丘吉尔日记
丘吉尔是从中学时代开始吸第一口烟的，并在战争期间担任随军记者时初识古巴哈瓦那雪茄的魔力，从此他就与雪茄结下了不解之缘。
他每天要抽12~16根雪茄，最多一天可抽30根雪茄;重点是，他活到了91岁!
今天小编要为大家推荐的正是丘吉尔在古巴哈瓦那写的战地日记!
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer and an artist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Named the Greatest Briton of all time in a 2002 poll, Churchill is among the most influential people in British history, consistently ranking well in opinion polls of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom.
温斯顿·伦纳德·斯宾塞·丘吉尔( Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill，1874年11月30日-1965年1月24日)，英国最伟大的政治家、历史学家、画家、演说家、作家、记者。
丘吉尔1874年出生于英格兰牛津郡伍德斯托克的一个贵族家庭，父亲伦道夫勋爵曾任英国财政大臣。1940年至1945年和1951年至1955年两度出任英国首相，被认为是20世纪最重要的政治领袖之一，领导英国人民赢得了第二次世界大战，是“雅尔塔会议三巨头”之一，战后发表《铁幕演说》，正式揭开了美苏冷战的序幕。他写的《不需要的战争》获1953年诺贝尔文学奖，著有《第二次世界大战回忆录》16卷、《英语民族史》24卷等。
本文是丘吉尔作为一名青年军官兼随军记者在古巴写的战地日记，从中可以领略到他的写作才能和风格。下面我们就一起来读这篇日记吧。
The Harbor of the City of Havana
哈瓦那城的港口
Cienfuegos, 9 November 1895
1895年11月9日，西恩富戈斯
Most people have probably noticed that the initial difficulties of any undertaking are in many cases the most insuperable. The first few sentences, whether of a proposal of marriage or of a newspaper article, require more thought, and involve more effort, than any of those which follow. And if this is the case with those who are accustomed by experience to break the ice in either circumstance, how much more does it apply to the beginnings of the beginner. It is on account of these difficulties that I shall allow their enumeration to stand in place of further prelude, and plunge at once into the middle of the subject—and the harbor of the city of Havana.
大多数人可能都会注意到，做任何事情，最初的困难往往是最难以克服的。不论是写一封求婚信，或是报纸上的一篇文章，开头的几句话总是最费心思的。假若那些具有丰富经验、惯于在不同场合中说开场白的人尚且如此的话，那些初出茅庐者的开头语就更不用说了。正是因为有这些困难，所以我就不想写序言了，而代之以列举事实来立刻切入正题---讲讲在哈瓦那城的港口所发生的事情。
High up on the cliffs, as the ship enters the narrows, one sees the fortress of EI Moro, formerly a place of great strength, and commanding the channel to the port. It is now used only as a prison for political and military offenders, and as an occasional place of execution. Here it was that the sentence of death on Lieutenant Gallegos was carried out in May last. This officer had the charge of a small post with some fifty soldiers, and was unfortunate enough to be breakfasting in a café when the insurgents happened to pass, and so was taken prisoner, with all his men. The rebels let them go, but keep their arms, and the court-martial sentenced the lieutenant to be shot for neglect of duty.
当轮船驶进海峡以后，可以看到高耸在悬崖上的埃尔莫罗要塞，它以前是一个重兵驻扎的地方，控制着通往港口的海峡。现在，它只是一个关押政治犯和军事犯的监狱。有时也会作为处决犯人的地方。今年五月底，陆军中尉加勒戈斯就是在这里被处决的。这位军官率领着约50名士兵看守一个小哨所，不幸的是他在咖啡馆吃早餐的时候，一群暴动者正好经过，把他和他的士兵都抓了起来。起义者在缴获了他们的武器之后，把他们给放了，军事法庭以玩忽职守罪判处这位陆军中尉以死刑。
The town shows no sign of the insurrection, and business proceeds everywhere as usual. Passports are, however, strictly examined, and all baggage is searched with a view to discovering pistols or other arms. During the passage from Tampa on the boat the most violent reports of the condition of Havana were rife. Yellow fever was said to be prevalent, and the garrisonwas reported to have over 400 cases. As a matter of fact, there is really not much sickness, and what there is confined to the lower part of the town. What struck me most was the absence of any news. London may know much of what is going on in the island—New York is certain to know more—but Havana hears nothing. All the papers are strictly edited by the Government and are filled with foreign and altogether irrelevant topics. It was explained to me that while the Spanish authorities were masters of the art of suppressing the truth, the Cubans were adept at inventing falsehood. By this arrangement conflicting statements and inaccuracy are like assured. During the evening which I passed in the capital some volunteers marched in front, preceded by a band and surrounded by a great crowd. They were a fine lot of men—young, but well developed—and though they looked tired, marched jauntily, and were evidently much pleased with themselves. Their uniform was made of white cotton and they wore large straw hats of limp material, twisted into every conceivableshape. They were very dirty and did not preserve much order, but for all that they looked like soldiers and were well armed. These “volunteers”, of whom there are about 25,000 in all, take it in turn to garrison the different outlying towns, afterwards coming back for duty in Havana.
这座城镇显示不出有暴动的迹象，各处的生意像平常一样在进行。不过，对护照检查得格外严格，所有的行囊都受到搜查，看是否有手枪或其他武器。从坦帕上船后，一路上都盛传着最激烈的关于哈瓦那局势的报道。据说流行着黄热病，且驻军就已报道有四百多例。事实上，并没有那么多的疾病，有病的仅限于城市低层的阶层。最让我吃惊的是消息闭塞。伦敦或许对这个岛上的情况知道得更多一些—纽约肯定知道得更多—可是在哈瓦那得不到任何消息。报纸都被政府严格控制了起来，报道的全是一些关于国外的或者与局势毫不相关的话题。我听到的解释是，西班牙当局很善于掩盖事实的真相，同时古巴人也善于编造谎言。靠着这样的配合，那些互相抵触的或者失真的陈述也会使人确信无疑。黄昏时分，当我经过这座首府的时候，一些志愿兵正在向前行进，在他们前面是一支乐队，周围是一些拥挤的人群。他们都是些精神抖擞的战士—虽然年轻，但体魄很好—虽然看上去有些疲惫，却仍然在兴冲冲地行进，一副意气风发的样子。他们的军服都是白色棉布做的，戴着软质地的折成各种形状的大草帽。他们很脏也没什么秩序，但总的来说还是像士兵，武器装备都很好。像这样的“志愿兵”，总共约有25000人，在不同的偏远城镇轮流担负警备任务，之后再返回到哈瓦那执勤。
In the diary you find proof that in situations which today would seem unbearable, you lived, looked around and wrote down observations, that this right hand moved then as it does today, when we may be wiser because we are able to look back upon our former condition, and for that very reason have got to admit the courage of our earlier striving in which we persisted even in sheer ignorance.
奥地利小说家弗朗兹·卡夫卡在《坚持写日记的好处》(One Advantage in Keeping a Diary)中写道：“在日记中你可以找到证据，证明人们曾在今天看来难以忍受的境况中生活过、环顾过，并且还把观察结果记载下来，也就是这只右手曾像今天这样动过。我们由于有可能回顾过去的情形而变得更加聪明，为此就更有理由不得不承认我们那时的奋斗所具有的勇气，尽管在奋斗中不免存在着非常肤浅的无知。”
都说纸比人更有耐心，你现在还有写日记的习惯吗?
The Harbor of the City of Havana
哈瓦那城的港口
Cienfuegos, 9 November 1985
1895年11月9日，西恩富戈斯
Next day we started for Santa Clara, which is the Captain General’s headquarters. As far as Colon the journey is safe, but thenceforward the country is much disturbed. The insurgents have given notice that they will wreck any train carrying troops, and have several times succeeded in so doing. Every station from Colon to Santa Clara is a small fort. Sometimes it is a stockade of logs, sometimes a loopholed house or a stone breastwork; all have a garrison of from fifteen to twenty men. Every bridge has to be guarded also by a block houseor other defensive work, as the rebels cut the supports through and so upset the trains. In fact, they have tried every sort of dodge in this respect. One of the cleverest of these is to loosen a rail and to fasten a wire to it. When the train comes along this wire is pulled, and the result often fully repays their labors. Dynamite is also thrown, but the insurgents appear not to understand its employment, as only two explosions have taken place so far, though there have been many attempts. At Santa Domingo a pilot engineand an armored-carare added to the train, as the rebels often indulge in target practice — from a respectful distance. In the car rides the escort, the passengers being permitted the privilege of using the ordinarycompartments. When we reached this place the line thence to Santa Clara had just been cut, and the traffic had to go round by Gruces, thus causing a great delay. On arrival there it was announced that the train which preceded ours, and in which was General Valdez, had been thrown off the line a few miles beyond Santa Domingo, and that fifteen of its occupants had been severely injured. This had been affected by weakening the supports of a small culvert. The General fortunately escaped uninjured, and at once started up country. Marshal Campos, to whose headquarters we went, received us very kindly, and readily gave us the necessary passes and letters. Unfortunately, we found that the column of General Valdez was already twenty miles away, through a country infestedby the enemy, and it would therefore be necessary to go to Cienfuegos, thence by steamer to Tuna, and from there on to Sancti Spiritus. Though this route forms two sides of a triangle, it is — Euclid not withstanding — shorter than the other, and we shall catch the column there.
第二天，我们出发前往位于圣克拉拉城的总司令部。在到科隆去的这段路上一直很安全，但在以后的乡间地区就很不安定了。暴动者已发出通告说，他们要破坏所有运送部队的列车，并有几次已成功地这样做了。从科隆到圣克拉拉沿途每个站都设了一个小关卡。这些关卡有的是用圆木围成的栅栏，有的是墙上开有枪孔的房子，有的是用石头垒成的胸墙;每个关卡都有十五到二十人的部队把守。由于起义者切断了一切支援，扰乱了列车的正常运行，因此，每座桥梁也都有一座碉堡或其他防御工事来警卫。实际上，暴动者在这方面已经想出了种种对付的办法，其中最巧妙的一个办法就是把一段铁轨弄松，然后在上面系一根金属线。当列车开过来时就把金属线一拉，于是他们的劳动就得到了充分的报偿。暴动者们也使用投掷炸弹的方式，但他们似乎对这种方式掌握得不好，虽然尝试了好多次，但至今只引爆成功了两次。在圣多明各，我们的列车上加挂了一节压道车和一辆装甲车，因为那些起义者经常喜欢选定目标进行远距离袭击。装甲车里坐着护卫队员，乘客们得到允许有权使用列车车厢中的普通分隔间。我们到达此地的时候，从这里到圣克拉拉的铁路线刚刚被切断，我们不得不绕道经过克鲁塞斯，因此而拖延了很长时间。到达这里的时候我们就听说，就在我们前面的一辆列车，上面乘坐着瓦尔德斯将军，在离开圣多名各几英里外的地方被脱出了路轨，其中有十五名乘客受了重伤。这是用减弱铁路下方一个小涵洞的支撑作用而造成的结果。所幸的是将军没有受伤，但立刻在全国引起了轰动。我们到达坎波斯元帅的总部时，元帅和蔼地接待我们，并很快发给了我们所需要的通行证和信件。遗憾的是，我们发现那时瓦尔德斯将军的部队已经开出去二十英里，正在通过一段被敌军侵扰的乡村，由此看他们需要到西富恩戈斯去，然后从那儿乘船去图纳，再去圣斯皮里图斯。这样的路线行成了一个三角形的两条边，根据欧几里德的几何学定理，这条路线尽管比另一条的路线短，但我们还是可以在那里赶上他的部队。
The insurrection shows no sign of abating, and the insurgents gain adherentscontinually. There is no doubt that they possess the sympathy of the entire population, and hence have constant and accurate intelligence. On the other hand Spain is equally determined to crush them, and is even now pouring in fresh troops by the thousand. How it will end is impossible to say, but whoever wins and whatever may be the results, the suffering and misery of the entire community is certain. The struggle is now entering upon a crucial stage. Maximo Gomez has said openly that he will not allow the grinding of the sugar cane. Any planter who does so will have his plantation burned. In the face of this threat the authorities are powerless. The cane is ripe, fit for cutting, and very combustible. It was explained to me that a piece of phosphorous, coated with wax, would be the probable instrument of the incendiarists. This little pill is fastened to the tail of the Cuban grass snake, a common and inoffensive creature, which is then set loose. The sun melts the wax and ignites the phosphorous, and the result is a conflagration, without any possible clue as to its authorship. No amount of military protection or patrolling can guard against this form of outrage, and the general impression is that the planters will not grind. The importance of this cannot be over-estimated. It means the paralyzing of the staple industry of the country and the ruin of the entire island. It means bankruptcy to the planter and starvation to the laborer, and it will leave a mark upon Cuba which will take many years of plenty and good government to efface.
暴动没有显出减弱的迹象，而且暴动的追随者还在不断增多。毫无疑问，他们拥有全体民众的同情，所以才会不断获得准确的情报。另一方面，西班牙也同样下定决心要镇压他们，甚至现在还在大批地派来增援部队。很难说结果会怎样，但不论哪方获得胜利，不论是什么结果，全体国民要遭受一场苦难是肯定的。现在，斗争已经进入关键阶段。马克西莫·戈麦斯曾公开说，他不允许任何人研磨蔗糖。任何种植园主如果这样做的话，其种植园将被烧掉。面对这样的恐吓，当局毫无办法，甘蔗已经熟了，正是收割的时候，也是非常易燃的时候。有人向我解释说，一片磷在外面裹上一层蜡，就可以成为纵火者的工具。把一颗这样的小丸子绑在一条古巴草蛇 — 一种常见的但没有伤害性的蛇 — 的尾巴上，然后把它放走。太阳将蜡丸晒化，磷一热便燃烧起来，其结果就是一场大火灾，而关于火灾的根源则不可能有任何线索。对于这种形式的暴行，再多的军事保护或军事巡逻都无济于事，所以普遍的印象是种植园主都不会研磨蔗糖。不能过高估计这样做的重要性。它意味着这个国家主要产业的瘫痪和整个岛屿的毁灭。它意味着甘蔗种植园主的破产和种植工人的挨饿，并将给古巴留下一个伤痕，需要用多少年的时间和有能力的政府才能予以消除。
The twofoldobject of the rebels in taking this momentous step is to make plain to the entire world the power they have – and so obtain recognition as belligerentsfrom the United States — and by plunging their country into indescribablewoe to procure the intervention of some European Power. Looked at from any standpoint, it is a dreadful and a desperate remedy, and one which neither restriction of liberty nor persistent bad government can fully justify. It is, nevertheless, a course open to the dangerous and determined men who are in revolt, and one which there is every reason to believe they will adopt.
起义者采取这种严重的步骤有双重目的，一是向全世界展示他们所拥有的力量 — 由此获得美国对其作为交战一方的承认 — 二是把他们的国家推向难以形容的灾难，以促成欧洲列强的干预。无论从哪种立场来看，这都是一个可怕的和绝望的补救办法，是一个既不能限制自由，又不想保持坏政府能够合法统治下去的办法。所以不管怎么说，这就是反抗运动中的那些危险而又坚定的分子所走的路，也完全有理由相信他们要选择走这样的路。
