The Prince — Page 15

English → Chinese Preface Level 8/10

Machiavelli was undoubtedly a man of great observation, acuteness, and industry; noting with appreciative eye whatever passed before him, and with his supreme literary gift turning it to account in his enforced retirement from affairs.

马基雅维利无疑是一个具有卓越观察力、敏锐才智和勤勉精神的人；他以赞赏的眼光注意到发生在他面前的一切，并凭借其无与伦比的文学天赋，在被迫退出政务期间将这一切化为著述。

He does not present himself, nor is he depicted by his contemporaries, as a type of that rare combination, the successful statesman and author, for he appears to have been only moderately prosperous in his several embassies and political employments.

他本人并未以那种罕见的集成功政治家与作家于一身的典型自居，他的同时代人也未如此描绘他，因为他在多次出使和政治任职中似乎仅取得了中等程度的成就。

He was misled by Catherina Sforza, ignored by Louis XII, overawed by Cesare Borgia; several of his embassies were quite barren of results; his attempts to fortify Florence failed, and the soldiery that he raised astonished everybody by their cowardice.

他被卡特琳娜·斯福尔扎所误导，被路易十二所忽视，被切萨雷·博尔贾所震慑；他的数次出使几乎毫无成果；他加固佛罗伦萨防御工事的尝试以失败告终，而他所招募的士兵更以其懦弱令所有人瞠目结舌。

In the conduct of his own affairs he was timid and time-serving; he dared not appear by the side of Soderini, to whom he owed so much, for fear of compromising himself; his connection with the Medici was open to suspicion, and Giuliano appears to have recognized his real forte when he set him to write the "History of Florence," rather than employ him in the state.

在处理自身事务方面，他胆小怯懦、趋炎附势；他不敢出现在对他恩重如山的索德里尼身旁，唯恐牵连自身；他与美第奇家族的关系令人生疑，而朱利亚诺似乎看出了他真正的长处，让他撰写《佛罗伦萨史》，而非委以国政重任。

And it is on the literary side of his character, and there alone, that we find no weakness and no failure.

唯有在他性格的文学层面，也只有在这一层面，我们才找不到任何弱点与失败。

Although the light of almost four centuries has been focused on _The Prince_, its problems are still debatable and interesting, because they are the eternal problems between the ruled and their rulers.

尽管近四个世纪以来《君主论》一直备受关注，其所探讨的问题至今仍具争议性与吸引力，因为这些问题触及的是被统治者与统治者之间永恒的矛盾。

Vocabulary

无疑: wúyí — Undoubtedly, without doubt, certainly.
是: shì — To be; yes; affirmative copula.
一个: yī gè — One; a single (general measure word).
具有: jùyǒu — To possess, to have a certain quality or ability.
卓越: zhuóyuè — Outstanding, exceptional, remarkably excellent.
观察力: guānchálì — Power of observation, ability to observe keenly.
敏锐: mǐnruì — Sharp, keen, acute in perception or intellect.
才智: cáizhì — Talent and intelligence, mental ability and wisdom.
和: hé — And; together with; connecting words or phrases.
勤勉: qínmiǎn — Diligent, hardworking, industrious in one's efforts.
精神: jīngshén — Spirit, mind, mental attitude or driving force.
的: de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification.
人: rén — Person, human being, people.
他: tā — He, him; third-person masculine pronoun.
以: yǐ — With, using, by means of.
赞赏: zànshǎng — To admire, to appreciate, to regard with approval.
眼光: yǎnguāng — Vision, perspective, point of view, discerning eye.
注意到: zhùyì dào — To notice, to become aware of something observed.
发生: fāshēng — To happen, to occur, to take place.
在: zài — At, in, on; indicates location or ongoing action.
面前: miànqián — In front of, before one's eyes or presence.
一切: yīqiè — Everything, all things, the whole of something.
并: bìng — And, furthermore, simultaneously; linking parallel actions.
凭借: píngjiè — By means of, relying on, making use of.
其: qí — His, her, its, their; third-person possessive pronoun.
无与伦比: wú yǔ lún bǐ — Matchless, incomparable, without equal or rival.
文学: wénxué — Literature, literary arts, written artistic works.
天赋: tiānfù — Natural talent, innate gift, God-given ability.
被迫: bèipò — Forced, compelled, coerced to do something unwillingly.
退出: tuìchū — To withdraw from, to exit, to step out of.
政务: zhèngwù — Government affairs, state business, administrative duties.
期间: qījiān — During, period of time, in the course of.
将: jiāng — To take, to use; future marker or disposal preposition.
这一切: zhè yīqiè — All of this, everything mentioned above.
化为: huà wéi — To transform into, to convert something into another form.
著述: zhùshù — Written works, scholarly writings, authored publications.
本人: běnrén — Oneself, the person in question, himself/herself.
并未: bìng wèi — Did not, emphatically has not done something.
那种: nà zhǒng — That kind of, that type of thing or person.
罕见: hǎnjiàn — Rare, uncommon, seldom seen or encountered.
集: jí — To combine, to gather together multiple qualities in one.
成功: chénggōng — Successful, success, achievement of a desired goal.
政治家: zhèngzhìjiā — Statesman, politician, skilled political leader.
与: yǔ — And, with; connecting nouns or pronouns together.
作家: zuòjiā — Writer, author, literary creator of published works.
于: yú — In, at, from; classical preposition of location or time.
一身: yīshēn — In one person, combined in a single individual.
典型: diǎnxíng — Typical example, archetype, representative model.
自居: zìjū — To consider oneself as, to regard oneself to be.
同时代人: tóng shídài rén — Contemporaries, people living in the same era.
也: yě — Also, too, as well; additive adverb.
未: wèi — Did not, have not; classical negation of past action.
如此: rúcǐ — Like this, in this way, so, thus.
描绘: miáohuì — To depict, to portray, to describe in detail.
因为: yīnwèi — Because, since, for the reason that.
多次: duō cì — Many times, on multiple occasions, repeatedly.
出使: chūshǐ — To be sent as an envoy, diplomatic mission abroad.
政治: zhèngzhì — Politics, political affairs, governance of a state.
任职: rènzhí — To hold a post, to serve in an official position.
中: zhōng — In, within, among; indicates being inside something.
似乎: sìhū — Seems, appears, it seems as though.
仅: jǐn — Only, merely, just; limiting adverb.
取得了: qǔdé le — Achieved, obtained, attained a result or outcome.
中等: zhōngděng — Medium, moderate, middling, average level.
程度: chéngdù — Degree, level, extent of something.
成就: chéngjiù — Achievement, accomplishment, attainment in a field.
被: bèi — Passive marker; by (indicates passive voice).
所: suǒ — Passive particle used before a verb in formal style.
误导: wùdǎo — To mislead, to misdirect, to lead astray.
十二: shí'èr — Twelve; the number 12.
忽视: hūshì — To ignore, to overlook, to neglect something important.
震慑: zhènshè — To intimidate, to overawe, to strike with fear.
数次: shù cì — Several times, a number of times, multiple occasions.
几乎: jīhū — Almost, nearly, practically, very close to.
毫无: háo wú — Completely without, not the slightest, zero of something.
成果: chéngguǒ — Results, fruits of effort, productive outcomes achieved.
加固: jiāgù — To reinforce, to strengthen, to make more secure.
防御工事: fángyù gōngshì — Fortifications, defensive military structures and works.
尝试: chángshì — To attempt, to try, to make an effort to do.
失败: shībài — To fail, failure, unsuccessful outcome of an attempt.
告终: gào zhōng — To end in, to conclude with a particular result.
而: ér — And, but, yet; connective linking contrasting clauses.
招募: zhāomù — To recruit, to enlist, to gather soldiers or members.
士兵: shìbīng — Soldier, private, enlisted military personnel.
更: gèng — Even more, further, to a greater degree.
懦弱: nuòruò — Cowardly, weak-willed, lacking courage or resolve.
令: lìng — To cause, to make, to order someone to do.
所有人: suǒyǒu rén — Everyone, all people, every single person.
瞠目结舌: chēng mù jié shé — Speechless and wide-eyed with astonishment or shock.
处理: chǔlǐ — To handle, to deal with, to manage a matter.
自身: zìshēn — Oneself, one's own self, one's personal affairs.
事务: shìwù — Affairs, matters, business, day-to-day tasks.
方面: fāngmiàn — Aspect, side, respect, dimension of something.
胆小怯懦: dǎn xiǎo qiènuò — Timid and cowardly, lacking bravery or boldness.
趋炎附势: qū yán fù shì — To flatter the powerful, to be a sycophant.
不敢: bù gǎn — Dare not, not bold enough to do something.
出现: chūxiàn — To appear, to show up, to emerge or come forth.
对: duì — Towards, for, regarding; preposition of direction or object.
恩重如山: ēn zhòng rú shān — Deep as a mountain; describing profound gratitude owed.
身旁: shēnpáng — Beside, by one's side, close to someone physically.
唯恐: wéikǒng — For fear that, lest, worried that something happens.
牵连: qiānlián — To implicate, to involve, to be entangled with someone.
家族: jiāzú — Family clan, family group, dynasty or prominent family.
关系: guānxi — Relationship, connection, association between people or things.
令人生疑: lìng rén shēng yí — To arouse suspicion, causing others to doubt one.
看出了: kàn chū le — Saw through, recognized, identified a hidden quality.
真正: zhēnzhèng — True, genuine, real, authentic quality or nature.
长处: chángchù — Strong point, strength, advantage, area of excellence.
让: ràng — To let, to allow, to have someone do something.
撰写: zhuànxiě — To write, to compose, to author a formal work.
而非: ér fēi — Rather than, instead of, and not the other option.
委以: wěi yǐ — To entrust with, to assign a responsibility to someone.
国政: guózhèng — State affairs, national governance, government administration.
重任: zhòng rèn — Important responsibility, weighty duty or assignment.
唯有: wéiyǒu — Only, solely, it is only in this respect.
性格: xìnggé — Character, personality, temperament of a person.
层面: céngmiàn — Level, dimension, aspect, plane of consideration.
只有: zhǐyǒu — Only, only when, it is only under this condition.
这一: zhè yī — This one, this particular aspect or point.
我们: wǒmen — We, us, first-person plural pronoun.
才: cái — Only then, just; emphasizes a condition must be met.
找不到: zhǎo bu dào — Cannot find, unable to locate or discover.
任何: rènhé — Any, whichever, no matter what kind.
弱点: ruòdiǎn — Weakness, weak point, flaw or deficiency.
尽管: jǐnguǎn — Although, even though, despite the fact that.
近: jìn — Nearly, close to, approximately a certain amount.
四个: sì gè — Four (with general measure word), four items.
世纪: shìjì — Century, a period of one hundred years.
以来: yǐlái — Since, from a past time up until now.
一直: yīzhí — Always, continuously, all along, without interruption.
备受: bèi shòu — To receive fully, to be subjected to much attention.
关注: guānzhù — Attention, concern, to pay close attention to.
探讨: tàntǎo — To explore, to discuss, to investigate a topic deeply.
问题: wèntí — Problem, question, issue, matter to be addressed.
至今: zhìjīn — To this day, up until now, still at present.
仍: réng — Still, yet, continues to be the case.
具: jù — To possess, to have, to be endowed with.
争议性: zhēngyì xìng — Controversial nature, quality of being debated or disputed.
吸引力: xīyǐnlì — Appeal, attraction, power to draw interest or attention.
这些: zhèxiē — These, referring to multiple nearby things or topics.
触及: chùjí — To touch upon, to reach, to address a deep issue.
被统治者: bèi tǒngzhì zhě — The governed, those who are ruled by others.
统治者: tǒngzhì zhě — Ruler, governor, one who holds power over others.
之间: zhījiān — Between, among, in the space or relationship between.
永恒: yǒnghéng — Eternal, everlasting, permanent, timeless in nature.
矛盾: máodùn — Contradiction, conflict, tension between opposing sides.

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