英語短文名人故事 哲學(xué)思想家 第30期:拉爾夫·沃爾多·愛默生

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12 Ralph Waldo Emerson 拉爾夫·沃爾多·愛默生

The United States had won its independence from Britain just twenty-two years before Ralph Waldo Emerson was born. 當(dāng)美國從英國手里贏得獨立的22年后，愛默生出生了。

But it had yet to win its cultural independence. 但是當(dāng)時的美國還需要贏得文化上的獨立。

It still took its traditions from other countries, mostly from western Europe. 它的傳統(tǒng)仍然來自其他國家，主要是來自西歐。

What the American Revolution did for the nation's politics, Emerson did for its culture. 美國革命在政治上為美國贏得獨立，而愛默生在文化上為美國獨立做出了貢獻(xiàn)。

When he began writing and speaking in the eighteen thirties, conservatives saw him as radical - wild and dangerous. 19世紀(jì)30年代，當(dāng)愛默生開始寫作和演講時，保守派認(rèn)為他太激進(jìn)，野蠻而且危險。

But to the young, he spoke words of self-dependence 一 a new language of freedom. 但是對于年輕人來說，愛默生宣揚自立--自由的新形式。

He was the first to bring them a truly American spirit. 他是為他們帶來真正美國精神的第一人。

He told America to demand its own laws and churches and works. 他號召美國人民要有自己的法律、教堂和著作。

It is through his own works that we shall look at Ralph Waldo Emerson. 正是通過他自己的作品，我們才了解了愛默生。

Ralph Waldo Emerson's life was not as exciting as the lives of some other American writers - Herman Melville, Mark Twain or Ernest Hemingway. 愛默生的一生波瀾不驚，并不像赫爾曼·梅爾維爾、馬克·吐溫和海明威等其他作家。

Emerson traveled to Europe several times. 愛默生曾幾次到歐洲旅行，

And he made speeches at a number of places in the United States. 他還在美國數(shù)個地方演講。

But, except for those trips, he lived all his life in the small town of Concord, Massachusetts. 但是除了以上這些旅行外，他一生都住在馬薩諸塞州的小鎮(zhèn)康科德。

Emerson's father, like many of the men in his family, was a minister of a Christian church. 他的父親，像家族中的許多男人一樣，是基督教的牧師。

When Emerson was eight years old, his father died. 愛默生8歲時，父親去世了，

His mother was left with very little money to raise her five sons. 給母親留下了少得可憐的錢養(yǎng)育五個兒子。

After several more years in Boston, the family moved to the nearby town of Concord. 在波士頓住了幾年之后，愛默生一家搬到了附近的康科德鎮(zhèn)，

There they joined Emerson's aunt, Mary Moody Emerson. 和愛默生的姑姑瑪麗·穆迪·愛默生住在一起。

Emerson seemed to accept the life his mother and aunt wanted for him. 愛默生似乎接受了他母親和姑姑為他安排的生活。

As a boy, he attended Boston Latin School. Then he studied at Harvard University. 他在波士頓拉丁語學(xué)校就讀，然后進(jìn)入哈佛大學(xué)。

For a few years, he taught in a girls' school started by one of his brothers. 有幾年，他在他兄弟開辦的一家女子學(xué)校任職，

But he did not enjoy this kind of teaching. 但是他并不喜歡那樣教書。

For a time, he wondered what he should do with his life. 他曾一度思考一生應(yīng)該做什么。

Finally, like his father, he became a religious minister. 最后，他像父親一樣成了一名牧師。

But he had questions about his beliefs and the purpose of his life. 但是他仍對其信仰以及生活的目的抱有疑問。

Later, his speech, "The American Scholar," created great excitement among the students in Harvard. 后來，他的演講"論美國學(xué)者"在哈佛大學(xué)中引起了轟動。

They heard his words as a new declaration of independence - a declaration of the independence of the mind. 學(xué)子們把他的演講看作是一種新的獨立宣言--思想的獨立宣言。

Young people agreed with Emerson that a person had the power within himself to succeed at whatever he tried. 年輕人擁護愛默生，因為愛默生認(rèn)為一個人只要努力就可以實現(xiàn)夢想。

The important truth seemed to be not what had been done, but what might be done. 事實不在于已經(jīng)做了多少，而在于還能夠做多少。