作者介紹

托馬斯·潘恩(1737—1809)，英國(guó)散文家、政論家。出生于英格蘭，才華出眾，家境寒微，自學(xué)成才，學(xué)識(shí)廣博，在自然科學(xué)和人文科學(xué)上都作過深入研究，渴望重建公平的社會(huì)秩序。57歲來(lái)到美國(guó)費(fèi)城，深受富蘭克林的賞識(shí)。本文是他的成名作。其他代表作有《危機(jī)》、《理性時(shí)代》。文筆樸質(zhì)，說(shuō)理深入淺出，文風(fēng)平易近人。

In the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts， plain arguments， and common sense， and have no other preliminaries to settle with the reader， than that he will divest himself of prejudice and prepossession， and suffer his reason and his feelings to determine for themselves: that he will put on， or rather that he will not put off， the true character of a man， and generously enlarge his views beyond the present day.

Volumes have been written on the subject of the struggle between England and America. Men of all ranks have embarked in the controversy， from different motives， and with various designs; but all have been ineffectual， and the period of debate is closed. Arms as the last resource decide the contest; the appeal was the choice of the King， and the continent has accepted the challenge.

It has been reported of the late Mr. Pelham (who though an able minister was not without his faults) that on his being attacked in the House of Commons on the score that his measures were only of a temporary kind， replied， \"they will last my time.\"Should a thought so fatal and unmanly possess the colonies in the present contest， the name of ancestors will be remembered by future generations with detestation.

The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. It's not the affair of a city， a county， a province， or a kingdom; but of a continent --of at least one eighth part of the habitable globe. It's not the concern of a day， a year， or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest， and will be more or less affected even to the end of time， by the proceedings now. Now is the seed time of continental union， faith and honor. The least fracture now will be like a name engraved with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak; the wound would enlarge with the tree， and posterity read it in full grown characters.

By referring the matter from argument to arms， a new era for politics is struck—a new method of thinking has arisen. All plans， proposals， etc. prior to the nineteenth of April， i.e. to the commencement of hostilities， are like the almanacs of the last year; which though proper then， are superceded and useless now. Whatever was advanced by the advocates on either side of the question then， terminated in one and the same point， viz.， a union with Great Britain; the only difference between the parties was the method of effecting it; the one proposing force， the other friendship; but it has so far happened that the first has failed， and the second hath withdrawn her influence.

As much has been said of the advantages of reconciliation， which， like an agreeable dream， has passed away and left us as we were， it is but right that we should examine the contrary side of the argument， and inquire into some of the many material injuries which these colonies sustain， and always will sustain， by being connected with and dependent on Great Britain. To examine that connection and dependence， on the principles of nature and common sense， to see what we have to trust to， if separated， and what we are to expect， if dependent.

I have heard it asserted by some， that as America has flourished under her former connection with Great Britain， the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness， and will always have the same effect. Nothing can be more fallacious than this kind of argument. We may as well assert that because a child has thrived upon milk， that it is never to have meat， or that the first twenty years of our lives is to become a precedent for the next twenty. But even this is admitting more than is true; for I answer roundly， that America would have flourished as much， and probably much more， had no European power taken any notice of her. The commerce by which she has enriched herself are the necessaries of life， and will always have a market while eating is the custom of Europe.

But she has protected us， say some. That she has engrossed us is true， and defended the continent at our expense as well as her own， is admitted; and she and dominion.

Alas! We have been long led away by ancient prejudices and made large sacrifices to superstition. We have boasted the protection of Great Britain without considering that her motive was interest not attachment; and that she did not protect us from our enemies on our account; but from her enemies on her own account， from those who had no quarrel with us on any other account， and who will always be our enemies on the same account. Let Britain waive her pretensions to the continent， or the continent throw off the dependence， and we should be at peace with France and Spain， were they at war with Britain. The miseries of Hanover's last war ought to warn us against connections.

It has lately been asserted in Parliament， that the colonies have no relation to each other but through the parent country， i.e.， that Pennsylvania and the Jerseys， and so on for the rest， are sister colonies by the way of England; this is certainly a very roundabout way of proving relationship， but it is the nearest and only true way of proving enmity (or enemyship， if I may so call it). France and Spain never were， nor perhaps ever will be， our enemies，as Americans， but as our being the subjects of Great Britain.

But Britain is the parent country， say some. Then the more shame upon her conduct. Even brutes do not devour their young， not savages make war upon their families; Wherefore， the assertion， if true， tums to her reproach; but it happens not to be true， or only partly so， and the phrase parent or mother country hath been jesuitically adopted by the King and his parasites， with a low papistical design of gaining an unfair bias on the credulous weakness of our minds. Europe， and not England， is the parent country of America. This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe. Hither have they fled， not from the tender embraces of the mother， but from the cruelty of the monster; and it is so far true of England， that the same tyranny which drove the first emigrants from home， pursues their descendants still.

In this extensive quarter of the globe， we forget the narrow limits of three hundred and sixty miles(the extent of England) and carry our friendship on a larger scale; we claim brotherhood with every European Christian， and triumph in the generosity of the sentiment.

It is pleasant to observe by what regular gradations we surmount the force of local prejudices， as we enlarge our acquaintance with the world. A man bom in any town in England divided into parishes， will naturally associate most with his fellow parishioners (because their interests in many cases will be common) and distinguish him by the name of neighbor; if he meets him but a few miles from home， he drops the narrow idea of a street， and salutes him by the name of townsman; ifhe travels out of the county and meet him in any other， he forgets the minor divisions of street and town， and calls him countryman， i.e.， countryman; but if in their foreign excursions they should associate in France， or any other part of Europe， their local remembrance would be enlarged into that of Englishmen. And by a just parity of reasoning， all Europeans meeting in America， or any other quarter of the globe， are countrymen; for England， Holland， Germany， or Sweden， when compared with the whole， stand in the same places on the larger scale， which the divisions of street， town， and county do on the smaller ones; distinctions too limited for continental minds. Not one third of the inhabitants， even of this province， are of English descent. Wherefore， I reprobate the phrase of parent or mother country applied to England only， as being 1， selfish， narrow and ungenerous.

在以下的篇幅中，我只談些簡(jiǎn)單的事實(shí)、普通的觀點(diǎn)和常識(shí)。除了希望大家能拋開偏見和成見，讓理智和情感自行決定之外，沒有其他什么要先向讀者交待的。只希望他具備人真實(shí)的品質(zhì)，確切地說(shuō)，不要失去人的本質(zhì)，胸襟寬闊有氣度，能夠眼光長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)。

以英美戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)為題材的書可謂洋洋大觀。出于不同的角度和不同的動(dòng)機(jī)，各階層人士展開爭(zhēng)論。但一切爭(zhēng)論都是徒勞無(wú)功的，辯論期結(jié)束，武器最終決定這場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的勝負(fù)；英國(guó)選擇了訴諸武力，美洲接受了挑戰(zhàn)。

據(jù)報(bào)道，已故的佩勒姆先生（他雖是個(gè)能干的首相，卻也有很多過失）在眾議院受人攻擊，說(shuō)他的措施只是權(quán)宜之計(jì)時(shí)，他回應(yīng)道：“它們?cè)谖胰纹趦?nèi)一直起作用?！痹诋?dāng)前這場(chǎng)斗爭(zhēng)中，如果這種致命而又軟弱的思想在殖民地占據(jù)了統(tǒng)治地位，那么我們這些先人將會(huì)被后代唾罵。

陽(yáng)光下從未有過如此偉大的事業(yè)，這不只是一個(gè)城市、一個(gè)縣、一個(gè)省、一個(gè)國(guó)家的事，而是一個(gè)洲——至少占地球八分之一的地域的事情。它不僅關(guān)系到一天、一年或一個(gè)時(shí)代；子孫后代實(shí)際上也卷入了這場(chǎng)斗爭(zhēng)，直到最后都或多或少受到當(dāng)前行動(dòng)的影響?，F(xiàn)在是把團(tuán)結(jié)、信心和榮譽(yù)等美德播種在美洲大陸的時(shí)候。一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)的裂縫也會(huì)像用針尖刻在小橡樹嫩皮上的名字一樣，隨著橡樹長(zhǎng)大而變大，后代看到的將是變大了的字符。

事情由爭(zhēng)論轉(zhuǎn)為訴諸武力，標(biāo)志著一個(gè)政治新紀(jì)元的到來(lái)——一種新的思考方式的誕生。4月19日以前，即敵對(duì)行動(dòng)開始以前的計(jì)劃、議案就像去年的年歷，當(dāng)時(shí)雖然實(shí)用，但現(xiàn)在已被取代，沒有一點(diǎn)用處了。不管問題雙方的倡導(dǎo)者當(dāng)時(shí)提倡的是什么，最后都?xì)w結(jié)同樣一個(gè)問題上，即與大不列顛合并的問題。雙方之間惟一不同的就是實(shí)行合并的辦法；一方建議訴諸武力，另一方建議友好協(xié)商，但已經(jīng)發(fā)生的事實(shí)表明前者已失敗，后者撤回了其影響。

和解的好處說(shuō)得太多了。它就像一場(chǎng)美夢(mèng)破滅了，我們還是我們，我們現(xiàn)在惟一正確的做法，應(yīng)該是研究問題的反面，調(diào)查附屬和依賴大不列顛給殖民地帶來(lái)的實(shí)際傷害和以后將持續(xù)造成的傷害。按照自然和常識(shí)的法則來(lái)研究這種附屬和依賴，看看我們獨(dú)立之后有什么好依靠的，不獨(dú)立有什么好期待的。

我聽某些人說(shuō)，因?yàn)橐郧盎诖蟛涣蓄嵉母綄訇P(guān)系使美國(guó)繁榮了，而同樣的依附對(duì)她將來(lái)的幸福是必要的，也將產(chǎn)生與以前相同的效果。沒有什么比這個(gè)論調(diào)更荒謬絕頂?shù)牧?。如果這樣的話，我們也可以說(shuō)，因?yàn)樾『⑹浅阅涕L(zhǎng)大的，他就永遠(yuǎn)不可以吃肉，或者我們前二十年是怎么過的，后二十年還應(yīng)該繼續(xù)這樣過。而且僅僅這樣說(shuō)還不夠真實(shí)，我要大聲回答，沒有歐洲國(guó)家的管制，美國(guó)同樣繁榮，可能還會(huì)更加繁榮。使她致富的商業(yè)是生活必需品，只要“吃”仍舊還是歐洲人的傳統(tǒng)習(xí)慣，這些商品就會(huì)有市場(chǎng)。

有人說(shuō)，但她保護(hù)過我們。她統(tǒng)治我們是事實(shí)，但無(wú)可否認(rèn)她也花自己和我們的錢保衛(wèi)過這個(gè)大陸、她和她的統(tǒng)治。

唉!我們長(zhǎng)期盲從古老的偏見，在迷信上面付出了巨大的犧牲。我們夸耀大不列顛對(duì)我們的保護(hù)，卻沒有想到她的動(dòng)機(jī)是利益而不是依戀，不是替我們考慮來(lái)保護(hù)我們免遭我們敵人的傷害，而是為了她自己才保護(hù)我們不受她的敵人的傷害；這些敵人從不會(huì)因?yàn)槠渌蚝臀覀儼l(fā)生爭(zhēng)執(zhí)，因?yàn)橛?guó)保護(hù)了我們，他們將一直是我們的敵人。讓英國(guó)放棄她在北美大陸的權(quán)利，或者北美大陸?yīng)毩⑵饋?lái)；我們應(yīng)該與法國(guó)和西班牙和平共處，即使在他們與英國(guó)交戰(zhàn)的時(shí)候。漢諾威最后一戰(zhàn)的慘狀告誡我們不要依附他國(guó)。

最近有人在國(guó)會(huì)中說(shuō)，如果不通過母國(guó)，我們這些殖民地將彼此毫無(wú)干系，例如賓夕法尼亞和澤西等，成為姊妹殖民地是因?yàn)橛杏?guó)，依此類推。顯然，這樣來(lái)證明殖民地之間的關(guān)系繞了一個(gè)很大的圈子。不過這也是證明殖民地與英國(guó)之間充滿敵意(或敵對(duì)關(guān)系，如果可以這樣說(shuō))最接近也是惟一正確的方法。法國(guó)和西班牙過去沒有、將來(lái)也不可能是我們美國(guó)人的敵人，而是我們作為大英帝國(guó)臣民的敵人。

但也有人說(shuō)英國(guó)是母國(guó)，那她的所作所為就更可恥了?；⒍静皇匙?，連野人也不會(huì)和家人打仗。因此，如果這種說(shuō)法是真的，那也是對(duì)她的譴責(zé)。但碰巧不是真的，或只能說(shuō)部分是真的，母國(guó)這個(gè)單詞已經(jīng)被國(guó)王和他的寄生蟲們狡猾地利用了，利用我們大腦輕信的弱點(diǎn)，卑鄙的新教徒想制造一種不公正的偏見。不是英國(guó)，歐洲才是美國(guó)的母國(guó)。這個(gè)新世界一直是一個(gè)避難所。歐洲各國(guó)那些遭到迫害但又熱愛公民自由和宗教自由的人們奔向此地。他們不是逃避母親深情的擁抱，而是遠(yuǎn)離魔鬼的殘酷；迄今為止英國(guó)的情形都是這樣的。當(dāng)初暴政逼得第一批移民背井離鄉(xiāng)，可她還不肯放過這些移民的后代。

在這片廣闊的空間里，我們忘記了三百六十英里的狹小局限（英國(guó)的國(guó)土面積），在更寬的領(lǐng)域發(fā)展友誼；我們主張每一個(gè)歐洲基督教徒都是兄弟，而且為這種廣闊的胸襟感到高興。

當(dāng)擴(kuò)大交往范圍之后，可以欣喜地看到，我們大大擺脫了地區(qū)偏見的力量。一個(gè)出生在英國(guó)任何一個(gè)以教區(qū)劃分的城市的人，自然跟他所在教區(qū)的教徒關(guān)系最密切(因?yàn)樵诤芏嗲闆r下他們的利益是相同的)，以鄰居相稱；如果他在離家才幾英里的地方見到鄰居，他會(huì)丟掉狹隘的街道觀念，向他致意并稱鄰居是同市人；如果他出郡旅游，遇到鄰居，他會(huì)忘記街道、城市小的劃分，叫他老鄉(xiāng)，即同鄉(xiāng)；但如果出國(guó)旅行，他們?cè)诜▏?guó)或任何別的歐洲國(guó)家見了面，他們的劃分觀念現(xiàn)在就擴(kuò)大為英國(guó)人了。根據(jù)同樣的推理，所有的歐洲人，在美國(guó)或地球其他任何地方見了面，都是老鄉(xiāng)。因?yàn)橛?guó)、法國(guó)、荷蘭、德國(guó)或瑞典，跟整個(gè)地球相比，在較大范圍內(nèi)占有的位置是相同的，其性質(zhì)與劃分的街道、城市和郡在較小范圍內(nèi)占有著相同的位置一樣；對(duì)于我們美洲人來(lái)說(shuō)，這種區(qū)分局限性太強(qiáng)了。即便在一個(gè)省里，英國(guó)后裔也不到三分之一。因此，我強(qiáng)烈譴責(zé)把母國(guó)這個(gè)詞只用來(lái)指代英國(guó)的行徑，因?yàn)檫@是錯(cuò)誤的、自私的、狹隘的、不大度的。