作者：帕斯卡尔

高中课本上面的文章，当时读到被里面这种态度而感动，如今还是常常想起这篇文章，实在是很喜欢

Translation: Man is a Thinking Reed (Blaise Pascal)

(assembled by: alexcwlin; reviewed by: Adam Lam)

思想形成人的伟大。

Thought constitutes the greatness of man.

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人 只不过是一根苇草，是自然界最脆弱的东西；但他是一根能思想的苇草。

Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed.

用不着整个宇宙都拿起武器来才能毁灭；

The entire universe need not arm itself to crush him.

一口气、一滴水就足以致他死命了。

A vapour, a drop of water suffices to kill him.

然而，纵使宇 宙毁灭了他，人却仍然要比致他于死命的东西高贵得多；因为他知道自己要死亡，以及宇宙对他所具有的优势，而宇宙对此却是一无所知。

But, if the universe were to crush him, man would still be more noble than that which killed him, because he knows that he dies and the advantage which the universe has over him; the universe knows nothing of this.

因而，我们全部的尊严就在于思想。

All our dignity consists then in thought.

正是由于它而不是由于我们所无法填充的空间和时间，

By it we must elevate ourselves, and not by space and time which we cannot fill.

我们才必须提高自己。因此，我们要努力好好地思想；这就是道德的原则。

Let us endeavour then to think well; this is the principle of morality.

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人既不是天使，又不是禽兽；但不幸就在于想表现为天使的人却表现为禽兽。

Man is neither angel nor brute, and the unfortunate thing is that he who would act the angel acts the brute.

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思想——人的全部的尊严就在于思想。

Thought.—All the dignity of man consists in thought.

因此，思想由于它的本性，就是一种可惊叹的、无与伦比的东西。

Thought is therefore by its nature a wonderful and incomparable thing.

它一定得具有出奇的缺点才能为人所蔑视；

It must have strange defects to be contemptible.

然而它又确实具有，所以再没有比这更加荒唐可笑的事了。

But it has such, so that nothing is more ridiculous.

思想由于它的本性是何等的伟大啊！思想又由于它的缺点是何等的卑贱啊！

How great it is in its nature! How vile it is in its defects!

然而，这种思想又是什么呢？它是何等的愚蠢啊！

But what is this thought? How foolish it is!

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人的伟大之所以为伟大，就在于他认识自己可悲。

The greatness of man is great in that he knows himself to be miserable.

一棵树并不认识自己可悲。

A tree does not know itself to be miserable.

因此，认识（自己）可悲乃是可悲的；然而认识我们之所以为可悲，却是伟大的。

It is then being miserable to know oneself to be miserable; but it is also being great to know that one is miserable.

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这一切的可悲其本身就证明了人的伟大。

All these same miseries prove man’s greatness.

它是一位伟大君主的可悲，是一个失了位的国王的可悲。

They are the miseries of a great lord, of a deposed king.