最近，我讀到了一段19世紀的英國散文，很有感觸。
這段話來自湯瑪斯·卡萊爾(Thomas Carlyle，1795一1881）的《過去與現在》(Past and Present，1843)。
生命對於人們從來不是五月天的遊戲；在所有的時候，啞巴似的幾百萬群眾為勞作而生，他們的命運總是漆黑的，承受多種苦難，冤曲，沉重的負擔，可避免的和不可避免的：毫無遊戲，只有苦活，幹得筋骨痠痛，心頭憤怒。......
我還相信，自從有了人類社會，從來沒有一個時候啞巴般的幾百萬勞動者的命運象眼前這樣完全無法忍受。使一個人悲慘的不是死，甚至不是餓死；無數的人死過，所有的人都必死----我們所有的人都將在火焰車的痛苦裡尋到最後歸宿。悲慘的是活得可憐，而不知為什麼；是工作得筋骨痠痛而無所得；是心酸，疲憊，卻又孤立無援，被冷冰冰的普遍的自由放任主義緊緊裹在中間；是整個一生都在慢慢死去，被禁閉在一種不聞。不動，無邊的不正義之中，就象被扔進了暴君的銅牛的該死的鐵肚裡一般。對於上帝所造的所有的人，這是----而且永遠是----不能忍受的。 那麼，又為什麼要對法國革命、憲章運動、三日叛亂感到奇怪，當前這時代，如果我們仔細想想，真是史無前例的。（王佐良譯）
說得多好啊，"使一個人悲慘的不是死，是活得可憐，而不知為什麼；是工作得筋骨痠痛而無所得；是心酸，疲憊，卻又孤立無援，被冷冰冰的普遍的自由放任主義緊緊裹在中間；是整個一生都在慢慢死去，被禁閉在一種不聞不動，無邊的不正義之中，就象被扔進了暴君的銅牛的該死的鐵肚裡一般。"
在中國有多少人是"可憐的活著，而不知為什麼"？......心酸，疲憊，孤立無援，周圍是一片不聞不問、冷冰冰的自由放任主義和無邊的不正義......生命為什麼會是這樣呢？
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附：英語原文
Life was never a May-game for men; in all times the lot of the dumb-millions born to toil was defaced with manifold sufferings, injustices, heavy burdens, avoidable and unavoidable; not play at all, but hard work that made the sinews sore, and the heart sore. ...
And yet I will venture to believe that in no time, since the beginnings of Society, was the lot of those same dumb millions of toilers so entirely unbearable as it is even in the days now passing over us. It is not to die, or even to die of hunger, that makes a man wretched; many men have died; all men must die; - the last exit of us all is in a Fire Chariot of Pain. But it is to live miserable we know not why; to work sore and yet gain nothing; to be heart-worn, weary, yet isolated, unrelated, girt in with a cold universal Laissez-faire: it is to die slowly all our life long, imprisoned in a deaf, dead Infinite Injustice, - as in the accursed iron belly of a Phalaris Bull! This is and remains forever intolerable to all men whom God has made. Do we wonder at French Revolutions, Chartisms Revolts of Three Days? The times, if we will consider them, are really unexampled.
（完）