甚麼是啟蒙？

甚麼是啟蒙？
 
讀康德的經典短文〈甚麼是啟蒙？〉（What Is Enlightenment?）（1784），當看到結尾處時，還是不爭氣的笑了出來：

 

「once the germ(胚芽) on which nature has lavished most care - man's inclination and vocation to think freely - has developed within this hard shell, it gradually reacts upon the mentality of the people, who thus gradually become increasingly able to act freely. Eventually, it even influences the principles of governments, which find that they can themselves profit by treating man, who is more than a machine, in a manner appropriate to his dignity.」（Kant’s Political Writings，頁59-60，H. B. Nisbet譯）

 
一種「（恰好）能配稱於其尊嚴的對待」（a manner appropriate to his dignity）。世道之脩然，人情的刻深，僅此片語，亦大可盡見無遺了。是故綜觀全文，真正最能在二百年後仍反映出人性事實的，恐怕也只有以下這段話：
 

「To test whether any particular measure can be agreed upon as a law for a people, we need only ask whether a people could well impose such a law upon itself.」(同上，頁57)

能「impose」，就是「well impose」；正如受得住，即為受得起。當中說了是否等同沒說，或容有仁智之見；但聽到沒聽到，人生在世，原就沒有多少可以含糊其詞的餘地。

22/2/2022稿
4/11/2022改

圖片源自網絡。