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双语·从地球到月球 第十九章 大会

所属教程:译林版·从地球到月球

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2022年05月08日

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On the following day Barbicane, fearing that indiscreet questions might be put to Michel Ardan, was desirous of reducing the number of the audience to a few of the initiated, his own colleagues for instance. He might as well have tried to check the Falls of Niagara!He was compelled, therefore, to give up the idea, and let his new friend run the chances of a public conference.The place chosen for this monster meeting was a vast plain situated in the rear of the town.In a few hours, thanks to the help of the shipping in port, an immense roofing of canvas was stretched over the parched prairie, and protected it from the burning rays of the sun.There three hundred thousand people braved for many hours the stifling heat while awaiting the arrival of the Frenchman.Of this crowd of spectators a first set could both see and hear;a second set saw badly and heard nothing at all;and as for the third, it could neither see nor hear anything at all.At three o'clock Michel Ardan made his appearance, accompanied by the principal members of the Gun Club.He was supported on his right by President Barbicane, and on his left by J.T.Maston, more radiant than the midday sun, and nearly as ruddy.Ardan mounted a platform, from the top of which his view extended over a sea of black hats.

He exhibited not the slightest embarrassment;he was just as gay, familiar, and pleasant as if he were at home. To the hurrahs which greeted him he replied by a graceful bow;then, waving his hands to request silence, he spoke in perfectly correct English as follows:

“Gentlemen, despite the very hot weather I request your patience for a short time while I offer some explanations regarding the projects which seem to have so interested you. I am neither an orator nor a man of science, and I had no idea of addressing you in public;but my friend Barbicane has told me that you would like to hear me, and I am quite at your service.Listen to me, therefore, with your six hundred thousand ears, and please excuse the faults of the speaker.Now pray do not forget that you see before you a perfect ignoramus whose ignorance goes so far that he cannot even understand the difficulties!It seemed to him that it was a matter quite simple, natural, and easy to take one's place in a projectile and start for the moon!That journey must be undertaken sooner or later;and, as for the mode of locomotion adopted, it follows simply the law of progress.Man began by walking on all-fours;then, one fine day, on two feet;then in a carriage;then in a stage-coach;and lastly by railway.Well, the projectile is the vehicle of the future, and the planets themselves are nothing else!Now some of you, gentlemen, may imagine that the velocity we propose to impart to it is extravagant.It is nothing of the kind.All the stars exceed it in rapidity, and the earth herself is at this moment carrying us round the sun at three times as rapid a rate, and yet she is a mere lounger on the way compared with many others of the planets!And her velocity is constantly decreasing.Is it not evident, then, I ask you, that there will some day appear velocities far greater than these, of which light or electricity will probably be the mechanical agent?

“Yes, gentlemen,”continued the orator,“in spite of the opinions of certain narrow-minded people, who would shut up the human race upon this globe, as within some magic circle which it must never outstep, we shall one day travel to the moon, the planets, and the stars, with the same facility, rapidity, and certainty as we now make the voyage from Liverpool to New York!Distance is but a relative expression, and must end by being reduced to zero.”

The assembly, strongly predisposed as they were in favor of the French hero, were slightly staggered at this bold theory. Michel Ardan perceived the fact.

“Gentlemen,”he continued with a pleasant smile,“you do not seem quite convinced. Very good!Let us reason the matter out.Do you know how long it would take for an express train to reach the moon?Three hundred days;no more!And what is that?The distance is no more than nine times the circumference of the earth;and there are no sailors or travelers, of even moderate activity, who have not made longer journeys than that in their lifetime.And now consider that I shall be only ninety-seven hours on my journey.Ah!I see you are reckoning that the moon is a long way off from the earth, and that one must think twice before making the experiment.What would you say, then, if we were talking of going to Neptune, which revolves at a distance of more than one thousand one hundred and forty-seven millions of miles from the sun!And yet what is that compared with the distance of the fixed stars, some of which, such as Arcturus, are billions of miles distant from us?And then you talk of the distance which separates the planets from the sun!And there are people who affirm that such a thing as distance exists.Absurdity, folly, idiotic nonsense!Would you know what I think of our own solar universe?Shall I tell you my theory?It is very simple!In my opinion the solar system is a solid homogeneous body;the planets which compose it are in actual contact with each other;and whatever space exists between them is nothing more than the space which separates the molecules of the densest metal, such as silver, iron, or platinum!I have the right, therefore, to affirm, and I repeat, with the conviction which must penetrate all your minds,‘Distance is but an empty name;distance does not really exist!'”

“Hurrah!”cried one voice(need it be said it was that of J. T.Maston).“Distance does not exist!”And overcome by the energy of his movements, he nearly fell from the platform to the ground.He just escaped a severe fall, which would have proved to him that distance was by no means an empty name.

“Gentlemen,”resumed the orator,“I repeat that the distance between the earth and her satellite is a mere trifle, and undeserving of serious consideration. I am convinced that before twenty years are over one-half of our earth will have paid a visit to the moon.Now, my worthy friends, if you have any question to put to me, you will, I fear, sadly embarrass a poor man like myself;still I will do my best to answer you.”

Up to this point, the president of the Gun Club had been satisfied with the turn which the discussion had assumed. It became now, however, desirable to divert Ardan from questions of a practical nature, with which he was doubtless far less conversant.Barbicane, therefore, hastened to get in a word, and began by asking his new friend whether he thought that the moon and the planets were inhabited.

“You put before me a great problem, my worthy president,”replied the orator, smiling.“Still, men of great intelligence, such as Plutarch, Swedenborg, Bernardin de St. Pierre, and others have, if I mistake not, pronounced in the affirmative.Looking at the question from the natural philosopher's point of view, I should say that nothing useless existed in the world;and, replying to your question by another, I should venture to assert, that if these worlds are habitable, they either are, have been, or will be inhabited.”

“No one could answer more logically or fairly,”replied the president.“The question then reverts to this:Are these worlds habitable?For my own part I believe they are.”

“For myself, I feel certain of it,”said Michel Ardan.

“Nevertheless,”retorted one of the audience,“there are many arguments against the habitability of the worlds. The conditions of life must evidently be greatly modified upon the majority of them.To mention only the planets, we should be either broiled alive in some, or frozen to death in others, according as they are more or less removed from the sun.”

“I regret,”replied Michel Ardan,“that I have not the honor of personally knowing my contradictor, for I would have attempted to answer him. His objection has its merits, I admit;but I think we may successfully combat it, as well as all others which affect the habitability of other worlds.If I were a natural philosopher, I would tell him that if less of caloric were set in motion upon the planets which are nearest to the sun, and more, on the contrary, upon those which are farthest removed from it, this simple fact would alone suffice to equalize the heat, and to render the temperature of those worlds supportable by beings organized like ourselves.If I were a naturalist, I would tell him that, according to some illustrious men of science, nature has furnished us with instances upon the earth of animals existing under very varying conditions of life;that fish respire in a medium fatal to other animals;that amphibious creatures possess a double existence very difficult of explanation;that certain denizens of the seas maintain life at enormous depths, and there support a pressure equal to that of fifty or sixty atmospheres without being crushed;that several aquatic insects, insensible to temperature, are met with equally among boiling springs and in the frozen plains of the Polar Sea;in fine, that we cannot help recognizing in nature a diversity of means of operation oftentimes incomprehensible, but not the less real.If I were a chemist, I would tell him that the aerolites, bodies evidently formed exteriorly of our terrestrial globe, have, upon analysis, revealed indisputable traces of carbon, a substance which owes its origin solely to organized beings, and which, according to the experiments of Reichenbach, must necessarily itself have been endued with animation.And lastly, were I a theologian, I would tell him that the scheme of the Divine Redemption, according to St.Paul, seems to be applicable, not merely to the earth, but to all the celestial worlds.But, unfortunately, I am neither theologian, nor chemist, nor naturalist, nor philosopher;therefore, in my absolute ignorance of the great laws which govern the universe, I confine myself to saying in reply,‘I do not know whether the worlds are inhabited or not;and since I do not know, I am going to see!'”

Whether Michel Ardan's antagonist hazarded any further arguments or not it is impossible to say, for the uproarious shouts of the crowd would not allow any expression of opinion to gain a hearing. On silence being restored, the triumphant orator contented himself with adding the following remarks:

“Gentlemen, you will observe that I have but slightly touched upon this great question. There is another altogether different line of argument in favor of the habitability of the stars, which I omit for the present.I only desire to call attention to one point.To those who maintain that the planets are not inhabited one may reply:you might be perfectly in the right, if you could only show that the earth is the best possible world, in spite of what Voltaire has said.She has but one satellite, while Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune have each several, an advantage by no means to be despised.But that which renders our own globe so uncomfortable is the inclination of its axis to the plane of its orbit.Hence the inequality of days and nights;hence the disagreeable diversity of the seasons.On the surface of our unhappy spheroid we are always either too hot or too cold;we are frozen in winter, broiled in summer;it is the planet of rheumatism, coughs, bronchitis;while on the surface of Jupiter, for example, where the axis is but slightly inclined, the inhabitants may enjoy uniform temperatures.It possesses zones of perpetual springs, summers, autumns, and winters;every Jovian may choose for himself what climate he likes, and there spend the whole of his life in security from all variations of temperature.You will, I am sure, readily admit this superiority of Jupiter over our own planet, to say nothing of his years, which each equal twelve of ours!Under such auspices and such marvelous conditions of existence, it appears to me that the inhabitants of so fortunate a world must be in every respect superior to ourselves.All we require, in order to attain such perfection, is the mere trifle of having an axis of rotation less inclined to the plane of its orbit!”

“Hurrah!”roared an energetic voice.“Let us unite our efforts, invent the necessary machines, and rectify the earth's axis!”

A thunder of applause followed this proposal, the author of which was, of course, no other than J. T.Maston.And, in all probability, if the truth must be told, if the Yankees could only have found a point of application for it, they would have constructed a lever capable of raising the earth and rectifying its axis.It was just this deficiency which baffled these daring mechanicians.

翌日,巴比凯恩担心有人会提出一些让米歇尔·阿尔当难以作答的问题,因此想把到场的人限制在很少的一部分专家中,比如说他的同事们。但是,这如同想筑上一道大堤坝以挡住尼亚加拉大瀑布一样困难。于是,他不得不放弃他的这一想法,只好让他的这位新朋友在一场公开演讲会上碰碰运气了。会场选的是城外的一处宽阔的原野。只几个钟头,原野上的阳光便被遮挡住了。港口停泊的船只上,船帆、索具、吊杆以及桅桁应有尽有,足以建起一个巨型帐篷。有三十万人待在帐篷里,不顾闷热难耐,一连好几个小时在等待着那个法国人的大驾光临。在这如云的与会者中,前面三分之一的人可以看见发言者和听见发言;中间三分之一的人勉强能够看见,但却听不见;而最后那三分之一的人则什么也看不见,更听不见,但他们同样在热烈鼓掌。下午三点,米歇尔·阿尔当在大炮俱乐部的主要成员的陪同下,步入会场。巴比凯恩主席挽着他的右臂,J.T.马斯顿挽着他的左臂,他显得神采奕奕,比正午的太阳还要光彩夺目。阿尔当登上讲台,眼睛向台下扫视了一番,只见黑压压一片帽子的海洋。

他看上去毫不紧张,毫不装模作样,像是在自己的家中一样,高高兴兴、无拘无束、和蔼可亲。面对听众们的热情欢呼,他优雅自然地回礼答谢。然后,他挥了挥手,让大家安静下来,开始用英语发言,十分得体地侃侃而谈。

“先生们,尽管天气炎热,我仍然想占用你们的一点儿宝贵时间,跟你们说说你们似乎感兴趣的一些计划。我既不是演说家,也不是科学家,我根本也未曾打算要在公开场合说上一番。但是,我的朋友巴比凯恩跟我说,我来说一说,你们会很高兴的,所以我就来了。因此,在场的三十万观众,用你们的六十万只耳朵听我说,如果我有什么说错了的地方,请予以谅解。首先,请你们不要忘记,站在你们面前的是一个无知的人;不过,他的无知却让他无视任何困难。他觉得,坐着炮弹飞向月球,是一件相当简单、自然、容易的事。月球旅行是迟早都将进行的事,至于应采用的交通方式,那就只能根据科学的进步规律来决定了。人类起先是手脚并用走路的;后来,有一天,就用两只脚直立行走了;接着又是四轮马车、公共马车;最后乘火车。好!我要告诉大家,炮弹就是我们未来的交通工具,其实,所有的行星也只不过是一些炮弹而已。先生们,你们中的有些人,可能以为赋予‘炮弹车’的速度太高了,其实并非如此;所有星球的运行速度都超过了它,而地球在围绕太阳运转的过程当中,其速度比它自转时要快三倍。更何况同其他行星相比,它只不过是在漫步,而且这个速度还变得越来越慢!不久的将来,它难道不会被其他一些速度更快的星体所超越吗?而那些速度更快的星体的电和光极有可能是它们的速度的原动力。”

“会的,亲爱的听众们,”他接着又说道,“按照某些目光短浅的人——这个形容词非常适合他们——的看法,人类将可能被局限在地球上,被囿于一个魔法圈里,永远别想钻出来。幸而事实并非如此!我们即将飞往月球,还将飞向其他行星,飞向恒星;如同我们今天从利物浦到纽约一样,方便、快速、安全,距离只是一个相对的概念,最终距离将归于零。”

全场的人虽然对这位法国英雄十分崇敬,激动万分,但是,对他的这个大胆的理论却不禁感到有点儿惊愕。米歇尔·阿尔当似乎也能理解这一点。

“先生们,”他又笑容可掬地接着说道,“你们好像并不信服。好吧!我们来推算一下。你们知道一列快速列车到达月球需要多长时间吗?三百天。不会超过三百天的!那么,这是个什么概念呢?这个距离甚至都不到地球周长的九倍,而任何一名水手或旅行者一生中所走过的路无不超过这一距离。所以,请诸位想一想,我飞往月球只不过需要九十七小时而已!啊!你们总是以为月球离地球非常遥远,非得考虑再三之后才能去冒这个险!可是,如果是去海王星呢,它可是在十一亿四千七百万法里外围绕太阳转的!喏!朋友们,如果拿海王星到太阳的距离与它同其他恒星的距离相比较,那么,它到太阳的距离简直不值一提了。说什么这个距离是存在的!错!大错特错!纯属谬论!你们知道我对这个以光芒四射的星球为起始,以海王星为结束的太阳系的看法吗?你们想不想知道我的理论?这个理论非常简单!在我看来,太阳系是一个均质的固体,组成它的那些行星拥挤在一起,互相贴近,彼此挨着,它们之间的距离小而又小,如同银、铁或铂这样一些大密度金属的分子间的间隙那么小!因此,我有理由认定,并且以将使你们大家心服口服的一种信心再次强调指出:‘距离是一个空泛的词,它根本就不存在!’”

“对!”J.T.马斯顿比其他任何人的嗓门儿都大地叫喊道,“距离并不存在!”可是,他由于动作太大,身体失去平衡,难以控制,差点儿便从台上摔到地上去了。不过,他还是站稳了,总算没有摔下去,否则这一摔将会向他证明,距离可能不是一个空泛的词。

“先生们,”米歇尔·阿尔当继续说道,“我重申一次,地球和月球之间的距离根本不值一提,不值得为此过分忧虑。我相信,不出二十年,地球上将会有一半的人访问月球!现在,尊敬的朋友们,如果你们有什么问题要问我的话,你们显然会让一个我这样的可怜人尴尬难堪的,但是,我将尽我所能地回答你们。”

直到这时为止,大炮俱乐部主席对讨论的情况都十分满意。但是,必须阻止米歇尔·阿尔当扯到实际问题上去,那肯定不是他的强项。因此,巴比凯恩连忙抢过话头,问他的这位新朋友是否认为月球或行星上有人居住。

“你这可是问了我一个很大的问题呀,我尊敬的主席。”演讲者笑吟吟地说道,“不过,如果我没弄错的话,一些才智过人的人,比如普鲁塔克、斯威登伯格、贝纳丹·德·圣比埃尔和其他许多人,都认为是有的。如果从自然哲学的观点去看待这个问题的话,我趋向于赞同他们的看法。我认为但凡这个世界上所存在的,就没有什么是无用的。不过,巴比凯恩朋友,如果通过另一个问题来回答你的问题的话,我冒昧地断言,如果所有星体都是可以居住的话,那么,它们现在就住着人,或者曾经住过人,或者将来会住人。”

“这个回答太符合逻辑了,太正确了!”大炮俱乐部主席回应道,“所以现在的问题应归结为:所有的星球是否都适合居住?以我个人来看,我认为是的。”

“我也对这一点深信无疑。”米歇尔·阿尔当回答道。

“但是,”听众中有一位反驳道,“有很多证据表明其他星球是不可以居住的。很显然,这些星球中的大部分的生存条件显然必须要大大改善。光就行星而言,由于距离太阳的远近不同,有些行星上的人就会被热死,而另一些行星上的人则会被冻死。”

“很遗憾,”米歇尔·阿尔当回答道,“我本人并不认识这位尊敬的反对者,否则我将尽量地回答他。我承认,他的意见有其意义;不过,我认为我可以成功地驳倒它,而且所有有关天体不具备可居住性的观点也都是可以驳倒的。如果我是自然哲学家的话,我就会说,假如紧邻太阳的行星运行中产生的卡路里少的话,那么,相反,远离太阳的行星在运行中所产生的卡路里就多。这种简单的现象就足以平衡热量,使得这些天体的温度变得能够适合像我们这样的有机生物承受。如果我是博物学家的话,我就会告诉他,根据一些杰出的科学家的观点,在地球上,大自然向我们提供了一些生活在不同条件下的动物的实例;告诉他鱼类可以在其他动物会窒息而死的条件下呼吸;两栖动物有着难以解释的双重的生存方式;海洋里的某些生物能够生活在很深的海底,而不被五六十个大气压压碎;各种各样的水生昆虫对温度并不敏感,既能在沸腾的热泉里生活,又能在北冰洋的冰原下生活;另外,必须承认,大自然存在着多种多样的生存方式,它们往往很难为我们所理解,但却是真实地存在着的。如果我是化学家,我就会告诉他说,陨石这种显然是在地球外形成的物体,通过分析研究,可以看到一些无可争辩的碳的痕迹,而这种物质只能来源于有机生物;而且,根据赖兴巴赫的试验来看,它一定是‘动物质化’了的物质。而如果我是神学家的话,我就会告诉他说,根据圣保罗的看法,神的救赎似乎不仅施于地球,还施于所有的宇宙天体。不过,我既不是神学家、化学家,也不是博物学家、哲学家,因此,我对于支配着宇宙的那些伟大的规律毫无所知,所以我只能回答说:‘我不知道这些天体上面是否住着人。’但是,正因为我不知道,我就更要去那上面看一看!”

反对米歇尔·阿尔当理论的那位是不是又提出了一些反对意见?这一点无法说清,因为人群在疯狂地喊叫,什么意见也听不清了。直到离讲台最远处的听众们也安静下来之后,得意扬扬的演讲者才又补充了几句:

“先生们,你们很清楚,关于这个大问题,我只是很粗浅地涉及了一点。尚有很多很多的论据表明,天体上是有人居住的。我暂且不谈这个问题。我只是请大家允许我坚持一点,对于那些坚持认为行星上无人居住的人,必须回答他们说:‘你们可能说得有道理,如果你们能证明地球是最佳星体的话;但是无论伏尔泰对此有何见解,却都并非如此。’‘地球只有一个卫星,而木星、天王星、土星、海王星却有好几个卫星围绕着它们,这个优势是绝不可小觑的。不过,让我们的地球变得不那么适于居住的最大原因是,它的地轴与轨道平面之间有一个交角,因此造成白昼和黑夜不一样长,季节的恼人变化也因此而产生。我们这个不幸的星球,不是太热就是太冷;冬天冻死人,夏天热死人。这是一个风湿病、咳嗽病和支气管炎多发的星球。而比如说木星就不然,它的轴的倾斜度很小[48];它的居民们就可以享受四季如一的恒温;木星上也有四季分明的春天、夏天、秋天和冬天;每一位木星人都可以选择他所喜欢的气候,一生一世都不必忍受气候变化之苦。你们毫无疑问地会承认木星胜过我们地球的这一优势,更何况木星的一年相当于我们地球人的十二年!还有,我认为,在这些有利因素和极佳的生存条件之下,这个幸运星球上的居民们是一些高级生物。我们的星球还需要补充些什么才能达到这么完美的程度?只要地球自转轴与它的轨道平面间的交角不那么大就行了。’”

“那好!”一个洪亮的声音喊道,“那我们就团结我们的力量,发明一些机器,把地球自转轴矫正一些!”

这一建议引起了雷鸣般的掌声,而提此建议者并非别人,只能是J.T.马斯顿。如果他们知道了阿基米德寻找的支点之所在的话,这些美国佬想必就会制造一根能够撬起地球的杠杆,把地球的轴心撬正了。但是,那个支点,那些鲁莽的机械师还没有找到。

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