The Five Boons of Life: Fame, Love, Riches, Pleasure, Death

时间：2024-03-21 07:17:33

（单词翻译:单击）

The Five Boons1 of Life: Fame, Love, Riches, Pleasure, Death 生命中的五个选择
◎ Mark Twain
In the morning of life came a good fairy with her basket, and said: “Here are gifts. Take one,
leave the others, and be wary2, choose wisely! For only one of them is valuable.”
The gifts were five: Fame, Love, Riches, Pleasure, Death. The youth, said, eagerly: “There is no
need to consider”; and he chose Pleasure.
He went out into the world and sought out the pleasures that youth delights in. But each in its
turn was short-liyed and disappointing, vain and empty; and each, departing, mocked him .In the end
he said: “These years I have wasted. If I could but choose again, I would choose wisely.”
The fairy appeared, and said: “Four of the gifts remain. Choose once more, and oh, remember—
time is flying, and only one of them is precious.”
The man considered long, then chose Love; and did not mark the tears that rose in the fairy’s
eyes. After many, many years the man sat by a coffin3, in an empty home. And he communed with
himself, saying: “One by one they have gone away and left me; and now she lies here, the dearest and
the last. Desolation after desolation has swept over me; but each hour of happiness the treacherous4
trader, Love, sold me I have paid a thousand hours of grief! Out of my heart of hearts I curse him!”
“Choose again.” It was the fairy speaking. “The years have you wisdom—surely it must be so.
There gifts remain. Only one of them has any worth—remember it, and choose warily5.”
The man reflected long, and then chose Fame; and the fairy, sighing, went her way. Years went
by and she came again, and stood behind the man where he sat solitary6 in the fading day, thinking.
And she knew his thought: “My name filled the world, and its praise were on every tongue, and it
seemed well with me for a little while. How little a while it was! Then came envy; then detraction7;
then hate; then persecution8. Then derision, which is the beginning of the end. And last of all came
pity, which is the funeral of fame. Oh, the bitterness and misery9 of renown10!”
“Choose yet again.” It was the fairy’s voice.
“Two gifts remain. And do not despair .In the beginning there was but one that was precious,
and it is still here.
“Wealth—which is power! How blind I was!” Said the man, “Now, at last, life will be worth the
living. I will spend, squander11. These mockers and despisers will crawl in the dirt before me, and I
will feed my hungry heart with their envy, I will have all luxuries, all joys, all enchant12 times of the
spirit I will buy, buy, buy! I have lost much time, and chosen badly heretofore, but let that pass; I was
ignorant then, and could but take for best what seemed so.”
Three short years went by, and a day came when the man sat shivering in a mean garret; and he
was gaunt and wan13 and hollow-eyed, and clothed in rags; and he was gnawing14 a dry crust and
mumbling15: “Curse all the world’s gifts for mockeries and gilded16 lies! And miscalled, every one, they
are not gifts, but merely lendings, Pleasure, Love, Fame, Riches: they are but temporary disguises for
lasting17 realities Pain, Grief, Shame, Poverty. The fairy said true; in all her store there was but one gift
which was precious, only one that was not valueless. How poor and cheap and mean I know those
others now to be, Bring it! I am weary. I would rest.”
The fairy came, bringing again four of the gifts, but Death was wanting. She said: “I gave it to a
mother’s pet, a little child. It was ignorant, but trusted me, asking me to choose for it. You did not ask
me to choose.”
“Oh, miserable18 me! What is left for me?”
“What not even you have deserved: the wanton insult of Old Age.”
在生命之初，一位仙女带着篮子走来，对一位年轻人说道：“这里有几份礼物。你可以从
中拿一份，留下其他的。你要小心，作出明智的选择！这里面只有一份礼物是珍贵的。”
一共有五份礼物：名声，爱情，财富，快乐，死亡。年轻人迫不及待地说：“没有必要考
虑。”他选了快乐。
此后，他就开始步入世界，追寻年轻人所喜爱的快乐。但每一种快乐都是如此短暂，令
人失望、徒劳和空虚，每当一种快乐弃他而去时，都要嘲弄他一番。最后，年轻人感叹
道：“这些年我都浪费了。如果我能再选一次的话，我一定会作出明智的选择。”
这时仙女又出现了，她说：“四份礼物依然还在。再选一次吧。噢，记住——时光飞逝，
而其中只有一件是珍贵的。”
这个人思考了很长时间，最终选择了爱情；他没有注意到仙女眼里泛起的泪光。经过许
多年，这人坐在一口棺材旁边，屋子里空荡荡的。他自言自语道：“他们一个一个地离开了，
只剩下我。现在，她就躺在这儿，我最亲爱的人，我最后的亲人。孤独荒凉一次次地漫过我
全身。都是因为爱情这个奸诈的商人，它出售给我的每一个小时的甜蜜，我现在都要用数千
个小时的悲伤来偿还！我从心底诅咒它！”
“你再选一次吧。”仙女又一次说道，“这些年已经给予你智慧——也理当如此。这里还有
三份礼物，其中只有一份是有价值的——切记，好好选择。”
他想了很长时间，然后选择了名声。仙女叹了口气，径自离开了。时光流逝，仙女又回
来了，站到他的身旁。已迈入迟暮之年的他孤身一人，心事重重。她知道他所有的想法：“我
的名字传遍了整个世界，每个人都争相赞颂，似乎有一阵子我心满意足。可那是多么短暂的
一阵子啊！随后来的就是嫉妒，然后是诋毁，然后是憎恶，然后是迫害，之后是嘲讽，从一
切开始步入完结。最后，都是怜悯，也是我的名声的葬礼。啊，名声原来是这般苦涩和痛
苦！”
“重新再来选择。”仙女的声音再度响起。
“还剩下两份礼物。不要绝望，从一开始就只有一份是宝贵的，而现在它还在这里。”
“财富——财富就是力量！我过去多盲目啊！”他说，“现在，最后，我的人生将要变得有
意义了。我要纵情欢度此生，我要挥霍我的人生。那些对我冷嘲热讽、轻蔑诋毁我的人，将
要在我面前的泥土里挣扎，而我空乏的心也将因为他们的妒忌而得到满足。我将要享尽荣华
富贵，所有欢乐和所有销魂的时光。我要买，买，买！以前我作错了选择，失去了多少时
间，不过算了吧；当时我很无知，我只能选看起来最好的东西。”
短短三年后。到了这么一天，这个人蜷缩在一个简陋的小阁楼里，骨瘦如柴，憔悴不
已，双眼深陷，衣衫褴褛，浑身颤抖不停。他一边啃着干面包皮，一边说：“该死的礼物，都
是为了让我受全世界的嘲笑和欺诈！每一样都叫错了！它们都不是礼物，根本只是租借品！
快乐，爱情，名声，财富——都只不过是长久现实的临时伪装——它们其实是永远的痛苦、
不幸、耻辱和贫穷！那个仙女说的没错啊，她所有的东西里只有一件礼物是珍贵的，只有那
么一样不是毫无价值的。我现在才明白，其他礼物是多么低贱与廉价！把它拿过来吧——那
真正宝贵的礼物！我累了，我想休息了。”
仙女出现了，带着以前的那四件礼物，但唯独没有最后那一件——死亡。她说：“我把它
给了一位母亲的宠儿——一个孩子。他什么也不懂，但他信任我，让我来帮他挑选。而你并
没有这么做。”
“啊，我多可悲啊！那还剩下什么给我吗？”
“一件你也不配得到的东西：接受年老体衰的无尽折磨。”

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1 boons 849a0da0d3327cff0cdc3890f0d6bb58     
n.恩惠( boon的名词复数 )；福利；非常有用的东西；益处
参考例句：
  • Set against this are some less tangible but still worthwhile boons. 此外，还有一些优惠虽不这么实际，但也值得一看。 来自互联网
2 wary JMEzk     
adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的
参考例句：
  • He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
  • Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。
3 coffin XWRy7     
n.棺材，灵柩
参考例句：
  • When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
  • The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。
4 treacherous eg7y5     
adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的
参考例句：
  • The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
  • The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。
5 warily 5gvwz     
adv.留心地
参考例句：
  • He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
  • They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。
6 solitary 7FUyx     
adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士
参考例句：
  • I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
  • The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。
7 detraction 7lRzy     
n.减损；诽谤
参考例句：
  • Envy has no other quality But that of detraction from virtue.嫉妒除了损坏美德外，别无可取之处。
  • Faced with such detraction,scientists characteristically retort that science,unlike witchcraft,works.面对诋毁，科学家们出于天性给予反驳，宣称科学不是巫术，确实有效。
8 persecution PAnyA     
n. 迫害,烦扰
参考例句：
  • He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
  • Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。
9 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦
参考例句：
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
10 renown 1VJxF     
n.声誉，名望
参考例句：
  • His renown has spread throughout the country.他的名声已传遍全国。
  • She used to be a singer of some renown.她曾是位小有名气的歌手。
11 squander XrnyF     
v.浪费，挥霍
参考例句：
  • Don't squander your time in reading those dime novels.不要把你的时间浪费在读那些胡编乱造的廉价小说上。
  • Every chance is precious，so don't squander any chance away!每次机会都很宝贵，所以不要将任何一个白白放走。
12 enchant FmhyR     
vt.使陶醉，使入迷；使着魔，用妖术迷惑
参考例句：
  • The spectacle of the aurora may appear to dazzle and enchant the observer's eyes.极光的壮丽景色的出现,会使观察者为之眩目和迷惑。
  • Her paintings possess the power to enchant one if one is fortunate enough to see her work and hear her music.如果你有幸能欣赏她的作品，“聆听”她的音乐，她的作品将深深地迷住你。
13 wan np5yT     
(wide area network)广域网
参考例句：
  • The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。
14 gnawing GsWzWk     
a.痛苦的，折磨人的
参考例句：
  • The dog was gnawing a bone. 那狗在啃骨头。
  • These doubts had been gnawing at him for some time. 这些疑虑已经折磨他一段时间了。
15 mumbling 13967dedfacea8f03be56b40a8995491     
含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 )
参考例句：
  • I could hear him mumbling to himself. 我听到他在喃喃自语。
  • He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg. 宴会结束时，他仍在咕哝着医院里的事。说着说着，他在一块冰上滑倒，跌断了左腿。
16 gilded UgxxG     
a.镀金的，富有的
参考例句：
  • The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
  • "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
17 lasting IpCz02     
adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持
参考例句：
  • The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
  • We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
18 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

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