英國語文第六冊(雙語):大馬士革與倫敦（一）(6)
Great transactions cannot be carried on without credit, and credit is necessarily based on the belief of wealth; so that very often, where there may be little real property, it may be most desirable that there should be the appearance of it……
沒有信用就無法促成大單交易，而信用又必須建立在對財富的信仰之上；所以說，貧窮之人往往更在意外表……
The mean, low door in Damascus, tells you of tyranny, concealment, and the want of confidence in public justice. Misery without and splendour within, is a principle which befits a land where paper is just paper, whatever name it bears; where gold is the only circulating medium; where a man's own house is his bank; and where the suspicion of being rich may make him a prey to the rapacity of the government.
大馬士革矮小簡陋的門正顯露了他們的專制、封閉以及對社會正義的自信。這樣一個地方是外苦內(nèi)榮，在那里，不管你是不是紙老虎，紙就是紙；在那里，黃金是唯一的流通媒介；在那里，人們只敢把錢放在家里；在那里，露富會使自己成為政府掠奪的對象。
On the contrary, the noble streets, squares, crescents, &c., of our modern cities, are clear indications, not only of great wealth and power, but also of something far dearer and nobler—namely, that confidence in one another, formed by myriads of concurring circumstances, of which Christianity is one of the mightiest, and out of which flow most of the blessings of European civilization and free political institutions.
相反，現(xiàn)代城市中氣派的街道、廣場、新月形街區(qū)等都是明確的象征，它們不僅象征著偉大的財富和權(quán)利，也象征著某種更為尊貴更為高尚的東西——那就是，彼此之間的一種信任，那種信任建立在雙方有很多共同的境遇之上，其中最強有力的便是對基督教的信仰，歐洲文明和自由政治制度的大部分福祉都來自于此。
But what is the use of that stone by the door-post? These stones are the steps from which ladies mount their donkeys, mules, and horses. Nor should you think this strange. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Paris presented these mounting-stones at all the angles of the streets, and at other convenient places. At Frankfort on the Main, there was a certain gate at which these conveniences were prepared for the emperor and the magnates of the German Diet; and I have no doubt that, in the days of feudalism and knightly glory, London was not behind its neighbours in this respect.
門柱旁的石頭是做什么用的呢？這些石頭是淑女們騎驢、騎騾子和騎馬時用的墊腳石，想必你對此不會感到陌生。在14世紀(jì)和15世紀(jì)的巴黎，所有街道的拐角處和一些便利的地方都會放置這種墊腳石。在美茵河畔的法蘭克福就有一扇專門為皇帝和德國議會的大資本家提供方便用的門。在封建社會、騎士輝煌的時代，倫敦在這方面毫無疑問是不會落后于其他鄰國的。
—Rev. Dr. Graham
——雷夫·格拉漢姆博士
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