富兰克林自传——The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

富兰克林自传——

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

About this time I met with an odd volume of the Spectator.I had never before seen any of them.I

bought it,read it over and over,and was much delighted with it. I thought the writing excellent,and

wished ,if possible,to imitate it. With that view I took some of the papers,and,making shout hints

of

the

sentiments

in

each

sentence,laid

them

by

a

few

days,and

then,without

looking

at

he

hook,tried to complete the papers again,by expressing each hinted sentiment at length,and as fully

as it had been expressed before,in any suitable words that should occur to I compared

I found I wanted a stock of words,or a readiness in recollecting and using them,which I

thought I should have acquired before that time if I had gone on making verse;since the continual

search

for

words

of

the

same

import,but

dof

different

length,to

suit

the

measure,or

of

different

sound for the rhythm,would have laid me under a constant necessity of searching for variety,and

also have tended to fix that variety in my mind,and make me master of ore I took some of

the

tales

in

the

Spectator,and

turned

them

into

verse;and,after

a

time,when

I

had

pretty

wll

forgotten the prose,turned them back again.I also sometimes jumbled my collection of hints into

confusion,and after some weeks endeavored to reduce them into the best order,before I began to

form the full sentences and complete the was to teach me method in the arragement

of the comparing my work with the orginal,I discovered

many faults and corrected

them;but

I

sometimes

had

the

pleasure

to

fancy

that,

in

particulars

of

small

consequence,I

had

been fortunate enough to improve the method or the language,and this encouraged me to think that

I might in time comt to be tolerate English writer,of which I was extremely ambitious.

差不多这一时期我得到一本叫< /p>

《旁观者》

的奇怪册子。

以前我从未卡过 任何一本。

我买了它，

读了又读，我认为书中的文章极佳，如果 可以的话，甚至想模仿它。所以，我把一些文章的

每一句的大意节录出来，

放了几天，

并不看这本书，尝试再完成这些文章，

即 自己用适合的

词来概括大意，要和以前所表示的一样。于是我把我的《旁观者》和原文相 较，找出我的错

误之处而加以更正。

但是我觉得我缺乏单词的累 积，

不能够随时忆起与引用，

我想我如果一

直继续作诗便能够办得到，

因为常常要用同义且长短不同和音韵各异的词以合辙与押 韵，

那

么我则必须经常搜寻许多词汇，

也可使这许多词萦留脑中，

以便能运用它。

于是我把有些故

事转为诗歌，隔了一阵子，等我把这散文全忘了时，重新把它们转为散文，

< br>有时还将我所集

合的大意打乱，

隔了几星期，再努力使它 们成为极佳的顺序，

然后再写出完整的句子，

写出

整篇文章。

这样我学会了思想排列法。

后来把我的文 章与原文比较，

发现了很多错误并改正。

但是我有时引以为乐，

尤其取得了小小的成果，

那就是我非常幸运地在思想方法与语言 上都

有进步，

而这个想像鼓励我想到以后我也许可能成为以为不 错的英文作家，

关于这点我既有

信心。

When

I

adbanced

any

thing

that

might

possibly

be

disputed,the

words

certainly,undoubteldly,ot

any others that gave the air of positiveness to an opinion;but rather said,I conceive or apprehend a

thing to be so and so;it appears to me,or I should not think it so or so,for such and such reasons;or

I imagine it to be so;or it is so,if I am not habit,I believe,has been of great advantag

to me when I have had occasion to inculcate my opinions,and persuade men into measures that I

have

been

from

time

to

time

engaged

in

promting;and,as

the

chief

ends

of

conversation

are

to

inform or to be informed,to please or to persuade, I wish wellmeaning and sensible men would not

lessen their power of doing good by a positive,assuming manner,that seldom fails to disgust,tends

to create opposition,and to defeat most of those purposes for which speech was given to us.

当我进行一件必须辩驳的事情时，如

“确实”

、

“无疑”和其他产生一种意见执拗的神态 者的

词，我是绝不用的，只好说“我猜想”或“恐怕这事是这样”

“我似乎认为”或“因为这样

的理由我想也许是如此的”或者“我猜想这该是如此”或 “是如此，如果不是我错误”

。这

种习惯，我相信，对我曾有很 大的用处，当把我的意见讲给别人听，使人易于顺从。谈话的

主要目的是对别人说或听别 人说，

顺从人或说服别人，

我希望好意和明智的人不要以固执和

假定的态度来减少他们做好事的能力，

这样就不会引人厌恶，< /p>

不大会产生矛盾，

也不大会损

坏语言赋予 我们去实现的绝大部分目的。

In fact,if you wish to instruct others,a positive and dogmatical manner in advacing your sentiments

may occasion opposition and prevent a candid you desire instruction and improbement

from

others,you

should

not,at

the

same

time,express

yourself

fixed

in

your

present

and sensible men,who do not love disputation,will leave you undisturbed in the

possession

of

your

adopting

such

a

manner,you

can

seldom

expect

to

please

your

hearers,or obtain the concurrence you judiciously observes,

“

Men must be taught as if you taught them not,and things unknown proposed as thing forget,

”

He also recommends it to us

“

To speak,though sure,with seeming diffidence.

”

And he might have joined with this line that what which he has coupled with another,I think,less

properly,

“

For want of modesty is want of sense.

”

If you ask,Why less properly?I must repeat the lines,

“I

mmodest word admit of no defense,for want of modesty is want of sense.

”

Now is not the want of sense (where a man is so unfortunate as to want t)some apology for his

want of modesty?and would not the lines stand more justly thus?

“

Immodest word admit but this defense,that want of modesty is want of sense.

”

其实你要说给人家听 ，不论你固执的想法和不可动摇的态度都会引起反感而制止人家去注

意。你愿意征求别人 的意见时，

你不应该仍是坚持你现在的意见，

有礼和明白的人， 他们不

喜欢辩驳，

或许会离开你，不扰乱你所有的错误。

若以这样的态度，你多少希望你自己能得

到听众的欢心，或诱使赞同你 的愿望。蒲柏明断地说道：

教人以非教，人将从汝教，

谓之曰偶忘，使彼有不知。

更进而劝 告我们，

“虽确实，言之要谦逊。

”

虽这一联已另外配上一句，我想，更适当的是：

“因唔谦逊心，便成无意识。

”

如果你问，要怎样才适？我便会反复念诵下面的话：