精美英文欣赏:微尘与栋梁 On Motes and Beams

On Motes¹ and Beams

微尘与栋梁

It is curious that our own offenses² should seem so much less heinous³ than the offenses of others.

令人好奇的是，与他人的过失相比，我们自己的过失往往不是那么的可憎。

I suppose the reason is that we know all the circumstances that have occasioned them and so manage to excuse in ourselves what we cannot excuse in others.

我想，原因是我们了解一切导致过失出现的情况，因而，能够想法原谅自己犯了一些不容许他人犯的过错。

We turn our attention away from our own defects,

我们不关注自己的缺点，

and when we are forced by untoward⁴ events to consider them,find it easy to condone⁵ them.

即使身陷困境，不得不正视它们时，我们也会很容易就宽恕自己。

For all I know we are right to do this;

据我所知，我们这样做是正确的。

they are part of us and we must accept the good and bad in ourselves together.

缺点是我们自己的一部分，我们必须接纳自己的好与坏。

But when we come to judge others,it is not by ourselves as we really are that we judge them,but by an image that we have formed of ourselves from which we have left out everything that offends our vanity or would discredit⁶ us in the eyes of the world.

但当我们评判别人时，情况就不一样了。我们不是通过真正的自我而是用另外一种自我形象来判断，完全摒除了在任何世人眼中，会伤害到自己的虚荣或者体面的事物。

To take a trivial instance:

举一个小例子：

how scornful we are when we catch someone out telling a lie;

当觉察到别人说谎时，我们是多么地不屑啊！

but who can say that he has never told not one, but a hundred?

但是有谁可以说自己从未说过谎？可能还不止一百次呢！

There is not much to choose between men.

人与人之间没什么大的区别。

They are all a hotchpotch of greatness and littleness,of virtue⁷ and vice⁸, of nobility and baseness.

他们皆是伟大与渺小、善良与邪恶、高贵与低贱的混合体。

Some have more strength of character, or more opportunity,and so in one direction or another give their instincts freer play, but potentially they are the same.

有些人性格比较坚毅，机会也较多，因此在这个或者那个方向上，更能自由地发挥自己的天资，但是人类潜质都是同样的。

For my part, I do not think I am any better or any worse than most people,but I know that if I set down every action in my life and every thought that has crossed my mind,the world would consider me a monster of depravity.

至于我自己，我不认为自己会比多数人更好或更差，但是我知道，如果我记下我生命中每一个行动和每一个掠过我心头的想法的话，世人将会把我看成一个邪恶的怪物。

The knowledge that these reveries are common to all men should inspire one with tolerance⁹ to oneself as well as to others.

每个人都会有这样的怪念头，这样的认识应能启发我们宽容自己，也宽容他人。

It is well also if they enable us to look upon our fellows,even the most eminent¹⁰ and respectable, with humor,and if they lead us to take ourselves not too seriously.

同时，若因此使我们在看待他人时，即使是对天下最优秀最令人尊敬的人，也可以有幽默感的话，而且也不太苛求自己，那也是很有益的。

1 motes   

n.尘埃( mote的名词复数 )；斑点

参考例句：

• In those warm beams the motes kept dancing up and down. 只见温暖的光芒里面，微细的灰尘在上下飞扬。 来自辞典例句
• So I decided to take lots of grammar motes in every class. 因此我决定每堂课多做些语法笔记。 来自互联网

2 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

3 heinous   

adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的

参考例句：

• They admitted to the most heinous crimes.他们承认了极其恶劣的罪行。
• I do not want to meet that heinous person.我不想见那个十恶不赦的人。

4 untoward   

adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的

参考例句：

• Untoward circumstances prevent me from being with you on this festive occasion.有些不幸的事件使我不能在这欢庆的时刻和你在一起。
• I'll come if nothing untoward happens.我要是没有特殊情况一定来。

5 condone   

v.宽恕；原谅

参考例句：

• I cannot condone the use of violence.我不能宽恕使用暴力的行为。
• I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war.我绝不允许任何导致战争的行为。

6 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

7 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

10 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。