禍從口出
2010-12-31 00:00:00
時文博覽 2010年8期
Russian poet Kondraty Ryleyev， one of the leaders of the unsuccessful Decembrist revolt in 1825， was condemned to be hanged. The rope， however， broke rather incredibly. Such a demonstration of “divine intervention” was usually answered with a pardon. But Ryleyev’s disrespectful behavior after the incident led the executioner to send a messenger to the Winter Palace to consult Czar Nicholas.
“What did Ryleyev say?” Nicholas asked.
“Sir，” the messenger replied， “he said that in Russia we do not even know how to make a rope properly.”
“Well，” said the Czar， “let’s prove the contrary.”
俄國詩人孔德拉委·雷列耶夫是1825年12月起義的領袖之一，事敗后被判處絞刑，但絞首索出奇地斷了。這是“神明介入”的現象，受刑人一般會獲特赦。不過，雷列耶夫隨即出言不遜，行刑者于是派人到冬宮向沙皇尼古拉請示。
尼古拉問:“雷列耶夫說什么?”
那使者回答:“陛下，他說俄國連一條繩索都做不好。”
尼古拉說:“那么，我們應該證明他說的并非事實。”
