欧洲冲走一块石头

2024-07-02 12浏览

不列颠走了,一块漂浮的高傲的石头。石头的梦也许天生是大海,但大海冲走一块泥土,欧洲也会变小(如John Donne说的,If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less)……

有人引丘首相1953年在国会的讲话说,“我们有自己的梦和使命,我们与欧洲同在,但不属于它;我们相连却不相融;我们休戚相关却不相互吐纳。如果一定要不列颠在欧洲与海洋之间选择,我们一定选择海洋。”

We have our own dream and our own task. We are with Europe,but not of it. We are linked but not combined. We are interested and associated but not absorbed. If Britain must choose between Europe and the open sea, she must always choose the open sea.

这段话大概流传很久了,并不是这会儿才有人找出来。我看见有的高中历史课还在讨论欧共体时引过它。有趣的是,*近发现这段话是拼凑的,把丘爷在不同年代和场合的两段话凑在一起,天衣无缝。

前一半是丘爷在1930年说的,而题目恰好是The United Europe。他说,欧洲应减少隔膜,共享福祉;我们期待一个更富强、自由和幸福的欧洲共同体(We see nothing but good and hope in a richer, freer, more contented European commonality);然后他接着说,不过我们有自己的梦……

后两句是诺曼底登陆前夕对戴高乐说的:我们就要解放欧洲了,因为美国人和我们在一起。你要清楚,每当我们要在欧洲和大海之间抉择时,我们总会选择大海;每当我要在你与罗斯福之间抉择时,我总会选择老罗(见Antony Beevor, D-Day:The Battle for Normandy第二章)。(open sea,其实也有大洋彼岸的意味。)

We are goingto liberate Europe, but it is because the Americans are with us. So get this quite clear. Every time we have to decide between Europe and the open sea, it is always the open sea we shall choose. Every time I have to choose between you and Roosevelt, I will always choose Roosevelt.

丘爷在50年代对欧洲一体不那么积*了,确实发表过可以借来支持脱欧的言论。就在那个被编纂了的1953年国会讲话中,他重申了介词with与of的区别,念念不忘“我们自己的联邦和帝国”:

Where do we stand? We are not members of the European Defence Community, nor do weintend to be merged in a Federal European system. We feel we have a special relation to both. This can be expressed by prepositions, by the preposition ‘with’ but not ‘of’ – we are with them, but not of them. We have our own Commonwealth and Empire.