第24课

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A young man sees a sunset and,

一个年轻人看到日落，

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unable to understand or to express the emotion that it rouses in him,

无法理解或表达它在他心中唤起的情感，

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concludes that it must be the gateway to a world that lies beyond

便断定它一定是通往一个彼岸世界的门户。

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It is difficult for any of us in moments of intense aesthetic experience

在强烈的审美体验时刻，我们任何人都很难

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to resist the suggestion that we are catching a glimpse of a light

抗拒这样一种暗示：我们正瞥见一道光，

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that shines down to us from a different realm of existence, different and,

它从一个不同的存在领域向我们照耀，一个不同且，

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because the experience is intensely moving, in some way higher.

因为这种体验极其动人，在某种程度上更高。

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And, though the gleams blind and dazzle, yet do they convey a hint of beauty and serenity

而且，尽管这些微光令人目眩神迷，它们却传达了一种美和宁静的暗示，

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greater than we have known or imagined. Greater too than we can describe;

超越了我们已知或想象的一切。也超越了我们所能描述的；

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for language, which was invented to convey the meanings of this world

因为语言是为了传达这个世界的意义而发明的，

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cannot readily be fitted to the uses of another.

无法轻易地适用于另一个世界的用途。

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That all great art has this power of suggesting a world beyond is undeniable.

所有伟大艺术都具有暗示一个彼岸世界的力量，这是无可否认的。

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In some moods, nature shares it.

在某些心境下，大自然也分享着这种力量。

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There is no sky in June so blue that it does not point forward to a bluer,

六月的天空，没有一片蓝不会指向更蓝；

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no sunset so beautiful that it does not waken the vision of a greater beauty,

没有一轮日落如此美丽，以至于它不会唤起对更伟大美的憧憬，

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a vision which passes before it is fully glimpsed,

一种尚未完全捕捉便已消逝的憧憬，

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and in passing leaves an indefinable longing and regret.

并在消逝中留下一种难以名状的渴望与遗憾。

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But, if this world is not merely a bad joke,

但是，如果这个世界不仅仅是一个糟糕的玩笑，

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life a vulgar flare amid the cool radiance of the stars,

生命不是群星凉爽光辉中一道庸俗的闪光，

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and existence an empty laugh braying across the mysteries;

存在也不是在奥秘中咆哮的空洞笑声；

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if these intimations of a something behind and beyond

如果这些关于某种在后和在上的暗示

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are not evil humour born of indigestion,

不是消化不良产生的恶趣味，

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or whimsies sent by the devil to mock and madden us, if, in a word

也不是魔鬼送来嘲弄和使我们发狂的怪念头，如果，一言以蔽之，

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beauty means something yet we must not seek to interpret the meaning.

美有所指，那么我们就不必去诠释它的意义。

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If we glimpse the unutterable, it is unwise to try to utter it,

如果我们瞥见了不可言说之物，试图言说它是不明智的，

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nor should we seek to invest with significance that which we cannot grasp.

我们也不应试图赋予我们无法把握的事物以意义。

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Beauty in terms of our human meanings is meaningless.

就我们人类的意义而言，美是无意义的。