評論
打印
LESSON 116HOW MEN REASON
第一百一十六課 人是如何推理的
My friend, the Professor, whom I have mentioned to you once or twice, told me yesterday that somebody had been abusing him in some of the journals of his calling.
我的朋友，那位教授，此人我曾經(jīng)向你提到過一兩次，告訴我說昨天有人在某雜志上詆毀他的職業(yè)。
I told him that I didn't doubt he deserved it; that I hoped he did deserve a little abuse occasionally, and would for a number of years to come;
我告訴他，我絲毫不懷疑他配得上這份職業(yè)；我倒是希望他偶爾聽到一些毀謗之辭，這么多年來受到一點毀謗總是難免的。
that nobody could do anything to make his neighbors wiser or better without being liable to abuse for it;
沒有誰在沒有受過毀謗之害的情況下，能使他的鄰居變得更聰明或相處得更好。
especially that people hated to have their little mistakes made fun of, and perhaps he had been doing something of the kind. The Professor smiled.
尤其是憎惡拿一點點過錯來取笑別人的人，也許他自己就小錯不斷。聞聽此言，這位教授臉上現(xiàn)出笑意。
Now, said I, hear what I am going to say. It will not take many years to bring you to the period of life when men,
現(xiàn)在，我曉得該說什么了。在這個至少大多數(shù)喜歡舞文弄墨和喜好議論針砭的人，
at least the majority of writing and talking men, do nothing but praise.
什么也沒做卻博得好名聲的年代，用不了多少年你就會進入這個人生階段。
Men, like peaches and pears, grow sweet a little while before they begin to decay.
男人，像桃子和鴨梨一樣，在開始腐爛變質(zhì)前總會甜上一段時間。
I don't know what it is, whether a spontaneous change, mental or bodily, or whether it is through experience of the thanklessness of critical honesty,
我不曉得這是什么緣故——是否是身體和精神上一時的變化，或者是否通過自己的誠實吃力不討好的經(jīng)驗，
but it is a fact, that most writers, except sour and unsuccessful ones, get tired of finding fault at about the time when they are beginning to grow old.
但事實是，絕大多數(shù)作者，除了酸腐和籍籍無名的那些人外，都懶得在他們開始變老之際查找自身的毛病。
