美国语文第六册 第195期:教育的必要性(1)

We must educate! We must educate! or we must perish by our own prosperity.

我们必须接受教育！我们必须接受教育！如果我们仅凭自己的幸运和机缘的话，必定自取灭亡。

If we do not, short will be our race from the cradle to the grave.

倘若我们不接受教育，那么我们种族从摇篮到坟墓只是一瞬间的事情。

If, in our haste to be rich and mighty¹, we outrun our literary and religious institutions, they will never overtake us;

假若我们急于想成为富人和大人物，超过了文学和宗教上的惯例和制度，那么这些梦想从来都不会突然降临到我们头上。

or only come up after the battle of liberty is fought and lost, as spoils to grace the victory,

只有在经过为自由而战失败后，在胜利的恩泽遭到损毁的同时，

and as resources of inexorable despotism for the perpetuity of our bondage².

无情的专制统治为了永远奴役我们而诉诸于武力。

But what will become of the West if her prosperity rushes up to such a majesty³ of power,

但是，当那些对形成广袤世界的心智、良知和核心来说必要的重要制度徘徊时，

while those great institutions linger which are necessary to form the mind, and the conscience, and the heart of the vast world?

如果西方的繁荣促使形成这样一个强大势力的话，那么结果会怎样呢？

It must not be permitted.

必然是不被允许的。

And yet what is done must be done quickly;

然而，要做的事情必须尽快做。

for population will not wait, and commerce will not cast anchor, and manufactures will not shut off the steam, nor shut down the gate,

因为人们不会慢慢等待，商业也不会原地搁浅，制造业既不会关掉生产线，也不会关上大门，

and agriculture, pushed by millions of freemen on their fertile soil, will not withhold⁴ her corrupting⁵ abundance.

由数以百万计自由民在他们肥沃的土地上耕作而得到推动和发展的农业，当然不会抑制它变得腐败的丰饶。

And let no man at the East quiet himself, and dream of liberty, whatever may become of the West.

东方世界没有人对自己的境遇感到满意，梦想着自由，无论怎样都变成西方人。

Our alliance of blood, and political institutions, and common interests, is such, that we can not stand aloof⁶ in the hour of her calamity⁷, should it ever come.

我们血脉、政治制度和共同利益上的联盟，确保我们在一旦出现灾难之时不会独木难支。

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

3 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

4 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

5 corrupting   

（使）败坏( corrupt的现在分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏

参考例句：

• It would be corrupting discipline to leave him unpunished. 不惩治他会败坏风纪。
• It would be corrupting military discipline to leave him unpunished. 不惩治他会败坏军纪。

6 aloof   

adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的

参考例句：

• Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
• On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

7 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。