🔊 When an event is taking place people express their opinions and wishes about it, and as the event results from the collective activity of many people, some one of the opinions or wishes expressed is sure to be fulfilled if but approximately. When one of the opinions expressed is fulfilled, that opinion gets connected with the event as a command preceding it.

当一桩事件发生时,人们会对其发表意见和愿望；由于该事件是众人集体活动的结果,因此所表达的意见或愿望中,总有一些会得到实现--即使只是近似实现。当表达出的某种意见得到实现时,这种意见便与事件联系起来,仿佛成了事先发出的命令。

🔊

collective /kəˈlektɪv/

adj. 集体的,共同的➕

🔊

approximately /əˈprɒksɪmətli/

adv. 大约,近似地➕

🔊

preceding /prɪˈsiːdɪŋ/

adj. 在前的,在先的➕

🔊

command /kəˈmɑːnd/

n. 命令,指挥➕

🔊 Men are hauling a log. Each of them expresses his opinion as to how and where to haul it. They haul the log away, and it happens that this is done as one of them said. He ordered it. There we have command and power in their primary form. The man who worked most with his hands could not think so much about what he was doing, or reflect on or command what would result from the common activity; while the man who commanded more would evidently work less with his hands on account of his greater verbal activity.

众人正在拖一根圆木。每个人都在发表自己关于如何拖、拖到哪里的意见。他们把圆木拖走了,结果恰恰如其中一人所说。他下了命令。这便是命令和权力在最初形态下的体现。那个动手干活最多的人,不可能过多思考自己正在做什么,也不可能反思或命令集体活动会产生什么结果；而那个发号施令较多的人,显然由于言语活动更频繁,动手干活的份量就会少一些。

🔊

haul /hɔːl/

v. 拖,拉,搬运➕

🔊

reflect /rɪˈflekt/

v. 反映,反思,思考➕

🔊

evidently /ˈevɪdəntli/

adv. 显然地,明显地➕

🔊

verbal /ˈvɜːbəl/

adj. 口头的,言语的,动词的➕

🔊 When some larger concourse of men direct their activity to a common aim there is a yet sharper division of those who, because their activity is given to directing and commanding, take less part in the direct work.

当人数更多的群体将活动集中于共同目标时,分化就更加明显:那些因专注于指挥和发号施令而较少参与直接劳动的人,与直接劳动者之间的分野更为尖锐。

🔊

concourse /ˈkɒŋkɔːs/

n. 集合,人群,聚集➕

🔊

division /dɪˈvɪʒn/

n. 划分,分裂,部门➕

🔊 When a man works alone he always has a certain set of reflections which as it seems to him directed his past activity, justify his present activity, and guide him in planning his future actions. Just the same is done by a concourse of people, allowing those who do not take a direct part in the activity to devise considerations, justifications, and surmises concerning their collective activity.

一个人独自劳动时,他总会有一系列想法,这些想法在他看来指导了他过去的行动,为当前行动提供了理由,并为他规划未来行动指明了方向。一群人也是如此:他们允许那些不直接参与活动的人,去构思关于集体活动的考量、理由和推测。

🔊

devise /dɪˈvaɪz/

v. 设计,想出,策划➕

🔊

considerations /kənˌsɪdəˈreɪʃnz/

n. 考虑,因素（复数）➕

🔊

justifications /ˌdʒʌstɪfɪˈkeɪʃnz/

n. 辩护,正当理由（复数）➕

🔊

surmises /sɜːˈmaɪzɪz/

n. 猜测,推测（复数）➕

🔊 For reasons known or unknown to us the French began to drown and kill one another. And corresponding to the event its justification appears in people's belief that this was necessary for the welfare of France, for liberty, and for equality. People ceased to kill one another, and this event was accompanied by its justification in the necessity for a centralization of power, resistance to Europe, and so on. Men went from the west to the east killing their fellow men, and the event was accompanied by phrases about the glory of France, the baseness of England, and so on. History shows us that these justifications of the events have no common sense and are all contradictory, as in the case of killing a man as the result of recognizing his rights, and the killing of millions in Russia for the humiliation of England. But these justifications have a very necessary significance in their own day.

出于我们未知或已知的原因,法国人开始互相淹杀。与这一事件对应,人们的信仰中出现了这样的辩解:认为这是为了法国的福祉、为了自由与平等所必需的。人们停止互相杀戮,这一事件又伴随着另一种辩解:需要权力集中、抵抗欧洲等等。人们从西方涌向东方,残杀同胞,事件伴随着关于法国的荣耀、英国的卑劣之类的言辞。历史向我们显示,这些对事件的辩解毫无道理可言,而且相互矛盾--比如,承认某人权利的结果是杀死他,而为了羞辱英国却在俄国屠杀百万人。但在当时,这些辩解具有非常必要的意义。

🔊

corresponding /ˌkɒrɪˈspɒndɪŋ/

adj. 相应的,对应的➕

🔊

welfare /ˈwelfeə(r)/

n. 福利,幸福➕

🔊

liberty /ˈlɪbəti/

n. 自由➕

🔊

equality /iˈkwɒləti/

n. 平等➕

🔊

necessity /nəˈsesəti/

n. 必要性,必需品➕

🔊

centralization /ˌsentrəlaɪˈzeɪʃn/

n. 集中化,集权➕

🔊

resistance /rɪˈzɪstəns/

n. 抵抗,阻力➕

🔊

baseness /ˈbeɪsnəs/

n. 卑劣,低下➕

🔊

contradictory /ˌkɒntrəˈdɪktəri/

adj. 矛盾的,对立的➕

🔊

humiliation /hjuːˌmɪliˈeɪʃn/

n. 羞辱,耻辱➕

🔊

significance /sɪɡˈnɪfɪkəns/

n. 重要性,意义➕

🔊 These justifications release those who produce the events from moral responsibility. These temporary aims are like the broom fixed in front of a locomotive to clear the snow from the rails in front: they clear men's moral responsibilities from their path.

这些辩解,使制造事件的人免除了道德责任。这些暂时性的目标,就像固定在火车头前面的扫帚,用来清除前方轨道上的积雪:它们从道路上清扫了人们的道德责任。

🔊

release /rɪˈliːs/

v. 释放,解除➕

🔊

moral /ˈmɒrəl/

adj. 道德的➕

🔊

responsibility /rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪləti/

n. 责任,职责➕

🔊

temporary /ˈtemprəri/

adj. 暂时的,临时的➕

🔊

locomotive /ˌləʊkəˈməʊtɪv/

n. 火车头,机车➕

🔊 Without such justification there would be no reply to the simplest question that presents itself when examining each historical event. How is it that millions of men commit collective crimes--make war, commit murder, and so on?

没有这样的辩解,就无从回答审视每个历史事件时出现的那个最简单的问题:为什么千百万人会犯下集体罪行--发动战争、进行屠杀等等？

🔊

historical /hɪˈstɒrɪkl/

adj. 历史的➕

🔊

commit /kəˈmɪt/

v. 犯（罪）,做（错事）➕

🔊 With the present complex forms of political and social life in Europe can any event that is not prescribed, decreed, or ordered by monarchs, ministers, parliaments, or newspapers be imagined? Is there any collective action which cannot find its justification in political unity, in patriotism, in the balance of power, or in civilization? So that every event that occurs inevitably coincides with some expressed wish and, receiving a justification, presents itself as the result of the will of one man or of several men.

在当今欧洲政治与社会生活的复杂形态下,难道还能想象出任何未经君主、大臣、议会或报纸规定、颁布或命令的事件吗？是否存在无法在政治统一、爱国主义、权力平衡或文明中找到辩解的集体行动？因此,发生的每一桩事件都不可避免地与某种表达的愿望相符,并因获得辩解而呈现为某个人或某几个人意志的结果。

🔊

complex /ˈkɒmpleks/

adj. 复杂的➕

🔊

prescribed /prɪˈskraɪbd/

adj. 规定的,指定的➕

🔊

decreed /dɪˈkriːd/

adj. 被命令的,被颁布的➕

🔊

monarchs /ˈmɒnəks/

n. 君主（复数）➕

🔊

ministers /ˈmɪnɪstəz/

n. 部长,大臣（复数）➕

🔊

parliaments /ˈpɑːləmənts/

n. 议会（复数）➕

🔊

unity /ˈjuːnəti/

n. 统一,团结,一致➕

🔊

patriotism /ˈpeɪtriətɪzəm/

n. 爱国主义,爱国精神➕

🔊

civilization /ˌsɪvəlaɪˈzeɪʃn/

n. 文明,文化➕

🔊

inevitably /ɪnˈevɪtəbli/

adv. 不可避免地,必然地➕

🔊

coincides /ˌkəʊɪnˈsaɪdz/

v. 同时发生,符合,一致（第三人称单数）➕

🔊 In whatever direction a ship moves, the flow of the waves it cuts will always be noticeable ahead of it. To those on board the ship the movement of those waves will be the only perceptible motion.

无论船向哪个方向航行,它劈开的波浪的流向总是会在前方引人注目。对船上的人来说,那些波浪的运动便是唯一可感知的运动。

🔊

flow /fləʊ/

n. 流动,水流➕

🔊

noticeable /ˈnəʊtɪsəbl/

adj. 显而易见的,显著的➕

🔊

perceptible /pəˈseptəbl/

adj. 可感知的,看得出的➕

🔊 Only by watching closely moment by moment the movement of that flow and comparing it with the movement of the ship do we convince ourselves that every bit of it is occasioned by the forward movement of the ship, and that we were led into error by the fact that we ourselves were imperceptibly moving.

只有密切注视那流动的每一瞬间,并将其与船的运动相比较,我们才能确信,流动的每一部分都是由船的前进运动引起的,而之前我们之所以误判,是因为我们自己在不知不觉中移动。

🔊

convince /kənˈvɪns/

v. 使确信,使信服➕

🔊

occasioned /əˈkeɪʒnd/

v. 引起,导致（过去式）➕

🔊

imperceptibly /ˌɪmpəˈseptəbli/

adv. 察觉不到地,极细微地➕

🔊 We see the same if we watch moment by moment the movement of historical characters (that is, re-establish the inevitable condition of all that occurs--the continuity of movement in time) and do not lose sight of the essential connection of historical persons with the masses.

如果我们也这样密切注视历史人物（即恢复一切发生之物必然的条件--时间上的连续运动）的每一瞬间运动,并且不忽视历史人物与群众之间的本质联系,便会看到同样的情形。

🔊

re-establish /ˌriːɪˈstæblɪʃ/

v. 重建,重新确立➕

🔊

inevitable /ɪnˈevɪtəbl/

adj. 不可避免的,必然的➕

🔊

continuity /ˌkɒntɪˈnjuːəti/

n. 连续性,持续性➕

🔊

essential /ɪˈsenʃl/

adj. 本质的,必要的➕

🔊

masses /ˈmæsɪz/

n. 群众,大量（复数）➕

🔊 When the ship moves in one direction there is one and the same wave ahead of it, when it turns frequently the wave ahead of it also turns frequently. But wherever it may turn there always will be the wave anticipating its movement.

当船朝一个方向航行时,前方总有一道相同的波浪；当船频繁转弯时,前方的波浪也随之频繁转弯。但无论它转向何处,总有一道波浪会在前方预示着它的运动。

🔊

frequently /ˈfriːkwəntli/

adv. 频繁地,经常地➕

🔊

anticipating /ænˈtɪsɪpeɪtɪŋ/

v. 预期,预料（现在分词）➕

🔊 Whatever happens it always appears that just that event was foreseen and decreed. Wherever the ship may go, the rush of water which neither directs nor increases its movement foams ahead of it, and at a distance seems to us not merely to move of itself but to govern the ship's movement also.

无论发生什么,似乎总是那桩事件早已被预见、被注定。无论船驶向哪里,既不能引导也无法加速其运动的水流,总会在前方翻涌泡沫；在远处看来,那水流仿佛不仅自行运动,而且还在主宰船的航向。

🔊

foreseen /fɔːˈsiːn/

v. 预见,预料（过去分词）➕

🔊

foams /fəʊmz/

v. 起泡沫,泡沫般地移动（第三人称单数）➕

🔊

govern /ˈɡʌvən/

v. 统治,控制,支配➕

🔊 Examining only those expressions of the will of historical persons which, as commands, were related to events, historians have assumed that the events depended on those commands. But examining the events themselves and the connection in which the historical persons stood to the people, we have found that they and their orders were dependent on events. The incontestable proof of this deduction is that, however many commands were issued, the event does not take place unless there are other causes for it, but as soon as an event occurs--be it what it may--then out of all the continually expressed wishes of different people some will always be found which by their meaning and their time of utterance are related as commands to the events.

历史学家们仅仅考察那些历史人物与事件相关的、作为命令表达的意志,便假定事件取决于那些命令。但当我们考察事件本身以及历史人物与民众的关联时,却发现他们及其命令反而取决于事件。这一推论无可争议的证明是:无论下达多少命令,如果没有其他原因,事件便不会发生；而一旦事件发生--无论是什么事件--在所有持续表达的不同人的愿望中,总有一些愿望从含义和发表时机上看,会与事件构成命令关系。

🔊

historians /hɪˈstɔːriənz/

n. 历史学家（复数）➕

🔊

assumed /əˈsjuːmd/

v. 假定,假设（过去式）➕

🔊

dependent /dɪˈpendənt/

adj. 依赖的,取决于的➕

🔊

incontestable /ˌɪnkənˈtestəbl/

adj. 无可争辩的,不容置疑的➕

🔊

deduction /dɪˈdʌkʃn/

n. 推论,演绎,扣除➕

🔊

issued /ˈɪʃuːd/

v. 发布,发行（过去式）➕

🔊

continually /kənˈtɪnjuəli/

adv. 持续地,不断地➕

🔊

utterance /ˈʌtərəns/

n. 说话,表达,言辞➕

🔊 Arriving at this conclusion we can reply directly and positively to these two essential questions of history:

得出这一结论后,我们可以直接而肯定地回答历史学的两个根本问题:

🔊

conclusion /kənˈkluːʒn/

n. 结论,结局➕

🔊 (1) What is power?

（1）什么是权力？

🔊 (2) What force produces the movement of the nations?

（2）是什么力量推动了民族的运动？

🔊 (1) Power is the relation of a given person to other individuals, in which the more this person expresses opinions, predictions, and justifications of the collective action that is performed, the less is his participation in that action.

（1）权力是某个人与其他个体之间的关系:这个人对正在进行的集体行动发表的意见、预测和辩解越多,他参与该行动的程度就越低。

🔊

predictions /prɪˈdɪkʃnz/

n. 预言,预测➕

🔊

participation /pɑːrˌtɪsɪˈpeɪʃn/

n. 参与➕

🔊 (2) The movement of nations is caused not by power, nor by intellectual activity, nor even by a combination of the two as historians have supposed, but by the activity of all the people who participate in the events, and who always combine in such a way that those taking the largest direct share in the event take on themselves the least responsibility and vice versa.

（2）民族的运动不是由权力引起的,也不是由智力活动引起的,甚至不是像历史学家所认为的那样由两者结合引起的,而是由所有参与事件的人们的活动引起的；这些人的活动方式总是如此:在事件中直接参与最多的人,承担的责任最少,反之亦然。

🔊

intellectual /ˌɪntəˈlektʃuəl/

adj. 智力的,知识的➕

🔊

supposed /səˈpoʊzd/

adj. 假定的,所谓的➕

🔊

vice versa /ˌvaɪs ˈvɜːrsə/

adv. 反之亦然➕

🔊

participate /pɑːrˈtɪsɪpeɪt/

v. 参与➕

🔊 Morally the wielder of power appears to cause the event; physically it is those who submit to the power. But as the moral activity is inconceivable without the physical, the cause of the event is neither in the one nor in the other but in the union of the two.

从道德角度看,权力的执掌者似乎是事件的原因；从物理角度看,则是那些服从权力的人。但由于道德活动离不开物理活动,事件的原因既不在前者也不在后者,而在于两者的结合。

🔊

wielder /ˈwiːldər/

n. 使用者,挥舞者➕

🔊

inconceivable /ˌɪnkənˈsiːvəbl/

adj. 不可思议的,难以想象的➕

🔊

submit /səbˈmɪt/

v. 屈服,提交➕

🔊 Or in other words, the conception of a cause is inapplicable to the phenomena we are examining.

换言之,原因这一概念不适用于我们正在考察的现象。

🔊

conception /kənˈsepʃn/

n. 概念,观念➕

🔊

inapplicable /ˌɪnəˈplɪkəbl/

adj. 不适用的➕

🔊

phenomena /fɪˈnɒmɪnə/

n. 现象（复数）➕

🔊

examining /ɪɡˈzæmɪnɪŋ/

v. 检查,审视（现在分词）➕

🔊 In the last analysis we reach the circle of infinity--that final limit to which in every domain of thought man's reason arrives if it is not playing with the subject. Electricity produces heat, heat produces electricity. Atoms attract each other and atoms repel one another.

最后分析,我们达到了无限循环--这是人类理性在每一个思想领域内若不自欺欺人所达到的终极界限。电产生热,热产生电。原子相互吸引,原子又相互排斥。

🔊

analysis /əˈnæləsɪs/

n. 分析➕

🔊

infinity /ɪnˈfɪnəti/

n. 无限,无穷➕

🔊

domain /dəˈmeɪn/

n. 领域,范围➕

🔊

subject /ˈsʌbdʒɪkt/

n. 主题,学科➕

🔊

Electricity /ɪˌlekˈtrɪsəti/

n. 电➕

🔊

Atoms /ˈætəmz/

n. 原子（复数）➕

🔊

attract /əˈtrækt/

v. 吸引➕

🔊

repel /rɪˈpel/

v. 排斥,驱除➕

🔊 Speaking of the interaction of heat and electricity and of atoms, we cannot say why this occurs, and we say that it is so because it is inconceivable otherwise, because it must be so and that it is a law. The same applies to historical events. Why war and revolution occur we do not know. We only know that to produce the one or the other action, people combine in a certain formation in which they all take part, and we say that this is so because it is unthinkable otherwise, or in other words that it is a law.

谈到热与电、与原子之间的相互作用时,我们无法说明这为何发生,只能说事情原本如此,因为无法设想其他情况,因为必然如此,这便是规律。历史事件也同理。我们不知道战争与革命为何发生。只知道为了产生某种行动,人们会以某种形式组合起来并共同参与；我们说事情之所以如此,是因为无法设想其他情况,换言之,这便是规律。

🔊

interaction /ˌɪntərˈækʃn/

n. 相互作用,互动➕

🔊

occurs /əˈkɜːrz/

v. 发生（第三人称单数）➕

🔊

applies /əˈplaɪz/

v. 适用（第三人称单数）➕

🔊

revolution /ˌrevəˈluːʃn/

n. 革命➕

🔊

formation /fɔːrˈmeɪʃn/

n. 形成,队形➕

🔊

unthinkable /ʌnˈθɪŋkəbl/

adj. 不可想象的,难以置信的➕

🔊

take part /teɪk pɑːrt/

phrase. 参加➕

Second Epilogue – Chapter seven (第七章)

🔒 使用该功能需要授权码