The Imperial Truth

The Imperial Truth was the rational, atheist philosophy that guided the Emperor's conquest of Old Earth, and the formation of the Imperium through the Great Crusade. At its heart, the Imperial Truth held that the universe was rational, that knowledge defeated fear and brought freedom from the terrors of the Age of Strife. With this assertion went the denial of?the irrational and the superstitious, as well as the abandoning of faith in powers and principles beyond the knowable. In the unified Terra and Imperium of Mankind, there could be no mysteries of the soul, no sorcery, no gods. Those who clung to their ignorance were cast down, their lies silenced in the pyre's roar. The terrors of the past had grown in the shadow of?superstition and false belief.lf?Mankind was to survive its rebirth, it could not tolerate the delusions of?the past. That there were other dimensions, alien races and mutants who wielded psychic powers was not denied, only that they were supernatural. That some might call these phenomena 'sorcery’?or attribute them to gods, were simply the symptoms of?incomplete understanding. With a foundation built upon the tenets of?the Imperial Truth, Mankind achieved greatness, and though it was not destined to last, for two centuries the Great Crusade was beyond reproach in its methods and in its glorious elevation of Mankind to the dominant species of?the galaxy.

帝國(guó)真理是指導(dǎo)帝皇對(duì)于舊泰拉征服行動(dòng)的理性無(wú)神論哲學(xué)，以及人類帝國(guó)在整個(gè)大遠(yuǎn)征時(shí)期的組成部分。帝國(guó)真理的核心要義是：宇宙是理性的，知識(shí)能夠擊敗恐懼并將人類從紛爭(zhēng)紀(jì)元的恐怖中解救出來(lái)。這一主張否定了非理性和迷信，放棄了對(duì)超越認(rèn)知的力量和信條的信仰。在統(tǒng)一的泰拉與人類帝國(guó)中，不能存在靈魂的奧秘、巫術(shù)和神明。那些固守自己無(wú)知（觀念）的人會(huì)被擊倒，他們的謊言也消失于火刑堆的咆哮聲中。往昔的恐怖已經(jīng)滋生于了迷信與偽信的陰影中，如果人類想要在自己的重生中幸存下來(lái)，他們就不能容忍過(guò)去的妄想謬見(jiàn)。但其他維度是存在的，使用靈能的異星人和變種人也無(wú)法被否認(rèn)，被否認(rèn)的只有它們的超自然性質(zhì)。某些人可能稱此類現(xiàn)象為“巫術(shù)”或?qū)⒅畾w因于神明，但這只是不完整理解所導(dǎo)致的癥狀。而在擁有了構(gòu)筑于帝國(guó)真理教義之上的基礎(chǔ)后，人類是能實(shí)現(xiàn)偉大成就的，盡管這種狀況注定不會(huì)持久，在在那兩個(gè)世紀(jì)中，大遠(yuǎn)征的手段方法是無(wú)可非議的，而且它也將人類光榮地提升為了銀河系中的占有主導(dǎo)地位的物種。

Of course, there was a degree to which the Imperium and the Emperor touched upon the irrational and ethereal. The new Imperium had grown from the past, and secular though it might be, much of?its power and nature expressed itself in ways that had echoes of the spiritual. In practises such as the taking of Oaths of?Moment, the names of?the divisions of?Imperial power and the symbols of that power, the Imperium wrapped itself in the clothes of authority woven from dreams that were as old as the gods it denied. And Mankind continued to have faith, faith in the omniscience and benevolence of the Emperor and His designs, faith through reason, in the Imperial Truth. Perhaps this was an intended spiritual crutch; that the Emperor in His wisdom saw the failings in the primitive hindbrain of?every man and woman in His service, and recognised that He could only cast down the demagogue and the pontifex in this way - that He could only destroy the spiritual by using the language of religion, by preaching the faith of the empirical and the rational.

當(dāng)然，人類帝國(guó)和帝皇是在一定程度上接觸了非理性現(xiàn)象和以太界。新的帝國(guó)是自過(guò)去（的人類社會(huì)）發(fā)展壯大的，盡管這種往昔可能是世俗化的，但它的很多影響力和特質(zhì)都會(huì)以與精神相呼應(yīng)的方式進(jìn)行自我表現(xiàn)。在諸如即刻誓言、帝國(guó)權(quán)力分支的命名與（確定）此類權(quán)力的象征等實(shí)踐中，人類帝國(guó)用權(quán)威的外衣包裹起自己，而編織外衣所用的則是那些和諸神同樣古老的幻夢(mèng)——盡管前者是被帝國(guó)所否認(rèn)的。人類仍然擁有信仰，信仰帝皇及其計(jì)劃中的全知性和仁慈性，并通過(guò)理性信仰帝國(guó)真理。或許這就是一種有意為之的精神依靠；通過(guò)自己的智慧，帝皇看到了所有為其效勞的男女凡人的原始后腦中的缺陷，并意識(shí)到要推翻那些煽動(dòng)家和教宗就只能通過(guò)此種方法——他只能用宗教的語(yǔ)言來(lái)摧毀宗教，以宣揚(yáng)經(jīng)驗(yàn)主義和理性主義的信仰作為自己的手段。

The Great Lie

彌天大謊

From the seemingly endless cycle of?tragedy and death Horus unleashed, it has become clear to all that at the heart of?the Imperial Truth was a lie. This Great Lie, promulgated by the Emperor who now sits eternal upon His throne, is that of?a calculated and hidden ignorance within the doctrine of?enlightenment. Those amongst us who had truly seen behind the stars knew that the Lie resided there all along, clearest in the darkness, though we feared to think of it and dared not speak of it: the Warp is alive with malignant sentience, the very essence of which is supernatural. These unquiet spirits, which reside in the Warp, sate themselves upon the souls of?mortals. Those of?us that remain must examine the consequences of our silence and the toll the Great Lie has taken.

從荷魯斯釋放出的看似無(wú)盡的悲劇與死亡循環(huán)中，所有人都看清了一點(diǎn)：帝國(guó)真理的核心（理念）是一個(gè)謊言。這個(gè)彌天大謊由帝皇本人傳播開(kāi)——現(xiàn)在他永遠(yuǎn)地坐在了自己的王座上，是存在于啟蒙信條中蓄意且被隱藏的無(wú)知。我們當(dāng)中那些曾真正目睹過(guò)群星背面光景的人都知道，這個(gè)謊言一直都在那里，是黑暗中最明亮的光點(diǎn)，但我們不敢去思索，也不敢說(shuō)出這一點(diǎn)：亞空間中充滿了邪惡的靈智，它們的本質(zhì)是超自然的。這些躁動(dòng)的惡靈棲身于亞空間當(dāng)中，用凡人的靈魂來(lái)滿足著自己。存留下來(lái)的人類必須審視我們的沉默所帶來(lái)的后果以及彌天大謊所造成的損失。

The first of?these consequences may appear to us now to be the most terrible; that of Horus' rebellion. By turning his face from the light of his Father, Horus not only?brought ruin to the Imperium but also empowered the beings of?the Warp to cross from their empyreal realm into ours. It is claimed that Horus was closest to his father among the Primarchs, and that the Emperor shared with him all of?His accumulated wisdom. This can only be a falsehood, for Horus must have learned of the power of the immaterial from some other source 一 the Emperor would otherwise surely have warned off His son from the dangers of the forces he came to enter into a compact with. The White Scars Legion Primarch, Jaghatai Khan, mused upon returning to Terra that, “It was the knowledge that the Emperor had concealed His true purpose from His favoured son that led to Horus' downfall. In Horus' mind, the suspicion took root that he may not have been his father's favourite; after all, my brother Magnus knew more of the Warp and Corax more of the darkness within Mankind. This must be what broke Horus' will". Captain Loken, a survivor of Isstvan III, is heard to have countered bitterly, "It was simply the realisation that the Emperor was not infallible, as all sons learn of their fathers, which set Horus' heart to fester". It is impossible to say now, for Horus too is dead and his ashes reveal nought.

在那些或許會(huì)顯現(xiàn)于我們面前的后果中，第一個(gè)也是最為可怕的那個(gè)便是荷魯斯的叛變。荷魯斯背棄了他父親的光芒，他不僅向帝國(guó)帶去了毀滅，而且授權(quán)那些亞空間生物從它們的至高天領(lǐng)域進(jìn)入我們的世界。據(jù)說(shuō)在原體當(dāng)中，荷魯斯與帝皇的關(guān)系最為親近，帝皇也與他分享了自己積累起的所有智慧。但這只會(huì)是一個(gè)假象，因?yàn)楹婶斔贡囟ㄊ菑钠渌搭^了解到了非物質(zhì)界的力量，否則帝皇必然會(huì)向荷魯斯警告亞空間勢(shì)力的危險(xiǎn)性——戰(zhàn)帥正是與后者簽訂了契約。白色傷疤軍團(tuán)原體察合臺(tái)可汗在返回泰拉的路上曾自言自語(yǔ)到：“荷魯斯得知了帝皇向他青睞的子嗣隱瞞了自己的真實(shí)目的，就是這件事導(dǎo)致了他的墮落。荷魯斯從心底里懷疑自己并非父親最為寵愛(ài)的子嗣；畢竟，我的兄弟馬格努斯更為通曉亞空間，克拉克斯更為了解人類心中的黑暗。這些情況必定是令荷魯斯心灰意冷?！倍鴵?jù)說(shuō)伊斯特萬(wàn)三號(hào)的某位幸存者——洛肯連長(zhǎng)曾激烈的反駁稱：“這僅僅是因?yàn)椋ê婶斔梗┮庾R(shí)到皇帝并非絕對(duì)正確，就像所有兒子都會(huì)從自己父親身上領(lǐng)悟出這一點(diǎn)那樣，這令荷魯斯的內(nèi)心更為苦惱?！钡覀儸F(xiàn)在不可能去分辨孰對(duì)孰錯(cuò)了，因?yàn)楹婶斔挂呀?jīng)死去了，他的灰燼揭示不出真相。

There have been other costs incurred by the Great Lie which have undermined the Emperor's dream of?Imperium. Many billions of?lives were lost in the purges required to maintain it. Ancient civilisations, directly descended from Old Earth, who carried with them across the cosmos the torch of religions deemed anathema in this enlightened age were simply murdered for their beliefs. Tens of thousands of cities were burned, cultures were put to the sword and worlds were annihilated in the name of?the Truth. Ignorance was promoted hand-in-hand with enlightenment across the stars. The stability and safety of?ignorance was used as a tool, an opiate to the blissful masses, through which they would remain unquestioning. With ignorance and death as the tools used to promote wisdom we have made vulnerable the very foundations of?our Imperium. Who can say now which among the inheritors of?His kingdom will be the first to use the ignorance of blind faith as a weapon?

彌天大謊破壞了帝皇那帝國(guó)宏夢(mèng)的根基，并且造成了其他損失。維持這一謊言所需的肅清行動(dòng)造成了數(shù)十億人的死亡，（很多）直接來(lái)自舊地球的古老文明因?yàn)樾叛鰬K遭毀滅——在這個(gè)開(kāi)明的時(shí)代，他們?cè)诖┰接钪鏁r(shí)擎舉著的宗教火炬被（人類帝國(guó)）視為詛咒。以真理之名，帝國(guó)焚毀了數(shù)以萬(wàn)計(jì)的城市，用武力毀滅文化并摧毀（諸多）世界。啟蒙與無(wú)知在群星間攜手并進(jìn)。穩(wěn)定且安全的無(wú)知被用作了一種工具，一種被提供給幸福大眾的歡樂(lè)藥劑——帝國(guó)利用無(wú)知讓人們無(wú)所質(zhì)疑。我們以無(wú)知和死亡作為提升智慧的工具，而這也讓人類帝國(guó)的根基變得脆弱。在帝皇的繼承者中，有誰(shuí)會(huì)率先將盲信的無(wú)知用作武器呢？又有何人能道出他的身份呢？

There is a final and more dire consequence, one which will reveal itself in the due course of time. While we have ostensibly suffered the treachery of civil war, a greater war has begun which will yet blight the future of Mankind. Now that son has turned upon father, brother upon brother, and the Imperium's greatest defenders have been brought to their knees, we may never attain the greatness of?galactic dominance that the Emperor intended for us. Therein lies the problem, for in his reckless ambition, Horus has mortally wounded the Imperium. The Outsider, the alien threat which we spent two glorious centuries casting from our borders has been given reprieve. Moreover,the very fabric of?reality has been altered and terrors previously unknown have turned their eyes upon us. The xenos and the Daemon can never allow us to recover our might; they will always seek to harm us, for in our vulnerability they find strength. In our weakened state, these antagonists approach now, encircling their bleeding prey like the ichthyan predators of?Old Earth.

還有一個(gè)最終且更可怕的后果將在適當(dāng)?shù)臅r(shí)候顯現(xiàn)出來(lái)。雖然我們?cè)诒砻嫔弦呀?jīng)遭受了內(nèi)戰(zhàn)的背叛之苦，但一場(chǎng)更大的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)也已然開(kāi)始，而且它將損壞人類的未來(lái)?，F(xiàn)在，父子已然反目，兄弟已然相殘，帝國(guó)最偉大的保衛(wèi)者們也已經(jīng)受創(chuàng)倒地，我們可能再也無(wú)法獲取到統(tǒng)御銀河的偉大成就——這原本是帝皇為人類所做的打算。這就是問(wèn)題所在，因?yàn)楹婶斔鼓菬o(wú)所顧忌的野心已經(jīng)對(duì)帝國(guó)造成了致命傷害。我們花費(fèi)了兩個(gè)世紀(jì)的光榮歲月將外種——異星人的威脅驅(qū)逐出了我們的邊界，但我們現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)無(wú)法將其誅殺殆盡。另外，現(xiàn)實(shí)的結(jié)構(gòu)已經(jīng)被改變，那些之前不為人知的恐怖惡物也盯上了我們。異形和惡魔永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)放任我們?nèi)セ謴?fù)元?dú)猓鼈冇肋h(yuǎn)都會(huì)試圖傷害我們，因?yàn)樗鼈兙驮谖覀兊拇嗳踔姓业絻?yōu)勢(shì)。我們目前處于虛弱的狀態(tài)，而這些敵人也在接近我們，就如同舊地球的魚(yú)類捕食者包圍住它們流血的獵物那般。

The Necessity of?the Lie

謊言的必要性

Though the learned now question the complex and delicate balance of philosophies the Imperial Truth put into motion, for all that came to pass the Emperor was no fool. He was without doubt aware of the hypocrisies fundamental to the tenets of the Imperial Truth. That the beings within the Empyrean pose a danger to the Imperium is without question, but to suppress their nature rather than to educate His subjects, to deny enlightenment in the Age of?Enlightenment, cannot have been a path lightly trod. It can only be concluded that the Emperor was aware of?the risks and enacted a calculated strategy to protect His greater purpose.

盡管當(dāng)前的學(xué)者們質(zhì)疑著帝國(guó)真理所推動(dòng)的哲學(xué)（理念）的復(fù)雜性與微妙平衡，但無(wú)論如何，帝皇都并非愚者。他毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)地意識(shí)到了帝國(guó)真理教義的偽善基礎(chǔ)。至高天中的存在對(duì)帝國(guó)有危險(xiǎn)性，這一點(diǎn)是無(wú)可置疑的，但壓制臣民的本性而非教導(dǎo)他們，在啟蒙時(shí)代否認(rèn)啟蒙，這也絕非是一條可以輕易踏足的道路。我們只能推測(cè)帝皇意識(shí)到了這些風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，并且采取了某種精心策劃的戰(zhàn)略來(lái)保護(hù)自己那些更偉大的目標(biāo)。

The need for the Great Lie is a matter of?some speculation. Some have argued that the Emperor's goal was to defeat death itself by excising the soul and that knowledge of the existence of a soul would be our downfall. Others that He sought to enter the mind of?every human being in the galaxy and alternatively impart His phenomenal knowledge or His psychic gifts, creating an ultimate, ascended race of Mankind. Yet others have quietly suspected that He wished nothing less than dominion over all of reality and unreality, and hid the supernatural nature of unreality such that no being would dare challenge His claim upon it. Darker rumours, those which were whispered during the days of?the Emperor's seclusion on Terra, surmise that He sought to reach the apotheosis of godhood for Himself;leaving Mankind behind with the cold revelation that the Imperial Truth was a lie and the gods real.

人們對(duì)于彌天大謊的必要性有著一些猜測(cè)。有人聲稱，帝皇的目標(biāo)是通過(guò)切除靈魂來(lái)戰(zhàn)勝死亡，而知曉靈魂的存在將導(dǎo)致人類的墮落；其他人則認(rèn)為帝皇試圖進(jìn)入銀河中所有人類的意識(shí)中，或者是將自己的非凡知識(shí)與靈能天賦輸入到全體人類的腦中，由此創(chuàng)造出最終升格的人種。還有人做出了無(wú)聲的揣測(cè)，認(rèn)為帝皇只是意圖將現(xiàn)實(shí)宇宙和非現(xiàn)實(shí)宇宙共同納入自己的統(tǒng)治，并隱藏起非現(xiàn)實(shí)宇宙的超自然性，這樣便沒(méi)人膽敢挑戰(zhàn)他。而當(dāng)?shù)刍孰[居于泰拉時(shí)，也有流傳于帝國(guó)中黑暗謠言猜測(cè)他是要讓自己成神，并留給人類一個(gè)冰冷的啟示：帝國(guó)真理是謊言，眾神才是真實(shí)的。

Whatever the case, it was clear to the Imperium from His retreat to Terra at the pinnacle of the Great Crusade, the disappearance of his golden legions, as well as the endless parade of men and machines descending into the Imperial Dungeon, that some vast and intensive artifice was underway, which served only to fuel further speculation. It may even have been that the entirety of?the Great Crusade served only to acquire the mysteries and materiel required to meet another objective, and that the Imperial Truth was simply a means to an end 一 never intended to withstand a test such as that which the Traitors brought against it. The truth to these rumours and the Emperor's Great Work are matters too weighty to discuss at this juncture and must instead be revealed at a later time.

但無(wú)論如何，從帝皇于大遠(yuǎn)征巔峰時(shí)期返回泰拉、他的金色軍團(tuán)消失在眾人面前以及無(wú)數(shù)人員和機(jī)械進(jìn)入帝國(guó)地宮等現(xiàn)象上，一件事在帝國(guó)（大眾）面前變得清晰起來(lái)：帝皇在進(jìn)行某項(xiàng)規(guī)模龐大且極為細(xì)致的計(jì)劃，而這只會(huì)助長(zhǎng)人們的進(jìn)一步猜測(cè)。我們或許甚至可以說(shuō)，整場(chǎng)大遠(yuǎn)征都只是為了獲取實(shí)現(xiàn)另一個(gè)目標(biāo)所需的奧秘和物資，帝國(guó)真理也僅僅是（帝皇）達(dá)到目標(biāo)的一種手段——而且從未打算過(guò)（令其）經(jīng)受住叛徒們所帶來(lái)的這般考驗(yàn)。關(guān)于這些謠言與帝皇偉業(yè)的真相的內(nèi)容都是極其重要的，以至于不能在當(dāng)前這個(gè)關(guān)頭討論，而是應(yīng)該在以后的歲月中進(jìn)行披露。

Knowledge could have been Mankind's greatest weapon. The sword of knowledge racing across the stars with the Great Crusade could have empowered Mankind to know the Daemon and to combat its insidious presence. The shield of ignorance with which the Emperor hoped to protect us could only ever stymie the flood of darkness, never halt its onslaught. It frayed and buckled as any shield is wont to with the hammering of the enemy upon it. His gamble with the fate of humanity was a failure, and His denial of the true nature of the Warp a mistake. The Emperor could have stopped all of this, Horus' rebellion, the ascendance of the Warp and the ruination of?the Imperium, if?only He had told His sons and His subjects the truth.

知識(shí)本可以成為人類最偉大的武器。知識(shí)的利劍隨著大遠(yuǎn)征劃過(guò)了群星，而人類本可以用它來(lái)了解惡魔并對(duì)抗那些潛藏之物。帝皇原本希望用無(wú)知的堅(jiān)盾保護(hù)我們，但這種保護(hù)只能阻擋住黑暗的洪流沖刷，卻永遠(yuǎn)阻止不了黑暗的進(jìn)攻。在敵人重?fù)糁?，它也?huì)像任何盾牌那樣出現(xiàn)磨損和彎折。帝皇以人類的命運(yùn)作為了賭注，但他賭輸了；他否認(rèn)亞空間真實(shí)本質(zhì)的行為也是一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤。帝皇原本可以阻止這一切，荷魯斯的叛亂、亞空間占據(jù)上風(fēng)和人類帝國(guó)的毀滅原本都可以不發(fā)生——如果他曾將真理告知給自己的兒子們和臣民們的話。

Though the Emperor's plan may have failed, surely no one, alive or dead, could have known more of the consequences of His decisions? Had we but known what the Emperor did, could any of?us have made a wiser choice in His place? Regardless, none can be sure of the ultimate solution He foresaw, only that the threat must be countered. The duty now falls to those few of us who remain with the knowledge required to protect the Imperium; we must illuminate Mankind as to the nature and threat of?the Daemon and the Outsider.

盡管帝皇的計(jì)劃可能已經(jīng)失敗了，但就真的沒(méi)有人（無(wú)論生死）更為了解他的決定所帶來(lái)的后果了嗎？就算我們知道帝皇所做的事情，我們中有人能代替他做出更明智的選擇嗎?無(wú)論如何，沒(méi)人能確定帝皇所預(yù)見(jiàn)到的最終答案，只能知曉我們必須奮起反擊的威脅?，F(xiàn)在，這份責(zé)任落到了我們中的極少數(shù)人——那些擁有保護(hù)帝國(guó)所需的知識(shí)的人們身上；我們必須讓人類明白惡魔與外種的本質(zhì)與威脅。