第38章 午夜一课 A Lesson Learned at Midnight

詹姆斯·Q.杜邦/James Q.Dupont

Ever since one midnight, in nineteen hundred and nine—when I first heard my mother crying—I have been groping for beliefs to help me through the rough going and confusions of life. My dad's voice was low and troubled as he tried to comfort mother—and in their anguish they both forgot the nearness of my bedroom. I overheard them. I was only seven then, and while their problem of that time has long since been solved and forgotten, the big discovery I made that night is still right with me—life is not all hearts and flowers. It's hard and cruel for most of us much of the time. We all have troubles—they just differ in nature, that's all. And that leads to my first belief.

I believe the human race is very, very tough—almost impossible to discourage. If it wasn't, then why do we have such words as“laugh” and“sing” and“music” and“dance”—in the language of all mankind since the beginning of recorded time? This belief makes me downright proud to be human being.

Next, I believe there is good and evil in all of us. Thomas Mann comes close to expressing what I'm trying to say with his carefully worded sentence about the“frightfully radical duality” between the brain and the beast in man—in all of us.

This belief helps me because so long as I remember that there are certain forces of evil ever present in me—and never forget that there is also a divine spark of goodness in me, too—then I find that the“score” of my bad mistakes and regrets at the end of each day is greatly reduced.“Forewarned of evil is half the battle against it.”

I believe in trying to be charitable, in trying to understand and forgive people, especially in trying to forgive very keen or brilliant people. A man may be a genius but he can still do things that practically break your heart.

I believe most if not all of our very finest thoughts and many of our finest deeds must be kept to ourselves alone—at least until after we die. This used to confuse me. But now I realize that by their very nature, these finest things we do and cannot talk about are a sort of secret preview of a better life to come.

I believe there is no escape from the rule that we must do many, many little things to accomplish even just one big thing. This gives me patience when I need it most.

And then I believe in having the courage to BE MYSELF. Or perhaps I should say, to be honest with myself. Sometimes this is practically impossible, but I'm sure I should always try.

Finally, and most important to me, I do believe in God. I'm sure there is a very wise and wonderful Being who designed, constructed and operates this existence as we mortals know it; this universe with its galaxies and spiral nebulae, its stars and moons and planets and beautiful women, its trees and pearls and deep green moss-and its hopes and prayers for peace.

第一次听到母亲哭泣是在1909年的一个午夜，从此，我就一直在寻找能帮助我度过人生艰难与困惑的信仰。父亲的声音低沉而忧虑，他试图安慰母亲——然而陷入极度痛苦之中的他们，竟忘了我的卧室就近在咫尺。我无意中听到了这些。那时我才7岁，如今，他们当时的问题早已解决并被忘却，但那晚的重大发现却依然教导着我——生活并非总是充满了鲜花和爱情。对于多数人而言，很多时候生活是艰难而残酷的。我们都会有烦恼——只是性质不同而已。这是我的第一个信念。

我相信人类是坚强无比，几乎不可阻挡，也不会气馁的。如果不是，那有史以来人类所有的语言中怎会出现“欢笑”、“歌唱”、“音乐”和“舞蹈”这样的词语呢？这样的信念让我因身为人类而无比自豪。

其次，我相信我们所有人都有善良和邪恶的一面。托马斯·曼用他严谨的言辞阐述了人类本身的理智与兽性之间“最基本的双重性”，我的观点也大致如此。

这个信念让我受益匪浅。因为只要我铭记自身存在着某些邪恶的力量，并且不忘自身也闪烁着善良的神圣火花，我就会发现，在每天结束时，错误与懊悔的“记分”也会大大降低。“预先警惕邪恶，是与之斗争成功的一半。”

我坚信人类应该乐于行善，应该理解和宽恕他人，特别是宽恕那些敏锐聪慧之人。因为即使是天才，也会做出令你伤心的事。

我相信，即使我们提出极好的想法，做出最富成果的行动，哪怕只是多数而非全部，我们也应不为人知——至少在我们死后才为人所知。过去，我时常为此感到疑惑。现在我意识到，完成这些美妙的事情却不为人所知，实际上是对未来美好生活的秘密预见。

我相信，要完成一件大事，我们就必须完成数不清的小事来成就它，这是一条必然的法则。这使得我在做大事时更加耐心。

我也相信，要勇于做真正的自己。或许我应该说，要忠实于自己。有时这看似没有可能，但我确信自己应该永远去尝试。

最后，对我来说也是最重要的，相信上帝。我确信这个世界是由一位无比睿智、伟大的神灵设计、建造并统治着，就如我们凡人所知的那样；有星系、螺旋状星云、星辰、月亮、行星、美女、树木、珍珠和深绿的苔藓，以及希望与对和平的祈祷存在于这个宇宙之中。

1.I overheard them. I was__________seven then, and while their__________of that time has long since been__________and forgotten, the big discovery I__________that night is still right with me—life is not all__________and flowers.

2.Next, I__________there is good and evil in all of us. Thomas Mann comes__________to expressing what I'm trying to__________with his carefully worded sentence about the“frightfully radical duality” between the__________and the beast in man—in all of us.

1.但那晚的重大发现却依然教导着我——生活并非总是充满了鲜花和爱情。

____________________________________

2.对于多数人而言，很多时候生活是艰难而残酷的。

____________________________________

3.我相信人类是坚强无比，几乎不可阻挡，也不会气馁的。

____________________________________

1.This belief helps me because so long as I remember that there are certain forces of evil ever present in me...

so long as：只要，如果；既然，由于

____________________________________

2.Finally, and most important to me, I do believe in God.

believe in：信仰；信任

____________________________________