THE TRIAL--THE SUMMING UP.
After the last words of the prisoners had been heard, the form in which the questions were to be put to the jury was settled, which also took some time. At last the questions were formulated, and the president began the summing up.
Before putting the case to the jury, he spoke to them for some time in a pleasant, homely manner, explaining that burglary was burglary and theft was theft, and that stealing from a place which was under lock and key was stealing from a place under lock and key. While he was explaining this, he looked several times at Nekhludoff as if wishing to impress upon him these important facts, in hopes that, having understood it, Nekhludoff would make his fellow-jurymen also understand it. When he considered that the jury were sufficiently imbued with these facts, he proceeded to enunciate another truth--namely, that a murder is an action which has the death of a human being as its consequence, and that poisoning could therefore also be termed murder. When, according to his opinion, this truth had also been received by the jury, he went on to explain that if theft and murder had been committed at the same time, the combination of the crimes was theft with murder.
Although he was himself anxious to finish as soon as possible, although he knew that his Swiss friend would be waiting for him, he had grown so used to his occupation that, having begun to speak, he could not stop himself, and therefore he went on to impress on the jury with much detail that if they found the prisoners guilty, they would have the right to give a verdict of guilty; and if they found them not guilty, to give a verdict of not guilty; and if they found them guilty of one of the crimes and not of the other, they might give a verdict of guilty on the one count and of not guilty on the other. Then he explained that though this right was given them they should use it with reason.
He was going to add that if they gave an affirmative answer to any question that was put to them they would thereby affirm everything included in the question, so that if they did not wish to affirm the whole of the question they should mention the part of the question they wished to be excepted. But, glancing at the clock, and seeing it was already five minutes to three, he resolved to trust to their being intelligent enough to understand this without further comment.
"The facts of this case are the following," began the president, and repeated all that had already been said several times by the advocates, the public prosecutor and the witnesses.
The president spoke, and the members on each side of him listened with deeply-attentive expressions, but looked from time to time at the clock, for they considered the speech too long though very good--i.e., such as it ought to be. The public prosecutor, the lawyers, and, in fact, everyone in the court, shared the same impression. The president finished the summing up. Then he found it necessary to tell the jury what they all knew, or might have found out by reading it up--i.e., how they were to consider the case, count the votes, in case of a tie to acquit the prisoners, and so on.
Everything seemed to have been told; but no, the president could not forego his right of speaking as yet. It was so pleasant to hear the impressive tones of his own voice, and therefore he found it necessary to say a few words more about the importance of the rights given to the jury, how carefully they should use the rights and how they ought not to abuse them, about their being on their oath, that they were the conscience of society, that the secrecy of the debating-room should be considered sacred, etc.
From the time the president commenced his speech, Maslova watched him without moving her eyes as if afraid of losing a single word; so that Nekhludoff was not afraid of meeting her eyes and kept looking at her all the time. And his mind passed through those phases in which a face which we have not seen for many years first strikes us with the outward changes brought about during the time of separation, and then gradually becomes more and more like its old self, when the changes made by time seem to disappear, and before our spiritual eyes rises only the principal expression of one exceptional, unique individuality. Yes, though dressed in a prison cloak, and in spite of the developed figure, the fulness of the bosom and lower part of the face, in spite of a few wrinkles on the forehead and temples and the swollen eyes, this was certainly the same Katusha who, on that Easter eve, had so innocently looked up to him whom she loved, with her fond, laughing eyes full of joy and life.
"What a strange coincidence that after ten years, during which I never saw her, this case should have come up today when I am on the jury, and that it is in the prisoners' dock that I see her again! And how will it end? Oh, dear, if they would only get on quicker."
Still he would not give in to the feelings of repentance which began to arise within him. He tried to consider it all as a coincidence, which would pass without infringing his manner of life. He felt himself in the position of a puppy, when its master, taking it by the scruff of its neck, rubs its nose in the mess it has made. The puppy whines, draws back and wants to get away as far as possible from the effects of its misdeed, but the pitiless master does not let go.
And so, Nekhludoff, feeling all the repulsiveness of what he had done, felt also the powerful hand of the Master, but he did not feel the whole significance of his action yet and would not recognise the Master's hand. He did not wish to believe that it was the effect of his deed that lay before him, but the pitiless hand of the Master held him and he felt he could not get away. He was still keeping up his courage and sat on his chair in the first row in his usual self-possessed pose, one leg carelessly thrown over the other, and playing with his pince-nez. Yet all the while, in the depths of his soul, he felt the cruelty, cowardice and baseness, not only of this particular action of his but of his whole self-willed, depraved, cruel, idle life; and that dreadful veil which had in some unaccountable manner hidden from him this sin of his and the whole of his subsequent life was beginning to shake, and he caught glimpses of what was covered by that veil.
在被告们作了最后陈述,各有关方面对问题的提法商量了好一阵之后,所有的问题都确定了,庭长就做总结发言.
在叙述案情以前,他用亲切愉快的口吻一向陪审员解释了好久,说什么抢劫就是抢劫,偷盗就是偷盗,从锁着的地方盗窃就是从锁着的地方盗窃,从没有锁着的地方盗窃就是从没有锁着的地方盗窃.他解释的时候,老是瞧瞧聂赫留朵夫,仿佛希望他领会这个重要关节,领会以后好向同事们解释.然后他认为陪审员们已充分理解这些道理,就开始解释另一个道理:致人于死的行为叫做谋杀,因此毒死也是一种谋杀.等他觉得这个道理也为陪审员们所理解了,就又向他们阐明:如果盗窃和谋杀同时发生,那么盗窃和谋杀就构成犯罪因素.
尽管他自己也很想快点脱身,因为瑞士女人已在那里等他,可是他做这工作已成一习一惯,一开讲怎么也收不住嘴,因此就向陪审员们详详细细解释,如果他们认为被告有罪,那就有权裁定他们有罪;如果他们认为被告无罪,那就有权裁定他们无罪,如果他们认为被告犯这一种罪而没有犯那一种罪,那就有权裁定他们犯这一种罪而没有犯那一种罪.接着他又向他们说明,他们虽享有这项权利,但必须合理使用.他还想向他们解释,如果他们对提出的问题作出肯定的回答,那就表示他们裁定问题中所提出的全部罪行;如果他们不同意提出的全部罪行,那就应该声明对不同意的地方持保留态度.这当儿,他看了看怀表,发现只差五分就三点钟了,于是决定立刻转入案情叙述.
"本案情况是这样的,"他开始讲,把辩护人,副检察官和证人们说过好几次的话重复了一遍.
庭长讲着话,两边法官都现出沉思的样子听着,偶尔看看表,觉得他的讲话很好,就是说照章办事,只是长了一点.副检察官也好,法庭上其他官员和在场的人也好,大家都有这样的感觉.最后,庭长结束了总结发言.
要说的话似乎都已说了.可是庭长怎么也不肯放弃他的发言权.他听着自己抑扬顿挫的声音,沾沾自喜,觉得还需要再说几句,强调一下陪审员所享权利的重要意义,指出他们行使这项权利必须慎重,不能滥用,因为他们已宣过誓,他们是社会的良心,陪审员议事室里的神圣秘密必须严加保守,等等,等等.
庭长一开始讲话,玛丝洛娃就目不转睛地盯住他,仿佛怕听漏一个字.这样,聂赫留朵夫不用担心跟她的目光相遇,就一直看着她,他心里发生了一种常见的情况:心一爱一的人久别重逢,她的外貌由于这些年饱经风霜,变得使他吃惊,但接着透过外貌,她的本来面目逐渐恢复,聂赫留朵夫脑海里又出现了那个举世无双的人的主要风貌.
聂赫留朵夫心里就发生了这样的情况.
不错,尽管她身穿囚袍,身一体发胖,胸部高一耸,尽管她下巴放宽,额上和鬓角出现皱纹,眼睛浮肿,她确实就是卡秋莎,就是在复一活节黎明时用她那双充满生之欢乐的热情眼睛,天真地从脚到头笑盈盈瞅着他这个心一爱一的人的卡秋莎.
"居然会有这样的巧遇!偏偏排在我陪审的庭上审讯,十年不见,偏偏在这里的被告席上看见她!这事将怎样收场啊?
但愿快一点,快一点收场!"
他心里产生了悔恨情绪,但他还不愿受它支配.他认为这是个偶然事件,不久就会过去,不会损害他的生活.他觉得自己好象一只做了坏事的小狗,主人揪住它的颈背,把它的鼻子按在闯祸的地方.那小狗尖声狂叫,四脚抵住地面,身一子往后退,想远远离开自己闯祸的地方,并且把它忘掉,但主人铁面无情,不肯罢休.聂赫留朵夫也感到他以前的行为多么卑劣,也感到主人那只强有力的手,但他还是不了解他所干的那件事的后果,也不承认他有一个支配他命运的主人.他还是不愿相信眼前这件事是他一手造成的.可是那只无形的手紧紧一抓住他,他感到无法脱身.他还在硬充好汉,若无其事地坐在第一排第二座上,一习一惯成自然地把一条腿架在另一条腿上,随便摆一弄着他的夹鼻眼镜.不过,在内心深处他已感到,不仅那个行为,而且他的整个闲散,放一荡,残忍和自满的生活是多么残酷,卑鄙和恶劣.在以往的十二年里,有一块可怕的幕布一直遮住他的眼睛,使他看不见那件罪行和犯罪后所过的全部生活.如今这块幕布在飘动,他已经偶尔看到了幕布后面的景象.
