万物简史 第562期:达尔文的非凡见解(11)

 The Darwin-Wallace presentation was one of seven that evening — one of the others was on the flora¹ of Angola, 达尔文一华莱士的论文是那天晚上提交的7篇论文中的一篇——其他6篇文章中，有一篇是研究安哥拉的植物区系的，

and if the thirty or so people in the audience had any idea that they were witnessing the scientific highlight of the century, they showed no sign of it. 列席会议的听众大约有30名。即使他们意识到自己正目睹那一世纪科学领域最激动人心的时刻，他们也没有表现出来。

No discussion followed. Nor did the event attract much notice elsewhere. 接下来并没有讨论，在社会上也没有激起多大反响。

Darwin cheerfully later noted² that only one person, a Professor Haughton of Dublin, mentioned the two papers in print 达尔文后来高兴地注意到，只有一个人在文章中提到了这两篇论文，他是都柏林一位名叫豪夫顿的教授。

and his conclusion was "that all that was new in them was false, and what was true was old." 他的结论是：“在这两篇文章中，凡是新的内容都是荒谬的，凡是旧的内容都是正确的。”

Wallace, still in the distant East, learned of these maneuverings long after the event, 华莱士当时仍在远东，过了好久他才知道这一切，

but was remarkably³ equable and seemed pleased to have been included at all. 他表现得很平静，似乎对能够被列入进化论的发现者之列而感到十分高兴。

He even referred to the theory forever after as "Darwinism." 他此后甚至一直将这个理论称之为“达尔文主义”。

Much less amenable⁴ to Darwin's claim of priority was a Scottish gardener named Patrick Matthew who had, 还有一个人对达尔文最先发现进化论的资格构成了大得多的威胁，这人名叫帕特里克·马修，是苏格兰的一名园艺师。

rather remarkably, also come up with the principles of natural selection — in fact, in the very year that Darwin had set sail in the Beagle. 令人吃惊的是，他事实上远在达尔文开始“贝格尔”号之航的同一年就提出了自然选择理论。

Unfortunately, Matthew had published these views in a book called Naval⁵ Timber and Arboriculture, 不幸的是，他是在一本名为《海军用木和森林栽培》的书里提出这些观点的。

which had been missed not just by Darwin, but by the entire world. 不仅达尔文没有读到，全世界都没有注意到。

Matthew kicked up in a lively manner, with a letter to Gardener's Chronicle, when he saw Darwin gaining credit everywhere for an idea that really was his. 当他看见达尔文被所有人推崇为进化论的发现者，而这一理论事实上是他最早提出的时候，他马上采取行动，给《艺园者纪事》写了一封信。

Darwin apologized without hesitation⁶, though he did note for the record: 达尔文毫不犹豫地表示了歉意，不过他同时也声明说：

"I think that no one will feel surprised that neither I, nor apparently⁷ any other naturalist⁸, has heard of Mr. Matthew's views, “我想任何人都不会感到吃惊，无论是我，还是任何别的搏物学家，都没有听说过马修先生的观点，

considering how briefly⁹ they are given, and they appeared in the Appendix to a work on Naval Timber and Arboriculture." 因为他的话讲得很简单，又是出现在一本关于《海军用木和森林栽培》的作品的附录里。”

 

1 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

4 amenable   

adj.经得起检验的；顺从的；对负有义务的

参考例句：

• His scientific discoveries are amenable to the laws of physics.他在科学上的发现经得起物理定律的检验。
• He is amenable to counsel.他这人听劝。

5 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

6 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

9 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。