政治理论 - 托马斯·霍布斯：英语精读讲义

Thomas Hobbes was a 17th century English philosopher,

托马斯·霍布斯是一位17世纪的英国哲学家，

who's on hand to guide us through one of the thorniest issues of politics. 講解

他在此为我们解答政治中最棘手的问题之一。

To what extent should we patiently obey rulers, 語法

我们在多大程度上应该耐心服从统治者，

especially those who are not very good,

特别是那些不太贤明的统治者，

and to what extent should we start revolutions and depose governments in search of a better world? 用詞

又在多大程度上为了寻求一个更美好的世界而发动革命、推翻政府？

Hobbes's thinking is inseparable from one major event 短語搭配

霍布斯的思想与一个重大事件密不可分，

that began when he was 64 years old

该事件发生在他64岁时，

and was to mark him so deeply, 語法

给他留下了极其深刻的烙印，

it colored all his subsequent thinking. 習語

影响了他之后所有的思考。

Remarkably, he died when he was 91,

值得注意的是，他享年91岁，

and so everything he's remembered for today, 表達脈絡

如今他为人铭记的一切著作，

he wrote after the age of 60.

都是在他60岁以后写成的。

This event was the English Civil War,

这个事件就是英国内战，

a vicious, divisive, costly and murderous conflict

一场残酷、分裂、代价惨重且充满杀戮的冲突，

that raged across England for almost a decade

在英国肆虐了近十年，

and pitted the forces of king against Parliament, 短語搭配

使国王的军队与议会军相互厮杀，

leading to the deaths of some 200,000 people on both sides.

导致双方约20万人丧生。

Hobbes was by nature a deeply peaceful and cautious man. 短語搭配

霍布斯生性是一个极度爱好和平且谨慎的人。

He hated violence of all kinds,

他厌恶各种形式的暴力，

a disposition that had begun at the age of four,

这种性情始于他四岁的时候，

when his own father,

当时他的父亲，

a clergyman,

一名牧师，

was disgraced and abandoned his wife and family,

身败名裂并抛弃了妻子和家庭，

after he'd got into a fight with another vicar 短語搭配

原因是他与另一名牧师打了一架，

on the steps of his parish church in a village in Wiltshire.

就发生在威尔特郡一个村庄的教区教堂台阶上。

The work for which we chiefly remember Hobbes, 語法

我们主要因为一部作品而铭记霍布斯，

Leviathan,

那就是《利维坦》，

was published in 1651.

于1651年出版。

It is the most definitive, persuasive,

这是最权威、最有说服力、

and eloquent statement ever produced

且最具雄辩性的论述，

as to why one should obey government authority, 短語搭配

解释了为什么人们应该服从政府权威，

even of a very imperfect kind,

即便是一个非常不完美的权威，

in order to avoid the risk of chaos and bloodshed. 講解

为了避免陷入混乱和流血的危险。

To understand the background of Hobbes's conservatism,

要理解霍布斯保守主义的背景，

it helps to realize that across Western Europe in the 17th century, 短語搭配

了解17世纪整个西欧的情况会有所帮助，

political theorists were beginning to ask with a new directness,

当时的政治理论家开始以前所未有的直白方式发问：

on what basis subjects should obey their rulers. 短語搭配

臣民到底基于什么应该服从统治者。

For centuries,

几个世纪以来，

way back into the Middle Ages,

一路追溯到中世纪，

there'd been a standard answer to this.

对此一直有一个标准答案，

contained in a theory called "the divine right of kings". 文化背景

包含在一个叫做“君权神授”的理论中。

This was a blunt, simple, but highly effective theory

这是一个直白、简单却极其有效的理论，

stating that it was none other than God who'd appointed all kings 習語

它宣称任命所有国王的不是别人，正是上帝，

and that one should obey these monarchs for one clear reason,

人们应该服从这些君主的原因很明确：

because God said so,

因为上帝这么说，

and he would send you to hell if you didn't agree.

如果你不同意，他就会把你打入地狱。

But this was no longer proving quite so persuasive to many thoughtful people

但这对许多善于思考的人来说，已经不再那么有说服力了，

who argued that the right to rule ultimately lay not with kings, 表達脈絡

他们认为统治权最终并不在于国王，

but with ordinary people who gave kings power,

而在于赋予国王权力的普通民众，

and therefore should only expect to take orders from kings

因此，人们期望听命于国王的前提只能是，

so long as, 表達脈絡

只要，

but only so long as things were working out quite well for them.

且仅仅只要事情对他们来说运转得相当好。

This was known as "the social contract theory of government". 文化背景

这被称为“政府的社会契约论”。

Hobbes could see that the divine right of kings theory was nonsense,

霍布斯能看出君权神授论简直是胡说八道，

and what's more, 表達脈絡

而且更重要的是，

was going to be increasingly unpersuasive as religious observance declined.

随着宗教信仰的衰退，它将变得越来越缺乏说服力。

He himself was privately an atheist.

他本人私下里就是一个无神论者。

At the same time, 表達脈絡

与此同时，

Hobbes was deeply scared of the possible consequences of the social contract theory,

霍布斯对社会契约论可能带来的后果深感恐惧，

which could encourage people to depose rulers

因为这可能会鼓励人们去推翻统治者，

whenever they felt a little unhappy with their lot. 習語

只要他们对自己的处境感到有一点点不满。

Hobbes had received a first-hand account of the beheading of King Charles the First 短語搭配

霍布斯曾收到关于查理一世被斩首的第一手描述，

on a scaffold in front of the Banqueting House of the Palace of Whitehall

就在白厅宫国宴厅前面的断头台上，

in 1649,

时间是1649年，

and his intellectual labors

他的智力劳动

were directed at making sure

旨在确保

that such ghastly, primitive scenes

这种可怕、原始的场景

would never be repeated.

永远不会重演。

So, in Leviathan,

因此，在《利维坦》中，

Hobbes puts forward an ingenious argument 短語動詞

霍布斯提出了一个巧妙的论点，

that tries to marry up social contract theory 短語動詞

试图将社会契约论

with the defense of total obedience and submission

与对传统权威的

to traditional authority.

绝对服从和屈服的辩护结合起来。

The way he did this

他所采用的方法

was to take his readers back in time 表達脈絡

就是将读者带回到过去，

to a period he called "the state of nature", 文化背景

回到一个他称之为“自然状态”的时期，

before there were kings of any kind,

在任何形式的国王出现之前，

and to get them to think about 語法

并让他们思考

how governments would have arisen in the first place. 習語

政府最初是如何产生的。

Key to Hobbes's argument 表達脈絡

霍布斯论点的核心在于

was that the state of nature would not have been a pretty place,

自然状态绝不是一个美好的地方，

because humans,

因为人类，

left to their own devices, 習語

如果任其自由发展，

without a central authority

没有一个中央权威

to keep them in awe, 用詞

来使他们保持敬畏，

would quickly have descended 短語搭配

就会迅速堕落

into squabbling, infighting,

陷入争吵、内讧

and intolerable bickering.

和令人难以忍受的争执中。

It would have been a little like the English Civil War,

那会有点像英国内战，

but with people in bearskins

只不过人们披着熊皮，

bashing each other around with flint tools.

用燧石工具互相敲打。

In Hobbes's famous formulation,

用霍布斯那句著名的话来说，

life in the state of nature

在自然状态下的生活

would have been nasty, brutish, 文化背景

必定是肮脏、野蛮，

and short.

且短暂的。

As a result, 表達脈絡

因此，

out of fear and dread of chaos, 短語搭配

出于对混乱的恐惧和畏惧，

people were led to form governments. 語法

人们被引导去建立政府。

They had done this willingly,

他们是自愿这么做的，

as social contract theorists maintained,

正如社会契约论者所坚持的那样，

but also under considerable compulsion, 用詞

但同时也是在相当大的压力下，

fleeing into the arms of strong authority, 習語

逃进强大权威的怀抱，

which they therefore,

因此，

Hobbes argued,

霍布斯认为，

had a subsequent duty to keep obeying

随后他们就有责任继续服从这个权威，

with only a few rights to complain

并且只有极少数权利去抱怨，

if they didn't like it.

哪怕他们不喜欢它。

The only right that people might have to protest

人们可能有权抗议

about an absolute ruler,

专制统治者，

or Leviathan,

或利维坦，

as Hobbes called him,

如霍布斯对他的称呼，

was if he directly threatened to kill them.

唯一的情况是他直接威胁要杀他们。

However,

然而，

if the ruler merely stifled opposition, 講解

如果统治者仅仅是压制反对意见，

imposed onerous taxes, 短語搭配

征收苛捐杂税，

crippled the economy, 習語

破坏经济，

and locked up dissidents willy-nilly, 講解

并随意关押异见人士，

this was absolutely no reason to take to the streets 習語

这绝不是走上街头

and demand a change of government.

要求更换政府的理由。

As Hobbes wrote,

正如霍布斯所写，

"Though of so unlimited a power,

“虽然拥有如此不受限制的权力，

men may fancy many evil consequences, 用詞

人们可能会想象出许多邪恶的后果，

yet the consequences of the want of it, 用詞

但缺乏这种权力的后果，

which is perpetual war of every man against his neighbor,

即每个人与邻居之间的无休止的战争，

are much worse."

却要糟糕得多。”

He admitted that a ruler might come along

他承认统治者可能会出现

with an inclination to do wicked deeds, 短語搭配

做恶的倾向，

but the people would still have a duty 短語搭配

但人民依然有义务

to obey this person

服从这个人

as "human affairs cannot be without some inconvenience."

因为“人类事务不可能没有一些不便之处。”

But this inconvenience is anyway

但这种不便无论如何

the fault of the people,

都是人民的错，

not the sovereign,

而不是主权者的错，

because, as Hobbes adds,

因为，正如霍布斯补充道，

"if men could rule themselves, 語法

“如果人们能够自我统治，

there would be no need at all

就完全不需要

of a common coercive power."

一个共同的强制权力了。”

As he went on,

他继续写道，

"he that complaineth of injury from his sovereign, 用詞

“抱怨其主权者造成伤害的人，

complaineth of that whereof he is the author himself, 用詞

抱怨的正是他自己作为作者所创造的事物，

and therefore ought not to accuse any man 語法

因此他不应指责任何人，

but himself."

而应指责他自己。”

Hobbes's theory was dark, cautious,

霍布斯的理论阴暗、谨慎，

and not especially hopeful about government.

对政府也没有抱以特别的期望。

In our more optimistic moments, 短語搭配

在我们较为乐观的时刻，

we want him to be wrong,

我们希望他是错的，

but it seems Hobbes's name will always be relevant and fresh again

但似乎霍布斯的名字总会具有现实意义并且历久弥新，

when revolutions,

每当革命，

motivated by a search for liberty, 語法

出于对自由的追求而发起，

go horribly awry. 短語搭配

却可怕地走向了歧途时。

Hobbes maintained in the preface to Leviathan,

霍布斯在《利维坦》的序言中坚称，

that he had written the book

他写这本书

without partiality, 表達脈絡

没有偏见，

without application, 用詞

没有附会，

and without other design

也没有别的企图，

than to set before men's eyes 習語

只是为了在世人眼前展现

the mutual relationship

保护与服从之间的

between protection and obedience.

相互关系。