7

Chapter Seven Lawyer - Manufacturer - Painter

七 律师——厂主——画家

One winter morning - snow was falling in the dull light outside - K. was sitting in his office, already extremely tired despite the early hour. He had told the servitor he was engaged in a major piece of work and none of the junior staff should be allowed in to see him, so he would not be disturbed by them at least. But instead of working he turned round in his chair, slowly moved various items around his desk, but then, without being aware of it, he lay his arm stretched out on the desk top and sat there immobile with his head sunk down on his chest.

一个冬天的上午，窗外下着雪，多雾，阴暗，Ｋ坐在他的办公室里。时间还早，但他已经精疲力竭了。为了至少在下属面前保全面子，他指示自己的事务员不让任何人进来。借口说正忙着办一件要事。但他并没有工作，而是在椅子里扭动着身子，懒洋洋地整理好摊在办公桌上的东西；然后，不由自主地伸出手，搁在办公桌上，低下头，一动也不动地坐着。

He was no longer able to get the thought of the trial out of his head. He had often wondered whether it might not be a good idea to work out a written defence and hand it in to the court. It would contain a short description of his life and explain why he had acted the way he had at each event that was in any way important, whether he now considered he had acted well or ill, and his reasons for each. There was no doubt of the advantages a written defence of this sort would have over relying on the lawyer, who was anyway not without his shortcomings. K. had no idea what actions the lawyer was taking; it was certainly not a lot, it was more than a month since the lawyer had summoned him, and none of the previous discussions had given K. the impression that this man would be able to do much for him. Most importantly, he had asked him hardly any questions. And there were so many questions here to be asked. Asking questions were the most important thing. K. had the feeling that he would be able to ask all the questions needed here himself. The lawyer, in contrast, did not ask questions but did all the talking himself or sat silently facing him, leant forward slightly over the desk, probably because he was hard of hearing, pulled on a strand of hair in the middle of his beard and looked down at the carpet, perhaps at the very spot where K. had lain with Leni. Now and then he would give K. some vague warning of the sort you give to children. His speeches were as pointless as they were boring, and K. decided that when the final bill came he would pay not a penny for them. Once the lawyer thought he had humiliated K. sufficiently, he usually started something that would raise his spirits again. He had already, he would then say, won many such cases, partly or in whole, cases which may not really have been as difficult as this one but which, on the face of it, had even less hope of success. He had a list of these cases here in the drawer - here he would tap on one or other of the drawers in his desk - but could, unfortunately, not show them to K. as they dealt with official secrets. Nonetheless, the great experience he had acquired through all these cases would, of course, be of benefit to K. He had, of course, begun work straight away and was nearly ready to submit the first documents. They would be very important because the first impression made by the defence will often determine the whole course of the proceedings. Unfortunately, though, he would still have to make it clear to K. that the first documents submitted are sometimes not even read by the court. They simply put them with the other documents and point out that, for the time being, questioning and observing the accused are much more important than anything written. If the applicant becomes insistent, then they add that before they come to any decision, as soon as all the material has been brought together, with due regard, of course, to all the documents, then these first documents to have been submitted will also be checked over. But unfortunately, even this is not usually true, the first documents submitted are usually mislaid or lost completely, and even if they do keep them right to the end they are hardly read, although the lawyer only knew about this from rumour. This is all very regrettable, but not entirely without its justifications. But K. should not forget that the trial would not be public, if the court deems it necessary it can be made public but there is no law that says it has to be. As a result, the accused and his defence don't have access even to the court records, and especially not to the indictment, and that means we generally don't know - or at least not precisely - what the first documents need to be about, which means that if they do contain anything of relevance to the case it's only by a lucky coincidence. If anything about the individual charges and the reasons for them comes out clearly or can be guessed at while the accused is being questioned, then it's possible to work out and submit documents that really direct the issue and present proof, but not before. Conditions like this, of course, place the defence in a very unfavourable and difficult position. But that is what they intend. In fact, defence is not really allowed under the law, it's only tolerated, and there is even some dispute about whether the relevant parts of the law imply even that. So strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a counsel acknowledged by the court, and anyone who comes before this court as counsel is basically no more than a barrack room lawyer. The effect of all this, of course, is to remove the dignity of the whole procedure, the next time K. is in the court offices he might like to have a look in at the lawyers' room, just so that he's seen it. He might well be quite shocked by the people he sees assembled there. The room they've been allocated, with its narrow space and low ceiling, will be enough to show what contempt the court has for these people. The only light in the room comes through a little window that is so high up that, if you want to look out of it, you first have to get one of your colleagues to support you on his back, and even then the smoke from the chimney just in front of it will go up your nose and make your face black. In the floor of this room - to give yet another example of the conditions there - there is a hole that's been there for more than a year, it's not so big that a man could fall through, but it is big enough for your foot to disappear through it. The lawyers' room is on the second floor of the attic; if your foot does go through it will hang down into the first floor of the attic underneath it, and right in the corridor where the litigants are waiting. It's no exaggeration when lawyers say that conditions like that are a disgrace. Complaints to the management don't have the slightest effect, but the lawyers are strictly forbidden to alter anything in the room at their own expense. But even treating the lawyers in this way has its reasons. They want, as far as possible, to prevent any kind of defence, everything should be made the responsibility of the accused. Not a bad point of view, basically, but nothing could be more mistaken than to think from that that lawyers are not necessary for the accused in this court. On the contrary, there is no court where they are less needed than here. This is because proceedings are generally kept secret not only from the public but also from the accused. Only as far as that is possible, of course, but it is possible to a very large extent. And the accused doesn't get to see the court records either, and it's very difficult to infer what's in the court records from what's been said during questioning based on them, especially for the accused who is in a difficult situation and is faced with every possible worry to distract him. This is when the defence begins. Counsel for the defence are not normally allowed to be present while the accused is being questioned, so afterwards, and if possible still at the door of the interview room, he has to learn what he can about it from him and extract whatever he can that might be of use, even though what the accused has to report is often very confused. But that is not the most important thing, as there's really not a lot that can be learned in this way, although in this, as with anything else, a competent man will learn more than another. Nonetheless, the most important thing is the lawyer's personal connections, that's where the real value of taking counsel lies. Now K. will most likely have already learned from his own experience that, among its very lowest orders, the court organisation does have its imperfections, the court is strictly closed to the public, but staff who forget their duty or who take bribes do, to some extent, show where the gaps are. This is where most lawyers will push their way in, this is where bribes are paid and information extracted, there have even, in earlier times at least, been incidents where documents have been stolen. There's no denying that some surprisingly favourable results have been attained for the accused in this way, for a limited time, and these petty advocates then strut to and fro on the basis of them and attract new clients, but for the further course of the proceedings it signifies either nothing or nothing good. The only things of real value are honest personal contacts, contacts with higher officials, albeit higher officials of the lower grades, you understand. That is the only way the progress of the trial can be influenced, hardly noticeable at first, it's true, but from then on it becomes more and more visible. There are, of course, not many lawyers who can do this, and K. has made a very good choice in this matter. There were probably no more than one or two who had as many contacts as Dr. Huld, but they don't bother with the company of the lawyers' room and have nothing to do with it. This means they have all the less contact with the court officials. It is not at all necessary for Dr. Huld to go to the court, wait in the ante-rooms for the examining judges to turn up, if they turn up, and try to achieve something which, according to the judges' mood is usually more apparent than real and most often not even that. No, K. has seen for himself that the court officials, including some who are quite high up, come forward without being asked, are glad to give information which is fully open or at least easy to understand, they discuss the next stages in the proceedings, in fact in some cases they can be won over and are quite willing to adopt the other person's point of view. However, when this happens, you should never trust them too far, as however firmly they may have declared this new point of view in favour of the defendant they might well go straight back to their offices and write a report for the court that says just the opposite, and might well be even harder on the defendant than the original view, the one they insist they've been fully dissuaded from. And, of course, there's no way of defending yourself from this, something said in private is indeed in private and cannot then be used in public, it's not something that makes it easy for the defence to keep those gentlemen's favour. On the other hand, it's also true that the gentlemen don't become involved with the defence - which will of course be done with great expertise - just for philanthropic reasons or in order to be friendly, in some respects it would be truer to say that they, too, have it allocated to them. This is where the disadvantages of a court structure that, right from the start, stipulates that all proceedings take place in private, come into force. In normal, mediocre trials its officials have contact with the public, and they're very well equipped for it, but here they don't; normal trials run their course all by themselves, almost, and just need a nudge here and there; but when they're faced with cases that are especially difficult they're as lost as they often are with ones that are very simple; they're forced to spend all their time, day and night, with their laws, and so they don't have the right feel for human relationships, and that's a serious shortcoming in cases like this. That's when they come for advice to the lawyer, with a servant behind them carrying the documents which normally are kept so secret. You could have seen many gentlemen at this window, gentlemen of whom you would least expect it, staring out this window in despair on the street below while the lawyer is at his desk studying the documents so that he can give them good advice. And at times like that it's also possible to see how exceptionally seriously these gentlemen take their professions and how they are thrown into great confusion by difficulties which it's just not in their natures to overcome. But they're not in an easy position, to regard their positions as easy would be to do them an injustice. The different ranks and hierarchies of the court are endless, and even someone who knows his way around them cannot always tell what's going to happen. But even for the junior officials, the proceedings in the courtrooms are usually kept secret, so they are hardly able to see how the cases they work with proceed, court affairs appear in their range of vision often without their knowing where they come from and they move on further without their learning where they go. So civil servants like this are not able to learn the things you can learn from studying the successive stages that individual trials go through, the final verdict or the reasons for it. They're only allowed to deal with that part of the trial which the law allocates them, and they usually know less about the results of their work after it's left them than the defence does, even though the defence will usually stay in contact with the accused until the trial is nearly at its end, so that the court officials can learn many useful things from the defence. Bearing all this in mind, does it still surprise K. that the officials are irritated and often express themselves about the litigants in unflattering ways - which is an experience shared by everyone. All the officials are irritated, even when they appear calm. This causes many difficulties for the junior advocates, of course. There is a story, for instance, that has very much the ring of truth about it. It goes like this: One of the older officials, a good and peaceful man, was dealing with a difficult matter for the court which had become very confused, especially thanks to the contributions from the lawyers. He had been studying it for a day and a night without a break - as these officials are indeed hard working, no-one works as hard as they do. When it was nearly morning, and he had been working for twenty-four hours with probably very little result, he went to the front entrance, waited there in ambush, and every time a lawyer tried to enter the building he would throw him down the steps. The lawyers gathered together down in front of the steps and discussed with each other what they should do; on the one hand they had actually no right to be allowed into the building so that there was hardly anything that they could legally do to the official and, as I've already mentioned, they would have to be careful not to set all the officials against them. On the other hand, any day not spent in court is a day lost for them and it was a matter of some importance to force their way inside. In the end, they agreed that they would try to tire the old man out. One lawyer after another was sent out to run up the steps and let himself be thrown down again, offering what resistance he could as long as it was passive resistance, and his colleagues would catch him at the bottom of the steps. That went on for about an hour until the old gentleman, who was already exhausted from working all night, was very tired and went back to his office. Those who were at the bottom of the steps could not believe it at first, so they sent somebody out to go and look behind the door to see if there really was no-one there, and only then did they all gather together and probably didn't even dare to complain, as it's far from being the lawyers' job to introduce any improvements in the court system, or even to want to. Even the most junior lawyer can understand the relationship there to some extent, but one significant point is that almost every defendant, even very simple people, begins to think of suggestions for improving the court as soon as his proceedings have begun, many of them often even spend time and energy on the matter that could be spent far better elsewhere. The only right thing to do is to learn how to deal with the situation as it is. Even if it were possible to improve any detail of it - which is anyway no more than superstitious nonsense - the best that they could achieve, although doing themselves incalculable harm in the process, is that they will have attracted the special attention of the officials for any case that comes up in the future, and the officials are always ready to seek revenge. Never attract attention to yourself! Stay calm, however much it goes against your character! Try to gain some insight into the size of the court organism and how, to some extent, it remains in a state of suspension, and that even if you alter something in one place you'll draw the ground out from under your feet and might fall, whereas if an enormous organism like the court is disrupted in any one place it finds it easy to provide a substitute for itself somewhere else. Everything is connected with everything else and will continue without any change or else, which is quite probable, even more closed, more attentive, more strict, more malevolent. So it's best to leave the work to the lawyers and not to keep disturbing them. It doesn't do much good to make accusations, especially if you can't make it clear what they're based on and their full significance, but it must be said that K. caused a great deal of harm to his own case by his behaviour towards the office director, he was a very influential man but now he might as well be struck off the list of those who might do anything for K. If the trial is mentioned, even just in passing, it's quite obvious that he's ignoring it. These officials are in many ways just like children. Often, something quite harmless - although K.'s behaviour could unfortunately not be called harmless - will leave them feeling so offended that they will even stop talking with good friends of theirs, they turn away when they see them and do everything they can to oppose them. But then, with no particular reason, surprisingly enough, some little joke that was only ever attempted because everything seemed so hopeless will make them laugh and they'll be reconciled. It's both difficult and hard at the same time to deal with them, and there's hardly any reason for it. It's sometimes quite astonishing that a single, average life is enough to encompass so much that it's at all possible ever to have any success in one's work here. On the other hand, there are also dark moments, such as everyone has, when you think you've achieved nothing at all, when it seems that the only trials to come to a good end are those that were determined to have a good end from the start and would do so without any help, while all the others are lost despite all the running to and fro, all the effort, all the little, apparent successes that gave such joy. Then you no longer feel very sure of anything and, if asked about a trial that was doing well by its own nature but which was turned for the worse because you assisted in it, would not even dare deny that. And even that is a kind of self- confidence, but then it's the only one that's left. Lawyers are especially vulnerable to fits of depression of that sort - and they are no more than fits of depression of course - when a case is suddenly taken out of their hands after they've been conducting it satisfactorily for some time. That's probably the worst that can happen to a lawyer. It's not that the accused takes the case away from him, that hardly ever happens, once a defendant has taken on a certain lawyer he has to stay with him whatever happens. How could he ever carry on by himself after he's taken on help from a lawyer? No, that just doesn't happen, but what does sometimes happen is that the trial takes on a course where the lawyer may not go along with it. Client and trial are both simply taken away from the lawyer; and then even contact with the court officials won't help, however good they are, as they don't know anything themselves. The trial will have entered a stage where no more help can be given, where it's being processed in courts to which no-one has any access, where the defendant cannot even be contacted by his lawyer. You come home one day and find all the documents you've submitted, which you've worked hard to create and which you had the best hopes for, lying on the desk, they've been sent back as they can't be carried through to the next stage in the trial, they're just worthless scraps of paper. It doesn't mean that the case has been lost, not at all, or at least there is no decisive reason for supposing so, it's just that you don't know anything more about the case and won't be told anything of what's happening. Well, cases like that are the exceptions, I'm glad to say, and even if K.'s trial is one of them, it's still, for the time being, a long way off. But there was still plenty of opportunity for lawyers to get to work, and K. could be sure they would be made use of. As he had said, the time for submitting documents was still in the future and there was no rush to prepare them, it was much more important to start the initial discussions with the appropriate officials, and they had already taken place. With varying degrees of success, it must be said. It was much better not to give away any details before their time, as in that way K. could only be influenced unfavourably and his hopes might be raised or he might be made too anxious, better just to say that some individuals have spoken very favourably and shown themselves very willing to help, although others have spoken less favourably, but even they have not in any way refused to help. So all in all, the results are very encouraging, only you should certainly not draw any particular conclusions as all preliminary proceedings begin in the same way and it was only the way they developed further that would show what the value of these preliminary proceedings has been. Anyway, nothing has been lost yet, and if we can succeed in getting the office director, despite everything, on our side - and several actions have been undertaken to this end - then everything is a clean wound, as a surgeon would say, and we can wait for the results with some comfort.

他现在一直在考虑着自己的案子。他经常想，也许写一份辩护书呈交法院会更好些。他将在辩护书中简述自己的生平，每说到一件大事就解释几句：当时为什么要那么做，现在他对那时的做法是赞同还是谴责，理由是什么。这种成文的辩护书与一位本身并非无懈可击的律师的口头辩护相比，优点很多，这是无疑的。Ｋ不知道律师正在为这件案子忙些什么；反正成果不大。一个多月以前，霍尔德派人来找过他，他和律师初步接触几次后，便留下了律师帮不成什么大忙的印象。开始时，律师很少盘问他，尽管有许多问题值得问。提问肯定是重要的。Ｋ觉得自己也能提出所有必须提的问题来。但是律师却从不提问，不是瞎聊，便是默默地坐在Ｋ的对面。他微微朝自己的办公桌倾着身子，可能是听觉不灵敏的缘故；他捋着下巴中间的那撮胡子，凝视着地毯，大概正瞧着Ｋ和莱妮躺过的那块地方。他常常会给Ｋ提出一些毫无意义的劝告，就像人们对小孩提的劝告一样。这些告诫既没用处又令人厌烦，最后算账时Ｋ肯定不会为此付一文钱。律师认为已经把Ｋ足足奚落了一番后，通常又要说几句安慰话，稍稍给Ｋ鼓一下劲。他会声称，他已经打赢过很多类似的官司，有时全部赢，有时部分赢。虽然那些案子其实没有这个案子棘手，但是乍看起来却更加没有打赢的希望。他办公桌的一个抽屉里——他拍拍其中的一个抽屉——有一份这些案子的单子，但他抱歉地说，这张单子不能拿给别人看，因为这是官方秘密。不过他在过问这些案子时所积累起来的丰富经验现在会对Ｋ有好处的。他当然已经为Ｋ的案子出力了，第一份抗辩书①已基本就绪，准备向上呈交。第一份抗辩书很重要，因为辩护所造成的初次印象常常决定日后的整个诉讼过程。不幸的是——他觉得有责任提醒Ｋ——有时发生这样的事：法院根本不看前面的几份抗辩书。法官们把抗辩书往别的文犊里一塞，说什么：此时审察和审讯被告比看任何正式申诉书更为重要。如果申诉人坚持己见，他们往往补充一句：作出判决前会认真研究全部案卷的，当然包括与本案有关的各种文件，其中也有第一份抗辩书。可惜这样的事在许多案子的审理中不能完全做到，第一份抗辩书常常放错地方，甚至不翼而飞，即使幸存到最后，也很少有人看过；当然——律师承认——上面说的情况只是谣传而已。这一切都很令人遗憾，但并非完全没有道理。Ｋ应该记得，诉讼过程是不公开的；如果法院认为必要的话，诉讼过程当然也可以公开，但是法律并未规定它们必须公开。当然，涉及本案的法院文件——首先是起诉书——是不能让被告及其辩护律师看见的；因此，人们一般不知道，或者至少不能确切了解，在第一次抗辩中应该反驳哪些指控。所以，只有在完全碰巧的情况下，抗辩书中才会包含具有实质性的内容。人们只有在了解到或在审讯过程中猜到指控及指控依循的证据后，才能递呈击中要害的、说服力强的抗辩书。在这种情况下，辩护律师面临的局面是棘手和繁难的，但他们却执意这么做。因为法律不鼓励辩护，只是允许辩护，甚至在是否可以理解成法律允许辩护这一点上也有意见分歧。严格地说，法律不允许为被告辩护，作为辩护律师出庭的人事实上只被人们当作讼师而已，这给所有律师的脸上抹了黑。Ｋ下次参观法院办公室的时候，得去看看律师办公室，这一辈子应该开开眼界。他大概会被聚集在那儿的人吓得魂不附体。那间办公室又小又挤，这说明法院根本不把律师放在眼里。室内只靠一个小天窗采光，天窗很高，你想看看外边，就得让某个同僚把你驮起来，但这时附近烟囱里冒出的浓烟会呛得你喘不过气来，并且把你的脸薰得污黑。再举一个例子，以说明这个地方到底是什么样子：一年多以前，地板上就有了一个洞，虽然没有大到能掉进一个人，但足够滑进一条腿去。律师办公室位于阁楼顶部，所以，如果你的脚滑进洞里，它就会穿过阁楼的地板，高悬在那些委托人等待接见的过道上方。如果律师们认为这种状况很丢脸，他们并非言过其实。他们向当局反映后，没有丝毫结果；而自费进行彻底修缮和改建则是严格禁止的。当局采取这种做法是有所考虑的：他们打算取消辩护律师，最好一个也不剩；辩护的责任完全由被告自己担负。这种看法很有道理；但如果从这点出发得出结论说，被告在这个法院里出庭时不需要辩护律师，那就大错特错了。相反，这个法院比任何其它法院更需要律师在场，因为诉讼过程对公众和被告都是保密的；当然只能保密到一定程度，不过事实证明，保密的范围可以很广。因此，既然被告不能看到法院的文件，人们——尤其是被告，他们是当事人，有许多忧虑使他们分心——很难从一次审讯过程中猜出法院手中有哪些材料，于是便只好让辩护律师插手干预了。一般说来，辩护律师不能参与审查，得在审讯后立即询问被告，可能的话，在预审法院的门口就询问，然后对他得到的大都是十分纷乱的材料进行整理，以便得到一点辩护时可能用得上的材料。但这也不是最重要的事情，因为通过这种方式并不能获取很多材料；当然这儿和别处一样，有本事的人可以比别人多摸到一些情况。最重要的事情是辩护律师与法官的个人关系；辩护律师的主要价值便在于此。Ｋ现在大概已从亲身体验中发现，法院组织的底层并不是洁白无瑕的，其中有不少贪官污吏，使这个天衣无缝的司法系统出现了一个相当大的裂口。许多小律师采取行贿，或是搜集流言蜚语等方法，企图钻这个缺口的空子；文件失窃的情况实际上已经出现过，至少过去有过这种事。不可否认的是，上述办法可以暂时取得对被告有利的结果，律师们因此感到骄傲，并以此为诱饵，来招揽新的委托人；但是这些方法对案件的发展起不到作用，或者只能起坏作用。除了与地位较高的官员的令人羡慕的私人关系外，任何东西都没有真正价值；这儿说的地位较高的官员当然是指基层的地位较高的官员。只有借助这种关系，才能对诉讼过程施加影响；这种影响开始不易觉察，但随着案子的进展，将变得越来越显著。当然有这类关系的律师为数甚少，Ｋ的选择可以说是很幸运的。也许只有其他一两位律师才能自夸他们有像霍尔德博士那样的关系。这些人不屑理睬坐在律师办公室里的那班蠢货，他们和那班平庸的律师没有任何来往，而和法官们的关系则十分密切。霍尔德博士甚至用不着法院开庭时每次必到，用不着在预审法官们的前厅中恭候接见，也用不着为了取得一个虚假的成功或者更无聊的结果而在他们面前低三下四。这些都用不着，Ｋ自己亲眼看见，法官们，其中不乏职位很高的法官，主动找到霍尔德门上来，心甘情愿，毫不隐瞒地向他提供情况，至少对他进行大胆暗示，和他议论各件案子下一步的转折；有时他们甚至会被他说服，接受他的一种新观点。他们也许很快就能被说服，但是对此可别指望过高，因为他们可能会爽快地接受一种有利于为被告辩护的新观点，但他们会立即回到办公室，作出完全相反的决定，给被告判以重刑，比他们已经表示要放弃的原判重得多。反对已经作出的判决当然是办不到的，因为他们私下里对你说的，只是私下里对你说说而已，不能在公开场合中照办，即使辩护律师以别的理由竭力博取了这些先生的支持也没用。另一方面应该考虑到，这些先生来拜访辩护律师——他们当然只拜访经验丰富的律师——，并非出于善意的考虑或友好的感情；在某种意义上说，他们事实上离不开辩护律师。他们都知道，这个从一开始就坚持要保密的司法体系弊病甚多。法官们深居简出，无法和公众接触；他们训练有素，足以处理一般案件，这类案件的审理过程几乎全是十分机械的，只需推一把就行；然而，如果案子过于简单，或者特别棘手，他们便往往一筹莫展；他们完全不能正确理解人与人之间的关系，因为他们白天也好，夜里也好，只接触司法体系的工作——而对人性的了解在处理这些案件时是必不可少的。因此他们到律师那儿去的目的是求教，他们身边总跟着一个带着机密文件的仆人。许多人们料想不到能碰见的先生们会坐在律师家的窗前，绝望地看着外面的街道；而律师则坐在办公桌后面，研究他们的文件，以期帮他们出个好主意。在这种场合，人们会发现，这些先生们如何看重自己的职务，当他们遇到不可逾越的障碍时，又是多么绝望。换句话说，他们的处境并不容易，如果认为他们的处境甚为容易的话，那就对他们太不公道了。在这个司法体系中，官员的级别层层上升，无边无际，甚至连内行也不知道这个等级制度的全貌。法院的诉讼程序一般对低级官员保密，因此连他们也很难知道，他们曾经为之工作过的案子下一步是如何进展的。他们常常不知道，进入他们的职权范围，由他们来审理的特殊案件来自何处，也不知道将要转呈到哪儿去。他们只了解案件的几个孤立阶段中的一些情况；这些官员们对终审判决及作出终审判决的理由均一无所知。他们被迫把自己束缚在法律规定他们过问的那个办案阶段内，而对于后来的情况——换句话说，对于自己办案的结果——的了解则往往不如辩护律师。辩护律师通常可以和被告保持接触，这种接触几乎可以一直保持到案子审理完毕。因此，从这方面来说，低级官员们可以从辩护律师那儿了解到许多值得了解的情况。既然Ｋ对这些情况已经心中有数，那么，当他发现法官们脾气暴躁，对待被告态度蛮横时，就不会大惊小怪了。这是人人皆有的经验。法官们的脾气都很暴躁，无一例外，哪怕在他们表面上看来镇静自若的时候也是如此。小律师们可能会为此而感到不愉快。举例来说，下面这个故事流传得很广，看来是完全属实的。一位心地善良、心平气和、年岁已高的法官，手头有一桩难办的案子，律师提出几份申诉书后，事情变得更复杂了。他已经琢磨了整整一天一夜——法官们确实认真得出乎任何人的预料。就这样，经过二十四小时几乎毫无成效的苦于，到了拂晓时分，他走到门口，躲在门后，把每一个想进来的律师都推下楼去。律师们聚在楼下，商量着对策。从一方面来说，他们确实没有什么权利可以进去，因此很难采取任何反对法官的法律行动，况且正像上面已经讲过的那样，他们总是尽量避免冒犯法官们。可是从另一方面说，他们少进法院一天就意味着。损失了一天时间，因此争取进去是很关键的一举。最后他们一致认为，把那位老先生拖累是上策。律师们依次奔上楼去，作出最有效的消极抵抗的姿势，听凭法官把他们推下楼，反正楼下的同事们会伸出手臂接住的。这种情况持续了差不多一个钟头后，那位老先生——他通宵未眠，确实已经精疲力尽了——渐感不支，便回自己的办公室了。楼下的律师们起先不相信，指派一个人上楼，躲在门后观察了一阵，确知屋里真的没人了，他们才进去。据大家说，他们进去后连嘀咕一声也不敢，因为虽然那些一文不名的律师们在某种程度上也会贸然对法院里的情况作出自己的分析，但他们却从来不敢提议或坚持改善司法制度。然而，几乎每个被告，即使是其中头脑很简单的人，从一开始起就显露出一种建议改革的热情，这是很有代表性的。但是，这种热情往往只是徒费时间和精力而已，这些时间和精力完全可以更有效地用到别的方面去。惟一理智的做法是使自己适应现存条件。即使可以在这儿或那儿作一些局部改进——但是这么想的人准是个疯子——由此得到的好处也只能对将来的被告有利，而提建议的人本身的利益反而会大受损害，因为他冒犯了报复心理极重的法官们。这种犯上的事情千万做不得！不管多么违背自己的意愿，你也应该委曲求全；你要懂得，这个庞大机构可以说正保持着一种微妙的平衡状态，如果有人想改变周围事物的排列次序，他就会冒摔跟头和彻底毁灭的危险，而这个机构则可依赖本身其它部分的补偿作用而恢复平衡，因为它的各部分是相互关联的；它一点也不会改变，相反，还很有可能变得更加僵硬、更加警惕、更加严酷。更加残忍。应该真正放手让律师们工作，不要干涉他们。指责是没有多少用处的，当指责别人的人自己也不十分明白为什么要作出这样的指责时更是这样。不管怎么说，霍尔德博士指出，Ｋ对法院书记官的失礼已经给这桩案子带来了很大损害。这位有影响的人物的名字差不多可以从有可能为Ｋ帮忙的人的名单上划掉了。他现在故意不关心与Ｋ的案件有关的任何情况。法官们在很多方面很像小孩子，为了一点小事——不幸的是，Ｋ的行为不能列人小事之类——，他们就会大动肝火，甚至连老朋友也不理睬，见了他们扭头就走，并且以各种想像得出来的方式和他们作对。可是后来，他们又会因为你开了一个小小的玩笑——你只是在万无一失的情况下才敢开这样的玩笑——而以最令人吃惊的方式，莫名其妙地捧腹大笑，接着便和你重归于好。总之，你想要摆布他们既难也不难，你和他们打交道，很难定下一个固定原则。你有时会感到吃惊，一个人在平凡的一生中，怎么可能积累起使自己能在这种职业中取得一些成绩所必需的全部知识。你有时当然会觉得面前一片漆黑——每个人都有这样的时刻——，你以为自己一无所获；你觉得只有那些命中注定能打赢的官司才能得到好的结果——不管发生什么情况，不管有没有律师的帮助，那些官司准能打赢。而那些注定要打输的官司，则不管你怎么使劲，怎么费力，怎么醉心于一些虚假的小成功，也终归要打输。这当然只是一种精神状态，一种似乎什么都没把握的精神状态；你无法驳斥人家对你作出的下述指责：由于你的插手，某些案子出了岔子，如果你不干预的话，本来会进展得很顺利的。你失去自信，濒于绝望的边缘，这种时候，你只能处于这类精神状态。这种情绪——这当然只能是一种情绪，别无其它——使律师们十分痛苦；特别是当他们正十分满意地使案子达到预定目的时，委托人却不让他过问案子了。这无疑是律师可能碰到的最坏的情况。不过，委托人解聘律师，不让他过问案件的事情从来没有过；被告一旦聘请律师后，无论发生什么事情也要和律师在一起。因为他既然已经请人来帮忙，又怎么能自己单干呢？因此，这种事情从来没有发生过，不过却发生过几次这样的情况：案情发生了转折，律师无法继续过问案子了。案子、被告和其它一切突然把律师甩开；这时，哪怕他和法官们的关系再好，也无济于事，因为连法官们也一无所知。案子已经发展到不许继续列席旁听的阶段，转到一些遥远的、常人进不去的法院里去审理，在那儿被告甚至无法找到律师。然后，哪天你回到家里，会在桌子上发现无数与本案有关的抗辩书，这些抗辩书是你苦思冥想、满怀希望写成的；抗辩书退还给你了，因为在审判的这个新阶段中，它们已不再作为有关材料被接受；而是成为一堆废纸了。但这并非意味着官司已经打输，完全不是，至少没有确切的证据可以表明这点；你只是再也不知道有关案子的任何事情了，以后也永远不会知道。幸运的是，这只是例外情况，Ｋ的案子即使属于同一性质，也得很久以后才能达到这个阶段。在目前阶段，采取合法手段的机会还很多，Ｋ可以相信，这些手段将得到最大限度的利用。刚才已经讲过，第一份抗辩书还没有递交上去，不必太着急；和有关的法官们进行磋商是更为重要的事情，这点已经做了。坦率地说，只取得了部分成功。目前最好别透露细节，因为这有可能从坏的方面影响Ｋ，不是使他过于高兴，便是使他过于沮丧。可以肯定的是，有的法官讲得娓娓动听，也表示愿意帮忙；而另一些法官虽然说讲得不怎么好听，但并不拒绝合作。总的来说，结果是令人满意的，尽管不应从中得出最后结论，因为所有谈判在最初阶段都是这样进行的，人们只是在以后的发展过程中才能判断，这些谈判是否真有价值。不管怎样，迄今为止，没有任何一件事是失策的；要是法院书记官能不咎既往，被他们争取过来——为了达到这个目的，他们已经采取了一些行动——，那么这个案子可以看作是一个——用外科医生的话来说——已经清理过的伤口，人们在等待下一步的进展时就用不着紧张了。

①抗辩：被告提出特殊的或新的情况，使诉讼不能成立。

When he started talking on in this way the lawyer was quite tireless. He went through it all again every time K. went to see him. There was always some progress, but he could never be told what sort of progress it was. The first set of documents to be submitted were being worked on but still not ready, which usually turned out to be a great advantage the next time K. went to see him as the earlier occasion would have been a very bad time to put them in, which they could not then have known. If K., stupefied from all this talking, ever pointed out that even considering all these difficulties progress was very slow, the lawyer would object that progress was not slow at all, but that they might have progressed far further if K. had come to him at the right time. But he had come to him late and that lateness would bring still further difficulties, and not only where time was concerned.

Ｋ的律师就这样不知疲倦地大谈一阵。Ｋ每次来见他，他就把上述内容重复一遍。每次总有进展，但到底是什么性质的进展他却不说。律师一直在为第一份抗辩书忙碌，可是总也完不成；然而等Ｋ下次来访时，这却成了一件好事，因为最后那几天很不适宜往上递抗辩书，而这种事是谁也无法预料的。如果Ｋ对律师的滔滔不绝的讲话感到厌倦了——这样的事发生过几次——，向他指出，即使把所有困难都考虑在内，案件的进展看来也实在太慢了；律师就反驳道，进展得一点也不慢。当然，如果Ｋ能及时到他这儿来，就会进展得更快一点。遗憾的是Ｋ没有这么做，这种疏忽给Ｋ造成了不利，况且并非只是暂时的不利。

The only welcome interruption during these visits was always when Leni contrived to bring the lawyer his tea while K. was there. Then she would stand behind K. - pretending to watch the lawyer as he bent greedily over his cup, poured the tea in and drank - and secretly let K. hold her hand. There was always complete silence. The lawyer drank. K. squeezed Leni's hand and Leni would sometimes dare to gently stroke K.'s hair. "Still here, are you?" the lawyer would ask when he was ready. "I wanted to take the dishes away," said Leni, they would give each other's hands a final squeeze, the lawyer would wipe his mouth and then start talking at K. again with renewed energy.

打断这种谈话的莱妮是深受欢迎的，她总是利用Ｋ在场的当儿给律师端上茶来。她会站在Ｋ的椅子后面，好像是在看着律师贪婪地朝茶杯俯下身去，往杯里倒上茶水，呷上一口，其实她一直让Ｋ偷偷捏住她的手。一片寂静。律师在啜茶，Ｋ捏着莱妮的手，有时莱妮也壮起胆子摸摸他的头发。“你还站在这儿呀？”律师喝完茶后会问她。“我得把茶盘端走啊，”莱妮会这样回答；接着，Ｋ最后捏一下莱妮的手，律师则揩揩嘴巴，以新的精力重新开始向Ｋ发表宏论。

Was the lawyer trying to comfort K. or to confuse him? K. could not tell, but it seemed clear to him that his defence was not in good hands. Maybe everything the lawyer said was quite right, even though he obviously wanted to make himself as conspicuous as possible and probably had never even taken on a case as important as he said K.'s was. But it was still suspicious how he continually mentioned his personal contacts with the civil servants. Were they to be exploited solely for K.'s benefit? The lawyer never forgot to mention that they were dealing only with junior officials, which meant officials who were dependent on others, and the direction taken in each trial could be important for their own furtherment. Could it be that they were making use of the lawyer to turn trials in a certain direction, which would, of course, always be at the cost of the defendant? It certainly did not mean that they would do that in every trial, that was not likely at all, and there were probably also trials where they gave the lawyer advantages and all the room he needed to turn it in the direction he wanted, as it would also be to their advantage to keep his reputation intact. If that really was their relationship, how would they direct K.'s trial which, as the lawyer had explained, was especially difficult and therefore important enough to attract great attention from the very first time it came to court? There could not be much doubt about what they would do. The first signs of it could already be seen in the fact that the first documents still had not been submitted even though the trial had already lasted several months, and that, according to the lawyer, everything was still in its initial stages, which was very effective, of course, in making the defendant passive and keeping him helpless. Then he could be suddenly surprised with the verdict, or at least with a notification that the hearing had not decided in his favour and the matter would be passed on to a higher office.

律师是想安慰Ｋ呢，还是想让Ｋ绝望？Ｋ说不上来，但他不久便断定，自己找错了辩护人，这已经是既成事实了。律师说的当然有可能完全符合事实，尽管他想夸大自己的重要性的企图十分明显；他很可能从未过问过一件在他看来像Ｋ的案子这么重要的案件。然而他喋喋不休地吹嘘自己和法官们的私人交情，这种做法实在令人起疑。谁能肯定，他利用这些关系仅仅是为了Ｋ的利益呢？律师从来不会忘记说，这些法官级别甚低，也就是说，他们听命于他人；各种案件中的某些转折很可能会对他们的晋升起着甚为重要的作用。他们有可能利用律师，使案子发生这类必然对被告不利的转折吗？或许他们并非一贯这么做，这不可能；有时他们可能会让律师略占上风，作为赏给他的劳务报酬，因为维护律师的声誉也是符合他们的利益的。但如果事情真的如此，他们到底想到Ｋ的案子归入哪一类呢？律师坚持认为，这个案子很棘手，因此也很重要，法院也从一开始就对它产生了强烈的兴趣。用不着多怀疑他们会做些什么，一条线索已经有了：第一份抗辩书还没有交上去，虽然案子已经拖延好几个月了。据律师说，诉讼过程仍然处于开始阶段，这些话显然是经过深思熟虑之后才说的，目的是哄哄被告，使他处于被动地位，以便最后用突然作出的判决来制服他；或者起码对他说，预审已结束，结果对他不利，本案已转交上级机构审理。

It was essential that K. take a hand in it himself. On winter's mornings such as this, when he was very tired and everything dragged itself lethargically through his head, this belief of his seemed irrefutable. He no longer felt the contempt for the trial that he had had earlier. If he had been alone in the world it would have been easy for him to ignore it, although it was also certain that, in that case, the trial would never have arisen in the first place. But now, his uncle had already dragged him to see the lawyer, he had to take account of his family; his job was no longer totally separate from the progress of the trial, he himself had carelessly - with a certain, inexplicable complacency - mentioned it to acquaintances and others had learned about it in ways he did not know, his relationship with Miss Bürstner seemed to be in trouble because of it. In short, he no longer had any choice whether he would accept the trial or turn it down, he was in the middle of it and had to defend himself. If he was tired, then that was bad.

Ｋ亲自干预是绝对必要的。这个冬天的早晨，他觉得精疲力尽，无力屏除上述信念，他的脑子里翻腾着这些想法。他一度曾经不把这个案子当作一码事，现在已经不能这样做了。如果世界上只有他一个人，他就会轻而易举地对整个事件一笑了之，虽然在那种情况下，这类事本身也不会发生。可是现在，把他拽到律师这儿来的是他叔叔，因此他得把家庭因素考虑在内。他的职位也并非完全与此案的进展无关了，因为他自己用一种无法解释的得意心情，在他的几个熟人面前欠考虑地提起了这件事。另外一些人也知道了，至于通过什么方式他并不清楚。他和布尔斯特纳小姐的关系也随着案子本身而波动——总之，他现在已经不能从接受审判和拒绝接受审判这两种可能性中进行选择了，因为他已置身于审判中，必须小心从事。他认为自己疲惫无力是个坏兆头。

But there was no reason to worry too much before he needed to. He had been capable of working himself up to his high position in the bank in a relatively short time and to retain it with respect from everyone, now he simply had to apply some of the talents that had made that possible for him to the trial, and there was no doubt that it had to turn out well. The most important thing, if something was to be achieved, was to reject in advance any idea that he might be in any way guilty. There was no guilt. The trial was nothing but a big piece of business, just like he had already concluded to the benefit of the bank many times, a piece of business that concealed many lurking dangers waiting in ambush for him, as they usually did, and these dangers would need to be defended against. If that was to be achieved then he must not entertain any idea of guilt, whatever he did, he would need to look after his own interests as closely as he could. Seen in this way, there was no choice but to take his representation away from the lawyer very soon, at best that very evening. The lawyer had told him, as he talked to him, that that was something unheard of and would probably do him a great deal of harm, but K. could not tolerate any impediment to his efforts where his trial was concerned, and these impediments were probably caused by the lawyer himself. But once he had shaken off the lawyer the documents would need to be submitted straight away and, if possible, he would need to see to it that they were being dealt with every day. It would of course not be enough, if that was to be done, for K. to sit in the corridor with his hat under the bench like the others. Day after day, he himself, or one of the women or somebody else on his behalf, would have to run after the officials and force them to sit at their desks and study K.'s documents instead of looking out on the corridor through the grating. There could be no let-up in these efforts, everything would need to be organised and supervised, it was about time that the court came up against a defendant who knew how to defend and make use of his rights.

但是，目前仍然不必过于紧张。他经过努力，已经在较短的时间内谋取到银行中的一个高级职务，他保持住了自己的位置，赢得了许多人的承认；如果他把在这方面奏效的才干用来处理这件案子，那肯定也会取得良好的结果。要是他想达到目的，首先必须彻底抛弃自己有可能犯罪的想法。他没有犯过罪。这次法律行动最多像一桩银行业务，Ｋ在经手类似业务时，总能使银行受益。当然，这次法律行动中潜伏着风险，必须予以排除。正确的策略是：避免只想到自己的不足之处，应该尽量看见自己的有利条件。从这个观点出发，作出把案子从霍尔德博士手中撤回的结论是不可避免的。而且越早越好，最好当天晚上。在律师眼里看来，这是前所未闻的事，很可能是个侮辱；但是Ｋ不能忍受的是，他在本案中作出的努力竟可能被他的代理律师在办公室里采取的一些行动所抵销。一旦摆脱掉律师，抗辩书就可以立即递上去，他就可以天天去催法官，如果可能的话，还可以提请他们对本案予以特别重视。Ｋ永远也不会像其他人那样，把帽子塞在凳子下面，温顺地坐在顶层过道里恭候。Ｋ本人应该天天到法官们那儿去，或者请一个女人或派个其他人去，逼着法官们别再透过木格子窗监视过道，而是在办公桌后面坐下来，研究Ｋ的案卷。应该坚持不懈地采取这种策略，每样事情都要有组织、有检查。法院总算遇到一个知道应该怎样维护自身利益的被告了。

But when K. had the confidence to try and do all this the difficulty of composing the documents was too much for him. Earlier, just a week or so before, he could only have felt shame at the thought of being made to write out such documents himself; it had never entered his head that the task could also be difficult. He remembered one morning when, already piled up with work, he suddenly shoved everything to one side and took a pad of paper on which he sketched out some of his thoughts on how documents of this sort should proceed. Perhaps he would offer them to that slow-witted lawyer, but just then the door of the manager's office opened and the deputy-director entered the room with a loud laugh. K. was very embarrassed, although the deputy-director, of course, was not laughing at K.'s documents, which he knew nothing about, but at a joke he had just heard about the stock-exchange, a joke which needed an illustration if it was to be understood, and now the deputy- director leant over K.'s desk, took his pencil from his hand, and drew the illustration on the writing pad that K. had intended for his ideas about his case.

但是，尽管Ｋ相信他能设法做到这一切，草拟抗辩书的困难却似乎难以克服。不到一个星期之前，他曾想到草拟抗辩书时可能会有羞愧之感，可从来没想到拟稿过程中会有这么多困难。他还记得，有一天上午他正埋头工作时，忽然心血来潮，把手头的东西推向一边，拿起拍纸本，打算拟一个抗辩书的提纲，交给霍尔德博士，催上一催；但是，正好在这个时候，经理办公室的门打开了，副经理一面哈哈大笑，一面走进屋来。这对Ｋ来说，是个十分痛苦的时刻，尽管副经理肯定不是在笑他写抗辩书，因为副经理对这事一点也不知道。副经理是刚刚听到证券交易所里传出来的一个笑话，为了说明这个笑话的真正含义，需要画图表示，于是副经理便向Ｋ的办公桌俯下身去，从Ｋ手中拿过铅笔，在Ｋ准备起草抗辩书的那页拍纸本上，画出所需要的图。

K. now had no more thoughts of shame, the documents had to be prepared and submitted. If, as was very likely, he could find no time to do it in the office he would have to do it at home at night. If the nights weren't enough he would have to take a holiday. Above all, he could not stop half way, that was nonsense not only in business but always and everywhere. Needless to say, the documents would mean an almost endless amount of work. It was easy to come to the belief, not only for those of an anxious disposition, that it was impossible ever to finish it. This was not because of laziness or deceit, which were the only things that might have hindered the lawyer in preparing it, but because he did not know what the charge was or even what consequences it might bring, so that he had to remember every tiny action and event from the whole of his life, looking at them from all sides and checking and reconsidering them. It was also a very disheartening job. It would have been more suitable as a way of passing the long days after he had retired and become senile. But now, just when K. needed to apply all his thoughts to his work, when he was still rising and already posed a threat to the deputy-director, when every hour passed so quickly and he wanted to enjoy the brief evenings and nights as a young man, this was the time he had to start working out these documents. Once more, he began to feel resentment. Almost involuntarily, only to put an end to it, his finger felt for the button of the electric bell in the ante-room. As he pressed it he glanced up to the clock. It was eleven o'clock, two hours, he had spent a great deal of his costly time just dreaming and his wits were, of course, even more dulled than they had been before. But the time had, nonetheless, not been wasted, he had come to some decisions that could be of value. As well as various pieces of mail, the servitors brought two visiting cards from gentlemen who had already been waiting for K. for some time. They were actually very important clients of the bank who should not really have been kept waiting under any circumstances. Why had they come at such an awkward time, and why, the gentlemen on the other side of the closed door seemed to be asking, was the industrious K. using up the best business time for his private affairs? Tired from what had gone before, and tired in anticipation of what was to follow, K. stood up to receive the first of them.

今天Ｋ没有再感到羞愧，抗辩书非写不可。如果在办公室里没时间——这看来是十分可能的——，那就得夜间在家里写。假如夜里的时间不够，就只好请假。怎么都行，但决不能半途而废；谈业务也好，干任何别的事也好，半途而废都是最愚蠢的。毫无疑问，这是一项需要付出无休止的劳动的任务；不一定非得胆小怕事，顾虑重重的人才会相信，拟成这份抗辩书其实是完全不可能的。并非因为Ｋ懒惰或有意拖延——只有律师才会有这种弊病——而是因为他不知道自己为何受控，更不知道由此而引起的其它指控了。他只得回忆一生的经历，甚至最微不足道的行为和事件也得从各个角度讲清楚、分析透。这将是一项啰嗦透顶的任务！这种事情也许让一个处于生命的第二个童年时代、总得把每天的时间消磨掉的退休人员来做是甚为合适的。可是Ｋ现在需要把全部精力集中到工作上，他的每一个小时都排得满满的，一晃眼就会消逝，因为他仍然全天工作，很快会成为副经理的对手。作为一个单身汉，晚上和夜间本来就嫌太短促，因为他需要享乐。可是他现在却不得不坐下来，完成这项任务！他再次浮想联翩，感到自己很可怜。得结束这种局面了！他不由自主地把手指按在按钮上：接待室的铃响了。他按铃的时候，看了一下表。十一点，他在胡思乱想中浪费了两个小时，这是一段很宝贵的时间。他当然比先前更加疲乏了，然而这段时间并没有完全白白浪费掉。他作出了几个月后可能会被证实是有价值的决定。侍者送来了几封信和两位已经等了很久的先生的名片。他们是银行的极为重要的主顾，根本就不应该让他们等这么久。他们为什么在这么一个不合适的时候来呢？可是，他们可能在门外会反问：勤奋的Ｋ为什么会听任自己的私事把一天中最好的时间糟蹋掉呢？Ｋ对已经过去的事情感到烦恼，但又不得不厌倦地等待着将要到来的事情，他站起身来，去接去第一个主顾。

He was a short, jolly man, a manufacturer who K. knew well. He apologised for disturbing K. at some important work, and K., for his part, apologised for having kept the manufacturer waiting for so long. But even this apology was spoken in such a mechanical way and with such false intonation that the manufacturer would certainly have noticed if he had not been fully preoccupied with his business affairs. Instead, he hurriedly pulled calculations and tables out from all his pockets, spread them out in front of K., explained several items, corrected a little mistake in the arithmetic that he noticed as he quickly glanced over it all, and reminded K. of a similar piece of business he'd concluded with him about a year before, mentioning in passing that this time there was another bank spending great effort to get his business, and finally stopped speaking in order to learn K.'s opinion on the matter. And K. had indeed, at first, been closely following what the manufacturer was saying, he too was aware of how important the deal was, but unfortunately it did not last, he soon stopped listening, nodded at each of the manufacturer's louder exclamations for a short while, but eventually he stopped doing even that and did no more than stare at the bald head bent over the papers, asking himself when the manufacturer would finally realise that everything he was saying was useless. When he did stop talking, K. really thought at first that this was so that he would have the chance to confess that he was incapable of listening. Instead, seeing the anticipation on the manufacturer's face, obviously ready to counter any objections made, he was sorry to realise that the business discussion had to be continued. So he bent his head as if he'd been given an order and began slowly to move his pencil over the papers, now and then he would stop and stare at one of the figures. The manufacturer thought there must be some objection, perhaps his figures weren't really sound, perhaps they weren't the decisive issue, whatever he thought, the manufacturer covered the papers with his hand and began once again, moving very close to K., to explain what the deal was all about. "It is difficult," said K., pursing his lips. The only thing that could offer him any guidance were the papers, and the manufacturer had covered them from his view, so he just sank back against the arm of the chair. Even when the door of the manager's office opened and revealed not very clearly, as if through a veil, the deputy director, he did no more than look up weakly. K. thought no more about the matter, he merely watched the immediate effect of the deputy director's appearance and, for him, the effect was very pleasing; the manufacturer immediately jumped up from his seat and hurried over to meet the deputy director, although K. would have liked to make him ten times livelier as he feared the deputy director might disappear again. He need not have worried, the two gentlemen met each other, shook each other's hand and went together over to K.'s desk. The manufacturer said he was sorry to find the chief clerk so little inclined to do business, pointing to K. who, under the view of the deputy director, had bent back down over the papers. As the two men leant over the desk and the manufacturer made some effort to gain and keep the deputy director's attention, K. felt as if they were much bigger than they really were and that their negotiations were about him. Carefully and slowly turning his eyes upwards, he tried to learn what was taking place above him, took one of the papers from his desk without looking to see what it was, lay it on the flat of his hand and raised it slowly up as he rose up to the level of the two men himself. He had no particular plan in mind as he did this, but merely felt this was how he would act if only he had finished preparing that great document that was to remove his burden entirely. The deputy director had been paying all his attention to the conversation and did no more than glance at the paper, he did not read what was written on it at all as what was important for the chief clerk was not important for him, he took it from K.'s hand saying, "Thank you, I'm already familiar with everything", and lay it calmly back on the desk. K. gave him a bitter, sideways look. But the deputy director did not notice this at all, or if he did notice it it only raised his spirits, he frequently laughed out loud, one time he clearly embarrassed the manufacturer when he raised an objection in a witty way but drew him immediately back out of his embarrassment by commenting adversely on himself, and finally invited him into his office where they could bring the matter to its conclusion. "It's a very important matter," said the manufacturer. "I understand that completely. And I'm sure the chief clerk …" - even as he said this he was actually speaking only to the manufacturer - "will be very glad to have us take it off his hands. This is something that needs calm consideration. But he seems to be over-burdened today, there are even some people in the room outside who've been waiting there for hours for him." K. still had enough control of himself to turn away from the deputy director and direct his friendly, albeit stiff, smile only at the manufacturer, he made no other retaliation, bent down slightly and supported himself with both hands on his desk like a clerk, and watched as the two gentlemen, still talking, took the papers from his desk and disappeared into the manager's office. In the doorway, the manufacturer turned and said he wouldn't make his farewell with K. just yet, he would of course let the chief clerk know about the success of his discussions but he also had a little something to tell him about.

这是一个性格开朗、身材矮小的男人，是一位Ｋ很熟悉的厂主。他对自己打扰了正在忙着干要事的Ｋ表示遗憾，而Ｋ则对自己让厂主等了这么久而向他道歉。但是Ｋ表示歉意的方式甚为呆板，语调中缺乏诚意，如果厂主不是专心致志于手头的业务，就一定能觉察到这点。厂主从几个口袋中掏出一大把写满统计数字的文件，摊在Ｋ面前，向Ｋ逐条解释，顺便纠正一些小错——他即使看得如此匆忙，也能发现这些错误。厂主向Ｋ提起大约一年前他和Ｋ做成的一桩相似的交易，漫不经心地提醒Ｋ说，当前另一家银行正在作出巨大牺牲，打算揽过这笔生意。最后他不说话了，焦急地等着Ｋ回答。开始时，Ｋ听得很仔细，这么重要的一项交易对Ｋ也产生了吸引力；可是不幸的是，没过多久Ｋ就不听他讲话了。厂主倒仍旧讲得兴致勃勃，Ｋ却只是不时点点头；最后Ｋ对此完全失去了兴趣，只是凝视着厂主低俯在文件上的光秃秃的脑袋。Ｋ心里自问，厂主什么时候才能明白自己的演说纯粹是白费唇舌。厂主住口不讲了，Ｋ一时以为厂主略作停顿是为了让他有机会声明，他现在的处境不适于谈业务。他遗憾地觉察到，厂主眼中露出专注的目光，脸上显出警觉的神色，似乎已经准备好自己的提议遭到拒绝；这意味着谈话要继续下去。于是Ｋ便像听到命令似的，低下头，使铅笔尖在那些文件上来回移动，偶尔也停笔沉思，凝视着某个数字。厂主怀疑Ｋ是在表格中挑错，那些数字可能并不可靠，或者在这项交易中不起决定作用，反正厂主伸出手，遮住这些数字，凑近Ｋ的脸，向他介绍这桩交易后面的总设想。“这很难，”Ｋ噘起嘴说；这些文件是他惟一必须了解的东西，现在被逮住了，他无精打采地斜靠在椅子扶手上。他稍稍抬起眼向上看了一下，经理室的门开了，副经理走了出来：只是一个模糊的身影，好像裹在一层薄纱中。Ｋ不想了解副经理出现的原因，只是记住了副经理的出现所产生的效果，Ｋ很高兴看到这种效果：原来，厂主一见副经理，便从椅子上跳起来，朝他跑去；Ｋ真希望厂主的速度能再增加十倍，因为他怕副经理会重新消失。他的担心是多余的：这两位先生见了面，握握手，然后一起走到Ｋ的办公桌前面来了。厂主指着Ｋ发牢骚，说他的建议没有受到襄理的足够重视；Ｋ当着副经理的面，再次低下头去研究文件。接着，两位先生倚在他的办公桌上，厂主千方百计地想说服副经理接受他的设想；而Ｋ却觉得，这两位大亨正在他头顶上高谈着有关他的事。他慢慢抬起头，壮着胆子向上看，打算弄明白他们到底在谈些什么；然后他从桌上随意拿起一份文件，平摊在自己的手掌上，慢慢举起手，自己也随着站起来，站得和他们一样高。他这么做并没有什么确定的目的，只是觉得，当他完成了这项艰巨任务——草拟那份能彻底开脱自己的抗辩书——以后，便应该这么做。副经理把全部注意力都集中在谈话中，只是瞥了一眼文件，连上面写着什么也没看，因为凡是襄理认为重要的东西，他都认为是鸡毛蒜皮；他从Ｋ手里接过文件，对Ｋ说：“谢谢，我都知道了。”然后把文件轻轻放回桌上。Ｋ痛苦地看了他一眼，但副经理没有察觉，或者是，即使察觉了，也只是觉得好玩而已。副经理大笑了几次，他机智地反驳了厂主一次。显然使厂主很难堪；然后他又立即收回前言，最后他请厂主到他的私人办公室里去，一起把这桩交易谈妥。“这个提议很重要，”他对厂主说，“我完全同意。至于说襄理——”他即使提到襄理，也只是对着厂主说，“我深信，如果我们把它接过手来，他会感到如释重负的。这桩交易需要认真考虑，而他今天似乎忙得不可开交；另外，有几个人已经在前厅里等了他好几个钟头啦。”Ｋ还有足够的自制力，他转过脸去，故意不看副经理，只对厂主报以一个友好而专注的微笑；除此之外，他没有作出任何干预。他两手支在桌子上，身体微向前倾，像是一个必恭必敬的职员。他看着那两个人一边说话，一边收拾文件，走进经理室；厂主走到门口的时候，转过身来说，他还不想和Ｋ告别，因为一会儿要把谈话的结果告诉襄理，这是理所当然的，另外，他还有一桩小事要和Ｋ谈谈。

At last, K. was by himself. It did not enter his head to show anyone else into his office and only became vaguely aware of how nice it was that the people outside thought he was still negotiating with the manufacturer and, for this reason, he could not let anyone in to see him, not even the servitor. He went over to the window, sat down on the ledge beside it, held firmly on to the handle and looked down onto the square outside. The snow was still falling, the weather still had not brightened up at all.

Ｋ终于独自呆着了。他没有丝毫愿望再接见任何顾客。他恍恍惚惚地想道：外面等着的那些人以为他还在和厂主交谈呢，这真使人愉快；这样的话，任何人——甚至包括侍者在内——都不会来打扰他了。他走到窗前，坐在窗台上，伸出一只手扶着窗框，俯视着下面的广场。雪还在下着，天还没有放晴。

He remained a long time sitting in this way, not knowing what it actually was that made him so anxious, only occasionally did he glance, slightly startled, over his shoulder at the door to the outer room where, mistakenly, he thought he'd heard some noise. No-one came, and that made him feel calmer, he went over to the wash stand, rinsed his face with cold water and, his head somewhat clearer, went back to his place by the window. The decision to take his defence into his own hands now seemed more of a burden than he had originally assumed. All the while he had left his defence up to the lawyer his trial had had little basic affect on him, he had observed it from afar as something that was scarcely able to reach him directly, when it suited him he looked to see how things stood but he was also able to draw his head back again whenever he wanted. Now, in contrast, if he was to conduct his defence himself, he would have to devote himself entirely to the court - for the time being, at least - success would mean, later on, his complete and conclusive liberation, but if he was to achieve this he would have to place himself, to start with, in far greater danger than he had been in so far. If he ever felt tempted to doubt this, then his experience with the deputy director and the manufacturer that day would be quite enough to convince him of it. How could he have sat there totally convinced of the need to do his own defence? How would it be later? What would his life be like in the days ahead? Would he find the way through it all to a happy conclusion? Did a carefully worked out defence - and any other sort would have made no sense - did a carefully worked out defence not also mean he would need to shut himself off from everything else as much as he could? Would he survive that? And how was he to succeed in conducting all this at the bank? It involved much more than just submitting some documents that he could probably prepare in a few days' leave, although it would have been great temerity to ask for time off from the bank just at that time, it was a whole trial and there was no way of seeing how long it might last. This was an enormous difficulty that had suddenly been thrown into K.'s life!

他就这样坐了好久，不知道到底是什么事情使自己心烦意乱，只是时时转过头去，不安地朝前厅方向看一眼。他似乎听到那边发出了一个声响，其实是幻觉，谁也没有进来；他又恢复了平静。他走到洗脸池边，用冷水擦把脸，清醒一下头脑，又回到窗前，坐在窗台上。他现在感到，决定为自己辩护这件事，比以前想像的要严肃得多。此案由于一直由律师负责，Ｋ实际上还没有真正操心过。他总是用某种超然的态度观察此案，没有直接与此案接触；他可以监视案子的进展，也可以完全游离于案子之外，这都随他高兴。现在则是另一码事了，他打算自己进行辩护；这样，他就完全受控于法院，至少目前如此。这种做法可能导致彻底宣判无罪的判决；但同时也可能，至少暂时可能使他卷入一个更严重的危险之中。假如他以前对此还有疑问的话，今天他看见副经理和厂主时的思想状态便足以使他信服了。他只是由于决定自己行使辩护权，便头脑发昏到这种地步！那以后会发生什么事呢？等待着他的是些什么样的日子呢？他能从重重困难中找到一条正确的道路吗？要进行彻底的辩护——任何其它形式的辩护都是白费时间——要进行彻底的辩护，不就意味着他得抛弃其它所有活动吗？他有能力坚持到底吗？他在银行里怎么能过问自己的案子呢？这不只是拟一份抗辩书而已——写份抗辩书只要请几个星期假就可以了，尽管目前要求离开是十分冒险的——；这还牵涉到审判的全过程；而审判到底会延续多久，现在不可能预言。这是一个突然出现的、使Ｋ的事业受阻的障碍！

And was he supposed to be doing the bank's work at a time like this? He looked down at his desk. Was he supposed to let people in to see him and go into negotiations with them at a time like this? While his trial trundled on, while the court officials upstairs in the attic room sat looking at the papers for this trial, should he be worrying about the business of the bank? Did this not seem like a kind of torture, acknowledged by the court, connected with the trial and which followed him around? And is it likely that anyone in the bank, when judging his work, would take any account of his peculiar situation? No- one and never. There were those who knew about his trial, although it was not quite clear who knew about it or how much. But he hoped rumours had not reached as far as the deputy director, otherwise he would obviously soon find a way of making use of it to harm K., he would show neither comradeship nor humaneness. And what about the director? It was true that he was well disposed towards K., and as soon as he heard about the trial he would probably try to do everything he could to make it easier for him, but he would certainly not devote himself to it. K. at one time had provided the counter-balance to what the deputy director said but the director was now coming more and more under his influence, and the deputy director would also exploit the weakened condition of the director to strengthen his own power. So what could K. hope for? Maybe considerations of this sort weakened his power of resistance, but it was still necessary not to deceive oneself and to see everything as clearly as it could be seen at that moment.

目前难道是他为银行尽力的时候吗？他俯视着自己的办公桌。现在是接见顾客、与他们洽谈业务的时候吗？他的案子正在进展中，法官们正在阁楼上斟酌起诉书，在这种时候，他应该把全部注意力投入银行业务吗？这看样子是法院授意加在他身上的一种刑罚，一种来自案件并与案件有关的刑罚。当人们评价他在银行里的工作时，会不会考虑到他地位特殊而原谅他呢？不会的，永远也不会的，谁也不会这样做。银行里并不是完全不知道他的案子，虽然到底谁知情，知情程度如何，还不十分明白。不过，这个消息显然还没有传到副经理耳中，否则Ｋ准会觉察到，因为副经理会不顾同事关系和为人的准则，尽量用这件事大做文章。还有经理，他会怎么样？他当然对Ｋ很友好，一旦知道案子的事，还可能会在力所能及的范围内减轻Ｋ的工作负担；但是他的好意会受挫，因为Ｋ的日益衰落的声望已经无法与副经理的影响抗衡。副经理对经理的控制已经越来越紧，正利用经理有病这一点来为自己谋好处。既然这样，Ｋ还能指望什么呢？他转着这些念头，也许只会削弱自己的抵抗能力；然而，不抱幻想，尽可能对形势有一个清醒的认识，还是应该的。

For no particular reason, just to avoiding returning to his desk for a while, he opened the window. It was difficult to open and he had to turn the handle with both his hands. Then, through the whole height and breadth of the window, the mixture of fog and smoke was drawn into the room, filling it with a slight smell of burning. A few flakes of snow were blown in with it. "It's a horrible autumn," said the manufacturer, who had come into the room unnoticed after seeing the deputy director and now stood behind K. K. nodded and looked uneasily at the manufacturer's briefcase, from which he would now probably take the papers and inform K. of the result of his negotiations with the deputy director. However, the manufacturer saw where K. was looking, knocked on his briefcase and without opening it said, "You'll be wanting to hear how things turned out. I've already got the contract in my pocket, almost. He's a charming man, your deputy director - he's got his dangers, though." He laughed as he shook K.'s hand and wanted to make him laugh with him. But to K., it once more seemed suspicious that the manufacturer did not want to show him the papers and saw nothing about his comments to laugh at. "Chief clerk," said the manufacturer, "I expect the weather's been affecting your mood, has it? You're looking so worried today." "Yes," said K., raising his hand and holding the temple of his head, "headaches, worries in the family." "Quite right," said the manufacturer, who was always in a hurry and could never listen to anyone for very long, "everyone has his cross to bear." K. had unconsciously made a step towards the door as if wanting to show the manufacturer out, but the manufacturer said, "Chief clerk, there's something else I'd like to mention to you. I'm very sorry if it's something that'll be a burden to you today of all days but I've been to see you twice already, lately, and each time I forgot all about it. If I delay it any longer it might well lose its point altogether. That would be a pity, as I think what I've got to say does have some value." Before K. had had the time to answer, the manufacturer came up close to him, tapped his knuckle lightly on his chest and said quietly, "You've got a trial going on, haven't you?" K. stepped back and immediately exclaimed, "That's what the deputy director's been telling you!" "No, no," said the manufacturer, "how would the deputy director know about it?" "And what about you?" asked K., already more in control of himself. "I hear things about the court here and there," said the manufacturer, "and that even applies to what it is that I wanted to tell you about." "There are so many people who have connections with the court!" said K. with lowered head, and he led the manufacturer over to his desk. They sat down where they had been before, and the manufacturer said, "I'm afraid it's not very much that I've got to tell you about. Only, in matters like this, it's best not to overlook the tiniest details. Besides, I really want to help you in some way, however modest my help might be. We've been good business partners up till now, haven't we? Well then." K. wanted to apologise for his behaviour in the conversation earlier that day, but the manufacturer would tolerate no interruption, shoved his briefcase up high in his armpit to show that he was in a hurry, and carried on. "I know about your case through a certain Titorelli. He's a painter, Titorelli's just his artistic name, I don't even know what his real name is. He's been coming to me in my office for years from time to time, and brings little pictures with him which I buy more or less just for the sake of charity as he's hardly more than a beggar. And they're nice pictures, too, moorland landscapes and that sort of thing. We'd both got used to doing business in this way and it always went smoothly. Only, one time these visits became a bit too frequent, I began to tell him off for it, we started talking and I became interested how it was that he could earn a living just by painting, and then I learned to my amazement that his main source of income was painting portraits. 'I work for the court,' he said, 'what court?' said I. And that's when he told me about the court. I'm sure you can imagine how amazed I was at being told all this. Ever since then I learn something new about the court every time he comes to visit, and so little by little I get to understand something of how it works. Anyway, Titorelli talks a lot and I often have to push him away, not only because he's bound to be lying but also, most of all, because a businessman like me who's already close to breaking point under the weight of his own business worries can't pay too much attention to other people's. But all that's just by the by. Perhaps - this is what I've been thinking - perhaps Titorelli might be able to help you in some small way, he knows lots of judges and even if he can't have much influence himself he can give you some advice about how to get some influential people on your side. And even if this advice doesn't turn out to make all the difference I still think it'll be very important once you've got it. You're nearly a lawyer yourself. That's what I always say, Mr. K. the chief clerk is nearly a lawyer. Oh I'm sure this trial of yours will turn out all right. So do you want to go and see Titorelli, then? If I ask him to he'll certainly do everything he possibly can. I really do think you ought to go. It needn't be today, of course, just some time, when you get the chance. And anyway - I want to tell you this too - you don't actually have to go and see Titorelli, this advice from me doesn't place you under any obligation at all. No, if you think you can get by without Titorelli it'll certainly be better to leave him completely out of it. Maybe you've already got a clear idea of what you're doing and Titorelli could upset your plans. No, if that's the case then of course you shouldn't go there under any circumstances! And it certainly won't be easy to take advice from a lad like that. Still, it's up to you. Here's the letter of recommendation and here's the address."

他打开窗，没有任何特别的动机，只是不想回到办公桌前去。窗很不容易打开，他不得不用双手使劲推着窗档。一股雾气和烟尘随即通过窗口涌进来，室内充满一种淡淡的煤烟味。几片雪花也飘了进来。“一个可怕的冬天。”Ｋ身后传来厂主的声音；他和副经理谈完话后，神不知鬼不觉地进来了。Ｋ点点头，焦虑不安地看了一眼厂主的公文包：厂主准会从包里拿出所有的文件，向Ｋ介绍谈判的经过。但是厂主注视着Ｋ的双眼，只是拍了拍公文包，并没有打开。他对Ｋ说：“你希望知道结果吗？最后达成的解决方法很合我的意。你们这个副经理挺讨人喜欢，不过跟他打交道也很危险。”他笑出声来，握住Ｋ的手，想让Ｋ也笑起来。然而，Ｋ现在正疑心厂主不愿意让他看文件，因此觉得没什么可笑的。“Ｋ先生，”厂主说，“你今天不舒服吧，你看起来精神不好。”“是的，”Ｋ说，他用手按住眉头，“头痛，家里有点事。”“噢，是这么回事，”厂主说，他是个急性子，从来也不会安安静静地听人讲完，“我们都有自己的烦恼事。”Ｋ不由自主地朝门口走了一步，好像是送厂主出去，可是厂主却说，“Ｋ先生，还有另外一件小事，我想跟你谈一谈。我怕现在用这事来打扰你不合适，好像不是时候；可是我前两次上这儿来时，把这事给忘了。如果我再不提，这事就要彻底失去它的意义了。这会很可惜的，因为我提供的消息也许对你会有真正的价值。”Ｋ还没有来得及回答，厂主就已走到他面前，伸出一个指头，敲敲他的胸口，低声对他说：“你牵涉到一件案子里去了，是吗？”Ｋ朝后退了一步，大声说道：“准是副经理告诉你的。”“根本不是，”厂主说，“副经理怎么会知道呢？”“那你是怎么知道的？”Ｋ镇静下来问道。“我经常搜集有关法院的消息，”厂主说，“我要对你讲的事也是这么知道的。”“看来和法院有联系的人真是不少啊！”Ｋ低下头说，他把厂主带回办公桌跟前。他们像先前那样坐好，厂主开口说：“遗憾的是，我不能向你提供很多情况。在这种事情里，应该尽量多想办法。我有强烈的愿望要帮助你，尽管我的能力很有限。到今天为止，我们在业务上一直是好朋友，对不对？既然这样，我就该帮助你。”Ｋ想为上午的做法表示歉意，可是厂主不想听Ｋ道歉，他把皮包紧紧夹在腋下，表明他急着要走。他接着说：“我是从一个叫蒂托雷里的人那儿听说你的案子的。他是画家，蒂托雷里是他的笔名，我根本不知道他的真名叫什么。他常常到我的办公室里来，几年来已经成了习惯。他给我带几幅小画，我给他一些钱，类似于施舍——他简直像个要饭的。那些画例并不差，画的是荒野、丛林等等。这种交易进行得甚为顺利，我们已经习惯了。可是有一段时间，我觉得他来得太频繁了，我把自己的想法告诉了他，我们开始交谈起来。我感到好奇的是，他怎么能完全靠卖画谋生，我吃惊地发现，他其实是靠给人家画肖像来维持生活的。他说，他在给法院里的法官们画像。我问他，为哪个法院。他便给我讲了关于这个法院的事。根据你的经验，你很容易想像得出，我听了他讲的话后感到多么吃惊。从那以后，他每次来的时候，都给我带来一些法院里的最新消息。久而久之，我对法院内部的事情有了相当深刻的认识。当然，蒂托雷里说话太随便，我常常得让他闭上嘴；这并不只是因为他爱说谎，主要是因为像我这样一个实业家，本身就有很多头痛的事，不想再为其他人多费脑子了。这些只不过附带说说而已。也许，我心想，蒂托雷里可能会对你有用的，他认识很多法官，虽然他本人没有多大影响，但他至少可以告诉你怎样跟有影响的人物挂上钩。另外，即使你无法把他当作一个预言家，但我觉得，他提供的消息一巴到了你手里，将会十分重要。因为你和律师一样精明。我常常说：襄理差不多就是位律师。噢，我用不着为你的案子操心多虑。好吧，你愿意去看看蒂托雷里吗？有我的介绍，他肯定会尽力为你效劳的；我确实认为你应该去一趟。当然不必今天就去，以后找个时间去，任何时间去都行。请允许我补充一句：别因为我建议你去，你就觉得非去不可，千万别这样。如果你认为不用去找蒂托雷里照样能行，那当然最好别让他跟这件案子有丝毫瓜葛。你自己大概已拟定了一个详细计划，蒂托雷里一介人，很可能会打乱这个计划的。如果是这样的话，你还不如不去找他。去向这么一个家伙求教，准会使人感到丢脸。不管怎么说，你爱怎么干就怎么干吧。这是我的介绍信，这是地址。”

Disappointed, K. took the letter and put it in his pocket. Even at best, the advantage he might derive from this recommendation was incomparably smaller than the damage that lay in the fact of the manufacturer knowing about his trial, and that the painter was spreading the news about. It was all he could manage to give the manufacturer, who was already on his way to the door, a few words of thanks. "I'll go there," he said as he took his leave of the manufacturer at the door, "or, as I'm very busy at present, I'll write to him, perhaps he would like to come to me in my office some time." "I was sure you'd find the best solution," said the manufacturer. "Although I had thought you'd prefer to avoid inviting people like this Titorelli to the bank and talking about the trial here. And it's not always a good idea to send letters to people like Titorelli, you don't know what might happen to them. But you're bound to have thought everything through and you know what you can and can't do." K. nodded and accompanied the manufacturer on through the ante-room. But despite seeming calm on the outside he was actually very shocked; he had told the manufacturer he would write to Titorelli only to show him in some way that he valued his recommendations and would consider the opportunity to speak with Titorelli without delay, but if he had thought Titorelli could offer any worthwhile assistance he would not have delayed. But it was only the manufacturer's comment that made K. realise what dangers that could lead to. Was he really able to rely on his own understanding so little? If it was possible that he might invite a questionable character into the bank with a clear letter, and ask advice from him about his trial, separated from the deputy director by no more than a door, was it not possible or even very likely that there were also other dangers he had failed to see or that he was even running towards? There was not always someone beside him to warn him. And just now, just when he would have to act with all the strength he could muster, now a number of doubts of a sort he had never before known had presented themselves and affected his own vigilance! The difficulties he had been feeling in carrying out his office work; were they now going to affect the trial too? Now, at least, he found himself quite unable to understand how he could have intended to write to Titorelli and invite him into the bank.

Ｋ接过信，塞进口袋里，精神很颓丧。即使一切十分顺利，这封介绍信能给他带来的好处也会被下面这个事实所包含的坏处所抵消：厂主知道审判他的事，画家正在宣扬这个消息。他很难说出一句感谢厂主的话来，厂主已经在往外走了。“我会去看画家的，”Ｋ在门口与厂主握手告别时说道，“或者写封信让他到这儿来，因为我很忙。”“我早就知道，”厂主说，“你能找到一个最好的解决办法。不过，我得坦白告诉你，我认为你最好避免在银行里会见像蒂托雷里这样的人，避免在这里和他讨论你的案子。另外，和这种人通信也不大合适。当然我相信你已经慎重考虑过了，你知道该怎么办。”Ｋ点点头，陪厂主穿过会客室，又送了他一段路。Ｋ表面上镇静自如，内心则因自己这么欠考虑而感到害怕。他说要给蒂托雷里写信，只不过向厂主表明，他珍视厂主的介绍，打算尽快和画家联系；可是从他自己这方面来说，只有当他认为画家的帮助确实非常重要，他才会打消顾虑，给画家写信。但他居然还需要厂主来告诉他，采取这类行动潜伏着那些危险。难道他已经如此丧失自己的判断能力了吗？如果他想公开请这个品行可疑的人到银行里来，在和副经理只有一门之隔的地方，与这个人商谈自己的案子，那他就有可能——完全有可能——忽略了其它危险，或者会陷入危险而仍不知道。难道不是这样吗？他身边并非总有人告诫他。在他想集中精力考虑案子的时候，却开始怀疑起自己的警觉能力来了！他在办公时遇到的困难也会影响这件案子吗？总而言之，他不明白自己怎么会想到给蒂托雷里写信，还请那家伙到银行里来。

He shook his head at the thought of it once more as the servitor came up beside him and drew his attention to the three gentlemen who were waiting on a bench in the ante-room. They had already been waiting to see K. for a long time. Now that the servitor was speaking with K. they had stood up and each of them wanted to make use of the opportunity to see K. before the others. It had been negligent of the bank to let them waste their time here in the waiting room, but none of them wanted to draw attention to this. "Mr. K., …" one of them was saying, but K. had told the servitor to fetch his winter coat and said to the three of them, as the servitor helped him to put it on, "Please forgive me, gentlemen, I'm afraid I have no time to see you at present. Please do forgive me but I have some urgent business to settle and have to leave straight away. You've already seen yourselves how long I've been delayed. Would you be so kind as to come back tomorrow or some time? Or perhaps we could settle your affairs by telephone? Or perhaps you would like to tell me now, briefly, what it's about and I can then give you a full answer in writing. Whatever, the best thing will be for you to come here again." The gentlemen now saw that their wait had been totally pointless, and these suggestions of K.'s left them so astounded that they looked at each other without a word. "That's agreed then, is it?" asked K., who had turned toward the servitor bringing him his hat. Through the open door of K.'s office they could see that the snowfall outside had become much heavier. So K. turned the collar of his coat up and buttoned it up high under his chin.

他思索着这些事，不住地摇着头；侍者走到他跟前，指着坐在会客室长凳上的三位先生。他们要见Ｋ，已经等了好久啦。他们看见侍者走到Ｋ身边，便匆忙站起来，每个人都争取先引起Ｋ的注意。既然银行职员毫不在乎地让他们在会客室里浪费时间，他们便认为自己也可以不必拘泥礼节。“Ｋ先生，”其中一个人开了口；然而Ｋ已经派人去取大衣了。在侍者帮他穿大衣的时候，他对这三位先生说：“请原谅，先生们，十分遗憾，我现在没有时间和你们商谈，很抱歉。我有要事，必须出去，马上就得离开银行。你们自己也看到了，最后那位客人占了我多少时间。你们可以明天或其它日子再来吗？或者，咱们也许可以在电话里商量吧？你们也可以现在用三言两语把事情简单说说，然后我给你们一个详细的书面答复，行不行？当然，更好的办法是你们另约一个时间。”那三位先生已经白白浪费了这么多时间，听见这些建议后，惊愕得面面相觑，一句话也说不出来。“就这么办吧，好吗？”他转向侍者，侍者已经给他拿来了帽子。办公室的门开着，他看见门外雪越下越大了。于是，他竖起大衣领子，把扣子一直扣到脖子上。

Just then the deputy director came out of the adjoining room, smiled as he saw K. negotiating with the gentlemen in his winter coat, and asked, "Are you about to go out?" "Yes," said K., standing more upright, "I have to go out on some business." But the deputy director had already turned towards the gentlemen. "And what about these gentlemen?" he asked. "I think they've already been waiting quite a long time." "We've already come to an understanding," said K. But now the gentlemen could be held back no longer, they surrounded K. and explained that they would not have been waiting for hours if it had not been about something important that had to be discussed now, at length and in private. The deputy director listened to them for a short while, he also looked at K. as he held his hat in his hand cleaning the dust off it here and there, and then he said, "Gentlemen, there is a very simple way to solve this. If you would prefer it, I'll be very glad to take over these negotiations instead of the chief clerk. Your business does, of course, need to be discussed without delay. We are businessmen like yourselves and know the value of a businessman's time. Would you like to come this way?" And he opened the door leading to the ante-room of his own office.

正在这时，副经理从旁边的办公室里走出来，他微笑着看了一眼穿着大衣和顾客讲话的Ｋ，问道：“你要出去吗？Ｋ先生？”“是的，”Ｋ说，他挺直了身子，“我得出去办点事。”副经理已经朝那三个顾客转过身去了。“这些先生怎么办？”他问道，“我相信他们已经在这里等了很久啦。”“我们已经讲妥怎么办了。”Ｋ说。可是这几位顾客现在可不那么好说话了，他们围在Ｋ身边，抱怨说：他们之所以等了几个钟头，是因为他们的事情十分重要，而且很紧急，需要在没有旁人在场的情况下，立即进行详细讨论。副经理一边听他们说，一边观察着Ｋ。Ｋ拿着帽子站在那儿，痉挛似地弹着帽子上的灰。副经理说：“先生们，有一个很简单的解决方法。如果你们同意的话，我很高兴代替襄理，为你们效劳。你们的事当然应该马上商议。我们和你们一样，都是搞实务的人，我们知道，对一位实业家来说，时间是多么可贵。劳驾，你们愿意跟我走吗？”他打开了通往他的办公室会客厅的门。

The deputy director seemed very good at appropriating everything that K. was now forced to give up! But was K. not giving up more than he absolutely had to? By running off to some unknown painter, with, as he had to admit, very little hope of any vague benefit, his renown was suffering damage that could not be repaired. It would probably be much better to take off his winter coat again and, at the very least, try to win back the two gentlemen who were certainly still waiting in the next room. If K. had not then glimpsed the deputy director in his office, looking for something from his bookshelves as if they were his own, he would probably even have made the attempt. As K., somewhat agitated, approached the door the deputy director called out, "Oh, you've still not left!" He turned his face toward him - its many deep folds seemed to show strength rather than age - and immediately began once more to search. "I'm looking for a copy of a contract," he said, "which this gentleman insists you must have. Could you help me look for it, do you think?" K. made a step forward, but the deputy director said, "thank you, I've already found it," and with a big package of papers, which certainly must have included many more documents than just the copy of the contract, he turned and went back into his own office.

副经理闯进Ｋ被迫抛弃的领地，干得多巧妙啊！可是，Ｋ是不是绝对有必要抛弃这些领地呢？他如果怀着最渺茫——他不得不承认这点——最微弱的希望，跑去找一个素昧平生的画家，他在银行中的声望肯定会受到无可挽回的损害。或许，他应该脱掉大衣，至少满足那两个还在等着副经理接见的顾客的要求，这样对他来讲要好得多。Ｋ完全可以试着这么做，可是Ｋ正好在这时发现副经理在Ｋ的办公室中乱翻Ｋ的文件，好像这些文件是属于他的。Ｋ局促不安地走到办公室门口。副经理高声说道：“噢，你还没走啊。”他朝Ｋ转过脸来——脸上一条条深陷的皱纹似乎是权力的象征，而不是岁数的象征——，随后立即继续翻寻。“我在找一份协议书的副本，”他说，“商行代理人说，副本应该是在你的文件堆里。你能帮我找找吗？”Ｋ向前迈了一步，但是副经理说：“谢谢，我已经找到了。”他拿着一大叠文件，回自己的办公室去了，其中不仅有那份协议书的副本，显然还有许多其它文件。

I can't deal with him right now, K. said to himself, "but once my personal difficulties have been settled, then he'll certainly be the first to get the effect of it, and he certainly won't like it." Slightly calmed by these thoughts, K. gave the servitor, who had already long been holding the door to the corridor open for him, the task of telling the director, when he was able, that K. was going out of the bank on a business matter. As he left the bank he felt almost happy at the thought of being able to devote more of himself to his own business for a while.

“我现在还不能和他平起平坐，”Ｋ自言自语道，“但是，等我的个人困难一解决，他将第一个知道我是不好惹的，我得让他吃点苦头。”想到这一点，Ｋ稍微得到了一些安慰。侍者开着过道的门，已经等了很长时间。Ｋ让侍者在合适的时候跟经理打个招呼，就说他有事出去了；接着他离开了银行。他想到终于可以完全为自己的案子奔走一段时间了，心里很愉快。

He went straight to the painter, who lived in an outlying part of town which was very near to the court offices, although this area was even poorer, the houses were darker, the streets were full of dirt that slowly blew about over the half-melted snow. In the great gateway to the building where the painter lived only one of the two doors was open, a hole had been broken open in the wall by the other door, and as K. approached it a repulsive, yellow, steaming liquid shot out causing some rats to scurry away into the nearby canal. Down by the staircase there was a small child lying on its belly crying, but it could hardly be heard because of the noise from a metal-workshop on the other side of the entrance hall, drowning out any other sound. The door to the workshop was open, three workers stood in a circle around some piece of work that they were beating with hammers. A large tin plate hung on the wall, casting a pale light that pushed its way in between two of the workers, lighting up their faces and their work-aprons. K. did no more than glance at any of these things, he wanted to get things over with here as soon as possible, to exchange just a few words to find out how things stood with the painter and go straight back to the bank. Even if he had just some tiny success here it would still have a good effect on his work at the bank for that day. On the third floor he had to slow down his pace, he was quite out of breath - the steps, just like the height of each floor, were much higher than they needed to be and he'd been told that the painter lived right up in the attic. The air was also quite oppressive, there was no proper stairwell and the narrow steps were closed in by walls on both sides with no more than a small, high window here and there. Just as K. paused for a while some young girls ran out of one of the flats and rushed higher up the stairs, laughing. K. followed them slowly, caught up with one of the girls who had stumbled and been left behind by the others, and asked her as they went up side by side, "Is there a painter, Titorelli, who lives here?" The girl, hardly thirteen years old and somewhat hunchbacked, jabbed him with her elbow and looked at him sideways. Her youth and her bodily defects had done nothing to stop her being already quite depraved. She did not smile once, but looked at K. earnestly, with sharp, acquisitive eyes. K. pretended not to notice her behaviour and asked, "Do you know Titorelli, the painter?" She nodded and asked in reply, "What d'you want to see him for?" K. thought it would be to his advantage quickly to find out something more about Titorelli. "I want to have him paint my portrait," he said. "Paint your portrait?" she asked, opening her mouth too wide and lightly hitting K. with her hand as if he had said something extraordinarily surprising or clumsy, with both hands she lifted her skirt, which was already very short, and, as fast as she could, she ran off after the other girls whose indistinct shouts lost themselves in the heights. At the next turn of the stairs, however, K. encountered all the girls once more. The hunchbacked girl had clearly told them about K.'s intentions and they were waiting for him. They stood on both sides of the stairs, pressing themselves against the wall so that K. could get through between them, and smoothed their aprons down with their hands. All their faces, even in this guard of honour, showed a mixture of childishness and depravity. Up at the head of the line of girls, who now, laughing, began to close in around K., was the hunchback who had taken on the role of leader. It was thanks to her that K. found the right direction without delay - he would have continued up the stairs straight in front of him, but she showed him that to reach Titorelli he would need to turn off to one side. The steps that led up to the painter were especially narrow, very long without any turning, the whole length could be seen in one glance and, at the top, at Titorelli's closed door, it came to its end. This door was much better illuminated than the rest of the stairway by the light from a small skylight set obliquely above it, it had been put together from unpainted planks of wood and the name 'Titorelli' was painted on it in broad, red brushstrokes. K. was no more than half way up the steps, accompanied by his retinue of girls, when, clearly the result of the noise of all those footsteps, the door opened slightly and in the crack a man who seemed to be dressed in just his nightshirt appeared. "Oh!" he cried, when he saw the approaching crowd, and vanished. The hunchbacked girl clapped her hands in glee and the other girls crowded in behind K. to push him faster forward.

他按地址径直开车来到画家住的地方，这是郊区，正好位于法院办公室所在的那个郊区的相反方向。这个地区更为贫穷，房子更加陈旧，满街的污泥和融化了的雪混在一起，缓缓流动。画家住的那座公寓的大门是两扇对开式的，其中一扇门开着，另一扇门的下面有一块长条砖，紧贴着地面，砖块上有一个缺口；Ｋ走上前去，发现一股直冒热气、令人作呕的黄色液体正从缺口中流出来，几只耗子随着液体跑出来，并立即钻进附近的水沟里。台阶下趴着一个小孩，正在大哭大叫；但是人们很难听见他的叫声，因为大门的另一侧有一家白铁铺，里面发出震耳欲聋的响声。白铁铺的门开着，三个学徒围成半圆形，站在一件东西周围；他们抡起锤子，正往那上面锤打着。墙上挂着一大块白铁片，白铁片上发出的苍白闪光映照着两个学徒当中的那个空间，映亮了他们的面孔和围裙。Ｋ对这些只是匆匆扫了一眼，他想尽快找到画家，向画家提几个试探性的问题，然后马上回银行。如果他这次拜访成功，将对他在今天剩下的时间内在银行里的工作有好处。他走进公寓；刚上四楼，他就快喘不过气了，于是不得不放慢脚步。梯级和楼层都高得不成比例，而画家据说住在顶层的一个阁楼里。这儿空气令人窒息；楼梯很窄，没有通风口，两边夹着光秃秃的墙，隔老长一段距离才有一个开在高处的小窗子。Ｋ停下来喘口气的当儿，几个小姑娘从一套房间中跑出来，笑着抢在Ｋ前面，朝楼上奔去。Ｋ慢吞吞地跟在她们后面，和其中的一个小姑娘同行。这个女孩子准是绊了一脚，所以才掉了队。Ｋ和她一起上楼梯，他问她：“有个名叫蒂托雷里的画家是住在这儿吗？”女孩子有点驼背，看上去不满十三岁；她用胳膊肘捅了他一下，会意地瞧着他。她虽然年纪很小，身体畸形，但已经过早地变得淫荡了。她不笑，而是用她那双精明、大胆的眼睛，目不转睛地看着Ｋ。Ｋ假装没有注意她的神情，只是问道：“你认识画家蒂托雷里吗？”她点点头，然后反问道：“你找他干什么？”Ｋ觉得这是一个好机会，可以多了解一点关于蒂托雷里的情况；反正现在还有时间。“我想请他给我画像，”他说，“给你画像？”她重复了一遍，嘴张得大大的；接着拍了Ｋ一下，好像他讲的话是完全出乎人们意料之外的，或者是愚蠢可笑的。然后，她用双手提起短裙，跑了几步，赶上了其他姑娘。她们在喧闹声在远处消失了。然而，在楼梯的下一个转弯处，Ｋ却又置身于她们中间了。那个驼背姑娘显然已经把Ｋ到这儿来的目的告诉其他姑娘了，所以她们在这儿等着他。她们依次站在楼梯两侧，紧贴着墙，给Ｋ留出一条道，好让他通过；与此同时，她们用手抚平身上的裙子。她们的脸上露出天真幼稚和老于世故相结合的表情，难怪她们能想出让Ｋ从人墙中穿过的主意。姑娘们现在紧跟在Ｋ后面，爆发出一阵阵哄笑声；驼背姑娘走在最前面，给Ｋ领路。多亏她，Ｋ才一下子便找对了门。他本来打算沿着楼梯一直往上走，但她指指旁边的一道小楼梯说，那道楼梯才是通向蒂托雷里的房间的。那道楼梯窄长笔直，一眼就能看出它的长度；楼梯尽头就是蒂托雷里的房门。整个楼梯光线暗淡，这扇门相形之下倒比较亮。门的上方有一个扇形楣窗，光线从那儿透进来，把门照得很亮。门没有刷过漆，上面歪歪扭扭地写着蒂托雷里的名字，是用画笔蘸上红颜料写的。Ｋ和跟在他后面的这些女孩子刚走到楼梯的中段，他们的脚步声显然把上面的某人吵得不耐烦了。门开了一条缝，一个好像只穿着睡衣的男人出现在门口。“啊！”他看见来了一群人，喊了一声，很快消失了。驼背丫头高兴得直拍手，其他姑娘则围在Ｋ身后，催他赶快上去。

They still had not arrived at the top, however, when the painter up above them suddenly pulled the door wide open and, with a deep bow, invited K. to enter. The girls, on the other hand, he tried to keep away, he did not want to let any of them in however much they begged him and however much they tried to get in - if they could not get in with his permission they would try to force their way in against his will. The only one to succeed was the hunchback when she slipped through under his outstretched arm, but the painter chased after her, grabbed her by the skirt, span her once round and set her down again by the door with the other girls who, unlike the first, had not dared to cross the doorstep while the painter had left his post. K. did not know what he was to make of all this, as they all seemed to be having fun. One behind the other, the girls by the door stretched their necks up high and called out various words to the painter which were meant in jest but which K. did not understand, and even the painter laughed as the hunchback whirled round in his hand. Then he shut the door, bowed once more to K., offered him his hand and introduced himself, saying, "Titorelli, painter". K. pointed to the door, behind which the girls were whispering, and said, "You seem to be very popular in this building." "Ach, those brats!" said the painter, trying in vain to fasten his nightshirt at the neck. He was also bare-footed and, apart from that, was wearing nothing more than a loose pair of yellowish linen trousers held up with a belt whose free end whipped to and fro. "Those kids are a real burden for me," he continued. The top button of his nightshirt came off and he gave up trying to fasten it, fetched a chair for K. and made him sit down on it. "I painted one of them once - she's not here today - and ever since then they've been following me about. If I'm here they only come in when I allow it, but as soon as I've gone out there's always at least one of them in here. They had a key made to my door and lend it round to each other. It's hard to imagine what a pain that is. Suppose I come back home with a lady I'm going to paint, I open the door with my own key and find the hunchback there or something, by the table painting her lips red with my paintbrush, and meanwhile her little sisters will be keeping guard for her, moving about and causing chaos in every corner of the room. Or else, like happened yesterday, I might come back home late in the evening - please forgive my appearance and the room being in a mess, it is to do with them - so, I might come home late in the evening and want to go to bed, then I feel something pinching my leg, look under the bed and pull another of them out from under it. I don't know why it is they bother me like this, I expect you've just seen that I do nothing to encourage them to come near me. And they make it hard for me to do my work too, of course. If I didn't get this studio for nothing I'd have moved out a long time ago." Just then, a little voice, tender and anxious, called out from under the door, "Titorelli, can we come in now?" "No," answered the painter. "Not even just me, by myself?" the voice asked again. "Not even just you," said the painter, as he went to the door and locked it.

他们还在继续朝楼梯顶部前进的时候，画家已经把门打开了；他深深鞠了一躬，请Ｋ进去。至于姑娘们，不管她们如何苦苦哀求，也不管她们得不到允许时又如何硬要进屋，他把她们全撵走，一个也不让进。只有驼背丫头一个人从他伸开的手臂底下钻了过去；他立即追上去，揪住她的裙子，把她举过头顶，转了一圈，然后把她放到门口，使她回到其他女孩子中间去；他后来虽然离开了门口，姑娘们却仍旧不敢跨过门槛。Ｋ不知道这是怎么回事，因为看来他们关系非常好。门外的女孩子们一个个伸直脖子，高声嚷嚷，和画家打趣；Ｋ听不懂她们说的是什么。画家也在哈哈大笑，他差不多是把驼背姑娘从空中抛出去的。然后他关上门，又对Ｋ鞠了一躬，伸出手，自我介绍说：“我是画家蒂托雷里。”姑娘们在门外唧唧喳喳，Ｋ指着门说：“你在这里看来很受欢迎。”“噢，这班小鬼！”画家说，他打算把睡衣的钮扣一直扣到脖子上，但是没有成功。他光着脚，除了睡衣外，只穿了一条黄亚麻宽腿裤，裤腰上束着一根长裤带，带梢在来回摆动。“这班小鬼真讨厌，”他接着说。画家不再在睡衣上浪费时间了，因为最上边的那粒扣子刚才掉了。他拿过一把椅子，请Ｋ坐下。“我曾经给她们当中的一个画过像——那个姑娘你今天没有看见——，打那以后，她们便老来折磨我。我在屋里的时候，只有在我同意的情况下，她们才能进来；但是当我出门的时候，她们中起码有一个人准会溜进屋里来。她们配了一把能打开我房门的钥匙，互相转借。你很难想像，这有多么讨厌。比如说，我带一位年轻女士到家里来画像；我掏出钥匙，打开房门后，忽然发现驼背丫头坐在写字台旁边，正用我的画笔把她的嘴唇涂红，而那些归她照看的小妹妹正在屋里东奔西跑，把屋子的每个角落都弄得乱糟糟的。昨天晚上还发生了这样的事：我很晚才回家——正是因为这个缘故，我现在衣冠不整，屋里也一塌糊涂，请你原谅——接着说吧，我回家的时候，已经很晚了，正要上床时，忽然有什么东西拽住了我的腿；我看看床底，拉出来一个讨厌的小姑娘。她们干吗要这样，我不知道，你大概自己也已经发现，我并不鼓励她们这样做。另外，这当然也妨碍我画画。如果不是因为我住的这个画室用不着付房租，我早就离开这儿了。”正好在这时，门外传来了一个细微的声音，一个姑娘用半是焦急、半是撒娇的语气说：“蒂托雷里，我们现在可以进来了吗？”“不行，”画家回答道。“我也不能进来吗？”那个声音又问道。“你也不行，”画家说，他走到门口，把门锁上了。

Meanwhile, K. had been looking round the room, if it had not been pointed out it would never have occurred to him that this wretched little room could be called a studio. It was hardly long enough or broad enough to make two steps. Everything, floor, walls and ceiling, was made of wood, between the planks narrow gaps could be seen. Across from where K. was, the bed stood against the wall under a covering of many different colours. In the middle of the room a picture stood on an easel, covered over with a shirt whose arms dangled down to the ground. Behind K. was the window through which the fog made it impossible to see further than the snow covered roof of the neighbouring building.

与此同时，Ｋ打量了一下屋子，他永远也不会相信，有谁会把这个肮脏狭小的窝棚叫做画室。你朝任何一个方向也不能迈出两步。整个房间，包括地板、墙壁和天花板，是一个由没有刷漆的木板拼凑而成的大盒子，木板之间有明显的裂缝。Ｋ对面的那堵墙边摆着一张床，上面堆着几条各种颜色的毯子。房间正中是一个画架，上面有块画布，画布上盖着一件衬衫，袖管耷拉在地板上。Ｋ的身后是窗子，窗外浓雾弥漫，只能看见隔壁的屋顶上覆盖着积雪，再远点就什么也看不见了。

The turning of the key in the lock reminded K. that he had not wanted to stay too long. So he drew the manufacturer's letter out from his pocket, held it out to the painter and said, "I learned about you from this gentleman, an acquaintance of yours, and it's on his advice that I've come here". The painter glanced through the letter and threw it down onto the bed. If the manufacturer had not said very clearly that Titorelli was an acquaintance of his, a poor man who was dependent on his charity, then it would really have been quite possible to believe that Titorelli did not know him or at least that he could not remember him. This impression was augmented by the painter's asking, "Were you wanting to buy some pictures or did you want to have yourself painted?" K. looked at the painter in astonishment. What did the letter actually say? K. had taken it as a matter of course that the manufacturer had explained to the painter in his letter that K. wanted nothing more with him than to find out more about his trial. He had been far too rash in coming here! But now he had to give the painter some sort of answer and, glancing at the easel, said, "Are you working on a picture currently?" "Yes," said the painter, and he took the shirt hanging over the easel and threw it onto the bed after the letter. "It's a portrait. Quite a good piece of work, although it's not quite finished yet." This was a convenient coincidence for K., it gave him a good opportunity to talk about the court as the picture showed, very clearly, a judge. What's more, it was remarkably similar to the picture in the lawyer's office, although this one showed a quite different judge, a heavy man with a full beard which was black and bushy and extended to the sides far up the man's cheeks. The lawyer's picture was also an oil painting, whereas this one had been made with pastel colours and was pale and unclear. But everything else about the picture was similar, as this judge, too, was holding tightly to the arm of his throne and seemed ominously about to rise from it. At first K. was about to say, "He certainly is a judge," but he held himself back for the time being and went closer to the picture as if he wanted to study it in detail. There was a large figure shown in middle of the throne's back rest which K. could not understand and asked the painter about it. That'll need some more work done on it, the painter told him, and taking a pastel crayon from a small table he added a few strokes to the edges of the figure but without making it any clearer as far as K. could make out. "That's the figure of justice," said the painter, finally. "Now I see," said K., "here's the blindfold and here are the scales. But aren't those wings on her heels, and isn't she moving?" "Yes," said the painter, "I had to paint it like that according to the contract. It's actually the figure of justice and the goddess of victory all in one." "That is not a good combination," said K. with a smile. "Justice needs to remain still, otherwise the scales will move about and it won't be possible to make a just verdict." "I'm just doing what the client wanted," said the painter. "Yes, certainly," said K., who had not meant to criticise anyone by that comment. "You've painted the figure as it actually appears on the throne." "No," said the painter, "I've never seen that figure or that throne, it's all just invention, but they told me what it was I had to paint." "How's that?" asked K. pretending not fully to understand what the painter said. "That is a judge sitting on the judge's chair, isn't it?" "Yes," said the painter, "but that judge isn't very high up and he's never sat on any throne like that." "And he has himself painted in such a grand pose? He's sitting there just like the president of the court." "Yeah, gentlemen like this are very vain," said the painter. "But they have permission from higher up to get themselves painted like this. It's laid down quite strictly just what sort of portrait each of them can get for himself. Only it's a pity that you can't make out the details of his costume and pose in this picture, pastel colours aren't really suitable for showing people like this." "Yes," said K., "it does seem odd that it's in pastel colours." "That's what the judge wanted," said the painter, "it's meant to be for a woman." The sight of the picture seemed to make him feel like working, he rolled up his shirtsleeves, picked up a few of the crayons, and K. watched as a reddish shadow built up around the head of the judge under their quivering tips and radiated out the to edges of the picture. This shadow play slowly surrounded the head like a decoration or lofty distinction. But around the figure of Justice, apart from some coloration that was barely noticeable, it remained light, and in this brightness the figure seemed to shine forward so that it now looked like neither the God of Justice nor the God of Victory, it seemed now, rather, to be a perfect depiction of the God of the Hunt. K. found the painter's work more engrossing than he had wanted; but finally he reproached himself for staying so long without having done anything relevant to his own affair. "What's the name of this judge?" he asked suddenly. "I'm not allowed to tell you that," the painter answered. He was bent deeply over the picture and clearly neglecting his guest who, at first, he had received with such care. K. took this to be just a foible of the painter's, and it irritated him as it made him lose time. "I take it you must be a trustee of the court," he said. The painter immediately put his crayons down, stood upright, rubbed his hands together and looked at K. with a smile. "Always straight out with the truth," he said. "You want to learn something about the court, like it says in your letter of recommendation, but then you start talking about my pictures to get me on your side. Still, I won't hold it against you, you weren't to know that that was entirely the wrong thing to try with me. Oh, please!" he said sharply, repelling K.'s attempt to make some objection. He then continued, "And besides, you're quite right in your comment that I'm a trustee of the court." He made a pause, as if wanting to give K. the time to come to terms with this fact. The girls could once more be heard from behind the door. They were probably pressed around the keyhole, perhaps they could even see into the room through the gaps in the planks. K. forewent the opportunity to excuse himself in some way as he did not wish to distract the painter from what he was saying, or else perhaps he didn't want him to get too far above himself and in this way make himself to some extent unattainable, so he asked, "Is that a publicly acknowledged position?" "No," was the painter's curt reply, as if the question prevented him saying any more. But K. wanted him to continue speaking and said, "Well, positions like that, that aren't officially acknowledged, can often have more influence than those that are." "And that's how it is with me," said the painter, and nodded with a frown. "I was talking about your case with the manufacturer yesterday, and he asked me if I wouldn't like to help you, and I answered: 'He can come and see me if he likes', and now I'm pleased to see you here so soon. This business seems to be quite important to you, and, of course, I'm not surprised at that. Would you not like to take your coat off now?" K. had intended to stay for only a very short time, but the painter's invitation was nonetheless very welcome. The air in the room had slowly become quite oppressive for him, he had several times looked in amazement at a small, iron stove in the corner that certainly could not have been lit, the heat of the room was inexplicable. As he took off his winter overcoat and also unbuttoned his frock coat the painter said to him in apology, "I must have warmth. And it is very cosy here, isn't it. This room's very good in that respect." K. made no reply, but it was actually not the heat that made him uncomfortable but, much more, the stuffiness, the air that almost made it more difficult to breathe, the room had probably not been ventilated for a long time. The unpleasantness of this was made all the stronger for K. when the painter invited him to sit on the bed while he himself sat down on the only chair in the room in front of the easel. The painter even seemed to misunderstand why K. remained at the edge of the bed and urged K. to make himself comfortable, and as he hesitated he went over to the bed himself and pressed K. deep down into the bedclothes and pillows. Then he went back to his seat and at last he asked his first objective question, which made K. forget everything else. "You're innocent, are you?" he asked. "Yes," said K. He felt a simple joy at answering this question, especially as the answer was given to a private individual and therefore would have no consequences. Up till then no-one had asked him this question so openly. To make the most of his pleasure he added, "I am totally innocent." "So," said the painter, and he lowered his head and seemed to be thinking. Suddenly he raised his head again and said, "Well if you're innocent it's all very simple." K. began to scowl, this supposed trustee of the court was talking like an ignorant child. "My being innocent does not make things simple," said K. Despite everything, he couldn't help smiling and slowly shook his head. "There are many fine details in which the court gets lost, but in the end it reaches into some place where originally there was nothing and pulls enormous guilt out of it." "Yeah, yeah, sure," said the painter, as if K. had been disturbing his train of thought for no reason. "But you are innocent, aren't you?" "Well of course I am," said K. "That's the main thing," said the painter. There was no counter-argument that could influence him, but although he had made up his mind it was not clear whether he was talking this way because of conviction or indifference. K., then, wanted to find out and said therefore, "I'm sure you're more familiar with the court than I am, I know hardly more about it than what I've heard, and that's been from many very different people. But they were all agreed on one thing, and that was that when ill thought-out accusations are made they are not ignored, and that once the court has made an accusation it is convinced of the guilt of the defendant and it's very hard to make it think otherwise." "Very hard?" the painter asked, throwing one hand up in the air. "It's impossible to make it think otherwise. If I painted all the judges next to each other here on canvas, and you were trying to defend yourself in front of it, you'd have more success with them than you'd ever have with the real court." "Yes," said K. to himself, forgetting that he had only gone there to investigate the painter.

钥匙在锁孔里转动的声音提醒Ｋ，他原先不打算在此久呆。于是他从口袋里掏出厂主的信，交给画家，说道：“我是从这位先生嘴里听说你的，他是你的熟人，他建议我到这儿来。”画家匆匆看完信，把它扔到床上。如果厂主事先没有讲明，他的这个熟人蒂托雷里是个靠他施舍过活的穷光蛋，那么人们现在可能会认为，蒂托雷里根本不认识厂主，或者至少已经把他忘了。后来画家居然问道：“你是来买画的，还是来画像的？”Ｋ诧异地看着他。信里写着什么呢？Ｋ理所当然地认为，厂主准是告诉蒂托雷里说，Ｋ到这里来没有别的目的，只想打听有关案子的事。他匆匆赶到画家这里来，看来未免太鲁莽、太轻率了。当然，他应该作出一个多少是切题的回答，所以他看了一眼画架说：“你正在画画吗？”“是的，”蒂托雷里说，他从画架上扯下衬衫，把它扔到床上，就扔在那封信旁边。“是一幅肖像。挺不错，不过还没有完工。”Ｋ看来运气不错，一下子便遇上了提起法院的机会，因为画上画的显然是一位法官。它和律师办公室里挂的那幅画惊人地相像。当然，这幅画上面的法官完全是另外一个人，此人身材矮胖，长着浓密乌黑的络腮胡子；再者，那幅是油画，这幅则是用彩色粉笔轻描淡写地勾勒出来的。不过，其它方面则很相似，因为这幅画里的法官也是一副气势汹汹的样子，他坐在高脚椅子上，两只手紧紧接着扶手，好像要站起来。“这大概是位法官吧，”Ｋ刚想说出口来，忽然住了嘴，走到画跟前，似乎要仔细研究一番。他不知道，占据着画面中心部分的那个站在高脚椅子后面的高个子是谁，于是他就问画家那是什么人。“还有几个细节没画完，”画家回答说。他从桌上拿起一支粉笔，在那人的轮廓上又添了几笔；但是Ｋ仍然认不出来。“这是司法女神，”画家最后说。“现在我认出来了，”Ｋ说，“她眼睛上蒙着布，这是天平。可是，她的脚后跟上不是长着翅膀吗？她不是在飞吗？”“是的，”画家说，“我得到指示，要画成这个样子；实际上这是司法女神和胜利女神的结合体。”“这种结合肯定不是很好，”Ｋ笑着说，“司法女神应该站稳双脚，否则天平就要摇晃，作出的判决就不可能公正。”“我得按顾客的指示办事，”画家说。“当然，”Ｋ说，他并不想多提意见得罪人，“你把这个人物画成好像站在高脚椅子上方似的。”“不对，”画家说，“我既没看见任何人，也没看见高脚椅子，全是想像出来的。人家告诉我该怎么画，我就怎么画。”“你这是什么意思？”Ｋ故意装出不懂的样子，“那么，坐在法椅上的这个人肯定是一位法官吧？”“对，”画家说，“但他不是高级法官，一辈子没有在这种椅子上坐过。”“然而他被画成这种威风凛凛的模样了，对不对？这是为什么？他坐在这儿，俨然是位法院院长。”“不错，这些先生们虚荣心很强，”画家说，“但他们的上司允许把他们画成这种模样。他们每个人都得到过确切的指示，知道自己的肖像应该怎么画。遗憾的是，你不能对服饰和座椅的细节作一番评价，用彩色粉笔画这种画确实不合适。”“对，”Ｋ说，“真奇怪，你怎么用起粉笔来了？”“因为我的顾客愿意用粉笔，”画家说，“他想把这幅画送给一位女士。”他看着这幅画，似乎激发出了作画的热情，便挽起衬衫袖子，随手拿起几支粉笔画了起来。Ｋ看着粉笔轻轻画下的线条使法官头部周围逐渐出现了一个略带红色的环圈，环圈越变越细，到了画面边缘竟成了一束束细长的光线。这个红色的环圈像是光环，也像是表示法官地位显赫的晕圈。但是司法女神的轮廓仍然不明显，周围只有一道几乎无法觉察的影子；由于轮廓浅淡，司法女神似乎跃到了画面的前方，看起来已不再像司法女神了，甚至也不像胜利女神了，倒像是正在追逐猎物的狩猎女神。画家的动作使Ｋ不觉人了神。后来他开始责怪自己呆了这么久，居然连正事还没有触及。“这位法官叫什么名字？”他突然发问。“我不能告诉你，”画家回答道，他朝画像倾过身去，故意冷落这位他刚才还十分尊重的客人。Ｋ认为这是画家脾气古怪的缘故；他为自己的时间就这么糟蹋掉而感到恼火。“我想，你很受法院的信任吧？”他问。画家立刻放下粉笔，挺直身子，搓搓手，笑眯眯地看着Ｋ。“你说实话吧！”他说，“你想了解有关法院的一些事，介绍信里是这么写的。我可以说，你先和我谈起我的画，只是为了赢得我的好感。我并不认为这是坏事，不过，你也许不知道，这不是跟我打交道的好办法。嗨，请你别辩解！”Ｋ想找些借口，却被他一下子堵住了嘴。他接着说：“另外，你说的很对，我很受法院的信任。”他停顿了片刻，好像想给Ｋ一点时间，用来回味他讲的这些话。现在他们又能听见姑娘们在门外发出的声音了。她们好像正聚集在钥匙空附近，也许她们能透过门缝看清屋内发生的事。Ｋ抛弃了一切为自己辩解的念头，因为他不想让谈话离题，也不想使画家自以为有多么了不起，以至使人无法接近。于是他问道：“你的职务是正式任命的吗？”“不是，”画家草草回答道，这个问题好像打断了他的思路。Ｋ急于让他讲下去，便说道：“噢，这种不被人承认的职务往往比正式职务更有影响力。”“我的情况正是这样，”画家皱起眉峰，点点头说，“厂主昨天跟我谈起了你的案子，他问我是不是可以助你一臂之力，我对他说：‘让那人抽个时间到我这里来一趟。’我很高兴看到你这么快就来了。看来你很关心这件案子，这当然一点也不奇怪。你想把大衣脱掉一会儿吗？”尽管Ｋ不想在这儿久呆，但这个建议同样受到了他的欢迎，因为他已经开始感到屋里空气闷热了；他有几次惊奇地看见，屋角里有一个小铁炉，虽然似乎没有点火，屋子里却热得令人难以忍受。他脱掉大衣，解开上衣扣子。画家抱歉地说：“我需要暖和点。这儿顶暖和，对不对？我在这里感到很舒服。”Ｋ听了这话，一声不吭；使他感到不自在的不是热，而是那种沉默壅塞、令人窒息的气氛；屋里准是好久没有流进新鲜空气了。当画家请他坐到床上去的时候，他感到更不好受了；画家坐在画架边的一把椅子上，屋里只有这么一把椅子。蒂托雷里看来也不理解Ｋ为什么只是坐在床沿上，他请Ｋ坐得舒服点，并把满心不情愿的Ｋ推到毯子、床单和枕头中间。然后他重新坐到自己的椅子上，向Ｋ提出第一个严肃的问题，使Ｋ忘记了其他所有事情。“你是清白无辜的吗？”他问道。“是的，”Ｋ说。他回答了这个问题，感到十分愉快，尤其是因为他只和画家一个人在谈话，用不着顾忌后果。任何其他人也没有这么坦率地问过他。为了使自己更加愉快，他又补充了一句：“我是完全清白无辜的。”“我明白了，”画家说，他低着头，好像在思索。突然，他扬起头说：“如果你清白无辜，那事情就很简单。”Ｋ的眼睛暗淡了：这个自称受到法院信任的人讲起话来竟像一个无知的孩子。“我清白无辜，并不能使事情变得简单些，”Ｋ说；他忍不住笑了一下，然后慢悠悠地摇着头，“法院里有数不清的阴谋诡计，我不得不与之进行斗争。他们到后来会无中生有，给你编造出一大堆罪状来。”“对，对，当然，”画家说，好像Ｋ根本没有必要打断他的思路，“不过，你反正是清白无辜的，是不是？”“当然，这用不着问。”Ｋ说。“这是最主要的，”画家说。他没有被Ｋ所说服，虽然他讲得斩钉截铁，但Ｋ仍然不明白，他说这话到底是出于真的相信还是权作敷衍。Ｋ为了弄清这一点，于是便说道：“你对法院的了解要比我深刻得多，这是肯定的；我只是从三教九流儿听说一点关于法院的情况，别的事我知道得很少。他们倒是一致认为，起诉不是轻率作出的，法院一旦对某人起诉，就认定被告有罪，要使法院改变这种信念简直难上加难。”“难上加难？”画家说，他的一只手在空中挥舞，“法院永远不会改变这种信念。如果我把所有法官都画在一幅画布上，你站在这张画布前就本案进行申诉，成功的希望也会比在真的法院里要大一些。”“我知道，”Ｋ自言自语道，他忘了他只是想让画家吐露情况。

One of the girls behind the door started up again, and asked, "Titorelli, is he going to go soon?" "Quiet!" shouted the painter at the door, "Can't you see I'm talking with the gentleman?" But this was not enough to satisfy the girl and she asked, "You going to paint his picture?" And when the painter didn't answer she added, "Please don't paint him, he's an 'orrible bloke." There followed an incomprehensible, interwoven babble of shouts and replies and calls of agreement. The painter leapt over to the door, opened it very slightly - the girls' clasped hands could be seen stretching through the crack as if they wanted something - and said, "If you're not quiet I'll throw you all down the stairs. Sit down here on the steps and be quiet." They probably did not obey him immediately, so that he had to command, "Down on the steps!" Only then it became quiet.

门外又传来一个姑娘的声音：“蒂托雷里，他一会儿就走吗？”“别闹，乖点！”画家转过头来嚷道，“你们不知道我正跟这位先生讲话吗？”可是姑娘并不罢休，又问道：“你要给他画像吗？”画家没有回答，她继续说下去：“请你别给他画像，他太难看了。”其他姑娘唧唧喳喳一阵，表示赞同。画家一步蹦到门口，开了一条缝——Ｋ看见了姑娘们伸出的一双双交叉紧握着的、苦苦哀求的手——，对他们说：“你们再不住口，我就把你们全推到楼下去。乖乖地坐在楼梯上。安静点。”她们看来没有立即服从，因为画家又怒吼道：“坐下，坐在楼梯上！”接着便是一片寂静。

"I'm sorry about that," said the painter as he returned to K. K. had hardly turned towards the door, he had left it completely up to the painter whether and how he would place him under his protection if he wanted to. Even now, he made hardly any movement as the painter bent over him and, whispering into his ear in order not to be heard outside, said, "These girls belong to the court as well." "How's that?" asked K., as he leant his head to one side and looked at the painter. But the painter sat back down on his chair and, half in jest, half in explanation, "Well, everything belongs to the court." "That is something I had never noticed until now," said K. curtly, this general comment of the painter's made his comment about the girls far less disturbing. Nonetheless, K. looked for a while at the door, behind which the girls were now sitting quietly on the steps. Except, that one of them had pushed a drinking straw through a crack between the planks and was moving it slowly up and down.

“请原谅，”画家重新回到Ｋ的身边，对Ｋ说。Ｋ没有心思朝门口看，他让画家自己决定，有没有必要，以及采取什么方式来保护他。画家朝他俯下身来，在他耳旁低声说话，即使在这时，Ｋ也几乎一动也不动。画家的声音压得很低，这样门外的姑娘们就听不见了：“这些姑娘们也是属于法院的。”“什么？”Ｋ嚷道，他转过头，注视着画家。可是蒂托雷里又坐到椅子上，半开玩笑半解释地说道：“你要知道，一切都是属于法院的。”“我以前不知道这一点，”Ｋ简短地说了一句；画家的这句总的声明使刚才说的“姑娘们属于法院”那句话不再令人不安了。不过Ｋ在随后的一段时间内仍然坐在那儿注视着房门。门外的女孩子们现在正安分守己地坐在楼梯上；一个姑娘从门缝里塞进一根麦秆来，慢慢地上下移动。

"You still don't seem to have much general idea of what the court's about", said the painter, who had stretched his legs wide apart and was tapping loudly on the floor with the tip of his foot. "But as you're innocent you won't need it anyway. I'll get you out of this by myself." "How do you intend to do that?" asked K. "You did say yourself not long ago that it's quite impossible to go to the court with reasons and proofs." "Only impossible for reasons and proofs you take to the court yourself" said the painter, raising his forefinger as if K. had failed to notice a fine distinction. "It goes differently if you try to do something behind the public court, that's to say in the consultation rooms, in the corridors or here, for instance, in my studio." K. now began to find it far easier to believe what the painter was saying, or rather it was largely in agreement with what he had also been told by others. In fact it was even quite promising. If it really was so easy to influence the judges through personal contacts as the lawyer had said then the painter's contacts with these vain judges was especially important, and at the very least should not be undervalued. And the painter would fit in very well in the circle of assistants that K. was slowly gathering around himself. He had been noted at the bank for his talent in organising, here, where he was placed entirely on his own resources, would be a good opportunity to test that talent to its limits. The painter observed the effect his explanation had had on K. and then, with a certain unease, said, "Does it not occur to you that the way I'm speaking is almost like a lawyer? It's the incessant contact with the gentlemen of the court has that influence on me. I gain a lot by it, of course, but I lose a lot, artistically speaking." "How did you first come into contact with the judges, then?" asked K., he wanted first to gain the painter's trust before he took him into his service. "That was very easy," said the painter, "I inherited these contacts. My father was court painter before me. It's a position that's always inherited. They can't use new people for it, the rules governing how the various grades of officials are painted are so many and varied, and, above all, so secret that no- one outside of certain families even knows them. In the drawer there, for instance, I've got my father's notes, which I don't show to anyone. But you're only able to paint judges if you know what they say. Although, even if I lost them no-one could ever dispute my position because of all the rules I just carry round in my head. All the judges want to be painted like the old, great judges were, and I'm the only one who can do that." "You are to be envied," said K., thinking of his position at the bank. "Your position is quite unassailable, then?" "Yes, quite unassailable," said the painter, and he raised his shoulders in pride. "That's how I can even afford to help some poor man facing trial now and then." "And how do you do that?" asked K., as if the painter had not just described him as a poor man. The painter did not let himself be distracted, but said, "In your case, for instance, as you're totally innocent, this is what I'll do." The repeated mention of K.'s innocence was becoming irksome to him. It sometimes seemed to him as if the painter was using these comments to make a favourable outcome to the trial a precondition for his help, which of course would make the help itself unnecessary. But despite these doubts K. forced himself not to interrupt the painter. He did not want to do without the painter's help, that was what he had decided, and this help did not seem in any way less questionable than that of the lawyer. K. valued the painter's help far more highly because it was offered in a way that was more harmless and open.

“看来你对于法院的全貌还不了解，”画家说；他朝前伸开两条腿，用脚跟敲着地板。“不过，既然你清白无辜，那就没有必要了解法院的全貌。我一个人就能让你解脱。”“你怎么能办到这点呢？”Ｋ问，“因为几分钟前你还对我说过，法院根本不理会证词。”“法院只是不理会当面陈述的证词，”画家说，他跷起一个指头，对Ｋ居然不懂其中的微妙区别表示吃惊。“但如果在幕后活动，情况就迥然不同了；幕后指的是在审议室和休息室里，或者，举个具体例子来说吧，就在这间画室里。”Ｋ完全相信画家现在讲的话，因为这和他从别人那儿听说的基本一致。在高级法官那儿，这样做确实是有希望的。如果像律师说的那样，法官很容易受私人关系的影响，那么画家和这些虚荣心很重的官员们的关系就显得特别重要了，在任何情况下都不能低估。Ｋ已在自己周围物色了一批可以帮助自己的人，画家和法官的关系将使他成为其中最突出的一位。Ｋ的组织能力一度是银行的骄傲；现在，这些人完全由他负责物色，这就使他得到了充分证实自己的组织能力的机会。蒂托雷里观察着他的话会在Ｋ身上产生什么效果，然后略带不安地说：“你也许很奇怪，为什么我讲起话来像个法学家？我一贯和法院里的先生们合作，所以变成了这样。我从中得到了很多好处，这是理所当然的；但是我也失去了许多作为一个艺术家应有的热忱。”“你当初是怎么和法官们拉上关系的呢？”Ｋ问；他想先取得画家的信任，然后再把画家列人那个可以帮助他的人的名单中。“这很简单，”画家说，“我继承了这种关系，我父亲是法院的前任画家。这是一个世袭的职位，不能录用新人。给各种不同级别的官员画画，需要掌握许多复杂、全面、不能外传的规则，这些规则只能让几户人家知道。比如说，那边那个抽屉里保存着我父亲画的所有画，我从来没有给任何人看过。只有研究过这些画的人，才有能力为法官们画像。不过，即使我把这些画丢了也没关系，我脑子里记住的规则已经多得足以保证我的位子不会被新来的人抢去。因为每个法官都坚持要把自己画得与以前的那些大法官一模一样，除了我以外，谁也做不到这一点。”“你的职位实在令人羡慕，”Ｋ说；他想到了自己在银行里的职位，“这么说来，你的位置是别人抢不走的啰？”“对，别人抢不走，”画家得意洋洋地扭了扭肩膀，回答道，“也正是由于这个原因，我才敢经常帮助一些可怜虫打官司。”“你用什么方式进行帮助呢？”Ｋ问，好像自己不属于画家说的那些可怜虫的范畴。但是蒂托雷里不让Ｋ把自己的思路岔开，而是接着往下说：“例如，在你这个案子里，你是完全无辜的，我将抓住这点不放。”画家再次提到Ｋ的无辜，Ｋ已经觉得不耐烦了。有时Ｋ感到，画家是在审判结果肯定良好的假设前提下，愿意提供帮助的；但这么一来，他的帮助便毫无意义了。然而，尽管Ｋ心里有这样的疑问，嘴里却没说出来，而是听任画家不停地讲下去。他不准备拒绝蒂托雷里的帮助，在这一点上他已经打定主意；画家和律师一样，站在他一边，这是不会有疑问的。其实他更愿意接受画家的帮助，因为画家的提议更诚恳、更坦率。

The painter had pulled his seat closer to the bed and continued in a subdued voice: "I forgot to ask you; what sort of acquittal is it you want? There are three possibilities; absolute acquittal, apparent acquittal and deferment. Absolute acquittal is the best, of course, only there's nothing I could do to get that sort of outcome. I don't think there's anyone at all who could do anything to get an absolute acquittal. Probably the only thing that could do that is if the accused is innocent. As you are innocent it could actually be possible and you could depend on your innocence alone. In that case you won't need me or any other kind of help."

蒂托雷里把椅子拉到床边，压低嗓门，继续说道：“我忘了先问一句，你想得到哪种形式的无罪开释处理。有三种可能性，即彻底宣判无罪、诡称宣判无罪和无限期延缓审判。当然，彻底宣判无罪是最好的方式，不过我对这种判决不能施加任何影响。据我所知，没有任何人能促使他们作出彻底宣判无罪的判决。惟一的决定性因素似乎是被告的清白无辜。既然你是无辜的，你当然可以把自己的无辜作为在本案中为自己辩护的根据。不过，在那种情况下，你就不需要我和任何其他人的帮助了。”

At first, K. was astonished at this orderly explanation, but then, just as quietly as the painter, he said, "I think you're contradicting yourself." "How's that?" asked the painter patiently, leaning back with a smile. This smile made K. feel as if he were examining not the words of the painter but seeking out inconsistencies in the procedures of the court itself. Nonetheless, he continued unabashed and said, "You remarked earlier that the court cannot be approached with reasoned proofs, you later restricted this to the open court, and now you go so far as to say that an innocent man needs no assistance in court. That entails a contradiction. Moreover, you said earlier that the judges can be influenced personally but now you insist that an absolute acquittal, as you call it, can never be attained through personal influence. That entails a second contradiction." "It's quite easy to clear up these contradictions," said the painter. "We're talking about two different things here, there's what it says in the law and there's what I know from my own experience, you shouldn't get the two confused. I've never seen it in writing, but the law does, of course, say on the one hand that the innocent will be set free, but on the other hand it doesn't say that the judges can be influenced. But in my experience it's the other way round. I don't know of any absolute acquittals but I do know of many times when a judge has been influenced. It's possible, of course, that there was no innocence in any of the cases I know about. But is that likely? Not a single innocent defendant in so many cases? When I was a boy I used to listen closely to my father when he told us about court cases at home, and the judges that came to his studio talked about the court, in our circles nobody talks about anything else; I hardly ever got the chance to go to court myself but always made use of it when I could, I've listened to countless trials at important stages in their development, I've followed them closely as far as they could be followed, and I have to say that I've never seen a single acquittal." "So. Not a single acquittal," said K., as if talking to himself and his hopes. "That confirms the impression I already have of the court. So there's no point in it from this side either. They could replace the whole court with a single hangman." "You shouldn't generalise," said the painter, dissatisfied, "I've only been talking about my own experience." "Well that's enough," said K., "or have you heard of any acquittals that happened earlier?" "They say there have been some acquittals earlier," the painter answered, "but it's very hard to be sure about it. The courts don't make their final conclusions public, not even the judges are allowed to know about them, so that all we know about these earlier cases are just legends. But most of them did involve absolute acquittals, you can believe that, but they can't be proved. On the other hand, you shouldn't forget all about them either, I'm sure there is some truth to them, and they are very beautiful, I've painted a few pictures myself depicting these legends." "My assessment will not be altered by mere legends," said K. "I don't suppose it's possible to cite these legends in court, is it?" The painter laughed. "No, you can't cite them in court," he said. "Then there's no point in talking about them," said K., he wanted, for the time being, to accept anything the painter told him, even if he thought it unlikely or contradicted what he had been told by others. He did not now have the time to examine the truth of everything the painter said or even to disprove it, he would have achieved as much as he could if the painter would help him in any way even if his help would not be decisive. As a result, he said, "So let's pay no more attention to absolute acquittal, but you mentioned two other possibilities." "Apparent acquittal and deferment. They're the only possibilities," said the painter. "But before we talk about them, would you not like to take your coat off? You must be hot." "Yes," said K., who until then had paid attention to nothing but the painter's explanations, but now that he had had the heat pointed out to him his brow began to sweat heavily. "It's almost unbearable." The painter nodded as if he understood K.'s discomfort very well. "Could we not open the window?" asked K. "No," said the painter. "It's only a fixed pane of glass, it can't be opened." K. now realised that all this time he had been hoping the painter would suddenly go over to the window and pull it open. He had prepared himself even for the fog that he would breathe in through his open mouth. The thought that here he was entirely cut off from the air made him feel dizzy. He tapped lightly on the bedspread beside him and, with a weak voice, said, "That is very inconvenient and unhealthy." "Oh no," said the painter in defence of his window, "as it can't be opened this room retains the heat better than if the window were double glazed, even though it's only a single pane. There's not much need to air the room as there's so much ventilation through the gaps in the wood, but when I do want to I can open one of my doors, or even both of them." K. was slightly consoled by this explanation and looked around to see where the second door was. The painter saw him do so and said, "It's behind you, I had to hide it behind the bed." Only then was K. able to see the little door in the wall. "It's really much too small for a studio here," said the painter, as if he wanted to anticipate an objection K. would make. "I had to arrange things as well as I could. That's obviously a very bad place for the bed, in front of the door. For instance when the judge I'm painting at present comes he always comes through the door by the bed, and I've even given him a key to this door so that he can wait for me here in the studio when I'm not home. Although nowadays he usually comes early in the morning when I'm still asleep. And of course, it always wakes me up when I hear the door opened beside the bed, however fast asleep I am. If you could hear the way I curse him as he climbs over my bed in the morning you'd lose all respect for judges. I suppose I could take the key away from him but that'd only make things worse. It only takes a tiny effort to break any of the doors here off their hinges." All the time the painter was speaking, K. was considering whether he should take off his coat, but he finally realised that, if he didn't do so, he would be quite unable to stay here any longer, so he took off his frock coat and lay it on his knee so that he could put it back on again as soon as the conversation was over. He had hardly done this when one of the girls called out, "Now he's taken his coat off!" and they could all be heard pressing around the gaps in the planks to see the spectacle for themselves. "The girls think I'm going to paint your portrait," said the painter, "and that's why you're taking your coat off." "I see," said K., only slightly amused by this, as he felt little better than he had before even though he now sat in his shirtsleeves. With some irritation he asked, "What did you say the two other possibilities were?" He had already forgotten the terms used. "Apparent acquittal and deferment," said the painter. "It's up to you which one you choose. You can get either of them if I help you, but it'll take some effort of course, the difference between them is that apparent acquittal needs concentrated effort for a while and that deferment takes much less effort but it has to be sustained. Now then, apparent acquittal. If that's what you want I'll write down an assertion of your innocence on a piece of paper. The text for an assertion of this sort was passed down to me from my father and it's quite unassailable. I take this assertion round to the judges I know. So I'll start off with the one I'm currently painting, and put the assertion to him when he comes for his sitting this evening. I'll lay the assertion in front of him, explain that you're innocent and give him my personal guarantee of it. And that's not just a superficial guarantee, it's a real one and it's binding." The painter's eyes seemed to show some reproach of K. for wanting to impose that sort of responsibility on him. "That would be very kind of you", said K. "And would the judge then believe you and nonetheless not pass an absolute acquittal?" "It's like I just said," answered the painter. "And anyway, it's not entirely sure that all the judges would believe me, many of them, for instance, might want me to bring you to see them personally. So then you'd have to come along too. But at least then, if that happens, the matter is half way won, especially as I'd teach you in advance exactly how you'd need to act with the judge concerned, of course. What also happens, though, is that there are some judges who'll turn me down in advance, and that's worse. I'll certainly make several attempts, but still, we'll have to forget about them, but at least we can afford to do that as no one judge can pass the decisive verdict. Then when I've got enough judges' signatures on this document I take it to the judge who's concerned with your case. I might even have his signature already, in which case things develop a bit quicker than they would do otherwise. But there aren't usually many hold ups from then on, and that's the time that the defendant can feel most confident. It's odd, but true, that people feel more confidence in this time than they do after they've been acquitted. There's no particular exertion needed now. When he has the document asserting the defendant's innocence, guaranteed by a number of other judges, the judge can acquit you without any worries, and although there are still several formalities to be gone through there's no doubt that that's what he'll do as a favour to me and several other acquaintances. You, however, walk out the court and you're free." "So, then I'll be free," said K., hesitantly. "That's right," said the painter, "but only apparently free or, to put it a better way, temporarily free, as the most junior judges, the ones I know, they don't have the right to give the final acquittal. Only the highest judge can do that, in the court that's quite out of reach for you, for me and for all of us. We don't know how things look there and, incidentally, we don't want to know. The right to acquit people is a major privilege and our judges don't have it, but they do have the right to free people from the indictment. That's to say, if they're freed in this way then for the time being the charge is withdrawn but it's still hanging over their heads and it only takes an order from higher up to bring it back into force. And as I'm in such good contact with the court I can also tell you how the difference between absolute and apparent acquittal is described, just in a superficial way, in the directives to the court offices. If there's an absolute acquittal all proceedings should stop, everything disappears from the process, not just the indictment but the trial and even the acquittal disappears, everything just disappears. With an apparent acquittal it's different. When that happens, nothing has changed except that the case for your innocence, for your acquittal and the grounds for the acquittal have been made stronger. Apart from that, proceedings go on as before, the court offices continue their business and the case gets passed to higher courts, gets passed back down to the lower courts and so on, backwards and forwards, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, to and fro. It's impossible to know exactly what's happening while this is going on. Seen from outside it can sometimes seem that everything has been long since forgotten, the documents have been lost and the acquittal is complete. No-one familiar with the court would believe it. No documents ever get lost, the court forgets nothing. One day - no-one expects it - some judge or other picks up the documents and looks more closely at them, he notices that this particular case is still active, and orders the defendant's immediate arrest. I've been talking here as if there's a long delay between apparent acquittal and re-arrest, that is quite possible and I do know of cases like that, but it's just as likely that the defendant goes home after he's been acquitted and finds somebody there waiting to re-arrest him. Then, of course, his life as a free man is at an end." "And does the trial start over again?" asked K., finding it hard to believe. "The trial will always start over again," said the painter, "but there is, once again as before, the possibility of getting an apparent acquittal. Once again, the accused has to muster all his strength and mustn't give up." The painter said that last phrase possibly as a result of the impression that K., whose shoulders had dropped somewhat, gave on him. "But to get a second acquittal," asked K., as if in anticipation of further revelations by the painter, "is that not harder to get than the first time?" "As far as that's concerned," answered the painter, "there's nothing you can say for certain. You mean, do you, that the second arrest would have an adverse influence on the judge and the verdict he passes on the defendant? That's not how it happens. When the acquittal is passed the judges are already aware that re-arrest is likely. So when it happens it has hardly any effect. But there are countless other reasons why the judges' mood and their legal acumen in the case can be altered, and efforts to obtain the second acquittal must therefore be suited to the new conditions, and generally just as vigorous as the first." "But this second acquittal will once again not be final," said K., shaking his head. "Of course not," said the painter, "the second acquittal is followed by the third arrest, the third acquittal by the fourth arrest and so on. That's what is meant by the term apparent acquittal." K. was silent. "You clearly don't think an apparent acquittal offers much advantage," said the painter, "perhaps deferment would suit you better. Would you like me to explain what deferment is about?" K. nodded. The painter had leant back and spread himself out in his chair, his nightshirt was wide open, he had pushed his hand inside and was stroking his breast and his sides. "Deferment," said the painter, looking vaguely in front of himself for a while as if trying to find a perfectly appropriate explanation, "deferment consists of keeping proceedings permanently in their earliest stages. To do that, the accused and those helping him need to keep in continuous personal contact with the court, especially those helping him. I repeat, this doesn't require so much effort as getting an apparent acquittal, but it probably requires a lot more attention. You must never let the trial out of your sight, you have to go and see the appropriate judge at regular intervals as well as when something in particular comes up and, whatever you do, you have to try and remain friendly with him; if you don't know the judge personally you have to influence him through the judges you do know, and you have to do it without giving up on the direct discussions. As long as you don't fail to do any of these things you can be reasonably sure the trial won't get past its first stages. The trial doesn't stop, but the defendant is almost as certain of avoiding conviction as if he'd been acquitted. Compared with an apparent acquittal, deferment has the advantage that the defendant's future is less uncertain, he's safe from the shock of being suddenly re-arrested and doesn't need to fear the exertions and stress involved in getting an apparent acquittal just when everything else in his life would make it most difficult. Deferment does have certain disadvantages of its own though, too, and they shouldn't be under-estimated. I don't mean by this that the defendant is never free, he's never free in the proper sense of the word with an apparent acquittal either. There's another disadvantage. Proceedings can't be prevented from moving forward unless there are some at least ostensible reasons given. So something needs to seem to be happening when looked at from the outside. This means that from time to time various injunctions have to be obeyed, the accused has to be questioned, investigations have to take place and so on. The trial's been artificially constrained inside a tiny circle, and it has to be continuously spun round within it. And that, of course, brings with it certain unpleasantnesses for the accused, although you shouldn't imagine they're all that bad. All of this is just for show, the interrogations, for instance, they're only very short, if you ever don't have the time or don't feel like going to them you can offer an excuse, with some judges you can even arrange the injunctions together a long time in advance, in essence all it means is that, as the accused, you have to report to the judge from time to time." Even while the painter was speaking those last words K. had laid his coat over his arm and had stood up. Immediately, from outside the door, there was a cry of 'He's standing up now!'. "Are you leaving already?" asked the painter, who had also stood up. "It must be the air that's driving you out. I'm very sorry about that. There's still a lot I need to tell you. I had to put everything very briefly but I hope at least it was all clear." "Oh yes," said K., whose head was aching from the effort of listening. Despite this affirmation the painter summed it all up once more, as if he wanted to give K. something to console him on his way home. "Both have in common that they prevent the defendant being convicted," he said. "But they also prevent his being properly acquitted," said K. quietly, as if ashamed to acknowledge it. "You've got it, in essence," said the painter quickly. K. placed his hand on his winter overcoat but could not bring himself to put it on. Most of all he would have liked to pack everything together and run out to the fresh air. Not even the girls could induce him to put his coat on, even though they were already loudly telling each other that he was doing so. The painter still had to interpret K.'s mood in some way, so he said, "I expect you've deliberately avoided deciding between my suggestions yet. That's good. I would even have advised against making a decision straight away. There's no more than a hair's breadth of difference between the advantages and disadvantages. Everything has to be carefully weighed up. But the most important thing is you shouldn't lose too much time." "I'll come back here again soon," said K., who had suddenly decided to put his frock coat on, threw his overcoat over his shoulder and hurried over to the door behind which the girls now began to scream. K. thought he could even see the screaming girls through the door. "Well, you'll have to keep your word," said the painter, who had not followed him, "otherwise I'll come to the bank to ask about it myself." "Will you open this door for me," said K. pulling at the handle which, as he noticed from the resistance, was being held tightly by the girls on the other side. "Do you want to be bothered by the girls?" asked the painter. "It's better if you use the other way out," he said, pointing to the door behind the bed. K. agreed to this and jumped back to the bed. But instead of opening that door the painter crawled under the bed and from underneath it asked K., "Just a moment more, would you not like to see a picture I could sell to you?" K. did not want to be impolite, the painter really had taken his side and promised to help him more in the future, and because of K.'s forgetfulness there had been no mention of any payment for the painter's help, so K. could not turn him down now and allowed him to show him the picture, even though he was quivering with impatience to get out of the studio. From under the bed, the painter withdrew a pile of unframed paintings. They were so covered in dust that when the painter tried to blow it off the one on top the dust swirled around in front of K.'s eyes, robbing him of breath for some time. "Moorland landscape," said the painter passing the picture to K. It showed two sickly trees, well separated from each other in dark grass. In the background there was a multi-coloured sunset. "That's nice," said K. "I'll buy it." K. expressed himself in this curt way without any thought, so he was glad when the painter did not take this amiss and picked up a second painting from the floor. "This is a counterpart to the first picture," said the painter. Perhaps it had been intended as a counterpart, but there was not the slightest difference to be seen between it and the first picture, there were the trees, there the grass and there the sunset. But this was of little importance to K. "They are beautiful landscapes," he said, "I'll buy them both and hang them in my office." "You seem to like this subject," said the painter, picking up a third painting, "good job I've still got another, similar picture here." The picture though, was not similar, rather it was exactly the same moorland landscape. The painter was fully exploiting this opportunity to sell off his old pictures. "I'll take this one too," said K. "How much do the three paintings cost?" "We can talk about that next time," said the painter. "You're in a hurry now, and we'll still be in contact. And besides, I'm glad you like the paintings, I'll give you all the paintings I've got down here. They're all moorland landscapes, I've painted a lot of moorland landscapes. A lot of people don't like that sort of picture because they're too gloomy, but there are others, and you're one of them, who love gloomy themes." But K. was not in the mood to hear about the professional experiences of this painter cum beggar. "Wrap them all up!" he called out, interrupting the painter as he was speaking, "my servant will come to fetch them in the morning." "There's no need for that," said the painter. "I expect I can find a porter for you who can go with you now." And, at last, he leant over the bed and unlocked the door. "Just step on the bed, don't worry about that," said the painter, "that's what everyone does who comes in here." Even without this invitation, K. had shown no compunction in already placing his foot in the middle of the bed covers, then he looked out through the open door and drew his foot back again. "What is that?" he asked the painter. "What are you so surprised at?" he asked, surprised in his turn. "Those are court offices. Didn't you know there are court offices here? There are court offices in almost every attic, why should this building be any different? Even my studio is actually one of the court offices but the court put it at my disposal." It was not so much finding court offices even here that shocked K., he was mainly shocked at himself, at his own na?vety in court matters. It seemed to him that one of the most basic rules governing how a defendant should behave was always to be prepared, never allow surprises, never to look, unsuspecting, to the right when the judge stood beside him to his left - and this was the very basic rule that he was continually violating. A long corridor extended in front of him, air blew in from it which, compared with the air in the studio, was refreshing. There were benches set along each side of the corridor just as in the waiting area for the office he went to himself. There seemed to be precise rules governing how offices should be equipped. There did not seem to be many people visiting the offices that day. There was a man there, half sitting, half laying, his face was buried in his arm on the bench and he seemed to be sleeping; another man was standing in the half-dark at the end of the corridor. K. now climbed over the bed, the painter followed him with the pictures. They soon came across a servant of the court - K. was now able to recognise all the servants of the court from the gold buttons they wore on their civilian clothes below the normal buttons - and the painter instructed him to go with K. carrying the pictures. K. staggered more than he walked, his handkerchief pressed over his mouth. They had nearly reached the exit when the girls stormed in on them, so K. had not been able to avoid them. They had clearly seen that the second door of the studio had been opened and had gone around to impose themselves on him from this side. "I can't come with you any further!" called out the painter with a laugh as the girls pressed in. "Goodbye, and don't hesitate too long!" K. did not even look round at him. Once on the street he took the first cab he came across. He now had to get rid of the servant, whose gold button continually caught his eye even if it caught no-one else's. As a servant, the servant of the court was going to sit on the coach-box. But K. chased him down from there. It was already well into the afternoon when K. arrived in front of the bank. He would have liked to leave the pictures in the cab but feared there might be some occasion when he would have to let the painter see he still had them. So he had the pictures taken to his office and locked them in the lowest drawer of his desk so that he could at least keep them safe from the deputy director's view for the next few days.

这种清醒的分析开始时曾使Ｋ吃了一惊，但他却用同样轻的声音向画家回答：“我觉得你自相矛盾。”“怎么自相矛盾？”画家耐心地反问道，他微笑着把身体向后仰去。画家的微笑使Ｋ怀疑，他即将摆出的也许不是画家讲话中的矛盾，而是法院诉讼程序本身的矛盾。不过他并未气馁，还是接着往下讲：“你刚才说过，法院不理会证词，后来你又说，那种说法只适用于法院公审时；而你现在却认为，在法院里，一个无辜的人根本不需要别人的帮助。这本身就包含着矛盾。此外，你开始时讲过，私人的斡旋可以使法官改变看法，而现在你却否认个人的斡旋可以得到你称之为彻底宣判无罪的结果——这就产生了第二个矛盾。”“这些矛盾很容易解释，”画家说，“我们应该区别两样东西：一是法律明文规定的，一是我通过亲身体验发现的；你不能把这两者混淆起来。在法典中——我承认没看过——肯定写着无辜者应无罪开释，那上面不会指出法官可以被影响。我的经验则与此截然相反。我没有见过任何一个案子的判决结果是彻底宣判无罪，但我却见过许多有影响的人物干预判决的例子。当然，也可能在我所知道的这些案子中，没有一个被告是真正无辜的。然而，这真的可能吗？那么多案件中，居然没有一个被告是无辜的吗？我小时候就很注意听父亲讲他听说过的那些案件；到他画室里来的法官们也总要谈起法院里的事：在我们这个圈子里，这实际上是惟一的话题。我自己开始为法官画像后，也充分利用了这种好处，了解到无数案件在最关键阶段的情况；我还尽可能注视这些案件的整个审理过程。但是——我得承认——我从来没有听说过一个彻底宣判无罪的例子。”“这么说，没有一件案子的判决结果是无罪开释，”Ｋ说，他好像在对自己和自己的希望说话，“这证实了我对这个法院业已形成的看法：从任何角度来看，法院都是一个毫无意义的机构，其全部工作一个刽子手就能胜任。”“你不能把这种情况普遍化，”画家不高兴地说，“我只是讲了我自己的经验。”“这就足够了，”Ｋ说，“你以前听说过无罪开释的事吗？”“据说，”画家回答道，“曾经有过这种无罪开释的例子。然而，要证实这点却十分困难。法院的最终决定从来不作记录，甚至法官也不知底细。因此，提及过去的案例，我们只能凭传闻。这些传闻肯定提供了宣判无罪的案例，实际上传闻中的大多数案子的判决结果都是无罪开释；这些传闻可以相信，但不能证实。不管怎么说，不能完全置这些传闻于不顾，其中总有些部分是属实的；此外，里面有些情节很动人。我自己就根据类似的传闻画过几幅画。”“光是传闻不能改变我的看法，”Ｋ说，“我想，人们总不能在法庭面前求助于这些传闻吧？”画家笑了起来。“不能，不能那样做，”他说。“那谈论这些传闻就没有用处了，”Ｋ说；他当时想要接受画家的看法，即使这些看法似乎很荒谬、或者跟Ｋ以前听说的有矛盾也无妨。他现在没有时间去调查画家讲的话是否全部符合事实，更不想反驳；他只希望画家能以某种方式帮助他，即使得不到任何结果也没关系。于是他说：“那咱们就不谈彻底宣判无罪了；你刚才还提到过其它两种可能性呢！”“诡称宣判无罪和延缓审理。只剩下这两种可能性了。”画家说，“不过，在咱们继续往下谈之前，你是不是把上衣脱掉？你好像很热。”“好的，”Ｋ说；他刚才只顾听画家讲话，把其它事情全忘了；现在经画家一提，他才发现这屋里真的很热，自己的额头上已经渗满汗珠，“简直热得难受。”画家点点头，好像他十分理解Ｋ的不舒服感觉。“咱们不能开窗吗？”Ｋ问。“不行，”画家回答，“那上面只有一块玻璃，固定在屋顶上，没法打开。”Ｋ这时才明白，他刚才一直盼着他自己或者画家会突然走到窗前，把窗打开。他只要能呼吸到新鲜空气，哪怕同时吞进几口烟雾也行。与新鲜空气完全隔绝的感觉使他顿时头昏脑涨起来。他把手掌平放在羽毛褥垫上，用微弱的声音说：“这既不舒适，又不卫生。”“噢，不对，”画家为自己的窗子辩护，“它是密封的，虽然只有一层玻璃，但却比双层玻璃更保暖。如果我想通通空气——这其实毫无必要，因为墙缝全透风——，只要打开一扇门，或者把两扇门全打开就行了。”听了这个解释，Ｋ稍微安心了，立即扫了周围一眼，寻找第二扇门。画家猜出了Ｋ在干什么，便说道：“在你后面，我不得不用床把它顶上了。”Ｋ这时才发现墙上有个小门。“这间屋子作为画室实在太小了，”画家说，好像他知道Ｋ会发表评论，于是便抢先说了一句，“我尽量作了安排，床紧挨着门，当然摆得不是地方。就拿我现在正给他画像的那位法官来说，他总是从这道门进来；我得把钥匙交给他，这样的话，如果我不在画室里，他可以自己先进来等我。他嘛，一般总是早晨来，我还睡着呢。当然，不管我睡得多热，只要床后面的这扇门一打开，我就会醒过来。他一早就从我床上爬过来，如果你能听见我怎么用骂声欢迎他，你就会失去对法官的一切崇敬心理。我当然可以从他那儿取回钥匙，但是只能使事情更糟。撞开这里的任何一扇门都很容易。”他们在交谈时，Ｋ一直在考虑是否把上衣脱掉，最后他明白了，如果上衣不脱掉，他就无法在屋里再呆下去；于是他脱掉上衣，搁在膝盖上，这样做的好处是，谈话结束后，再穿起来就省时间了。他刚脱下上衣，一个姑娘就叫道：“现在他把上衣脱掉了。”他知道，现在她们全挤在门口，想透过门缝亲眼看看。“姑娘们以为，”画家说，“现在我要给你画像了，你是因为这个缘故才脱外衣的。”“我明白了，”Ｋ说，他并不觉得多么有趣；他现在虽然只穿着衬衫，却比刚才舒服不了多少。他闷闷不乐地问道：“你刚才说的另外两种可能性是什么？”他已经忘掉这两种可能性的名称了。“诡称宣判无罪和无限期延缓审理，”画家说，“应该由你来选择。我能够帮助你实现其中的任何一种可能性，尽管肯定会遇到一些麻烦；这两种可能性的区别在于，诡称宣判无罪要求在短时间内集中全部精力，而延缓审理则用的力气较少，但要坚持不懈。咱们先讲讲诡称宣判无罪吧。如果你决定争取这种可能性，我就去拿张纸来，写份宣誓书，保证你是清白无辜的。我父亲把这种宣誓书的写法告诉我了，决不会有问题的。然后我将带着这份宣誓书到我认识的所有法官那儿去游说，先从现在正让我画像的那个法官开始，比方说，从他今天晚上来画像的时候开始，我就把宣誓书摊在他面前，向他解释你是无罪的，并且以我本身的名义保证你是清白无辜的。这不是一种徒具形式的保证，而是名符其实，具有约束力的保证。”画家的眼睛中露出一丝略带嗔责的目光，好像Ｋ不该让他担负这么重大的责任似的。“你太好了，”Ｋ说，“可是，法官对你固然是相信的，但是仍旧不愿给我作出彻底宣判无罪的判决，是不是？”“关于这点，我已经解释过了，”画家回答道，“此外，是不是每个法官都相信我，还很难肯定；比如说，有的法官会要求亲自见见你。那样的话，我就得带着你去见他们。当然，如果出现了这种情况，就已成功了一半，尤其是因为我事先会确切地告诉你，在每个法官面前应该采取什么策略。真正的困难来自那些一开始就把我打发走的法官——这样的事肯定会有的。我当然会继续向他们申诉，但是咱们也许不得不甩开他们——当然，咱们是可以这样做的，因为个别法官的不同意见不至于影响判决结果。好吧，咱们再说下去，如果能争取相当数量的法官在宣誓书上签字，我就把宣誓书呈递到现在正在过问你的案件的主审法官手里，我或许也能让他在宣誓书上签名。这么一来，用不了多久，一切事情就能顺利解决了，解决的速度要比平常快得多。一般说来，在这个阶段以后，就不会有什么值得一提的困难了，被告到了这一阶段会感到信心十足。人们在这时要比正式宣判无罪时信心更足，这是很值得注意的，也确实如此。他们不必再做更多的事情了。主审法官手头有其他法官签名的宣誓书，他就能放心大胆地判处无罪开释了；虽然还有一些手续需要履行，但他肯定会判无罪开释，以取悦我和他的其他朋友。到那时，你就能作为一个自由的人，走出法院了。”“这么说，到那时我就自由了，”Ｋ半信半疑地说。“对，”画家说，“但是仅仅是表面上自由，或者说得更确切一些，是暂时自由。因为我的熟人都是些低级法官，他们无权作出终审判决，无罪开释的终审判决权属于最高法院，你、我、以及我们大家都无法接近它。那儿的情况怎么样，我们不得而知；顺便说一句，我们甚至也不想知道。总之，我们的法官没有判处无罪开释的权利，但是他们有权暂时卸掉你身上的罪责。这就是说，他们可以宣布你无罪，暂时把罪责从你身上卸掉，但是这个罪名仍旧是在你头顶上，一旦上面来了命令，他们就把罪责重新安在你身上。我和法院的联系很密切，因此我也能够告诉你，法院各办公室在具体处理彻底宣判无罪和诡称宣判无罪时采取哪些不同做法。彻底宣判无罪时，与案子有关的文件据说都要销毁，它们消失了，再也看不见了，不仅起诉书被销毁，庭审记录和判决书也要销毁，所有东西都要销毁。诡称宣判无罪就不是这样。各种文件均需保留，包括宣誓书、判决记录和判决说明书。所有卷宗都得按照正常办公原则的要求，继续呈转，转到最高法院后，又转回低级法官，就这样转来转去，这儿耽搁几天，那儿积压一些日子。卷宗的往返次数是无法计算的。局外人有时会以为，整个案子已经被忘却，文件已经遗失，诡称宣判无罪已经成为彻底宣判无罪。但实际上，任何一个熟悉法院情况的人都不会这么想。任何文件也不会遗失，法院从来也不会忘记任何事情。有一天，某个法官会出其不意拿过卷宗来，仔细阅读；他会认为这起案件的起诉仍然有效，于是便下令立即逮捕人。我这么说，有一个假设前提，即从诡称宣判无罪到重新逮捕人犯之间，已过了很长时间，这是可能的，我听说过类似的情况。但也有这样的可能：得到无罪开释的人刚从法院回到家，便发现刑警已经等在那里要重新逮捕他了。于是，他的全部自由当然便就此告终了。”“这个案子又得从头开始审理吗？”Ｋ有点不相信地问道。“当然啰，”画家说，“案子需要全部从头开始审理；但是结果也有可能和上次一样：诡称宣判无罪。于是人们又得为这个案子全力以赴，任何时候也不能松劲。”他讲出最后这句话，大概是因为发现Ｋ的脸上露出了绝望的表情。“可是，”Ｋ说，他好像不想再听画家说下去了，“第二次争取得到无罪开释的结果是不是比第一次更难？”“在这一点上，”画家说，“谁也不敢说死。我觉得，你的意思是，第二次被捕会影响法官们对被告的看法？不是这样。法官们第一次宣布被告无罪时，就预见到有可能再次逮捕被告。因此，你的这种顾虑是完全多余的。但是，由于各种各样的原因，有时倒会发生这样的事：法官们对这件案子的看法变了，甚至从司法观点上说也产生了变化；因此，你就得根据业已变化的情况，采取相应的努力，争取第二次无罪开释。一般说来，要像争取第一次无罪开释时那样想尽法子、竭尽全力。”“但是，第二次无罪开释也不是终审判决呀，”Ｋ说，他不以为然地转过头去。“当然不是，”画家说，“在第二次无罪开释后面跟着的是第三次被捕，在第三次无罪开释后面跟着的是第四次被捕，依次类推。诡称宣判无罪这个概念本身就包含着这些内容。”Ｋ无以置答。“看来，你对诡称宣判无罪不感兴趣，”画家说，“也许延缓审理对你更为适合。我是不是需要向你解释一下，延缓审理是怎么回事？”Ｋ点点头。画家懒洋洋地重新躺到椅子上，他睡衣前面的钮扣脱开了，他伸进一只手，轻轻抚摩着自己的胸部。“延缓审理，”他说；他凝视着前方，停了一会儿，像要找出一个十分确切的解释，“延缓审理就是诉讼停留在开始阶段，不再继续往下进行。为了取得延缓审理的结果，被告和他的代理人，尤其是他的代理人，必须与法院不断保持个人接触。请允许我再次指出，这虽然不像争取诡称宣判无罪那样，需要全力以赴；不过从另一方面来说，却需要更加保持警觉。你得经常注视着案子的情况，除了在紧急情况下要去找主管法官外，每隔一定时间也得去找他一次，而且要尽可能和他搞好关系。如果你本人不认识这位法官，那就应该通过你认识的那些法官尽量给他施加影响；同时要继续努力，争取亲自和他见一次面。如果这些事情中的任何一件你都没有忽略，那你就肯定能使诉讼不至于超越开始阶段。这并不意味着不再审理了，但是被告基本上可以不受判决的约束，就像一个自由的人一样。与诡称宣判无罪相比，延缓审理有其优越性，即被告的前景较为明朗，没有突然被捕的危险，用不着担心、紧张和焦虑，而这在争取诡称宣判无罪时是不可避免的，类似情况很可能在一个最不合宜的时刻出现。当然，对被告来说，延缓审理也有一些欠缺之处，一这也不容忽视。我这么说，并不是因为考虑到被告在这种情况下永远也不会真正获得自由，因为他在得到诡称宣判无罪后，也不见得能够真正获得自由。延缓审理的弊端在其它方面。要想把案子无限期地搁置起来，就必须找到几条站得住脚的理由。因此，每隔一段时间便得做做样子，采取各种措施，审问一次被告，收集一点证据等等，这当然只是走走过场而已。因为案子还得让它继续向前进展，尽管只是局限在人为划定的一个小圈子中。这当然意味着被告会偶尔遇到一些不愉快的事情；不过，你别以为这些事情会使人很不愉快，因为一切都是走走过场而已。比如说，审讯被告只消三言二语；如果你没有时间，或者不想去，你可以表示抱歉而不出庭；你还可以事先安排和某些法官见面；总之，你要做的一切只是隔一定时间到你的主审法官那儿去一次，以这种方式从形式上承认你处于被告地位。”画家讲最后这句话的时候，Ｋ已经把上衣搭在手臂上站了起来。“他现在站起来了，”门外立即传来了喊声。“你就要走了吗？”画家问，他也站了起来。“我相信，是这儿的空气促使你离开的，我很遗憾。我还有好多话要对你说，我不得不讲得很简短。但是我希望已经解释得够清楚了。”“啊，是的，”Ｋ说，他不得不聚精会神地听画家讲话，头都疼了。虽然Ｋ承认画家已经讲清楚了，可是画家又接着总结了几句，想利用最后一次机会使他放心：“这两种方式的共同点是，可以避免被告受到判决。”“但是，它们也使被告不能真正无罪开释，”Ｋ低声说，他似乎因为自己作了这么一个尖锐的判断而感到窘迫。“你抓住了事情的核心，”画家紧接着说。Ｋ伸手去拿外套，但还没有决定是否把上衣穿上。他很想把外套和上衣捆成一捆，拿在手里，奔到外面去呼吸新鲜空气。他想到了姑娘们，尽管她们已经作出预报，说是他已经在穿衣服了，他还是不想把衣服穿上。画家急于猜度Ｋ的意图，便说道：“我觉得，你对于我的那几个建议还没有作出决定。这是对的。你如果想要匆匆决定的话，我还会劝阻你呢。需要细细斟酌，权衡利弊。每件事情都要仔细掂量。但是，从另一方面来说，你也不应该拖得太久。”“我不久会再来找你的，”Ｋ说，他顿时下定决心，穿好上衣，把外套往肩上一搭，匆匆朝门口走去；门外的女孩子们立即尖叫起来。“你得守信用，”画家说；他没有跟着Ｋ，“否则我只好自己到银行里来了解情况了。”“请你开门，好吗？”Ｋ说；他拉了一下门把；觉得有阻力，他知道是门外的姑娘们在拽着。“你不想受到女孩子们的纠缠吧？”画家问，“最好还是从这边出去吧。”他指指床后的那扇门。这正中Ｋ的下怀，他赶紧走回床边；但是画家却没去开门，而是钻到床底下，在那儿说道：“等一会儿，你想看一两幅画吗？你可能会想买的。”Ｋ不想失礼，要知道画家确实很关心他，还答应今后帮助他呢；此外，Ｋ一直到现在都没提怎么付给画家报酬的事，这完全是他的疏忽，既然画家自己提出卖画，他当然不能推诿。于是，他同意看一看，尽管他急着想出去，已经不耐烦到了极点。蒂托雷里从床底下拽出一堆没有镶框的画来，画上盖着厚厚一层灰尘，轻轻一吹便满屋子飞扬起来，弄得Ｋ睁不开眼睛，喘不过气来。“大自然，荒野景色，”画家一面说，一面把画递给Ｋ。画面上是两棵低矮的树，分别位于一片深绿色草地的两端；背景是色彩斑斓的落日景象。“很漂亮，”Ｋ说，“我买。”Ｋ的回答短得出乎自己的预料；但画家并没有觉得受辱，而是从地板上又拿起一幅画来，所以Ｋ很高兴。“这幅画正好和那幅配对，”画家说。这幅画和那幅画倒真可以配对，两者没有丝毫区别：这幅画上也是两棵树、一片草地和一轮西斜的红日。不过Ｋ并不计较这点。“是两幅极美的风景画，”他说，“我都买下，我要把它们挂在我的办公室里。”“看来你喜欢风景画，”画家一面说，一面又挑出一幅画来，“碰巧的是，我还有一幅这样的习作，”这并不像是什么习作，而是又一幅荒原风景画。画家显然正在尽量利用这个机会，推销过去画的画。“这幅我也买下，”Ｋ说，“三幅一共多少钱？”“下次再说吧，”画家说，“你今天急着要走，反正咱们会保持联系的。老实说，你喜欢这些画，使我很高兴；我以后要把床底下的所有画都附送给你。全是荒野风景画，当初我画了几十幅。有些人不喜欢这类题材，说是格调太低沉，可是我相信总能找到一些像你这样的人，喜欢格调低沉的画。”然而，Ｋ再也没有心思听这位兜售自己作品的画家发表他的艺术见解了。“请把这三幅画包好，”他打断蒂托雷里的絮叨，大声说，“我的仆人明天会来取的。”“不必要，”画家说，“我可以找个搬运工，现在就跟你走，把画给你送去。”他终于走到床后面，把门打开。“别怕踩在床上，”他说，“从这扇门出去的人都从床上踩过去。”画家即使不这么说，Ｋ也会这么做的，他的一只脚已经踩在羽毛褥垫的正中间；可是，他透过开着的门朝外一望，又把那只脚收了回来。“怎么回事？”他问画家。“什么东西使你这么奇怪？”画家反问道，他也觉得奇怪了，“这些是法院办公室。你原先不知道这儿有法院的办公室吗？几乎每栋房子的阁楼上都有法院的办公室，这栋房子为什么应该是例外呢？我的画室实际上也是属于法院办公室的，不过法院把它交给我使用了。”使Ｋ大吃一惊的倒并不是发现了法院办公室；而是发现自己居然对有关法院的事情如此一无所知。他承认，对于一个被告来说，一条根本原则是事事提防，永远不处于措手不及的地位；如果法官在左面出现，被告的眼睛决不能漫不经心地看着右面——而他却一次又一次地违反了这条原则。他的面前是一条长长的过道，画室里的空气和这里的空气一比，就算很新鲜了。过道两边摆着长凳，和审理Ｋ的案子的那些办公室之间的过道一模一样。这么看来，办公室的内部布置有特定的规则。当时没有多少当事人来来往往。一个男人在长凳上半坐半靠着，双手捂着脸，好像睡着了；另外一个男人站在过道尽头一个光线阴暗的地方。Ｋ这时从床上走过去，画家拿着画，跟在他后面。他们很快便找到了一个门房——这些人虽然穿着普通衣服，但衣服上除了一般的钮扣外，还有一颗金扣子，Ｋ现在已经能把他们辨认出来了——，画家让他拿着画送Ｋ回家。Ｋ掏出手绢，捂着嘴；他不像走路，而是在跑步。他们快要走到过道尽头时，姑娘们拥了上来；Ｋ终于未能避免和她们相遇。姑娘们显然看见画室的第二扇门开了，她们赶快绕着圈子赶到这儿来了。“我不能再送你了，”画家笑着大声说道，他已经被女孩子们团团围住了，“下次再见吧，抓紧时间好好考虑一下！”Ｋ甚至没有回头看一眼。他来到马路上后，叫过头一辆驰来的出租马车。他得甩掉门房，因为门房的金扣子使他心烦，虽然它看来并没有引起任何别人的注意。忠心耿耿的门房上了车，坐在车夫旁边，但是Ｋ吩咐他下了车。Ｋ到达银行时，早已过了中午。他本想把画扔在车内，但又怕哪一天画家会问起这些画所表达的意境；所以他只好把画带进办公室，锁在写字台最下面的那个抽屉里，至少最近几天不能让副经理看见这几幅画。