1、L5 Love is a fallacy1 Charles Lamb , as merry and enterprising Showing initiative and willingness to undertake new projects (有事业心的 , 有进取心的 , 有魄力的, 有胆量的) a fellow as you will meet in a month of Sundays a very long time, unfettered 不受约束的 To set free or keep free from restrictions or bonds (to unchain;
2、 to unshackle; to liberate) the informal essay with his memorable Old China and Dreams Children. There follows an informal essay that ventures even beyond Lambs frontier, Consider this: Metaphor, comparing the limitations set by Lamb to a frontier. (limitations vs. limits) indeed, “informal“ may not
3、 be quite the right word to describe this essay; “limp“ or flaccid“ unpleasantly soft it cites instances; it reaches a conclusion. Could Carlyle do more?Could Ruskin? 尽管很难说清这篇文章是属于哪一类，但可以肯定它是一篇散文小品文。它提出了论点。引用了许多例证，并得出了结论。卡菜尔能写得更好吗?罗斯金呢? 3 Read, then, the following essay which undertakes attempts 担任
4、to demonstrate that logic, far from being a dry, pedantic 迂腐的学究式的 academic (over-concerned with correctness) discipline有条理, is a living, breathing thing, full of beauty, passion, and trauma创伤. Consider this: Logic is not at all dry, learned branch of learning. It is like a living human being, full o
5、f beauty, passion and painful emotional shocks. Authors Note 这篇文章意在论证逻辑学非但不枯燥乏味而且活泼、清新、富于关感和激情，并给人以启迪。诸位不妨一读。 作者注4 Cool was I and logical. Keen, calculating, perspicacious, acute and astuteI was all of these. My brain was as powerful as a dynamo, precise as a chemists scales, as penetrating as a sca
6、lpel. Andthink of it!I only eighteen. 我这个人头脑冷静，逻辑思维能力强。敏锐、慎重、聪慧、深刻、机智一一这些就是我的特点。我的大脑像发电机一样发达，像化学家的天平一样精确，像手术刀一样锋利。一一你知道吗? 我才十八岁呀。It is not often that one so young has such a giant intellect. Take, for example, Petey Bellows, my roommate at the university. Same age, same background, but dumb as an ox
7、. A nice enough fellow, you understand, but nothing upstairs. Emotional type. Unstable. Impressionable. Worst of all, a faddist. Fads, I submit, are the very negation of reason. To be swept up in every new craze that comes along, to surrender oneself to idiocy just because everybody else is doing it
8、this, to me, is the acme of mindlessness. Not, however, to Petey. 年纪这么轻而智力又如此非凡的人并不常有。就拿在明尼苏达大学跟我同住一个房间的皮蒂伯奇来说吧，他跟我年龄相仿，经历一样，可他笨得像头驴。小伙子长得年轻漂亮，可惜脑子里却空空如也。他易于激动，情绪反复无常，容易受别人的影响。最糟的是他爱赶时髦。我认为，赶时髦就是最缺乏理智的表现。见到一种新鲜的东西就跟着学，以为别人都在那么干，自己也就卷进去傻干这在我看来，简直愚蠢至极，但皮蒂却不以为然。6 One afternoon I found Petey lying on hi
9、s bed with an expression of such distress on his face that I immediately diagnosed appendicitis. “Dont move,” I said, “Dont take a laxative. Ill get a doctor.” 7“Raccoon,” he mumbled thickly. 8“Raccoon?” I said, pausing in my flight. 9 “I want a raccoon coat,” he wailed. 10 I perceived that his trou
10、ble was not physical, but mental. “Why do you want a raccoon coat?” 一天下午我看见皮蒂躺在床上，脸上显露出一种痛苦不堪的表情，我立刻断定他是得了阑尾炎。“别动，”我说，“别吃泻药，我就请医生来。”“浣熊，”他咕哝着说。 “浣熊? ”我停下来问道。 “我要一件浣熊皮大衣，”他痛苦地哭叫着。我明白了，他不是身体不舒服，而是精神上不太正常。“你为什么要浣熊皮大衣?”11“I should have known it,” he cried, pounding his temples. “I should have known they
11、d come back when the Charleston came back. Like a fool I spent all my money for textbooks, and now I cant get a raccoon coat.” “我本早该知道，”他哭叫着，用拳头捶打着太阳穴，“我早该知道查尔斯登舞再度流行时，浣熊皮大衣也会时兴起来的。我真傻，钱都买了课本，可现在不能买浣熊皮大衣了。” 12 “Can you mean,” I said incredulously, “that people are actually wearing raccoon coats agai
12、n?” 13 “All the Big Men on Campus are wearing them. Whereve you been?” 14 In the library,” I said, naming a place not frequented by Big Men on Campus. 15 He leaped from the bed and paced the room. “Ive got to have a raccoon coat,” he said passionately. “Ive got to!” 我带着怀疑的眼神问道：“你是说人们真的又要穿浣熊皮大衣吗?” “校
13、园里有身分的人哪个不穿?你刚从哪儿来? ” “图书馆，”我说了一个有身分的人不常去的地方。他从床上一跃而起，在房间里踱来踱去。“我一定要弄到一件浣熊皮大衣，”他激动地说，“非弄到不可!” 16“Petey, why? Look at it rationally. Raccoon coats are unsanitary. They shed. They smell bad. They weigh too much. Theyre unsightly. They” 17 “You dont understand,” he interrupted impatiently. “Its the thi
14、ng to do. Dont you want to be in the swim?” 18“No,” I said truthfully. 19“Well, I do,” he declared. “Id give anything for a raccoon coat. Anything!” 20 My brain, that precision instrument, slipped into high gear. “Anything?” I asked, looking at him narrowly. 21 “Anything,” he affirmed in ringing ton
15、es. “皮蒂，你怎么啦?冷静地想一想吧，浣熊皮大衣不卫生，掉毛，味道难闻，既笨重又不好看，而且 17“你不懂，”他不耐烦地打断我的话。“这就叫时髦。难道你不想赶时髦吗? ” Dont you want to be fashion-wise (chase fads and fashion 追逐时尚与潮流)?“不想，”我坦率地回答。 “好啦，我可想着呢!”他肯定地说。“只要有浣熊皮大衣，要我什么我都给，什么都行 !” 我的大脑一一这件精密的仪器一一即刻运转起来high gear 高档位。我仔细地打量着他，问道：“什么都行?” slipped into: began to work very fa
16、st. “什么都行!”他斩钉截铁地说。22 I stroked my chin thoughtfully. It so happened that I knew where to get my hands on a raccoon coat. My father had had one in his undergraduate days; it lay now in a trunk in the attic back home. It also happened that Petey had something I wanted. He didnt have it exactly, but a
17、t least he had first rights on it. I refer to his girl, Polly Espy. 我若有所思地抚着下巴。好极了，我知道哪儿能弄到浣熊皮大衣。我父亲在大学读书时就穿过一件，现在还放在家里顶楼 attic 的箱子里。恰好皮蒂也有我需要的东西。尽管他还没有弄到手，但至少他有优先权。我说的是他的女朋友波利埃斯皮。23 I had long coveted Polly Espy. Let me emphasize that my desire for this young woman was not emotional in nature. She
18、was, to be sure, a girl who excited the emotions, but I was not one to let my heart rule my head. I wanted Polly for a shrewdly calculated, entirely cerebral reason. 我早已钟情coveted 梦寐以求的 于波利埃斯皮了。我要特别说明的是，我想得到这妙龄少女【in nature 本质上】并不是由于感情的驱使。她确实是个易于使人动情的姑娘。可我不是那种让感情统治理智的人，我想得到波利是经过了慎重考虑的，完全是出于理智上的原因。24 I
19、 was a freshman in law school. In a few years I would be out in practice. I was well aware of the importance of the right kind of wife in furthering a lawyers career. The successful lawyers I had observed were, almost without exception, married to beautiful, gracious, intelligent women. With one omi
20、ssion, Polly fitted these specifications perfectly. 我是法学院一年级的学生，过不了几年就要挂牌当律师了。In a few years I would graduate and pick up a job as a lawyer.我很清楚，一个合适的妻子对一个律师的前途来说是非常重要的。我发现大凡有成就的律师几乎都是和美丽、文雅、聪明的女子结婚的。波利只差【omission 省略】一条就完全符合这些条件了。25 Beautiful she was. She was not yet of pin-up proportions, but I fel
21、t that time would supply the lack. She already had the makings. 她漂亮。尽管她的身材还没有挂在墙上的美女 pin-up 照片那么苗条，但我相信时间会弥补这个不足。她已经大致不差了。She was not yet as beautiful as a pin-up girl but I felt sure she would become beautiful enough after some time. She already had all the physical qualities needed for developing
22、into a very beautiful woman. 26 Gracious she was. By gracious I mean full of graces. She had an erectness of carriage, an ease of bearing, a poise that clearly indicated the best of breeding. At table her manners were exquisite. I had seen her at the Kozy Kampus Korner eating the specialty of the ho
23、usea sandwich that contained scraps of pot roast, gravy, chopped nuts, and a dipper of sauerkrautwithout even getting her fingers moist. 她温文尔雅我这里是指她很有风度。她婷婷玉立Erectness: Uprightness of posture or form，落落大方，泰然自若，一眼就看得出她很有教养exquisite 优美的。她进餐时，动作是那样的优美。我曾看见过她在“舒适的校园之角（Kozy Kampus Korner）”吃名点一块夹有几片带汁的炖肉和
24、碎核桃仁的三明治，还有一小杯泡菜手指儿一点儿也没有沾湿。27 Intelligent she was not. In fact, she veered in the opposite direction. But I believed that under my guidance she would smarten up. At any rate, it was worth a try. It is, after all, easier to make a beautiful dumb girl smart than to make an ugly smart girl beautiful.
25、她不聪明intelligent:clever, smart ，实际上恰好相反veered 改变方向。但我相信有我的指导，她会变得聪明的。无论如何可以试一试，使一个漂亮的笨姑娘变得聪明比使一个聪明的丑姑娘变得漂亮毕竟要容易些。28 “Petey,” I said, “are you in love with Polly Espy?” 29“I think shes a keen kid,” he replied, “but I dont know if youd call it love. Why?” 30 “Do you,” I asked, “have any kind of formal
26、arrangement with her? I mean are you going steady or anything like that?” 31 “No. We see each other quite a bit, but we both have other dates. Why?” 32 “Is there,” I asked, “any other man for whom she has a particular fondness?” “皮蒂，”我说，“你在跟波利谈恋爱吧?” “我觉得她是一个讨人喜欢的姑娘，”他回答说，“但我不知道这是不是就叫做爱情。你问这个干吗?” “你和
27、她有什么正式的安排吗?我是说你们是不是常有约会，或者有诸如此类的事情? ”我问。“没有，我们常常见面。但我们俩各自有别的约会。你问这个干嘛?” “还有没有别人使她特别喜欢呢?”我问道。33“Not that I know of. Why?” 34 I nodded with satisfaction. “In other words, if you were out of the picture, the field would be open. Is that right?” (if you stop dating her), other would be free to compete f
28、or her friendship. 35“I guess so. What are you getting at?” 36“Nothing , nothing,” I said innocently, and took my suitcase out the closet. 37“Where are you going?” asked Petey. 38“Home for weekend.” I threw a few things into the bag. “那我可不知道。你问这些干吗?” 我满意地点点头说：“这就是说。如果你不在，场地就是空着的。你说是吗?” “我想是这样。你这话是什么
29、意思?” “没什么，没什么，”我若无其事地说，接着把手提皮箱从壁橱里拿了出来。 “你去哪儿? ”皮蒂问。 “回家过周末。”我把几件衣服扔进了提箱。39 “Listen,” he said, clutching my arm eagerly, “while youre home, you couldnt get some money from your old man, could you, and lend it to me so I can buy a raccoon coat?” 40“I may do better than that,” I said with a mysterious
30、 wink and closed my bag and left. “听着，”他焦急的抓住 clutching 我的胳膊说，“你回家后，从你父亲那儿弄点钱来借给我买一件浣熊皮大衣，好吗?” “也许不仅只是这样呢。”我神秘地眨着眼睛说，随后关上皮箱就走了。41“Look,” I said to Petey when I got back Monday morning. I threw open the suitcase and revealed the huge, hairy, gamy object that my father had worn in his Stutz Bearcat in
31、 1925. 星期一上午我回到学校时对皮蒂说：“你瞧!”我猛地打开皮箱，那件肥大、毛茸茸、散发着怪味的东西露了出来，这就是我父亲。1925 年在施图茨比尔凯特汽车里穿过的那一件浣熊皮大衣。42“Holy Toledo!”Slang said Petey reverently. He plunged his hands into the raccoon coat and then his face. “Holy Toledo!” he repeated fifteen or twenty times. 43“Would you like it?” I asked. 44 “Oh yes!” he
32、 cried, clutching the greasy pelt to him. Then a canny look came into his eyes. “What do you want for it?” 45“Your girl.” I said, mincing no words. 46“Polly?” he said in a horrified whisper. “You want Polly?” 47“Thats right.” “太好了!”皮蒂恭敬的respectfully说。他把两只手插进那件皮大衣，然后把头也埋了进去。“太好啦!”他不断地重复了一二十遍。 “你喜欢吗?
33、”我问道。 “哦，喜欢!”他高声叫着，把那满是油腻的毛皮紧紧地搂在怀里。接着他眼里露出机警的神色，说着：“你要什么换呢?” “你的女朋友，”我毫不讳言地说。“波利? ”他吃惊了，结结巴巴地说，“你要波利? ” “是的。”48 He flung the coat from him. “Never,” he said stoutly. 49 I shrugged. “Okay. If you dont want to be in the swim, I guess its your business.” 他把皮大衣往旁一扔，毫不妥协的说：“那可不行。” 我耸了耸肩膀说：“好吧，如果你不想赶时髦，那
34、就随你的便好了。” 50 I sat down in a chair and pretended to read a book, but out of the corner of my eye I kept watching Petey. He was a torn man. He was a man torn between two forces: love for Polly and love for the raccoon coat. | He was an agonized (agitated) man. First he looked at the coat with the exp
35、ression of a waif at a bakery window. Then he turned away and set his jaw resolutely. Then he looked back at the coat, with even more longing in his face. Then he turned away, but with not so much resolution this time. Back and forth his head swiveled, desire waxing, resolution waning. Finally he di
36、dnt turn away at all; he just stood and stared with mad lust at the coat. 我在一把椅子上坐了下来，假装读书，暗暗地瞟着皮蒂。他神情不安，用面包店窗前的流浪儿那种馋涎欲滴的神情望着那件皮大衣，接着扭过头去，坚定地咬紧牙关。过了一会儿，他又回过头来把目光投向那件皮大衣，脸上露出更加渴望的神情。等他再扭过头 seiveled去，已经不那么坚决了。 desire waxing:To increase gradually in size, number, strength, or intensity 逐渐增大：在大小、数量、强度或
37、强度上逐渐增加他看了又看，越看越爱，慢慢地决心也就减弱resolution waning:To decrease gradually in size, amount, intensity, or degree; decline了。最后他再也不扭过头去，只是站在那儿，贪婪地盯着那件皮大衣。51“It isnt as though I was in love with Polly,” he said thickly. “Or going steady or anything like that.” 52“Thats right,” I murmured. 53“Whats Polly to me,
38、 or me to Polly?” 54“Not a thing,” said I. 55 “Its just been a casual kickjust a few laughs, thats all.” 56 “Try on the coat,” said I. “我和波利好像不是在谈恋爱，”他含含糊糊地说。“也说不上经常约会或有诸如此类的事情。” “好的，”我低声地说。 “波利对我算得了什么?我对波利又算得了什么 ?” “只不过是一时高兴fun-不过是说说笑笑casual play罢了，如此而已。” “试试大衣吧。”我说57 He complied. The coat bunched
39、high over his ears and dropped all the way down to his shoe tops. He looked like a mound of dead raccoons. “Fits fine,” he said happily. 58 I rose from my chair. “Is it a deal?” I asked, extending my hand. 59 He swallowed. “Its a deal,” he said and shook my hand. “他照办了。衣领蒙住了 bunched 束住他的耳朵，下摆一直拖到脚跟。
40、他看起来活像一具浣熊尸体。他高兴地说：“挺合身的。” “我从椅子上站了起来。“成交了吗?”我说着，把手伸向他。他轻易地接受了 swallowed 吞咽。“算数”他说，并跟我握了握手。60 I had my first date with Polly the following evening. This was in the nature of a survey; I wanted to find out just how much work I had to do to get her mind up to the standard I required. I took her first
41、to dinner. “Gee, that was a delish dinner,” she said as we left the restaurant. Then I took her to a movie. “Gee, that was a marvy movie,” she said as we left the theatre. And then I took her home. “Gee, I had a sensaysh time,” she said as she bade me good night. 第二天晚上，我与波利第一次约会了。这一次实际上是我对她的考察。我想弄清要
42、作多大的努力才能使她的头脑达到我的要求。我首先请她去吃饭。“哈，这顿饭真够意思，”离开餐馆时她说。然后我请她去看电影。“嘿，这片子真好看 marvy marvelous，”走出影院时她说。最后我送她回家。和我道别时她说：“嘿，今晚玩得真痛快sensational:outstanding; spectacular。” 61 I went back to my room with a heavy heart. I had gravely underestimated the size of my task. This girls lack of information was terrifying
43、. Nor would it be enough merely to supply her with information. First she had to be taught to think. This loomed as a project of no small dimensions, and at first I was tempted to give her back to Petey. But then I got to thinking about her abundant physical charms and about the way she entered a ro
44、om and the way she handled a knife and fork, and I decided to make an effort. 我带着不大痛快的心情回到了房间。我对这任务的艰巨性 gravely 估计 underestimated得太低了。这姑娘的知识少得叫人吃惊 terrifying。只是给她增加知识还不够，首先得教她学会思考。这可不是一件容易的事，当时我真想把她还给皮蒂算了。但我一想到她那充满魅力的身材，她那进屋时的模样，她那拿刀叉的姿式，我还是决定再作一番努力。62 I went about it, as in all things, systematical
45、ly. I gave her a course in logic. It happened that I, as a law student, was taking a course in logic myself, so I had all the facts at my fingertips. “Poll,” I said to her when I picked her up on our next date, “tonight we are going over to the Knoll and talk.” 就像做其他的事情一样，我开始有计划地干了起来。我开始给她上辑课。幸好我是一个
46、学法律的学生，我自己也正在学逻辑学，所以对要教的内容我都很熟悉 fingertips 指尖.。当我接她赴第二次约会时，我对她说：“今晚上咱们去小山谈谈吧”。63“Oo, terrif,” she replied. One thing I will say for this girl: you would go far to find another so agreeable. 64 We went to the Knoll, the campus trysting place, and we sat down under an old oak, and she looked at me exp
47、ectantly. “What are we going to talk about?” she asked. 65“Logic.” 66 She thought this over for a minute and decided she liked it. “Magnif,” she said. 63“啊，好极了 terrific，”她回答道。对这姑娘我要补充一句的是，像她这么好商量的人是不多见的。 you would do a good job (do great) if you could find another girl so congenial (so suited to my
48、heart). 我们去了“小山”，这是校园里人们幽会 trysting 的地方。我们坐在一棵老橡树下，她用期待的眼神看着我。“我们谈些什么呢?”她问。“逻辑学。” 她想了一会儿，觉得不错，便说：“好极了magnificent。” 67“Logic,” I said, clearing my throat, “is the science of thinking. Before we can think correctly, we must first learn to recognize the common fallacies of logic. These we will take up
49、tonight.” 68“Wow-dow!” she cried, clapping her hands delightedly. 69 I winced, but went bravely on. “First let us examine the fallacy called Dicto Simpliciter.” “逻辑学，”我清了清嗓了，“就是思维的科学。在我们能正确地思维之前，首先必须学会判别逻辑方面的常见谬误。我们今晚就要来谈谈这些。” “哇!”她叫了起来，高兴地拍着手。我打了个寒噤，但还是鼓足勇气讲下去：“首先我们来考究一下被称为绝对判断的谬误。” 70“By all means,” she urged, batting her lashes eagerly. 71“Dicto Simpliciter means an argument based on an unqualified generalization. For example: E
