VII Omar and the Sacred Vine
第七章 Omar與那神聖的葡萄樹
第一段
A new morality has burst upon us with some violence in connection with the problem of strong drink; and enthusiasts in the matter range from the man who is violently thrown out at 12.30, to the lady who smashes American bars with an axe. In these discussions it is almost always felt that one very wise and moderate position is to say that wine or such stuff should only be drunk as a medicine. With this I should venture to disagree with a peculiar ferocity. The one genuinely dangerous and immoral way of drinking wine is to drink it as a medicine. And for this reason, if a man drinks wine in order to obtain pleasure, he is trying to obtain something exceptional, something he does not expect every hour of the day, something which, unless he is a little insane, he will not try to get every hour of the day. But if a man drinks wine in order to obtain health, he is trying to get something natural; something, that is, that he ought not to be without; something that he may find it difficult to reconcile himself to being without. The man may not be seduced who has seen the ecstasy of being ecstatic; it is more dazzling to catch a glimpse of the ecstasy of being ordinary. If there were a magic ointment, and we took it to a strong man, and said, "This will enable you to jump off the Monument," doubtless he would jump off the Monument, but he would not jump off the Monument all day long to the delight of the City. But if we took it to a blind man, saying, "This will enable you to see," he would be under a heavier temptation. It would be hard for him not to rub it on his eyes whenever he heard the hoof of a noble horse or the birds singing at daybreak. It is easy to deny one's self festivity; it is difficult to deny one's self normality. Hence comes the fact which every doctor knows, that it is often perilous to give alcohol to the sick even when they need it. I need hardly say that I do not mean that I think the giving of alcohol to the sick for stimulus is necessarily unjustifiable. But I do mean that giving it to the healthy for fun is the proper use of it, and a great deal more consistent with health.
一關於豪飲的道德新標準，像大雨噴發般傾倒在我們身上。對這關注的狂熱人士，有那種12點半就被人以暴力驅逐的，也有那種會拿著斧頭去砸美式酒吧的女士。對這事的討論，總是讓人覺得，一個聰明且溫和的立場，是酒精或類似的物質只應作為藥物飲用。而針對這種看法，我要以難得一見的粗暴，大膽的大聲表示反對。在飲酒這行為上，唯一真正危險也不道德的方式，就是把它當成藥來喝。而原因在於，若一個人喝酒是因為要取樂，那麽他是在嘗試獲得超乎尋常的快感，這快感不是他預期每時每刻都可得的。但若一個人喝酒，是因為想要獲得健康，那他就是想要恢復正常，而這是他所不應或缺的，是他一刻都難以容忍失去的。一個把狂喜視為極端喜悅狀態的人，不會受到引誘。但若眼前出現的狂喜是常態，那就比任何狂喜更炫目迷人了。若拿著一種神奇草藥給一個身體強健的人，對他說：「這藥可以讓你從紀念碑上一躍而下。」毫無疑問的，他會從上往下跳，但他不會為了娛樂大眾而整天都一直往下跳。但我們若把藥拿給失明的人，並說：「這藥可讓你看見。」那他所陷入的誘惑就大了，每當他聽見駿馬的蹄聲，或是天明時的鳥語，他就很難克制自己不拿起那藥抹自己的眼。要抗拒對歡樂的追求是容易的，但要抵抗對回歸正常的渴望卻很困難。因此所有醫生都知道，提供酒精給病人通常都十分危險，即使病人需要。我應該無需解釋，我的意思絕不是指，為了促進好轉而給病人酒精是不對的，我想說的是，把酒精提供給健康的人作為娛樂之用，這正好是酒精的恰當用途，並且這樣做更符合健康原則。
第2段
The sound rule in the matter would appear to be like many other sound rules—a paradox. Drink because you are happy, but never because you are miserable. Never drink when you are wretched without it, or you will be like the grey-faced gin-drinker in the slum; but drink when you would be happy without it, and you will be like the laughing peasant of Italy. Never drink because you need it, for this is rational drinking, and the way to death and hell. But drink because you do not need it, for this is irrational drinking, and the ancient health of the world.
在這件事情上合理的原則，看來就跟任何適用於其他事情的合理原則一樣，是個看似自相矛盾的悖論。喝酒應是出於感到快樂，千萬不要是出於傷心。當你不喝酒就感到痛苦萬分時，千萬不要喝酒，否則你會像貧民窟裡，面色灰白的飲酒者一樣。但當你即使不喝酒也很快樂時，就儘管喝酒，你會像義大利鄉間歡笑滿臉的農夫。絕不要因為你需要酒而喝酒，這種出於理性算計的飲酒邏輯會領你一路走進死亡與地獄。應在你不需要酒的時候喝酒，因為這是不理性的奢侈，也是這世界自古就有的保健智慧。
===
關於這章的標題，我實在不知道omar是誰，搜尋一番，只找到omar威士忌XD
我認識很多omar，但我想這裡GK所指的omar應該不是他們當中任何一位（絕不可能是The Wire裡面的Omar吧，雖然Omar Little的確會喝酒...）
留言
張貼留言