LESSON 28 The temperate regions
第二十八課 溫帶地區
THE North Temperate Zone is the work-shop of the world. In the Frigid and Torrid Zones nature is preeminent. She defeats human labour in the former, by her sterility; in the latter she makes it unnecessary, by her luxuriance. But the supremacy of Man is the leading characteristic of the temperate regions of the globe. They contain three-fourths of the whole human race. Within them civilization has been most highly developed; and there the great events of history have been enacted, both in ancient and in modern times.
北溫帶地區是世界工廠，因為不管在寒冷的地區還是炎熱的地區大自然都是出類拔萃的，前者它的不孕戰勝了人類勞動，后者她的繁茂則使得人類勞動變得可有可無。然而人類的至高無上是全球溫帶地區的主要特征，它們占據了整個人類物種的四分之三。人類發展了高度的文明、上演了一系列古往今來的歷史事件。
This activity and movement are due in a great measure to the influences of climate. In temperate climes, says Guyot, "the alternations of heat and cold, the changes of the seasons, a fresher and more bracing air, incite man to a constant struggle, to forethought, and to the vigorous employment of all his faculties. A more economical nature yields nothing, except to the sweat of his brow; every gift on her part is a recompense for effort on his. Nature here, even while challenging man to the conflict, gives him the hope of victory; and if she does not show herself prodigal, she grants to his active and intelligent labour more than his necessities require. While she calls out his energy, she thus gives him ease and leisure, which permit him to cultivate all the lofty faculties of his higher nature. Here, physical nature is not a tyrant, but a useful helper: the active faculties, the understanding, and the reason, rule over the instincts and the passive faculties; the soul over the body; man over nature.
然而，人類的活動在很大程度上受限于氣候。在溫帶地區，約蓋特說：“天氣的冷熱交替、季節的變化、清爽的空氣，都促使人們不斷地努力奮斗、深謀遠慮、并充分發揮自己的才能。除了額頭上的汗珠，吝嗇的大自然不會給人類帶來任何好處，而它的每一份禮物都是對人類努力的回報。這里的自然，在向人類挑戰的同時也給了人類勝利的希望。如果她不夠慷慨，那么它便贈與人類超出自身所需的積極和智慧的勞動。她在喚起人類精力的同時還給予了人類安逸和閑暇，允許人類培養自己天性中所有高級的能力。在這里，物質上的大自然不是一個暴君，而是一個有用的幫手，它賦予了人類積極的個性、理解力、理智，使得人類能夠支配本能和被動能力，使得人類的靈魂可以凌駕于肉體之上，使得人類超越了自然。
"In the frozen regions man also contends with nature, but it is with a niggardly and severe nature; it is a desperate struggle—a struggle for life. With difficulty, by force of toil, he succeeds in providing for himself a miserable support, which saves him from dying of hunger and hardship during the tedious winters of that climate. High culture is not possible under such unfavourable conditions."
“在冰天雪地里，人類也會與大自然競爭，不過大自然吝嗇而嚴酷。所以這是一場絕望的斗爭——一場為生存而戰的斗爭。通過艱苦的勞動，人類成功養活了自己，使自己免于在沉悶的冬季里死于饑餓和艱辛。在如此惡劣的條件下，高雅文化是不可能存在的。”
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