试题详情

Among the company was a lawyer, a young man of about twenty-five. On being asked his opinion, he said, “Capital punishment and life imprisonment are equally immoral. If I were to make a choice between them, I would rather choose the latter. Anyway, it’s better to live than not to live at all. ” A lively discussion followed. A banker, who was then younger and more nervous than the lawyer, suddenly lost his temper and cried out, “It’s a lie. I bet you two millions. You wouldn’t stick in a cell even for five years. ” “If you mean it, ” replied the young lawyer, “I bet I’ll stay there longer; make it fifteen instead of five. ” “Fifteen! Done ! ” cried the banker. “Gentleman, I bet you two millions. ” “Agreed. Two millions for my freedom, ” said the lawyer. So this wild, ridiculous bet came to pass. The banker could not hide his excitement. During supper he said to the lawyer jokingly, “Come to your senses, young man, before it’s too late. Two millions are nothing to me, but you stand to lose three or four of the best years of your life. I say three or four because you’ll never stick it out any longer. Don’t forget that voluntary imprisonment is much harder to put up with than an enforced one. The idea that you have the right to free yourself any moment will poison your life in the cell. I pity you. ” And now the banker, pacing from corner to corner, recalled all this and asked himself, “Why did I make this bet? What’s the good? The lawyer lost fifteen years of his life and I threw away two millions. Will it convince people that capital punishment is worse or better than imprisonment for life? No, no! Rubbish! On my part, it was the ca‘price of a well-fed millionaire; on the lawyer’s part, it’s the pure greed of gold. ”