美國語文第五冊 第331期：《圣經》 比較好的經典（02）
If we inquire who are the men that have recorded its truths,
如果我們探詢究竟何人記載下《圣經》真跡，
vindicated its rights, and illustrated the excellence of its scheme, from the depth of ages and from the living world,
印證《圣經》的權利，闡明《圣經》的卓越建構，從歲月幽深的塵封，到凡世紅塵的喧囂，從蕓蕓眾生的洲陸，
from the populous continent and the isles of the sea, comes forth the answer: “The patriarch and the prophet, the evangelist and the martyr.”
到天涯的寥落之角，所及之處的回音異口同聲：“上帝是世界創(chuàng)始人與預言者，人類福音的傳道者及殉道人。”
If we look abroad through the world of men, the victims of folly or vice, the prey of cruelty, of injustice,
如果我們縱覽整個人類世界，目睹那些愚蠢或惡習的受害者，殘虐暴行或非正義的犧牲者，
and inquire what are its benefits, even in this temporal state,
我們將會質問，究竟有誰才是世間罪孽的受益者？甚至在當下世俗層面，
the great and the humble, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, the learned and the ignorant reply, as with one voice,
偉大抑或卑微，富人抑或窮人，權高望重抑或渺小卑微，飽學之士抑或無知之徒，亦會發(fā)出同一聲音，
that humility and resignation, purity, order, and peace, faith, hope, and charity are its blessings upon earth.
即謙卑、順從、純粹、守序、平和、信仰、希望以及善行皆為上帝帶給世界的美好福音。
And if, raising our eyes from time to eternity; from the world of mortals to the world of just men made perfect;
因此，如果我們仰望上天，想象時間進入永恒，想象滾滾紅塵進入人類夢寐以求的世界大同，
from the visible creation, marvelous, beautiful, and glorious As It Is, to the invisible creation of angels and seraphs;
想象那些恰如上帝本體、觸目可及的創(chuàng)造與神奇、美麗與榮光，乃至眾多天使亦無法察覺的恢弘創(chuàng)造；
from the footstool of God to the throne of God himself, we ask, what are the blessings that flow from this single volume,
從上帝腳趾直抵上帝皇冠，我們一直在探求，從這人類唯一卷軼浩繁的《圣經》中流瀉的福祉究竟是什么？
let the question be answered by the pen of the evangelist, the harp of the prophet, and the records of the book of life.
不妨追溯傳道士手中的蘸筆，先知吟唱的豎琴，以及生命大書的謄撰記錄，答案自會知曉。
Such is the best of classics the world has ever admired; such, the noblest that man has ever adopted as a guide.
這是世界文明迄今為止高山仰止的古典精粹，這是有史以來人類升華自身的莊嚴高貴。
