【正文】 氣憤、憤怒但又無能為力。他們本想為那孩子做點什么的，但卻什么也不能做。假若能把那孩子弄出那個悲慘的地方，讓他(她)重見天日，假若能把他(她)洗得干干凈凈，將他(她)喂得飽飽的，并讓他(她)有個舒舒服服的睡覺的地方，那無疑是一件很好的事情。但只要那樣做了，奧米勒斯的一切，包括她的繁榮氣象、美麗景色和歡樂生活等都會立刻化為烏有。這是條約上有明文規(guī)定的。為了做那一件微不足道的善事而犧牲善良的奧米勒斯全體眾生，為了給一個人創(chuàng)造幸福的機會而破壞千萬人的幸福，那無疑是將罪惡引進(jìn)奧米勒斯城。條約上的規(guī)定極其嚴(yán)格，沒有半點變通的余地。就連對那孩子講一句仁慈友善的話都在被禁止之列Often the young people go home in tears, or in a tearless rage, when they have seen the child and faced this terrible paradox. They may brood over it for weeks or years. But as time goes on they begin to realize that even if the child could be released, it would not get much good of its freedom: a little vague pleasure of warmth and food, no doubt, but little more. It is too degraded and imbecile to know any real joy. It has been afraid too long ever to be free of fear. Its habits are too uncouth for it to respond to humane treatment. Indeed, after so long it would probably be wretched without walls about it to protect it, and darkness for its eyes, and its own excrement to sit in. Their tears at the bitter injustice dry when they begin to perceive the terrible justice of reality, and to accept it. Yet it is their tears and anger, the trying of their generosity and the acceptance of their helplessness, which are perhaps the true source of the splendor of their lives. Theirs is no vapid, irresponsible happiness. They know that they, like the child, are not free. They know passion. It is the existence of the child, and their knowledge of its existence, that makes possible the nobility of their architecture, the poignancy of their music, the profundity of their science. It is because of the child that they are so gentle with children. They know that if the wretched one were not there sniveling in the dark, the other one, the fluteplayer, could make no joyful music as the young riders line up in their beauty for the race in the sunlight of the first morning of do you believe in them? Are they not more credible? But there is one more thing to tell, and this is quite incredible. 當(dāng)那些青年去看了那個孩子，面對那種痛苦的矛盾處境后再回到家里時，他們往往會痛哭流涕，或是悲憤難抑。他們可能要為此悲傷若干個星期，甚至若干年。但隨著時間的推移，他們會漸漸認(rèn)識到，即使那孩子獲得釋放，他(她)也不會感受到自由的好處。當(dāng)然，他(她)可能因為溫飽問題得到解決而感受到一點模模糊糊的愉悅，再不會有多少別的好處了。他(她)太低能了，他(她)太愚笨了。甚至真正的歡樂也不能體味到。他(她)擔(dān)驚受怕的時日太久，再也不可能擺脫恐懼了。他(她)缺乏教養(yǎng)，性情也很樸拙，即使再對他(她)施以人道的待遇，他(她)也會無動于衷。說實在的，他(她)對那種生活已經(jīng)習(xí)以為常了，若是將他(她)放出來，失去了牢籠的保護，失去了他(她)的眼睛所習(xí)慣的黑暗，再也不能坐在自己的屎尿上，他(她)倒可能覺得難受。當(dāng)那些青年人開始認(rèn)識到現(xiàn)實的這種悲哀的公正性后，他們因看到那孩子的悲慘遭遇而悲傷的淚水便自動地干了。然而，正因為他們在自己的仁義之心經(jīng)受考驗時悲傷流淚，無可奈何地接受現(xiàn)實時悲憤難抑，他們的生活才如此光輝燦爛。他們的幸福并不是一種平淡無奇的、不帶義務(wù)和條件的幸福。他們完全明白，他們自己其實也像那孩子一樣沒有自由。他們懂得憐憫。正是因為有了那孩子的存在以及他們對這一事實的認(rèn)識，他們的建筑才有可能如此的雄偉壯觀，他們的音樂才有可能如此的震撼人心，他們的科學(xué)才有可能如此的高明玄妙。他們對一般兒童也那樣溫和，也正是因為那孩子的關(guān)系。他們懂得，假如沒有那個可憐的孩子在黑暗的地窖中悲泣，那另一個孩子，即那個吹木笛的孩子，就不可能在那些青年騎手騎著美麗的駿馬迎著第一個夏日列隊等候賽馬開始時吹奏出那樣歡快的樂曲來?！　‖F(xiàn)在你相信我描述的這一切了嗎?它們的可信度是否增加了一些?不過，我還有一件事情要講，這件事情卻是真有點令人難以置信At times one of the adolescent girls or boys who go to see the child does not go home to weep or rage, does not, in fact, go home at all. Sometimes also a man or woman much older falls silent for a day or two, and then leaves home. These people go out into the street, and walk down the street alone. They keep walking, and walk straight out of the city of Omelas, through the beautiful gates. They keep walking across the farmlands of Omelas. Each one goes alone, youth or girl, man or woman. Night falls。 the traveler must pass down village streets, between the houses with yellowlit windows, and on out into the darkness of the fields. Each alone, they go west or north, towards the mountains. They go on. They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not e back. The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at all. It is possible that it does not exist. But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas. 有的時候，某個青年男女去看了那孩子之后并不回家痛苦流涕或是震怒發(fā)狂，事實上，他或她根本就不回家。也有的時候，某個年紀(jì)大得多的成年男女去看了那孩子之后會沉默一兩天，然后便離家出走。這些人走到街上，獨個兒一路走去。他們一直往前走，穿過漂亮的城門徑直走出奧米勒斯城。出城之后，他們穿越奧米勒斯的田野繼續(xù)向前走。每個人，無論是男青年還是女青年，無論是成年男子還是成年女子，都是一人獨行。夜幕降臨了，他們還得沿著村鎮(zhèn)的街道，穿過街道兩邊窗戶亮著螢光的房屋，繼續(xù)往前走，走進(jìn)一片黑暗的曠野之中。每個人都是單獨地向西或向北，朝深山里走去。他們一直向前走。他們離開奧米勒斯城，頭也不回地向黑暗中走去。他們要去的地方是一個對我們大多數(shù)人來說比奧米勒斯城更難想象的地方。我根本無法描述那個地方。也許根本就不存在那樣一個地方。但那些離開奧米勒斯城的人似乎知道他們要去的是一個什么樣的地方?！　　　　　！　　　！　　　?