美國語文第五冊 第264期：人類與動物（02）

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But the inferior animals provide for themselves and their young without any of these things.

然而，低級動物無法為自己或后代制造任何勞動工具。

Now for the second distinction. Man, in all his operations, makes mistakes; animals make none.

現(xiàn)在，我們來談談第二個差異。就人類行為舉止而言，凡夫俗子錯誤在所難免；

Did you ever hear of such a thing as a bird sitting on a twig lamenting over her half-finished nest and puzzling her little head to know how to complete it?

而動物不會犯錯誤。你是否聽說棲息樹枝上的小鳥哀嘆自己尚未完工的巢穴，或是不知所措怎樣將巢穴建好？

Or did you ever see the cells of a beehive in clumsy, irregular shapes,

你是否觀察過那些拙笨、不規(guī)則的蜂房巢室，

or observe anything like a discussion in the little community, as if there were a difference of opinion among the architects?

是否留意在筑造蜂巢時，蜜蜂群體成員存在不同意見從而進行討論？

The lower animals are even better physicians than we are;

與人類相比，低級動物不愧是更好的醫(yī)生。

for when they are ill, they will, many of them, seek out some particular herb, which they do not, use as food,

動物生病時，它們大多尋找某些特殊藥草，這類藥草并非食用，

and which possesses a medicinal quality exactly suited to the complaint;

而是專門用作治病養(yǎng)傷，并且確實具有某種藥物療效；

whereas, the whole college of physicians will dispute for a century about the virtues of a single drug.

相反，就醫(yī)用療效來說，哪怕一種藥物，整個醫(yī)學院專家醫(yī)生們完全可以喋喋不休地辯論上百年。

Man undertakes nothing in which he is not more or less puzzled;

人類做事總喜歡瞻前顧后，

and must try numberless experiments before he can bring his undertakings to anything like perfection;

他必須無數(shù)次躬身親為，試圖將事情做到近乎完善，

even the simplest operations of domestic life are not well performed without some experience;

然而，哪怕最簡單的家庭生活缺乏實踐，他亦無法做到稱心如意。

and the term of man's life is half wasted before he has done with his mistakes and begins to profit by his lessons.

人類初涉某一事物，錯誤過失在所難免，每每開始從自身經(jīng)驗教訓里終有所得，他的人生時光早已揮霍過半。