英语美文口袋书：品行篇

2023年9月28日 星期四 祝福早安 天气多云 气温19℃ 《英语美文》 As for the one who is weak in faith,welcome him,but not to quarrel over opinions.One person believes he may eat anything,while the weak person eats only vegetables.Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains,and let not the one who eats,for God has welcome him.Who are you to pass judgement on the servant of another?It is before his own master that he stands or falls.And he will be upheld,for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another,while another esteems all days alike.Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.The one who observes the day,observes it in honor of the Lord.The one who eats,eats in honor of the Lord,since he gives thanks to God,while the one who abstains,abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.For none of us lives to himself,and none of us dies to himself.For if we live,we live to the Lord,and if we die,we die to the Lord.So then,whether we live or whether we die,we are the Lord’s.For to this end Christ died and lived again,that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgement on your brother?Or you,why do you despise your brother?For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God;for it is written,“As Ilive,says the Lord,every knee shall bow to me,and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 中文译文 不可论断弟兄 《圣经》 对信德软弱的人，你们该容纳，不要为意见而争论。有人以为什么都可以吃，但那软弱的人只吃蔬菜。那吃的，不要轻视不吃的；不吃的，也不要判断吃的，因为天主已经接纳了他。你是谁，竟敢判断别人的家仆？他或站立，或跌倒，都由他自己的主人管；但他必站得住，因为主能够使他站得住。 有人以为这日比那日强，但也有人认为日日都一样；各人对自己的心思应坚信不疑才好！那遵守日子的，是为主而遵守；那吃的，是为主而吃，因为他感谢天主；那不吃的，也是为主而不吃，他也感谢天主。因为我们中没有一人是为自己而生的，也没有一人是为自己而死的；因为我们或者生，是为主而生，或者死，是为主而死；所以我们或生或死，都是属于主。因为基督死而复生了，正是为做生者和死者的主。 你为什么判断你的弟兄？或者，你为什么轻视你的弟兄？我们众人都要站在天主的审判台前，因为经上记载说：“我指着我自己起誓——上主的誓语：众膝都要向我跪拜，众舌都要赞颂天主。” 这样看起来，我们每人都要向天主交自己的账。 词汇速记 abstain　v.　戒除，避免 美句欣赏 As for the one who is weak in faith,welcome him,but not to quarrel over opinions.One person believes he may eat anything,while the weak person eats only vegetables.Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains,and let not the one who eats,for God has welcome him.人的生存具有多种方式，彼此之间只有差异之分，而无差距之说。对于他人方式的妄加评议，不过反衬了自身的无知。 Revenge is akind of wild justice;which the more man’s nature runs to,the more ought law to weed it out.For as for the first wrong,it doth but offend the law;but the revenge of that wrong putteth the law out of office.Certainly,in taking revenge,a man is but even with his enemy;but in passing it over,he is superior;for it is aprince’s part to pardon.And Solomon[1],I am sure,saith,“It is the glory of aman to pass by an offence.”That which is past is gone,and irrevocable;and wise men have enough to do with things present and to come;therefore they do but trifle with themselves,that labor in past matters.There is no man doth awrong for the wrong’s sake;but thereby to purchase himself profit,or pleasure,or honor,or the like.Therefore why should Ibe angry with aman for loving himself better than me?And if any man should do wrong merely out of ill-nature,why,yet it is but like the thorn or briar,which prick and scratch,because they can do no other.The most tolerable sort of revenge is for those wrongs which there is no law to remedy;but then let aman take heed the revenge be such as there is no law to punish;else aman’s enemy is still before hand,and it is two for one. Some,when they take revenge,are desirous the party should know whence it cometh.This is the more generous.For the delight seemeth to be not so much in doing the hurt as in making the party repent.But base and crafty cowards are like the arrow that flieth in the dark.Cosmus,duke of Florence,had adesperate saying against perfidious or neglecting friends,as if those wrongs were unpardonable;You shall read(saith he)that we are commanded to forgive our enemies;but you never read that we are commanded to forgive our friends.But yet the spirit of Job was in abetter tune:“Shall we(saith he)take good at God’s hands,and not be content to take evil also?”And so of friends in aproportion.This is certain,that aman that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green,which otherwise would heal and do well.Public revenges are for the most part fortunate;as that for the death of Caesar[2];for the death of Pertinax[3];for the death of Henry[4]the Third of France;and many more.But in private revenges it is not so.Nay rather,vindictive persons live the life of witches;who,as they are mischievous,so end they infortunate. 中文译文 论复仇 弗朗西斯·培根 复仇乃一种原始的公道，人之天性越是爱讨这种公道，法律就越是应该将其铲除；因为首先犯罪者只是触犯了法律，而对罪犯以牙还牙则使法律失去了效用。无可否认，若一个人对其仇敌施加报复，那他与被报复者不过是半斤八两；而若是他不念旧恶，宽大为怀，那他就比对手高出一等，因高抬贵手乃贵人之举。笔者确信，所罗门曾言：“宽恕他人之过失乃宽恕者之荣耀。”过去的已经过去，且一去不返，而聪明人总是努力着眼于现在和将来的事情，所以对过去耿耿于怀无非是在捉弄自己罢了。世间并无为作恶而作恶之人，作恶者之所以作恶皆为要获得名利享乐或诸如此类的东西。既然如此，我为何要因人爱己胜过爱我而对其发怒呢？而且即便有人纯然是出于恶性而作恶，那也不过像荆棘藜枯一般，刺扎戳钩皆因其没别的本事。最可原谅的一类报复是针对那些没有法律惩治的罪行而施行的报复，但此时报复者须当心，得让自己的报复行为也因没法惩治而逍遥法外，不然报复者的仇敌依然占便宜，因为受伤害的比例是二比一。 有人复仇时想要仇敌知晓这复仇来自何方。这样复仇更为雍容大度，因为更痛快的报仇似乎不在于使仇敌皮肉受到伤害，而是要让其悔不当初；不过卑怯而狡猾的懦夫则往往想要暗中施放的冷箭。佛罗伦萨大公科西莫曾用极其强烈的言辞谴责朋友的背信弃义或忘恩负义，他似乎认为这类恶行不可饶恕。他说，你可以在《圣经》里读到基督要我们宽恕仇敌的教诲，但你绝不会读到要我们宽恕朋友的训喻。但迄今为止还是约伯的精神高一格调，他说：“我们怎能只喜欢上帝赐福而抱怨上帝降祸呢？”将此例推及朋友，亦有此问。毋庸置疑，念念不忘复仇者只会使自己的创伤新鲜如初，而那创伤本来是可以愈合的。报公仇多半会为复仇者带来幸运，如为恺撒大帝之死而复仇，为珀蒂纳克斯之死而复仇，以及为法王亨利三世之死而复仇等等。但报私仇却不会有这般幸运；与此相反，欲报私仇者过的是巫师一般的生活，他们活着时于人有害，死去则可叹可悲。 （曹明伦　译） 词汇速记 irrevocable　adj.　不能挽回的 briar　n.　荆棘 perfidious　adj.　背信弃义的 vindictive　adj.　有报仇心的 美句欣赏 ①　In taking revenge,a man is but even with his enemy;but in passing it over,he is superior;for it is aprince’s part to pardon.两句相比，高下立现。能够放下复仇，拾起宽恕之心，是品性的升华。 ②　A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green,which otherwise would heal and do well.固执地生活在仇恨的阴影里，造成自身不幸的其实不是仇家，而是自己。 - 注释 [1] 所罗门（1000B.C.—930B.C.），古代以色列王国第三位国王，亦是传说中以色列最有智慧、最伟大的国王。 [2] 恺撒（102B.C.—44B.C.），罗马帝国独裁官，公元前44年遭元老院成员暗杀身亡。 [3] 珀蒂纳克斯（126—193），罗马皇帝，在位仅三个月便被叛乱的士兵杀死。 [4] 亨利·亚历山大（1551—1589），法国国王，被一名修士刺死。 英文正文 The art of pleasing is avery necessary one to possess;but avery difficult one to acquire.It can hardly be reduced to rules;and your own good sense and observation will teach you more of it than Ican.“Do as you would be done by”is the surest method that Iknow of,and probably the same things in you will please others.If you are pleased with the complaisance and attention of others to your humors,your tastes,or your weaknesses,depend upon it,the same complaisance and attention on your part to theirs will equally please them.Take the tone of the company that you are in,and do not pretend to give it;be serious,gay,or even trifling,as you find the present humor of the company;this is an attention due from every individual to the majority.Do not tell stories in company;there is nothing more tedious and disagreeable;if by chance you know avery short story,and exceedingly applicable to the present subject of conversation,tell it in as few words as possible;and even then,throw out that you do not love to tell stories,but that the shortness of it tempted you. Of all things,banish the egotism out of your conversation,and never think of entertaining people with your own personal concerns or private affairs;though they are interesting to you,they are tedious and impertinent to everybody else;besides that,one cannot keep one’s own private affairs too secret.Whatever you think your own excellencies may be,do not affectedly display them in company;nor labor,as many people do,to give that turn to the conversation,which may supply you with an opportunity of exhibiting them.If they are real,they will infallibly be discovered,without your pointing them out yourself,and with much more advantage.Never maintain an argument with heat and clamor,though you think or know yourself to be in the right;but give your opinions modestly and coolly,which is the only way to convince;and,if that does not do,try to change the conversation,by saying,with good humor,“We shall hardly convince one another;nor is it necessary that we should,so let us talk of something else.” There are little attentions,likewise,which are infinitely engaging,and which sensibly affect that degree of pride and self love,which is inseparable from human nature;as they are unquestionable proofs of the regard and consideration which we have for the persons to whom we pay them.As for example:to observe the little habits,the likings,the antipathies,and the tastes of those whom we would gain;and then take care to provide them with the one,and to secure them from the other;giving them genteelly to understand,that you had observed they liked such adish or such aroom;for which reason you had prepared it:or,on the contrary,that having observed they had an aversion to such adish,a dislike to such aperson,etc.,you had taken care to avoid presenting them.Such attention to such trifles flatters self love much more than greater things,as it makes people think themselves almost the only objects of your thoughts and care. 中文译文 切斯特菲尔德勋爵致儿子的一封信 切斯特菲尔德勋爵 惹人喜欢很有必要，但这又是一门不易学到的艺术。而且很难将其归纳成规则。你自己的良知与观察力将比我教授给你的还要多。“你想让别人怎样对待你，你就怎样去对待别人”，这是我所知的取信于人的最可靠的办法。细心留意别人怎样做让你愉快，那么很可能你做同样的事也会使别人愉悦。如果别人对你的性情、兴趣甚至弱点甚为关心，让你满心喜欢，请相信，你对人施以同样的热情和关照，也一定会使他们欢心。与人结伴来往时，需因循其中的氛围，勿矫揉造作，发现同伴的幽默之处时，就开怀一乐甚至调笑一番，这是每个人对群体应具备的态度。在人前不要说瞎话，没有比这更让人讨厌和不悦的事了。如果你恰好有一则很简短又相当切题的故事，可以用最简洁明了的语言叙述一番。即便如此，也要表示出你并不擅长讲述，而仅是因为它实在太简短才使你情不自禁地这样做。 在交谈中，首先就要摈弃以自我为中心的癖好，决不试图让别人对自己的私事或者自己关注的事产生兴趣。尽管这些事情对你来说兴味盎然，但对于别人却味同嚼蜡，不得要领。再者，个人的私事也不可能永远隐秘。无论你自以为有什么好处，切忌在人前自爱自怜地展示，也不要像许多人那样，挖空心思地引导谈话，以伺机自我表现一番。如果你确有长处，必会被人发现，不必自己点出，何况这样做最好。当与人有是非之争时，绝不要激动地大喊大叫，即使你自以为正确或者知道自己是对的，也要善加控制，冷静地说出自己的意见，这是说服人的唯一方法。但如果这样仍不奏效，就试着变个话题，高高兴兴地说：“我俩谁也说服不了谁，而且也不是非得说服对方不可，我们讨论别的吧。” 同样，从小处着手关注他人会给人留下无限的温馨，同时这一明智的做法也能增强别人的自尊和自负的心理。这些与人的天性是密不可分的。这样做无疑证实了我们是尊重和关心别人的。比如，观察我们所要争取的人在细小方面的习惯、他们的喜好、他们所反感的东西以及他们的兴趣，然后注意投其所好，避免让他们不快。以某种优雅的方式让他们知道你注意到他们喜欢这样的碟子或者这样的房间，正因为他们喜欢所以你这样安排了。或者相反，你注意到他们讨厌这种碟子，不喜欢这种类型的人等等，你已经注意加以避免了。这种对琐事的关注比那些大事更能满足别人自负的心理，因为这样做让别人觉得他们几乎是你所考虑和关心的唯一对象。 词汇速记 complaisance　n.　殷勤，彬彬有礼 humors　n.　体液（humor的复数形式），性情 trifling　adj.　微不足道的；轻浮的 egotism　n.　自负，自我中心 excellency　n.　优点，美德 infallibly　adv.　绝无错误地 clamor　n.　喧闹，叫嚷 antipathy　n.　反感，厌恶，憎恶 美句欣赏 Take the tone of the company that you are in,and do not pretend to give it;be serious,gay,or even trifling,as you find the present humor of the company;this is an attention due from every individual to the majority.在团体中，个人对其他人是负有义务的。这个义务就是恰到好处的赞美和得体适宜的欣赏。这是交流能够持续、团体保持生气的根本动力。

The biggest feeling of reading this pure English work is that my horizons have broadened.