The chess-board is the world: the pieces are the phenomenaof the universe; the rules of the game are what we call the laws of nature. The player on the other side is hidden from us. We know that his play is always fair, just and patient. But also we know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance.
棋盤(pán)宛如世界:一個(gè)個(gè)棋子仿佛世間的種種現(xiàn)象;游戲規(guī)則就是我們所稱(chēng)的自然法則。競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手藏于暗處,不為我們所見(jiàn)。我們知曉,這位對(duì)手向來(lái)處事公平,正義凜然,極富耐心。然而,我們也明白,這位對(duì)手從不忽視任何錯(cuò)誤,或者因?yàn)槲覀兊臒o(wú)知而做出一絲讓步,所以我們也必須為此付出代價(jià)。