評論
打印
The hearing a speech in Parliament drawled or stammered out by the honorable member or the noble lord,
在國會聽尊敬的議員或高貴的大人故意拖長腔調的演講，
the ringing the changes on their commonplaces, which anyone could repeat after them as well as they, stirs me not a jot,
他們企圖讓陳詞濫調聽上去富有變化，其實任何人都可以像他們一樣重復這些老生常談，沒有任何東西能讓我為之動容，
shakes not my good opinion of myself. I ask what there is that I can do as well as this. Nothing.
根本不會動搖我自認為正當的意見。我不禁會問，我能做什么。什么也做不了。
What have I been doing all my life? Have I been idle, or have I nothing to show for all my labor and pains?
我終其一生一直致力的到底是什么呢？我一直在虛度光陰，或者對我所有的辛勞和苦惱我就沒一點想要闡明的嗎？
Or have I passed my time in pouring words like water into empty sieves, rolling a stone up a hill and then down again,
抑或，我把時間都打發在像水一樣往空空的漏勺里傾倒詞語，不停地朝山上推石頭，石頭又不停地滾下來，
trying to prove an argument in the teeth of facts, and looking for causes in the dark, and not finding them?
企圖證明顯而易見的事實中的論點，指望在黑暗中尋找原因，而不是發現真理上了嗎？
Is there no one thing in which I can challenge competition, that I can bring as an instance of exact perfection, in which others can not find a flaw?
就沒有一件我能向競爭發起挑戰，以此作為完美的例子，而其他人無從置喙的事情嗎？
The utmost I can pretend to is to write a description of what this fellow can do.
我最覬覦的就是詳細描繪一下這種人到底能做什么事情。
I can write a book, so can many others who have not even learned to spell.
我可以寫一本書，那些甚至連拼寫都沒學會的人也能看明白。
What abortions are these essays! What errors, what ill-pieced transitions, what crooked reasons, what lame conclusions!
多少這樣的文章都胎死腹中了啊！多么愚蠢的錯誤，拼湊得何其拙劣的過渡，多么荒謬的理由，多么蹩腳的結論！
How little is made out, and that little how ill!
讓人如墮云霧，而流弊何其多也！
