Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 14
"—Let it never be forgotten, that no slaveholder or overseer can be convicted of any outrage perpetrated on the person of a slave, however diabolical it may be, on the testimony of colored witnesses, whether bond or free.
「——永远不要忘记，无论罪行多么残暴，任何奴隶主或监工都不能仅凭有色人种证人的证词而被定罪，无论这些证人是奴隶还是自由人。
By the slave code, they are adjudged to be as incompetent to testify against a white man, as though they were indeed a part of the brute creation.
根据奴隶法典，他们被裁定为没有资格指控白人，仿佛他们确实只是畜生的一部分。
Hence, there is no legal protection in fact, whatever there may be in form, for the slave population; and any amount of cruelty may be inflicted on them with impunity.
因此，奴隶群体实际上毫无法律保护可言，无论形式上看起来如何；对他们施加任何程度的残暴都可以逍遥法外。
Is it possible for the human mind to conceive of a more horrible state of society?
人类的思维还能想象出比这更可怕的社会状态吗？
The effect of a religious profession on the conduct of southern masters is vividly described in the following Narrative, and shown to be any thing but salutary.
宗教信仰对南方奴隶主行为的影响在以下叙述中得到了生动的描写，并被证明毫无益处可言。
In the nature of the case, it must be in the highest degree pernicious.
就事情的本质而言，这必然是极为有害的。
The testimony of _Mr. Douglass_, on this point, is sustained by a cloud of witnesses, whose veracity is unimpeachable.
道格拉斯先生在这一点上的证词，得到了众多证人的支持，而这些证人的可信度无可置疑。
"A slaveholder's profession of Christianity is a palpable imposture.
「奴隶主对基督教的信仰声称是明显的欺骗。
He is a felon of the highest grade.
他是最高级别的重刑犯。
He is a man-stealer.
他是一个掠夺人身自由者。
It is of no importance what you put in the other scale."
无论你在另一端放上什么，都无足轻重。」
Reader! are you with the man-stealers in sympathy and purpose, or on the side of their down-trodden victims?
读者啊！你是在情感和目的上与那些掠夺人身自由者站在一起，还是站在他们那些饱受压迫的受害者一边？
If with the former, then are you the foe of God and man.
若是选择前者，那么你便是上帝与人类的敌人。
Vocabulary
- 永远
- yǒngyuǎn — Forever; always; eternally
- 不要
- bùyào — Do not; must not; don't do something
- 忘记
- wàngjì — To forget; to fail to remember something
- 无论
- wúlùn — No matter; regardless of any condition
- 罪行
- zuìxíng — Crime; criminal act; offense
- 多么
- duōme — How; to what extent; however much
- 残暴
- cánbào — Brutal; cruel and violent in nature
- 任何
- rènhé — Any; whatever; whichever; any kind of
- 奴隶主
- núlìzhǔ — Slave owner; master who owns slaves
- 或
- huò — Or; either; alternatively
- 监工
- jiāngōng — Overseer; supervisor of laborers or slaves
- 都
- dōu — All; both; entirely; in every case
- 不能
- bùnéng — Cannot; must not; be unable to
- 仅凭
- jǐn píng — Solely based on; relying only on something
- 有色人种
- yǒusè rénzhǒng — People of color; non-white racial groups
- 证人
- zhèngrén — Witness; person who gives testimony
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification
- 证词
- zhèngcí — Testimony; statement given as evidence
- 而
- ér — And; but; yet; connecting clauses
- 被
- bèi — Passive marker; by; indicating passive voice
- 定罪
- dìngzuì — To convict; to find someone guilty officially
- 这些
- zhèxiē — These; referring to previously mentioned items
- 是
- shì — To be; is; am; are
- 奴隶
- núlì — Slave; person owned by another
- 还是
- háishi — Or; still; whether or; used in questions
- 自由人
- zìyóurén — Free person; one not enslaved or bound
- 根据
- gēnjù — According to; based on; on the basis of
- 法典
- fǎdiǎn — Legal code; codified body of laws
- 他们
- tāmen — They; them; third-person plural pronoun
- 裁定
- cáidìng — To rule; to adjudicate; official legal decision
- 为
- wéi — To be; as; for; serve as
- 没有
- méiyǒu — Do not have; there is no; lacking
- 资格
- zīgé — Qualification; eligibility; right to do something
- 指控
- zhǐkòng — To accuse; to charge someone with wrongdoing
- 白人
- báirén — White person; person of white racial background
- 仿佛
- fǎngfú — As if; seemingly; to seem like something
- 确实
- quèshí — Indeed; truly; certainly; in fact
- 只是
- zhǐshì — Just; merely; only; simply
- 畜生
- chùsheng — Beast; animal; used as insult for person
- 一部分
- yī bùfen — A part of; a portion; one section
- 因此
- yīncǐ — Therefore; as a result; consequently
- 群体
- qúntǐ — Group; community; collective body of people
- 实际上
- shíjìshang — In fact; actually; in reality
- 毫无
- háowú — Completely without; absolutely lacking any
- 法律
- fǎlǜ — Law; legal system; legislation
- 保护
- bǎohù — Protection; to protect; to safeguard
- 可言
- kě yán — Worth mentioning; to speak of; whatsoever
- 形式
- xíngshì — Form; format; outward appearance or structure
- 上
- shàng — On; above; in terms of; regarding
- 看起来
- kàn qǐlái — Appears to be; looks like; seems
- 如何
- rúhé — How; in what way; what manner
- 对
- duì — Toward; against; to; correct
- 施加
- shījiā — To impose; to exert; to apply force or pressure
- 程度
- chéngdù — Degree; extent; level of something
- 可以
- kěyǐ — Can; may; be allowed to do
- 逍遥法外
- xiāoyáo fǎwài — To escape justice; be beyond the law
- 人类
- rénlèi — Humanity; humankind; the human race
- 思维
- sīwéi — Thinking; thought; cognitive process
- 还
- hái — Still; yet; also; in addition
- 能
- néng — Can; to be able to; capable of
- 想象
- xiǎngxiàng — To imagine; to envision; imagination
- 出
- chū — Out; to produce; to come up with
- 比
- bǐ — Than; compared to; to compare
- 这
- zhè — This; referring to something nearby or mentioned
- 更
- gèng — Even more; still more; further
- 可怕
- kěpà — Terrible; frightening; dreadful; horrifying
- 社会
- shèhuì — Society; social system; community at large
- 状态
- zhuàngtài — State; condition; status of something
- 吗
- ma — Question particle used at sentence end
- 宗教
- zōngjiào — Religion; religious belief or system
- 信仰
- xìnyǎng — Faith; belief; religious conviction
- 南方
- nánfāng — The South; southern region or direction
- 行为
- xíngwéi — Behavior; conduct; action; deed
- 影响
- yǐngxiǎng — Influence; effect; to affect something
- 在
- zài — At; in; on; located at
- 以下
- yǐxià — The following; below; hereafter mentioned
- 叙述
- xùshù — Narration; account; to describe or recount
- 中
- zhōng — In; within; middle; among
- 得到
- dédào — To obtain; to receive; to get something
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completion or change of state
- 生动
- shēngdòng — Vivid; lively; graphic in description
- 描写
- miáoxiě — To depict; to describe vividly in writing
- 并
- bìng — And; also; moreover; furthermore
- 证明
- zhèngmíng — To prove; to demonstrate; evidence showing truth
- 益处
- yìchù — Benefit; advantage; good effect of something
- 就
- jiù — Just; then; with regard to; precisely
- 事情
- shìqing — Matter; affair; thing; event
- 本质
- běnzhì — Nature; essence; intrinsic character of something
- 而言
- éryán — In terms of; as far as something is concerned
- 必然
- bìrán — Inevitable; necessarily; certainly will happen
- 极为
- jíwéi — Extremely; exceedingly; to a very great degree
- 有害
- yǒuhài — Harmful; detrimental; causing damage or harm
- 先生
- xiānsheng — Mr.; gentleman; sir; a respectful address
- 一点
- yīdiǎn — A little; a bit; a small amount
- 众多
- zhòngduō — Numerous; many; a large number of
- 支持
- zhīchí — To support; to back up; to endorse
- 可信度
- kěxìndù — Credibility; degree of trustworthiness or reliability
- 无可置疑
- wúkě zhìyí — Beyond doubt; unquestionable; absolutely certain
- 基督教
- Jīdūjiào — Christianity; the Christian religion
- 声称
- shēngchēng — To claim; to assert; to declare something
- 明显
- míngxiǎn — Obvious; evident; clearly apparent
- 欺骗
- qīpiàn — To deceive; to cheat; to trick someone
- 他
- tā — He; him; third-person singular male pronoun
- 最高
- zuìgāo — Highest; supreme; maximum level or degree
- 级别
- jíbié — Level; rank; grade; category
- 重刑犯
- zhòngxíngfàn — Serious criminal; felon; one convicted of grave crimes
- 一个
- yīgè — One; a; a single unit of something
- 掠夺
- lüèduó — To plunder; to rob; to deprive by force
- 人身
- rénshēn — Person; personal; one's body and freedom
- 自由
- zìyóu — Freedom; liberty; free from constraint
- 者
- zhě — Person who; one who does something
- 你
- nǐ — You; second-person singular pronoun
- 另一端
- lìng yī duān — The other end; the opposite side or extreme
- 放上
- fàng shàng — To place on; to put onto something
- 什么
- shénme — What; anything; whatever
- 无足轻重
- wú zú qīngzhòng — Insignificant; of little importance or weight
- 读者
- dúzhě — Reader; one who reads a text
- 啊
- a — Exclamatory particle expressing emotion or emphasis
- 情感
- qínggǎn — Emotion; feeling; sentiment; emotional response
- 和
- hé — And; with; together with
- 目的
- mùdì — Purpose; goal; aim; objective
- 与
- yǔ — With; and; together with (formal)
- 那些
- nàxiē — Those; referring to distant or previously mentioned items
- 站在
- zhàn zài — To stand at; to stand on the side of
- 一起
- yīqǐ — Together; at the same time; jointly
- 饱受
- bǎoshòu — To suffer greatly; to endure much of something bad
- 压迫
- yāpò — Oppression; to oppress; to suppress by force
- 受害者
- shòuhàizhě — Victim; one who suffers harm or injustice
- 一边
- yībiān — One side; on the side of; simultaneously
- 若是
- ruòshì — If; supposing that; in the event that
- 选择
- xuǎnzé — To choose; to select; a choice or option
- 前者
- qiánzhě — The former; the first of two mentioned items
- 那么
- nàme — Then; in that case; so
- 便是
- biànshì — Then is; that means; amounts to being
- 上帝
- Shàngdì — God; the Christian God; the Lord
- 敌人
- dírén — Enemy; foe; adversary; opponent
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