2021年经济学人 自由无罪,审查无理(1)

Books & arts

文艺板块

Book review

书评

Censorship -- And be damned

这该死的审查制度

Dangerous Ideas. By Eric Berkowitz.

《危险的思想》。作者：埃里克·伯克维茨

This lively and wide-ranging history of censorship opens with a wise reminder². “The compulsion to silence others”, writes Eric Berkowitz, an American lawyer and author, “is as old as the urge to speak.” As a firm believer in free speech, Mr Berkowitz views censorship through the ages as mostly futile³, perverse⁴ or wrong. Yet he grasps that neither side in this ancient contest is pure or simple. Nor, in his engrossing⁵ account, do either free speech or its opponents ever win final victories.

这段鲜活而广泛的审查史开启了一次明智的提醒。美国律师兼作家埃里克·伯克维茨写道：“强迫他人保持沉默与说话的冲动一样古老。”作为言论自由的坚定信仰者，伯克维茨认为历代的审查制度大多是徒劳的、反常的或错误的。但他明白，这场古老竞赛的参与双方都不单纯。在他引人入胜的叙述中，言论自由或反对者都从来没有赢得过最后的胜利。

Mr Berkowitz focuses chiefly on the United States and Britain, with glances at other European countries—such as 17th- and 18th-century France, famous for libelles, scurrilous⁶ and usually sexual attacks on royalty⁷, clergy⁸ and other notables. He briefly⁹ widens the field at the end for a discouraging look at enemies of free speech in less liberal or less democratic places.

伯克维茨的作品主要聚焦于美国和英国，同时也关注了其他欧洲国家，比如17世纪和18世纪的法国，这些国家以对皇室、神职人员和其他知名人士的诽谤、造谣以及频繁的性攻击而闻名。他在书的结尾处简单地升华，对那些在缺乏自由或民主的地方反对言论自由的人并不看好。

Silencers of speech operate directly and indirectly¹⁰. The most obvious direct kind is state censorship. It may forbid speech unless cleared in advance (pre-censorship), punish it after the event (criminal libel) or burden publishers and media with undue¹¹ regulations or taxes. Speech here includes not just voicing or disseminating¹² words but proclaiming your faith as you wish, campaigning for your chosen causes and making art without interference.

言论消音器直接和间接地发挥着作用。国家审查是最明显的直接形式。它可能禁止言论，除非进行了事先清除（提前审查），事后惩罚（刑事诽谤），或以过度监管或税收施压出版商和媒体。这里提到的言论不仅包括发声或传播文字，还包括随心所欲地宣讲自己的信仰，为自己选择的事业奔走，以及不受干预地创作艺术。

Pre-censorship has often proved self-defeating. With the coming of print, books as a rule needed licence before publication. In Britain, where licensing¹³ was outsourced to the printers’ guild¹⁴, prior control proved ineffective and corrupt¹⁵, and was abandoned by the end of the 17th century. The papal Index of Forbidden Books (1559- 1966), backed by the law in many Catholic countries, gave publicity¹⁶ to works that would otherwise have remained obscure. The harder Soviet¹⁷ censors¹ worked, the stronger grew underground papers, political jokes and public disbelief.

事实证明，提前审查的做法常常是在自欺欺人。随着出版业的到来，书籍通常在出版前需要获得许可证。英国的许可业务曾经被外包给了印刷商协会，但事实证明，提前的管控无效且腐败，英国在17世纪末也放弃了这种提前审查的模式。在许多天主教国家的法律支持下，教皇的《禁书索引》（1559-1966）为那些原本不为人知的作品提供了宣传。苏联审查人员越努力审查，地下报纸、政治笑话和公众的不信任感就越猖獗。

Criminal libel, which replaced pre-censorship in common-law countries, might be seditious, obscene or blasphemous¹⁸. That threefold division tracked the silencers’ chief preoccupations: political dissent¹⁹, fascination²⁰ with sex and disregard for religion. Prosecutions²¹ continued even late into the 20th century. Especially before juries, they could backfire, as Mr Berkowitz recounts with relish²². In 1817 William Hone was charged in Britain with blasphemy²³ for parodying²⁴ church liturgy²⁵. In defence, Hone read out passages of his parodies²⁶ that so reduced the courtroom to laughter that acquittal was assured. Obscenity trials have commonly stumbled on the prosecution’s dilemma²⁷ as to whether to say the unsayable or primly²⁸ allude²⁹ to it.

刑事诽谤取代了英美法系国家的预先审查制度，它可能分为煽动性的、淫秽的或亵渎神明的。这三重划分拿捏了言论消音器的主要关注点：政治异议、性迷恋和漠视宗教。此类起诉一直持续到20世纪末。但在伯克维茨津津有味的叙述中，起诉可能会适得其反，尤其是在面对陪审团的时候。1817年，英国的威廉·霍恩因模仿教堂礼拜仪式而被指控亵渎神明。霍恩在辩护中宣读了他模仿的段落，法庭上的一片笑声保证了他的无罪。淫秽罪的审判通常会让检方陷入两难境地，他们纠结于犯人是说了不该说的话，还是只是简单地暗示。

1 censors   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The censors eviscerated the book to make it inoffensive to the President. 审查员删去了该书的精华以取悦于总统。
• The censors let out not a word. 检察官一字也不发。

2 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

3 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

4 perverse   

adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的

参考例句：

• It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。
• She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态，以使别人难堪来取乐。

5 engrossing   

adj.使人全神贯注的，引人入胜的v.使全神贯注( engross的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He told us an engrossing story. 他给我们讲了一个引人入胜的故事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It might soon have ripened into that engrossing feeling. 很快便会发展成那种压倒一切的感情的。 来自辞典例句

6 scurrilous   

adj.下流的，恶意诽谤的

参考例句：

• Scurrilous and untrue stories were being invented.有人正在捏造虚假诽谤的故事。
• She was often quite scurrilous in her references to me.她一提起我,常常骂骂咧咧的。

7 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

8 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

9 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

10 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

11 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

12 disseminating   

散布，传播( disseminate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Our comrades in propaganda work have the task of disseminating Marxism. 我们作宣传工作的同志有一个宣传马克思主义的任务。
• Disseminating indecent photographs on the internet a distasteful act. 在因特网上发布不雅照片是卑劣的行径。

13 licensing   

v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句

14 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

15 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

16 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

17 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

18 blasphemous   

adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的

参考例句：

• The book was declared blasphemous and all copies ordered to be burnt.这本书被断定为亵渎神明之作，命令全数焚毀。
• The people in the room were shocked by his blasphemous language.满屋的人都对他那侮慢的语言感到愤慨。

19 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

20 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

21 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

22 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

23 blasphemy   

n.亵渎，渎神

参考例句：

• His writings were branded as obscene and a blasphemy against God.他的著作被定为淫秽作品，是对上帝的亵渎。
• You have just heard his blasphemy!你刚刚听到他那番亵渎上帝的话了！

24 parodying   

v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They are called deviant hypertexts parodying zero-degree hypo-texts in the intertextuality theory. 在互文性理论中，它们仿拟的零度原词即是底文，而它们自己则是偏离了的超文。 来自互联网
• Dahua shows the trivialness and absurdness of life through parodying and has deep society connotation. 大话语言通过嬉戏、调侃表现生活的琐碎、荒诞，具有较深刻的社会内涵。 来自互联网

25 liturgy   

n.礼拜仪式

参考例句：

• A clergyman read the liturgy from the prayer-book.一名牧师照着祈祷书念祷文。
• The mass is the church a kind of liturgy.弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。

26 parodies   

n.拙劣的模仿( parody的名词复数 )；恶搞；滑稽的模仿诗文；表面上模仿得笨拙但充满了机智用来嘲弄别人作品的作品v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Later, however, they delight in parodies of nursery rhymes. 可要不了多久，他们便乐于对它进行窜改。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• Most parodies are little more than literary teases. 大多数讽刺的模仿诗文只能算上是文学上的揶揄。 来自辞典例句

27 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

28 primly   

adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• He didn't reply, but just smiled primly. 他没回答，只是拘谨地笑了笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He wore prim suits with neckties set primly against the collar buttons of his white shirts. 他穿着整洁的外套，领结紧贴着白色衬衫领口的钮扣。 来自互联网

29 allude   

v.提及，暗指

参考例句：

• Many passages in Scripture allude to this concept.圣经中有许多经文间接地提到这样的概念。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles.她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。