2019年经济学人 巴黎圣母院火灾(2)（在线收听）

Yet the emotions the sight aroused were less about the building itself than about what losing it might mean. Notre Dame is an expression of humanity at its collective best. Nobody could look up into that vaulted ceiling without wondering at the cumulative genius of the thousands of anonymous craftsmen who, over a century and a half, realised a vision so grand in its structural ambition and so delicate in its hand-chiselled detail. Its survival through 850 years of political turbulence—through war, revolution and Nazi occupation—binds the present to the past.

但这一现象所引发的情感与其说是对于建筑本身，不如说是因为失去这个建筑意味着什么。巴黎圣母院是在集体意义上人性的表达。仰望拱形穹顶，无人不惊叹于成千上万无名工匠的累积神工，一个半世纪以来，工匠们实现了一个愿景，结构如此宏伟，手工雕刻的细节如此精巧。圣母院在850年的政治动荡中生存下来，经历了战争、革命和纳粹占领，将现在和历史连接起来。

The fire also binds people to each other. The outpouring of emotion it has brought forth is proof that, despite the dark forces of division now abroad, we are all in it together. When nationalism is a rising threat, shared sadness makes borders suddenly irrelevant. When politics is polarised, a love of culture has the power to unite. When extremism divides Muslim from Christian and religious people from atheists, those of all faiths and none are mourning together. An edifice built for the glory of God also represents the unity of the human spirit.

而人们彼此也因这场火联系起来。这场火引起的情感流露表明，尽管现在国外存在分裂的暗黑势力，但我们团结一致。民族主义成为一个日益严重的威胁时，共同的悲伤让边界突然变得无关紧要。政治两极分化时，对文化的热爱具有团结的力量。极端主义将穆斯林与基督徒、宗教人士与无神论者区分开时，带有各种信仰的人以及无神论者都在一起哀悼。这座为神的荣耀建造的建筑也代表了人类精神的统一。

And it will be rebuilt. The morning after the fire, the many Parisians who went to the cathedral to mourn its destruction found comfort instead. Although the spire is gone, the towers are still standing and it seems likely that the whole building can be revived. The effort to rebuild it, like the fire, will bring people together. Within 24 hours.