バートランド・ラッセル「キリストの格言」

* 原著：Why I am not a Christian ? 1927
* 出典：牧野力(編)『ラッセル思想辞典』　

　下記は牧野力氏による要旨訳（ただし、少し字句を修正）に原文を追加したものです。

　キリストが果して人間のなかで最善かつ最も聡明な人だったかどうかという問題について、キリスト教徒だと自称・公言している人々より、私は遙かに多くキリストに同意していると思う。私はキリストが言っている内容の全てについてキリストと同じ道を歩む（共に進む）ことができるかどうかはわからないが、大抵の自称キリスト教徒たちよりも遥かにずっと彼に賛成できそうである。キリストの「悪しき者に逆うこと勿れ。人もし汝の右の頬を打たんとすれば、左の頬をも向けよ」は、決して新しい教えでも、新しい理論でもない。キリストより五、六百年以上前に、老子と仏陀とによって言わている。
　しかし、それは本当にはキリスト教徒が受け入れる理論ではない。たとえば、現在（執筆当時）の英国首相は極めて真面目なキリスト教徒であるが、私はあなたがたに彼のところに言って彼の頬を殴ってみることを勧めるべきではないということを、私はまったく疑わない。英国首相もこの聖書のテキストは比喩的な意味で言われたものだと考えているとあなた方もわかるだろうと、私は考える。
　私が立派だと思う「裁くことなかれ、汝らも裁かるべければなり」が、キリスト教国の法廷で人気があったとは思えない。また、「汝に乞う者に与え、汝に借る者を避けること勿れ」もなかなか立派な原理である。キリストの「汝、もし全からんと欲せば、帰りて汝の持てるものを売りて、貧しき者に与えよ」は極めて立派な格言であるが、余り実行されていない。私の考えでは、立派すぎてその水準で暮すことは少々困難である。
( I now want to say a few words upon a topic which I often think is not quite sufficiently dealt with by Rationalists, and that is the question whether Christ was the best and the wisest of men. It is generally taken for granted that we should all agree that that was so. I do not myself. I think that there are a good many points upon which I agree with Christ a great deal more than the professing Christians do. I do not know that I could go with Him all the way, but I could go with Him much further than most professing Christians can. You will remember that He said, "Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." That is not a new precept or a new principle. It was used by Lao-tse and Buddha some 500 or 600 years before Christ, but it is not a principle which as a matter of fact Christians accept. I have no doubt that the present prime minister [Stanley Baldwin], for instance, is a most sincere Christian, but I should not advise any of you to go and smite him on one cheek. I think you might find that he thought this text was intended in a figurative sense. Then there is another point which I consider excellent. You will remember that Christ said, "Judge not lest ye be judged." That principle I do not think you would find was popular in the law courts of Christian countries. I have known in my time quite a number of judges who were very earnest Christians, and none of them felt that they were acting contrary to Christian principles in what they did. Then Christ says, "Give to him that asketh of thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away." That is a very good principle.　...
Then there is one other maxim of Christ which I think has a great deal in it, but I do not find that it is very popular among some of our Christian friends. He says, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor." That is a very excellent maxim, but, as I say, it is not much practised. All these, I think, are good maxims, although they are a little difficult to live up to. I do not profess to live up to them myself; but then, after all, it is not quite the same thing as for a Christian.)