经典文选

吉尔伯特·基思·切斯特顿（ Gilbert Keith Chesterton ， 1874 — 1936 ），英国推理小说家、评论家和神学家。生于伦敦西区的肯辛顿，先后受教于圣保罗中学（ St Paul's School ）、大学学院（ University College ）与史雷德艺术学校（ Slade School of Art ）。一生创作了大量长篇和短篇小说、诗歌、评论散文。他的文章幽默风趣，视野开阔。最有名的小说人物是按照犯罪心理学进行推理断案的布朗神父。

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The Man On Top (Excerpt)

By Gilbert Keith Chesterton
禾沐 译

T he fundamental fact of our time is the failure of the successful man. Somehow we have so arranged the rules of the game that the winners are worthless for other purposes; they can secure nothing except the prize. The very rich are neither aristocrats nor self-made men; they are accident — or rather calamities. All revolutionary language is a generation behind the times in talking of their futility. A revolutionist would say (with perfect truth) that coal-owners know next to nothing about coal-mining. But we are past that point. Coal-owners know next to nothing about coal-owning. They do not develop and defend the nature of their own monopoly with any consistent and courageous policy, however wicked, as did the old aristocrats with the monopoly of land. They have not the virtues nor even the vices of tyrants; they have only their powers. It is the same with all the powerful of to-day; it is the same, for instance, with the high-placed and high-paid official. Not only is the judge not judicial, but the arbiter is not even arbitrary. The arbiter decides, not by some gust of justice or injustice in his soul like the old despot dooming men under a tree, but by the permanent climate of the class to which he happens to belong. The ancient wig of the judge is often indistinguishable from the old wig of the flunkey.

To judge about success or failure one must see things very simply; one must see them in masses, as the artist, half closing his eyes against details, sees light and shade. That is the only way in which a just judgment can be formed as to whether any departure or development, such as Islam or the American Republic, has been a benefit upon the whole. Seen close, such great erections always abound in ingenious detail and impressive solidity; it is only by seeing them afar off that one can tell if the Tower leans.

Now if we thus take in the whole tilt or posture of our modern state, we shall simply see this fact: that those classes who have on the whole governed, have on the whole failed. If you go to a factory you will see some very wonderful wheels going round; you will be told that the employer often comes there early in the morning; that he has great organising power; that if he works over the colossal accumulation of wealth he also works over its wise distribution. All this may be true of many employers, and it is practically said of all.

But if we shade our eyes from all this dazzle of detail; if we simply ask what has been the main feature, the upshot, the final fruit of the capitalist system, there is no doubt about the answer. The special and solid result of the reign of the employers has been — -unemployment. Unemployment not only increasing, but becoming at last the very pivot upon which the whole process turns.

Or, again, if you visit the villages that depend on one of the great squires, you will hear praises, often just, of the landlord's good sense or good nature; you will hear of whole systems of pensions or of care for the sick, like those of a small and separate nation; you will see much cleanliness, order, and business habits in the offices and accounts of the estate. But if you ask again what has been the upshot, what has been the actual result of the reign of landlords, again the answer is plain. At the end of the reign of landlords men will not live on the land. The practical effect of having landlords is not having tenants. The practical effect of having employers is that men are not employed. The unrest of the populace is therefore more than a murmur against tyranny; it is against a sort of treason. It is the suspicion that even at the top of the tree, even in the seats of the mighty, our very success is unsuccessful. ❖

高位之上（节选）

我们时代的基本事实是成功人士的失败。不知何故我们制定的游戏规则使得胜利者们除此之外一无用处；他们除了赢得游戏一无所得。最富有的人既不是贵族也不是白手起家的奋斗者；他们是种意外，更准确地说，是灾祸。要说到他们的毫无用处，一切革命性的语言都变得比时代落后十几年。一位革命者会（实事求是地）说，煤矿主对于煤矿业知之甚少。但这样还不够，煤矿主对拥有煤矿这事本身也几乎全然不了解。他们并非通过一致的、有勇气的政策发展和卫护自己垄断的本质；而传统的贵族，不论多狠毒，则都是以这种方式把持其对土地的垄断权。他们既没有专制者的优点甚至也没有他们的缺点；他们只有手中的权力。当今掌握权势的人都是如此。举例说来，身居高位和享受高薪的官员便是如此。不仅法官不能做到公正明法，连裁决者甚至都做不到自主决断。裁决者不是依据自己心灵中某种公正或不公的冲动作出裁决，就像古老的专制君主在树下对其子民作出宣判，而是根据他碰巧所属的那个阶级的持续倾向来裁断。法官那历史悠久的假发与谄媚仆役的古旧假发常常难以分辨。

判断成功或者失败，必须以非常简单的方式看清事物；必须把他们集中来看，如同艺术家半闭双目、避开细节从而看出光与影一样。任何变更或发展，比如伊斯兰教或美国共和政体，是否对于整体有益，要形成对上述问题的公正判断，这是唯一的方法。如果从近处看，上述巨大的事件总是包含丰富的精妙细节和让人印象深刻的牢固性。只有从远处观察，才能判断高塔是否倾斜。

现在假如我们注意到这个现代国家的整体倾斜或某种状况，我们就会只看到这一事实：那些总体而言称得上是统治阶层的，总体而言都失败了。你要是去一家工厂，会看到一些很奇妙的轮子在转动；你会听说工厂主常常早上过来，他有了不起的组织能力，他不仅致力于财富的积累而且致力于它们的明智分配。这一切可能对于很多工厂主来说是确实的，而所有的工厂主据说都是这样的。

但是假如我们把这所有眼花缭乱的细节在眼前遮住，假如我们只是询问什么是资本主义制度的主要特征、结果以及最终果实，答案是毫无疑问的。在工厂主们统治期间，特殊而稳固的结果一直就是：失业。失业不仅在增加，而且最终成为了整个过程运转所围绕的那个轴心。

或者，假如你去探访那些依赖于一位伟大乡绅的村庄，你会听到地主如何明智与和善的赞语，这些赞语常常是公正的；你会听说养老金的整个体系或者对病患者的照顾，就像是一个小型的独立国家所具备的那样；你会看到这片地产的管理和账目都很干净、有序、符合商业习惯。但是假如你再次问到这些地主们统治的结果和实际影响是什么，答案依旧很清楚。到地主们统治的最后，人们将不会以土地为生。有地主的实际影响是没有了佃户。有工厂主的实际影响是人们不再被雇佣。因此民众的骚乱不安不只是对暴政的小声抱怨；这是对某种背叛的抗议。这是一种怀疑：即使在树的顶端，即使在那些掌握权势的位子之上，我们的成功也是不成功的。❖ /6K7TwrXWkdUKHlzmeQlb1nlApxqgG5DP0TzyD0XPVgXrdCk0Dl7yfZEkQ7hv/Qc