Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 5
The portionless, who struggle with no such unnecessary inherited encumbrances, find it labor enough to subdue and cultivate a few cubic feet of flesh.
那些没有遗产的人，不必与这些不必要的遗产负担抗争，却发现光是驯服和培育自己那几立方英尺的肉身，便已是足够繁重的劳作了。
But men labor under a mistake.
然而人们是在一种错误之下劳作的。
The better part of the man is soon plowed into the soil for compost.
人最好的那部分很快便被翻耕进土壤，化作堆肥。
By a seeming fate, commonly called necessity, they are employed, as it says in an old book, laying up treasures which moth and rust will corrupt and thieves break through and steal.
被一种表面上的命运所驱使——人们通常称之为必然——他们如一本古书中所言，忙于积攒财宝，而这些财宝终将被虫蛀锈蚀，被盗贼挖墙而入窃走。
It is a fool's life, as they will find when they get to the end of it, if not before.
这是愚人的一生，他们若非在此之前便已领悟，也终将在走到尽头时方才明白。
It is said that Deucalion and Pyrrha created men by throwing stones over their heads behind them:—
据说丢卡利翁与皮拉是将石头从头顶抛向身后，从而创造了人类：——
Inde genus durum sumus, experiensque laborum, Et documenta damus quâ simus origine nati.
由此我们成为坚硬的族类，历经劳苦之磨砺，以此证明我们诞生自何等根源。
Or, as Raleigh rhymes it in his sonorous way,— "From thence our kind hard-hearted is, enduring pain and care, Approving that our bodies of a stony nature are."
或如雷利以其铿锵之风将其写成韵文：——"自彼处起，我辈心肠刚硬，忍受痛苦与忧愁，此正证明吾等躯体本为石质。"
So much for a blind obedience to a blundering oracle, throwing the stones over their heads behind them, and not seeing where they fell.
这便是盲目服从一个荒谬神谕的结果——将石头从头顶抛向身后，却全然不知石落何处。
Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them.
大多数人，即便身处这个相对自由的国度，也因单纯的无知与错误，深陷于生活中那些人为制造的忧虑与多余粗重的劳役之中，以至于生命中那些更为精美的果实，他们根本无从摘取。
Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and tremble too much for that.
他们的手指因过度劳作而过于笨拙，颤抖不已，根本无法胜任此事。
Vocabulary
- 那些
- nàxiē — Those; referring to specific plural things or people
- 没有
- méiyǒu — Do not have; there is no; without
- 遗产
- yíchǎn — Inheritance; legacy; heritage passed down
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification
- 人
- rén — Person; people; human being
- 不必
- bùbì — Need not; it is unnecessary to do something
- 与
- yǔ — With; and; together with
- 这些
- zhèxiē — These; referring to nearby plural things
- 不必要
- bù bìyào — Unnecessary; not needed; superfluous
- 负担
- fùdān — Burden; load; something difficult to bear
- 抗争
- kàngzhēng — Struggle against; resist; fight back
- 却
- què — Yet; but; however; indicating contrast
- 发现
- fāxiàn — Discover; find; realize something new
- 光是
- guāng shì — Just; merely; simply by itself alone
- 驯服
- xùnfú — Tame; subdue; make obedient and docile
- 和
- hé — And; together with; harmony
- 培育
- péiyù — Cultivate; nurture; raise and develop
- 自己
- zìjǐ — Oneself; one's own self
- 那
- nà — That; referring to something distant
- 几
- jǐ — Several; a few; how many
- 立方
- lìfāng — Cubic; three-dimensional unit of measurement
- 英尺
- yīngchǐ — Foot; unit of length equal to 12 inches
- 肉身
- ròushēn — Flesh; physical body; mortal body
- 是
- shì — Is; am; are; to be
- 足够
- zúgòu — Enough; sufficient; adequate amount
- 繁重
- fánzhòng — Heavy and burdensome; arduous; demanding
- 劳作
- láozuò — Labor; toil; hard physical work
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completion or change of state
- 然而
- rán'ér — However; yet; nevertheless; but
- 人们
- rénmen — People; human beings in general
- 在
- zài — At; in; on; located at
- 一种
- yī zhǒng — A kind of; a type of; one sort
- 错误
- cuòwù — Error; mistake; wrong; incorrect
- 之下
- zhī xià — Under; beneath; below a certain condition
- 最好
- zuìhǎo — Best; finest; it would be best
- 部分
- bùfen — Part; portion; section of a whole
- 很快
- hěn kuài — Very quickly; soon; rapidly
- 进
- jìn — Enter into; go in; advance
- 土壤
- tǔrǎng — Soil; earth; ground substrate for plants
- 化作
- huà zuò — Transform into; become; turn into something
- 被
- bèi — Passive marker; by; indicates action done to subject
- 表面上
- biǎomiàn shang — On the surface; seemingly; superficially
- 命运
- mìngyùn — Fate; destiny; one's lot in life
- 所
- suǒ — Particle used with passive or relative constructions
- 驱使
- qūshǐ — Drive; impel; compel someone to act
- 通常
- tōngcháng — Usually; normally; generally speaking
- 称之为
- chēng zhī wéi — Call it; refer to it as; name it
- 必然
- bìrán — Inevitable; certain; necessarily so
- 他们
- tāmen — They; them; third person plural
- 如
- rú — As; like; just as; for example
- 一本
- yī běn — One volume; one book; a single book
- 古书
- gǔshū — Ancient book; old text; classical writing
- 中
- zhōng — In; within; inside; middle
- 忙于
- máng yú — Busy with; occupied in doing something
- 积攒
- jīzǎn — Accumulate; save up; hoard gradually
- 财宝
- cáibǎo — Treasure; riches; valuables and wealth
- 而
- ér — And yet; but; while; conjunction of contrast
- 终将
- zhōng jiāng — Will eventually; shall ultimately; in the end
- 盗贼
- dàozéi — Thief; robber; bandit; one who steals
- 这是
- zhè shì — This is; this represents; here is
- 愚人
- yúrén — Fool; foolish person; ignorant individual
- 一生
- yīshēng — Lifetime; one's whole life; all one's days
- 若非
- ruòfēi — If not; unless; were it not for
- 领悟
- lǐngwù — Comprehend; grasp; come to understand deeply
- 也
- yě — Also; too; as well; even
- 走到
- zǒu dào — Reach; walk to; arrive at a point
- 尽头
- jìntóu — End; terminus; the very end of something
- 时
- shí — When; at the time of; moment
- 方才
- fāngcái — Only then; just now; not until then
- 明白
- míngbai — Understand; realize; be clear about something
- 据说
- jùshuō — It is said; reportedly; allegedly
- 将
- jiāng — Will; shall; take and do something
- 石头
- shítou — Stone; rock; a hard mineral lump
- 从
- cóng — From; since; following a path from
- 头顶
- tóudǐng — Top of the head; crown of head
- 抛向
- pāo xiàng — Throw toward; hurl in a direction
- 身后
- shēn hòu — Behind oneself; at one's back; posthumously
- 从而
- cóng'ér — Thus; thereby; and as a result
- 创造
- chuàngzào — Create; invent; bring into existence
- 人类
- rénlèi — Humanity; humankind; the human race
- 由此
- yóucǐ — From this; hence; therefore; thereby
- 我们
- wǒmen — We; us; first person plural
- 成为
- chéngwéi — Become; turn into; come to be
- 坚硬
- jiānyìng — Hard; rigid; tough and unyielding material
- 历经
- lìjīng — Experience through; undergo; go through over time
- 劳苦
- láokǔ — Toil and hardship; laborious suffering
- 之
- zhī — Classical possessive or structural particle
- 磨砺
- mólì — Temper; hone; sharpen through hardship
- 以此
- yǐcǐ — By this; with this; using this as means
- 证明
- zhèngmíng — Prove; demonstrate; show evidence of truth
- 诞生
- dànshēng — Be born; come into existence; originate
- 自
- zì — From; since; self; originating from
- 何等
- héděng — What kind of; how great; what sort of
- 根源
- gēnyuán — Root; origin; fundamental source or cause
- 或
- huò — Or; either; perhaps; alternatively
- 写成
- xiě chéng — Write into; compose into a finished form
- 韵文
- yùnwén — Verse; rhymed writing; poetry in metrical form
- 起
- qǐ — Rise; start; begin; originate from
- 心肠
- xīncháng — Heart; disposition; feelings; emotional nature
- 忍受
- rěnshòu — Endure; tolerate; bear pain or hardship
- 痛苦
- tòngkǔ — Pain; suffering; anguish; great distress
- 忧愁
- yōuchóu — Sorrow; grief; melancholy; sadness
- 此
- cǐ — This; here; the present matter
- 正
- zhèng — Just; exactly; precisely; upright
- 躯体
- qūtǐ — Body; physical frame; the bodily form
- 这
- zhè — This; the present; nearby thing or idea
- 便是
- biàn shì — Is precisely; that is exactly; this is
- 盲目
- mángmù — Blind; blindly; without thought or reason
- 服从
- fúcóng — Obey; comply; submit to authority
- 一个
- yīgè — One; a single; one item or person
- 荒谬
- huāngmiù — Absurd; ridiculous; preposterous; nonsensical
- 结果
- jiéguǒ — Result; outcome; consequence; end result
- 全然
- quánrán — Completely; entirely; wholly; totally
- 不知
- bùzhī — Not know; unaware; ignorant of something
- 何处
- héchù — Where; what place; which location
- 大多数
- dàduōshù — Majority; most; the greater number of
- 即便
- jíbiàn — Even if; even though; although
- 身处
- shēnchǔ — Find oneself in; be situated in a place
- 这个
- zhège — This; this one; this particular thing
- 相对
- xiāngduì — Relatively; comparatively; mutual; relative
- 自由
- zìyóu — Freedom; liberty; free from constraint
- 国度
- guódù — Country; nation; realm; land
- 因
- yīn — Because of; due to; owing to
- 单纯
- dānchún — Simple; naive; pure; uncomplicated
- 无知
- wúzhī — Ignorant; unknowing; lacking knowledge
- 深陷
- shēnxiàn — Deeply trapped; deeply mired in something
- 于
- yú — In; at; from; classical preposition
- 生活
- shēnghuó — Life; living; daily existence and lifestyle
- 人为
- rénwéi — Man-made; artificial; caused by humans
- 制造
- zhìzào — Manufacture; create; produce; make something
- 忧虑
- yōulǜ — Worry; anxiety; concern; apprehension
- 多余
- duōyú — Surplus; superfluous; more than needed
- 之中
- zhī zhōng — Among; within; in the midst of
- 以至于
- yǐzhìyú — To the extent that; so much that; resulting in
- 生命
- shēngmìng — Life; living existence; one's vital being
- 更为
- gèng wéi — Even more; all the more; increasingly so
- 精美
- jīngměi — Exquisite; fine and beautiful; delicate quality
- 果实
- guǒshí — Fruit; result of effort; reward of labor
- 根本
- gēnběn — Fundamentally; at all; basically; not at all
- 无从
- wúcóng — Have no way to; unable to; no means of
- 摘取
- zhāiqǔ — Pluck; pick; gather fruit or flowers
- 手指
- shǒuzhǐ — Finger; digits of the hand
- 过度
- guòdù — Excessive; overdone; beyond proper limits
- 过于
- guòyú — Too; excessively; overly so
- 笨拙
- bènzhuō — Clumsy; awkward; lacking skill or grace
- 颤抖
- chàndǒu — Tremble; shiver; shake uncontrollably
- 不已
- bùyǐ — Ceaselessly; without stopping; incessantly
- 无法
- wúfǎ — Unable to; cannot; have no way to
- 胜任
- shèngrèn — Be competent for; be equal to a task
- 此事
- cǐ shì — This matter; this affair; this thing
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →