世界小史 第2章:起源

Have you ever tried standing between two mirrors? You should.

你可曾試著站立在兩面鏡子之間?你不妨試一試。

You will see a great long line of shiny mirrors, each one smaller than the one before,

你會看見發(fā)亮的鏡子的一條極長的線條，每一面比前一面小，

stretching away into the distance, getting fainter and fainter, so that you never see the last.

不斷向遠(yuǎn)處延伸，越來越模糊不清，所以你從未看見最后一面。

But even when you can't see them any more, the mirrors still go on.

但即使你再也看不見它們，鏡子依然在那兒。

They are there, and you know it.

你知道它們在那里。

And that's how it is with "Once upon a time".

"從前"的情形恰恰就是這樣。

We can't see where it ends.

我們不能看見它在哪里結(jié)束。

Grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's grandfather--it makes your head spin.

祖父的祖父的祖父的祖父——它使你要頭暈了。

But say it again, slowly, and in the end you'll be able to imagine it.

但是你慢慢地再說一遍，漸漸地，你就能想象它了。

Then add one more.

然后再說一遍。

That gets us quickly back into the past, and from there into the distant past.

這樣，我們就迅速進(jìn)入過去，隨后便進(jìn)入遙遠(yuǎn)的過去。

But you will never reach the beginning, because behind every beginning there's always another"Once upon a time".

但是人們永遠(yuǎn)追溯不到起源，在每一個起源后面總是還有一個"從前"。