Civil Disobedience
亨利·大卫·梭罗 / Henry David Thoreau
亨利·大卫·梭罗（1817—1862），杂文家、诗人、自然主义者、改革家和哲学家。生于马萨诸塞州的康科德，毕业于哈佛大学，曾担任中学校长。1846年7月，梭罗居住在瓦尔登湖边时，当地的警官找到他，让他支付投票税，尽管数年来他已经行使了这项权利，但是梭罗拒绝支付税款。当夜，警官把他关在康科德的监狱里。第二天，梭罗的姨母帮他缴清税款，他便获释了。不过，他表明了他的观点：他不能向一个容许奴隶制存在并且侵略他国（墨西哥）的政府交税。他于1849年发表了下面这篇演说稿，为自己的行为进行辩护。当时，这篇文章没有引起什么反响。但是到了19世纪末，这篇文章却成为公认的经典之作，并赢得国际性的声誉。列夫·托尔斯泰、圣雄甘地、马丁·路德·金等人都对它推崇备至。
Ace in the Hole
Understand these new words before you read this article.
1. systematically adv. 有组织地； 有计划地； 有条不紊地
2. inexpedient adj. 不妥当的； 不适当的； 不明智的
3. sanction n. 批准， 认可
4. monarchy n. 君主统治， 君主制度；君主国
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.