第四冊(cè)第18篇：百萬(wàn)富翁的悲哀

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by George Bernard Shaw

The millionaire class, a small but growing one into which any of us may be flung tomorrow by the accidents of commerce, is perhaps the most neglected in the community. As far as I know, this is the first tract that has ever been written for millionaires.

百萬(wàn)富翁是一個(gè)雖小卻正在擴(kuò)大成長(zhǎng)的階層，我們當(dāng)中任何人都可能由于做生意發(fā)了橫財(cái)明天就被投進(jìn)這個(gè)階層。然而這個(gè)階層在社會(huì)上或許是最受忽視的。為百萬(wàn)富翁鳴不平的小文章，據(jù)我所知，這還是第一篇。

In the advertisements of the manufacturers of the country, I find that everything is produced for the million and nothing for the millionaire. Children, boys, youth, “gents”, ladies, artisans, professional men, even peers, and kings, are catered for; but the millionaire’s custom is evidently not worth having; there are too few of him. Whilst the poorest have their Rag Fair, a duly organized and busy market in Houndsditch, where you can buy a boot for a penny, you may search the world in vain for the market where the ￡50 boot, the special dear line of hats at forty guineas, the cloth of gold bicycling suit, and the Cleopatra claret, four pearls to the bottle, can be purchased wholesale.

在這個(gè)國(guó)度所有制造商的廣告上，我發(fā)現(xiàn)什么東西都是為成百萬(wàn)人生產(chǎn)的，而為百萬(wàn)富翁生產(chǎn)的卻什么也沒(méi)有。兒童，少年，青年，“紳士”，太太小姐，手藝人，職員，甚至貴族和國(guó)王，他們都得到供應(yīng);但是百萬(wàn)富翁的光顧顯然并不值得歡迎，因?yàn)樗麄內(nèi)藬?shù)太少。窮光蛋有他們的舊貨商場(chǎng)，那是在獵狐犬溝的一個(gè)貨源充足，生意興隆的市場(chǎng)，在那里一便士能買到一雙靴子;而你找遍世界，也找不到一個(gè)市場(chǎng)能批發(fā)五十英鎊一雙的靴子，四十畿尼一頂?shù)奶貦n貨帽子，騎自行車服裝用的金線織品，值四顆珍珠一瓶的克婁巴特拉女王牌紅葡萄酒。

Thus the unfortunate millionaire has the responsibility of prodigious wealth without the possibility of enjoying himself more than any ordinary rich man. Indeed, in many things he cannot enjoy himself more than many poor men do, nor even so much; for a drum major is better dressed; a trainer’s stable lad often rides a better horse; the first-class carriage is shared by office boys taking their young ladies out for the evening; everybody who goes down to Brighton for Sunday rides in the Pullman car; and of what use is it to be able to pay for a peacock’s brain sandwich when there is nothing to be had but ham or beef?

因此，不幸的百萬(wàn)富翁對(duì)巨額財(cái)富要承擔(dān)責(zé)任，而其享受卻不可能高于普通的有錢人。說(shuō)真的，在好些方面，他的享受高不過(guò)許多窮人，甚至比不上窮人。因?yàn)橐幻姌?lè)隊(duì)的指揮穿得比他漂亮，馴馬師的馬童常騎更駿的馬;頭等車廂向來(lái)由服侍年輕太太小姐們晚間去兜風(fēng)的勤雜人員共享;到布賴頓過(guò)星期天人人都乘普爾門(mén)式火車的客車。一個(gè)人買得起夾孔雀腦的三明治，碰到只有火腿或牛肉供應(yīng)，也只好徒喚奈何!

The injustice of his state of things has not been sufficiently considered. A man with an income of ￡25 a year can multiply his comfort beyond all calculation by doubling his income. A man with ￡50 a year can at least quadruple his comfort by doubling his income. Probably up to even ￡250 a year doubled income means doubled comfort. After that the increment of comfort grows less in proportion to the increment of income until a point is reached at which the victim is satiated and even surfeited with everything that money can procure. To expect him to enjoy another hundred thousand pounds because men like money, is exactly as if you were to expect a confectioner’s shop-boy to enjoy two hours more work a day because boys are fond of sweets. What can the wretched millionaire do that needs a million? Does he want a fleet of yachts, a Rotten Row full of carriages, an army of servants, a whole city of town houses, or a continent for a game preserve? Can he attend more than one theatre in one evening, or wear more than one suit at a time, or digest more meals than his butler? Is it a luxury to have more money to take care of, more begging letters to read, and to be cut off from those delicious Alnaschar dreams in which the poor man, sitting down to consider what he will do in the always possible event of some unknown relative leaving him a fortune, forgets his privation.

諸如此類不公平的情況，這里還遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)沒(méi)有說(shuō)完。一個(gè)人每年收入25英鎊，一旦他的收入增加一倍，他的舒服程度可以提高無(wú)數(shù)倍。一個(gè)人每年收入50英鎊，一旦收入加一倍，至少可以得到四倍的舒服。說(shuō)不定每年收入高達(dá)250英鎊的人，雙倍的收入也還意味著雙倍的舒服。超過(guò)此數(shù)者，舒服程度的增長(zhǎng)與歲入的增長(zhǎng)的比例就越來(lái)越小，最后達(dá)到一點(diǎn)，他成了財(cái)富的犧牲品，對(duì)于凡金錢所能買到的任何東西他都感到厭膩，甚至惡心。你說(shuō)人人喜歡金錢，就以為他多得十萬(wàn)英鎊便會(huì)高興;那就象因?yàn)樾『⒆訍?ài)吃糖果，你就以為糖果店的小伙計(jì)樂(lè)意每天加班兩小時(shí)一樣。可憐的百萬(wàn)富翁究竟要那百萬(wàn)英鎊做什么呢?難道他需要一大隊(duì)游艇?要擠滿海德公園騎馬道那么多的馬車?要一支仆從大軍?要整城的住房?或者整個(gè)一塊大陸作為他狩獵的林苑?一個(gè)晚上他能上幾個(gè)戲院看戲?一身能同時(shí)穿幾套衣服?一天又能比他的管廚多消化幾餐?他要照管更多的錢財(cái)，要看更多向他告貸的信，難道這也是一種樂(lè)事?窮人可以做黃粱美夢(mèng)，可以坐下來(lái)盤(pán)算，如果哪天一位素不相識(shí)的親戚給他留下一筆財(cái)產(chǎn)時(shí)他該如何消受，以致暫時(shí)忘了自己的窮困，因?yàn)檫@種飛來(lái)橫財(cái)總不是絕對(duì)不可能的;而百萬(wàn)富翁卻用不著再做這種黃粱美夢(mèng)，難道這也是一種樂(lè)事?

And yet there is no sympathy for this hidden sorrow of Plutocracy. The poor alone are pitied. Societies spring up in all directions to relieve all sorts of comparatively happy people, from discharged prisoners in the first rapture of their regained liberty to children revelling in the luxury of an unlimited appetite; but no hand is stretched out to the millionaire, except to beg. In all our dealing with him lies implicit the delusion that he has nothing to complain of, and that he ought to be ashamed of rolling in wealth whilst others are starving.

然而對(duì)富豪們內(nèi)心的悲哀竟無(wú)人表示同情，惟獨(dú)窮人有人憐憫。各種社會(huì)團(tuán)體如雨后春筍般地興起，以救濟(jì)各種各樣還算幸福的人們，從獲釋的囚徒──他們正初嘗重獲自由的狂喜，到那些窮苦的兒童──他們因能得到飽餐一頓的享受而歡喜雀躍?？墒菦](méi)有人向百萬(wàn)富翁伸手，除非為了乞求。我們同他打交道時(shí)無(wú)疑還有這么一種幻覺(jué)：他沒(méi)有什么好抱怨的，他應(yīng)該因自己在錢堆里打滾而別人卻在挨餓而感到慚愧。