时代周刊:托马斯·杰斐逊的振聋发聩之语(1)

Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Words.

托马斯·杰斐逊的振聋发聩之语

By Annette Gordon-Reed

文/安妮特·戈登-里德

Thomas Jefferson began life in a monarchy¹, under the reign² of George II, in one of Britain's North American colonies—Virginia.

托马斯·杰斐逊原本出生于乔治二世掌权的君主制时代，出生地是英国位于北美的殖民地之一——弗吉尼亚州。

In this monarchical³ system everyone knew his or her place, with little expectation of being able to move very far outside of it.

在当时的君主制体制下，所有人都很识时务，很少指望自己能实现多大的阶级跃迁。

Though the American provincials⁴ were not on a par⁵ with the aristocrats⁶ in the mother country,

尽管美国的乡巴佬无法与母国的贵族相提并论，

they had developed their own version of hierarchy⁷.

但他们也建立起了自己的等级秩序。

Jefferson, by dint⁸ of his family ties, was born at the top,

因为家庭血缘的关系，杰斐逊的出生算是最高贵的，

and there would have been no reason to suspect that he would ever come to be associated with the idea of equality.

也正因为如此，我们本没有任何理由怀疑他会与“平等”两个字产生任何瓜葛。

This is especially so given that he was born into a slave society,

鉴于他出生的社会还是个奴隶社会，

and his family fully⁹ participated in the institution of slavery.

而他的家人中没有一个人是奴隶制缔造过程中的局外人，我们就更没有理由怀疑他会与“平等”两个字产生任何瓜葛了。

From an early age, he would have understood what unequal status meant,

年幼时，他或许就已懂得地位不平等意味着什么，

with his lifelong involvement in the most extreme version of it as a slave owner.

所以，身为奴隶主，他终其一生都在以最极端的方式抗争这种不平等。

The equality of humankind was simply not an expectation in his world.

在他生活的那个世界里，人类的平等并不是大家的期盼。

Yet, as a young man inspired by the books he read that introduced him to the Enlightenment,

然而，作为一个年轻人，一个受到了书籍启发而走上了启蒙道路的年轻人，

Jefferson began the process of questioning these hierarchies¹⁰ and status-based power.

杰斐逊开始对这些等级制度和基于地位的权力有了质疑。

As the crisis with Britain flared¹¹ up,

随着殖民地与母国英国的危机愈演愈烈，

Jefferson questioned the power of the church (preferring the primacy of science and reason),

杰斐逊不仅对固守大家族权力(继承权和长子继承权)和奴隶制道德的法律，

as well as laws that entrenched¹² the power of great families (entail and primogeniture) and the morality of slavery.

还对教会的权力也开始产生了质疑（转而更倾向于科学和理性至上的思想）。

He began to think of different ways of ordering society.

他开始思考规范社会秩序的其他办法。

There would be no assumption that a given class of people was born to rule.

在他的思想体系里，没有什么某一特定阶层的人生来就是统治者之说。

If there was to be an aristocracy, it would be one of talent, not birth.

如果硬要有贵族，那也应该由才华，而非出身来决定。

Ordinary people would have a say in how their government was to be constituted.

至于如何组建政府，普通民众也应享有发言权。

Jefferson's vision of equality was not all-inclusive.

诚然，杰斐逊的平等愿景并没有做到面面俱到。

Neither the enslaved nor women were part of it.

奴隶问题和女性问题他都没有触及。

Native peoples could be, but only if they agreed to assimilate with white people.

原住民倒是可以享有发言权，但前提是他们必须同意与白人同化。

1 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

2 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

3 monarchical   

adj. 国王的，帝王的，君主的，拥护君主制的 =monarchic

参考例句：

• The Declaration represented a repudiation of the pre-Revolutionary monarchical regime. 这一宣言代表了对大革命前的君主政体的批判。
• The monarchical period established an essential background for the writing prophets of the Bible. 王国时期为圣经的写作先知建立了基本的背景。

4 provincials   

n.首都以外的人，地区居民( provincial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We were still provincials in the full sense of the word. 严格说来，我们都还是乡巴佬。 来自辞典例句
• Only provincials love such gadgets. 只有粗俗的人才喜欢玩这玩意。 来自辞典例句

5 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

6 aristocrats   

n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many aristocrats were killed in the French Revolution. 许多贵族在法国大革命中被处死。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To the Guillotine all aristocrats! 把全部贵族都送上断头台！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

7 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

8 dint   

n.由于，靠；凹坑

参考例句：

• He succeeded by dint of hard work.他靠苦干获得成功。
• He reached the top by dint of great effort.他费了很大的劲终于爬到了顶。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 hierarchies   

等级制度( hierarchy的名词复数 )； 统治集团； 领导层； 层次体系

参考例句：

• That's a trip of two hierarchies. 那是两个领导层之间的互访。
• Hierarchies of authority, spans of control, long-range plans, and budgets. 等级森严的权力机构，控制范围，长期计划，预算。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

11 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

12 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。