双语有声阅读：论说谎

Now as to the matter of lying. You want to be very careful about lying, otherwise you are nearly sure to get caught, once caught, you can never again be, in the eyes of the pure and the good, what you were before.Many a young person has injured himself permenently throuth a single clumsy and ill-finished lie, the result of carelessness born of incomplete training. Some authorities hold that the young ought not to lie at all. That, of course, is putting it rather stronger than necessary. Still, while I can't go quite so far as that, I do maintain, and I believe I am right, that the young ought to be temperate¹ in the use of this great art until practice and experience shall give them that confidence, elegance², precision which alone make the accomplishment³ graceful⁴ and profitable. Patience, diligence, painstaking⁵ attention to detail - these are the requirments. These, in time ,will make the student perfect. Upon these, and upon these only, mayhe rely as the sure foundation for future eminence⁶.

 

Think what tedious years of study, thought, practice, and experience ,went to the equipment of the peerless old master who was able to impose upon the whole world with the lofty and sounding maxim⁷ that "Truth is mighty⁸ and will prevail."- The most majestic⁹ compound feature of fact which any of woman born has yet achieved.

 

For the history of our race and every individual's experience, are sown thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal¹⁰. There is in Bostain a monument of the man who discover the anesthesia. Many people are aware, in these later days, that he didn't discover it at all, but stole the discovery from another man. Is the truth mighty, and will it prevail? No, My hearers, the monument is made of hard materials, but the lie it tells will outlast¹¹ a millon years. An awkward, feeble, leaky lie is a thing which you ought to make it your unceasing study to avoid. Why, you might as well tell the truth at once and be done with it.

 

现在来谈一谈说谎。你们可要特别谨慎地看待说谎；否则十有八九会被揭穿。一旦被揭穿，在善良和淳朴的人们眼中，你就再也不可能是以前的你了。许多年轻人，仅仅由于一次拙劣难圆的谎言，由于不完备的教育而导致轻率的后果-而使自己长期蒙受损失。一些权威人士认为年轻人根本不该说谎。当然，这种说法言之过甚，其实未必如此。不过，虽然我不能把话讲的太过分，我却坚信-我认为确乎如此，在实践和阅历使人获得信心，文雅，严谨之前，年轻人运用这门伟大的艺术时应当把握好分寸，因为只有这三点才能使说谎的本领无伤大雅甚至带来益处。耐心，勤奋，细致入微则是必备素质，经年累月，这些素质便会使学生变得完善起来。凭借这些，也只有凭借这些，他才可能为将来的出类拔萃打下牢固的基础。

 

试想，要经过学习，思考，实践，经验等多么漫长的岁月，那举世无双的大师才具备如此的素养，他使得整个世界接受了“真理是强大的，并且终将战胜一切”这句崇高而响彻云霄的格言，这是关于事实的复杂性所道出的最豪迈的一句话，至今任何一个出自娘胎的人都未有此成就。

 

原因是我们人类的历史以及每个人的经历都深深地印证了这样的事实:一个真理不难抹杀，一个说的巧妙的谎言则经久不衰。在波士顿，人们为纪念发现麻醉法的人而立了一座纪念碑：很多人到近期才知道,那个人根本没有发现麻醉法，而是窃取了另一个人的发现。这个真理强大吗？它终会取胜吗？唉，非也，听众们，虽然纪念碑是用坚硬的材料建造的，而它所散布的谎言却将比它持久百万年。你们应该不断研究如果避免制造那些拙劣，无力而又破绽百出的谎言；诸如此类的谎言比起一个普通事实来，决不具有更加真实的永久性。嗨，你们倒不如既讲真话又同真理打交道。

1 temperate   

adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的

参考例句：

• Asia extends across the frigid,temperate and tropical zones.亚洲地跨寒、温、热三带。
• Great Britain has a temperate climate.英国气候温和。

2 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

3 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

4 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

5 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

6 eminence   

n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家

参考例句：

• He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。
• Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。

7 maxim   

n.格言，箴言

参考例句：

• Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
• "Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。

8 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

9 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

10 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

11 outlast   

v.较…耐久

参考例句：

• The great use of life is to spend it doing something that will outlast it.人生的充分利用就是为争取比人生更长久的东西而度过一生。
• These naturally dried flowers will outlast a bouquet of fresh blooms.这些自然风干的花会比一束鲜花更加持久。