万物简史 第570期:达尔文的非凡见解(19)
时间:2019-06-14 05:51:00
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(单词翻译)
And Darwin for his part is known to have studied Focke's influential1 paper with its repeated references to Mendel's work, 而达尔文这一方呢?人们知道他研究过福克的非常有影响的论文,里面一再提到孟德尔的著作,
but didn't connect them to his own studies. 但是他并没有将它们和自己的研究加以联系起来。
The one thing everyone thinks featured in Darwin's argument, that humans are
descended2 from apes, 在一般人的眼中,人是由猿进化而来的观点是达尔文学说的重要特点,
didn't feature at all except as one passing
allusion3. 实际上根本不是,这一观点只是在达尔文的学说中顺便提了提。
Even so, it took no great leap of imagination to see the implications for human development in Darwin's theories, 即便那样,大家不需要有太多想像力就能从达尔文的理论中明白关于人类发展的这一层意思,
and it became an
immediate4 talking point. 而这很快就成了人们热烈讨论的一个话题。
The showdown came on Saturday, June 30, 1860, at a meeting of the British Association for the
Advancement5 of Science in
Oxford6. 1860年6月30日,星期六,在牛津郡英国科学促进协会的一次会议上,一决雌雄的时刻到来了。
Huxley had been urged to attend by Robert
Chambers8, author of
Vestiges9 of the Natural History of Creation, 赫胥黎应《创造的自然史之残迹》一书的作者罗伯特·钱伯斯之邀出席了那次会议,
though he was still
unaware10 of Chambers's connection to that
contentious11 tome. 不过当时赫胥黎并不知道钱伯斯与那部富有争议的著作的关系。
Darwin, as ever, was absent. 就像往常一样,达尔文并没有出席。
The meeting was held at the Oxford Zoological Museum. 会议是在牛津动物学博物馆举行的。
More than a thousand people crowded into the
chamber7; hundreds more were turned away. l000余人挤进了会场,还有几百人无法进入。
People knew that something big was going to happen, 大家都意识到一个重大事件即将发生,
though they had first to wait while a slumber-inducing speaker named John William Draper of New York University 虽然他们不得不先聆听纽约大学约翰·威廉·德雷珀
bravely slogged his way through two hours of introductory remarks on 长达两个小时的令人昏昏欲睡的开场白,他演说的题目是
"The Intellectual Development of Europe Considered with Reference to the Views of Mr. Darwin." 《论欧洲的智力发展兼论达尔文先生的观点》。
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