论公民的不服从 英文版 On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
亨利.戴维.梭罗 Henry David Thoreau
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience Page 1
I heartily accept the motto, -- "That government is best whichgoverns least"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidlyand systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, whichalso I believe, -- "That government is best which governs not atall"; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind ofgovernment which they will have. Government is at best but anexpedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments aresometimes, inexpedient. The objections which have been broughtagainst a standing army, and they are many and weighty, and deserveto prevail, may also at last be brought against a standinggovernment. The standing army is only an arm of the standinggovernment. The government itself, which is only the mode which thepeople have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to beabused and perverted before the people can act through it. Witnessthe present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individualsusing the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, thepeople would not have consented to this measure.
This American government -- what is it but a tradition, though arecent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity,but each instant losing some of its integrity? It has not thevitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bendit to his will. It is a sort of wooden gun to the peoplethemselves. But it is not the less necessary for this; for thepeople must have some complicated machinery or other, and hear itsdin, to satisfy that idea of government which they have.Governments show thus how successfully men can be imposed on, evenimpose on themselves, for their own advantage. It is excellent, wemust all allow. Yet this government never of itself furthered anyenterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way.It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. Itdoes not educate. The character inherent in the American people hasdone all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhatmore, if the government had not sometimes got in its way. Forgovernment is an expedient by which men would fain succeed inletting one another alone; and, as has been said, when it is mostexpedient, the governed are most let alone by it. Trade andcommerce, if they were not made of India rubber, would never manageto bounce over the obstacles which legislators are continuallyputting in their way; and, if one were to judge these men wholly bythe effects of their actions, and not partly by their intentions,they would deserve to be classed and punished with those mischievouspersons who put obstructions on the railroads.
But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those whocall themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once nogovernment, but at once a better government. Let every man makeknown what kind of government would command his respect, and thatwill be one step toward obtaining it.
After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once inthe hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and for a longperiod continue, to rule, is not because they are most likely to bein the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, butbecause they are physically the strongest. But a government inwhich the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice,even as far as men understand it. Can there not be a government inwhich majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, butconscience? -- in which majorities decide only those questions towhich the rule of expediency is applicable? Must the citizen everfor a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to thelegislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that weshould be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable tocultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The onlyobligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time whatI think right. It is truly enough said that a corporation has noconscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporationwith a conscience. Law never made men a whit more just; and, bymeans of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily madethe agents of injustice. A common and natural result of an unduerespect for law is, that you may see a file of soldiers, colonel,captain, corporal, privates, powder-monkeys, and all, marching inadmirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills,ay, against their common sense and consciences, which makes it verysteep marching indeed, and produces a palpitation of the heart.They have no doubt that it is a damnable business in which they areconcerned; they are all peaceably inclined. Now, what are they?Men at all? or small movable forts and magazines, at the service ofsome unscrupulous man in power? Visit the Navy Yard, and behold amarine, such a man as an American government can make, or such as itcan make a man with its black arts -- a mere shadow and reminiscenceof humanity, a man laid out alive and standing, and already, as onemay say, buried under arms with funeral accompaniments, though itmay be
"Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As his corse to the rampart we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
O'er the grave where our hero we buried."
The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but asmachines, with their bodies. They are the standing army, and themilitia, jailers, constables, posse comitatus, etc. In most casesthere is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the moralsense; but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth andstones; and wooden men can perhaps be manufactured that will servethe purpose as well. Such command no more respect than men of strawor a lump of dirt. They have the same sort of worth only as horsesand dogs. Yet such as these even are commonly esteemed goodcitizens. Others, as most legislators, politicians, lawyers,ministers, and office-holders, serve the state chiefly with theirheads; and, as they rarely make any moral distinctions, they are aslikely to serve the devil, without intending it, as God. A veryfew, as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, andmen, serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarilyresist it for the most part; and they are commonly treated asenemies by it. A wise man will only be useful as a man, and willnot submit to be "clay," and "stop a hole to keep the wind away,"but leave that office to his dust at least:--
"I am too high-born to be propertied,
To be a secondary at control,
Or useful serving-man and instrument
To any sovereign state throughout the world."
He who gives himself entirely to his fellow-men appears to themuseless and selfish; but he who gives himself partially to them ispronounced a benefactor and philanthropist.
How does it become a man to behave toward this Americangovernment to-day? I answer, that he cannot without disgrace beassociated with it. I cannot for an instant recognize thatpolitical organization as my government which is the slave'sgovernment also.
All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right torefuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when itstyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable. But almostall say that such is not the case now. But such was the case, theythink, in the Revolution of '75. If one were to tell me that thiswas a bad government because it taxed certain foreign commoditiesbrought to its ports, it is most probable that I should not make anado about it, for I can do without them. All machines have theirfriction; and possibly this does enough good to counterbalance theevil. At any rate, it is a great evil to make a stir about it. Butwhen the friction comes to have its machine, and oppression androbbery are organized, I say, let us not have such a machine anylonger. In other words, when a sixth of the population of a nationwhich has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves, and awhole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign army,and subjected to military law, I think that it is not too soon forhonest men to rebel and revolutionize. What makes this duty themore urgent is the fact that the country so overrun is not our own,but ours is the invading army.
Paley, a common authority with many on moral questions, in hischapter on the "Duty of Submission to Civil Government," resolvesall civil obligation into expediency; and he proceeds to say that"so long as the interest of the whole society requires it, that is,so long as the established government cannot be resisted or changedwithout public inconveniency, it is the will of God... that theestablished government be obeyed, and no longer.... This principlebeing admitted, the justice of every particular case of resistanceis reduced to a computation of the quantity of the danger andgrievance on the one side, and of the probability and expense ofredressing it on the other." Of this, he says, every man shalljudge for himself. But Paley appears never to have contemplatedthose cases to which the rule of expediency does not apply, in whicha people, as well as an individual, must do justice, cost what itmay. If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I mustrestore it to him though I drown myself. This, according to Paley,would be inconvenient. But he that would save his life, in such acase, shall lose it. This people must cease to hold slaves, and tomake war on Mexico, though it cost them their existence as a people.
In their practice, nations agree with Paley; but does any onethink that Massachusetts does exactly what is right at the presentcrisis?
the world."serving-man and instrument whichthe virtue of patriotism is commonly liable, the noble are mostlikely to incur. Those who, while they disapprove of the characterand measures.
"A drab of state, a cloth-o'-silver slut,To have her train borne up, and her soul trail in the dirt."
Practically speaking, the opponents to a reform in Massachusetts arenot a hundred thousand politicians at the South, but a hundredthousand merchants and farmers here, who are more interested incommerce and agriculture than they are in humanity, and are notprepared to do justice to the slave and to Mexico, cost what it may.I quarrel not with far-off foes, but with those who, near at home,co-operate with, and do the bidding of those far away, and withoutwhom the latter would be harmless. We are accustomed to say, thatthe mass of men are unprepared; but improvement is slow, because thefew are not materially wiser or better than the many. It is not soimportant that many should be as good as you, as that there be someabsolute goodness somewhere; for that will leaven the whole lump.There are thousands who are in opinion opposed to slavery and to thewar, who yet in effect do nothing to put an end to them; who,esteeming themselves children of Washington and Franklin, sit downwith their hands in their pockets, and say that they know not whatto do, and do nothing; who even postpone the question of freedom tothe question of free-trade, and quietly read the prices-currentalong with the latest advices from Mexico, after dinner, and, it maybe, fall asleep over them both. What is the price-current of anhonest man and patriot to-day? They hesitate, and they regret, andsometimes they petition; but they do nothing in earnest and witheffect. They will wait, well disposed, for others to remedy theevil, that they may no longer have it to regret. At most, they giveonly a cheap vote, and a feeble countenance and Godspeed, to theright, as it goes by them. There are nine hundred and ninety-ninepatrons of virtue to one virtuous man; but it is easier to dealwith the real possessor of a thing than with the temporary guardianof it.
All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon,with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong,with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it. Thecharacter of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance,as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that that rightshould prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority. Itsobligation, therefore, never exceeds that of expediency. Evenvoting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressingto men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man willnot leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevailthrough the power of the majority. There is but little virtue inthe action of masses of men. When the majority shall at length votefor the abolition of slavery, it will be because they areindifferent to slavery, or because there is but little slavery leftto be abolished by their vote. They will then be the only slaves.Only his vote can hasten the abolition of slavery who asserts hisown freedom by his vote.
I hear of a convention to be held at Baltimore, or elsewhere,for the selection of a candidate for the Presidency, made up chieflyof editors, and men who are politicians by profession; but I think,what is it to any independent, intelligent, and respectable man whatdecision they may come to? Shall we not have the advantage of hiswisdom and honesty, nevertheless? Can we not count upon someindependent votes? Are there not many individuals in the countrywho do not attend conventions? But no: I find that the respectableman, so called, has immediately drifted from his position, anddespairs of his country, when his country has more reason to despairof him. He forthwith adopts one of the candidates thus selected asthe only available one, thus proving that he is himself availablefor any purposes of the demagogue. His vote is of no more worththan that of any unprincipled foreigner or hireling native, who mayhave been bought. Oh for a man who is a man, and, as my neighborsays, has a bone in his back which you cannot pass your handthrough! Our statistics are at fault: the population has beenreturned too large. How many men are there to a square thousandmiles in this country? Hardly one. Does not America offer anyinducement for men to settle here? The American has dwindled intoan Odd Fellow -- one who may be known by the development of hisorgan of gregariousness, and a manifest lack of intellect andcheerful self-reliance; whose first and chief concern, on cominginto the world, is to see that the almshouses are in good repair;and, before yet he has lawfully donned the virile garb, to collect afund for the support of the widows and orphans that may be; who, inshort ventures to live only by the aid of the Mutual Insurancecompany, which has promised to bury him decently.
It is not a man's duty, as a matter of course, to devote himselfto the eradication of any, even the most enormous wrong; he maystill properly have other concerns to engage him; but it is hisduty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it nothought longer, not to give it practically his support. If I devotemyself to other pursuits and contemplations, I must first see, atleast, that I do not pursue them sitting upon another man'sshoulders. I must get off him first, that he may pursue hiscontemplations too. See what gross inconsistency is tolerated. Ihave heard some of my townsmen say, "I should like to have themorder me out to help put down an insurrection of the slaves, or tomarch to Mexico; -- see if I would go"; and yet these very men haveeach, directly by their allegiance, and so indirectly, at least, bytheir money, furnished a substitute. The soldier is applauded whorefuses to serve in an unjust war by those who do not refuse tosustain the unjust government which makes the war; is applauded bythose whose own act and authority he disregards and sets at naught;as if the state were penitent to that degree that it hired one toscourge it while it sinned, but not to that degree that it left offsinning for a moment. Thus, under the name of Order and CivilGovernment, we are all made at last to pay homage to and support ourown meanness. After the first blush of sin comes its indifference;and from immoral it becomes, as it were, unmoral, and not quiteunnecessary to that life which we have made.
The broadest and most prevalent error requires the mostdisinterested virtue to sustain it. The slight reproach to whichthe virtue of patriotism is commonly liable, the noble are mostlikely to incur. Those who, while they disapprove of the characterand measures of a government, yield to it their allegiance andsupport are undoubtedly its most conscientious supporters, and sofrequently the most serious obstacles to reform. Some arepetitioning the State to dissolve the Union, to disregard therequisitions of the President. Why do they not dissolve itthemselves -- the union between themselves and the State -- andrefuse to pay their quota into its treasury? Do not they stand inthe same relation to the State, that the State does to the Union?And have not the same reasons prevented the State from resisting theUnion, which have prevented them from resisting the State?
How can a man be satisfied to entertain an opinion merely, andenjoy it? Is there any enjoyment in it, if his opinion is that heis aggrieved? If you are cheated out of a single dollar by yourneighbor, you do not rest satisfied with knowing that you arecheated, or with saying that you are cheated, or even withpetitioning him to pay you your due; but you take effectual steps atonce to obtain the full amount, and see that you are never cheatedagain. Action from principle -- the perception and the performanceof right -- changes things and relations; it is essentiallyrevolutionary, and does not consist wholly with anything which was.It not only divides states and churches, it divides families; ay, itdivides the individual, separating the diabolical in him from thedivine.
Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall weendeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, orshall we transgress them at once? Men generally, under such agovernment as this, think that they ought to wait until they havepersuaded the majority to alter them. They think that, if theyshould resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. But it isthe fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than theevil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to anticipate andprovide for reform? Why does it not cherish its wise minority? Whydoes it cry and resist before it is hurt? Why does it not encourageits citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults, and dobetter than it would have them? Why does it always crucify Christ,and excommunicate Copernicus and Luther, and pronounce Washingtonand Franklin rebels?
One would think, that a deliberate and practical denial of itsauthority was the only offence never contemplated by government;else, why has it not assigned its definite, its suitable andproportionate, penalty? If a man who has no property refuses butonce to earn nine shillings for the State, he is put in prison for aperiod unlimited by any law that I know, and determined only by thediscretion of those who placed him there; but if he should stealninety times nine shillings from the State, he is soon permitted togo at large again.