which should be naked would then really appear naked before the whole world.

So in our timidity, let each of us make a choice: Whether consciously, to remain a servant of falsehood--of course, it is not out of inclination, but to feed one's family, that one raises his children in the spirit of lies--or to shrug off the lies and become an honest man worthy of respect both by one's children and contemporaries.

And from that day onward he:

* Will not henceforth write, sign, or print in any way a single phrase which in his opinion distorts the truth.

* Will utter such a phrase neither in private conversation not in the presence of many people, neither on his own behalf not at the prompting of someone else, either in the role of agitator, teacher, educator, not in a theatrical role.

* Will not depict, foster or broadcast a single idea which he can only see is false or a distortion of the truth whether it be in painting, sculpture, photography, technical science, or music.

* Will not cite out of context, either orally or written, a single quotation so as to please someone, to feather his own nest, to achieve success in his work, if he does not share completely the idea which is quoted, or if it does not accurately reflect the matter at issue.

* Will not allow himself to be compelled to attend demonstrations or meetings if they are contrary to his desire or will, will neither take into hand not raise into the air a poster or slogan which he does not completely accept.

* Will not raise his hand to vote for a proposal with which he does not sincerely sympathize, will vote neither openly nor secretly for a person whom he considers unworthy or of doubtful abilities.

* Will not allow himself to be dragged to a meeting where there can be expected a forced or distorted discussion of a question.

* Will immediately talk out of a meeting, session, lecture, performance or film showing if he hears a speaker tell lies, or purvey ideological nonsense or shameless propaganda.

* Will not subscribe to or buy a newspaper or magazine in which information is distorted and primary facts are concealed.

Of course we have not listed all of the possible and necessary deviations from falsehood. But a person who purifies himself will easily distinguish other instances with his purified outlook.

No, it will not be the same for everybody at first. Some, at first, will lose their jobs. For young people who want to live with truth, this will, in the beginning, complicate their young lives very much, because the required recitations are stuffed with lies, and it is necessary to make a choice.

But there are no loopholes for anybody who wants to be honest. On any given day any one of us will be confronted with at least one of the above-mentioned choices even in the most secure of the technical sciences. Either truth or falsehood: Toward spiritual independence or toward spiritual servitude.

And he who is not sufficiently courageous even to defend his soul- don't let him be proud of his ``progressive'' views,and don't let him boast that he is an academician or a people's artist, a merited figure, or a general--let him say to himself: I am in the herd, and a coward. It's all the same to me as long as I'm fed and warm.

Even this path, which is the most modest of all paths of resistance, will not be easy for us. But it is much easier than self-immolation or a hunger strike: The flames will not envelope your body, your eyeballs, will not burst from the heat, and brown bread and clean water will always be available to your family.

A great people of Europe, the Czhechoslovaks, whom we betrayed and deceived: Haven't they shown us how a vulnerable breast can stand up even against tanks if there is a worthy heart within it?

You say it will not be easy? But it will be easiest of all possible resources. It will not be an easy choice for a body, but it is only one for a soul. No, it is not an easy path. But there are already people, even dozens of them, who over the years have maintained all these points and live by the truth.

So you will not be the first to take this path, but will join those who have already taken it. This path will be easier and shorter for all of us if we take it by mutual efforts and in close rank. If there are thousands of us, they will not be able to do anything with us. If there are tens of thousands of us, then we would not even recognize our country.

If we are too frightened, then we should stop complaining that someone is suffocating us. We ourselves are doing it. let us then bow down even more, let us wait, and our brothers the biologists will help to bring nearer the day when they are able to read our thoughts are worthless and hopeless.

And if we get cold feet, even taking this step, then we are worthless and hopeless, and the scorn of Pushkin should be directed to us:

``Why should cattle have the gifts of freedom?

``Their heritage from generation to generation is the belled yoke and the lash.''

（完）