双语有声阅读：论人类荣耀之虚渺

What then is the work of life? What the business of great men, that pass the stage of the world in seeming triumph as these men we call heroes have done? Is it to grow great in the mouth of fame and take up so many pages in history? Alas¹! That is no more than making a tale for the reading of posterity² till it turns into fable³ and romance. Is it to furnish subjects to the poets, and live in their immortal⁴ rhymes as they call them? That is, in short, no more than to be hereafter turned into ballad⁵ and song and be sung by old women to quiet children, or at the corner of the street to gather crowds in aid of the pickpocket⁶ and the poor. Or is their business rather to add virtue⁷ and piety⁸ to their glory, which alone will pass them into eternity⁹ and make them truly immortal? What is glory without virture? A great man without religion is no more than a great beast without a soul. What is honour without merit? And what can be called true merit but that which makes a person bea good man as well as a great man?

那么，人生的工作是什么？那些伟大的人物们，还有那些被我们称为英雄的人们，他们春风得意地走过世界的舞台时又做了些什么呢？难道就是要在众口喧称中变得伟大，并且还要在历史上占据许多篇章吗？唉！那只不过是编了一个故事供后人阅读，直到它变成了神话或是传奇罢了。难道就是要供给诗人们以吟咏的题材，并生活在他们那些所谓不朽的诗篇之中吗？简而言之,那只不过是在将来变成歌谣，由老奶奶唱给静心 聆听的孩子，或由卖唱的在街角唱出，以吸引大批的听众，使扒手和穷人多了一个谋生机会而已。他们所应做的亊情，是不是要为自己的荣耀添加上美德和虔诚呢？只有这两样东西才可以使他们进入永生，让他们真正不朽！如果没有美德，荣耀又算得了什么呢？ 一个没有宗教信仰的伟人只不过是一只没有灵魂的巨兽。如果没有价值存在，荣耆又算得了什么呢？而被称作真正有价值的东西，除了那种不仅把一个人造就成伟人，并且使他具有好人的品质之外，还能有什么呢？

1 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

2 posterity   

n.后裔，子孙，后代

参考例句：

• Few of his works will go down to posterity.他的作品没有几件会流传到后世。
• The names of those who died are recorded for posterity on a tablet at the back of the church.死者姓名都刻在教堂后面的一块石匾上以便后人铭记。

3 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

4 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

5 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

6 pickpocket   

n.扒手；v.扒窃

参考例句：

• The pickpocket pinched her purse and ran away.扒手偷了她的皮夹子跑了。
• He had his purse stolen by a pickpocket.他的钱包被掏了。

7 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。

8 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。

9 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。