有声名著《格列佛游记》65：第12章 到慧骃国的航行(6)

有声名著《格列佛游记》65:第12章 到慧骃国的航行(6)

He shook his head and looked sad.I think you must be-whatwas your word?Ah yes—lying to me.

他摇着头，看上去很哀伤。我想你一定在—你们的词怎么说的?噢，对—向我撒谎。

How could you and your countrymen kill so many otherYahoos?And why would you want to?

你和你的国人怎么能杀死那么多耶胡呢?而你们又为什么想那样呢?

I smiled as I replied proudly，Sir，you don't know much about European war.

我笑着骄傲地回答，先生，你不太了解欧洲的战争。

With our guns and bullets and gunpowder we can destroy a thousand ships，a hundredcities，and twenty thousand men You see，—

用我们的枪、子弹和火药我们可以摧毁 1000只轮船，100座城池，2万人。你看—

Be quiet!he ordered.I‘ve heard enough.I know Yahoos are bad，but I didn't realize theycould possibly do such terrible things.

安静点!他命令道，我听够了。我知道耶胡坏，可是我也没想到他们竟然会作出如此可怕的事。

After these conversations I began to wonder whether the Houys were right.Why do we humansso often fight wars and tell lies?

经过这些谈话后，我开始想慧骃是否是对的。为什么我们人类如此经常地进行战争和撒谎?

Peace and truth began to seem more important than making war or making money.

和平和真话开始看起来比进行战争或挣钱更重要。

I became more and more used to the Houysideas and way of life.As the Houys did，I hated theYahoos for their dirty habits and unpleasant character.

我越来越习惯于慧骃的想法和生活方式。和慧骃一样，我也厌恶耶胡的脏习惯和令人不快的性格。

By the time I had been there a year，I walked and neighed like the Houys.

到这时我已经在那儿一年了，我像慧骃那样走路和嘶叫。

I felt such a strong love for them that I planned to spend the rest of my life among them，and totry to become more like them.

我对他们充满强烈的喜爱，我计划我的余生都和他们一起度过，并且变得更像他们。

It is a great sadness to me，even today，that this was not possible.

这没成为可能;即使今天也是我的一大憾事。

One day my Houy master said，Can you explain something to me?

一天我的慧骃主人说，你可以给我解释一些事吗?

Why are the Yahoos so violently fond of those shining stones in the fields?They dig for days toget them out of the ground，and hide them jealously from other Yahoos.

为什么耶胡如此狂热地喜欢田野里的那些闪亮的石头?他们连续多少天把它们从地里挖出来，小心翼翼地把它们藏起来不让别的耶胡发现。

I expect they've found pieces of gold or silver，I said.Because he did not seem to understand，Iadded，We use them as money，to pay for things，you see.

我估计他们找到了金子或银子。我说，因为他似乎还不理解，我又加了一句，我们用来当钱花，来买东西，明白吧。

How strange!he replied.We share everything here.No Houy needs-what do you call it?-money.

多奇怪!他回答，我们这儿什么都共享，没有慧骃需要——你们叫它什么?——钱。

Perhaps you can imagine how I felt.I knew I could be happy for ever with these sensible，gentlecreatures，who never lied or stole，in a country which had no disease，no crime，no wars.Butthis perfect happiness did not last long.

也许你可以想象我的感受，我清楚，和这些理智、温顺的动物在一起，他们从不撒谎或偷盗，在一个没有疾病、没有犯罪、没有战争的国家里，我将永远幸福。可是这种完美的幸福没有持续多长时间。

I'm sorry，said my master one day.My friends and I have decided you can't stay here anylonger.You see，you're neither one of us，nor a Yahoo.

我很抱歉，一天我的主人说，我的朋友和我已经决定，你不能在这儿呆下去了。你看，你既不是我们中的一员，也不是一个耶胡。

No!I cried desperately.Don't send me away!How can I go back to England to live with thoseawful Yahoos!

不!我绝望地叫，不要赶走我!我怎么能回到英国去与那些可怕的耶胡住在一起呢!

I'm afraid you must，he replied gently.My servants will help you make a boat.

我恐怕你必须走。他温文尔雅地回答，我的仆从会帮你造一只船。

And so，two months later，although I was very sad to leave，I said goodbye to my dear masterand his family，and rowed away from the land of the Houys.

这样，两个月后，尽管我为离去感到悲伤，我还是告别了我的主人和他的一家，划船离开了慧骃国。

I knew that I would never find happiness anywhere else.

我清楚我在别的地方再也不会找到幸福。

After several days travelling eastwards，I arrived in Australia，and from there managed to find aship returning to Europe.

向东航行了几天后，我到达了澳大利亚，在那儿我找到了一艘返回欧洲的轮船。

I did not enjoy the voyage.The sailors all laughed at me because I walked and neighed like ahorse.

我不喜欢这旅行。水手们都嘲笑我，因为我像一匹马那样走路和嘶叫。

They looked just like those horrible Yahoos，and at first I could not let them touch me or comenear me.

他们就像那些可怕的耶胡，起初我不让他们碰我或者靠近我。

Their ugly faces and unpleasant smell made me feel quite ill.

他们丑陋的脸和令人不快的气味让我感到恶心。

And when I arrived home in England，after being away for five years，my wife and children weredelighted to see me，because they had thought I was dead.

当我到达了在英格兰的家，在离开了5年后，我的妻子和儿女见到我非常高兴，因为他们以为我已经死了。

But to my horror they looked and smelt like Yahoos too，and I told them to keep away fromme.

令我感到恐惧的是，他们看起来、嗅起来也像耶胡，我叫他们离我远点。

Even now，five years later，I do not let my children get close to me，although I sometimes allowmy wife to sit with me while I eat.

即使现在，5年以后，我还是不让我的孩子靠近我，尽管我有时让我的妻子在我吃饭时与我在一起坐一会儿。

I try to accept my countrymen now，but the proud ones，who are so full of their own self-importance-well，they had better not come near me.

现在我力图接受我的国人，那些骄傲的除外，他们充满了自大的情绪—他们最好不要走近我。

How sad that people cannot learn from the Houys!I was hoping that perhaps human beingswould change their ways after reading the stories of my life with the Houys.

人们不能向慧骃学习是多么令人忧伤!我希望人类在读了我与慧骃在一起生活的故事后也许会改变他们的方式。可是他们指责我在书中撒谎。

But they accuse me of lying in my book.And now I realize that people still lie，steal，andfight，just as they have always done，and probably will always do.

现在我意识到人们仍然在撒谎、抢劫和战争，正如他们一直所做的，而且也许永远会这样。

I will say no more.Clearly，there is no hope for human beings.

我不想再说什么。显然，人类是没有希望的。

I was stupid to think that I could bring reason and truth into their lives and thoughts Humans areall Yahoos，and Yaboos they will remain.

我真愚蠢，我以为我可以把理智和真相带到他们的生活和思想中去。人类都是耶胡，而且将永远是耶胡。

关于《格列佛游记》

格列佛得到消息，有人阴谋指控他犯有严重的叛国罪，只好逃往不来夫斯库——他在那里受到欢迎。