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229.An artist's time
第229課 藝術家的機遇
He lived in a simple room, vacant except for the mattress on the floor and the desk in the corner.
他居住的房間很簡樸，除了地上鋪的床墊，角落里的書桌之外，可謂空空如也。
He was completely and utterly determined to translate his vague ideas onto paper
他下定決心，要將自己朦朧的思想付諸紙端，
in a way that would personally validate his existence.
以此證實自我的存在。
Until his novel was completely written, he would make no idle utterance,
在小說寫完之前，他不作無聊瑣碎之談，
take no vacation, or vacate his apartment but for shopping once a week.
不休假日，足不出戶，一周只外出購物一次。
All of the other rooms in his head were empty,
他頭腦里的所有其他“房間”都空著，
but the room entitled "Artistic Drive" held a "No Vacancy" sign.
但稱為“藝術魄力”的“房間”掛著“客滿”的標牌。
It was filled with a special kind of valor about which only the artist knows.
這間“屋子”充滿一種特殊的勇氣，只有這位藝術家才了解。
To his friends, his family, and all who cared for him, he would have to vanish for quite some time.
對于他的朋友，家人，以及所有關心他的人而言，他突然消失了一段時間。
On this project, his mind was not variable.
在這個計劃上，他堅定不移。
He had come to this stage in his life after reading of the accomplishments of great men.
處在這個生命階段，他早已讀過有關偉大人物的成就。
Edward Jenner had developed the vaccine after his wife witnessed Turkish women vaccinating each other.
愛德華·詹納在妻子發現土耳其婦女彼此預防接種之后研制出疫苗。
Isaac Newton set out to prove the inherent validity of order in the universe.
艾薩克·牛頓試圖證明宇宙秩序的內在合理性。
William the Conqueror, valiant Norman leader, sailed across the English Channel and vanquished the Anglo-Saxons.
英勇的諾曼領袖征服者威廉駛過英吉利海峽，征服了盎格魯-撒克遜人。
None of these men acted in a vacuum.
這些人沒有一個脫離實際環境。
They were able to react in a meaningful, valid manner to the environment in which they were placed.
他們對所處環境做出的反應有針對性，恰到好處。
They rose above the vapid, everyday concerns of the masses.
他們超越了大眾乏味的日常事務。
They sought variation in their lives and welcomed the variability that life offered.
他們追求生活中的變化多樣，愉快地接受生活所給予的豐富多彩。
They weren't seeking any safety valves.
他們不尋求任何安全閥門。
This was the primary reason he now set down to write his novel.
這就是他現在安心寫作小說的主要原因。
The other was more immediate. Life is short. There may not be a tomorrow.
另一原因更為直接。生命短促，或許明朝不再。
He remembered reading a story about the nuclear bomb over Hiroshima.
他記得曾讀過廣島上空核彈的故事。
A man was sitting on bank steps waiting for the bank to open when he was instantly vaporized.
一個男子坐在銀行臺階上，等候銀行開門，突然之間他像氣體一樣蒸發。
Such immediate vaporization can happen to anyone, if not literally then at least metaphorically.
這種瞬時的蒸發可能發生在任何人頭上，如果不是真正意義上的，至少也是比喻意義上的。
John sought to breathe in the sweet vapors of life and regurgitate them in the form of art. Now was his time.
約翰設法吸入生命芬芳的氣體，將其以藝術形式重新表現出來。現在他的機會來了。
