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It is skill surmounting difficulty, and beauty triumphing over skill.
技巧戰勝和克服了困難，而戰勝技巧的則是美的事物。
It seems as if the difficulty, once mastered, naturally resolved itself into ease and grace,
仿佛困難一旦被控制住，便能自然地將技巧轉化為自如和優雅，
and as if, to be overcome at all, it must be overcome without an effort.
仿佛困難終究會被克服，一定不費吹灰之力。
The smallest awkwardness or want of pliancy or self-possession would stop the whole process. It is the work of witchcraft, and yet sport for children.
最細小的笨拙或缺少柔韌性或不夠泰然自若，都會令整個過程戛然而止。這是魔法在起作用，向孩子炫耀。
Some of the other feats are quite as curious and wonderful—such as the balancing the artificial tree, and shooting a bird from each branch through a quill,
一些其他技藝也相當令人好奇和嘆服——諸如讓人造的樹平衡，然后用一根羽毛管從每個樹枝射鳥，
though none of them have the elegance or facility of the keeping up of the brass balls.
盡管沒有哪種技藝像拋球那般優雅或者需要特殊的技能。
You are in pain for the result, and glad when the experiment is over; they are not accompanied with the same unmixed, unchecked delight as the former;
你對最后的結果感到苦惱，或者在試驗結束后感到欣然；他們并沒有像玩拋球時那樣伴隨著同樣純粹和未加遏制的快樂；
and I would not give much to be merely astonished without being pleased at the same time.
而我，再也不會在陶醉其間的同時，只顧驚嘆了。
As to the swallowing of the sword, the police ought to interfere to prevent it.
至于吞劍，警察應該制止以免發生意外。
When I saw the Indian juggler do the same things before, his feet were bare, and he had large rings on his toes,
記得以前觀看印第安耍把戲者做同樣的事情時，我注意到他光著腳，腳趾上拴著很大的指環，
which he kept turning round all the time of the performance, as if they moved of themselves.
在表演時一直轉圈，仿佛這些指環會飛似的。
