Pramoedya Ananta Toer著（ベネディクト・アンダーソン英訳） REVENGE
『想像の共同体』でお馴染みのBen. Andersonが訳した小説。原文はインドネシア語。1945に日本軍が降伏後、インドネシアは独立を得るためにオランダ軍などと戦った。その際に国内におけるナショナリズムが狂気的な仕方で発動されたことも多々あった。その一部分を瑞々しく言語置換した文章。深く沈殿するテクスト。以下、強調部はGenによる。
War is indeed war. Turn and turn about men exterminate each other. And a tree does not stir of its own; only if something stirs it. And men do not become savage on their own; only if there is something that makes them savage. War! And men make weapons to kill their enemies. And the enemy is everywhere. But rare are those who are willing to understand ......this: the first and utmost enemy is one's very own self. It is a small part of savagery everywhere.
What was clear: the Hadji*1, his judges, his butchers, and I myself were stupid. The worst of it is that everyone likes to play judge. And a stupid judge is the most disastrous thing imaginable. It was this same stupidity that killed Socrates, and Giordano Bruno, and Galileo, and Jesus.
The reason-- judges are very fond of what they love. And the judges here loved their country very much. And revenge in a time of revolution bites very deeply. They were convinced of this: their service to their country.
さて、ゼミで語ってくるか。
