第一篇,儒勒凡尔纳,海底两万里,第二章选段.
But this last theory, plausible as it was, could not stand against inquiries made in both worlds. That a private gentleman should have such a machine at his command was not likely. Where, when, and how was it built? and how could its construction have been kept secret? Certainly a Government might possess such a destructive machine. And in these disastrous times, when the ingenuity of man has multiplied the power of weapons of war, it was posible that, without the knowledge of others, a State might try to work such a formidable engine. But the idea of a war machine fell before the declaration of Governments. As public interest was in question, and transatlantic communications suffered, their veracity could not be doubted. But how admit that the construction of this submarine boat had escaped the public eye? For a private gentleman to keep the secret under sucf circumstances would be very difficult, and for a State whose every act is persistently watched by powerful rivals, certainly impossible. Upon my arrival in New York several persons did me the honour of consulting me on the phenomenon in question. I had published in France a work in quarto, in two volumes, entitled Mysteries of the Great Submarine Grounds. This book, highly approved of in the learned world, gained for me a special reputation in this rather obscure branch of Natural History. My advice was asked. As long as I could deny the reality of the fact, I confined myself to a decided negative. But soon, finding myself driven into a corner, I was obliged to evplain myself point by point. I discussed the question in all its forms, politically and scientifically; and I give here an extract from a carefully-studied article which I published in the number of the 30th of April. It ran as follows: "After examining one by one the different theories, rejecting all other suggestions, it becomes necessary to admit the existence of a marine animal of enormous power. "The great depths of the ocean are entirely unknown to us. Soundings cannot reach them. What pases in those remote depths -- what beings live, or can live, twelve or fifteen miles beneath the surface of the waters -- what is the organisation of these animals, we can scarcely conjecture. However, the solution of the problem submitted to me may modify the form of the dilemma. Either we do know al
中文:
后面那种假设虽然很可以成立,但到欧美两洲调查之后,便站不住了。如果说私人可以有这样一种机器,实在是不大可能的事。在什么地方,什么时候。他造了这个东西?他又怎能保守秘密而不泄露呢?只有一国政府可以拥有这种破坏性的机器,在人们绞尽脑汁要增强武器威力的不幸时代,一个国家瞒着其他国家制造这种武器是可能的。
但是这个War Machine的假设,由于各国欧府的声明又站不住了、因为这是有关公共利益的问题,既然海洋交通受到了破坏,各国政府的真诚,当然不容有所怀疑。并且,怎么能说这只“潜水艇”的建造竟可以逃避公众的耳目呢?在这种情形下,就是拿个人来说,要想保守秘密,也十分困难,对于一国政府,它的行动经常受到敌对国家的注意,那当然更是不可能的了。
当我到纽约的时候,有些人特地来问我对这件怪事的意见占我以前在法国出版过一部八开本的书,共两册,书名为:《海底的神秘》。这部书特别受到学术界的赏识,使我成为自然科学中这一个相当奥秘的部门的专家。因此人们才询问我的意见。但我只要能够否认这事的真实性,我总是作否定的答复。但不久我被逼只得明确地表示我的意见。
我发表了我的意见。我因为不能沉默,才不得不悦几句诸。我从政治上和学术上来讨论这个问题的各个方面。
现在我将我发表在4月30日《论坛报》上的一篇材料很丰富的文章的结论,节录几段在下面:“我一个一个研究了各种不同的假设和所有不可能成立的猜想,不得不承认实在有一种力量惊人的海洋动物的存在。“海洋深不可测的底层,我们完全不了解。探测器也不徙达到。最下层的深渊里是怎样的情形呢?海底二万二千梅里或一万五千海里的地方有些什么生物和可能有些什么生物呢?这些动物的身体构造是怎样的呢?我们实在很难推测。“可是,摆在我面前的问题可以用‘两刀论法’的公式来解决。“生活在地球上的各色各样的生物,或者我们认识,或者我们不认识。”
But this last theory, plausible as it was, could not stand against inquiries made in both worlds. That a private gentleman should have such a machine at his command was not likely. Where, when, and how was it built? and how could its construction have been kept secret? Certainly a Government might possess such a destructive machine. And in these disastrous times, when the ingenuity of man has multiplied the power of weapons of war, it was posible that, without the knowledge of others, a State might try to work such a formidable engine. But the idea of a war machine fell before the declaration of Governments. As public interest was in question, and transatlantic communications suffered, their veracity could not be doubted. But how admit that the construction of this submarine boat had escaped the public eye? For a private gentleman to keep the secret under sucf circumstances would be very difficult, and for a State whose every act is persistently watched by powerful rivals, certainly impossible. Upon my arrival in New York several persons did me the honour of consulting me on the phenomenon in question. I had published in France a work in quarto, in two volumes, entitled Mysteries of the Great Submarine Grounds. This book, highly approved of in the learned world, gained for me a special reputation in this rather obscure branch of Natural History. My advice was asked. As long as I could deny the reality of the fact, I confined myself to a decided negative. But soon, finding myself driven into a corner, I was obliged to evplain myself point by point. I discussed the question in all its forms, politically and scientifically; and I give here an extract from a carefully-studied article which I published in the number of the 30th of April. It ran as follows: "After examining one by one the different theories, rejecting all other suggestions, it becomes necessary to admit the existence of a marine animal of enormous power. "The great depths of the ocean are entirely unknown to us. Soundings cannot reach them. What pases in those remote depths -- what beings live, or can live, twelve or fifteen miles beneath the surface of the waters -- what is the organisation of these animals, we can scarcely conjecture. However, the solution of the problem submitted to me may modify the form of the dilemma. Either we do know al
中文:
后面那种假设虽然很可以成立,但到欧美两洲调查之后,便站不住了。如果说私人可以有这样一种机器,实在是不大可能的事。在什么地方,什么时候。他造了这个东西?他又怎能保守秘密而不泄露呢?只有一国政府可以拥有这种破坏性的机器,在人们绞尽脑汁要增强武器威力的不幸时代,一个国家瞒着其他国家制造这种武器是可能的。
但是这个War Machine的假设,由于各国欧府的声明又站不住了、因为这是有关公共利益的问题,既然海洋交通受到了破坏,各国政府的真诚,当然不容有所怀疑。并且,怎么能说这只“潜水艇”的建造竟可以逃避公众的耳目呢?在这种情形下,就是拿个人来说,要想保守秘密,也十分困难,对于一国政府,它的行动经常受到敌对国家的注意,那当然更是不可能的了。
当我到纽约的时候,有些人特地来问我对这件怪事的意见占我以前在法国出版过一部八开本的书,共两册,书名为:《海底的神秘》。这部书特别受到学术界的赏识,使我成为自然科学中这一个相当奥秘的部门的专家。因此人们才询问我的意见。但我只要能够否认这事的真实性,我总是作否定的答复。但不久我被逼只得明确地表示我的意见。
我发表了我的意见。我因为不能沉默,才不得不悦几句诸。我从政治上和学术上来讨论这个问题的各个方面。
现在我将我发表在4月30日《论坛报》上的一篇材料很丰富的文章的结论,节录几段在下面:“我一个一个研究了各种不同的假设和所有不可能成立的猜想,不得不承认实在有一种力量惊人的海洋动物的存在。“海洋深不可测的底层,我们完全不了解。探测器也不徙达到。最下层的深渊里是怎样的情形呢?海底二万二千梅里或一万五千海里的地方有些什么生物和可能有些什么生物呢?这些动物的身体构造是怎样的呢?我们实在很难推测。“可是,摆在我面前的问题可以用‘两刀论法’的公式来解决。“生活在地球上的各色各样的生物,或者我们认识,或者我们不认识。”