雙語|現(xiàn)代散文:鄒韜奮 什么事不可能

Nothing Is Impossible to a Willing Mind 什么事不可能

◎ Zou Taofen ◎ 鄒韜奮

Nobody in the past ever believed that man could fly in the air like“gods and spirits”in classical Chinese mythology．In the West，people would say mockingly to anyone attempting the impossible，“You might just as well try to fly.”Evidently，they also disbelieved that man was capable of“flying”.

駕霧騰云，在從前哪一個人不視為“封神傳”里的“瞎三話四”？不但在中國，就是在西洋，他們原來也有一句俗諺，遇著你說出不可能的事情，往往揶揄地說道：“你不如嘗試去飛上天吧。”“You might just as well try to fly.”可見他們原來也是把“飛”視為不可能的事情。

It is very interesting to make a brief study of how man changed the impossible into the possible in the matter of flying．Westerners began to make aviation experiments as early as 120 years ago．Ascribing a bird's flight to its wings，they concentrated their efforts on making artificial wings for man．But they failed again and again in the attempt and，as was to be expected，ended up as targets of public ridicule．Among them was a man named George Cayley，who in 1809 published an article in a journal to enlarge on his dream，reportedly foreseeing a modern aircraft in terms of its mechanism and theories．He is，therefore，today popularly known as the father of aviation．Originally a famous philosopher in England，he later suddenly quit his special field to pursue his dream of flight．A year afterwards，he went so far as to build a craft for experiment，which he later fitted with a motor．Unfortunately，instead of rising into the air，it was completely wrecked by explosion．Nevertheless，his failed venture attracted the attention of some followers．They started researches on the working parts of an aircraft and its fuselage，indicating man's slow but steady progress towards making the impossible possible．Yet the handful of“dreamers”of those days were subjected to jeers and laughter.

我們試一考這件由不可能而變?yōu)榭赡艿氖虑樗?jīng)過的大略情形，便覺得很饒趣味。在西洋一百二十年前已經(jīng)有人在那里實驗這件“瞎三話四”的事情，他們看見鳥有翼膀能飛，所以實驗的時候，總在那里用盡心力于構(gòu)造人工的翼膀。最初不但在實驗方面屢次失敗，而且被人笑為發(fā)癡，這是所謂“意中事”。這幾個“癡子”里面有一位叫做凱雷，在一八〇九年做一篇文章登在一家雜志上，大發(fā)揮他的精密的“癡想”，據(jù)說現(xiàn)在飛機里的許多機件和原理，沒有一件不被他猜著的，所以現(xiàn)在說起飛機的發(fā)明家，有許多人推他做“鼻祖”。他原是英國一位有名的哲學(xué)家，不知怎地會跳出哲學(xué)的范圍，想起什么飛上天的把戲來。他不但實行“癡想”，而且就在發(fā)表該文的第二年，竟造了一個飛機實驗起來，起先上面沒有什么原動機，后來竟給他配上了一個原動機。但是他發(fā)明的飛機在實驗的時候，非但飛不起來，而且炸毀得一塌糊涂，算是失敗了。但是從此以后，便喚起若干人的注意，有的研究機件，有的研究機身，慢慢地比以前較有端倪，不可能的程度已漸漸減少。不過這還是極少數(shù)“癡子”的信心，一般人還是嗤之以鼻。

Many“dreamers”persisted in the flight research without getting their flying machines off the ground．It was not until 1896 that a little relevant progress was made for the first time in history by an American physicist named Samuel Pierpont Langley．However，instead of rising into the air，his flying model barely moved close to the ground along the Potomac River for only about half a mile．Meanwhile，an English apprentice- turned- inventor in the USA named Hiram Maxim and another inventor by the name of N．C．Ader were also obsessed with aerial experimentation and made quite a few relevant modifications．But，in spite of their repeated tries，they never got their models to take off．However，Ader finally built in 1896 a craft that was capable of flying at a low altitude over a distance of 350 meters．Then，in Berlin，Germany，an engineer named Otto Lilienthal also got some good results in aviation research．He made as many as 2,000 experiments，but，unfortunately，he died later when he fell from a height of 17 meters，breaking his spine.

許多“癡子”雖仍在那里繼續(xù)的研究來，研究去，但是總飛不起來，一點距離都未曾飛過。一直到了一八九六年，有位美國物理學(xué)家叫藍格雷造了一個飛機，才算第一次有些效驗，不過這個飛機還不能在空中飛，不過在波陀馬克河旁，沿著地飛了半英里左右的距離。同時有一位由學(xué)徒出身的在美國的英國發(fā)明家，叫做麥克沁，和還有一位發(fā)明家叫做愛德，也在那里“癡干”，改良了許多地方，但弄來弄去，還是飛不起來。后來愛德也在一八九六年總算造成一個飛機，能稍微離開地面飛過三百五十碼的距離。同時在德國柏林也有一位工程師名叫李令索對飛機的研究也有些成績，他實驗了二千次，最后一次由十七米之高跌下來，把頭頸跌斷，做了科學(xué)界的“烈士”。

Without the above-mentioned early trailblazers，there would be no human flight to speak of today．At the turn of the century，an American named Orville Wright and his brother Wilbur，enamored of the flying machine，made a name for themselves overnight as aviation inventors．They were originally two bicycle mechanics with only high school education．On December 17，1903，they made the world's first flight in an engined airplane，covering a distance of no more than 260 metres．Less than two years ago，in 1927，an American named Charles A．Lindbergh made the first transatlantic solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris，covering a distance of 3,633 miles in 32 hours.

以上所說的實驗，都還不夠真正說得上一個“飛”字，可是沒有先鋒隊的犧牲，真正的“飛”當(dāng)然也無從達到。到了一九〇三年的十二月十七日，美國有一位叫賴奧維和他的弟弟賴威柏，他們不過受過中等教育，后來做機匠，不過做做尋常的腳踏車，竟對于飛機大饒興趣，盡心研究，一躍而為發(fā)明家，根據(jù)他們研究所得，算是第一次乘著飛機飛了起來，但是只飛了二百六十米的距離。一九二七年美國人林德白第一次一口氣從美國紐約飛越大西洋而達法國巴黎，三十二小時飛過三千六百三十三哩，距今不到兩年。

Orville's 1903 plane was something he accomplished after going through numerous setbacks．In 1900，the Wright brothers made their first glider patterned after a paper kite，but it lacked the power to carry a person．Their second glider，made in 1901，also failed，but the manned machine could move nonstop for 27 miles on the ground，and for 300 feet on the surface of water．However，their airplane of 1903，fitted with a gasoline engine，was a success ushering in a new era for aeronautics．Compared with today's plane，it was of course very crude，but regarded then as a perfect model．And it is now on exhibition at the Science Museum in London，England．Wilbur died in 1912．Orville is now 58．Their success indicates that human flying，impossible in the past，has now become perfectly possible.

賴奧維一九〇三年的飛機也還不是一蹴而成的，他們弟兄在一九〇〇年最初制成的飛機格式，原是想照放紙鳶辦法，上面本預(yù)備坐一個人，但因為氣力不足，只得讓飛機獨自飛翔，他們弟兄在一九〇一年實驗用的第二個飛機，要載人上飛還是不行，若在地上沿地拖著飛，可以一口氣飛二十七哩，在水面可一口氣駛?cè)賲眨麄兊苄衷谝痪农柸?，替航空事業(yè)開新紀(jì)元用的飛機，上面裝有汽油原動機，其構(gòu)造比之現(xiàn)在的飛機當(dāng)然粗率得很，在當(dāng)時則已經(jīng)是空前的完備。賴威柏已于一九一二年逝世，賴奧維尚健在，已經(jīng)五十八歲了。自他成功以后，從前似乎不可能的“飛”，已成為無疑的可能的事情了。

Nothing is impossible to a willing mind．Now，however，I would like to call your attention to two vital points as follows：

天下事只要人努力去干，什么事不可能？但是我們對此問題至少還有下列兩個更為明確的要點。

1．The greater an undertaking，the more difficult it is，and the longer it will take to accomplish it．Sometimes it can't be accomplished even after a lifetime of effort．But it will nevertheless be a contribution of ours if we can devote part of our lifetime to opening up a way，long or short，for the future generations．The same is true if what little we have done serves as a good example to them，or if our fruitless efforts serve as a useful lesson to them．Therefore，succeed or fail，one is considered to have made a contribution so long as he has tried his utmost．Those who refuse to act，those who are afraid to act for fear of failure and those who stop half way in the face of obstacles will have nothing to their credit at all.

事業(yè)愈大則困難亦愈甚，抵抗困難的時期也隨之俱長，有的盡我們的一生尚不能目見其成者，我們?nèi)裟鼙M其中一段的工夫，替后人開辟一段道路，或長或短，即是貢獻。有所成功以備后人參考，固是貢獻；即因嘗試而失敗，使后人有所借鏡，亦是貢獻。所以能向前努力者，無論成敗，都有貢獻。最無絲毫貢獻者是不干，怕失敗而不敢干，或半途遇著困難即不愿干。

2．Before Lindberg made the solo nonstop transatlantic flight of 32 hours，early aviation experimenters had failed again and again to get their flying models off the ground until the Wright brothers succeeded in building a piloted airplane that could fly over a distance of no more than 260 meters．It is thus clear that changing the impossible into the possible is no simple or easy matter．To attain it，you need to endure numerous troubles and frustrations．You need to take much time，do a lot of planning，go through countless procedures and carry out many improvements．And you'll never make it unless you show the utmost patience．As the ancient Chinese saying goes，“Haste does not bring success.”

林德白可以三十二小時一直不停的飛渡萬余里，在最初發(fā)明者橫弄豎弄，竟飛不起來，至賴奧維算是成功了，也不過飛渡二百六十米?？梢姀牟豢赡苓_到可能的境域，不是由這一點到那一點的那樣簡單。必須經(jīng)過許多麻煩，經(jīng)過許多失敗，經(jīng)過許多時間，經(jīng)過許多籌劃，經(jīng)過許多手續(xù)，經(jīng)過許多改進，若是性急朋友，老早丟了哪有成功的可能？所以昔賢告訴我們說“欲速則不達”。

鄒韜奮，生于福建永安，原籍江西余江，為著名進步新聞記者、政論家、出版家。去世后，根據(jù)他的“遺囑”，中國共產(chǎn)黨追認(rèn)他為正式黨員。《什么事不可能》是他寫于1929年6月9日的一篇隨筆，現(xiàn)選自1995年由三聯(lián)書店出版的《韜奮文集》。