走进哈佛大学 第36期:哈佛大学校徽的故事

 Harvard Seal came into being in a meeting held by Harvard College on September 27, 1643. The meeting was hosted by the second President of Harvard College Henry Duster. The sketch¹ of that meeting clearly recorded the pattern design of the coat of arms; its background is three books (two on the top of the third one). While the top two books were Inscribed² with “VE”and “RT respectively, the third book was inscribed with “TAS”. The setting of the three books was a pattern of a shield. The design of the coat of arms was creative, as it were.

哈佛校徽诞生于哈佛学院在1643年9月27日举行的一次会议上。那次会议是由哈佛学院第二任院长亨利?邓斯特主持的。那天的会议草案清楚地记载了盾徽的设计：它以三本书为背景(两上一下）。在上面的两本书上分别印刻有“VE”和“RI”两组字, 而在下面的那本书则印刻有“TAS”一组字母。三本书的背景是一个盾牌图案。可以说这个校徽设计是很有创意的。

Unfortunately, however, the arms fell out of use and were lost to memory thereafter. They waited 200 years before they were rediscovered and returned to use. The reason is that Duster discarded the meeting records among a pile of files after the meeting. Other people also dismissed the matter from their minds. It was not until 200 hundred years later in 1836 that President Josiah Quincy rediscovered those records while preparing for Harvard’s bicentennial celebrations. President Quincy introduced the rediscovered coat of arms to the faculty³ and students. Everybody cheered for the rediscovery with a ting of emotion or regret It seems to imply that truth will not be forgotten despite temporary neglect.

但可惜的是, 这以后这个盾徽逐渐被废弃、遗忘, 直到200 年后才被人重新发现并启用。原因是邓斯特在主持了那次会议后, 就将那次的会议记录丢置在一堆文件中, 一直无人问津。直到200年后的1836年, 当哈佛校长昆西在准备哈佛200年校庆时才发现这些记录。昆西校长把这份失而复得的校徽图案推介给师生, 大家欢呼之余, 无不感慨万千。它似乎昭示着人们：真理是不会被遗忘的’纵使他一时半会儿可能被人忽视。

This earlier version of the coat of arms, however, contained one difference from the present one. There are still some coats of arms of the old version at Harvard. If you look closely at the books in the old coat of arms, you will see that the top two books are turned facing upward, while the bottom book is overturned. The upward facing books symbolize⁴ the truth that is discernible through our fives senses; the overturned book symbolize what can only be known through the illumination of the Holly⁵ Spirit.

但这个早期校徽的样式和现在的校徽有一点不同。现在哈佛还有一些旧校徽。如果你仔细看旧校徽里的书, 你会发现上面两本是向上翻开的, 而下面那本是朝下扣着的-面向上的两本书代表了真理可以通过五官辨别, 而面向下的那本则代表了只有通过圣灵启示才能掌握的东西。

By the time when Charles Eliot attained⁶ the presidency⁷ of Harvard, religion had lost its position at Harvard. Eliot turned all the books facing upwards⁸, denoting the emerging philosophy of humanism. The idea that all truth is attainable⁹ through human efforts is consistent with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s teaching on the supremacy¹⁰ of man. As the Concord¹¹ philosopher once said: “In yourself slumbers¹² the whole of Reason: it is for you to know all, it is

等到艾略特当上哈佛校长的时候, 在哈佛宗教已经失去了地位。艾略特把所有的书都朝上捆开, 象征了新兴的人文主义哲学。所有的真理都可以通过人的努力获得, 这一思想和爱默生关于人的崇高地位的学说是一致的。就像这个康科德的哲学家曾经说的一样：“在你自身沉睡着全部的理念：是你, 要去发现这一切；是你, 要去大胆探索所有领域。”

1 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

2 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

4 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。

5 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

6 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

9 attainable   

a.可达到的，可获得的

参考例句：

• They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
• If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的，则目标必须是清晰的，能达到的，可以行动的，以及可供检验的。

10 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

11 concord   

n.和谐；协调

参考例句：

• These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
• His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。

12 slumbers   

睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His image traversed constantly her restless slumbers. 他的形象一再闯进她的脑海，弄得她不能安睡。
• My Titan brother slumbers deep inside his mountain prison. Go. 我的泰坦兄弟就被囚禁在山脉的深处。