答罗伯特·沃波尔爵士'

William Pitt，1708—1778，one of the ablest statesmen and orators of his time，was born in Cornwall，and educated at Eton and Oxford.He entered Parliament in 1735，and became a formidable opponent of the ministry of Sir Robert Walpole.He gained great reputation by his wise and vigorous management of military affairs in the last years of the reign of George II.He opposed the “Stamp Act”with great earnestness，as well as the course of the ministry in the early years of the American Revolution.In 1778，he rose from a sick bed to make his celebrated speech，in the House of Lords，in opposition to a motion to acknowledge the independence of America.At its close，he fell in an apoplectic fit，and was borne home to die in a few weeks afterward.He was buried in Westminster Abbey.Mr.Pitt possessed a fine personal presence and a powerful voice；he was very popular with the people，and is often called the “Great Commoner.”He was created“Earl of Chatham”in 1766.

The atrocious crime of being a young man，which the honorable gentleman has，with such spirit and decency，charged upon me，I shall neither attempt to palliate nor deny；but content myself with hoping that I may be one of those whose follies cease with their youth，and not of that number who are ignorant in spite of experience.Whether youth can be imputed to a man as a reproach，I will not assume the province of determining；but surely age may become justly contemptible，if the opportunities which it brings have passed away without improvement，and vice appears to prevail when the passions have subsided.The wretch，who，after having seen the consequences of a thousand errors，continues still to blunder，and whose age has only added obstinacy to stupidity，is surely the object either of abhorrence or contempt，and deserves not that his gray hairs should secure him from insult.Much more is he to be abhorred，who，as he has advanced in age，has receded from virtue，and become more wicked——with less temptation；who prostitutes himself for money which he can not enjoy，and spends the remains of his life in the ruin of his country.

But youth is not my only crime；I am accused of acting a theatrical part.A theatrical part may either imply some peculiarity of gesture，or a dissimulation of my real sentiments，and an adoption of the opinions and language of another man.In the first sense，the charge is too trifling to be confuted，and deserves only to be mentioned that it may be despised.I am at liberty，like every other man，to use my own language；and though，perhaps，I may have some ambition to please this gentleman，I shall not lay myself under any restraint，nor very solicitously copy his diction or his mien，however matured by age，or modeled by experience.

But，if any man shall，by charging me with theatrical behavior，imply that I utter any sentiments but my own，I shall treat him as a calumniator and a villain；nor shall any protection shelter him from the treatment he deserves.I shall，on such an occasion，without scruple，trample upon all those forms with which wealth and dignity intrench themselves，nor shall anything but age restrain my resentment；age，——which always brings one privilege，that of being insolent and supercilious，without punishment！

But，with regard to those whom I have offended，I am of opinion that，if I had acted a borrowed part，I should have avoided their censure: the heat that offended them was the ardor of conviction，and that zeal for the service of my country which neither hope nor fear shall influence me to suppress.I will not sit unconcerned while my liberty is invaded，nor look in silence upon public robbery.I will exert my endeavors，at whatever hazard，to repel the aggressor，and drag the thief to justice，whoever may protect him in his villainies，and whoever may partake of his plunder.

译文　TRANSLATION

威廉·皮特（1708—1778）是他那个时代最干练的政治家、演说家之一。皮特出生于康沃尔，曾负笈伊顿、牛津。1735年，皮特进入议会，成为沃波尔内阁强大的反对者。在乔治二世统治的最后几年，皮特以其明智、有力的军事管理而声誉鹊起。他强烈反对印花税法案及北美独立战争初期英国内阁的政策方针。1778年，他从病榻上勉力而起，在上议院发表演说，反对承认北美独立的动议。演说临近结束时，他突然中风；抬回家只过了几个星期，就去世了。皮特仪表堂堂，声音洪亮。他非常受时人欢迎，被誉为“伟大的下院议员”。1776年，他被册封为“查塔姆伯爵”。

这位令人尊敬的先生这么高雅、这么兴致勃勃地以“年轻”这一穷凶极恶的罪行指责我，对此，我不想辩解也不想否认，我只以这样的希望来宽解自己：我会成为那些人中的一员——他们的鲁莽随着韶华一起逝去；而不会像另一些人，虽不无经验，却依旧颟顸无知。我不认为自己有资格判定“年轻”是否可以用来责备人；但我确信，“年长”却可能有充分的理由被鄙视，如果它所带来的机遇没产生任何提升，如果激情逝去，邪恶盛行。如果某公已见识了一千个错误所造成的恶果，却仍在犯错；而他的年纪又为其在愚蠢之上附加了固执，那么，这可怜虫就无疑会成为厌憎和鄙视的对象。花白的头发并不能使他免受讥诮。他反倒更遭厌憎，因为他虽在年纪上进步却在德行上退步；他愈发邪恶，愈发经不起诱惑；他像娼妓一样，为已不能享用的金钱出卖自己，在国家的沦落中，了此残生。

但年轻并不是我唯一的罪行，我还被指责为戏剧化。而这所谓“戏剧化”可能意指某个特有的手势，或对自己真实情感的掩饰，或借用了他人的观点与语言。就第一层意义而言，这指控太琐屑不值一驳，唯一值得提及的是它只会被鄙视。像其他任何人一样，我自由地使用自己的语言，尽管，也许，我会有雄心壮志去博这位先生一哂，但我不会束缚自己，不会热切地模仿他的语汇与风采，无论年纪让其多成熟，经验令其多规范。

但是，任何指责我“戏剧化”的人如果是在以此暗示我表达的不是自己的真情实感，我就将把他视作诽谤者和恶棍。没有任何庇护能让他逃过应受的惩罚。如是，我将无所顾忌地踏破财富与体面建构的围栏，年纪绝不能遏制我的愤恨。年纪总是给人一种特权，一种傲慢无礼却不受惩罚的特权。

不过，至于我所冒犯的那些人，我秉持这样的观点，即，倘若我当时在扮演一个戏剧角色，那么我就可以不受他们指责。冒犯他们的那份炽热源自信念的激情，而希望或恐惧都无法让我抑制为国报效的热忱。当我的自由被侵犯，我不会木然独坐，我也不会漠然旁观公开的勒索。无论冒怎样的风险，我将尽我所能抵抗侵略者，让窃贼接受法律的裁决，无论谁庇护他的恶行，无论谁参与他的劫掠。