英语短文名人故事 政界精英 第3期:本杰明·富兰克林

 　　Benjamin Franklin 本杰明·富兰克林

　　Franklin's parents were both pious¹ Puritans. 富兰克林的双亲皆为虔诚的清教徒，

　　The family attended the old South Church, the most liberal Puritan congregation in Boston, where Benjamin Franklin was baptized in 1706. 他们加入了波士顿最自由的清教徒们所参加的古老的南方教堂，富兰克林也于1706年在那里受洗礼。

　　Franklin's father, a poor chandler, owned a copy of a book,Bonifacius: Essays to Do Good, by the Puritan preacher and family friend Cotton Mather,  which Franklin often cited as a key influence on his life. 他的父亲是位贫困的杂货商，拥有一本Bonifacius的书，书名为:行善箴言，这本书是一个清教传教士也是富兰克林家族的朋友Cotton Mather写的。此人对富兰克林的人生产生了关键性的影响。

　　The book preached the importance of forming voluntary associations to benefit society.  书中亦提及:成立志愿协会对社会的好处。

　　Franklin learned about forming do-good associations from Cotton Mather, but his organizational skills made him the most influential² force in making voluntarism an enduring part of the American ethos. 从Cotton Mather身上，富兰克林得知成立行善协会将会对社会产生贡献，但富兰克林的组织才能使其成为影响形成美国人坚忍个性的最主要力量。

　　Franklin formulated³ a presentation of his beliefs and published it in 1728. 富兰克林在1728年公开了他的信仰并出版了一本书，

　　It did not mention many of the Puritan ideas as regards belief in salvation⁴, the divinity of Jesus,and indeed most religious dogma.  书中并未提及诸多清教徒们的思想，像救世、地狱、耶稣的神威等等。

　　He clarified himself as a deist in his 1771 autobiography⁵, although he still considered himself a Christian⁶. He retained a strong faith in a God as the wellspring of morality and goodness in man, and as a providential actor in history responsible for American independence. 他也在1771年的自传中澄清，自己身为一位自然神论者，虽然他仍保有着对上帝的坚强的信念:道德善良的人们及清教徒对美国独立的责任。

　　When he stopped attending church, Franklin wrote in his autobiography: "Sunday being my studying day, I never was without some religious principles,I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity⁷;  当富兰克林停止去教会后，他在他的自传中写道，“星期天是我学习的日子，我坚守信仰且从未怀疑过，比如我相信:神的存在;

　　that He made the world, and governed it by His providence⁸; that the most acceptable service of God was the doing good to man; that our souls are immortal;and that all crime will be punished, and virtue⁹ rewarded, either here or hereafter."  他创造了这个世界，并以他的远见来治理，最令人接受的服务，便是对人类做些有益的事;我们的灵魂是不朽的，不论现在或未来，所有的罪犯都将受到惩处，而坚贞的美德都将受到赞赏。”

1 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 formulated   

v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• He claims that the writer never consciously formulated his own theoretical position. 他声称该作家从未有意识地阐明他自己的理论见解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This idea can be formulated in two different ways. 这个意思可以有两种说法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

5 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 deity   

n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物)

参考例句：

• Many animals were seen as the manifestation of a deity.许多动物被看作神的化身。
• The deity was hidden in the deepest recesses of the temple.神藏在庙宇壁龛的最深处。

8 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

9 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。