德里克·雅各比爵士 | 慷慨朗读苏格拉底的临终陈辞《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，你们没能赢得更多时间。相反，因为将苏格拉底置之死地你们将恶名远扬。你们若是足够耐心，等久一些，老天自会满足你们的心愿让你们真正的摆脱我。只因我年事已高，时日无多。

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.

你们无疑的认为我是因为申辩不够充分被判处极刑，要是我按你们认为合适的方式，以行为和言辞打动陪审团以求赦免，或许，我会被无罪释放。可是，我无法用恣意妄为，恬不知耻，卑躬屈膝方式谄媚取悦你们；你们对那些痛哭流涕，抱怨哀嚎，悔恨悲叹那些奴颜婢膝的说辞和行径早就习以为常。但这一切，根本配不上我的名号。

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.

我并不后悔申辩，我宁愿死于自己所信仰的辩护方式也不愿按照你们的方式继续苟活。法庭如同战场，战斗中常有此事发生：一个人只要扔掉武器，向追捕他的敌人乞怜求饶便可以避免一死。在危险面前，总有各种逃避死亡的办法。只要你寡廉鲜耻不惜代价，便可以死里逃生。

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.

朋友们，真正的困难并不是逃避死亡，而是避免做出不义之事。不义之事比死亡更难逃避。我已年老体衰，行动迟缓，而指控我的人们，年轻、坚毅、敏捷；他们步伐迅速，让我望尘莫及，可惜却行为不义。我，将被你们夺走生命，你么指望以此来逃避世人的谴责，且不用以失掉自己的生命为代价。

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.

假如你们想用置他人于死地的方式来规避世人对自己生平过失的谴责，那实在是大错特错。以此种方式来逃避谴责，既不可行又极为可耻。最易行且最高尚的方式并不是摧毁他人，而是改善自己，成为善人。

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，有某种神谕伴随着我。我若是犯错，哪怕所犯之事无足挂齿，神谕便会显示并示以警告。可现在即将降临于我的是世人普遍观念中的最终极的灾难——死亡。然而，神谕却未曾降下征兆阻止我，无论是当我早上离家之时，或是在我抵达法庭之时，又或是在我申辩立论之时，这该让我作何解释呢？我想告诉你们。

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.

在我看来，这恰恰证实了死亡的降临于我是福气。要是我们把死亡设想为最大的不幸才是大错特错。死亡，要么是灵魂和肉体俱灭，进入一种虚无完全无意识状态；要么，如世俗所说，死亡，就是灵魂从这个世界到另一个世界的变化和迁移。既然你们认为死后无意识无知觉，进入沉睡状态，那是一种甚至不会被梦境所打搅的沉睡状态。那么，死亡真是一种难以言表的获益啊。要是一个人选择某个夜晚将这个沉睡无梦的夜晚，与他一生中度的日日夜夜进行比较并告诉我们，他们这一生中有多少日日夜夜要比这个无梦的夜晚过得更快乐更美好，我相信任何人在进行比较之时都会发现这样的日子屈指可数。

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，我便将死亡当做一种收获，来世的永恒也不过是一场沉睡。另一种观点假如死亡是灵魂从此处移居至彼处，正如世人所言，所有死人都在另一个世界，还有什么事情比去那个世界更幸福呢？可以和俄耳浦斯、荷马交流思想，还有什么不可舍弃的呢？如果死后真是这样，我愿意一次又一次死去。我，当然对这样的地方饶有兴趣。在那里，我会碰到大埃阿斯还有含冤而死的古代英雄们，与他们交流思想。在我看来，跟他们曾经的遭遇相比，我所承受的痛苦，可以称得上快乐了。

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，我可以在另一个世界继续进行真伪知识的研究，就如同在这个世界一样，我要辨别出谁拥有真智慧，谁假装自己智慧过人，还有谁毫无智慧。在那里，人们不会因为我的行为，便将我置之死地，绝对不会！那个世界的人们，除了比我们更幸福更快乐，如果传说属实的话，他们还永生不死。

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.

裁决者们，为死亡欢呼雀跃吧！毫无疑问，无论生前还是死后，善良的人是不会遭逢恶果的，诸神不会对他的命运充耳不闻。即将降临于我的死亡之结局也绝非偶然，我看的很清楚，对我来说，死亡比在世为佳，最终获得解脱。因此，未有某种神谕显现来阻止我。出于同样的理由，对于那些指控和将我置罪的人，我并非心怀怨恨，他们对我并未造成伤害，尽管他们此举并非出于善意。对此，我要稍稍对他们进行谴责。

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

离别的时刻已至，我们要各自上路——我去赴死，你们继续活着。生与死，孰优孰劣，只有神明才知道。