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。