「全浸泛讀」The Sporting Spirit體育精神-George Orwell
體育時間英語怎麼說
每當奧運前夕，總有各種各樣的sports & beyond sports的聲音，即將來臨的東京奧運會，議論與批評甚囂塵上。而重溫喬治·奧威爾關於體育的視角正是時候；在本文中，奧威爾對體育能促進各國友誼持懷疑態度，批判了過分摻雜政治和民族主義，而忽略體育本身的體育比賽現狀。
Now that the brief visit of the Dynamo football team has come to an end， it is possible to say publicly what many thinking people were saying privately before the Dynamos ever arrived。 That is， that sport is an unfailing cause of ill-will， and that if such a visit as this had any effect at all on Anglo-Soviet relations， it could only be to make them slightly worse than before。
既然迪納摩足球隊的短暫來訪已經結束，現在可以把許多有識之士在迪納摩造訪前私下說過的話公開來說了。在他們看來，體育是敵意永恆的源泉，而如果這種來訪能對英蘇關係造成任何影響，那隻可能是雪上加霜。
Even the newspapers have been unable to conceal the fact that at least two of the four matches played led to much bad feeling。 At the Arsenal match， I am told by someone who was there， a British and a Russian player came to blows and the crowd booed the referee。 The Glasgow match， someone else informs me， was simply a free-for-all from the start。 And then there was the controversy， typical of our nationalistic age， about the composition of the Arsenal team。 Was it really an all-England team， as claimed by the Russians， or merely a league team， as claimed by the British？ And did the Dynamos end their tour abruptly in order to avoid playing an all-England team？ As usual， everyone answers these questions according to his political predilections。 Not quite everyone， however。 I noted with interest， as an instance of the vicious passions that football provokes， that the sporting correspondent of the russophile News Chronicle took the anti-Russian line and maintained that Arsenal was not an all-England team。 No doubt the controversy will continue to echo for years in the footnotes of history books。 Meanwhile the result of the Dynamos‘ tour， in so far as it has had any result， will have been to create fresh animosity on both sides。
即使是報紙也無法掩蓋這一事實：四場比賽中至少有兩場引起了許多負面情緒。在場的人告訴我，在同阿森納的比賽中，一個英國球員和俄國球員大打出手，然後觀眾對裁判發出噓聲。又有人告訴我，同格拉斯哥的比賽，簡直從一開始就是一片混戰。接著又出現了對阿森納球員組成的爭議，這在如今民族主義盛行的年代尤為典型。阿森納究竟是俄國人所說的“全英班”（譯註：全由英格蘭人組成的球隊），還是如英國人所說，僅僅是個聯賽球隊？還有，迪納摩匆匆結束英倫之旅是為了避免碰上“全英班”嗎？一如既往，每個人都會根據自己的政治傾向來回答這些問題。不過也不盡然。我饒有興趣地注意到，親俄媒體《新聞紀事報》的體育記者一改常態，堅稱阿森納並不是“全英班”，這也是足球催生殘暴激情的例子。無疑，這一爭議將持續多年，在歷史書的腳註中迴響。同時，迪納摩此次來訪的結果，如果有任何結果的話，將會是為雙方創造了新的敵意。
And how could it be otherwise？ I am always amazed when I hear people saying that sport creates goodwill between the nations， and that if only the common peoples of the world could meet one another at football or cricket， they would have no inclination to meet on the battlefield。 Even if one didn’t know from concrete examples （the 1936 Olympic Games， for instance） that international sporting contests lead to orgies of hatred， one could deduce it from general principles。
還可能會如何？每當聽到人們說體育可以創造國家間的友誼，或說只要各國人民能在板球或足球場上相遇，就不願在戰場上交鋒時，我總是感到驚奇。一個人即使不能從具體事例（如1936年奧運會）（譯註：二戰前夕在納粹德國舉辦的奧運會）中認識到國際間的體育比賽將導致瘋狂的仇恨，也至少能從常理中推斷出來。
Nearly all the sports practised nowadays are competitive。 You play to win， and the game has little meaning unless you do your utmost to win。 On the village green， where you pick up sides and no feeling of local patriotism is involved， it is possible to play simply for the fun and exercise： but as soon as the question of prestige arises， as soon as you feel that you and some larger unit will be disgraced if you lose， the most savage combative instincts are aroused。 Anyone who has played even in a school football match knows this。 At the international level sport is frankly mimic warfare。 But the significant thing is not the behaviour of the players but the attitude of the spectators： and， behind the spectators， of the nations who work themselves into furies over these absurd contests， and seriously believe — at any rate for short periods — that running， jumping and kicking a ball are tests of national virtue。
現今開展的體育比賽幾乎都是競爭性的。參加比賽就是為了取勝，而如果不全力爭勝，比賽便失去了意義。在鄉間草地上，當你們分成兩邊，且不涉及集體主義情感時，才有可能單純地為娛樂和鍛鍊進行比賽。但是一旦涉及榮譽問題，一旦想到你的失敗會給集體丟臉，最野蠻的戰鬥本性就會被激發出來。就連只參加過學校足球賽的人都知道這點。國際級別的體育比賽堪稱一場模擬戰爭。但是事情的關鍵不在於運動員的行為，而在於觀眾及其身後各個國家的態度。這些國家醉心於這種荒唐的賽事，還煞有介事地相信——至少在短期如此——跑跑、跳跳、踢踢球就是對民族品德的檢驗。
Even a leisurely game like cricket， demanding grace rather than strength， can cause much ill-will， as we saw in the controversy over bodyline bowling and over the rough tactics of the Australian team that visited England in 1921。 Football， a game in which everyone gets hurt and every nation has its own style of play which seems unfair to foreigners， is far worse。 Worst of all is boxing。 One of the most horrible sights in the world is a fight between white and coloured boxers before a mixed audience。 But a boxing audience is always disgusting， and the behaviour of the women， in particular， is such that the army， I believe， does not allow them to attend its contests。 At any rate， two or three years ago， when Home Guards and regular troops were holding a boxing tournament， I was placed on guard at the door of the hall， with orders to keep the women out。
即使是板球這樣需要優雅而非力量的休閒比賽，都能產生不少敵意，正如我們從快速投球戰術與1921年澳洲板球隊訪英時採用的粗野戰術的爭議中看到的。足球就更糟了，比賽中每個人都會受傷，而各國的風格又不盡相同，這對外國人似乎不太公平。最糟糕的還是拳擊。白人與有色人種間在雙方觀眾面前的拳賽是世上最恐怖的景象之一。但是拳擊的觀眾往往令人作嘔，尤其是女性觀眾的行為，我相信甚至會讓軍隊都禁止其入場。至少，兩三年前，地方軍和正規軍舉辦拳擊錦標賽時，我曾受命在大廳守門，禁止婦女入內。
In England， the obsession with sport is bad enough， but even fiercer passions are aroused in young countries where games playing and nationalism are both recent developments。 In countries like India or Burma， it is necessary at football matches to have strong cordons of police to keep the crowd from invading the field。 In Burma， I have seen the supporters of one side break through the police and disable the goalkeeper of the opposing side at a critical moment。 The first big football match that was played in Spain about fifteen years ago led to an uncontrollable riot。 As soon as strong feelings of rivalry are aroused， the notion of playing the game according to the rules always vanishes。 People want to see one side on top and the other side humiliated， and they forget that victory gained through cheating or through the intervention of the crowd is meaningless。 Even when the spectators don‘t intervene physically they try to influence the game by cheering their own side and “rattling” opposing players with boos and insults。 Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play。 It is bound up with hatred， jealousy， boastfulness， disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence： in other words it is war minus the shooting。
在英格蘭，對體育的痴迷已經夠糟糕的了，但在體育比賽和民族主義剛剛興起的國家，這份感情更加狂熱。在印度、緬甸等國，足球比賽需要警察組成警戒線來防止觀眾闖入球場。在緬甸，我親眼見過一方的支持者衝破警戒線，在關鍵時刻限制住對方守門員的行動。約十五年前，西班牙舉行的首場大型足球賽就導致了騷亂。一旦強烈的競爭感被激發出來，遵守規則的理念往往消失殆盡。人們希望看到一方高高在上，而另一方慘遭羞辱，卻忘記了透過作弊或者觀眾干預而達到的勝利是毫無意義的。觀眾就算不赤膊上陣，也希望透過為己方喝彩、用噓聲和罵聲惹惱對方球員的方式來影響比賽。嚴肅的體育比賽與公平競賽無緣。它同仇恨、嫉妒、自吹自擂、漠視規則與圍觀暴力時的施虐快感密切相關：換言之，它是一場沒有硝煙的戰爭。
Instead of blahblahing about the clean， healthy rivalry of the football field and the great part played by the Olympic Games in bringing the nations together， it is more useful to inquire how and why this modern cult of sport arose。 Most of the games we now play are of ancient origin， but sport does not seem to have been taken very seriously between Roman times and the nineteenth century。 Even in the English public schools the games cult did not start till the later part of the last century。 Dr Arnold， generally regarded as the founder of the modern public school， looked on games as simply a waste of time。 Then， chiefly in England and the United States， games were built up into a heavily-financed activity， capable of attracting vast crowds and rousing savage passions， and the infection spread from country to country。 It is the most violently combative sports， football and boxing， that have spread the widest。 There cannot be much doubt that the whole thing is bound up with the rise of nationalism — that is， with the lunatic modern habit of identifying oneself with large power units and seeing everything in terms of competitive prestige。 Also， organised games are more likely to flourish in urban communities where the average human being lives a sedentary or at least a confined life， and does not get much opportunity for creative labour。 In a rustic community a boy or young man works off a good deal of his surplus energy by walking， swimming， snowballing， climbing trees， riding horses， and by various sports involving cruelty to animals， such as fishing， cockfighting and ferreting for rats。 In a big town one must indulge in group activities if one wants an outlet for one’s physical strength or for one‘s sadistic impulses。 Games are taken seriously in London and New York， and they were taken seriously in Rome and Byzantium： in the Middle Ages they were played， and probably played with much physical brutality， but they were not mixed up with politics nor a cause of group hatreds。
與其喋喋不休地宣揚足球場上公平、健康的對抗，或者吹噓奧運會促進各國團結的重要作用，倒不如對現代體育熱的起源與發展一探究竟。大多數現代體育專案歷史悠久，但體育在羅馬時代到十九世紀之間似乎不太受重視。即使是在英國公立學校，體育熱也是從上世紀末才開始的。阿諾爾德博士，公認的現代公立學校的創始人，認為體育競賽純粹是在浪費時間。後來，主要在英美兩國，體育被打造為需要雄厚資本支援的活動，能夠吸引大量觀眾，激發野蠻的熱情，它的影響在國與國之間傳遞。足球和拳擊，這兩項競爭最激烈的運動，是流傳最廣的。毫無疑問，這一切與民族主義的崛起密不可分；或者說，有關於現代社會一個愚蠢而癲狂的習慣——將自己等同於強大的集體，並從競爭與聲譽的角度看待一切事物。另外，有組織的體育運動在城市中更容易欣欣向榮，因為城裡人的生活普遍缺少運動，或者至少相對封閉，缺乏創造性勞動的機會。在鄉下，小男孩和年輕人有不少方式消耗多餘的能量，他們散步、游泳、打雪仗、爬樹、騎馬，並從事各種各樣殘害動物的運動，比如釣魚、鬥雞、捕鼠。在大城市裡，人們要想發洩自己的身體力量和施虐衝動，就必須投身於集體活動。體育運動在倫敦和紐約受到重視，一如它們在羅馬和拜占庭：中世紀人們也從事這些運動，或許身體衝撞更加暴力，但卻沒有摻雜政治，也不會引起集體間的仇恨。
If you wanted to add to the vast fund of ill-will existing in the world at this moment， you could hardly do it better than by a series of football matches between Jews and Arabs， Germans and Czechs， Indians and British， Russians and Poles， and Italians and Jugoslavs， each match to be watched by a mixed audience of 100，000 spectators。 I do not， of course， suggest that sport is one of the main causes of international rivalry; big-scale sport is itself， I think， merely another effect of the causes that have produced nationalism。 Still， you do make things worse by sending forth a team of eleven men， labelled as national champions， to do battle against some rival team， and allowing it to be felt on all sides that whichever nation is defeated will “lose face”。
如果想給目前世界上肆虐的敵意火上澆油，最好的辦法莫過於舉辦一系列猶太人和阿拉伯人、德國人和捷克人、印度人和英國人、俄國人和波蘭人、義大利人和南斯拉夫人之間的足球賽，每場比賽都叫上10萬各國觀眾。當然，我並不是說體育是國際競爭的主要原因之一；大規模的體育運動本身，不過是民族主義源頭的另一個產物。不過，當你派出一支11人的隊伍，號稱是國家冠軍，去與對手比拼，然後讓兩邊都認為失利的國家將會丟臉——這樣必將會使事情更糟。
I hope， therefore， that we shan’t follow up the visit of the Dynamos by sending a British team to the USSR。 If we must do so， then let us send a second-rate team which is sure to be beaten and cannot be claimed to represent Britain as a whole。 There are quite enough real causes of trouble already， and we need not add to them by encouraging young men to kick each other on the shins amid the roars of infuriated spectators
因此，我希望我們不要步迪納摩的後塵，再派一支英國球隊到蘇聯。如果非要如此，那就派一支二線隊吧，它肯定會被擊敗，也代表不了整個英國。麻煩事已經夠多了，我們沒必要火上澆油，再去鼓勵年輕人在瘋狂觀眾的吶喊中互踹小腿。
作者簡介：喬治·奧威爾（George Orwell，1903-1950），英國左翼作家，新聞記者和社會評論家，著有《動物莊園》和《一九八四》，以批判假社會主義之名、行極權主義之實的斯大林主義著稱。本文寫於1945年。
