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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
历史和史诗
Daniel Webster(丹尼尔·韦伯斯特)
Well written history must always be the result of genius and taste, as well as of research and
study. It stands next to epic poetry, among the productions of the human mind. If it requires
less of invention than that, it is not behind it in dignity and importance. The province of the
epic is the poetical2 narrative3 of real or supposed events, and the representation of real, or at
least natural, characters; and history, in its noblest examples, is an account of occurrences in which
great events are commemorated4 , and distinguished5 men appear as agents and actors. Epic
poetry and the drama are but narratives6, the former partly and the latter wholly, in the form of a
dialogue, but their characters and personages are usually, in part at least, the creations of the
imagination.
优秀的史书是天赋和品位的产物,也是探索和研究的成果。史书在想象力方面稍逊于
史诗。如果说史书在创造性方面比史诗少,那么它同史诗在庄严性和重要性方面则难分伯
仲。史诗诗化地叙述真实或虚构的事件,展现真实的或至少实际存在的各种人物和角色;
而史书,其卓越的典范,则描叙历史,记载重大历史事件,出类拔萃的历史人物纷纷以不
同身份登台亮相。史诗和戏剧都只是叙述性的,前者是部分传述,后者是以对话的形式作
整体叙述,但它们所展现的人物和个性通常或至少部分是想象的产物。
1 epic | |
n.史诗,叙事诗;adj.史诗般的,壮丽的 | |
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2 poetical | |
adj.似诗人的;诗一般的;韵文的;富有诗意的 | |
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3 narrative | |
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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4 commemorated | |
v.纪念,庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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6 narratives | |
记叙文( narrative的名词复数 ); 故事; 叙述; 叙述部分 | |
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