On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 7
Those who are interested in learning more of the fateful history of Zadig must turn to the original; we are dealing with him only as a philosopher, and this brief excerpt suffices for the exemplification of the nature of his conclusions and of the methods by which he arrived at them.
那些有兴趣深入了解扎迪格命运历史的人，必须去参阅原著；我们在此仅将他作为一位哲学家来探讨，这段简短的摘录已足以说明其结论的性质以及他得出这些结论所采用的方法。
These conclusions may be said to be of the nature of retrospective prophecies; though it is perhaps a little hazardous to employ phraseology which perilously suggests a contradiction in terms--the word "prophecy" being so constantly, in ordinary use, restricted to "foretelling."
这些结论可以说具有回溯性预言的性质；尽管使用这样的措辞或许有些冒险，因为它危险地暗示了一种自相矛盾——"预言"一词在日常使用中几乎总是被限定为"预告未来"之意。
Strictly, however, the term prophecy applies as much to outspeaking as to foretelling; and, even in the restricted sense of "divination," it is obvious that the essence of the prophetic operation does not lie in its backward or forward relation to the course of time, but in the fact that it is the apprehension of that which lies out of the sphere of immediate knowledge; the seeing of that which, to the natural sense of the seer, is invisible.
然而，严格来说，"预言"一词既适用于公开宣告，也适用于预告未来；即便在"占卜"这一狭义的含义中，显而易见，预言行为的本质并不在于其与时间进程的向前或向后的关系，而在于它是对超出直接认知范围之事物的把握；是对先知的自然感官所无法感知之物的洞见。
The foreteller asserts that, at some future time, a properly situated observer will witness certain events; the clairvoyant declares that, at this present time, certain things are to be witnessed a thousand miles away; the retrospective prophet (would that there were such a word as "backteller!") affirms that, so many hours or years ago, such and such things were to be seen.
预告者断言，在某个未来的时刻，一个处于适当位置的观察者将会目睹某些事件；千里眼宣称，就在此刻，某些事情正在千里之外发生；而回溯性的预言者（若是有"回述者"这样一个词该多好！）则肯定地说，在若干小时或若干年前，某些事情曾经可以被目睹。
Vocabulary
- 那些
- nàxiē — Those; referring to specific plural things or people
- 有
- yǒu — To have; to exist; there is
- 兴趣
- xìngqù — Interest; curiosity toward something
- 深入
- shēnrù — To go deeply into; thorough understanding
- 了解
- liǎojiě — To understand; to get to know something
- 命运
- mìngyùn — Fate; destiny; one's lot in life
- 历史
- lìshǐ — History; the record of past events
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification
- 人
- rén — Person; people; human being
- 必须
- bìxū — Must; have to; obligatory action
- 去
- qù — To go; to proceed to do something
- 参阅
- cānyuè — To consult; to refer to a source
- 原著
- yuánzhù — Original work; the source text itself
- 我们
- wǒmen — We; us; first-person plural pronoun
- 在此
- zàicǐ — Here; at this place or point
- 仅
- jǐn — Only; merely; just
- 将
- jiāng — Will; to take; future action marker
- 他
- tā — He; him; third-person male pronoun
- 作为
- zuòwéi — As; in the capacity of; to regard as
- 一位
- yī wèi — One (person); respectful counter for people
- 哲学家
- zhéxuéjiā — Philosopher; scholar who studies philosophy
- 来
- lái — To come; used to introduce a purpose
- 探讨
- tàntǎo — To explore; to discuss and investigate a topic
- 这段
- zhè duàn — This passage; this section or excerpt
- 简短
- jiǎnduǎn — Brief; short and concise
- 摘录
- zhāilù — Extract; excerpt taken from a larger text
- 已
- yǐ — Already; used to indicate completion
- 足以
- zúyǐ — Sufficient to; enough to achieve something
- 说明
- shuōmíng — To illustrate; to explain; to demonstrate
- 其
- qí — Its; his; their; third-person possessive pronoun
- 结论
- jiélùn — Conclusion; final judgment or finding
- 性质
- xìngzhì — Nature; character; intrinsic quality of something
- 以及
- yǐjí — As well as; and; along with
- 得出
- déchū — To arrive at; to derive a conclusion
- 这些
- zhèxiē — These; referring to nearby plural things
- 所
- suǒ — Particle linking verb to its object nominally
- 采用
- cǎiyòng — To adopt; to employ a method or approach
- 方法
- fāngfǎ — Method; approach; way of doing something
- 可以
- kěyǐ — Can; may; to be permitted or able
- 说
- shuō — To say; to speak; to assert
- 具有
- jùyǒu — To possess; to have a certain quality
- 预言
- yùyán — Prophecy; prediction of future events
- 尽管
- jǐnguǎn — Even though; despite; although
- 使用
- shǐyòng — To use; to employ; to make use of
- 这样
- zhèyàng — Such; like this; in this way
- 措辞
- cuòcí — Wording; choice of words in expression
- 或许
- huòxǔ — Perhaps; maybe; possibly
- 有些
- yǒuxiē — Somewhat; a little; rather
- 冒险
- màoxiǎn — Risky; to take a risk or gamble
- 因为
- yīnwèi — Because; due to; for the reason that
- 它
- tā — It; third-person pronoun for objects or things
- 危险地
- wēixiǎn de — Dangerously; in a hazardous manner
- 暗示
- ànshì — To imply; to hint; a subtle suggestion
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completion or change of state
- 一种
- yī zhǒng — A kind of; a type of something
- 自相矛盾
- zì xiāng máodùn — Self-contradictory; internally inconsistent statement
- 一词
- yī cí — A word; a term; referring to a specific word
- 在
- zài — In; at; located at a place or time
- 日常
- rìcháng — Everyday; daily; ordinary usage or life
- 中
- zhōng — In; within; among; inside
- 几乎
- jīhū — Almost; nearly; practically
- 总是
- zǒngshì — Always; invariably; at all times
- 被
- bèi — Passive marker; used to indicate passive voice
- 限定
- xiàndìng — To restrict; to limit to a specific meaning
- 为
- wéi — To be; as; for a particular purpose
- 预告
- yùgào — To announce in advance; a foretelling
- 未来
- wèilái — Future; time yet to come
- 然而
- rán'ér — However; yet; but; nevertheless
- 严格
- yángé — Strict; rigorous; precise in definition
- 来说
- lái shuō — Speaking from a perspective; in terms of
- 既
- jì — Both; already; since; correlative conjunction
- 适用于
- shìyòng yú — To apply to; to be applicable for something
- 公开
- gōngkāi — Publicly; open; to make something known
- 宣告
- xuāngào — To declare; to formally announce something
- 也
- yě — Also; too; as well
- 即便
- jíbiàn — Even if; even though; granting that
- 占卜
- zhānbǔ — Divination; fortune-telling using rituals
- 这一
- zhè yī — This particular; this one specific thing
- 狭义
- xiáyì — Narrow sense; strict or limited meaning
- 含义
- hányì — Meaning; implication; connotation of a word
- 显而易见
- xiǎn ér yì jiàn — Obviously; clearly evident; self-evident
- 行为
- xíngwéi — Behavior; action; conduct
- 本质
- běnzhì — Essence; fundamental nature of something
- 并不
- bìng bù — Not at all; emphatically not
- 在于
- zàiyú — To lie in; to consist of; to depend on
- 与
- yǔ — With; and; together with
- 时间
- shíjiān — Time; a period or duration
- 进程
- jìnchéng — Process; course of progress or development
- 向前
- xiàng qián — Forward; in the forward direction
- 或
- huò — Or; either; alternatively
- 向后
- xiàng hòu — Backward; in the backward direction
- 关系
- guānxi — Relationship; connection between things
- 而
- ér — But; and; yet; connecting contrasting clauses
- 是
- shì — To be; is; am; are
- 对
- duì — Toward; regarding; correct; facing
- 超出
- chāochū — To exceed; to go beyond a boundary
- 直接
- zhíjiē — Direct; immediate; without intermediary
- 认知
- rènzhī — Cognition; perception; ability to know
- 范围
- fànwéi — Range; scope; boundary of an area
- 之
- zhī — Classical possessive or linking particle
- 事物
- shìwù — Things; matters; objects in the world
- 把握
- bǎwò — To grasp; to have command or understanding of
- 先知
- xiānzhī — Prophet; one who reveals divine knowledge
- 自然
- zìrán — Natural; nature; of course; naturally
- 感官
- gǎnguān — Senses; sensory organs; faculties of perception
- 无法
- wúfǎ — Unable to; impossible to; cannot
- 感知
- gǎnzhī — To perceive; to sense; sensory perception
- 洞见
- dòngjiàn — Insight; penetrating understanding of something
- 断言
- duànyán — To assert firmly; to state with certainty
- 某个
- mǒu gè — A certain; some particular unspecified thing
- 时刻
- shíkè — Moment; a specific point in time
- 一个
- yī gè — One; a single (general counter)
- 处于
- chǔyú — To be in; to find oneself in a state
- 适当
- shìdàng — Appropriate; suitable; proper
- 位置
- wèizhì — Position; location; place
- 观察者
- guānchá zhě — Observer; one who watches and monitors
- 将会
- jiāng huì — Will; shall; indicating future occurrence
- 目睹
- mùdǔ — To witness; to see with one's own eyes
- 某些
- mǒuxiē — Certain; some unspecified things or events
- 事件
- shìjiàn — Event; incident; occurrence
- 千里眼
- qiānlǐyǎn — Clairvoyant; one who sees things far away
- 宣称
- xuānchēng — To claim; to declare; to proclaim
- 就在
- jiù zài — Right at; precisely at this moment or place
- 此刻
- cǐkè — This moment; right now; at present
- 事情
- shìqíng — Matter; affair; thing that happens
- 正在
- zhèngzài — Currently; in the process of doing something
- 千里之外
- qiānlǐ zhī wài — A thousand miles away; at a great distance
- 发生
- fāshēng — To happen; to occur; to take place
- 预言者
- yùyánzhě — Prophet; one who makes prophecies or predictions
- 若是
- ruòshì — If; supposing that; were it the case
- 词
- cí — Word; term; a unit of language
- 该
- gāi — Should; ought to; that particular
- 多好
- duō hǎo — How good; how wonderful it would be
- 则
- zé — Then; in that case; classical connective
- 肯定地
- kěndìng de — Affirmatively; asserting something as certain
- 若干
- ruògān — Several; a number of; some amount
- 小时
- xiǎoshí — Hour; unit of time equal to sixty minutes
- 年前
- nián qián — Years ago; a number of years in the past
- 曾经
- céngjīng — Once; used to; at some past time
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