231.英文正文(231)
hehadnodifficultyindisposingofthefallacy,andhewasinnodangerofsuccumbingtoit。***herealized,nevertheless,thatitoughtnevertohaveoccurredtohim。themindshoulddevelopablindspotwheneveradangerousthoughtpresenteditself。theprocessshouldbeautomatic,instinctive。crimestop,theycalleditinnewspeak。
hesettoworktoexercisehimselfincrimestop。hepresentedhimselfwithpropositions—「thepartysaystheearthisflat」,「thepartysaysthaticeisheavierthanwater」—andtrainedhimselfinnotseeingornotunderstandingtheargumentsthatcontradictedthem。itwasnoteasy。itneededgreatpowersofreasoningandimprovisation。thearithmeticalproblemsraised,forinstance,bysuchastatementas「twoandtwomakefive」werebeyondhisintellectualgrasp。itneededalsoasortofathleticismofmind,anabilityatonemomenttomakethemostdelicateuseoflogicandatthenexttobeunconsciousofthecrudestlogicalerrors。stupiditywasasnecessaryasintelligence,andasdifficulttoattain。
allthewhile,withonepartofhismind,hewonderedhowsoontheywouldshoothim。「everythingdependsonyourself,」o』brienhadsaid;butheknewthattherewasnoconsciousactbywhichhecouldbringitnearer。itmightbetenminuteshence,ortenyears。theymightkeephimforyearsinsolitaryconfinement,theymightsendhimtoalabour-camp,theymightreleasehimforawhile,astheysometimesdid。itwasperfectlypossiblethatbeforehewasshotthewholedramaofhisarrestandinterrogationwouldbeenactedalloveragain。theonecertainthingwasthatdeathnevercameatanexpectedmoment。thetradition—theunspokentradition:somehowyouknewit,thoughyouneverhearditsaid-wasthattheyshotyoufrombehind;alwaysinthebackofthehead,withoutwarning,asyouwalkeddownacorridorfromcelltocell。