月亮和六便士 第十四章(3)

 　　Look here, if everyone acted like you, the world couldn't go on. "你听我说，如果每个人都照你这样，地球就运转不下去了。"

　　That's a damned silly thing to say. Everyone doesn't want to act like me.  "你说这样的话实在是太蠢了。并不是每个人都要象我这样的。

　　The great majority are perfectly¹ content to do the ordinary thing. 绝大多数人对于他们做的那些平平常常的事是心满意足的。"

　　And once I sought to be satirical. 我想挖苦他一句。

　　You evidently don't believe in the maxim²: Act so that every one of your actions is capable of being made into a universal rule. "有一句格言你显然并不相信：凡人立身行事，务使每一行为堪为万人楷模。"

　　I never heard it before, but it's rotten nonsense. "我从来没听说过，但这是胡说八道。"

　　Well, it was Kant who said it. "你不知道，这是康德说的。"

　　I don't care; it's rotten nonsense. "随便是谁说的，反正是胡说八道。"

　　Nor with such a man could you expect the appeal to conscience to be effective.  对于这样一个人，想要诉诸他的良心也是毫无效果的。

　　You might as well ask for a reflection without a mirror.  这就象不借助镜子而想看到自己的反影一样。

　　I take it that conscience is the guardian³ in the individual of the rules which the community has evolved for its own preservation⁴.  我把良心看作是一个人心灵中的卫兵，社会为要存在下去制订出的一套礼规全靠它来监督执行。

　　It is the policeman in all our hearts, set there to watch that we do not break its laws.  良心是我们每人心头的岗哨，它在那里值勤站岗，监视着我们别做出违法的事情来。

　　It is the spy seated in the central stronghold of the ego⁵.  它是安插在自我的中心堡垒中的暗探。

　　Man's desire for the approval of his fellows is so strong, his dread⁶ of their censure⁷ so violent, that he himself has brought his enemy within his gates;  因为人们过于看重别人对他的意见，过于害怕舆论对他的指责，结果自己把敌人引进大门里来；

　　and it keeps watch over him, vigilant⁸ always in the interests of its master to crush any half-formed desire to break away from the herd⁹.  于是它就在那里监视着，高度警觉地卫护着它主人的利益，一个人只要有半分离开大溜儿的想法，就马上受到它严厉苛责。

　　It will force him to place the good of society before his own.  它逼迫着每一个人把社会利益置于个人之上。

　　It is the very strong link that attaches the individual to the whole.  它是把个人拘系于整体的一条牢固的链条。

　　And man, subservient¹⁰ to interests he has persuaded himself are greater than his own, makes himself a slave to his taskmaster.  人们说服自己，相信某种利益大于个人利益，甘心为它效劳，结果沦为这个主子的奴隶。

　　He sits him in a seat of honour.  他把他高举到荣誉的宝座上。

　　At last, like a courtier fawning¹¹ on the royal stick that is laid about his shoulders, he prides himself on the sensitiveness of his conscience.  最后，正如同宫廷里的弄臣赞颂皇帝按在他肩头的御杖一样，他也为自己有着敏感的良心而异常骄傲。

　　Then he has no words hard enough for the man who does not recognise its sway; for, a member of society now, he realises accurately¹² enough that against him he is powerless.  到了这一地步，对那些不肯受良心约束的人，他就会觉得怎样责骂也不过分，因为他已经是社会的一名成员，他知道得很清楚，绝对没有力量造自己的反了。

　　When I saw that Strickland was really indifferent to the blame his conduct must excite, I could only draw back in horror as from a monster of hardly human shape. 当我看到思特里克兰德对他的行为肯定会引起的斥责真的无动于衷的时候，我就象见到一个奇异的怪物一样，吓得毛骨悚然，赶快缩了回去。

　　The last words he said to me when I bade him good-night were: 那天晚上在我向他告别的时候，他最后对我说的话是：

　　Tell Amy it's no good coming after me.  "告诉阿美，到这儿来找我是没有用的。

　　Anyhow, I shall change my hotel, so she wouldn't be able to find me. 反正我要搬家了，她是不会找到我的。"

　　My own impression is that she's well rid of you, I said. "我的看法是，她摆脱开你未尝不是件好事，"我说。

　　My dear fellow, I only hope you'll be able to make her see it.  "亲爱的朋友，我就希望你能够叫她看清这一点。

　　But women are very unintelligent. 可惜女人都是没有脑子的。"

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 maxim   

n.格言，箴言

参考例句：

• Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
• "Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。

3 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

4 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

5 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

6 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

7 censure   

v./n.责备；非难；责难

参考例句：

• You must not censure him until you know the whole story.在弄清全部事实真相前不要谴责他。
• His dishonest behaviour came under severe censure.他的不诚实行为受到了严厉指责。

8 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

9 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

10 subservient   

adj.卑屈的，阿谀的

参考例句：

• He was subservient and servile.他低声下气、卑躬屈膝。
• It was horrible to have to be affable and subservient.不得不强作欢颜卖弄风骚，真是太可怕了。

11 fawning   

adj.乞怜的，奉承的v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的现在分词 )；巴结；讨好

参考例句：

• The servant worn a fawning smile. 仆人的脸上露出一种谄笑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Then, what submission, what cringing and fawning, what servility, what abject humiliation! 好一个低眉垂首、阿谀逢迎、胁肩谄笑、卑躬屈膝的场面！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

12 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。