杀死一只知更鸟

by Harper Lee

美国小说家哈珀·李（Harper Lee,1926-）只有一部作品，但这并无碍她缔造了一个近代文化传奇——这本《杀死一只知更鸟》（又译《杀死一只反舌鸟》，译林出版社2009年版）赢得了普利策奖，半个世纪以来一直位居英美青少年最喜爱小说前列；其改编电影让著名影星格利高里·派克（Gregory Peck）荣登奥斯卡影帝，至今仍被奉为黑白片当中的经典之作。该小说从小女孩斯各特的角度讲述了一个南方小镇的生活。平静的日子因为黑人汤姆的强奸案而彻底改变。斯各特的父亲阿提克斯为汤姆担任辩护律师，他在审判过程中发现汤姆是被诬陷的。尽管毫无证据，汤姆还是被判罪了，后来在试图逃狱时被射杀。与此同时，斯各特一家也面临着巨大的威胁……本选段节选自小说第2 0章，讲的是阿提克斯在汤姆一案中进行结案陈词——

We looked down again. Atticus was speaking easily, with the kind of 1)detachment he used when he dictated a letter. He walked slowly up and down in front of the jury, and the jury seemed to be 2)attentive: their heads were up, and they followed Atticuss route with what seemed to be appreciation. I guess it was because Atticus wasnt a thunderer.

Atticus paused, then he did something he didnt ordinarily do. He 3)unhitched his watch and chain and placed them on the table, saying, “With the courts permission—”

Judge Taylor nodded, and then Atticus did something I never saw him do before or since, in public or in private: he unbuttoned his vest, unbuttoned his collar, loosened his tie, and took off his coat. He never loosened a scrap of his clothing until he undressed at bedtime, and to Jem and me, this was the 4)equivalent of him standing before us 5)stark naked. We exchanged horrified glances.

Atticus put his hands in his pockets, and as he returned to the jury, I saw his gold collar button and the tips of his pen and pencil 6)winking in the light.

“Gentlemen,” he said. Jem and I again looked at each other: Atticus might have said, “Scout.” His voice had lost its 7)aridity, its detachment, and he was talking to the jury as if they were folks on the post office corner.

“Gentlemen,” he was saying, “I shall be brief, but I would like to use my remaining time with you to remind you that this case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the 8)defendant. To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white.

“The state注1 has not produced one 9)iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the 10)testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on 11)crossexamination, but has been flatly 12)contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is.

“I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a mans life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt.

“I say guilt, gentlemen, because it was guilt that 13)motivated her. She has committed no crime, she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is 14)hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance, but I cannot pity her: she is white. She knew full well the 15)enormity of her offense, but because her desires were stronger than the code she was breaking, she persisted in breaking it. She persisted, as her 16)subsequent reaction is something that all of us have known at one time or another. She did something every child has done—she tried to put the evidence of her offense away from her. But in this case she was no child hiding stolen 17)contraband: she struck out at her victim—of necessity she must put him away from her—he must be removed from her presence, from this world. She must destroy the evidence of her offense.

“What was the evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being. She must put Tom Robinson away from her. Tom Robinson was her daily reminder of what she did. What did she do? She

18)tempted a 19)Negro.

“She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an old uncle, but a strong young Negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards.

“Her father saw it, and the defendant has testified as to his remarks. What did her father do? We dont know, but there is 20)circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost 21)exclusively with his left. We do know in part what Mr. Ewell did: he did what any God-fearing, 22)persevering, respectable white man would do under the circumstances—he swore out a 23)warrant, no doubt signing it with his left hand, and Tom Robinson now sits before you, having 24)taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses—his right hand.

“And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the 25)unmitigated 26)temerity to ‘feel sorry for a white woman has had to put his word against two white peoples. I need not remind you of their appearance and conduct on the stand—you saw them for yourselves. The witnesses for the state, with the exception of the 27)sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the 28)cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the 29)assumption—the evil assumption—that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically 30)immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their 31)caliber.

“Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinsons skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.”

Atticus paused and took out his handkerchief. Then he took off his glasses and wiped them, and we saw another “first”: we had never seen him sweat—he was one of those men whose faces never 32)perspired, but now it was shining 33)tan.

“One more thing, gentlemen, before I quit. Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal, a phrase that the 34)Yankees and the distaff side of the executive branch注2 in Washington are fond of 35)hurling at us. There is a tendency in this 36)year of grace, 1935, for certain people to use this phrase 37)out of context, to satisfy all conditions. The most 38)ridiculous example I can think of is that the people who run public education promote the stupid and 39)idle along with the 40)industrious—because all men are created equal, educators will 41)gravely tell you, the children left behind suffer terrible feelings of 42)inferiority. We know all men are not created equal in the sense some people would have us believe—some people are smarter than others, some people have more opportunity because theyre born with it, some men make more money than others, some ladies make better cakes than others—some people are born gifted beyond the normal 43)scope of most men.

注2：“distaff side”这个短语本身的意思是“母系家属”。这里指的是富兰克林·罗斯福总统的妻子安娜·埃莉诺·罗斯福（Anna Eleanor Roosevelt，1884-1962）。她的民权观点经常被南方人士诟病。

“But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal—there is one human institution that makes a 44)pauper the equal of a Rockefeller注3, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court. It can be the Supreme Court of the United States or the humblest JP注4 court in the land, or this honorable court which you serve. Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal.

“Im no 45)idealist to believe firmly in the 46)integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as 47)sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up. I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and 48)restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God, do your duty.”

注3：约翰·D·洛克菲勒（John D. Rockefeller，1839-1937），美国超级资本家，美孚石油公司创始人，是世界公认的“石油大王”，其家族财团对美国的经济、政治等方面有极大影响力。美语中有“as rich as a Rockefeller”这样的说法。

注4：“Justice of the Peace”的缩写，指的是治安法官、兼理一般事务的地方官。

我们又朝下望去。阿提克斯流畅自如地讲着话，神情淡漠，像是在口述一封信。他在陪审团面前踱来踱去，陪审员们似乎在聚精会神地听着：他们仰着脑袋，用近乎欣赏的目光追随着阿提克斯的步伐。我想那是因为阿提克斯说话平静。

阿提克斯停了下来，做了一件他平常不做的事。他解开表链，连表一道放在桌子上，说：“请求法庭允许……”

泰勒法官点了点头，阿提克斯接着做了件我以前和以后都没见他做过的事情——无论是在大庭广众还是在私下里都没见他做过。他解开背心和衣钡上的扣子，松开领结，脱掉上衣。除非晚上上床睡觉，他从不解开身上的穿戴。在我和杰姆看来，他现在这样简直就是一丝不挂地站在我们面前。我们交换了一个惊吓的眼色。

阿提克斯把双手揣进口袋里，回到陪审团跟前。我看到他的金色领扣、钢笔尖和铅笔尖在灯光下闪闪发亮。

“先生们，”他说。我和杰姆又互相看了看，阿提克斯就像在喊“斯各特”一样。他的声音不再平淡冷漠了。他对陪审员说话的方式就好像他们是站在邮局拐角处的一群街坊。

“先生们，”他说，“我的话不会很长，不过我想借剩下这点时间提醒诸位，这个案件并不难处理，弄清这件事并不需要对复杂的事实进行仔细的筛选，但是事情本身的确要求诸位一定要有十足的把握才能给被告定罪。首先，这个案子根本就用不着上法庭。它相当简单，简直是黑白分明。

“原告方没有提供一丁点儿医学证据来说明汤姆·鲁滨逊被指控的罪行确凿发生过。这个指控仅仅立足于两个证人的证词，而这些所谓证词在盘问中不但漏洞百出，而且遭到被告的断然反驳。被告没有罪，有罪的是审判厅里的另一个人。

“我对原告方的主要证人只有满腔的怜悯，但是我的怜悯不能听任她为开脱自己的罪责而置他人于死地。“先生们，我说主要证人有罪，是因为罪恶感正是她的动机。她并没有犯法，她只不过是打破了一条严厉的、由来已久的社会准则。这条准则太严厉了，谁打破了它，谁就会遭到放逐，不能在我们中间生活下去。她是残酷无情的贫穷和愚昧的牺牲品。但是，我并不同情她，因为她是白人。她很清楚违反社会准则是非同小可的，但是她的肉欲胜过她要打破的准则，于是她一意孤行，坚持这样做。随后她做出的反应，我们大家前前后后都知道了。她做了件每个小孩都做过的事情——企图把自己犯错的证据隐藏起来。但是在本案里，她不是像小孩一样藏匿偷来的赃物，而是向受害者发起进攻。她必须把他处置掉——必须把他从她眼前除去，从这个世界上消灭掉。她必须毁灭自己违反社会准则的证据。

“她违反准则的证据是什么？是汤姆·鲁滨逊，一个大活人。她必须把汤姆·鲁滨逊从她眼前除去。汤姆·鲁滨逊的存在每天都使她想起自己做过什么事情。她做过什么事情呢？她引诱一个黑人。

“她是白人，却引诱一个黑人。她做了一件在我们的社会里可耻得说不出口的事情：亲吻一个黑人。不是一个老伯伯，而是一个年轻力壮的黑人。在打破准则之前，她对准则不屑一顾，但事过之后，这个社会准则便朝她劈头盖脑地压下来了。

“她父亲看见了，被告证实了他说的话。她父亲后来做了些什么？我们不知道。但是间接证据表明，梅耶拉·尤厄尔遭到了某人的毒打，而这个人基本上就是个左撇子。我们在一定程度上知道尤厄尔先生做了些什么。他做了任何一个敬畏上帝、意志坚定的体面白人在同样的情况下都会做的事：他宣誓作证，让法院对汤姆·鲁滨逊发出拘捕证，他无疑是用左手签的名。于是汤姆·鲁滨逊现在坐在你们面前，用他唯一完好的那只手——他的右手进行宣誓。

“于是，一个性格温和、值得尊重、恭顺谦卑——并曾相当鲁莽地‘可怜过一个白人姑娘的黑人，被迫与两个白人当庭对质。这两个白人在证人席上的神态举止如何，用不着我提醒诸位——诸位自己看得一清二楚了。除了梅康镇的司法官，所有的起诉方证人在诸位先生面前，在这个法庭面前，都表现出一种轻蔑他人的自信，自信他们的证词不会受到质疑，自信诸位先生会附和他们的假设，一个邪恶的假设：所有的黑人都说谎，所有的黑人都道德败坏，所有的黑人在我们的女人面前都不规矩——这是一个建立在对黑人智力的臆想上的假设。

“这个假设，先生们，我们知道它本身就是一个像汤姆·鲁滨逊的皮肤一样黑的弥天大谎，一个用不着我来揭穿的大谎言。诸位知道真相，真相就是有的黑人说谎，有的黑人道德败坏，有的黑人在女人面前不规矩——不管是黑人女性还是白人女性。但是，这个道理适用于全人类，而不仅仅限于某一特定人种。在这个法庭上，没有谁从不撒谎，没有谁从没做过坏事——在这个世界上，没有一个男人不曾带着肉欲瞧过女人。”

阿提克斯停下来，掏出手帕，把眼镜取下来擦了擦。我们又看到了一个“第一次”：我们从没见他流过汗——他是脸上从不出汗的人，但是现在，他晒黑的脸上泛着油光。

“先生们，在我结束发言之前，还有一件事。托马斯·杰斐逊说过：所有的人生而平等。北方佬和华盛顿那位女性高官喜欢用这句话来抨击我们。在公元1935年的今天，有这么一种趋势，有些人断章取义地将这句名言滥用在一切场合。据我所知，最荒谬的例子是那些公共教育的经营者让愚钝懒惰的孩子与勤奋刻苦的孩子一道升学——因为所有的人生而平等，教育家会严肃地告诉你，后进的孩子会因自卑而备受折磨。我们知道，在某种意义上，所有的人并非生而平等，尽管有人想让我们那样理解这句名言：有的人比别人聪明，有的人有更多机会，因为他们生来就有更多机会；有的男人比别的男人会赚钱，有的女人比别的女人会做蛋糕——有的人的天赋是大多数普通人所望尘莫及的。

“但是，在这个国度里，在一个方面，所有的人都生而平等——有一个人类机构能够使一个乞丐与洛克菲勒平等，一个笨伯与爱因斯坦平等，一个愚昧无知的人与任何一个大学校长平等。先生们，这个机构就是法庭。它可以是美国最高法院，可以是最卑微的地方治安法庭，也可以是诸位为之效力的这个有声誉的法庭。就像任何人类机构一样，我们的法庭有它的不足；但是，在这片国土上，我们的法庭是伟大的天平，在我们的法庭上，所有的人生而平等。

“我不是理想主义者，盲目相信我们的法庭廉洁公正，陪审团制度完善优越——对我来说，这两者不是理想的事物，而只是切实有效的存在。先生们，法庭并不比坐在我面前的陪审席上的你们每一位更完美。法庭的可靠性有赖于陪审团，而陪审团的可靠性则有赖于其成员。我相信，诸位先生会不偏不倚地重新审核你们获得的证据，做出决定，让被告回到家里去。以上帝的名义，履行你们的职责吧。”