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We cannot bear a pointless torment,
我們不能承擔無謂的痛苦，
but we can endure great pain
但如果我們認定它是有意義的，
if we believe that it's purposeful.
我們就能忍受巨大的痛苦。
Ease makes less of an impression on us
安逸比起掙扎并不會對
than struggle.
我們留下深刻的印象。
We could have been ourselves without our delights,
沒有了喜悅，我們還會是我們，
but not without the misfortunes
但沒有了促使我們追尋意義的不幸
that drive our search for meaning.
我們就不是現今的自己。
"Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities,"
“所以，我在不幸中得到快樂，”
St. Paul wrote in Second Corinthians,
圣保羅在第二哥林多前書中寫道，
"for when I am weak, then I am strong."
“當我軟弱時，我是堅強的。“
In 1988, I went to Moscow 1988年，
我前往莫斯科
to interview artists of the Soviet underground,
采訪蘇聯的地下藝術家，
and I expected their work to be
我本以為他們的作品
dissident and political.
會是持不同意見的和政治性的。
But the radicalism in their work actually lay
但是他們作品中的激進其實在
in reinserting humanity into a society
把人性重新注入
that was annihilating humanity itself,
在毀滅人性的社會中，
as, in some senses, Russian society
正如，在某程度上，
is now doing again.
現今的俄羅斯社會再一次在做的。
One of the artists I met said to me,
我遇到的其中一名藝術家對我說，
"We were in training to be not artists but angels."
"我們正在苦煉成為天使，而不是藝術家。”
In 1991, I went back to see the artists
1991年，我回到莫斯科拜訪這些
I'd been writing about,
我曾寫過的藝術家,
and I was with them during the putsch
我和他們一起度過了，
that ended the Soviet Union,
終結蘇聯的政變，
and they were among the chief organizers
而他們是抵抗政變
of the resistance to that putsch.
的主要組織者之一。
And on the third day of the putsch,
在政變的第三天，
one of them suggested we walk up to Smolenskaya.
他們其中的一員建議我們去斯莫蘭卡雅（莫斯科地名）。
And we went there,
我們去了那里，
and we arranged ourselves in front of one of the barricades,
然后我們列好隊站在一個街壘前，
and a little while later,
過了一會兒，
a column of tanks rolled up,
一列坦克車開來了，
and the soldier on the front tank said,
最前方的坦克車士兵說，
"We have unconditional orders
“我們有無條件的命令
to destroy this barricade.
要摧毀這個街壘。
If you get out of the way,
如果你們讓開，
we don't need to hurt you,
我們不需傷害你們，
but if you won't move, we'll have no choice
但如果你們待在這兒，我們沒辦法
but to run you down."
只能壓過你們。”
And the artists I was with said,
和我在一起的藝術家們說，
"Give us just a minute.
“給我們一分鐘，
Give us just a minute to tell you why we're here."
給我們一分鐘告訴你我們為什么在這里。”
And the soldier folded his arms,
那個士兵把雙臂交叉在胸前，
and the artist launched into a Jeffersonian panegyric to democracy
那名藝術家開始以杰斐遜式的民主頌詞，
such as those of us who live
這是我們這些生活在
in a Jeffersonian democracy
杰斐遜式的民主社會的人
would be hard-pressed to present.
也苦于表達的。
