"Oh Madame," I said to Dubois, asking her leave to reply to her execrable sophistries1, "do you not at all feel that your damnation is writ2 in what you have just uttered? At the very most, such principles could only befit the person powerful enough to have nothing to dread3 from others; but we, Madame, perpetually in fear and humiliated4; we, proscribed5 by all honest folk, condemned6 by every law, should we be the exponents7 of doctrines8 which can only whet9 the sword blade suspended above our heads? Would we find ourselves in this unhappy position were we in the center of society; were we to be where, that is to say, we ought to be, without our misconduct and delivered from our miseries10, do you fancy such maxims11 could be any more fitting to us? How would you have him not perish who through blind egoism wishes all alone to strive against the combined interests of others? Is not society right never to suffer in its midst the man who declares himself hostile to it? And can the isolated12 individual fight against everyone? Can he flatter himself he is happy and tranquil13 if, refusing to submit to the social contract, he does not consent to give up a little of his happiness to insure the rest? Society is maintained only by the ceaseless interexchange of considerations and good works, those are the bonds which cement the edifices14; such a one who instead of positive acts offers naught15 but crimes, having therefore to be dreaded16, will necessarily be attacked if he is the strongest, laid low by the first he offends if he is the weakest; but destroyed at any rate, for there is in man a powerful instinct which compels him to safeguard his peace and quiet and to strike whosoever seeks to trouble them; that is why the long endurance of criminal associations is virtually impossible: their well-being17 suddenly confronted by cold steel, all the others must promptly18 unite to blunt the threatening point. Even amongst ourselves, Madame, I dare add; how can you lull19 yourself into believing you can maintain concord20 amongst ourselves when you counsel each to heed21 nothing but his own self-interest? Would you have any just complaints to make against the one of us who wanted to cut the throats of the others, who did so in order to monopolize22 for himself what has been shared by his colleagues? Why, 'tis a splendid panegyric23 to Virtue24, to prove its necessity in even a criminal society... to prove for a certainty that this society would disintegrate25 in a trice were it not sustained by Virtue!"
"Your objections, Therese," said Coeur-de-fer, "not the theses Dubois has been expounding26, are sophistries; our criminal fraternities are not by any means sustained by Virtue; rather by self-interest, egoism, selfishness; this eulogy27 of Virtue, which you have fabricated out of a false hypothesis, miscarries; it is not at all owing to virtuousness28 that, believing myself, let us suppose, the strongest of the band, I do not use a dagger29 on my comrades in order to appropriate their shares, it is because, thereupon finding myself all alone, I would deprive myself of the means which assure me the fortune I expect to have with their help; similarly, this is the single motive30 which restrains them from lifting their arms against me. Now this motive, as you, Therese, perfectly31 well observe, is purely32 selfish, and has not even the least appearance of virtue; he who wishes to struggle alone against society's interests must, you say, expect to perish; will he not much more certainly perish if, to enable him to exist therein, he has nothing but his misery33 and is abandoned by others ? What one terms the interest of society is simply the mass of individual interests unified34, but it is never otherwise than by ceding35 that this private interest can accommodate and blend with the general interest; well, what would you have him cede36 who has nothing he can relinquish37? And he who had much? Agree that he should see his error grow apace with the discovery that he was giving infinitely38 more than he was getting in return; and, such being the case, agree that the unfairness of the bargain should prevent him from concluding it. Trapped in this dilemma39, the best thing remaining for this man, don't you agree, is to quit this unjust society, to go elsewhere, and to accord prerogatives40 to a different society of men who, placed in a situation comparable to his, have their interest in combating, through the coordination41 of their lesser42 powers, the broader authority that wished to extract from the poor man what little he possessed43 in exchange for nothing at all. But you will say, thence will be born a state of perpetual warfare44.
Excellent! is that not the perpetual state of Nature? Is it not the only state to which we are really adapted ? All men are born isolated, envious45, cruel and despotic; wishing to have everything and surrender nothing, incessantly46 struggling to maintain either their rights or achieve their ambition, the legislator comes up and says to them: Cease thus to fight; if each were to retreat a little, calm would be restored. I find no fault with the position implicit47 in the agreement, but I maintain that two species of individuals cannot and ought not submit to it, ever; those who feel they are the stronger have no need to give up anything in order to be happy, and those who find themselves the weaker also find themselves giving up infinitely more than what is assured them. However, society is only composed of weak persons and strong; well, if the pact48 must perforce displease49 both weak and strong, there is great cause to suppose it will fail to suit society, and the previously50 existing state of warfare must appear infinitely preferable, since it permitted everyone the free exercise of his strength and his industry, whereof he would discover himself deprived by a society's unjust pact which takes too much from the one and never accords enough to the other; hence, the truly intelligent person is he who, indifferent to the risk of renewing the state of war that reigned51 prior to the contract, lashes52 out in irrevocable violation53 of that contract, violates it as much and often as he is able, full certain that what he will gain from these ruptures54 will always be more important than what he will lose if he happens to be a member of the weaker class; for such he was when he respected the treaty; by breaking it he may become one of the stronger; and if the laws return him to the class whence he wished to emerge, the worst that can befall him is the loss of his life, which is a misfortune infinitely less great than that of existing in opprobrium55 and wretchedness. There are then two positions available to us: either crime, which renders us happy, or the noose56, which prevents us from being unhappy. I ask whether there can be any hesitation57, lovely Therese, and where will your little mind find an argument able to combat that one ?"
"Oh Monsieur," I replied with the vehemence58 a good cause inspires, "there are a thousand; but must this life be man's unique concern? Is this existence other than a passage each of whose stages ought only, if he is reasonable, to conduct him to that eternal felicity, the prize vouchsafed59 by Virtue? I suppose together with you (but this, however, is rare, it conflicts with all reason's informations, but never mind), I will for an instant grant you that the villain60 who abandons himself to crime may be rendered happy by it in this world, but do you imagine God's justice does not await that dishonest man, that he will not have to pay in another world for what he does in this? Ah! think not the contrary, Monsieur, believe it not," I added, tears in my eyes, " 'tis the misfortunate one's sole consolation61, take it not away from us; forsaken62 by mankind, who will avenge63 us if not God ?"
"Who? No one, Therese, absolutely no one; it is in no wise necessary that the misfortunate be avenged64; they flatter themselves with the notion because they would like to be, the idea comforts them, but it is not on that account the less false: better still, it is essential that the misfortunate suffer; their humiliation65, their anguishes66 are included in what Nature decrees, and their miserable67 existence is useful to the general scheme, as is that of the prosperity which crushes them; such is the truth which should stifle68 remorse69 in the tyrant's soul or in the malefactor's; let him not constrain70 himself; let him blindly, unthinkingly deliver himself up to causing every hurt the idea for which may be born in him, it is only Nature's voice which suggests this idea; such is the only fashion in which she makes us her laws' executors.
When her secret inspirations dispose us to evil, it is evil she wishes, it is evil she requires, for the sum of crimes not being complete, not sufficient to the laws of equilibrium71, the only laws whereby she is governed, she demands that there be crimes to dress the scales; therefore let him not be afraid, let him not pause, whose brain is driven to concerting ill; let him unheeding commit wrong immediately he discerns the impulsion, it is only by lagging and snuffling he outrages72 Nature. But let us ignore ethics73 for a moment, since it's theology you want. Be advised then, young innocent, that the religion you fall back upon, being nothing but the relationship between man and God, nothing but the reverence74 the creature thinks himself obliged to show his creator, is annihilated75 instantly this creator's existence is itself proven illusory. "Primitive76 man, terrified by the phenomena77 which harried78 him, had necessarily to believe that a sublime79 being unknown to him had the direction of their operation and influence; it is native to weakness to suppose strength and to fear it; the human mind, then too much in its infancy80 to explore, to discover in Nature's depths the laws of motion, the unique springs of the entire mechanism81 that struck him with awe82, found it simpler to fancy a motor in this Nature than to view Nature as her own mover, and without considering that he would have to go to much more trouble to edify83, to define this gigantic master, than through the study of Nature to find the cause of what amazed him, he acknowledged this sovereign being, he elaborated rituals to worship it: from this moment each nation composed itself an overlord in conformance with its peculiar84 characteristics, its knowledge, and its climate; soon there were as many religions on earth as races and peoples and not long after, as many Gods as families; nevertheless, behind all these idols85 it was easy to recognize the same absurd illusion, first fruit of human blindness. They appareled it differently, but it was always the same thing. Well, tell me, Therese, merely because these idiots talk drivel about the erection of a wretched chimera86 and about the mode of serving him, must it follow that an intelligent man has got to renounce87 the certain and present happiness of life; like Aesop's dog, must he abandon the bone for the shadow and renounce his real joys for hallucinations? No, Therese, no, there is no God, Nature sufficeth unto herself; in no wise hath she need of an author; once supposed, that author is naught but a decayed version of herself, is merely what we describe in school by the phrase, a begging of the question. A God predicates a creation, that is to say, an instant when there was nothing, or an instant when all was in chaos88.
If one or the other of these states was evil, why did your God allow it to subsist89? Was it good ? Then why did he change it ? But if all is now good at last, your God has nothing left to do; well, if he is useless, how can he be powerful? And if he is not powerful, how can he be God? If, in a word, Nature moves herself, what do we want with a motor? and if the motor acts upon matter by causing it to move, how is it not itself material? Can you conceive the effect of the mind upon matter and matter receiving motion from the mind which itself has no movement? Examine for one cold-blooded instant all the ridiculous and contradictory90 qualities wherewith the fabricators of this execrable chimera have been obliged to clothe him; verify for your own self how they contradict one another, annul91 one another, and you will recognize that this deific phantom92, engendered93 by the fear of some and the ignorance of all, is nothing but a loathsome94 platitude95 which merits from us neither an instant of faith nor a minute's examination; a pitiable extravagance, disgusting to the mind, revolting to the heart, which ought never to have issued from the darkness save to plunge96 back into it, forever to be drowned.
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sophistries
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| n.诡辩术( sophistry的名词复数 )；（一次）诡辩 | |
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writ
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| n.命令状，书面命令 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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proscribed
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| v.正式宣布（某事物）有危险或被禁止( proscribe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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exponents
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| n.倡导者( exponent的名词复数 )；说明者；指数；能手 | |
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doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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whet
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| v.磨快，刺激 | |
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miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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edifices
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| n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
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naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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concord
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| n.和谐；协调 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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monopolize
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| v.垄断，独占，专营 | |
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panegyric
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| n.颂词，颂扬 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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disintegrate
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| v.瓦解，解体，（使）碎裂，（使）粉碎 | |
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expounding
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的现在分词 ) | |
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eulogy
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| n.颂词；颂扬 | |
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virtuousness
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| 贞德，高洁 | |
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dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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unified
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| (unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的 | |
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ceding
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| v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的现在分词 ) | |
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cede
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| v.割让，放弃 | |
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relinquish
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| v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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prerogatives
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| n.权利( prerogative的名词复数 )；特权；大主教法庭；总督委任组成的法庭 | |
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coordination
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| n.协调，协作 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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implicit
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| a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的 | |
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pact
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| n.合同，条约，公约，协定 | |
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displease
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| vt.使不高兴，惹怒；n.不悦，不满，生气 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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ruptures
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| n.（体内组织等的）断裂( rupture的名词复数 )；爆裂；疝气v.（使）破裂( rupture的第三人称单数 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交 | |
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opprobrium
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| n.耻辱，责难 | |
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noose
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| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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avenged
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| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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anguishes
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| v.（尤指心理上的）极度的痛苦( anguish的第三人称单数 ) | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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constrain
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| vt.限制，约束；克制，抑制 | |
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equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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outrages
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| 引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 ) | |
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ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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harried
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| v.使苦恼( harry的过去式和过去分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰 | |
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sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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edify
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| v.陶冶；教化；启发 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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85
idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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86
chimera
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| n.神话怪物；梦幻 | |
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87
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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88
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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89
subsist
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| vi.生存，存在，供养 | |
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90
contradictory
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| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
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91
annul
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| v.宣告…无效，取消，废止 | |
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92
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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93
engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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94
loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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95
platitude
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| n.老生常谈，陈词滥调 | |
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96
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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