一個聰明的年輕人

在Derek Jarman的經典大作Wittgenstein裡頭，當維根斯坦彌留之際，他的好友凱因斯在病褟旁對他說了這個關於一個聰明的年輕人的故事，相信許多喜愛維根斯坦或者本身在讀哲學的朋友，都對這個故事有很深的感受。

我在深夜裡想起這個故事，便花了點時間將它翻譯出來，電影片段在此。

一個聰明的年輕人

There was once a young man who dreamed of reducing the world to pure logic.

從前有一個小男孩，他夢想著要將世界化約到純粹的邏輯上來，

Because he was a very clever young man, he actually managed to do it.

因為他是個非常聰明的年輕人，所以他做到了。

When he'd finished his work, he stood back and admired it.

當這工程完成的時候，他往後退了幾步欣賞自己的大作，

It was beautiful.

這作品真美，

A world purged of imperfection and indeterminacy.

一個不存在不完美與不確定的美好世界，

Countless acres of gleaming ice stretching to the horizon.

一望無際的璀璨冰面一直延伸到地平線的那一邊。

So the clever young man looked around the world he'd created and decided to explore it.

這個聰明的年輕人環顧四周，決定動身探索自己創造出來的這個世界。

He took one step forward and fell flat on his back.

他才跨出一步立即便摔倒在地，

You see, he'd forgotten about friction.

你看看，他忘了摩擦力了啦，

The ice was smooth and level and stainless.

這冰面既平坦又光滑，毫無瑕疵，

But you couldn't walk there.

就是沒法讓人在上頭行走，

So the clever young man sat down and wept bitter tears.

聰明的年輕人只好坐在地上拭淚。

But as he grew into a wise old man, he came to understand that roughness and ambiguity aren't imperfections, they're what make the world turn.

直到成了一個有智慧的老人，他才懂得粗糙與含糊並非不完美，恰恰是因為有了它們，世界才得以轉動。

He wanted to run and dance.

他想要奔跑、想手舞足蹈，

And the words and things scattered upon the ground were all battered and tarnished and ambiguous.

散得滿地的文字與事物既破碎又黯淡，還含糊不清，

The wise old man saw that that was the way things were.

這個有智慧的老人明白這世上的事物就是如此，

But something in him was still homesick for the ice, where everything was radiant and absolute and relentless.

只是他心裡還是保留著一塊角落思念著那耀眼、絕對、又冷酷的無瑕冰面；

Though he had come to like the idea of the rough ground, he couldn't bring himself to live there.

儘管已然喜歡上眼前這粗糙的地面，他卻無法在這上頭生活，

So now he was marooned between earth and ice, at home in neither.

只能在冰面與地面之間擺蕩，兩頭無法安身，

And this was the cause of all his grief.

他所有的傷痛都源自於此。

我們，是否也在這兩個世界之間擺盪不休？