評論
打印
LESSON 47 Pennsylvania
第四十七課 賓夕法尼亞
It was not till the year 1682 that the uneventful but quietly prosperous career of Pennsylvania began. The Stuarts were again upon the throne of England. They had learned nothing from their exile; and now, with the hour of their final rejection at hand, they were as wickedly despotic as ever.
直到1682年，平淡卻悄然繁榮的賓夕法尼亞開始誕生了。斯圖亞特王室又一次重登王位寶座。他們從他們的流放中沒有學到任何東西；現在，在即將到來的最后的拒絕時刻，他們還是一如既往地實行邪惡專制。
William Penn was the son of an admiral who had gained victories for England, and enjoyed the favour of the royal family as well as of the eminent statesmen of his time. The highest honours of the State would in due time have come within the young man's reach, and the brightest hopes of his future were reasonably entertained by his friends.
威廉佩恩是一個曾為英國獲得勝利的將軍的兒子，受到當時王室和著名的政治家的青睞。在適當的時候，他獲得了國家的最高榮譽獎，他的朋友們非常羨慕他未來光明的前途。
To the dismay of all, Penn became a Quaker. It was an unspeakable humiliation to the well-connected admiral. He turned his son out of doors, trusting that hunger would subdue his intractable spirit. After a time, however, he relented, and the youthful heretic was restored to favour. His father's influence could not shield him from persecution. Penn had suffered fine, and had lain in the Tower for his opinions.
面對所有的沮喪，佩恩成為貴格會的一名成員。這是對地位優越的上將而言難以啟齒的屈辱。他把他的兒子趕出家門，相信饑餓制服他那倔強的脾氣。然而，過了一段時間，他心軟了，并且這是對年輕的異教徒恢復有利的時期。他父親的影響力無法使他免遭迫害。佩恩曾遭受罰款，并因為他的意見被關進了高塔里。
Ere long the admiral died, and Penn succeeded to his possessions. It deeply grieved him that his brethren in the faith should endure such wrongs as were continually inflicted upon them. He could do nothing at home to mitigate the severities under which they groaned. Therefore he formed the great design of leading them forth to a new world. King Charles II. had owed to the admiral a sum of ￡16,000 of arrears, and this doubtful investment had descended from the father to the son. Penn offered to take payment in land, and the king readily bestowed upon him a vast region stretching westward from the river Delaware.
不久，將軍死了，佩恩繼承了他的財產，對他那些有著信仰的弟兄們來說，忍受這樣的痛苦使他們感到深深地折磨，好像這些痛苦一直加注在他們身上。在家里他想不到任何方法來減輕他們所呻吟的嚴重的疼痛感。因此他做了一個偉大的設計，把他們領入一個新世界。查爾斯二世國王總共欠上將16,000英鎊，并且這項可疑的投資已經從父親傳到了兒子身上。潘恩主動提議用土地抵債，而且國王很樂意將從特拉華河向西的一大片區域授予他。
