“Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg.”
“在一堵坚硬的高墙和一只撞向它的蛋之间，我会永远站在蛋这一边。”
Yes, no matter how right the wall may be and how wrong the egg, I will stand with the egg. Someone else will have to decide what is right and what is wrong; perhaps time or history will do it. But if there were a novelist who, for whatever reason, wrote works standing with the wall, of what value would such works be?
对，不管墙有多么正确，蛋有多么错，我都会站在蛋这一边。其他人会不得不决定，什么是对，什么是错；也许时间或历史会决定。如果有一个小说家，不管出于何种理由，所写的作品站在墙那边，那么这样的作品会有什么价值呢？
What is the meaning of this metaphor? In some cases, it is all too simple and clear. Bombers and tanks and rockets and white phosphorus shells are that high wall. The eggs are the unarmed civilians who are crushed and burned and shot by them. This is one meaning of the metaphor.
这个隐喻的涵义是什么？有些情况下，它实在太简单明白了。轰炸机、坦克、火箭和白磷炮弹是那坚硬的高墙。蛋是那些被碾碎、被烧焦、被射杀的手无寸铁的平民。这是该隐喻的涵义之一。
But this is not all. It carries a deeper meaning. Think of it this way. Each of us is, more or less, an egg. Each of us is a unique, irreplaceable soul enclosed in a fragile shell. This is true of me, and it is true of each of you. And each of us, to a greater or lesser degree, is confronting a high, solid wall. The wall has a name: it is “The System.” The System is supposed to protect us, but sometimes it takes on a life of its own, and then it begins to kill us and cause us to kill others--coldly, efficiently, systematically.
可这不是全部。它有更深刻的涵义。这样来想。我们每个人，或多或少，都是一个蛋。我们每个人都是一个独特的、无法取代的灵魂，被包裹在一个脆弱的壳里。我是如此，你们每一个人也是。而我们每个人，多多少少都面对着一堵坚硬的高墙。这堵墙有个名字：它叫体制(The System)。体制应该保护我们，但有时，它不再受任何人所控，然后它开始杀害我们，及令我们杀害他人——无情地，高效地，系统地。 |
