I guess that even then I was aware of the comparability between the position of a writer and his environment and that of a spy - that both, in a sense, trade off the people around them.

我想，即使在那时，我也意识到作家和他的环境的地位与间谍的地位之间的可比性——从某种意义上说，两者都以周围的人为代价。