论真理 中英文对照

 　　OF TRUTH

　　Sir Francis Bacon

　　What is truth? said jesting Pilate; and would not stay for an answer. Certainly there be, that delight in giddiness; and count it a bondage¹, to fix a belief; affecting free-will in thinking, as well as in acting². And though the sects⁴ of philosophers of that kind be gone, yet there remain certain discoursing⁵ wits, which are of the same veins⁶, though there be not so much blood in them, as was in these of the ancients. And though the sects of philosophers of that kind be gone, yet there remain certain discoursing wits, which are of the same veins, though there be not so much blood in them, as was in those of the ancients. But it is not only the difficulty and labour, which men take in finding out of truth, nor again, that when it is found, it imposes upon men’s thoughts, that doth bring lies in favour; but a natural, though corrupt⁷ love, of the lie itself. One of the later school of the Grecians, examineth the matter, and is at a stand, to think what should be in it, that men should love lies; where neither they make for pleasure, as with poets, nor for advantage, as with the merchant; but for the lie’s sake. But I cannot tell; this same truth, is a naked, and open day-light, that doth not show the masques, and mummeries, and triumphs, of the world, half so stately and daintily as candle-lights. Truth may perhaps come to the price of a pearl, that shows best by day; but it will not rise to the price of a diamond, or carbuncle, that shows best in varied⁸ lights. A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure. Does any man doubt, that if there were taken out of men’s minds, vain opinions, flattering hopes, false valuations, imaginations as one would, and the like, but it would leave the minds, of a number of men, poor shrunken things, full of melancholy⁹ and indisposition, and unpleasing to themselves? One of the fathers, in great severity, called poesy, vinum daemonum, because it filleth the imagination; and yet it is, but with the shadow of a lie. But it is not the lie, that passeth through the mind, but the lie that sinketh in, and settleth in it, that doth the hurt; such as we spake of before. But howsoever these things are thus, in men’s depraved judgments¹⁰, and affections, yet truth, which only doth judge itself, teacheth, that the inquiry¹¹ of truth, which is the love-making, or wooing of it; the knowledge of truth, which is the presence of it; and the belief of truth, which is the enjoying of it; is the sovereign good of human nature. The first creature of God, in the works of the days, was the light of the sense; the last, was the light of reason; and his Sabbath work, ever since, is the illumination of his spirit. First he breathed light, upon the face, of the matter or chaos¹²; then he breathed light, into the face of man; and still he breatheth and inspireth light, into the face of his chosen. The poet, that beautified the sect³, that was otherwise inferior to the rest, said yet excellently well: ‘it is a pleasure, to stand upon the shore, and to see ships tossed upon the sea; a pleasure to stand in the window of a castle, and to see a battle, and the adventures thereof below: but no pleasure is comparable to the standing¹³ upon the vantage ground of truth:’ (a hill not to be commanded, and where the air is always clear and serene;) ‘and to see the errors, and wanderings, and mists, and tempests, in the vale below;’ so always, that this prospect¹⁴ be with pity, and not with swelling¹⁵, or pride. Certainly, it is heaven upon earth, to have a man’s mind move in charity, rest in providence¹⁶, and turn upon the poles of truth.

　　To pass from theological, and philosophical¹⁷ truth, to the truth of civil business; it will be acknowledged, even by those that practise it not, that clear, and round dealing¹⁸, is the honour of man’s nature; and that mixture of falsehood, is like alloy¹⁹ in coin of gold and silver, which may make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it. For these winding²⁰, and crooked²¹ courses, are the goings of the serpent; which goes basely upon the belly²², and not upon the feet. There is no vice²³, that doth so cover a man with shame, as to be found false, and perfidious²⁴. And therefore Mountaigny saith prettily²⁵, when he enquired²⁶ the reason, why the word of the lie should be such a disgrace, and such an odious²⁷ charge? saith he, ‘If it be well weighed, to lay that a man lieth, is as much to say, as that he is brave towards God, and a coward towards men.’ For a lie faces God, and shrinks from man. Surely the wickedness of falsehoods, and breach²⁸ of faith, cannot possibly be so highly expressed, as in that it shall be the last peal²⁹, to call the judgements of God upon the generations of men, it being foretold³⁰, that when Christ cometh, He shall not find faith upon the earth.

　　论真理（王佐良 译）

　　真理何物？皮拉多笑而问曰，未待人答，不顾而去。却有见异思迁之徒，以持见不变为束缚，而标榜思想与行动之自由意志。先哲一派曾持此见，虽已逝去，尚有二三散漫书生依附旧说，唯精力已大不如古人矣。固然，真理费力难求，求得之后不免限制思想，唯人之爱伪非坐此一因，盖由其天性中原有爱伪之劣念耳。希腊晚期学人审问此事，不解人为何喜爱伪说，既不能从中得乐，如诗人然，又不能从中获利，如商人然，则唯有爱伪之本体而已。余亦难言究竟，唯思真理犹如白日无遮之光，直照人世之歌舞庆典，不如烛光掩映，反能显其堂皇之美。真理之价，有似珍珠，白昼最见其长，而不如钻石，弱光始露其妙。言中有伪，常能更增其趣。盖人心如尽去其空论、妄念、误断、怪想，则仅余一萎缩之囊，囊中尽装怨声呻吟之类，本人见之亦不乐矣！事实如此，谁复疑之？昔有长老厉责诗歌，称之为魔鬼之酒，即因其扩展幻想，实则仅得伪之一影耳。为害最烈者并非飘略人心之伪，而系滞留人心之伪，前已言及。然不论人在堕落时有几许误断妄念，真理仍为人性之至善。盖真理者，唯真理始能判之，其所教者为求真理，即对之爱慕；为知真理，即得之于心；为信真理，即用之为乐。上帝创世时首创感觉之光，末创理智之光，此后安息而显圣灵。先以光照物质，分别混沌；次以光照人面，对其所选之人面更常耀不灭。古有诗人信非崇高，言则美善，曾有妙语云：“立岸上见浪催船行，一乐也；立城堡孔后看战斗进退，一乐也；然皆不足以比身居真理高地之乐也；真理之峰高不可及，可吸纯洁之气，可瞰谷下侧行、瞭徨、迷雾、风暴之变”。景象如此，但须临之以怜世之心，而不可妄自尊大也。人心果能行爱心，安天命，运转于真理之轴上，诚为世上天国矣。

　　如自神学哲学之真理转论社会事务，则人无论遵守与否，皆识一点，即公开正直之行为人性之荣，如掺伪则如金银币中掺杂，用时纵然方便，其值大贬矣。盖此类歪斜之行唯毒蛇始为，其因无公行之足，唯有暗爬之腹也。恶行之中，令人蒙羞最大者莫过于虚伪背信。谎言之为奇耻大辱也，蒙田探究真理，曾云：“如深究此事，指人说谎犹言此人对上帝勇而对人怯也，该说慌者敢于面对上帝，而畏避世人”。善哉此言。虚伪背信之恶，最有力之指责莫过于称之为向上帝鸣最后警钟，请来裁判无数世代之人，盖圣经早已预言，基督降世时，“世上已无信义可言矣”。

1 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

4 sects   

n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别，刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句

5 discoursing   

演说（discourse的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• He was discoursing to us on Keats. 他正给我们讲济慈。
• He found the time better employed in searching than in discussing, in discovering than in discoursing. 他认为与其把时间花费在你争我辩和高谈阔论上，不如用在研究和发现上。

6 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

8 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

9 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

10 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

11 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

12 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

15 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

16 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

17 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

18 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

19 alloy   

n.合金，(金属的)成色

参考例句：

• The company produces titanium alloy.该公司生产钛合金。
• Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin.青铜是铜和锡的合金。

20 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

21 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

22 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

23 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

24 perfidious   

adj.不忠的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• Their feet will trample on the dead bodies of their perfidious aggressors.他们将从背信弃义的侵略者的尸体上踏过。
• Your perfidious gossip is malicious and dangerous.你说的那些背信弃义的话是很刻毒险恶的。

25 prettily   

adv.优美地；可爱地

参考例句：

• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back.此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。
• She pouted prettily at him.她冲他撅着嘴，样子很可爱。

26 enquired   

打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问

参考例句：

• He enquired for the book in a bookstore. 他在书店查询那本书。
• Fauchery jestingly enquired whether the Minister was coming too. 浮式瑞嘲笑着问部长是否也会来。

27 odious   

adj.可憎的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
• His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。

28 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

29 peal   

n.钟声；v.鸣响

参考例句：

• The bells of the cathedral rang out their loud peal.大教堂响起了响亮的钟声。
• A sudden peal of thunder leaves no time to cover the ears.迅雷不及掩耳。

30 foretold   

v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She foretold that the man would die soon. 她预言那人快要死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Must lose one joy, by his life's star foretold. 这样注定：他，为了信守一个盟誓／就非得拿牺牲一个喜悦作代价。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学