31 Freud

31 佛洛伊德

……the odious egoistic impulse that had emerged in her...

……他内心出现那股令人讨厌的自大的冲动…… 

Hilde Moller Knag jumped out of bed with the bulky ring binder in her arms. She plonked it down on her writing desk, grabbed her clothes, and dashed into the bathroom. She stood under the shower for two minutes, dressed herself quickly, and ran downstairs.

席德夹着那本厚重的讲义夹从床上跳起来。她“砰”一声把它扔到书桌上,抓起衣服,冲进浴室,在莲蓬头下站了两分钟,然后就火速穿好衣服,跑到楼下。

"Breakfast is ready, Hilde!"

“席德,早餐已经好了。” 

"I just have to go and row first."

“我得先去划船。” 

"But Hilde……!"

“可是,席德……!” 

She ran out of the house, down the garden, and out onto the little dock. She untied the boat and jumped down into it. She rowed around the bay with short angry strokes until she had calmed down.

她出了门,穿过花园,跑到小小的平台那儿。她把系船的绳索解开,跳进船里,在海湾里愤怒而快速地划着,直到她平静下来为止。

"We are the living planet, Sophie! We are the great vessel sailing around a burning sun in the universe. But each and every of us is also a ship sailing through life with a cargo of genes. When we have carried this cargo safely to the next harbor--we have not lived in vain..."

苏菲,我们就是这个活的星球。地球是航行在宇宙中燃烧的大阳四周的一艘大船。而我们每一个人则是满载基因航行过生命的一条小船。当我们安全地把船上的货品运到下一个港口时,我们就没有白活了……

She knew the passage by heart. It had been written for her. Not for Sophie, for her. Every word in the ring binder was written by Dad to Hilde.

她记得这段话的每一个字。这是为她而写的,不是为了苏菲,而是为她。讲义夹里的每一个字都是爸爸为她而写的。

She rested the oars in the oarlocks and drew them in. The boat rocked gently on the water, the ripples slapping softly against the prow.

她把桨靠在桨架上,把它们收进来。这时船微微的在水面上摇晃,激起的涟漪轻轻拍击着船头。

And like the little rowboat floating on the surface in the bay at Lillesand, she herself was just a nutshell on the surface of life.

她就像浮在黎乐桑海湾水面上的这条小船一样,也只不过是生命表面一个微不足道的东西。

Where were Sophie and Alberto in this picture? Yes, where were Alberto and Sophie?

但在这里面,苏菲和艾伯特又在哪里呢?

She could not fathom that they were no more than "electromagnetic impulses" in her father's brain. She could not fathom, and certainly not accept, that they were only paper and printer's ink from a ribbon in her father's portable typewriter. One might just as well say that she herself was nothing but a conglomeration of protein compounds that had suddenly come to life one day in a "hot little pool." But she was more than that. She was Hilde Moller Knag.

是呀,他们会在哪里呢?她不太能够了解他们怎么可能只是她父亲脑子里的一些“电磁波”。她不能了解——当然也不愿接受——他们为何只是由一些白纸和她父亲的手提式打字机色带上的油墨所形成的东西。果真如此,那也可以说她自己只不过是一个由某一天在‘那一小摊热热的水’里突然有了生命的蛋白质复合物的集合体。可是她不止于是这样而已。她是席德。

She had to admit that the ring binder was a fantastic present, and that her father had touched the core of something eternal in her. But she didn't care for the way he was dealing with Sophie and Alberto.

她不得不承认那个讲义夹是一份很棒的礼物,也不得不承认爸爸的确碰触到了她内心某种永恒事物的核心。可是她不喜欢他对苏菲和艾伯特的强硬姿态。

She would certainly teach him a lesson, even before he got home. She felt she owed it to the two of them. Hilde could already imagine her father at Kastrup Airport, in Copenhagen. She could just see him running around like mad.

她一定要给他一个教训,在他还没回到家之前。她觉得这是她应该为他们两人做的事。席德已经可以想象父亲在卡斯楚普机场的模样,他会像发疯似的跑来跑去。

Hilde was now quite herself again. She rowed the boat back to the dock, where she was careful to make it fast. After breakfast she sat at the table for a long time with her mother. It felt good to be able to talk about something as ordinary as whether the egg was a trifle too soft.

席德现在又恢复正常了。她把船划回平台那儿,然后把它系紧。吃完早餐后她陪妈妈坐了很久,能够和别人聊聊诸如蛋是否有点太软这类平常的话题的感觉真好。

She did not start to read again until the evening. There were not many pages left now.

一直到那天晚上她才开始继续读下去。现在剩下已经没有几页了。

Once again there was a knocking on the door.

现在,又有人敲门了。

"Let's just put our hands over our ears," said Alberto, "and perhaps it'll go away."

“我们把耳朵掩起来吧,”艾伯特说,“说不定敲门声就停了。” 

"No, I want to see who it is."

“不,我想看看是谁。” 

Alberto followed her to the door.

艾伯特跟着她走到门口。

On the step stood a naked man. He had adopted a very ceremonial posture, but the only thing he had with him was the crown on his head.

门前的台阶上站着一个光着身子的男人。他的姿态一本正经,但除了头上戴着一顶王冠以外,全身上下什么也没穿。

"Well?" he said. "What do you good people think of the Emperor's new clothes?"

“如何?”他说,“你们这些人觉得朕的新衣好看吗?” 

Alberto and Sophie were utterly dumbfounded. This caused the naked man some consternation.

艾伯特和苏菲都惊讶得目瞪口呆,这使得那个光着身子的男人有点着急。

"What? You are not bowing!" he cried.

“怎么回事?你们居然都不向我鞠躬!”他喊道。

"Indeed, that is true," said Alberto, "but the Emperor is stark naked."

艾伯特鼓起勇气向他说:“确实如此。可是陛下您什么都没穿呀!” 

The naked man maintained his ceremonial posture. Alberto bent over and whispered in Sophie's ear:"He thinks he is respectable."

那男人仍旧是一本正经的模样。艾伯特弯下身子在苏菲的耳朵旁悄悄说:“他以为自己很体面。” 

At this, the man scowled.

听到这话,那男人气得吹胡子瞪眼睛。

"Is some kind of censorship being exercised on these premises?" he asked.

“这里难道没有什么言论管制吗?” 

"Regrettably," said Alberto. "In here we are both alert and of sound mind in every way. In the Emperor's shameless condition he can therefore not cross the threshold of this house."

“很抱歉,”艾伯特说,“我们这里的人脑筋都很清醒,神智也很健全。国王陛下的穿着如此有失体面,恕我们无法让你进门。” 

Sophie found the naked man's pomposity so absurd that she burst out laughing. As if her laughter had been a prearranged signal, the man with the crown on his head suddenly became aware that he was naked. Covering his private parts with both hands, he bounded toward the nearest clump of trees and disappeared, probably to join company with Adam and Eve, Noah, Little Red Riding-hood, and Winnie-the-Pooh.

苏菲觉得这个光着身子的男人那副正经八百的神气模样实在荒谬,便忍不住笑了出来。她的笑声仿佛是一种事先安排好的信号一般,这时,那个头上戴着王冠的男人突然意识到自己一丝不挂,便赶紧用双手把他的重要部位遮起来,大步跑向离他最近的树丛,然后就消失无踪了,也许已经加入亚当、夏娃、诺亚、小红帽和波波熊的行列。

Alberto and Sophie remained standing on the step, laughing.

艾伯特和苏菲仍然站在台阶上,笑弯了腰。

At last Alberto said, "It might be a good idea if we went inside. I'm going to tell you about Freud and his theory of the unconscious."

最后艾伯特说:“我们还是进屋里,坐在刚才的位子上好了。我要和你谈佛洛伊德和他的潜意识理论。” 

They seated themselves by the window again. Sophie looked at her watch and said: "It's already half past two and I have a lot to do before the garden party."

他们在窗户旁坐下来。苏菲看了看她的腕表说:“已经两点半了。在举行花园宴会前我还有很多事要做呢。” 

"So have I. We'll just say a few words about Sigmund Freud."

“我也是。我们再大略谈一下佛洛伊德(Sigmund Freud)就好了。” 

"Was he a philosopher?"

“他是一个哲学家吗?” 

佛洛伊德

"We could describe him as a cultural philosopher, at least. Freud was born in 1 856 and he studied medicine at the University of Vienna. He lived in Vienna for the greater part of his life at a period when the cultural life of the city was flourishing. He specialized early on in neurology. Toward the close of the last century, and far into our own, he developed his 'depth psychology' or psychoanalysis."

“至少我们可以说他是一个文化哲学家。佛洛伊德出生于一八五六年,在维也纳大学攻读医学。他一生中大部分时间都住在维也纳,当时那里的文化气息非常浓厚。他很早就决定专攻神经学。在十九世纪末、二十世纪初,他发展了所谓的‘深度心理学’,或称‘精神分析’。” 

"You're going to explain this, right?"

“请你说明这些名词好吗?” 

"Psychoanalysis is a description of the human mind in general as well as a therapy for nervous and mental disorders. I do not intend to give you a complete picture either of Freud or of his work. But his theory of the unconscious is necessary to an understanding of what a human being is."

“精神分析是描述一般人的内心,并治疗神经和心理失调现象的一门学问。我不想细谈佛洛伊德本人或他的著作,不过他的潜意识理论可以使我们了解人是什么。” 

"You intrigue me. Go on."

“你把我的兴趣勾起来了。说下去。” 

"Freud held that there is a constant tension between man and his surroundings. In particular, a tension--or conflict--between his drives and needs and the demands of society. It is no exaggeration to say that Freud discovered human drives. This makes him an important exponent of the naturalistic currents that were so prominent toward the end of the nineteenth century."

“佛洛伊德主张人和他的环境之间不断有一种紧张关系存在。这种紧张关系(也就是冲突)尤其存在于他的驱策力、需要和社会的要求之间。我们可以说佛洛伊德发现了人类的驱策力。这使得他成为十九世纪末明显的自然主义潮流中一个很重要的代表性人物。” 

"What do you mean by human drives?"

“所谓人类的驱策力是什么意思?” 

"Our actions are not always guided by reason. Man is not really such a rational creature as the eighteenth-century rationalists liked to think. Irrational impulses often determine what we think, what we dream, and what we do. Such irrational impulses can be an expression of basic drives or needs. The human sexual drive, for example, is just as basic as the baby's instinct to suckle."

“我们的行动并不一定是根据理性的。人其实并不像十八世纪的理性主义者所想的那么理性。非理性的冲动经常左右我们的思想、梦境和行动。这种不理性的冲动可能是反映我们的基本需求。例如,人类的性冲动就像婴儿吸奶的本能一样是一种基本的驱策力。” 

"Yes?"

“然后呢?” 

"This in itself was no new discovery. But Freud showed that these basic needs can be disguised or 'sublimated,' thereby steering our actions without our being aware of it. He also showed that infants have some sort of sexuality. The respectable middle-class Viennese reacted with abhorrence to this suggestion of the 'sexuality of the child' and made him very unpopular."

“这并不是什么新发现,但佛洛伊德指出这些基本需求可能会被‘伪装’或‘升华’,并在我们无从察觉的情况下主宰我们的行动。他并且指出,婴儿也会有某种性反应。但维也纳那些高尚的中产阶级人士极为排斥这个‘婴儿性反应’的说法,佛洛伊德也因此成为一个很不受欢迎的人。” 

"I'm not surprised."

“我一点也不惊讶。” 

"We call it Victorianism, when everything to do with sexuality is taboo. Freud first became aware of children's sexuality during his practice of psychotherapy. So he had an empirical basis for his claims. He had also seen how numerous forms of neurosis or psychological disorders could be traced back to conflicts during childhood. He gradually developed a type of therapy that we could call the archeology of the soul."

“我们称这种反应为‘维多利亚心态’,就是把每一件与性有关的事视为禁忌的一种态度。佛洛伊德在从事心理治疗时发现婴儿也会有性反应,因此他的说法是有实验根据的。他也发现有许多形式的精神失调或心理失调可以追溯到童年时期的冲突。后来他逐渐发展出一种我们称之为‘灵魂溯源学’的治疗方式。” 

"What do you mean by that?"

“什么叫灵魂溯源学?” 

"An archeologist searches for traces of the distant past by digging through layers of cultural history. He may find a knife from the eighteenth century. Deeper in the ground he may find a comb from the fourteenth century--and even deeper down perhaps an urn from the fifth centuryB.C."

“考古学家借着挖掘古老的历史文物以找寻远古时代的遗迹。首先他可能会找到一把十八世纪的刀子。再往地下更深处挖掘时,他可能会发现一把十四世纪的梳子,再向下挖时,可能又会找到一个第五世纪的瓮。” 

"Yes?"

“然后呢?” 

"In a similar way, the psychoanalyst, with the patient's help, can dig deep into the patient's mind and bring to light the experiences that have caused the patient's psychological disorder, since according to Freud, we store the memory of all our experiences deep inside us."

“同样的,精神分析学家在病人的配合下,可以在病人的心灵深处挖掘,并找出那些造成病人心理失调的经验。因为根据佛洛伊德的说法,我们都会把所有经验的记忆储藏在内心深处。” 

"Yes, I see."

“喔,我懂了。” 

"The analyst can perhaps discover an unhappy experience that the patient has tried to suppress for many years, but which has nevertheless lain buried, gnawing away at the patient's resources. By bringing a 'traumatic experience' into the conscious mind--and holding it up to the patient, so to speak--he or she can help the patient 'be done with it,' and get well again."

“精神分析医师也许可以追溯病人以往的一个不幸经验。这个经验虽然被病人压抑多年,但仍然埋藏在他的内心,咬啮着他的身心。医师可以使病人再度意识到这个‘伤痛经验’,让他或她可以‘解决它’,心病自然就可以痊愈。” 

"That sounds logical."

“听起来很有道理。” 

"But I am jumping too far ahead. Let us first take a look at Freud's description of the human mind. Have you ever seen a newborn baby?"

“可是我讲得大快了。我们还是先看看佛洛伊德如何形容人的心灵吧。你有没有看过刚出生的婴儿?” 

"I have a cousin who is four."

“我有一个四岁大的表弟。”

"When we come into the world, we live out our physical and mental needs quite directly and unashamedly. If we do not get milk, we cry, or maybe we cry if we have a wet diaper. We also give direct expression to our desire for physical contact and body warmth. Freud called this 'pleasure principle' in us the id. As newborn babies we are hardly anything but id."

“当我们刚来到这世界时,我们会用一种直接而毫不感到羞耻的方式来满足我们身体与心灵的需求。如果我们没有奶喝或尿布湿了,我们就会大哭。我们也会直接表达我们对身体上的接触或温暖拥抱的需求。佛洛伊德称我们这种‘快乐原则’为‘本我’。我们在还是婴儿时,几乎就只有一个‘本我’。” 

"Go on."

“然后呢?” 

"We carry the id, or pleasure principle, with us into adulthood and throughout life. But gradually we learn to regulate our desires and adjust to our surroundings. We learn to regulate the pleasure principle in relation to the 'reality principle.' In Freud's terms, we develop an ego which has this regulative function. Even though we want or need something, we cannot just lie down and scream until we get what we want or need."

“我们带着我们内心的这个‘本我’或‘快乐原则’长大成人,度过一生。但逐渐地我们学会如何调整自己的需求以适应环境;我们学到如何调整这个‘快乐原则’以迁就‘现实原则’。用佛洛伊德的术语来说,我们发展出了一个具有这种调节功能的‘自我’。这时,即使我们想要或需要某个东西,我们也不能躺下来一直哭到我们得到那件东西为止。” 

"No, obviously."

“当然啦。” 

"We may desire something very badly that the outside world will not accept. We may repress our desires. That means we try to push them away and forget about them."

“我们可能会很想要某样外界无法接受的东西,因此我们会压抑我们的欲望。这表示我们努力要赶走这个欲望,并且将它忘记。” 

"I see."

“喔。” 

"However, Freud proposed, and worked with, a third element in the human mind. From infancy we are constantly faced with the moral demands of our parents and of society. When we do anything wrong, our parents say 'Don't do that!' or 'Naughty naughty, that's bad!' Even when we are grown up, we retain the echo of such moral demands and judgments. It seems as though the world's moral expectations have become part of us. Freud called this the superego."

“然而,佛洛伊德还提出人类心灵中的第三因素。从婴儿时期起,我们就不断面对我们的父母和社会的道德要求。当我们做错事时,我们的父母会说:‘不要那样!’或‘别调皮了,这样不好’!即使长大成人以后,我们在脑海中仍可以听到这类道德要求和价值判断的回声。似乎这世界的道德规范已经进入我们的内心,成为我们’的一部分。佛洛伊德称这部分为‘超我’。” 

"Is that another word for conscience?"

“是否就是良心呢?” 

"Conscience is a component of the superego. But Freud claimed that the superego tells us when our desires themselves are 'bad' or 'improper/ not least in the case of erotic or sexual desire. And as I said, Freud claimed that these 'improper' desires already manifest themselves at an early stage of childhood."

“良心是‘超我’的一部分。但佛洛伊德指出,当我们有一些‘坏的’或‘不恰当’的欲望,如色情或性的念头时,这个‘超我’会告诉我们。而就像我说过的,佛洛伊德宣称这些‘不恰当’的欲望已经在我们童年的初期就出现过了。” 

"How?"

“怎么会呢?” 

"Nowadays we know that infants like touching their sex organs. We can observe this on any beach. In Freud's time, this behavior could result in a slap over the fingers of the two- or three-year-old, perhaps accompanied by the mother saying, 'Naughty!' or 'Don't do that!' or 'Keep your hands on top of the covers!'"

“我们现在知道婴儿喜欢抚摸他们的性器官。我们在沙滩上经常可以看到这个现象。在佛洛伊德那个时代,两三岁的婴儿如果这样做,马上就会被父母打一下手,这时也许妈妈还会说:‘调皮!’或‘不要这样’!或‘把你的手放在床单上’!” 

"How sick!"

“多病态呀!” 

"That's the beginning of guilt feelings about everything connected with the sex organs and sexuality. Because this guilt feeling remains in the superego, many people--according to Freud, most people--feel guilty about sex all their lives. At the same time he showed that sexual desires and needs are natural and vital for human beings. And thus, my dear Sophie, the stage is set for a lifelong conflict between desire and guilt."

“我们因此对每一件与性和性器官有关的事情有了一种罪恶感。由于这种罪恶感一直停留在超我之中,因此许多人——佛洛伊德甚至认为是大多数人——终其一生都对性有一种罪恶感。而根据佛洛伊德的说法,性的欲望和需求事实上是人类天性中很自然而且很重要的一部分。就这样,人的一生都充满了欲望与罪恶感之间的冲突。” 

 "Don't you think the conflict has died down a lot since Freud's time?"

“你难道不认为自从佛洛伊德的时代以来,这种冲突已经减少了很多?” 

潜意识

"Most certainly. But many of Freud's patients experienced the conflict so acutely that they developed what Freud called neuroses. One of his many women patients, for example, was secretly in love with her brother-in-law. When her sister died of an illness, she thought: 'Now he is free to marry me!' This thought was on course for a frontal collision with her superego, and was so monstrous an idea that she immediately repressed it, Freud tells us. In other words, she buried it deep in her unconscious. Freud wrote: 'The young girl was ill and displaying severe hysterical symptoms. When I began treating her it appeared that she had thoroughly forgotten about the scene at her sister's bedside and the odious egoistic impulse that had emerged in her. But during analysis she remembered it, and in a state of great agitation she reproduced the pathogenic moment and through this treatment became cured.' "

“确实如此。但许多佛洛伊德的病人面临非常强烈的冲突,以至于得到了佛洛伊德所谓的‘精神官能症’。举例来说,他有一个女病人偷偷爱上她的姊夫,当她的姊姊因病而死时,她心想:‘他终于可以娶我了!’可是这种想法与她的超我有了正面冲突。于是她立刻压抑这种可怕的念头。换句话说,她将这个念头埋藏在她的潜意识深处。佛洛伊德写道:‘这个年轻的女孩于是生病了,并有严重的歇斯底里的症状。当我开始治疗她时,她似乎完全忘记了她姊姊临终的情景以及她心里出现过的那个可恨的自私欲望。但经过我的分析治疗后,她记起来了,并在一种非常激动不安的状态下将那个使她致病的时刻重新演练一次。经过这种治疗,后来她就痊愈了。’” 

"Now I better understand what you meant by an archeology of the soul."

“现在我比较了解你为何说它是‘灵魂溯源学’了。” 

"So we can give a general description of the human psyche. After many years of experience in treating patients, Freud concluded that the conscious constitutes only a small part of the human mind. The conscious is like the tip of the iceberg above sea level. Below sea level--or below the threshold of the conscious--is the 'subconscious,' or the unconscious."

“所以我们可以了解人类一般的心理状态。在有了多年治疗病人的经验后,佛洛伊德得出一个结论:人类的意识只是他的心灵中的一小部分而已。意识就像是露在海面上的冰山顶端,在海面下,也就是在人意识之外,还有‘潜意识’的存在。” 

"So the unconscious is everything that's inside us that we have forgotten and don't remember?"

“这么说潜意识就是存在于我们的内心,但已经被我们遗忘,想不起来的事物吗?” 

"We don't have all our experiences consciously present all the time. But the kinds of things we have thought or experienced, and which we can recall if we 'put our mind to it,' Freud termed the preconscious. He reserved the term 'unconscious' for things we have repressed. That is, the sort of thing we have made an effort to forget because it was either 'unpleasant','improper,' or 'nasty.' If we have desires and urges that are not tolerable to the conscious, the superego shoves them downstairs. Away with them!"

“我们并不一定能够意识到我们曾经有过的各种经验。但那些只要我们‘用心想’便可以记起来的想法或经验,佛洛伊德称之为‘潜意识’。他所说的‘潜意识’指的是那些被我们‘压抑’的经验或想法,也就是那些我们努力要忘掉的‘不愉快’、‘不恰当’或‘丑陋’的经验。如果我们有一些不为我们的意识(或超我)所容忍的欲望或冲动,我们便会将它们埋藏起来,去掉它们。” 

"I get it."

“我懂了。” 

"This mechanism is at work in all healthy people. But it can be such a tremendous strain for some people to keep the unpleasant or forbidden thoughts away from consciousness that it leads to mental illness. Whatever is repressed in this way will try of its own accord to reenter consciousness. For some people it takes a great effort to keep such impulses under the critical eye of the conscious. When Freud was in America in 1909 lecturing on psychoanalysis, he gave an example of the way this repression mechanism functions."

“这样的作用在所有健康的人身上都会发生。但有些人因为过度努力要把这些不愉快或禁忌的想法从意识中排除,以至于罹患了心理方面的疾病。被我们压抑的想法或经验会试图重新进入我们的意识。对于某些人来说,要把这类冲动排除在敏锐的意识之外,需要费很大的力气。一九O九年佛洛伊德在美国发表有关精神分析的演讲时,举了一个例子说明这种压抑的机制是如何作用的。” 

"I'd like to hear that!"

“我倒是很想听一听。” 

"He said: 'Suppose that here in this hall and in this audience, whose exemplary stillness and attention I cannot sufficiently commend, there is an individual who is creating a disturbance, and, by his ill-bred laughing, talking, by scraping his feet, distracts my attention from my task. I explain that I cannot go on with my lecture under these conditions, and thereupon several strong men among you get up and, after a short struggle, eject the disturber of the peace from the hall. He is now repressed, and I can continue my lecture. But in order that the disturbance may not be repeated, in case the man who has just been thrown out attempts to force his way back into the room, the gentlemen who have executed my suggestion take their chairs to the door and establish themselves there as a resistance, to keep up the repression. Now, if you transfer both locations to the psyche, calling this con-sciousness, and the outside the unconscious, you have a tolerably good illustration of the process of repression.' "

“他提到:假设在这个演讲厅这么多安安静静、专心听讲的观众里面,有一个人很不安分。他毫无礼貌地大笑,又喋喋不休,并把脚动来动去,使我无法专心演讲。后来我只好宣布我讲不下去了。这时,你们当中有三四个大汉站起来,在一阵扭打后,把那个搅局的人架了出去。于是这个搅局者就被‘压抑’了,我因此可以继续讲下去。可是为了避免那个被赶走的人再度进来捣乱,那几位执行我的意志的先生便把他们的椅子搬到门口并坐在那儿‘防御’,以继续压抑的动作。现在,如果你们将这个场景转移到心理,把这个大厅称为‘意识’,而把大厅外面称为‘潜意识’,那么你们就可以明白‘压抑’作用的过程了。” 

"I agree."

“我同意。” 

"But the disturber of the peace insists on reentering, Sophie. At least, that's the way it is with repressed thoughts and urges. We live under the constant pressure of repressed thoughts that are trying to fight their way up from the unconscious. That's why we often say or do things without intending to. Unconscious reactions thus prompt our feelings and actions."

“可是这个捣乱者坚持要再进来。至少那些被我们压抑的想法和冲动是这样的。这些想法不断从我们的潜意识浮现,使我们经常处于一种压力之下。这是我们为什么常常会说一些本来不想说的话或做一些本来不想做的事的缘故。因为我们的感觉和行动会受到潜意识的鼓动。” 

"Can you give me an example?"

“你能不能举一个例子呢?” 

"Freud operates with several of these mechanisms. One is what he called parapraxes--slips of the tongue or pen. In other words, we accidentally say or do things that we once tried to repress. Freud gives the example of the shop foreman who was to propose a toast to the boss. The trouble was that this boss was terribly unpopular. In plain words, he was what one might call a swine."

“佛洛伊德指出这类机制有好几种。一个是他所谓的‘说溜了嘴’,也就是我们无意中说出或做出一些我们原本想要压抑的事情。佛洛伊德举了一个例子。有一个工厂的工头有一次在宴会中要向他的老板敬酒。问题是这个老板很不受人欢迎,简直就是人家所说的‘一只猪’。” 

"Yes?"

“然后呢。” 

"The foreman stood up, raised his glass, and said 'Here's to the swine!' "

“这个工头站起来,举起他的酒杯说:让我们来敬这只猪吧!” 

"I'm speechless!"

“真是不可思议。” 

"So was the foreman. He had actually only said what he really meant. But he didn't mean to say it. Do you want to hear another example?"

“这个工头也吓呆了。其实他说的只是他内心的真话,但他原本没打算把它说出来的。你想不想听听另外一个例子?” 

"Yes, please."

“请讲。” 

"A bishop was coming to tea with the local minister, who had a large family of nice well-behaved little daughters. This bishop happened to have an unusually big nose. The little girls were duly instructed that on no account were they to refer to the bishop's nose, since children often blurt out spontaneous remarks about people because their repressive mechanism is not yet developed. The bishop arrived, and the delightful daughters strained themselves to the utmost not to comment on his nose. They tried to not even look at it and to forget about it. But they were thinking about it the whole time. And then one of them was asked to pass the sugar around. She looked at the distinguished bishop and said, 'Do you take sugar in your nose?' "

“一位主教应邀到当地牧师家里喝茶。这位牧师有好几个乖巧有礼貌的女儿,年纪都很小。而这位主教刚好有一个超乎寻常的大鼻子。于是牧师就事先告诫他的女儿无论如何不能提到主教的鼻子,因为孩童的压抑机制还没有发展出来,因此往往会脱口而出,说一些不该说的话。后来,主教到了,这些可爱的小女孩极力克制自己不要提到他的鼻子。她们甚至不敢看它,想要忘掉它的存在。可是她们从头到尾都想着那个鼻子。后来主教请其中一个女孩把糖递过去,于是她看着这位可敬的主教,并说:你的鼻子里放糖吗?” 

"How awful!"

“真是太糟糕了!” 

"Another thing we can do is to rationalize. That means that we do not give the real reason for what we are doing either to ourselves or to other people because the real reason is unacceptable."

“另外一件我们可能会做的事就是‘合理化’。意思就是说,我们自己不愿意承认,也不愿意告诉别人我们做某一件事的真正动机,因为这个动机是让人无法接受的。” 

"Like what?"

“譬如说什么?” 

"I could hypnotize you to open a window. While you are under hypnosis I tell you that when I begin to drum my fingers on the table you will get up and open the window. I drum on the table--and you open the window. Afterward I ask you why you opened the window and you might say you did it because it was too hot. But that is not the real reason. You are reluctant to admit to yourself that you did something under my hypnotic orders. So you rationalize."

“我可以为你催眠,叫你去把窗户打开。当你被我催眠时,我告诉你当我用手指敲桌子时,你就要起来把窗户打开。接着,我开始敲打桌面,你也就跑去开窗子。事后,我问你为何要开窗户,你也许会说因为房间里大热了。可是这并不是真正的理由,只是你不愿意承认自己是因为受到了我催眠时的指令而去做那件事。这就是所谓的‘合理化’。” 

"Yes, I see."

“嗯,我明白了。” 

 "We all encounter that sort of thing practically every day."

“我们几乎每天都有这种‘两面式沟通’的经验。” 

"This four-year-old cousin of mine, I don't think he has a lot of playmates, so he's always happy when I visit. One day I told him I had to hurry home to my mom. Do you know what he said?"

“我那个四岁的表弟可能没有什么人陪他玩,所以每次我去,他总是很高兴。有一天我告诉他我得赶快回家去找我妈。你知道他说什么吗?” 

"What did he say?"

“他说什么?” 

"He said, she's stupid!"

“他说,她是笨蛋。” 

"Yes, that was definitely a case of rationalizing. The boy didn't mean what he actually said. He meant it was stupid you had to go, but he was too shy to say so. Another thing we do is project."

“嗯,这确实是一个合理化的例子。你的表弟所说的话并不是他真正的意思。他真正想说的是要你不要走,可是他太害羞了,不敢这样说。除了‘说溜嘴’和‘合理化’之外,还有一种现象叫做‘投射。” 

"What's that?"

“这是什么意思。” 

"When we project, we transfer the characteristics we are trying to repress in ourselves onto other people. A person who is very miserly, for example, will characterize others as penny-pinchers. And someone who will not admit to being preoccupied with sex can be the first to be incensed at other people's sex-fixation."

“就是把我们内心试图压抑的特点转移到别人身上。譬如说一个很吝啬的人会说别人斤斤计较,而一个不愿承认自己满脑子想着性的人可能愈容易对别人成天想着性的样子感到愤怒。” 

"Hmm."

“嗯。” 

"Freud claimed that our everyday life was filled with unconscious mechanisms like these. We forget a particular person's name, we fumble with our clothes while we talk, or we shift what appear to be random objects around in the room. We also stumble over words and make various slips of the tongue or pen that can seem completely innocent. Freud's point was that these slips are neither as accidental nor as innocent as we think. These bungled actions can in fact reveal the most intimate secrets."

“佛洛伊德宣称,我们每天的生活里面都充满了这类潜意识的机制。我们时常会忘记某个人的名字,在说话时摸弄自己的衣服,或移动房间里随意放置的物品。我们也时常结结巴巴或看似无辜地说错话,写错字。但佛洛伊德指出,这些举动事实上并不像我们所想的那样是意外的或无心的。这些错误事实上可能正泄漏我们内心最深处的秘密。” 

"From now on I'll watch all my words very carefully."

“从现在起,我可要很小心地注意自己说的话。” 

"Even if you do, you won't be able to escape from your unconscious impulses. The art is precisely not to expend too much effort on burying unpleasant things in the unconscious. It's like trying to block up the entrance to a water vole's nest. You can be sure the water vole will pop up in another part of the garden. It is actually quite healthy to leave the door ajar between the conscious and the unconscious."

“就算你真的这样做,你也无法逃避你潜意识的冲动。我们应该做的其实是不要太过努力把不愉快的记忆埋藏在潜意识中。因为那就像是试图把水鼠巢穴的入口堵住一样。水鼠一定会从其他的洞口进入花园。因此,让意识与潜意识之间的门半遮半掩事实上是一件很健康的事。” 

"If you lock that door you can get mentally sick, right?"

“如果你把门锁住了,可能就会得精神病,是不是这样?” 

"Yes. A neurotic is just such a person, who uses too much energy trying to keep the 'unpleasant' out of his consciousness. Frequently there is a particular experience which the person is desperately trying to repress. He can nonetheless be anxious for the doctor to help him to find his way back to the hidden traumas."

“没错。精神病患就是一种太努力把‘不愉快’的记忆排除在意识之外的人。这种人往往拚命要压抑某种经验。不过他也可能很希望医生能够帮助他回到那些伤痛的记忆。” 

"How does the doctor do that?"

“那医生会怎么做呢?” 

"Freud developed a technique which he called free association. In other words, he let the patient lie in a relaxed position and just talk about whatever came into his or her mind--however irrelevant, random, unpleasant, or embarrassing it might sound. The idea was to break through the 'lid' or 'control' that had grown over the traumas, because it was these traumas that were causing the patient concern. They are active all the time, just not consciously."

“佛洛伊德发展出一个他称为‘自由联想’的技巧。他让病人用一种很放松的姿势躺着,并说出他脑海里想到的任何事情,无论这些事情听起来有多么不相干、漫无目的、不愉快或令人难为情。他的用意是要突破病人在伤痛记忆上所加的管制,因为这些伤痛记忆正是让病人焦虑的因素。它们一直都活跃在病人的心中,只不过不在意识当中罢了。” 

"The harder you try to forget something, the more you think about it unconsciously?"

“是不是你愈努力去忘掉一件事情,你在潜意识里就愈容易想起这件事?” 

解梦

"Exactly. That is why it is so important to be aware of the signals from the unconscious. According to Freud, the royal road to the unconscious is our dreams. His main work was written on this subject--The Interpretation of Dreams, published in 1900, in which he showed that our dreams are not random. Our unconscious tries to communicate with our conscious through dreams."

“正是如此。所以我们必须能察觉潜意识所发出的信号。根据佛洛伊德的说法,洞悉我们的潜意识的最佳途径就是透过我们的梦境。他的主要作品所讨论的就是这个题目,书名叫《梦的解析》,出版于一九OO年。他在书中指出,我们做的梦并不是偶然的。我们的潜意识试图透过梦和我们的意识沟通。” 

"Go on."

“真的呀?” 

"After many years of experience with patients--and not least after having analyzed his own dreams--Freud determined that all dreams are wish fulfillments. This is clearly observable in children, he said. They dream about ice cream and cherries. But in adults, the wishes that are to be fulfilled in dreams are disguised. That is because even when we sleep, censorship is at work on what we will permit ourselves. And although this censorship, or repression mechanism, is considerably weaker when we are asleep than when we are awake, it is still strong enough to cause our dreams to distort the wishes we cannot acknowledge."

“在治疗病患多年,并且多次分析他自己的梦境之后,佛洛伊德断言所有的梦都反映我们本身的愿望。他说,这在孩童身上非常明显。他们会梦见冰淇淋和樱桃。可是在大人身上,这些想要在梦中实现的愿望都会经过伪装。这是因为即使在睡梦中,我们仍然会管制自己的想法。虽然这种管制(就是压抑的机制)在我们睡着时会减弱很多,但仍然足以使我们不愿承认的愿望在梦中受到扭曲。” 

"Which is why dreams have to be interpreted "

“所以梦才有必要加以解析。” 

"Freud showed that we must distinguish between the actual dream as we recall it in the morning and the real meaning of the dream. He termed the actual dream image--that is, the 'film' or 'video' we dream--the manifest dream. This 'apparent' dream content always takes its material or scenario from the previous day. But the dream also contains a deeper meaning which is hidden from consciousness. Freud called this the latent dream thoughts, and these hidden thoughts which the dream is really about may stem from the distant past, from earliest childhood, for instance."

“佛洛伊德指出,我们必须了解我们梦中的情节并不代表梦的真正意义。他把实际的梦境——也就是我们所梦见的‘影片’或‘录影带’——称为‘显梦’(manifest dream)。梦中的情景总是与前一天发生的事有关。但这个梦也有一个更深层的意义是我们的意识无法察觉的。佛洛伊德称之为潜梦意念。这些真正表现于梦境的隐藏意念可能来自很久很久以前,也许是从童年最早的时期。” 

"So we have to analyze the dream before we can understand it."

“所以我们要先分析梦,才能了解梦。” 

"Yes, and for the mentally ill, this must be done in conjunction with the therapist. But it is not the doctor who interprets the dream. He can only do it with the help of the patient. In this situation, the doctor simply fulfills the function of a Socratic 'midwife,' assisting during the interpretation."

“没错。若是精神病患,则必须和治疗师一起做这件工作。不过,医师并不负责解析病患的梦,他只能在病人的配合之下做这件事。在这种情况下,医师扮演的角色正像苏格拉底所说的‘助产士’一般,协助病人解析自己的梦。” 

"I see."

“我明白了。” 

"The actual process of converting the latent dream thoughts to the manifest dream aspect was termed by Freud the dream work. We might call it 'masking' or 'coding' what the dream is actually about. In interpreting the dream, we must go through the reverse process and unmask or decode the motif to arrive at its theme."

“把潜梦意念转换成显梦的方面的工作,佛洛伊德称之为‘梦的运作’(dream work)。我们可以说显梦‘遮掩’或‘密隐’了做梦人真正的意念。在解释梦境时,我们必须经由相反的程序来‘揭开’或‘解密’梦的‘主题’,以便找出它的要旨。” 

"Can you give me an example?"

“你可以举个例子吗?” 

"Freud's book teems with examples. But we can construct a simple and very Freudian example for ourselves. Let us say a young man dreams that he is given two balloons by his female cousin . . ."

“佛洛伊德在书中举了许多例子。不过我们可以自己举一个简单的、非常佛洛伊德式的例子。假设有一个年轻人梦见他的表妹给他两个气球……” 

"Yes?"

“然后呢?” 

"Go on, try to interpret the dream yourself."

“该你啦,你试试看能不能解这个梦。” 

"Hmm ……there is a manifest dream, just like you said: a young man gets two balloons from his female cousin."

“唔……就像你说的,这里的显梦是:一个年轻人的表妹给他两个气球。” 

"Carry on."

“然后呢?” 

"You said the scenario is always from the previous day. So he had been to the fair the day before--or maybe he saw a picture of balloons in the newspaper."

“你说梦中的情境总是与前一天所发生的事有关。因此他前一天可能去参加了一个展览会,或者他可能在报纸上看了一张有关气球的照片。” 

"It's possible, but he need only have seen the word 'balloon,' or something that reminded him of a balloon."

“有可能是这样,不过他也可能只是看了‘气球’这个字,或一件使他想起气球的事物。” 

"But what are the latent dream thoughts that the dream is really about?"

“可是这个梦的‘潜梦意念’到底是什么?” 

"You're the interpreter."

“你是解梦人呀!” 

"Maybe he just wanted a couple of balloons."

“也许他只是想要两三个气球。” 

 "No, that won't work. You're right about the dream being a wish fulfillment. But a young man would hardly have an ardent wish for a couple of balloons. And if he had, he wouldn't need to dream about them."

“不,不是这样。当然在梦中人往往可以实现自己的愿望,这点你说对了。可是一个年轻人很少会热切的想要几个气球。就算他想要,他也不需要靠做梦的方式。” 

"I think I've got it: he really wants his cousin--and the two balloons are her breasts."

“我想我懂了:他真正想要的是他的表妹,而那两个气球就是她的胸部。” 

"Yes, that's a much more likely explanation. And it presupposes that he experienced his wish as an embarrassment."

“对了,这样的解释比较有可能。而且这一定是在他对自己的愿望觉得很难为情的情况下才会做这种梦。” 

"In a way, our dreams make a lot of detours?"

“所以说我们的梦经常是迂回曲折的?” 

"Yes. Freud believed that the dream was a 'disguised fulfillment of a repressed wish.' But exactly what we have repressed can have changed considerably since Freud was a doctor in Vienna. However, the mechanism of dis-guised dream content can still be intact."

“对。佛洛伊德相信梦境乃是‘以伪装的方式满足人被压抑的愿望’。不过佛洛伊德只是当年维也纳的一个医生,因此到了现在我们实际压抑的事情可能已经改变了很多。不过他所说的梦中情节会经过伪装的机制可能仍然成立。” 

"Yes, I see."

“嗯,我懂了。” 

"Freud's psychoanalysis was extremely important in the 1920s, especially for the treatment of certain psychiatric patients. His theory of the unconscious was also very significant for art and literature."

“佛洛伊德的精神分析在一九二O年极为重要,尤其是在精神病患的治疗方面。他的潜意识理论对于艺术与文学也有很大的影响。” 

"Artists became interested in people's unconscious mental life?"

“艺术家是不是开始对人们潜意识的精神生活有兴趣了?” 

"Exactly so, although this had already become a predominant aspect of literature in the last decade of the nineteenth century--before Freud's psychoanalysis was known. It merely shows that the appearance of Freud's psychoanalysis at that particular time, the 1890s, was no coincidence."

“没错,虽然在十九世纪最后十年,佛洛伊德还没有发表他的精神分析理论时,所谓的意识流就已经成为主要的文学潮流。这显示佛洛伊德在一八九O午开始使用精神分析方法并不是偶然的。” 

"You mean it was in the spirit of the times?"

“你的意思是那是当时的时代风气吗?” 

"Freud himself did not claim to have discovered phenomena such as repression, defense mechanisms, or rationalizing. He was simply the first to apply these human experiences to psychiatry. He was also a master at illustrating his theories with literary examples. But as I mentioned, from the 1920s, Freud's psychoanalysis had a more direct influence on art and literature "

“佛洛伊德本人并未宣称‘压抑’、‘防卫机制’和‘合理化’这些现象是他‘发明’的。他只是第一个把人类的这些经验应用在精神病学上的人罢了。他也是一个擅用文学的例子来说明他的理论的大师。不过我说过了,从一九二O年开始,佛洛伊德的精神分析对艺术和文学产生了更直接的影响。” 

"In what sense?"

“怎么说呢?” 

"Poets and painters, especially the surrealists, attempted to exploit the power of the unconscious in their work."

“诗人与画家,尤其是那些超现实主义者,开始试图将潜意识的力量用在他们的作品中。” 

"What are surrealists?"

“什么是超现实主义者?” 

 "The word surrealism comes from the French, and means 'super realism.' In 1924 Andre Breton published a 'surrealistic manifesto,' claiming that art should come from the unconscious. The artist should thus derive the freest possible inspiration from his dream images and strive toward a 'super realism,' in which the boundaries between dream and reality were dissolved. For an artist too it can be necessary to break the censorship of the conscious and let words and images have free play."

“超现实主义这个名词是从法文而来,意思是‘超越现实’。一九二四年时,布烈顿(Andre Breton)发表了一篇《超现实主义者宣言》,主张艺术应该来自潜意识,艺术家应该从他的梦境中自由撷取灵感,并努力迈向‘超越现实’的境界,以跨越梦与现实之间的界限。同时艺术家也有必要挣脱意识的管制,尽情挥洒文字和意象。” 

"I can see that."

“嗯。” 

"In a sense, Freud demonstrated that there is an artist in everyone. A dream is, after all, a little work of art, and there are new dreams every night. In order to interpret his patients' dreams, Freud often had to work his way through a dense language of symbols--rather in the way we interpret a picture or a literary text."

“就某方面来说,佛洛伊德已经告诉我们其实每一个人都是艺术家。毕竟,梦也可以算是艺术作品,而每天晚上我们都会做新的梦。为了要解释病人的梦,佛洛伊德经常必须解释许多象征符号的意义,就像我们诠释一幅画或一篇文学作品一样。” 

"And we dream every single night?"

“我们每天晚上都会做梦吗?” 

"Recent research shows that we dream for about twenty percent of our sleeping hours, that is, between one and two hours each- night. If we are disturbed during our dream phases we become nervous and irritable. This means nothing less than that everybody has an innate need to give artistic expression to his or her existential situation. After all, it is ourselves that our dreams are about We are the directors, we set up the scenario and play all the roles. A person who says he doesn't understand art doesn't know himself very well."

“最近的研究显示,我们睡着后,有百分之二十的时间都在做梦,也就是说每晚做梦两到三个小时。如果我们在睡眠的各个阶段受到打扰,我们就会变得烦躁易怒。这正表示每一个人内心都需要以艺术的形式来表达他或她存在的情况。毕竟我们的梦是与自己有关的。我们既是导演,也是编剧和演员。一个说他不了解艺术的人显然并不十分了解自己。” 

"I see that."

“我懂了。” 

"Freud also delivered impressive evidence of the wonders of the human mind. His work with patients convinced him that we retain everything we have seen and experienced somewhere deep in our consciousness, and all these impressions can be brought to light again. When we experience a memory lapse, and a bit later 'have it on the tip of our tongue' and then later still 'suddenly remember it,' we are talking about something which has lain in the unconscious and suddenly slips through the half-open door to consciousness."

“佛洛伊德并且提出了令人印象深刻的证据,说明人心的奥妙。他治疗病人的经验使他相信,我们将我们所见、所经验的一切事物都贮存在我们意识深处的某个地方,而这些印象可能会再度浮现。有时我们会突然‘脑中一片空白’,然后过了一会,‘差点就想起来了’,然后再度‘猛然想起’。这就是原本存在于潜意识的东西突然经由那扇半开半掩的门溜进我们意识的例子。” 

"But it takes a while sometimes."

“可是有时需要花好久的时间。” 

灵感

"All artists are aware of that. But then suddenly it's as if all doors and all drawers fly open. Everything comes tumbling out by itself, and we can find all the words and images we need. This is when we have 'lifted the lid' of the unconscious. We can call it inspiration, Sophie. It feels as if what we are drawing or writing is coming from some outside source."

“所有的艺术家都有这种经验。可是后来突然间好像所有的门、所有的抽屉都打开了,每个东西都自己滚了出来,这时我们就可以发现所有我们原本苦思不得的字句和意象。这就是潜意识的‘盖子’被揭开了。我们也可以称之为灵感。感觉上好像我们所画的、所写的东西是来自于某种外在的泉源似的。” 

"It must be a wonderful feeling."

“这种感觉一定很美妙。” 

"But you must have experienced it yourself. You can frequently observe inspiration at work in children who are overtired. They are sometimes so extremely overtired that they seem to be wide awake. Suddenly they start telling a story--as if they are finding words they haven't yet learned. They have, though; the words and the ideas have lain 'latent' in their consciousness, but now, when all caution and all censorship have let go, they are surfacing. It can also be important for an artist not to let reason and reflection control a more or less unconscious expression. Shall I tell you a little story to illustrate this?"

“可是你一定也有过这样的经验。这种现象经常出现于那些过度疲累的儿童身上。他们有时玩得太累了,因此在睡觉时似平是完全清醒的。突然间他们开始说故事,而且所说的话仿佛是他们还没有学过的。事实上,他们已经学过了。只是这些字眼和意念‘潜藏’在他们的潜意识中,而当所有的防备和管制都放松时,它们就浮现出来了。对于艺术家而言,不要让理性或思维压制潜意识的表达是很重要的。有一个小故事可以说明这点,你要不要听?” 

"Sure."

“当然要啦。” 

"It's a very serious and a very sad story."

“这是一个非常严肃、非常哀伤的故事。” 

"Okay."

“说吧。” 

"Once upon a time there was a centipede that was amazingly good at dancing with all hundred legs. All the creatures of the forest gathered to watch every time the centipede danced, and they were all duly impressed by the exquisite dance. But there was one creature that didn't like watching the centipede dance--that was a tortoise."

“从前有一只蜈蚣,可以用它那一百只脚跳出非常美妙的舞蹈。每次它跳舞,森林中所有的动物都会跑来观赏。大家对它那美妙的舞姿都印象深刻。可是有一只动物并不喜欢看蜈蚣跳舞,那就是乌龟。” 

"It was probably just envious."

“它大概是嫉妒吧。” 

"How can I get the centipede to stop dancing? thought the tortoise. He couldn't just say he didn't like the dance. Neither could he say he danced better himself, that would obviously be untrue. So he devised a fiendish plan."

“乌龟心想,我要怎样才能阻止蜈蚣跳舞呢?它不能明说它不喜欢看蜈蚣跳舞,也不能说自己跳得比较好,因为那是不可能的。因此它想了一个很恶毒的计划。” 

"Let's hear it."

“什么计划?” 

"He sat down and wrote a letter to the centipede. 'O incomparable centipede,' he wrote, 'I am a devoted admirer of your exquisite dancing. I must know how you go about it when you dance. Is it that you lift your left leg number 28 and then your right leg number 39? Or do you begin by lifting your right leg number 17 before you lift your left leg number 44? I await your answer in breathless anticipation. Yours truly, Tortoise."

“它坐下来写了一封信给蜈蚣,说:‘喔,伟大的蜈蚣呀,我对你精湛的舞艺真是佩服极了。我很想知道你是怎么跳的。你是不是先举起你的第二十八号左脚再举起你的第三十号右脚?还是你先举起你的第十七号右脚,再举起你的第四十四号右脚?我热切地期待你的回信。崇拜你的乌龟敬上。,” 

"How mean!"

“真是鬼话!” 

 "When the centipede read the letter, she immediately began to think about what she actually did when she danced. Which leg did she lift first? And which leg next? What do you think happened in the end?"

“蜈蚣读了信以后,马上开始思索自己是怎么跳的。它到底先举起哪一只脚?然后又举起哪一只脚?你猜后来发生了什么事?” 

"The centipede never danced again?"

“蜈蚣从此不再跳舞了?” 

"That's exactly what happened. And that's the way it goes when imagination gets strangled by reasoned deliberation."

“正是如此。这就是理性的思考扼杀想象力的例子。” 

"That was a sad story."

“这真是一个悲哀的故事。” 

"It is important for an artist to be able to 'let go.' The surrealists tried to exploit this by putting themselves into a state where things just happened by themselves. They had a sheet of white paper in front of them and they began to write without thinking about what they wrote. They called it automatic writing. The expression originally comes from spiritualism, where a medium believed that a departed spirit was guiding the pen. But I thought we would talk more about that kind of thing tomorrow."

“所以一个艺术家一定要能够‘放得开’。超现实主义者就利用这点,而让事情自己发生。他们在自己的前面放了一张白纸,然后开始不假思索地写下一些东西。他们称之为‘自动写作’。这个名词源自招魂术,因为实施招魂术的灵媒相信已逝者的灵魂会指引她手上的笔。不过这些事情我们还是等到明天再说好了。” 

"I'd like that."

“好吧。” 

"In one sense, the surrealist artist is also a medium, that is to say, a means or a link. He is a medium of his own unconscious. But perhaps there is an element of the unconscious in every creative process, for what do we actually mean by creativity?"

“从某个角度来说,超现实主义者也是一个灵媒,也就是说他是一个媒介。我们可以说他是他自己的潜意识的灵媒。事实上也许每一种创作都带有潜意识的成分。因为,我们所谓的创作究竟是什么意思?” 

"I've no idea. Isn't it when you create something?"

“我不知道。创作不就是你创造出某个东西吗?” 

"Fair enough, and that happens in a delicate interplay between imagination and reason. But all too frequently, reason throttles the imagination, and that's serious because without imagination, nothing really new will ever be created. I believe imagination is like a Darwinian system."

“差不多。创作的过程就是想象与理性的细密交织的时刻,只是人的理性常常阻塞了想象力。这可不是一件小事,因为如果没有想象力,我们就永远不可能创造出什么新的事物。我认为想象力就像是一个达尔文的系统。” 

"I'm sorry, but that I didn't get."

“很抱歉,我实在不懂你的意思。” 

"Well, Darwinism holds that nature's mutants arise one after the other, but only a few of them can be used. Only some of them get the right to live."

“达尔文主义主张,大自然的突变物相继出现,但其中只有一些能用。只有一些能够活下去。” 

"So?"

“然后呢?” 

"That's how it is when we have an inspiration and get masses of new ideas. Thought-mutants occur in the consciousness one after the other, at least if we refrain from censoring ourselves too much. But only some of these thoughts can be used. Here, reason comes into its own.It, too, has a vital function. When the day's catch is laid on the table we must not forget to be selective."

“我们透过灵感所得到的许许多多新想法也是一样。如果我们不过分管制自己,这些‘思想的突变物’就会在我们的意识中接二连三地发生。但其中只有一些想法是可行的。这时,理智就派上用场了。因为它有一个重要的功能。打个比方,当我们把一天的收获摊在桌上时,我们必须加以挑选。” 

"That's not a bad comparison."

“这个比喻挺不赖的。” 

"Imagine if everything that 'strikes us' were allowed to pass our lips! Not to speak of jumping off our notepads out of our desk drawers! The world would sink under the weight of casual impulses and no selection would have taken place."

“你可以想象如果我们任由自己说出或写出那些我们所想到(进入我们的脑波)的事,情况会变得怎么样呢?这世界会因为这许多偶然的冲动而毁灭,因为所有的想法都没有经过拣选。” 

"So it's reason that chooses between all these ideas?"

“那么我们是靠理智来加以拣选啰?” 

"Yes, don't you think so? Maybe the imagination creates what is new, but the imagination does not make the actual selection. The imagination does not 'compose.' A composition--and every work of art is one--is created in a wondrous interplay between imagination and reason, or between mind and reflection. For there will always be an element of chance in the creative process. You have to turn the sheep loose before you can start to herd them."

“对。你不认为是这样吗?想象力也许可以创造新的事物,但却不能加以拣选。想象力是不会‘创作’的。一个创作(每一个艺术作品都是创作)乃是想象力和理智或心灵与思想)之间互相奇妙作用的结果。因为,创造的过程总是会有一些偶然的成分。你必须要先‘放羊’,然后才能‘牧羊’。” 

Alberto sat quite still, staring out of the window. While he sat there, Sophie suddenly noticed a crowd of brightly colored Disney figures down by the lake.

艾伯特静静地坐在那儿,凝视着窗外。这时苏菲看到湖边有一群人正在互相推挤。那是迪斯尼乐园里各种五颜六色的卡通人物。

"There's Goofy," she exclaimed, "and Donald Duck and his nephews ……Look, Alberto. There's Mickey Mouse and . . ."

“那是高飞狗,”她大喊,“还有唐老鸭和它的侄子们……嘿,艾伯特,你有没有在听我说话呀?还有米老鼠……” 

He turned toward her: "Yes, it's very sad, child."

艾伯特转向她:“是的,孩子,这是很可悲的。” 

"What do you mean?"

“你是什么意思?” 

"Here we are being made the helpless victims of the major's flock of sheep. But it's my own fault, of course. I was the one who started talking about free association of ideas."

“我们已经变成少校的羊群中两个无助的受害者。当然,这是我自己的错。是我自己开始谈论自由联想的概念的。” 

"You certainly don't have to blame yourself..."

“你一点都不需要责怪自己呀……” 

"I was going to say something about the importance of imagination to us philosophers. In order to think new thoughts, we must be bold enough to let ourselves go. But right now, he's going a bit far."

“我刚才正要说想象力对于我们哲学家的重要性。为了产生新的思想,我们必须大胆地放开自己。可是现在,情况已经有点过火了。” 

"Don't worry about it."

“别担心。” 

"I was about to mention the importance of reflection, and here we are, presented with this lurid imbecility. He should be ashamed of himself!"

“我刚才也正要提到思维的重要性,但他却在这里玩这些愚蠢之至的把戏。他真应该觉得惭愧。” 

"Are you being ironic now?"

“你又在反讽了吗?” 

"It's he who is ironic, not me. But I have one comfort--and that is the whole cornerstone of my plan."

“反讽的是他,不是我。可是有一点使我感到安慰,而这一点正是我的计划的基础。” 

"Now I'm really confused."

“你真的把我弄糊涂了。” 

"We have talked about dreams. There's a touch of irony about that too. For what are we but the major's dream images?"

“我们已经谈过了梦,梦也有一些反讽的意味。因为,我们除了是少校的梦里的意象之外,什么也不是了呀。” 

"Ah!"

“啊!” 

"But there is still one thing he hasn't counted on."

“可是有一件事是他没有想到的。” 

"What's that?"

“什么事?” 

"Maybe he is embarrassingly aware of his own dream. He is aware of everything we say and do--just as the dreamer remembers the dream's manifest dream aspect. It is he who wields it with his pen. But even if he remembers everything we say to each other, he is still not quite awake."

“也许他已经很难为情地意识到了自己的梦。他知道我们所说、所做的每一件事,就像做梦的人记得梦里的情节一样,因为舞动笔杆的人是他。但就算他记得我们之间所说的每一句话,他也不是完全清醒的。” 

"What do you mean?"

“这话怎么说呢?” 

"He does not know the latent dream thoughts, Sophie. He forgets that this too is a disguised dream."

“他并不知道他的潜梦意念,他忘记了这也是一个经过伪装的梦。” 

"You are talking so strangely."

“你说的话好奇怪呀。” 

"The major thinks so too. That is because he does not understand his own dream language. Let us be thankful for that. That gives us a tiny bit of elbow room, you see. And with this elbow room we shall soon fight our way out of his muddy consciousness like water voles frisking about in the sun on a summer's day."

“少校也是这么想,这是因为他不明白自己梦的语言。我们应该感到庆幸,因为这样我们才能有一些发挥的空间。有了这样的空间以后,我们不久就能够冲出他那混乱的意识,就像水鼠在夏日的阳光下欢快地跳跃一样。” 

"Do you think we'll make it?"

“你认为我们会成功吗?” 

"We must. Within a couple of days I shall give you a new horizon. Then the major will no longer know where the water voles are or where they will pop up next time."

“我们非这样做不可。过两三天会让你大开眼界。到时候少校就不会知道那些水鼠在哪里,或者他们下次什么时候会冒出来了。” 

"But even if we are only dream images, I am still my mother's daughter. And it's five o'clock. I have to go home to Captain's Bend and prepare for the garden party."

“可是就算我们只是梦中的人物,我还是我妈的女儿。现在已经五点了,我得回家去筹备花园宴会了。” 

"Hmm ……can you do me a small favor on the way home?"

“嗯……你在回家的路上可不可以帮我一个小忙?” 

"What?"

“什么忙?” 

"Try to attract a little extra attention. Try to get the major to keep his eye on you all the way home. Try and think about him when you get home--and he'll think about you too."

“请你试着吸引别人的注意力,让少校的眼睛一路盯着你回家。当你到家时,请你努力想着他,这样他也会想着你。” 

"What good will that do?"

“这有什么好处呢?” 

"Then I can carry on undisturbed with my work on the secret plan. I'm going to dive down into the major's unconscious. That's where I'll be until we meet again."

“这样我就可以不受干扰地进行我的秘密计划。我要潜进少校的潜意识,一直到下次我们再见面以前,我都会在那儿。”