We cannot bear a pointless torment,
我们不能承担无谓的痛苦，
but we can endure great pain
但如果我们认定它是有意义的，
if we believe that it's purposeful.
我们就能忍受巨大的痛苦。
Ease makes less of an impression on us
安逸比起挣扎并不会对
than struggle.
我们留下深刻的印象。
We could have been ourselves without our delights,
没有了喜悦，我们还会是我们，
but not without the misfortunes
但没有了促使我们追寻意义的不幸
that drive our search for meaning.
我们就不是现今的自己。
"Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities,"
“所以，我在不幸中得到快乐，”
St. Paul wrote in Second Corinthians,
圣保罗在第二哥林多前书中写道，
"for when I am weak, then I am strong."
“当我软弱时，我是坚强的。“
In 1988, I went to Moscow 1988年，
我前往莫斯科
to interview artists of the Soviet underground,
采访苏联的地下艺术家，
and I expected their work to be
我本以为他们的作品
dissident and political.
会是持不同意见的和政治性的。
But the radicalism in their work actually lay
但是他们作品中的激进其实在
in reinserting humanity into a society
把人性重新注入
that was annihilating humanity itself,
在毁灭人性的社会中，
as, in some senses, Russian society
正如，在某程度上，
is now doing again.
现今的俄罗斯社会再一次在做的。
One of the artists I met said to me,
我遇到的其中一名艺术家对我说，
"We were in training to be not artists but angels."
"我们正在苦炼成为天使，而不是艺术家。”
In 1991, I went back to see the artists
1991年，我回到莫斯科拜访这些
I'd been writing about,
我曾写过的艺术家,
and I was with them during the putsch
我和他们一起度过了，
that ended the Soviet Union,
终结苏联的政变，
and they were among the chief organizers
而他们是抵抗政变
of the resistance to that putsch.
的主要组织者之一。
And on the third day of the putsch,
在政变的第三天，
one of them suggested we walk up to Smolenskaya.
他们其中的一员建议我们去斯莫兰卡雅（莫斯科地名）。
And we went there,
我们去了那里，
and we arranged ourselves in front of one of the barricades,
然后我们列好队站在一个街垒前，
and a little while later,
过了一会儿，
a column of tanks rolled up,
一列坦克车开来了，
and the soldier on the front tank said,
最前方的坦克车士兵说，
"We have unconditional orders
“我们有无条件的命令
to destroy this barricade.
要摧毁这个街垒。
If you get out of the way,
如果你们让开，
we don't need to hurt you,
我们不需伤害你们，
but if you won't move, we'll have no choice
但如果你们待在这儿，我们没办法
but to run you down."
只能压过你们。”
And the artists I was with said,
和我在一起的艺术家们说，
"Give us just a minute.
“给我们一分钟，
Give us just a minute to tell you why we're here."
给我们一分钟告诉你我们为什么在这里。”
And the soldier folded his arms,
那个士兵把双臂交叉在胸前，
and the artist launched into a Jeffersonian panegyric to democracy
那名艺术家开始以杰斐逊式的民主颂词，
such as those of us who live
这是我们这些生活在
in a Jeffersonian democracy
杰斐逊式的民主社会的人
would be hard-pressed to present.
也苦于表达的。
