True Dog Stories BY WALTER BENJAMIN真實的狗故事。Radio Benjamin有漢譯。Medor的人生故事 法蘭西拿破崙帝國

真實的狗故事

 沃爾特·本傑明

沒有兩隻狗是一樣的，他們的故事也如此。取自《沃爾特·本傑明的無線電廣播稿集》。

True Dog Stories

BY WALTER BENJAMIN

No two dogs are alike, nor are their stories. An excerpt from Radio Benjamin, the collected radio broadcasts of Walter Benjamin.

You probably think you know dogs. By this I mean, when I read you a famous description of dogs, you will have the same feeling I did when I first read it. I said to myself: if the word “dog” had not appeared in the description, I wouldn’t have guessed which animal it was about; things look so new and special when a great scientist looks at them, as if they had never before been seen. The name of this scientist is Linnaeus, the very same Linnaeus you all know from botany and the man responsible for the system we still use today to classify plants. Here’s what he has to say about dogs:

你可能自認為了解狗。我的意思是，當我將一段對狗的著名描述讀給你聽時，你的感覺會和我第一次讀它時一樣。我自言自語：如果該段描述中沒出現“狗”這個詞，我就不會猜到它描述的是哪個動物了;由一個大科學家來看他們時，看法竟然如此新穎而特別，就好像他們以前從未被這樣見過。這個科學家的名字叫林奈，林奈，你們在博物學都聽過的，他設想的植物分類系統，我們今天還在用它。以下是他對狗的說法：

Feeds on meat, carcasses, farinaceous grains, but not leaves; digests bones, vomits up grass; defecates onto stone: Greek white, exceedingly acidic. Drinks by lapping; urinates to the side, up to one hundred times in good company, sniffs at its neighbor’s anus; moist nose, excellent sense of smell; runs on a diagonal, walks on toes; perspires very little, lets tongue hang out in the heat; circles its sleeping area before retiring; hears rather well while sleeping, dreams. The female is vicious with jealous suitors; fornicates with many partners when in heat; bites them; intimately bound during copulation; gestation is nine weeks, four to eight compose a litter, males resemble the father, females the mother. Loyal above all else; house companion for humans; wags its tail upon master’s approach, defends him; runs ahead on a walk, waits at crossings; teachable, hunts for missing things, makes the rounds at night, warns of those approaching, keeps watch over goods, drives livestock from fields, herds reindeer, guards cattle and sheep from wild animals, holds lions in check, rustles up game, locates ducks, lies in wait before pouncing on the net, retrieves a hunter’s kill without partaking of it, rotates a skewer in France, pulls carts in Siberia. Begs for scraps at the table; after stealing it timidly hides its tail; feeds greedily. Lords it over its home; is the enemy of beggars, attacks strangers without being provoked. Heals wounds, gout and cancers with tongue. Howls to music, bites stones thrown its way; depressed and foul-smelling before a storm. Afflicted by tapeworm. Spreads rabies. Eventually goes blind and gnaws at itself.

飼料在肉，屍體，穀物，但不是葉; 消化骨頭，嘔吐草; 排到石頭上：希臘白，極度酸性。飲料通過研磨; 在一家好的公司裡，小便到一百次，嗅到鄰居的肛門; 鼻子潮濕，嗅覺極佳; 跑在對角線上，走在腳趾上; 出汗很少，讓舌頭掛在熱氣中; 在退休之前圍繞睡覺區域; 在睡夢中聽得很清楚。女性對嫉妒的追求者是惡毒的; 在炎熱的時候與許多伴侶一起狂歡; 咬他們; 在交配期間密切結合; 懷孕九週，四至八個亂寫垃圾，男性像父親，女性母親。忠於一切; 家庭伴侶為人類; 向主人的方向搖尾巴，為他辯護; 跑步前進，等待在十字路口; 教導，尋找失踪的東西，晚上打發時間，警告那些正在接近的人，看守物品，從田地裡趕牲畜，馴鹿，從野獸中守護牛羊，控制獅子，沙沙地響，找鴨子，等在網上沖刺之前，獵人沒有參與獵殺，在法國轉圈，在西伯利亞拉車。乞討在桌子上的碎片; 竊取後膽怯地隱藏它的尾巴; 貪婪地餵食。把它放在家裡; 是乞丐的敵人，攻擊陌生人而不被挑釁。用舌頭治癒傷口，痛風和癌症。嚎to大哭，叮噹作響; 在暴風雨前沮喪和惡臭。受絛蟲傷害。傳播狂犬病 最終會失明，啃咬自己。接近的警告，守望物品，從田間，牧場馴鹿，從野獸守衛牛羊，控制獅子，沙沙地遊戲，定位鴨子，等待在網上，獵取獵人的殺了它，在法國轉了一圈，在西伯利亞拉車。乞討在桌子上的碎片; 竊取後膽怯地隱藏它的尾巴; 貪婪地餵食。把它放在家裡; 是乞丐的敵人，攻擊陌生人而不被挑釁。用舌頭治癒傷口，痛風和癌症。嚎to大哭，叮噹作響; 在暴風雨前沮喪和惡臭。受絛蟲傷害。傳播狂犬病 最終會失明，啃咬自己。接近的警告，守望物品，從田間，牧場馴鹿，從野獸守衛牛羊，控制獅子，沙沙地遊戲，定位鴨子，等待在網上，獵取獵人的殺了它，在法國轉了一圈，在西伯利亞拉車。乞討在桌子上的碎片; 竊取後膽怯地隱藏它的尾巴; 貪婪地餵食。把它放在家裡; 是乞丐的敵人，攻擊陌生人而不被挑釁。用舌頭治癒傷口，痛風和癌症。嚎to大哭，叮噹作響; 在暴風雨前沮喪和惡臭。受絛蟲傷害。傳播狂犬病 最終會失明，啃咬自己。從野獸看守牛羊，抱獅子，沙沙作響，找鴨子，躺在網上等著網上，不獵取獵人的屍體，在法國轉圈，在西伯利亞拉車。乞討在桌子上的碎片; 竊取後膽怯地隱藏它的尾巴; 貪婪地餵食。把它放在家裡; 是乞丐的敵人，攻擊陌生人而不被挑釁。用舌頭治癒傷口，痛風和癌症。嚎to大哭，叮噹作響; 在暴風雨前沮喪和惡臭。受絛蟲傷害。傳播狂犬病 最終會失明，啃咬自己。從野獸看守牛羊，抱獅子，沙沙作響，找鴨子，躺在網上等著網上，不獵取獵人的屍體，在法國轉圈，在西伯利亞拉車。乞討在桌子上的碎片; 竊取後膽怯地隱藏它的尾巴; 貪婪地餵食。把它放在家裡; 是乞丐的敵人，攻擊陌生人而不被挑釁。用舌頭治癒傷口，痛風和癌症。嚎to大哭，叮噹作響; 在暴風雨前沮喪和惡臭。受絛蟲傷害。傳播狂犬病 最終會失明，啃咬自己。乞討在桌子上的碎片; 竊取後膽怯地隱藏它的尾巴; 貪婪地餵食。把它放在家裡; 是乞丐的敵人，攻擊陌生人而不被挑釁。用舌頭治癒傷口，痛風和癌症。嚎to大哭，叮噹作響; 在暴風雨前沮喪和惡臭。受絛蟲傷害。傳播狂犬病 最終會失明，啃咬自己。乞討在桌子上的碎片; 竊取後膽怯地隱藏它的尾巴; 貪婪地餵食。把它放在家裡; 是乞丐的敵人，攻擊陌生人而不被挑釁。用舌頭治癒傷口，痛風和癌症。嚎to大哭，叮噹作響; 在暴風雨前沮喪和惡臭。受絛蟲傷害。傳播狂犬病 最終會失明，啃咬自己。

That was Linnaeus. After a description like that, most of the stories frequently told about dogs seem rather boring and run-of-the-mill. In any case, they can’t rival this passage in terms of peculiarity or flair, even those told by people out to prove how clever dogs are. Is it not an insult to dogs that the only stories about them are told in order to prove something? As if they’re only interesting as a species? Doesn’t each individual dog have its own special character?

No single dog is physically or temperamentally like another. Each has its own good and bad tendencies, which are often in stark contradiction, giving dog owners precious conversation material. Everyone’s dog is cleverer than his neighbor’s! When an owner recounts his dog’s silly tricks, he is illuminating its character, and when the dog experiences some remarkable fate, it becomes something greater, part of a life story. It is special even in its death.

那是林奈。經過這樣的描述之後，大多數關於狗狗的故事都顯得枯燥無味。在任何情況下，他們都不能以特殊性或天賦來對抗這段話，即使是那些被人們告知證明狗是多麼聰明的人。為了證明一些事情，告訴他們唯一的故事是不是對狗的侮辱？就好像它們只是一個有趣的物種一樣？每隻狗都不是每個人都有自己的特色嗎？

沒有任何一隻狗在身體上或氣質上與另一隻狗相似。每個人都有自己的好壞傾向，這往往是矛盾尖銳的，給狗主們寶貴的談話材料。每個人的狗比鄰居都聰明！當一個主人講述他的狗的愚蠢的技巧，他正在照亮它的性格，當這條狗經歷了一些顯著的命運，它變得更大，生活故事的一部分。即使在死亡中也是特別的。

Now let’s hear about some of these peculiarities. It must also be true of other animals that they possess many unique qualities that are not found in the species as a whole. But humans make this observation so readily and definitively only with dogs, with whom they have a closer bond than with any other animal, except perhaps horses. It all began thousands of years ago with man’s great victory over the dog, or more precisely, over the wolf and the jackal; yielding to man, allowing themselves to be tamed, these wild animals became dogs. However, the most ancient dogs, which first appeared around the end of the Stone Age, were far removed from our pets and hunting dogs of today. They were more similar to the halfwild dogs of Eskimos, which have to fend for themselves for months at a time and resemble the Arctic wolf in every respect, as well as the fearful, treacherous, and currish dogs of Kamchatka, which, according to one traveler’s account, haven’t the slightest love for or loyalty to their master—in fact, they constantly try to kill him. The domesticated dog must have arisen from such a beast. It is truly regrettable that later on, some dogs, especially mastiffs, returned to their old savagery as a consequence of breeding, becoming even more dreadful and bloodthirsty than they had been in their primitive state. Here is the story of the most famous of all bloodhounds, named Bezerillo, whom the Spaniards of Fernando Cortez came upon while conquering Mexico, and then trained most hideously.

圖書

無線電本傑明

沃爾特·本傑明

現在讓我們來聽聽其中的一些特點。對於其他動物來說，它們也必須是真的，因為它們擁有許多在整個物種中都沒有的獨特品質。但是，人類只能對狗隻進行這樣的觀察，這種狗與其他任何動物（除了馬）之外都有著更密切的聯繫。這一切都是在數千年前開始的，人類對狗的勝利，或者更確切地說是對狼和jack狼的勝利。屈服於人，讓自己被馴服，這些野生動物成了狗。然而，最早出現在石器時代末期的最古老的狗，遠離我們今天的寵物和獵狗。它們更像愛斯基摩人的半隻狗，它們每次都要為自己奮鬥幾個月，在各方面都像北極狼，以及堪察加半島的恐懼，奸詐的狗，根據一個旅行者的說法，他們對主人沒有絲毫的愛或忠誠 - 事實上，他們經常試圖殺死他。家養的狗一定是從這樣的野獸中產生的。後來有些狗，特別是藏獒，由於繁殖而回到原來的野蠻狀態，變得比原始狀態更加恐怖和嗜血，這真是令人遺憾。這裡有最有名的獵犬故事，名叫比澤洛（Bezerillo），費爾南多·科爾特斯（Fernando Cortez）的西班牙人在征服墨西哥的時候遇到了這個故事，然後受到了極大的傷害。他們不斷地試圖殺死他。家養的狗一定是從這樣的野獸中產生的。後來有些狗，特別是藏獒，由於繁殖而回到原來的野蠻狀態，變得比原始狀態更加恐怖和嗜血，這真是令人遺憾。這裡有最有名的獵犬故事，名叫比澤洛（Bezerillo），費爾南多·科爾特斯（Fernando Cortez）的西班牙人在征服墨西哥的時候遇到了這個故事，然後受到了極大的傷害。他們不斷地試圖殺死他。家養的狗一定是從這樣的野獸中產生的。後來有些狗，特別是藏獒，由於繁殖而回到原來的野蠻狀態，變得比原始狀態更加恐怖和嗜血，這真是令人遺憾。這裡有最有名的獵犬故事，名叫比澤洛（Bezerillo），費爾南多·科爾特斯（Fernando Cortez）的西班牙人在征服墨西哥的時候遇到了這個故事，然後受到了極大的傷害。

In earlier times the Mexican bulldog was used in the nastiest way. It was trained to catch people, tackle them to the ground, and even kill them. During the conquest of Mexico, the Spaniards deployed such dogs against the Indians and one of them, by the name of Bezerillo, became famous, or rather, infamous. It can no longer be said whether or not he was an actual Cuban mastiff, which is considered to be a mongrel of a bulldog and a bloodhound. He is described as mediumsized, red in color, but black around the nose and up to the eyes. His audacity and intelligence were equally extraordinary. He enjoyed the highest status among the dogs and received twice as much food as the others. When on the attack he would hurl himself against swarms of Indians while taking care to lock onto an arm so he could drag away a captive. If they complied, the dog would inflict no further harm; if they refused to accompany him, in a flash he would pin them to the ground and strangle them. He could tell exactly which Indians had capitulated and let them be, focusing instead on the resisters. Although so cruel and so fierce, he sometimes showed himself to be much more humane than his masters. One morning, so the story goes, Captain Jago de Senadza wanted to have a little barbarous fun by letting Bezerillo rip to shreds an old captive Indian woman. He gave her a letter and ordered her to deliver it to the governor of the island; the letter instructed that the dog be let loose on the old woman to rip her apart. When the poor, defenseless Indian woman saw the ferocious dog storming after her, she fell to the ground in fear, desperately begging him for mercy. She showed him the letter, explaining that she had brought it to the commander on orders. The ferocious dog hesitated at these words, and, after a moment’s contemplation, approached the old woman tenderly. This incident astounded the Spaniards, appearing to them as something mystical, or supernatural, which is probably why the governor set the old Indian free. Bezerillo met his end in a skirmish with Caribs, who felled him with a poison dart. It’s easy to see how the unfortunate Indians saw such dogs as four-legged abettors of the two-legged devil.

在較早的時候，墨西哥牛頭犬被用於最惡劣的方式。它被訓練抓人，把他們打倒在地，甚至殺死他們。在征服墨西哥的時候，西班牙人把這樣的狗部署在印第安人身上，其中一個名叫Bezerillo的人變得有名，甚至是臭名昭著的。他不能說自己是不是真正的古巴藏獒，被認為是牛頭犬和獵狗的混血兒。他被描述為中等顏色，紅色，但黑色的鼻子，直到眼睛。他的大膽和智慧同樣非凡。他享有最高的地位，獲得兩倍的食物。在攻擊時，他會把自己投向印度群眾，同時小心地鎖在一隻胳膊上，這樣他就可以把俘虜拖走。如果他們遵守，狗不會造成進一步的傷害; 如果他們拒絕陪他，一會兒他就會把他們釘在地上掐死他們。他可以確切地告訴哪些印度人投降了，讓他們知道，把重點放在抗議者身上。他雖然如此殘酷而如此凶狠，但有時卻表現出比主人更為人性化。有一天早上，故事發生了，Jago de Senadza上尉想讓Bezerillo撕裂一個老俘虜的印第安女人，讓他有點野蠻的樂趣。他給了她一封信，命令她把信交給島上的總督。這封信指示說，這隻狗讓老太太把她撕開。當那個可憐的手無寸鐵的印度女人看到兇猛的狗在她身後襲來，她恐懼地倒在地上，拼命地求他憐憫。她給他看了這封信，解釋說她已經把命令帶到了指揮官那裡。兇猛的狗猶豫了一下，沉思了一會兒，溫柔地走近老太太。這一事件使西班牙人感到震驚，他們認為這些東西是神秘的或超自然的，這可能就是州長為什麼讓老印度人自由了。比塞羅在與加勒比人的衝突中遇見了他，他用毒鏢擊倒了他。很容易看到不幸的印度人如何將這種狗看作是雙腿魔鬼的四足神甫。比塞羅在與加勒比人的衝突中遇見了他，他用毒鏢擊倒了他。很容易看到不幸的印度人如何將這種狗看作是雙腿魔鬼的四足神甫。比塞羅在與加勒比人的衝突中遇見了他，他用毒鏢擊倒了他。很容易看到不幸的印度人如何將這種狗看作是雙腿魔鬼的四足神甫。

The following story tells of a breed of wild mastiff that roams in packs about Madagascar:

On the island of Madagascar, large hordes of dogs roam wild. Their bitterest enemy is the caiman, which would frequently devour them as they swam from one riverbank to the next. Over the years of struggle against the beast, the dogs have invented a trick that enables them to stay clear of the caiman’s jaws. Before diving into the water, they gather in a large group by the shore and bark as loudly as they can. Drawn to the noise, all the alligators in the vicinity raise their giant heads out of the water just below the spot on the bank where the pack is waiting. At this point the dogs gallop along the bank and then swim across the water unmolested, as the ungainly alligators are not able to keep up. It is also interesting to observe that dogs brought to the island by new settlers fall victim to the caiman, while their offspring later save themselves from certain death by employing the trick invented by the indigenous dogs.

下面的故事講述了一群狂野的藏獒在馬達加斯加漫遊：

在馬達加斯加島上，大群的狗在野外漫遊。他們最痛苦的敵人就是凱門鱷，在他們從一個河岸游到另一個河岸的時候，凱門鱷會經常吞噬它們。多年來與獸的鬥爭中，狗發明了一種技巧，使他們能夠避開凱門鱷的頜骨。在潛入水中之前，他們聚集在岸邊的一大群人中，盡可能大聲地吠叫。聽到這些聲音，附近的所有短吻鱷都把他們的巨頭從水下正在等待的銀行的正下方抬出水面。在這一點上，狗沿著岸邊馳騁，然後不受摩擦地游過水面，因為那些不可靠的短吻鱷不能跟上。觀察到由新定居者帶到島上的狗是凱門鱷的受害者，

We have seen that dogs know how to help one another. Now let’s see how helpful they’ve been to humans. I’m thinking of age-old human activities such as the hunt, the night watch, trekking, war, in all of which dogs have cooperated with humans, spanning various epochs of world history and the most remote corners of the Earth. Some ancient peoples, like those from Colophon, waged wars using great packs of dogs, who would attack first in all their battles. But I’m thinking not only of dogs’ heroism throughout history, but also of their roles in society, and the assistance they give people in countless aspects of everyday life. There is no end to the number of stories, but I will tell only three very short ones, the Boot Dog, the Coach Poodle, and the Death Hound.

我們已經看到，狗知道如何互相幫助。現在讓我們看看他們對人類有多大的幫助。我正在考慮古老的人類活動，例如狩獵，夜間觀看，徒步旅行，戰爭，所有這些都與人類合作，跨越世界歷史的各個時代和地球上最偏遠的角落。一些古代民族，如同發生在殖民地的古代民族一樣，用大量的狗進行戰爭，這些狗會在所有的戰鬥中首先發起攻擊。但是我不僅想到狗歷史上的英雄主義，還想到了他們在社會中的角色，以及在日常生活的無數方面給予人們的幫助。故事的數量是沒有盡頭的，但我只會告訴三個很短的故事，引導狗，教練貴賓犬和死亡獵犬。

At the Pont-Neuf in Paris there was a young bootblack who trained a poodle to dip her thick hairy paws in the water and then tread on the feet of passersby. The people would cry out, the bootblack would appear and thereby multiply his earnings. As long as he was busy shining someone’s shoes, the dog behaved, but when the footstool became free, the game would begin anew.

Brehm tells us about a poodle he knew whose intelligence brought great amusement. He was trained in all sorts of things and, in a manner of speaking, understood every word. Whatever his master sent him to fetch, he was sure to deliver what was asked. He would say: “Go fetch a carriage!” and the dog would run to the spot where the cabs wait, jump into a coach and keep barking until the carriage drove off; if the coachman took a wrong turn, the dog began barking again, and in some cases would even run along ahead of the wagon until they reached his master’s home.

An English newspaper reports: In Campbelltown in the province of Argyllshire, every funeral procession, with very few exceptions, makes its way from the church to the cemetery accompanied by a quiet mourner in the form of a huge, black dog. He always takes his place beside those immediately following the casket and escorts the funeral cortege to the grave. Once there, he lingers until the final words of the eulogy have come and gone. With much gravitas he then turns around and exits the graveyard at a solemn pace. This remarkable dog seems instinctively to know when and where a funeral will occur, as he always shows up just at the right moment. Because he has been shouldering this freely chosen obligation for years, his presence has become more or less expected, such that his failure to appear would be conspicuous. At first the dog was always chased from the open grave, his preferred spot to sit, but he would always return to accompany the mourners at the earliest opportunity. Eventually people gave up chasing away the quiet sympathy-bearer, and he has since had an official role in every funeral procession. However, the most remarkable thing was when a chartered steamer pulled into the harbor, carrying a recently deceased man and his attendant mourners: the dog waited right where the ship would dock and then accompanied the funeral procession to the cemetery in his usual way.

在巴黎的新橋（Pont-Neuf），有一位年輕的黑靴子，他訓練了一隻獅子狗，把她那厚厚的毛茸茸的爪子浸在水里，然後踩在路人腳上。人們會哭喊，靴子會出現，從而增加他的收入。只要他在忙著點鞋子，那隻狗就會表現出來，但是當腳凳開放時，遊戲就會重新開始。

布雷姆告訴我們一條獅子狗，他知道誰的智慧帶來了很大的樂趣。他受過各種各樣的訓練，用一種說話的方式來理解每一個字。無論他的主人送他去取什麼東西，他肯定會提出所要求的。他會說：“去找一輛馬車吧！”那狗就跑到出租車等候的地方，跳進教練，不停地叫，直到馬車開走了。如果車夫錯誤地轉彎，狗便再次吠叫，有時甚至會跑到旅行車前面，直到他們到達主人的家。

英國的一家報紙報導：在阿蓋爾郡的坎貝爾鎮，除了極少數例外，每一個葬禮隊伍都從教堂走到墓地，還有一個安靜的哀悼者，一隻黑色的大狗。他總是坐在棺木旁邊的那個地方，把葬禮護送到墳墓裡。一旦到了那裡，他就會徘徊，直到頌詞的最後一句話消失。然後，他轉過身來，嚴肅地離開了墳墓場。這只卓越的狗似乎本能地知道什麼時候和什麼地方會發生葬禮，因為他總是在正確的時刻出現。因為他多年來一直承擔著這個自由選擇的義務，所以他的存在已經或多或少地受到了期待，以至於他的失敗顯而易見。起初，狗總是從露天墳墓中追趕，他最喜歡坐的地方，但他總是會回來陪伴悼念者。最終，人們放棄追逐安靜的同情者，而且他在每一個葬禮過程中都有一個正式的角色。然而，最令人矚目的是，一艘特許火輪駛入港口，載著一名剛剛死去的男子及其陪同的送葬員：狗等候在船上停靠的地方，然後以通常的方式陪同葬禮隊伍到墓地。

Incidentally, did you know there’s an encyclopedia of famous dogs? It was made by a man who busied himself with all sorts of obscure things. For instance, he compiled a lexicon of famous shoemakers, and wrote a whole book titled Soup, as well as other, similarly esoteric works. The dog book is very handy. Every dog known to man is in it, including some that the writer has conceived of himself. It was in this book that I found the wonderful and true story of Medor the dog, who took part in the Paris Revolution of 1831 and the storming of the Louvre, but lost his master there. I’ll tell it to you now in closing, just as its author Ludwig Börne wrote it.

順便說一下，你知道有一個著名的狗的百科全書？它是由一個人用各種晦澀的東西忙著自己做的。例如，他編了一本著名鞋匠的詞彙，寫了一本名為“湯”的書，以及其他類似的深奧作品。這本狗書很好用。每個人都知道的狗，其中包括一些作者自己設想的狗。正是在這本書中，我找到了Medor這隻狗的美妙而真實的故事，他參加了1831年的巴黎革命和盧浮宮風暴，但在那裡失去了主人。我現在要告訴你，正如其作者路德維希·伯恩（LudwigBörne）所寫的那樣。

I left Napoleon’s coronation for another spectacle that was more after my own heart. I visited the noble Medor. If virtue were rewarded with a title on this Earth, Medor would be the emperor of all dogs. Consider his story. After the storming of the Louvre in July, those who died in the battle were buried in the square in front of the palace, on the side where the delightful columns stand. When the bodies were laid onto carts to carry them to the grave, a dog jumped with heartrending sorrow onto one of the wagons, and from there into the large pit into which the dead were thrown. Great efforts were made to pull him out; he would have been scorched by the scattered lime even before being buried under the dirt. That was the dog people would later call Medor. During battle he always stood beside his master. He was wounded himself. Since his master’s death he never left the graves, moaning day and night before the door to the narrow cemetery, or howling while running back and forth in front of the Louvre.

No one paid much attention to Medor, because no one knew him or could guess his pain. His master must have been one of the many foreigners that came to Paris in those days, fought unnoticed for the freedom of his homeland, bled there, died there, and was buried anonymously. Only after several weeks did people begin to take notice of Medor. He was emaciated about the ribs and covered in festering wounds. People gave him food, but for a long time he refused it. Finally the persistent compassion of a good townswoman succeeded in alleviating Medor’s grief. She took him in, bandaged and healed his wounds, and made him strong again. Medor was more content, but his heart lay in his master’s grave, where his caretaker took him after his recovery and where he would stay for the next seven months. A few times greedy people sold him to rich curiosity seekers; once he was taken thirty hours from Paris, but he always found his way back. Medor is often seen unearthing a small piece of fabric; he becomes excited upon finding it and then sadly reburies it. It’s probably a piece of his master’s shirt. If he’s given a piece of bread or cake, he buries it in the ground, as if wanting to feed his friend in the grave, and then retrieves it, repeating this process several times a day. For the first few months the national guardsman at the Louvre would invite Medor into the guardhouse every night. Later on the guard saw to it that a hut was built for Medor beside the grave.

Medor quickly found his Plutarch, his rhapsodists, his painters. When I visited the square in front of the Louvre, peddlers offered me Medor’s life story, songs of his exploits, his portrait. For ten sous I purchased Medor’s immortality. The little graveyard was surrounded by a thick wall of people, all poor folks from the street. Here lies buried their pride and joy. This is their opera, their ballroom, their court, their church. They’re thrilled to get close enough to pet Medor. I too managed to edge my way through the crowd. Medor is a large, white poodle. I bent down to pet him, but he took no notice of me; my jacket was too fine. But when approached and stroked by a man in rough clothes, or a ragged woman, he responded warmly. Medor knows very well where to find the true friends of his master. A young girl, all in tatters, came to him. He jumped up to greet her, clung to her and wouldn’t let go. He was so happy, so at ease with her. To ask something of the poor girl, he didn’t need to first bend before her and touch the hem of her skirt as with a groomed and genteel lady. Wherever he bit at her dress was a rag that fit snug in his mouth. The child was very proud of Medor’s familiarity with her. I crept away, ashamed of my tears.

And with this we are through with dogs for the day.

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Amazon.com: Radio Benjamin: 9781781685754: Benjamin, Walter, Rosenthal, Lecia, Lutes, Jonathan:

我離開了拿破崙的加冕儀式，這是另外一個更令我心動的景象。我參觀了高貴的Medor。如果美德在這個地球上獲得了頭銜，Medor將成為所有狗的皇帝。考慮他的故事。7月份盧浮宮突襲之後，在戰鬥中死去的人們被埋在了宮殿前方的廣場上，在那些令人愉快的立柱旁邊。當屍體被放在推車上運到墳墓時，一隻狗心疼地跳上一輛貨車，從那裡進入了一個死人被投擲的大坑里。他竭盡全力把他拉出來。即使在埋在泥土之前，他也會被散落的石灰燒焦。那是後來人們稱之為Medor的狗。在戰鬥中，他總是站在主人的旁邊。他自己受傷了。

沒有人注意到Medor，因為沒有人知道他或可以猜測他的痛苦。他的主人肯定是當時來到巴黎的許多外國人之一，為了祖國的自由而不被人注意，在那裡流血，死在那裡，被匿名埋葬。只有幾個星期後，人們開始注意到Medor。他消瘦的肋骨和覆蓋著潰爛的傷口。人們給了他食物，但是很長一段時間他拒絕了。最後，一位好市民的持續同情成功地緩解了梅爾的悲痛。她把他抱進去，包紮起來，癒合了他的傷口，又使他強壯了起來。梅多更加滿足，但是他的心卻躺在主人的墳墓裡，看守者在康復之後把他帶走，並在那裡待了七個月。有幾次貪婪的人把他賣給了富有好奇心的求職者; 一旦他從巴黎被帶走三十個小時，但他總是找回自己的路。Medor經常被看見發掘一小塊織品; 他發現後很興奮，然後悲傷地重新埋葬它。這可能是他主人的一件襯衫。如果他給了一塊麵包或蛋糕，他把它埋在地上，彷彿想把他的朋友餵到墳墓裡，然後找回來，每天重複這個過程幾次。前幾個月，盧浮宮的國家衛隊每晚都會邀請Medor進入警衛室。後來守衛看到一座小屋在墳墓旁邊的梅多爾修建。如果他給了一塊麵包或蛋糕，他把它埋在地上，彷彿想把他的朋友餵到墳墓裡，然後找回來，每天重複這個過程幾次。前幾個月，盧浮宮的國家衛隊每晚都會邀請Medor進入警衛室。後來守衛看到一座小屋在墳墓旁邊的梅多爾修建。如果他給了一塊麵包或蛋糕，他把它埋在地上，彷彿想把他的朋友餵到墳墓裡，然後找回來，每天重複這個過程幾次。前幾個月，盧浮宮的國家衛隊每晚都會邀請Medor進入警衛室。後來守衛看到一座小屋在墳墓旁邊的梅多爾修建。

Medor很快找到了他的普魯塔克，他的狂熱分子，他的畫家。當我走訪盧浮宮前的廣場時，小販們向我提供了Medor的人生故事，他的故事歌曲和他的肖像。十個蘇我購買了Medor的不朽。這個小墳場周圍是一堵厚厚的人牆，街上所有的窮人。這裡隱藏著他們的驕傲和喜悅。這是他們的歌劇，他們的舞廳，他們的法庭，他們的教堂。他們很高興能夠親近Medor。我也設法通過人群的方式。Medor是一隻大型的白色貴賓犬。我彎下身去撫摸他，但卻沒有註意到我。我的夾克太好了。但是，當一個穿著粗糙衣服的男人或一個衣衫襤褸的女人接近和撫摸他時，他熱烈地回應。Medor非常清楚在哪裡可以找到他主人的真正朋友。一個年輕的女孩，一切都落到了他的面前。他跳起來迎接她，緊緊抓住她，不肯放手。他太高興了，她很安心。要問這個可憐的女孩，他不需要先在她面前彎下腰，像一個穿著整齊的高雅女士一樣觸摸裙子的下擺。無論他穿什麼衣服，都是一張貼合在他嘴裡的破布。孩子對Medor對她的熟悉感到非常自豪。我為了眼淚而感到羞愧。

就這一點，我們和狗一起度過了一天。

本傑明電台摘錄  ，由Lecia Rosenthal編輯，由Jonathan Lutes翻譯。 由Verso Books出版。

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▋法蘭西拿破崙帝國

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喪失第一個海外帝國後，法蘭西人幾乎立刻開始建立第二個陸地帝國（如果把六邊形當成第一個陸地帝國）。那個帝國的名字永遠都和拿破崙．波拿巴連在一起。他先成為軍總司令（一七九五─一七九九），接著是執政府（Consulate）的第一執政（一七九九─一八○四），而且終於，從一八○四年開始，自行稱呼，並自行加冕為「法蘭西人的皇帝」（這個頭銜在拿破崙於一八○六年廢除神聖羅馬帝國，並於一八一○年迎娶哈布斯堡皇帝之女瑪麗．路易莎〔Maria-Louise〕後更有意義，也因此宣布拿破崙為神聖羅馬帝國的遺產受贈人）。因此，後來人稱的「第一帝國」（一八○四─一八一五）就這麼建立；拿破崙的侄子路易．拿破崙．波拿巴（Louis Napoleon Bonaparte），即拿破崙三世，建立的「第二帝國」（一八五二─一八七○）接續在後。

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到了最後，拿破崙帝國幾乎完全是個歐陸帝國，但這不是因為拿破崙非常崇拜亞歷山大大帝，所以沒有超越歐洲的野心。法蘭西征服埃及（一七九八─一八○一）雖然非常短暫，卻是在為大東方帝國鋪路，想把不列顛趕出印度，重建法蘭西在亞洲的影響與勢力。不列顛的海軍中將霍雷肖．納爾遜（Horatio Nelson）領導尼羅河戰役（Battle of the Nile，又名「阿布基爾灣海戰」〔Aboukir Bay, 1798〕）終結這個夢想，再次阻撓法國人的帝國大業。但是法蘭西在埃及的興趣與影響相當長久，持續整個十九世紀，直到不列顛再次、而且終於，於一八八○與一八九○年代黯淡。拿破崙本身對埃及文化與宗教深感興趣；他身穿伊斯蘭服裝現身，展開大規模的埃及研究與記錄，並且運出許多埃及古董到巴黎。他非常清楚亞歷山大大帝就在和他同樣的年紀時征服埃及──二十九歲，而且渴望像亞歷山大一樣，在該地區建立自己的文化印記。征服失敗帶給他的沮喪既深又遠。（Englund 2004: 136; Jasanoff 2005: 117-48; Cole 2007）

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拿破崙建立海外帝國的其他企圖一樣沒有成功。在東方受挫後，他想要在西方建立新的法蘭西帝國，復興法蘭西在北美和加勒比海的強權。剛剛收復的路易斯安那州原本會是帝國連結到聖多明哥和其他加勒比海殖民地的關鍵。但是一八○三年和不列顛意外再戰，粉碎這些希望，同時導致一八○三年以一千五百萬美元出售路易斯安那州給美國─簡直是跳樓大拍賣。同時，拿破崙在聖多明哥重新實施蓄奴，儘管逮捕杜桑─盧維杜爾（Toussaint L’Ouverture），仍然引發黑人再次叛亂，最終造成一八○四年海地獨立。法蘭西意圖重建大西洋的帝國，反而促使西半球第一個獨立的黑人國家誕生，鼓勵其他國家在接下來幾年內紛紛獨立。對於這次損失，以及該地區其他失利，拿破崙的反應眾所皆知──「該死的糖，該死的咖啡，該死的殖民地！」（Quinn 2002: 77）

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但是，如果拿破崙海外帝國競爭失利，他在建立歐洲帝國方面則可謂卓有成效。拿破崙的Grand Empire，就像多數帝國，是個以不同方式與皇帝個人相連的領土雜燴。但到了一八一二年，拿破崙的帝國實際上包含當代歐盟所有的土地，而且透過結盟，甚至包括俄羅斯。拿破崙的「歐陸系統」其實是不列顛封鎖法蘭西對外貿易的結果，然而卻是歐洲經濟共同體早期極為成功的實例。拿破崙帝國是查理曼以來最大的歐洲帝國，也常與查理曼的帝國比較。但是也常見拿破崙帝國與羅馬帝國比較，而拿破崙則與凱撒比較。拿破崙無法和亞歷山大連結東西的帝國相提並論，但他的成就比起羅馬的皇帝，若非超越，至少也是相當。（Englund 2004: 332-39）

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理解拿破崙帝國最重要的遺產──法蘭西「教化使命」，也就是la mission civilisatrice──羅馬的類比可能別具啟發。這當然不是法蘭西人第一次把他們的帝國和教化使命相連。中世紀以來，先是對於法蘭西島大區比鄰的地區，也就是與「內部帝國」相連的領土，接著對於海外帝國，法蘭西的國王認為散播法蘭西文明到世界是他們的使命。這個時候，文明主要是意謂天主教，以及法蘭西的專制制度（Stanbridge 1997）。如同往常，這是一個普世觀點；就和羅馬或不列顛帝國一樣，法蘭西帝國的統治者認為他們已經找到對全世界最好的事物。

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法國革命斷然終止這個意義的法蘭西帝國使命。教會、國王、司鐸、貴族──全都遭到殘酷否決。取而代之的是「人民」和「國家」。君主變成「共和」；臣民變成公民。理性取代宗教（或成為新的「公民宗教」）；平等與博愛取代特權與階級。法蘭西仍然是世界的老師，甚至比從前更甚。但是課程內容現在大不相同。「法蘭西文明」現在具有不同意義。教化使命必須隨之改變。

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這就是拿破崙的成就。拿破崙的帝國在法蘭西帝國當中的重要性，便是代表法蘭西帝國的使命徹底轉變，從保皇主義與天主教，轉為共和主義與世俗主義。從那個時候起，而且從此以後，貶低拿破崙的人可能認為拿破崙敗壞、侵蝕法國革命的訊息──帝國、獨裁與「自由、平等、博愛」似乎毫無關係。但是以長期的眼光來看，許多方面而言，拿破崙其實鞏固革命的成就（Woolf 1992: 95-98；亦見Woolf 1989）。拿破崙法典結合許多革命引進的法律與行政變革。許多拿破崙帝國的國家採用法典作為法律系統基礎，獨立之後依然持續。拿破崙的軍隊將革命的口號與革命的歌曲〈馬賽曲〉帶到歐洲大陸每個角落，刺激各地居民在自己的社會追求必要改變，而且雖諷刺但也不罕見的是，成為他們自己起身對抗法蘭西主人的意識形態彈藥。法蘭西的教化使命換上全新、徹底的現代性格。這個使命承諾世界的，不是宗教與君王，而是理性與共和主義──如果必要的話，透過革命手段達成。

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瑪雅．賈莎諾夫的說明很清楚，這些新的發展深深改變的，不只是法蘭西對自己的認知，還有世紀以來，法蘭西與不列顛爭奪全球霸權的本質。

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──摘錄自《帝國統治世界的邏輯》〈第七章 法蘭西帝國：帝國的民族國家〉。

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