Nothing to sell and nothing to buy
不賣也不買
It has been said that everyone lives by selling something. In the light of this statement, teachers live by selling knowledge, philosophers by selling wisdom and priests by selling spiritual comfort. Though it may be possible to measure the value of material goods in terms of money, it is extremely difficult to estimate the true value of the services which people perform for us. There are times when we would willingly give everything we possess to save our lives, yet we might grudge paying a surgeon a high fee for offering us precisely this service. The conditions of society are such that skills have to be paid for in the same way that goods are paid for at a shop. Everyone has something to sell.
Tramps seem to be the only exception to this general rule. Beggars almost sell themselves as human beings to arouse the pity of passers-by. But real tramps are not beggars. They have nothing to sell and require nothing from others. In seeking independence, they do not sacrifice their human dignity. A tramp may ask you for money, but he will never ask you to feel sorry for him. He has deliberately chosen to lead the life he leads and is fully aware of the consequences He, may never be sure where the next meal is coming from, but he is free from the thousands of anxieties which afflict other people. His few material possessions make it possible for him to move from place to place with ease. By having to sleep in the open, he gets far closer to the world of nature than most of us ever do. He may hunt, beg, or steal occasionally to keep himself alive; he may even in times of real need, do a little work; but he will never sacrifice his freedom. We often speak of tramps with contempt and put them in the same class as beggars, but how many of us can honestly say that we have not felt a little envious of their simple way of life and their freedom from care?
New words and expressions 生詞與短語(yǔ)
philosopher
n. 哲學(xué)家
wisdom
n. 智慧
priest
n. 牧師
spiritual
adj. 精神上的
grudge
v. 不愿給，舍不得給
surgeon
n. 外科大夫
passer-by
n. 過路人(復(fù)數(shù) passers-by)
dignity
n. 尊嚴(yán)
deliberately
adv. 故意地
consequence
n. 后果，結(jié)果
afflict
v. 使苦惱，折磨
ease
n. 容易
nature
n. 大自然
contempt
n. 蔑視的
envious
adj. 嫉妒的
本文參考譯文
據(jù)說每個(gè)人都靠出售某種東西來維持生活。根據(jù)這種說法，教師靠賣知識(shí)為生，哲學(xué)家靠賣智慧為生，牧師靠賣精神安慰為生。雖然物質(zhì)產(chǎn)品的價(jià)值可以用金錢來衡量，但要估算別人為我們?yōu)樗峁┑姆⻊?wù)的價(jià)值卻是極其困難的。有時(shí)，我們?yōu)榱送炀壬�，愿意付出我們所占有的一切。但就在外科大夫給我們提供了這種服務(wù)后，我們卻可能為所支付的昂貴的費(fèi)用而抱怨。社會(huì)上的情況就是如此，技術(shù)是必須付錢去買的，就像在商店里要花錢買商品一樣。人人都有東西可以出售。
在這條普遍的規(guī)律前面，好像只有流浪漢是個(gè)例外，乞丐出售的幾乎是他本人，以引起過路人的憐憫。但真正的流浪并不是乞丐。他們既不出售任何東西，也不需要從別人那兒得到任何東西，在追求獨(dú)立自由的同時(shí)，他們并不犧牲為人的尊嚴(yán)。流浪漢可能會(huì)向你討錢，但他從來不要你可憐他。他是故意在選擇過那種生活的，并完全清楚以這種方式生活的后果。他可能從不知道下頓飯有無(wú)著落，但他不像有人那樣被千萬(wàn)樁愁事所折磨。他幾乎沒有什么財(cái)產(chǎn)，這使他能夠輕松自如地在各地奔波。由于被迫在露天睡覺，他比我們中許多人都離大自然近得多。為了生存，他可能會(huì)去打獵、乞討，偶爾偷上一兩回;確實(shí)需要的時(shí)候，他甚至可能干一點(diǎn)兒活，但他決不會(huì)犧牲自由。說起流浪漢，我們常常帶有輕蔑并把他們與乞丐歸為一類。但是，我們中有多少人能夠坦率地說我們對(duì)流浪漢的簡(jiǎn)樸生活與無(wú)憂無(wú)慮的境況不感到有些羨慕呢?
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