Leviathan — Page 10
I say the similitude of Passions, which are the same in all men, Desire, Feare, Hope, &c; not the similitude or The Objects of the Passions, which are the things Desired, Feared, Hoped, &c: for these the constitution individuall, and particular education do so vary, and they are so easie to be kept from our knowledge, that the characters of mans heart, blotted and confounded as they are, with dissembling, lying, counterfeiting, and erroneous doctrines, are legible onely to him that searcheth hearts.
我所说的是激情的相似性，这种相似性在所有人身上都是相同的，如欲望、恐惧、希望等；而非激情的对象的相似性，即那些被渴望、被恐惧、被期待的事物等：因为这些事物因个人的天性和特定的教育而各有不同，且极易使我们无从知晓，以至于人心的字符，尽管被伪装、谎言、欺骗和错误的教义所涂抹混淆，也只有那洞察人心者方能读懂。
And though by mens actions wee do discover their designee sometimes; yet to do it without comparing them with our own, and distinguishing all circumstances, by which the case may come to be altered, is to decypher without a key, and be for the most part deceived, by too much trust, or by too much diffidence; as he that reads, is himselfe a good or evill man.
虽然我们有时能从人们的行为中发现其意图，然而若不将其与自身相比较，并辨明所有可能改变情形的各种情况，便如同无钥解密，往往因过于轻信或过于多疑而受骗上当；这取决于阅读者本身是善人还是恶人。
But let one man read another by his actions never so perfectly, it serves him onely with his acquaintance, which are but few.
然而，即便一个人能够通过他人的行为将其看得再透彻，这也只对他所认识的人有用，而他所认识的人毕竟为数不多。
He that is to govern a whole Nation, must read in himselfe, not this, or that particular man; but Man-kind; which though it be hard to do, harder than to learn any Language, or Science; yet, when I shall have set down my own reading orderly, and perspicuously, the pains left another, will be onely to consider, if he also find not the same in himselfe.
那欲治理一整个国家的人，必须在自身之中读懂的，不是某个特定的人，而是整个人类；尽管此事难以为之，难于学习任何语言或科学，然而，当我将自己的心得有条不紊、清晰明了地写下之后，留给他人的功夫，便只是思量他是否也在自身之中发现了同样的东西。
For this kind of Doctrine, admitteth no other Demonstration.
因为这种学说，不容许任何其他的证明方式。
Vocabulary
- 我
- wǒ — I, me; first-person singular pronoun
- 所说
- suǒ shuō — What is said; that which one speaks about
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification
- 是
- shì — To be; linking verb indicating identity or fact
- 激情
- jīqíng — Passion, intense emotion or enthusiasm
- 相似性
- xiāngsìxìng — Similarity; the quality of resembling one another
- 这种
- zhè zhǒng — This kind of; this type of thing
- 在
- zài — At, in, on; preposition indicating location or existence
- 所有人
- suǒyǒu rén — Everyone; all people without exception
- 身上
- shēnshang — On one's body or person; within someone
- 都
- dōu — All, both; adverb indicating universality
- 相同
- xiāngtóng — Identical, the same; sharing no differences
- 如
- rú — Such as, like; used to introduce examples
- 欲望
- yùwàng — Desire, craving; strong wish or longing
- 恐惧
- kǒngjù — Fear, dread; strong feeling of being afraid
- 希望
- xīwàng — Hope, wish; to desire a future outcome
- 等
- děng — Et cetera, and so on; indicates more items
- 而非
- ér fēi — Rather than, but not; contrasting conjunction
- 对象
- duìxiàng — Object, target; the thing one directs attention toward
- 即
- jí — That is, namely; used to clarify or specify
- 那些
- nàxiē — Those; plural demonstrative pronoun for distant things
- 被
- bèi — Passive marker; indicates the subject receives an action
- 渴望
- kěwàng — To yearn for, crave; intense desire for something
- 期待
- qīdài — To anticipate, look forward to; hopeful expectation
- 事物
- shìwù — Things, matters; objects or phenomena in general
- 因为
- yīnwèi — Because, since; introduces a reason or cause
- 这些
- zhèxiē — These; plural demonstrative pronoun for nearby things
- 因
- yīn — Due to, because of; preposition indicating cause
- 个人
- gèrén — Individual, personal; relating to a single person
- 天性
- tiānxìng — Natural disposition, innate character; one's inborn nature
- 和
- hé — And; conjunction connecting words or phrases
- 特定
- tèdìng — Specific, particular; designated for a certain purpose
- 教育
- jiàoyù — Education; the process of teaching and learning
- 而
- ér — And, yet, but; connective particle linking clauses
- 各有不同
- gè yǒu bùtóng — Each differs; everyone has their own differences
- 且
- qiě — Moreover, and; additive or progressive conjunction
- 极易
- jí yì — Extremely easy; very likely to happen
- 使
- shǐ — To cause, make; to have someone do something
- 我们
- wǒmen — We, us; first-person plural pronoun
- 无从知晓
- wú cóng zhīxiǎo — No way to know; impossible to find out
- 以至于
- yǐzhìyú — To the extent that; used to show a result
- 人心
- rénxīn — Human heart, people's minds; inner thoughts of people
- 字符
- zìfú — Characters, symbols; written signs conveying meaning
- 尽管
- jǐnguǎn — Although, even though; concessive conjunction
- 伪装
- wèizhuāng — Disguise, camouflage; to conceal true identity
- 谎言
- huǎngyán — Lies, falsehoods; deliberately untrue statements
- 欺骗
- qīpiàn — To deceive, cheat; misleading someone intentionally
- 错误
- cuòwù — Error, mistake; something incorrect or wrong
- 教义
- jiàoyì — Doctrine, dogma; official teachings of a belief system
- 所
- suǒ — Particle used before verbs in passive or nominal structures
- 涂抹
- túmǒ — To smear, daub; to coat or obscure a surface
- 混淆
- hùnxiáo — To confuse, blur; to mix up and make unclear
- 也
- yě — Also, too; additive adverb indicating inclusion
- 只有
- zhǐyǒu — Only, just; restrictive expression indicating sole condition
- 那
- nà — That; demonstrative pronoun referring to distant thing
- 洞察
- dòngchá — To perceive clearly, insight; deep understanding of things
- 者
- zhě — Suffix denoting a person who does something
- 方能
- fāng néng — Only then can; indicates a necessary prerequisite
- 读懂
- dú dǒng — To read and understand; to comprehend written content
- 虽然
- suīrán — Although, even though; introduces a concessive clause
- 有时
- yǒushí — Sometimes, occasionally; at certain times
- 能
- néng — Can, able to; expresses ability or possibility
- 从
- cóng — From; preposition indicating origin or source
- 人们
- rénmen — People; general reference to human beings
- 行为
- xíngwéi — Behavior, conduct; actions performed by a person
- 中
- zhōng — In, among, within; indicating location inside something
- 发现
- fāxiàn — To discover, find; to come upon something unknown
- 其
- qí — His, her, its, their; third-person possessive pronoun
- 意图
- yìtú — Intention, purpose; what one plans or aims to do
- 然而
- rán'ér — However, yet; adversative conjunction showing contrast
- 若
- ruò — If, supposing; conditional conjunction in formal usage
- 与
- yǔ — With, and; preposition or conjunction linking elements
- 自身
- zìshēn — Oneself; one's own self or personal experience
- 相
- xiāng — Mutually, each other; indicates reciprocal action
- 比较
- bǐjiào — To compare; examining similarities and differences
- 并
- bìng — And, furthermore; conjunction joining parallel actions
- 辨明
- biànmíng — To distinguish clearly; to identify differences precisely
- 所有
- suǒyǒu — All, every; referring to the entirety of something
- 可能
- kěnéng — Possible, maybe; expressing likelihood or potential
- 改变
- gǎibiàn — To change, alter; to make something different
- 情形
- qíngxíng — Situation, circumstances; the state of affairs
- 各种
- gè zhǒng — Various, all kinds of; referring to multiple types
- 情况
- qíngkuàng — Situation, condition; the current state of things
- 便
- biàn — Then, thereupon; indicating consequence or result
- 如同
- rútóng — Just like, as if; used to draw a comparison
- 解密
- jiěmì — To decrypt, decode; to reveal hidden or secret content
- 往往
- wǎngwǎng — Often, frequently; indicates a usual tendency
- 过于
- guòyú — Excessively, too; going beyond a reasonable degree
- 轻信
- qīngxìn — To be gullible; to believe too easily without evidence
- 或
- huò — Or; conjunction presenting an alternative choice
- 多疑
- duōyí — Suspicious, paranoid; overly inclined to distrust others
- 受骗上当
- shòupiàn shàngdàng — To be deceived, fall for a trick; to be cheated
- 这
- zhè — This; demonstrative pronoun for nearby things
- 取决于
- qǔjué yú — Depends on; is determined by a particular factor
- 阅读者
- yuèdú zhě — Reader; a person who reads written material
- 本身
- běnshēn — Itself, oneself; the thing or person in question
- 善人
- shànrén — Good person, virtuous individual; morally upright person
- 还是
- háishi — Or; used in questions or alternatives
- 恶人
- èrén — Evil person, villain; morally corrupt individual
- 即便
- jíbiàn — Even if, even though; strong concessive conjunction
- 一个人
- yī gè rén — One person, a person; referring to a single individual
- 能够
- nénggòu — To be able to, capable of; expressing ability
- 通过
- tōngguò — Through, by means of; using a method or medium
- 他人
- tārén — Others, other people; people besides oneself
- 将
- jiāng — Will; future marker or preposition in formal Chinese
- 看得
- kàn de — Able to see; can perceive or understand something
- 再
- zài — Again, even more; adverb indicating repetition or degree
- 透彻
- tòuchè — Thorough, penetrating; deeply and clearly understood
- 他
- tā — He, him; third-person masculine singular pronoun
- 认识
- rènshi — To know, recognize; to be acquainted with someone
- 人
- rén — Person, people; human being
- 有用
- yǒuyòng — Useful, helpful; serving a practical purpose
- 毕竟
- bìjìng — After all, in the end; emphasizing a fundamental truth
- 为数不多
- wéi shù bù duō — Few in number; only a small quantity exists
- 欲
- yù — To wish to, desire to; formal expression of intent
- 治理
- zhìlǐ — To govern, administer; to manage a state or group
- 一整个
- yī zhěng gè — An entire, a whole; referring to a complete single unit
- 国家
- guójiā — Country, nation; a sovereign political entity
- 必须
- bìxū — Must, have to; expresses obligation or necessity
- 之中
- zhī zhōng — Within, among; inside a group or space
- 不是
- bùshì — Is not; negation of identity or state
- 某个
- mǒu gè — A certain, some particular; referring to an unspecified one
- 而是
- érshì — But rather; used to correct and replace a negated idea
- 整个
- zhěnggè — Entire, whole; referring to the totality of something
- 人类
- rénlèi — Humanity, mankind; all human beings collectively
- 此事
- cǐ shì — This matter, this thing; the issue being discussed
- 难以为之
- nán yǐ wéi zhī — Difficult to accomplish; hard to carry out this task
- 难于
- nán yú — More difficult than; harder compared to something else
- 学习
- xuéxí — To study, learn; to acquire knowledge or skills
- 任何
- rènhé — Any, whatever; referring to any item without restriction
- 语言
- yǔyán — Language; a system of human communication
- 科学
- kēxué — Science; systematic study of the natural world
- 当
- dāng — When, while; temporal conjunction introducing a situation
- 自己
- zìjǐ — Oneself, self; reflexive pronoun indicating the subject
- 心得
- xīndé — Insights, personal reflections; lessons learned from experience
- 有条不紊
- yǒu tiáo bù wěn — Orderly and methodical; organized without any confusion
- 清晰明了
- qīngxī míngliǎo — Clear and easy to understand; lucid and straightforward
- 地
- de — Adverbial particle; links adverb or adjective to verb
- 写下
- xiě xià — To write down, record; to put in written form
- 之后
- zhīhòu — Afterward, after; indicating a point following something
- 留给
- liú gěi — To leave for someone; to set aside for another person
- 功夫
- gōngfu — Effort, time spent; skill acquired through practice
- 只是
- zhǐshì — Just, merely; indicating limitation or simplicity
- 思量
- sīliáng — To ponder, consider; to think carefully about something
- 是否
- shìfǒu — Whether or not; used to pose a yes/no question
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completion or change of state
- 同样
- tóngyàng — Similarly, likewise; in the same way or manner
- 东西
- dōngxi — Thing, stuff; a general word for objects or matters
- 学说
- xuéshuō — Theory, doctrine; a system of academic or philosophical thought
- 不容许
- bù róngyǔ — Not to allow, not to permit; to forbid or disallow
- 其他
- qítā — Other, else; referring to remaining or different things
- 证明
- zhèngmíng — To prove, demonstrate; to show something is true
- 方式
- fāngshì — Method, way, manner; the approach used to do something
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