Chapter 6 Chapter 05 It's Called the Plague

The word "plague" was coined for the first time.At this point, without mentioning Bernard Rieux who stayed behind the window, let the author talk about the reason why the doctor felt suspicious and surprised, because this is also the reaction of most citizens, although the degree varies. It is a common thing in the world, but once it falls on the head, people can hardly believe it is true.There have been as many plagues as there have been wars in the world, and people are always equally at a loss in the face of plagues and wars.Dr. Rieux was as unprepared as we townspeople, so we should understand his hesitation and this ambivalence of apprehension and confidence.When the war first broke out, people said, "It's not going to last, it's so stupid." No doubt the war was too stupid, but it wasn't going to end soon for that.Stupidity never dies, and if people don't think about themselves, they will understand.In this matter, the citizens are like everyone else; they are self-absorbed, that is to say, they are humanitarians: they do not believe in natural disasters.Natural disasters cannot be tolerated, so some people think that it is not reality, but a nightmare that is about to disappear.However, nightmares do not necessarily disappear. In the process of nightmares, people themselves disappear, and the first to disappear are those humanitarians, because they have not taken the necessary measures.The citizens here are no more guilty than elsewhere, but they forget to be modest, and they think they can handle everything, which means that they think natural disasters are impossible.They still went about their business, making preparations and talking.How could they have thought of the plague that ruined prospects, cut off communication, and stopped discussion?They think they are free, but when disaster strikes, no one is free.

Not long ago, scattered patients died of the plague without warning.Dr. Rieux, even after confirming these facts in the presence of his friends, did not consider the danger to be real.Just because I am a doctor, I have my own understanding of the pain, and my imagination is richer.Looking at the unchanged city from the window, the doctor felt only a slight uneasiness in the face of the doubtful future.He tried to recall what he knew about the disease.Figures emerged from his mind, and he thought that in the thirty or so known plagues in history, nearly 100 million people died.But what is 100 million deaths?To those who have fought, the fact of the dead is not so much a matter of concern.Besides, the death of a person is only taken seriously in the presence of others, so the 100 million corpses scattered in the long history are just a wisp of smoke in the imagination.The doctor remembered that during the plague in Constantinople, according to Procopius, ten thousand people died in one day.Ten thousand dead is five times the size of the audience in a large movie theater, which is an entirely appropriate comparison.It can be seen more clearly by gathering the audience out of five movie theaters, leading them to the city square, and letting them die in heaps.On this pile of nameless corpses, at least a few familiar faces can be placed. Of course, this is impossible, and who knows ten thousand faces?It is well known that people like Procopius cannot count.Seventy years ago in Guangzhou, 40,000 rats died of the plague before the plague spread to the residents.However, in 1871, there was no way to count the rats. It was just an approximate number, and obviously there would be miscalculations.However, if a mouse is 30 centimeters long, 40,000 mice can be connected one by one to form...

The doctor was getting impatient by now.It's impossible to think about it like this.Only a few cases are not enough to call it a plague, a little preventive work is enough.Pay attention to what has been mastered: drowsiness and exhaustion, redness of the eyes, foul mouth, headache, buboes, extreme thirst, delirium, spots on the body, a feeling of tearing in the body, after these symptoms... Thinking of this, Dr. Rieux recalled a sentence that he wrote down after listing the symptoms in the handbook: "The pulse becomes weak, and the breath suddenly dies after a slight movement of the body." Yes, after these symptoms appear, a person's life is like Suspension, and three-quarters of the patients - this figure is absolutely correct - could not bear to do this unobservable movement, and died as a result.

The doctor has been looking out the window.The spring is bright outside the window, but the sound of the word "plague" is still echoing in the room.This word not only has a scientific meaning, but also has a series of special scenes, which are not in harmony with the mood here: this gray-yellow city is not very lively at this time, it can only be called noisy, not really Its atmosphere is gay and melancholy--if the two can go together, but, on the whole, cheerful.Such a peaceful and peaceful environment makes it easy to forget the old scenes of disasters: Athens was hit by the plague without a trace of the birds; China's disaster cities were full of silent dying patients; Convicts pile bloody corpses in caves; Provence builds walls to keep out the plague's maddened gaze; ugly beggars in Jaffa; hospitals in Constantinople wet and rotten on hard mud the sight of sick people being dragged out on hooks; masks of doctors everywhere during the Black Death, as if at a carnival; Carloads of dead bodies, and day and night, the sound of cries from all directions.No, all this is not enough to break the tranquility of the day.Suddenly, outside the window, the clink of an invisible tram drove away for a moment the imagination of cruelty and pain.Only the sea, beyond the dotted huts, bears witness to the turmoil and restlessness of the world.While looking at the bay, Dr. Rieux recalled what Lucretius had said about the pyre that the Athenians had erected by the sea after they had contracted the disease and were preparing to burn their bodies.The corpses were brought in at night, but there were not enough places on the pyre. In order to compete for the place to put the corpses of their relatives, the living people held up torches and fought with each other, preferring to bleed rather than throw away the corpses of their relatives.Imagine the scene: the burning pyre blazing by the dead water, the sparks flying in the struggle of the torches, the foul-smelling smoke rising into the night sky.People are afraid of...

However, reason drives away this absurd imagination.Yes, the word "plague" had been coined; yes, at this very moment the plague had killed a man or two.But it doesn't matter, there are ways to stop the spread of the epidemic.What must be done is to recognize the things that should be recognized clearly, and then get rid of useless doubts and take appropriate measures.This would stop the spread of the plague, which was not imagined, or imagined incorrectly.If the plague stops spreading--which is very likely--that's all the better, otherwise we'll also know what it is and whether we can find a way to subdue it.

The doctor opened the window, and the sound from outside suddenly came in.The sawmills in the neighboring factory made the constant whistling noise.Rieux pulled himself together.Routine work is reliable, and everything else is just a hair, and an imperceptible movement can ruin them.Don't dwell on these.The most important thing is to do the job well.