the fundamental law of human life.
the heat in the large third-class carriage, which had been standing in the burning sun all day, was so great that nekhludoff did not go in, but stopped on the little platform behind the carriage which formed a passage to the next one. but there was not a breath of fresh air here either, and nekhludoff breathed freely only when the train had passed the buildings and the draught blew across the platform.
"yes, killed," he repeated to himself, the words he had used to his sister. and in his imagination in the midst of all other impressions there arose with wonderful clearness the beautiful face of the second dead convict, with the smile of the lips, the severe expression of the brows, and the small, firm ear below the shaved bluish skull.
and what seemed terrible was that he had been murdered, and no one knew who had murdered him. yet he had been murdered. he was led out like all the rest of the prisoners by maslennikoff's orders. maslennikoff had probably given the order in the usual manner, had signed with his stupid flourish the paper with the printed heading, and most certainly would not consider himself guilty. still less would the careful doctor who examined the convicts consider himself guilty. he had performed his duty accurately, and had separated the weak. how could he have foreseen this terrible heat, or the fact that they would start so late in the day and in such crowds? the prison inspector? but the inspector had only carried into execution the order that on a given day a certain number of exiles and convicts--men and women--had to be sent off. the convoy officer could not be guilty either, for his business was to receive a certain number of persons in a certain place, and to deliver up the same number. he conducted them in the usual manner, and could not foresee that two such strong men as those nekhludoff saw would not be able to stand it and would die. no one is guilty, and yet the men have been murdered by these people who are not guilty of their murder.
"all this comes," nekhludoff thought, "from the fact that all these people, governors, inspectors, police officers, and men, consider that there are circumstances in which human relations are not necessary between human beings. all these men, maslennikoff, and the inspector, and the convoy officer, if they were not _governor, inspector, officer,_ would have considered twenty times before sending people in such heat in such a mass--would have stopped twenty times on the way, and, seeing that a man was growing weak, gasping for breath, would have led him into the shade, would have given him water and let him rest, and if an accident had still occurred they would have expressed pity. but they not only did not do it, but hindered others from doing it, because they considered not men and their duty towards them but only the office they themselves filled, and held what that office demanded of them to be above human relations. that's what it is," nekhludoff went on in his thoughts. "if one acknowledges but for a single hour that anything can be more important than love for one's fellowmen, even in some one exceptional case, any crime can be committed without a feeling of guilt."
nekhludoff was so engrossed by his thoughts that he did not notice how the weather changed. the sun was covered over by a low-hanging, ragged cloud. a compact, light grey cloud was rapidly coming from the west, and was already falling in heavy, driving rain on the fields and woods far in the distance. moisture, coming from the cloud, mixed with the air. now and then the cloud was rent by flashes of lightning, and peals of thunder mingled more and more often with the rattling of the train. the cloud came nearer and nearer, the rain-drops driven by the wind began to spot the platform and nekhludoff's coat; and he stepped to the other side of the little platform, and, inhaling the fresh, moist air--filled with the smell of corn and wet earth that had long been waiting for rain--he stood looking at the gardens, the woods, the yellow rye fields, the green oatfields, the dark-green strips of potatoes in bloom, that glided past. everything looked as if covered over with varnish--the green turned greener, the yellow yellower, the black blacker.
"more! more!" said nekhludoff, gladdened by the sight of gardens and fields revived by the beneficent shower. the shower did not last long. part of the cloud had come down in rain, part passed over, and the last fine drops fell straight on to the earth. the sun reappeared, everything began to glisten, and in the east--not very high above the horizon--appeared a bright rainbow, with the violet tint very distinct and broken only at one end.
"why, what was i thinking about?" nekhludoff asked himself when all these changes in nature were over, and the train ran into a cutting between two high banks.
"oh! i was thinking that all those people (inspector, convoy men--all those in the service) are for the greater part kind people--cruel only because they are serving." he recalled maslennikoff's indifference when he told him about what was being done in the prison, the inspector's severity, the cruelty of the convoy officer when he refused places on the carts to those who asked for them, and paid no attention to the fact that there was a woman in travail in the train. all these people were evidently invulnerable and impregnable to the simplest feelings of compassion only because they held offices. "as officials they were impermeable to the feelings of humanity, as this paved ground is impermeable to the rain." thus thought nekhludoff as he looked at the railway embankment paved with stones of different colours, down which the water was running in streams instead of soaking into the earth. "perhaps it is necessary to pave the banks with stones, but it is sad to look at the ground, which might be yielding corn, grass, bushes, or trees in the same way as the ground visible up there is doing--deprived of vegetation, and so it is with men," thought nekhludoff. "perhaps these governors, inspectors, policemen, are needed, but it is terrible to see men deprived of the chief human attribute, that of love and sympathy for one another. the thing is," he continued, "that these people consider lawful what is not lawful, and do not consider the eternal, immutable law, written in the hearts of men by god, as law. that is why i feel so depressed when i am with these people. i am simply afraid of them, and really they are terrible, more terrible than robbers. a robber might, after all, feel pity, but they can feel no pity, they are inured against pity as these stones are against vegetation. that is what makes them terrible. it is said that the pougatcheffs, the razins [leaders of rebellions in russia: stonka razin in the 17th and pougatcheff in the 18th century] are terrible. these are a thousand times more terrible," he continued, in his thoughts. "if a psychological problem were set to find means of making men of our time--christian, humane, simple, kind people--perform the most horrible crimes without feeling guilty, only one solution could be devised: to go on doing what is being done. it is only necessary that these people should he governors, inspectors, policemen; that they should be fully convinced that there is a kind of business, called government service, which allows men to treat other men as things, without human brotherly relations with them, and also that these people should be so linked together by this government service that the responsibility for the results of their actions should not fall on any one of them separately. without these conditions, the terrible acts i witnessed to-day would be impossible in our times. it all lies in the fact that men think there are circumstances in which one may deal with human beings without love; and there are no such circumstances. one may deal with things without love. one may cut down trees, make bricks, hammer iron without love; but you cannot deal with men without it, just as one cannot deal with bees without being careful. if you deal carelessly with bees you will injure them, and will yourself be injured. and so with men. it cannot be otherwise, because natural love is the fundamental law of human life. it is true that a man cannot force another to love him, as he can force him to work for him; but it does not follow that a man may deal with men without love, especially to demand anything from them. if you feel no love, sit still," nekhludoff thought; "occupy yourself with things, with yourself, with anything you like, only not with men. you can only eat without injuring yourself when you feel inclined to eat, so you can only deal with men usefully when you love. only let yourself deal with a man without love, as i did yesterday with my brother-in-law, and there are no limits to the suffering you will bring on yourself, as all my life proves. yes, yes, it is so," thought nekhludoff; "it is good; yes, it is good," he repeated, enjoying the freshness after the torturing heat, and conscious of having attained to the fullest clearness on a question that had long occupied him.
三等车的大车厢被太阳晒了一整天，又挤满了人，闷热得叫人喘不过气来。聂赫留朵夫一直站在车尾的小平台上，没有回车厢。但连这里也呼吸不到新鲜空气。直到列车从周围房屋中开出，车厢里有了穿堂风，聂赫留朵夫才挺起胸膛，深深地吸了一口气。“是的，他们是被害死的，”他暗自重复了一遍对姐姐说过的话。他的头脑里今天充满了各种印象，此刻却特别生动地浮现出第二个死去的犯人那张漂亮的脸，以及他那含笑的嘴唇、严峻的前额、头皮剃得发青的头盖骨和头盖骨下不大的结实的耳朵。“最最可怕的是他被害死了，却没有人知道到底是谁把他害死的。但他确实被害死了。他也同别的犯人一样，是遵照马斯连尼科夫的命令被押解出来的。至于马斯连尼科夫呢，公事公办，在印好的公文纸上用他难看的花体字签上名，他当然不会认为自己应该负责任。那个专门检查犯人身体的监狱医生更不会认为自己该负责任。他认真执行自己的职责，把体弱的犯人剔出，绝没有料到天气会这么热，犯人被押解出来又那么迟，而且被迫那么紧紧地挤在一起。那么典狱长呢？……典狱长只不过执行命令，在某一天把多少男女苦役犯和流放犯送上路罢了。押解官同样没有责任，因为他的职责只是根据名册点收若干犯人，然后到某地再把他们点交出去。他照例根据规定把那批犯人押解上路，可怎么也没有料到，象聂赫留朵夫看到的那两个身强力壮的人，竟会支持不住而死去。谁也没有责任，可是人却给活活害死，而且归根到底是被那些对这些人的死毫无责任的人害死的。
“所以会有这样的事，”聂赫留朵夫想，“就因为所有这些人——省长、典狱长、警官、警察——都认为世界上有这样一种制度，根据这种制度，人与人之间无须维持正常的关系。说实话，所有这些人，马斯连尼科夫也好，典狱长也好，押解官也好，要是他们不做省长、典狱长和军官，就会反复思考二十次：这样炎热的天气叫人挤在一起上路，行吗？即使上路，中途也会休息二十次。要是看见有人体力不支，呼吸急促，也会把他从队伍里带出来，让他到阴凉的地方喝点水，休息一下。如果出了不幸的事，也会对人表示同情。他们所以没有这样做，并且不让别人这样做，无非因为他们没有把这些人当作人看待，也没有看到他们对这些人应负的责任。他们总是把官职和规章制度看得高于人与人之间的关系和人对人的义务。问题的症结就在这里，”聂赫留朵夫想。“只要承认天下还有比爱人之心更重要的东西，哪怕只承认一小时，或者只在某一特殊场合承认，那就没有一种损人的罪行干不出来，而在干的时候还不认为自己是在犯罪。”
聂赫留朵夫沉思着，连天气变了都没有注意到。太阳已被前方低垂的云朵遮住，从西方地平线那儿涌来一大片浓密的浅灰色雨云。远处田野和树林上空已经下着倾斜的大雨。雨云送来湿润的空气。闪电偶尔划破灰云，滚滚的雷鸣同列车越来越急促的隆隆声交响成一片。雨云越来越近，斜雨开始打着车尾的小平台，也打着聂赫留朵夫的薄大衣。他走到小平台的另一边，吸着湿润清凉的空气和久旱待雨的土地发出的庄稼味，望着眼前掠过的果园、树林、开始发黄的黑麦地、依旧碧绿的燕麦地和种着正在开花的深绿色土豆的黑色田畦。大地万物似乎都涂了一层清漆，绿的更绿，黄的更黄，黑的更黑了。
“再下，再下！”聂赫留朵夫望着好雨下生意盎然的田野、果园和菜园，不禁快乐地说。
大雨下了没有多久。雨云一部分变成雨水落下来，一部分飘走了。此刻只剩下暴雨后残留下来的蒙蒙细雨，垂直地落到湿漉漉的地面上。太阳又露了出来，大地万物又闪闪发亮。在东方地平线那儿，出现了一道长虹，位置不高，色彩鲜艳，紫色特浓，但一端却模糊不清。
“哦，我刚才在想什么呀？”聂赫留朵夫想，这时自然界的种种变化结束了，火车已驶入一道高坡夹峙的山沟。“是啊，我在想，所有那些人，典狱长也好，押解官也好，其他官员也好，原来都是温和善良的，他们之所以变得凶恶，就因为他们做了官。”
他想起他讲到监狱里种种情景时马斯连尼科夫那种冷漠的表情，想起典狱长的严厉和押解官的残酷，想起押解官不准病弱的犯人搭大车，也不管临产的女犯在火车上痛苦哀号。
“这些人个个都是铁石心肠，对别人的苦难漠不关心，无非因为他们做了官。他们一旦做了官，心里就渗不进爱人的感情，就象石砌的地面渗不进雨水一样，”聂赫留朵夫瞧着山沟两旁杂色石头砌成的斜坡想。他看见雨水没有渗进地里去，却汇成一道道水流淌下来。“也许山沟两旁的斜坡非用石头砌不可，但这些土地本来可以象坡顶上土地那样，生长庄稼、青草、灌木、树林，现在却寸草不生。这景象看着真叫人痛心。人也是这样，”聂赫留朵夫想，“那些省长啦，典狱长啦，警察啦，也许都非有不可，但看到有人丧失了人的主要本性，也就是人与人之间的友爱和怜悯，那真是可怕！”
“问题的症结在于，”聂赫留朵夫想，“那些人把不成其为法律的东西当作法律，却不承认上帝亲自铭刻在人们心里的永恒不变的律法才是法律。正因为这样，我跟那些人很难相处，”聂赫留朵夫想。“我简直怕他们。他们确实可怕。比强盗更可怕。强盗还有恻隐之心，那些人却没有恻隐之心。他们同恻隐之心绝了缘，就象这些石头同花草树木绝了缘一样。他们可怕就可怕在这里。据说，普加乔夫、拉辛1之类的人很可怕。其实，他们比普加乔夫、拉辛可怕一千倍，”他继续想。“如果有人提出一个心理学问题：怎样才能使我们这个时代的人，基督徒、讲人道的人、一般善良的人，干出罪孽深重的事而又不觉得自己在犯罪？那么，答案只有一个：就是必须维持现有秩序，必须让那些人当省长、典狱长、军官和警察。也就是说，第一，要让他们相信，世界上有一种工作，叫做国家公职，从事这种工作可以把人当作物品看待，不需要人与人之间的手足情谊；第二，要那些国家公职人员结成一帮，这样不论他们对待人的后果怎样，都无须由某一个人单独承担责任。没有这些条件，就不会干出象我今天所看到的那种可怕的事来。问题的症结在于，人们认为世界上有一种规矩，根据这种规矩人对待人不需要有爱心，但这样的规矩其实是没有的。人对待东西可以没有爱心，砍树也罢，造砖也罢，打铁也罢，都不需要爱心，但人对待人却不能没有爱心，就象对待蜜蜂不能不多加小心一样。这是由蜜蜂的本性决定的。如果你对待蜜蜂不多加小心，那你就会既伤害蜜蜂，也伤害自己。对待人也是这样。而且不能不这样，因为人与人之间的友爱是人类生活的基本准则。的确，人不能象强迫自己工作那样强迫自己去爱，但也不能因此得出结论说，对待人可以没有爱心，特别是对人有所求的时候。如果你对人没有爱心，那你还是安分守己地待着，”聂赫留朵夫对自己说，“你就自己顾自己，干干活，就是不要去跟人打交道。只有肚子饿的时候，吃东西才有益无害，同样，只有当你有爱心的时候，去同人打交道才会有益无害。只要你容忍自己不带爱心去对待人，就象昨天对待姐夫那样，那么，今天亲眼目睹的种种待人的残酷行为就会泛滥成灾，我这辈子亲身经历过的那种痛苦，也将无穷无尽。是啊，是啊，就是这么一回事，”聂赫留朵夫想。“这真是太好了，太好了！”他对自己反复说，感到双重的快乐：一方面是由于酷热之后天气凉快下来，另一方面是由于长期盘踞在心头的疑问忽然得到了澄清。
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1俄国十七世纪和十八世纪农民起义领袖。