Aloneness is Worse than Failure

What is feared as failure in American society is, above all，aloneness. And aloneness is terrifying because it means that there is no one, no group，no approved cause to submit to.

在美国社会中作为失败而为人们所恐怖的，莫过于孤独了。而孤独之所以可怕，就因为那意味着没有一个可服从的人，没有一个可服从的团体，也没有一个可服从的公认的大义。

Even success often becomes impossible to bear when it is not socially approved or even known. This is perhaps why successful criminals often feel the need to confess，that is，to submit to the community’s（1）judgment，represented in the person to whom the confession is made.

即令获得成功，若不为社会所认可，或甚至不为世人所知道时，就是成功也常要变得使人不能忍受的。这也许就是成功的罪犯，时常觉得有必要去自首的原因，那就是，去服从那个听取自首的人所代表的公众的裁判。

They will confess even under circumstances where this will probably，if not certainly，endanger their previous success：proof，I think，that aloneness is more intolerable than mere failure. For mere failure，provided（2）it is found in company（3），can rather easily be borne；many ideologies have the function of making it possible for people to digest（4）the worst miseries and even death.

即令在如果不是一定的话，至少是可能危害他们前此的成功那种情形之下，他们仍然要去自首的。变成孤独比单纯的失败，更要难于忍受，我想这就足以证明了。因为单纯的失败，即令是与人共同遭受的，毋宁是能够容易忍受的。许多意识形态的作用，可使人能够忍受极大的不幸，甚至是死亡。

Under the sway（5）of the ideology，they do not feel the impact（6）of their failure；they are in the grip of an authority，even if it lets them down（7）. On the other hand（8），one who is alone lacks this solace which can make even failure comfortable.（David Riesman）

人们在意识形态掩护之下，便不会感到自己失败的冲击。意识形态以一种权威的力量，掌握住他们，虽则在紧要关头也不免要把他们抛弃。在另一方面，孤独的人便缺乏那种甚至可以使失败也感到舒服的安慰。

【注释】
（1）the community：公众（the public）。
（2）provided：如果（if），即令（even if）。
（3）in company：与人共同地。
（4）digest: 忍受（bear with patience; endure）。
（5）sway：控制。
（6）impact：冲击。
（7）let them down：把他们抛弃（fail them at need）。
（8）on the other hand：在另一方面。

来源：钱歌川《翻译的技巧》

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