精美英文欣赏:人类的精神

The Spirit of Man / William Faulkner

I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work -- a life's work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before. So this award is only mine in trust. It will not be difficult to find a dedication¹ for the money part of it commensurate with the purpose and significance of its origin. But I would like to do the same with the acclaim² too, by using this moment as a pinnacle³ from which I might be listened to by the young men and women already dedicated⁴ to the same anguish⁵ and travail⁶, among whom is already that one who will some day stand here where I am standing⁷.

Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.

He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid; and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities⁸ and truths of the heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed¹⁰ -- love and honor and pity and pride and compassion¹¹ and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors¹² under a curse. He writes not of love but of lust¹³, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, of victories without hope and, worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands¹⁴.

Until he relearns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal¹⁵ simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom⁹ has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny¹⁶ inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.

The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props¹⁷, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.

人类的精神 (威廉.福克纳)

这是1949年诺贝尔文学奖得主威廉.福克纳获奖时发表的著名演说，文中勉励作家必须提升自己的心灵，时时以爱、怜悯与牺牲来唤醒人类亘古的真理。

我感到这份奖赏不是授予我个人的，而是授予我的工作的， ——授予我一生从事关于人类精神的呕心沥血的工作。我从事这项工作，不是为名，更不是为利，而是为了从人的 精神原料中创造出一些从前不曾有过的东西。因此，这份奖金只不过是托我保管而已。作出符合这份奖赏的原意与目的，与其奖金部分有相等价值的献词并不难，但我还愿 意利用这个时刻，利用这个举世瞩目的讲坛，向那些可能听到我说话并已献身于同一艰苦劳动的男、女青年致敬。 他们中肯定有人有一天也会站到我现在站着的地方来的。 

我们今天的悲剧是人们普遍存在一种生理上的恐惧，这种恐惧存在已久，以致我们已经习惯了。现在不存在精神上的问题，唯一的问题是：我什么时候会被炸得粉身碎骨？正因入此，今天从事写作的男、女青年已经忘 记了人类内心的冲突。然而，只有接触到这种内心冲突 才能产生出好作品，因为这是唯一值得写、值得呕心沥 血地去写地题材。

他一定要重新认识这些问题。他必须使自己明白世间 最可鄙的事情莫过于恐惧。他必须使自己永远忘却恐惧， 在他的工作室里除了心底古老的真理之外，不允许任何 别的东西有容身之地。没有这古老的普遍真理，任何小 说都只能昙花一现，不会成功；这些真理就是爱情、荣誉、怜悯、自尊、同情与牺牲等感情。若是他做不到这 样，他的气力终归白费。他不是写爱情而是写情欲，他写的失败是没有人失去可贵东西的失败，他写的胜利是 没有希望、更糟地是，甚至没有怜悯或同情的胜利。他不是为遍地白骨而悲伤，所以留不下深刻的痕迹。他不是在写心灵而是在写器官。

在他重新懂得这些之前，他写作时，就犹如站在处于世界末日的人类中去观察末日的来临。我不接受人类末日的说法。因人能传种接代而说人是不朽的，这很容易。说即使最后一次钟声已经消失，消失在再也没有潮 水冲刷的映在落日余晖里的海上的最后一块无用礁石旁时，还会有一个声音，人类微弱的、不断的说话声，这也很容易。但是我不能接受这种说法。我相信人类不仅 能传种接代，而且能战胜一切而永存。人之不朽不是因为在动物中惟独他永远能发言，而是因为他有灵魂，有同情心、有牺牲和忍耐精神。

诗人和作家的责任就是把 这些写出来。诗人和作家的特殊光荣就是去鼓舞人的斗志，使人记住过去曾经有过的光荣——人类曾有过的勇气、荣誉、希望、自尊、同情、怜悯与牺牲精神——已达到不朽。诗人的声音不应只是人类的记录，而应是使人类永存并得到胜利的支柱和栋梁。

1 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

2 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

3 pinnacle   

n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰

参考例句：

• Now he is at the very pinnacle of his career.现在他正值事业中的顶峰时期。
• It represents the pinnacle of intellectual capability.它代表了智能的顶峰。

4 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

5 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

6 travail   

n.阵痛；努力

参考例句：

• Mothers know the travail of giving birth to a child.母亲们了解分娩时的痛苦。
• He gained the medal through his painful travail.他通过艰辛的努力获得了奖牌。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 verities   

n.真实( verity的名词复数 )；事实；真理；真实的陈述

参考例句：

• the eternal verities of life 生命永恒的真理

9 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

10 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

11 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

12 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

13 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

14 glands   

n.腺( gland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a snake's poison glands 蛇的毒腺
• the sebaceous glands in the skin 皮脂腺

15 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

16 puny   

adj.微不足道的，弱小的

参考例句：

• The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.中央银行掌握的资金实在太少了。
• Antonio was a puny lad,and not strong enough to work.安东尼奥是个瘦小的小家伙，身体还不壮，还不能干活。

17 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。