世界小史 第95期:妻子

　　The driver was forced to explain that this was an old man.

　　驭车人只得给他解释这是一位老人。

　　Deep in thought, Gautama returned to his palace.

　　乔答摩若有所思地回到他的宫殿。

　　On another occasion he saw someone who was sick.

　　另外一次他看见一个病人。

　　No one had ever told him about illness.

　　从未有人和他见过疾病的事。

　　Pondering even more deeply, he went home to his wife and his small son.

　　他回到他的妻子和他的小儿子的身边时，他的心情更加沉重了。

　　The third time he went out he saw a dead man.

　　第三次出去他看见一个死人。

　　This time he didn't go home to his palace.

　　这次他没有回家，回宫。

　　Coming across a hermit¹ in the road, he decided² that he, too, would go into the wilderness,在路上他遇到一个出家修道的人，他便决定自己也走进荒野，where he would meditate³ on the sufferings of this world which had been revealed to him in the forms of old age, sickness and death.

　　去思索这人间的苦难，在老年、疾病和死亡中向他显示出来的苦难。

　　Later in his life Gautama told the story of his decision in a sermon: 'And so it came about that, in the full freshness and enjoyment⁴ of my youth,后来乔答摩在一次讲道中讲述了他的决定的故事：所以事情是这样的，我正指青春时期，in glowing health, my hair still black, and against the wishes of my weeping and imploring⁵ elders,光彩照人，一头黑发，享受着青春的快乐，风华正茂，I shaved my head and beard, dressed in coarse robes, and forsook⁶ the shelter of my home.

　　我便违背我的哭泣和悲叹的父母的愿望，剪掉了头发剃掉了胡子，身穿粗糙的僧袍，离家出走。

 

1 hermit   

n.隐士，修道者；隐居

参考例句：

• He became a hermit after he was dismissed from office.他被解职后成了隐士。
• Chinese ancient landscape poetry was in natural connections with hermit culture.中国古代山水诗与隐士文化有着天然联系。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 meditate   

v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想

参考例句：

• It is important to meditate on the meaning of life.思考人生的意义很重要。
• I was meditating,and reached a higher state of consciousness.我在冥想，并进入了一个更高的意识境界。

4 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

5 imploring   

恳求的，哀求的

参考例句：

• Those calm, strange eyes could see her imploring face. 那平静的，没有表情的眼睛还能看得到她的乞怜求情的面容。
• She gave him an imploring look. 她以哀求的眼神看着他。

6 forsook   

forsake的过去式

参考例句：

• He faithlessly forsook his friends in their hour of need. 在最需要的时刻他背信弃义地抛弃朋友。
• She forsook her worldly possessions to devote herself to the church. 她抛弃世上的财物而献身教会。