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一〇、讀托爾斯泰《安娜傳》

胡適留學日記:全十七卷 作者:胡適


一〇、讀托爾斯泰《安娜傳》

(七月十日)

連日讀托爾斯泰(Lyof N. Tolstoi)所著小說《安娜傳》( Anna Karenina )。此書為托氏名著。其書結(jié)構(gòu)頗似《石頭記》,布局命意都有相似處,惟《石頭記》稍不如此書之逼真耳。《安娜傳》甚不易讀;其所寫皆家庭及社會纖細瑣事,至千二百頁之多,非有耐心,不能終卷。此書寫俄國貴族社會之淫奢無恥,可謂鑄鼎照奸。書中主人李問(Levin),蓋托氏自寫生也。其人由疑而復(fù)歸于信仰。一日聞一田夫之言,忽大解悟,知前此種種思慮疑問都歸無用,天國不遠,即在心中,何必外求?此托氏之宗教哲學也。其說亦有不完處,他日當詳論之。

托氏寫人物之長處類似莎士比亞,其人物如安娜,如李問夫婦,如安娜之夫,皆亦善亦惡,可褒可貶。正如莎氏之漢姆勒特王子,李耳王,倭色羅諸人物,皆非完人也。迭更司寫生,褒之欲超之九天,貶之欲墜諸深淵:此一法也。薩克雷(Thackeray)寫生則不然,其書中人物無一完全之好人,亦無一不可救藥之惡人,如 Vanity Fair (《名利場》)中之Rebecca Sharp(麗貝卡·夏普)諸人:此又一法也。以經(jīng)歷實際證之,吾從其后者,托氏亦主張此法者也。

托氏主張絕對的不抗柜主義者也(道義的抗拒)。惟此書主人李問之言曰:

Well, my theory is this: war, on the one hand, is such a terrible, such an atrocious thing that no man, at least no Christian man has the right to assume the responsibility of beginning it; but it belongs to government alone, when it becomes inevitable. On the other hand, both in law and in common sense, where there are state questions, and above all in matters concerning war, private citizens have no right to use their own wills. (Vol. Ⅲ, p. 381)

〔中譯〕

那么,吾之理論是這樣:一方面,戰(zhàn)爭是如此之可怕,又如此之殘酷;沒有人,至少是沒有一個耶教徒,有權(quán)利承擔挑起戰(zhàn)爭之責任;可是,當戰(zhàn)爭不可避免地發(fā)生時,其責任則當在政府。另一方面,在法律上,在常識上,平民百姓皆無權(quán)使其自己之意志對國家事務(wù),尤其是有關(guān)戰(zhàn)爭之事務(wù)產(chǎn)生影響。(第三卷,第三八一頁)

則托氏著書時,猶未全臻不抗拒之境也,李問之兄問曰:

Suppose you were walking in the street, and saw a drunken man beating a woman or a child. I think you would not stop to ask whether war had been declared on such a man before you attacked him and protected the object of his fury.

〔中譯〕

假設(shè)汝正走在街上,看見一個醉漢正在毆打一位婦女,或是一個小孩。吾想,在汝拔刀相助以便保護受害者之前,汝決不會先停下來,去追究一下汝是否已對此人宣戰(zhàn)。

李問答曰:

"No; but I should not kill him." "Yes,you might even kill." "I don't know. If I saw such a sight, I might yield to the immediate feeling. I cannot tell how it would be. But in oppression of the Slavs, there is not, and cannot be, such a powerful motive."

〔中譯〕

“不會的;但是吾不會把他殺死?!薄笆堑?,可也許會殺了他。”“吾說不準。倘若吾看見如此之場景,吾也許會一時沖動。吾實在不知道后果將會是怎樣。然而,在斯拉夫人之壓迫之下,就沒有,也不可能有,如此強大之沖動。”

則托氏此時尚持兩端也。


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