207.英文正文（207）

“doyouknowwhereyouare，winston？”hesaid。***

“idon’tknow。icanguess。intheministryoflove。”

“doyouknowhowlongyouhavebeenhere？”

“idon’tknow。days，weeks，months—ithinkitismonths。”

“andwhydoyouimaginethatwebringpeopletothisplace？”

“tomakethemconfess。”

“no，thatisnotthereason。tryagain。”

“topunishthem。”

“no！”exclaimedo'brien。hisvoicehadchangedextraordinarily，andhisfacehadsuddenlybecomebothsternandanimated。“no！notmerelytoextractyourconfession，nottopunishyou。shallitellyouwhywehavebroughtyouhere？tocureyou！tomakeyousane！willyouunderstand，winston，thatnoonewhomwebringtothisplaceeverleavesourhandsuncured？wearenotinterestedinthosestupidcrimesthatyouhavecommitted。thepartyisnotinterestedintheovertact：thethoughtisallwecareabout。wedonotmerelydestroyourenemies，wechangethem。doyouunderstandwhatimeanbythat？”

hewasbendingoverwinston。hisfacelookedenormousbecauseofitsnearness，andhideouslyuglybecauseitwasseenfrombelow。moreoveritwasfilledwithasortofexaltation，alunaticintensity。againwinston’sheartshrank。ifithadbeenpossiblehewouldhavecowereddeeperintothebed。hefeltcertainthato’brienwasabouttotwistthedialoutofsheerwantonness。atthismoment，however，o’brienturnedaway。hetookapaceortwoupanddown。thenhecontinuedlessvehemently：

“thefirstthingforyoutounderstandisthatinthisplacetherearenomartyrdoms。youhavereadofthereligiouspersecutionsofthepast。inthemiddleagestherewastheinquisition。itwasafailure。itsetouttoeradicateheresy，andendedbyperpetuatingit。foreveryhereticitburnedatthestake，thousandsofothersroseup。whywasthat？becausetheinquisitionkilleditsenemiesintheopen，andkilledthemwhiletheywerestillunrepentant：infact，itkilledthembecausetheywereunrepentant。menweredyingbecausetheywouldnotabandontheirtruebeliefs。naturallyalltheglorybelongedtothevictimandalltheshametotheinquisitorwhoburnedhim。later，inthetwentiethcentury，therewerethetotalitarians，astheywerecalled。therewerethegermannazisandtherussiancommunists。therussianspersecutedheresymorecruellythantheinquisitionhaddone。andtheyimaginedthattheyhadlearnedfromthemistakesofthepast；theyknew，atanyrate，thatonemustnotmakemartyrs。beforetheyexposedtheirvictimstopublictrial，theydeliberatelysetthemselvestodestroytheirdignity。theyworethemdownbytortureandsolitudeuntiltheyweredespicable，cringingwretches，confessingwhateverwasputintotheirmouths，coveringthemselveswithabuse，accusingandshelteringbehindoneanother，whimperingformercy。andyetafteronlyafewyearsthesamethinghadhappenedoveragain。thedeadmenhadbecomemartyrsandtheirdegradationwasforgotten。onceagain，whywasit？inthefirstplace，becausetheconfessionsthattheyhadmadewereobviouslyextortedanduntrue。wedonotmakemistakesofthatkind。alltheconfessionsthatareutteredherearetrue。wemakethemtrue。andaboveallwedonotallowthedeadtoriseupagainstus。youmuststopimaginingthatposteritywillvindicateyou，winston。posteritywillneverhearofyou。youwillbeliftedcleanoutfromthestreamofhistory。weshallturnyouintogasandpouryouintothestratosphere。nothingwillremainofyou，notanameinaregister，notamemoryinalivingbrain。youwillbeannihilatedinthepastaswellasinthefuture。youwillneverhaveexisted。”