悲劇的誕生The Birth Of Tragedy 第120期:想入非非的樂觀主義

Now we must not hide from ourselves what is conceAled in the womb of this Socratic culture:

現在，我們不要回避蘇格拉底文化核心中隱藏着的東西——

optimism, with its delusion of limitless power.

想入非非的樂觀主義；

We must not be alarmed if the fruits of this optimism ripen--

是的，我們也不必大驚小怪，如果這種樂觀主義的果實已經成熟；

if society, leavened to the very lowest strata by this kind of culture,

如果社會染上這種文化的細菌深入骨髓，

gradually begins to tremble with wanton agitations and desires,

逐漸在熱情和慾望的襲擊下開始發抖；

if the belief in the earthly happiness of all,

如果信仰一切塵世幸福，

if the belief in the possibility of such a general intellectual culture changes into the threatening demand for such an Alexandrian earthly happiness,

信仰這種普遍智育之前途，一旦變爲不得不追求這種亞歷山德里亞式的塵世幸福，

into the conjuring up of a Euripidean deus ex machina.

乃至乞靈於一種歐裏庇德斯式的“神機妙算”！

Let us mark this well: the Alexandrian culture, to be able to exist permanently, requires a slave class,

然而，我們也應該看到：亞歷山德里亞文化必須有一個奴隸階級，才能維持長久，

but with its optimistic view of life it denies the necessity of such a class, and consequently,

但是它以樂觀主義的人生觀否定這一階級的必要性；

when its beautifully seductive and tranquilizing utterances about the "dignity of man" and the "dignity of labor" are no longer effective,

因而，一旦“人的尊嚴”和“勞動的光榮”這些誘惑和安慰的話業已失效，

it gradually drifts toward a dreadful destruction.

它便逐漸走向可怕的毀滅。野蠻的奴隸階級是可怕不過的，

There is nothing more terrible than a class of barbaric slaves who have learned to regard their existence as an injustice,

他們已經覺悟到他們的生活是一種不正義，

and now prepare to avenge, not only themselves, but all generations.

而且準備復仇，不但爲自己，而且爲世世代代。

In the face of such threatening storms,

面臨這威脅的風暴，

who dares to appeal with any confidence to our pale and exhausted religions,

誰還敢滿懷信心，訴諸我們的蒼白虛弱的宗教呢？

the very foundations of which have degenerated into scholarly religions?

現代宗教基本上已經蛻化爲學術信仰；

Myth, the necessary prerequisite of any religion, is already paralyzed everywhere, and even in this domain the optimistic spirit,

所以神話，一切宗教所不可缺少的條件，在各方面都陷於麻痹狀態；甚至在神話領域，

which we have just designated as the germ of destruction in our society, has attained the mastery.

樂觀主義精神——我們曾目爲敗壞社會的病菌——已經獲得了統治權。