“Gentlemen,” he said, “I should like to read you an article that appeared this morning in the Figaro. I shall not name the author, for I think you will recognize him for yourselves. Since chance will have it so, it gives me all the more pleasure to read it in the presence of this lovable woman who was a lover of sound doctrine2 and of open-hearted men, and who, because she was learned, sincere, tolerant and pitiful, and sought to deprive the torturers of their victims, raised against her all the monasteries3 and all the universities. They used even to incite4 the young scapegraces of the College of Navarre to insult her, and had she not been sister to the King of France they would have sewed her up in a sack and thrown her into the Seine. She was a gentle soul, profound yet cheerful. I cannot say whether when alive she had the coquettish and mischievous5 expression which she wears in this statue by a little-known sculptor6, by name Lescorné, but she certainly has not in the hard, sincere pencil drawings of Clouet’s pupils, who have left us her portrait. I would rather believe that her smile was often veiled in sadness, and that her lips drooped7 sorrowfully when she said: ‘I have borne more than my share of the burden common to all persons of high estate.’ In her private life she was anything but happy, and all around her she saw the wicked triumph amid the applause of the cowardly and ignorant. I believe that in the days when her ears were not of marble she would have listened with sympathy to what I am about to read.”
And Monsieur Bergeret, having unfolded his paper, read as follows:
“The Government.
“To see just where one stood in the Affair one needed, at the outset, some application, and a certain amount of critical method, together with sufficient leisure to apply it. So that we see that the light first dawned upon those who, by the quality of their minds and the nature of their occupation, were better adapted than others to the solution of difficult problems. After this, all that was needed was common sense and close attention. Common sense is enough to-day.
“We must not be surprised that the general public has held out so long against the obvious truth. Nothing should surprise us. There are reasons for everything, and it is our place to discover these reasons. In the present instance little reflection is needed in order to perceive that the public has been utterly8 and absolutely deceived, and its touching9 credulity abused. The Press has largely helped the lie to succeed. Most of the newspapers have hurried to the assistance of the forgers, and have published forged or falsified documents, insults and lies. But we must admit that in most cases this was done to please their public and respond to the private opinions of their readers. It is certain that the battle against truth was in the first place based on the popular instinct.
“The crowd, by which I mean the crowd of people who are incapable10 of thinking for themselves, did not understand; they could not understand. Their idea of the Army was a simple one. For them the Army was parade, march past, review, man?uvres, uniforms, high boots, spurs, epaulets, guns and flags. It also meant conscription, with beribboned caps, litres of cheap wine, barracks, drill, the mess, the guard-room and the canteen. It meant, again, a national trade in pictures, the brilliant little sketches11 of our military painters with their spotless uniforms and nice tidy battle scenes. And finally it was a symbol of strength and security, of honour and glory. The officers who rode past on horseback with their swords in their hands, amid the glitter of gold and steel, to the sound of music and the roll of drums, how was it possible to believe that they would shortly be bending over a table, behind locked doors, tête à tête with anxious agents from the prefecture of police, handling the eraser and the india-rubber, handling the gum brush or sprinkling pounce12, scratching out or putting in a name in a document, forging handwritings, to ruin an innocent man; or thinking out ridiculous disguises for mysterious appointments with the traitor13 they had to save?
“What made these crimes seem impossible to the public mind was that they did not smack14 of the open air, the early morning march, the field of man?uvres and the battle-field. They were all too stuffy15, they savoured too much of the office; there was nothing military about them. And, in truth, all the practices which were resorted to in order to conceal16 the judicial17 error of 1895, all those infamous18 documents, all that vile19 and rascally20 trickery, reeks21 of the office, and a dirty office at that. All that the four green-papered walls, the china inkstand surrounded with sponge, the boxwood paper-knife, the water-bottle on the mantelpiece, the pigeon-holes, and the leather-seated chair could suggest in the way of ridiculous imaginings and evil thoughts to these stay-at-homes, these poor ‘sitters’ as a poet has called them, to vain, poor, lazy, plotting scribblers, idle even in the accomplishment22 of their idle task, jealous of one another and proud of their occupation; all the equivocal, false, treacherous23 and stupid things that can be done with pen and paper in the service of wickedness and folly24, came out of a corner of that building on which are sculptured battle trophies25 and smoking hand-grenades.
“The jobs perpetrated in these offices during the space of four years, for the purpose of burdening a condemned26 prisoner with evidence which they had neglected to produce before his condemnation27, and of acquitting28 the guilty man whom all accused, who inculpated29 himself, are so monstrous30 in their conception as to baffle the moderate mind of a Frenchman, and they exhale31 a spirit of tragic32 buffoonery most displeasing33 in a country whose literature abhors34 the confusion of styles. These documents and inquiries35 must be studied minutely before one can admit the reality of all these plots and intrigues36, these prodigiously37 audacious tricks and inept38 man?uvres, and I can well understand that the careless, ill-informed public refused to believe in them even after they were divulged39.
“And yet it is very true that at the end of a corridor in a Ministerial building, on thirty square yards of waxed flooring, a few military bureaucrats40, some of them idle and crafty41, others excited and unruly, betrayed justice and deceived a great people by their wicked, fraudulent documents. But if this Affair, which was above all the Affair of Mercier and the bureaux, has revealed a villainous morality, it has also raised up some noble characters.
“For even in this very office there was one man unlike the rest. His mind was broad, shrewd and lucid42, his character noble, his heart patient, abundantly human and invincibly43 gentle. He was rightly looked upon as one of the most intelligent officers in the Army. And although the singularity of a spirit of too rare an essence might have been a stumbling-block, he had been the first among the officers of his age to be appointed lieutenant-colonel, and everything foretold44 for him the most brilliant future in the Army. His friends understood his rather quizzical indulgence and his genuine kindliness45. They knew him to be endowed with an unusual sense of beauty, apt to feel keenly all that was best in music and literature, and to live in the ethereal world of ideas. Like all men whose inner life is deep and meditative46, he developed his great moral and intellectual faculties47 in solitude48. This tendency to retire within himself, together with his natural simplicity49, his spirit of renunciation and sacrifice, and the beautiful sincerity50 which sometimes seems to grace the minds of those most conscious of universal suffering and evil, combined to form in him the type of soldier known or dreamed of by Alfred de Vigny, the quiet hero of daily life who imparts some of his own nobility to the humblest tasks which he undertakes, and to whom the accomplishment of routine duty is the familiar poetry of life.
“This officer, who was appointed to the second committee of investigation51, found one day that Dreyfus had been condemned for the crime of Esterhazy. He informed his superior officers. They tried, quietly at first, and then by threats, to put a stop to his investigations52, which, in proving the innocence53 of Dreyfus, would reveal their own crimes and errors. He knew that it meant ruin if he persevered54. He persevered. With quiet reflection, slow and sure, with calm courage, he continued his work of justice. He was removed. He was sent to Gabès, and to the Tripoli frontier, on some wicked pretext55, for no other reason than to get him murdered by the Arab brigands56.
“Having failed to kill him, they set to work to dishonour57 him, to ruin him by the profusion58 of their slanders59. With treacherous promises they tried to keep him from speaking at the Zola trial. He spoke60, with the unruffled calm of the just man, with the serenity61 of a mind that knew neither fear nor desire. There was no exaggeration in his speech and no weakness; only the words of a man who was doing his duty on that day as on all other days, without thinking for a moment that there was a singular courage in the act. Neither threats nor persecution62 caused him to hesitate for a moment.
“Many have said that in order to accomplish the task which he had set himself, to establish the innocence of a Jew and the crime of a Christian63, he had to get the better of clerical prejudices, to conquer a hatred64 of the Jews ingrained in him since his early youth, when he was growing to manhood in that land of Alsace and of France which gave him to the Army and the country. Those who know him best know that he heeded65 nothing of the kind, that he was incapable of any sort of fanaticism66, that his ideals were never those of a sectary, that his great intelligence placed him above petty hatreds67 and partialities; in short, that his soul was free.
“This inward liberty, the most precious of all liberties, his persecutors could not take from him. In the prison to which they sent him, whose stones, in the words of Fernand Gregh, formed the pedestal of his statue, he was free, freer than they. His wide reading, his calm, benevolent68 speech, and his letters, full of serene69 and noble thoughts, bear witness (I know) to the freedom of his soul. Those others, his persecutors and calumniators, were the real prisoners—the prisoners of their lies and their crimes. People who saw him behind the bolts and bars testify to the fact that he was quiet, smiling and indulgent. When the great mental revolution took place during which those public meetings that united thousands of scholars, students and working-men were organized, while petitions covered with signatures demanded an end to the scandal of his imprisonment70, he said to Louis Havet, who went to see him: ‘I am much more easy in my mind than you.’ I think, however, that he suffered. I think he suffered intensely at the thought of so much baseness and treachery, of so monstrous an injustice71, of that epidemic72 of crime and madness, of the execrable fury of the men who were deceiving the crowd, and the pardonable fury of the ignorant mob. He, too, saw the aged73 woman bearing with saintly simplicity the faggots for the torture of the innocent. How could he do other than suffer, when he found that men were worse than his philosophy had pictured them, less courageous74 and less intelligent when put to the test than the psychologists imagined in their quiet studies? I believe he suffered inwardly in the secret places of his silent soul, veiled as by the Stoic’s cloak. But I should be ashamed to pity him. I should be too much afraid lest that murmur75 of human pity should reach his ears and offend the rightful pride of his heart. Far from pitying him, rather will I say that he was happy; happy because on the sudden day of trial he was ready and without weakness; happy because unforeseen circumstances permitted him to give to the full the measure of his great soul; happy that he proved himself to be an honest man, heroic in his simplicity; happy because he stands for ever as an example to soldiers and to citizens. Pity is for those who have failed. To Colonel Picquart we can offer nothing less than admiration76.”
Having come to an end of his reading, Monsieur Bergeret refolded his newspaper. The statue of Marguerite of Navarre was all rosy-pink. In the west the harshly brilliant sky clothed itself as with a suit of mail, a network of clouds like bars of red copper77.
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1
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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2
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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3
monasteries
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| 修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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incite
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| v.引起，激动，煽动 | |
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mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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6
sculptor
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| n.雕刻家，雕刻家 | |
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7
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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10
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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11
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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12
pounce
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| n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意 | |
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13
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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14
smack
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| vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍 | |
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15
stuffy
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| adj.不透气的，闷热的 | |
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16
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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17
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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18
infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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21
reeks
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| n.恶臭( reek的名词复数 )v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的第三人称单数 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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22
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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23
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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24
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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25
trophies
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| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
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26
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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27
condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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28
acquitting
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| 宣判…无罪( acquit的现在分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
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29
inculpated
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| v.显示（某人）有罪，使负罪( inculpate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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31
exhale
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| v.呼气，散出，吐出，蒸发 | |
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32
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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33
displeasing
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| 不愉快的，令人发火的 | |
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34
abhors
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| v.憎恶( abhor的第三人称单数 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰 | |
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35
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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36
intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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37
prodigiously
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| adv.异常地，惊人地，巨大地 | |
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38
inept
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| adj.不恰当的，荒谬的，拙劣的 | |
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39
divulged
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| v.吐露，泄露( divulge的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
bureaucrats
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| n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言 | |
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41
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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42
lucid
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| adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的 | |
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43
invincibly
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| adv.难战胜地，无敌地 | |
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44
foretold
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
kindliness
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| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
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46
meditative
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| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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47
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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48
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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49
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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50
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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51
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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52
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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53
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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54
persevered
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| v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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56
brigands
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| n.土匪，强盗( brigand的名词复数 ) | |
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57
dishonour
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| n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩 | |
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58
profusion
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| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
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slanders
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| 诽谤，诋毁( slander的名词复数 ) | |
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60
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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61
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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62
persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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63
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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64
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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65
heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66
fanaticism
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| n.狂热，盲信 | |
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67
hatreds
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| n.仇恨，憎恶( hatred的名词复数 )；厌恶的事 | |
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68
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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70
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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71
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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72
epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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75
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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76
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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77
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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