Civil Disobedience
亨利·大衛·梭羅 / Henry David Thoreau
亨利·大衛·梭羅（1817—1862），雜文家、詩人、自然主義者、改革家和哲學家。生於馬薩諸塞州的康科德，畢業於哈佛大學，曾擔任中學校長。1846年7月，梭羅居住在瓦爾登湖邊時，當地的警官找到他，讓他支付投票稅，盡管數年來他已經行使了這項權利，但是梭羅拒絕支付稅款。當夜，警官把他關在康科德的監獄裏。第二天，梭羅的姨母幫他繳清稅款，他便獲釋了。不過，他表明了他的觀點：他不能向一個容許奴隸製存在並且侵略他國（墨西哥）的政府交稅。他於1849年發表了下麵這篇演說稿，為自己的行為進行辯護。當時，這篇文章沒有引起什麽反響。但是到了19世紀末，這篇文章卻成為公認的經典之作，並贏得國際性的聲譽。列夫·托爾斯泰、聖雄甘地、馬丁·路德·金等人都對它推崇備至。
Ace in the Hole
Understand these new words before you read this article.
1. systematically adv. 有組織地； 有計劃地； 有條不紊地
2. inexpedient adj. 不妥當的； 不適當的； 不明智的
3. sanction n. 批準， 認可
4. monarchy n. 君主統治， 君主製度；君主國
I heartily accept the motto， “That government is best which governs least” ， and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out， it finally amounts to this， which also I believe， “That government is best which governs not at all” ， and when men are prepared for it， that will be the kind of government which the will have. Government is at best but an expedient； but most governments are usually， and all governments are sometimes， inexpedient. The objections which have been brought against a standing army， and they are many and weighty， and deserve to prevail， may also at last be brought against a standing government. The standing army is only an arm of the standing government. The government itself， which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will， is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it. Witness the present Mexican war， the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool； for in the outset， the people would not have consented to this measure.