美國語文第六冊 第257期:印第安耍把戲者(4)

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在國會聽尊敬的議員或高貴的大人故意拖長腔調(diào)的演講，

the ringing the changes on their commonplaces, which anyone could repeat after them as well as they, stirs me not a jot,

他們企圖讓陳詞濫調(diào)聽上去富有變化，其實(shí)任何人都可以像他們一樣重復(fù)這些老生常談，沒有任何東西能讓我為之動(dòng)容，

shakes not my good opinion of myself. I ask what there is that I can do as well as this. Nothing.

根本不會動(dòng)搖我自認(rèn)為正當(dāng)?shù)囊庖姟Ｎ也唤麜?，我能做什么。什么也做不了?/p>

What have I been doing all my life? Have I been idle, or have I nothing to show for all my labor and pains?

我終其一生一直致力的到底是什么呢?我一直在虛度光陰，或者對我所有的辛勞和苦惱我就沒一點(diǎn)想要闡明的嗎?

Or have I passed my time in pouring words like water into empty sieves, rolling a stone up a hill and then down again,

抑或，我把時(shí)間都打發(fā)在像水一樣往空空的漏勺里傾倒詞語，不停地朝山上推石頭，石頭又不停地滾下來，

trying to prove an argument in the teeth of facts, and looking for causes in the dark, and not finding them?

企圖證明顯而易見的事實(shí)中的論點(diǎn)，指望在黑暗中尋找原因，而不是發(fā)現(xiàn)真理上了嗎?

Is there no one thing in which I can challenge competition, that I can bring as an instance of exact perfection, in which others can not find a flaw?

就沒有一件我能向競爭發(fā)起挑戰(zhàn)，以此作為完美的例子，而其他人無從置喙的事情嗎?

The utmost I can pretend to is to write a description of what this fellow can do.

我最覬覦的就是詳細(xì)描繪一下這種人到底能做什么事情。

I can write a book, so can many others who have not even learned to spell.

我可以寫一本書，那些甚至連拼寫都沒學(xué)會的人也能看明白。

What abortions are these essays! What errors, what ill-pieced transitions, what crooked reasons, what lame conclusions!

多少這樣的文章都胎死腹中了啊!多么愚蠢的錯(cuò)誤，拼湊得何其拙劣的過渡，多么荒謬的理由，多么蹩腳的結(jié)論!

How little is made out, and that little how ill!

讓人如墮云霧，而流弊何其多也!