美國語文第五冊 第288期：潑冷水的藝術(shù)（04）

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He did not deny that it was beautiful; but he instantly fastened upon a small crack in it that nobody had observed;

他不否認(rèn)那創(chuàng)意挺好，但只死死盯住那東西內(nèi)部的某道細(xì)縫，而其他人均未留意那道裂縫。

and upon that crack he would dilate whenever the work was discussed in his presence.

后來，只要出席討論那樁創(chuàng)新，他總會不厭其煩地盡力夸張那點(diǎn)瑕疵，

Indeed, he did not see the work, but only the crack in it.

當(dāng)然，除卻那道裂縫，他并不關(guān)注事情本身，

That flaw,—that little flaw,—was all in all to him.

那個缺陷——畢竟微不足道，可對他來說，瑕疵意味一切。

The cold-water pourers are not all of one form of mind.

潑冷水人心態(tài)各異。

Some are led to indulge in this recreation from genuine timidity.

有的人由于真正膽怯，不由自主地陷入或沉湎這類娛樂消遣，

They really do fear that all new attempts will fail.

他們確實(shí)內(nèi)心恐懼所有創(chuàng)新嘗試勢必遭遇失敗，

Others are simply envious and ill-natured.

而其他人則僅僅出于嫉妒或心存不良。

Then, again, there is a sense of power and wisdom in prophesying evil.

那么，世上是否存在一種預(yù)言邪惡的力量與智慧？

Moreover, it is the safest thing to prophesy,

此外，看來預(yù)言最為安全妥當(dāng)，

for hardly anything at first succeeds exactly in the way that it was intended to succeed.

因?yàn)閹缀鯖]有任何創(chuàng)意伊始就能獲得大獲成功，究其成功方式，初衷甚或結(jié)局，大多大相徑庭。

Again, there is the lack of imagination which gives rise to the utterance of so much discouragement.

再來看看，由于想象力匱乏引起氣餒情緒的普遍存在。

For an ordinary man, it must have been a great mental strain

對一位普通人來說，冒險行為無疑將承受巨大的精神負(fù)擔(dān)，

to grasp the ideas of the first projectors of steam and gas, electric telegraphs, and pain-deadening chloroform.

那種來自攫取最初創(chuàng)意靈感的壓力。諸如蒸汽與燃?xì)?、電報或用作麻醉劑的氯仿?/p>

The inventor is always, in the eyes of his fellow-men, somewhat of a madman; and often they do their best to make him so.

在旁觀者看來，創(chuàng)新者多少難免走火入魔，他們往往更是不遺余力地促使冒險家抓狂。