you do this, people will look at you oddly and wonder what the devil you’re talking about. In other words, if you take this educational journey with me, you’re going to find yourself alienated from the people around you-friends, family, past associates, and so on."
如果你这样做，人们就会奇怪地看着你，不知道你在说什么。换句话说，如果你跟我一起踏上这段教育之旅，你会发现自己与周围的人--朋友、家人、过去的伙伴等等--疏远了。"
“That I can stand,” I told him, and let it go at that.
"这我受得了，"我告诉他，就这样算了。
“It is my most heartfelt and unattainable fantasy to travel once in your world as you do, freely and unobtrusively-to step out onto a street and flag down a taxi to take me to the airport, where I would board a flight to New York or London or Florence. Much of this fantasy is spent in making delicious preparations for the journey, in pondering what must accompany me in my luggage and what may be safely left behind. (You understand that I would of course be traveling in human disguise.) If I take too much, dragging it from place to place will be tiresome; on the other hand, if I take too little, I will forever be having to break my journey to pick up things along the way-and that will be even more tiresome.”
"在你的世界里，像你一样自由自在地旅行一次，走到大街上，拦下一辆出租车，把我送到机场，然后登上飞往纽约、伦敦或佛罗伦萨的航班，这是我最真挚而又遥不可及的幻想。这种幻想的大部分时间都花在为旅途做美味的准备上，花在思考我的行李中哪些东西必须随行，哪些东西可以安全地留在后面。(如果我带的东西太多，从一个地方拖到另一个地方会让人厌烦；另一方面，如果我带的东西太少，我将永远不得不中断旅程，沿途取东西，而这将更加令人厌烦"。
“True,” I said, just to be agreeable.
"没错，"我顺口说道。
“That’s what today is for: We’re packing a bag for our journey together. I’m going to throw into this bag some things I won’t want to stop and pick up later on. These things will mean little or nothing to you right now. I’ll just show them to you briefly and then toss them into the bag. That way you’ll recognize them when I take them out later on.”
"这就是今天的目的我们要为共同的旅程收拾行囊。我要把一些我以后不想停下来捡的东西扔进这个包里。这些东西现在对你来说没有任何意义。我只是简单地向你展示一下，然后把它们扔进袋子里。这样我等会儿把它们拿出来的时候，你就能认出它们了。"
“Okay.” "好吧"
“First, some vocabulary. Let’s have some names so we don’t have to go on talking about ‘the people of your culture’ and ‘the people of all other cultures.’ I’ve used various names with various pupils, but I’m going to try a new pair with you. You’re familiar with the expression ‘Take it or leave it.’ Using them in this sense, do the words takers and leavers have any heavy connotation for you?”
"首先，一些词汇。我们先说一些名字，这样就不用一直说'你们文化中的人'和'所有其他文化中的人'了。我对不同的学生用过不同的名字，但我要对你们用一对新名字。你们都熟悉'要么接受，要么放弃'这个说法。在这个意义上使用它们，'接受'和'离开'这两个词对你们来说有什么深刻的含义吗？
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
"我不明白你的意思"
“I mean, if I call one group Takers and the other group Leavers, will this sound like I’m setting up one to be good guys and the other to be bad guys?”
"我的意思是，如果我称一组为'接受者' 另一组为'离开者'，这会不会听起来像是我把一组设定为好人 另一组设定为坏人？"
“No. They sound pretty neutral to me.”
"不，我觉得它们听起来很中性"
“Good. So henceforth I’m going to call the people of your culture Takers and the people of all other cultures Leavers.”
很好"所以从今往后，我称你们文化的人为'接受者'，其他文化的人为'离开者'。"

I hmm’ed a bit. “I have a problem with that.”
我嗯了一声"我有个问题"
“Speak.” "说"
“I don’t see how you can lump everyone else in the world into one category like that.”
"我不明白你怎么能把世界上所有人都归为一类"
“This is the way it’s done in your own culture, except that you use a pair of heavily loaded terms instead of these relatively neutral terms. You call yourselves civilized and all the rest primitive. You are universally agreed on these terms; I mean that the people of London and Paris and Baghdad and Seoul and Detroit and Buenos Aires and Toronto all know that-whatever else separates them-they are united in being civilized and distinct from Stone Age peoples scattered all over the world; you consider or recognize that, whatever their differences, these Stone Age peoples are likewise united in being primitive.”
"在你们自己的文化中也是这样做的，只不过你们用的是一对负载很重的词语，而不是这些相对中性的词语。你们称自己为文明人，其他人则称自己为原始人。你们在这些术语上达成了普遍共识；我的意思是说，伦敦、巴黎、巴格达、首尔、底特律、布宜诺斯艾利斯和多伦多的人们都知道，无论他们之间还有什么其他的区别，他们都是统一的文明人，有别于分散在世界各地的石器时代的人们；你们认为或承认，无论他们之间有什么区别，这些石器时代的人们同样也是统一的原始人。"
“Yes, that’s right.” "是的，没错"
“Would you be more comfortable if we used these terms, civilized and primitive?”
"如果我们用文明和原始这两个词 你会更舒服吗？"
“Yes, I suppose I would be, but only because I’m used to them. Takers and Leavers is fine with me.”
"是的，我想我会的，但只是因为我习惯了他们。我对 "接受者 "和 "离开者 "都没意见"。
“Second: the map. I have it. You don’t have to memorize the route. In other words, don’t worry if, at the end of any day, you suddenly realize that you can’t remember a word I’ve said. That doesn’t matter. It’s the journey itself that’s going to change you. Do you see what I mean?”
"第二：地图。我有地图你不必记住路线。换句话说，如果在任何一天结束时，你突然发现记不住我说过的任何一个字，也不用担心。这并不重要。改变你的是旅程本身。你明白我的意思吗？"
“I’m not sure.” "我不确定"
Ishmael thought for a moment. “I’ll give you a general idea of where we’re heading, then you’ll understand.”
伊斯梅尔想了一会儿。"我先给你讲讲我们要去的地方，然后你就会明白了。"
“Okay.” "好吧"
“Mother Culture, whose voice has been in your ear since the day of your birth, has given you an explanation of how things came to be this way. You know it well; everyone in your culture knows it well. But this explanation wasn’t given to you all at once. No one ever sat you down and said, 'Here is how things came to be this way, beginning ten or fifteen billion years ago right up to the present. Rather, you assembled this explanation like a mosaic: from a million bits of information presented to you in various ways by others who share that explanation. You assembled it from the table talk of your parents, from cartoons you watched on television, from Sunday School lessons, from your textbooks and teachers, from news broadcasts, from movies, novels, sermons, plays, newspapers, and all the rest. Are you with me so far?”
"文化母亲，从你出生那天起，她的声音就一直在你耳边，她已经向你解释了事情是如何变成这样的。你们很清楚，你们文化中的每个人都很清楚。但这个解释并不是一下子就给你们的。从来没有人让你们坐下来，对你们说：'从一百或一百五十亿年前开始，一直到现在，事情就是这样发生的。相反，你像打马赛克一样拼凑出了这个解释：从其他人以各种方式提供给你的无数信息中拼凑出了这个解释。你从父母的餐桌谈话、电视动画片、主日学课程、课本和老师、新闻广播、电影、小说、布道、戏剧、报纸以及其他所有信息中拼凑起来。到目前为止，你们同意我的观点吗？
“I think so.” "我想是的"
“This explanation of how things came to be this way is ambient in your culture. Everyone knows it and everyone accepts it without question.”
"这种对事物如何形成的解释 在你们的文化中根深蒂固。每个人都知道，每个人都毫无疑问地接受它。"
“Okay.” "好吧"
“As we make our journey here, we’re going to be reexamining key pieces of that mosaic. We’re going to be taking them out of your
"在我们的旅程中，我们将重新审视马赛克的关键部分。我们要把它们从你的
mosaic and fitting them into an entirely different mosaic: into an entirely different explanation of how things came to be this way”
马赛克，并将它们融入一个完全不同的马赛克中：融入一个完全不同的解释中，解释事情是如何变成这样的"。
“Okay.” "好吧"
“And when we’re finished, you’ll have an entirely new perception of the world and of all that’s happened here. And it won’t matter in the least whether you remember how that perception was assembled. The journey itself is going to change you, so you don’t have to worry about memorizing the route we took to accomplish that change.”
"当我们完成后，你会对这个世界和这里发生的一切 有一个全新的认识。至于你是否还记得这种认知是如何形成的，这一点都不重要。旅程本身就会改变你 所以你不必担心记住我们完成改变的路线"
“Right. I see what you mean now.”
"对，我现在明白你的意思了" "Right.我现在明白你的意思了。"

“Third,” he said, “definitions. These are words that will have a special meaning in our discourse here. First definition: story. A story is a scenario interrelating man, the world, and the gods.”
"第三，"他说，"定义。这些词在我们这里的讨论中会有特殊的含义。第一个定义：故事。故事是人类、世界和诸神之间相互关联的情景"。
“Okay.” "好吧"
“Second definition: to enact. To enact a story is to live so as to make the story a reality. In other words, to enact a story is to strive to make it come true. You recognize that this is what the people of Germany were doing under Hitler. They were trying to make the Thousand Year Reich a reality. They were trying to make the story he was telling them come true.”
"第二个定义：演绎。演绎故事，就是让故事成为现实。换句话说，演绎故事就是努力让故事成为现实。你们知道，希特勒统治下的德国人民就是这样做的。他们试图让 "千年帝国 "成为现实。他们试图让希特勒告诉他们的故事成为现实"。
“Right.” "对"
“Third definition: culture. A culture is a people enacting a story.”
"第三个定义：文化。文化是一个民族演绎的故事"。
“A people enacting a story. And a story again is …?”
"一个民族在演绎一个故事。故事又是......？"
“A scenario interrelating man, the world, and the gods.”
"人、世界和诸神相互关联的场景"。
“Okay. So you’re saying that the people of my culture are enacting their own story about man, the world, and the gods.”
"好吧，那么你是说我的文化中的人们 正在演绎他们自己关于人类、世界和神灵的故事"
“That’s right.” "没错"
“But I still don’t know what that story is.”
"但我还是不知道那是什么故事"
“You will. Don’t fret about it. For the moment all you have to know is that two fundamentally different stories have been enacted here during the lifetime of man. One began to be enacted here some two or three million years ago by the people we’ve agreed to call Leavers and is still being enacted by them today, as successfully as ever. The other began to be enacted here some ten or twelve thousand years ago by the people we’ve agreed to call Takers, and is apparently about to end in catastrophe.”
"你会的别担心。目前你只需要知道，在人类的一生中，这里发生了两个截然不同的故事。一个是两三百万年前由我们同意称之为 "离去者 "的人开始在这里演绎的，如今他们仍在演绎，而且一如既往地成功。另一个故事大约在一万或一万两千年前由我们约定称为 "接受者 "的人开始在这里上演，显然即将以灾难收场。
“Ah,” I said, meaning I know not what.
"啊，"我说，意思是我不知道是什么。
“If Mother Culture were to give an account of human history using these terms, it would go something like this: 'The Leavers were chapter one of human history-a long and uneventful chapter. Their chapter of human history ended about ten thousand years ago with the birth of agriculture in the Near East. This event marked the beginning of chapter two, the chapter of the Takers. It’s true there are still Leavers living in the world, but these are anachronisms, fossils-people living in the past, people who just don’t realize that their chapter of human history is over.”’
"如果让文化之母用这些术语来描述人类历史，它将会是这样的：'离开者是人类历史的第一章--漫长而平淡的一章：'离群者是人类历史的第一章--漫长而平淡的一章。大约一万年前，随着农业在近东的诞生，他们的人类历史篇章结束了。这一事件标志着第二章，即 "接受者 "一章的开始。世界上确实还生活着 "回归者"，但他们是不合时宜的化石，是生活在过去的人，是没有意识到他们的人类历史篇章已经结束的人。
“Right.” "对"
“This is the general shape of human history as it’s perceived in your culture.”
"这就是人类历史的总体形态，在你们的文化中被认为是这样的"。
“I would say so.” "我也这么认为"
“As you’ll come to see, what I’m saying is quite different from this. The Leavers are not chapter one of a story in which the Takers are chapter two.”
"你会明白，我所说的与此截然不同。离开者并不是故事的第一章，而接受者才是故事的第二章。"
“Say that again?” "再说一遍？"
“'lll say it differently. The Leavers and the Takers are enacting two separate stories, based on entirely different and contradictory premises. This is something we’ll be looking at later, so you don’t have to understand it right this second.”
"我换个说法"离开者 "和 "接受者" "是两个不同的故事" "基于完全不同且相互矛盾的前提这一点我们稍后会讨论 所以你不必现在就明白"
“Okay.” "好吧"

Ishmael scratched the side of his jaw thoughtfully. From my side of the glass, I heard nothing of this; in imagination it sounded like a shovel being dragged across gravel.
伊斯梅尔若有所思地挠了挠下巴。在我这边，我什么也没听到；在想象中，这听起来就像一把铁锹被拖过碎石。
“I think our bag is packed. As I said, I don’t expect you to remember everything I’ve thrown into it today. When you leave here, everything will probably all just turn into one great muddle.”
"我想我们的包已经收拾好了。我说过，我不指望你能记住我今天扔进去的所有东西。当你离开这里的时候，一切可能都会变成一团浆糊。"
“I believe you,” I said with conviction.
"我相信你，"我坚定地说。
“But that’s all right. If I pull something from our bag tomorrow that I put in today, you’ll recognize it instantly, and that’s all that matters.”
"不过没关系如果我明天从包里拿出我今天放进去的东西 你会一眼就认出来，这就够了"
“Okay. I’m glad to hear it.”
"好的，很高兴听到你这么说"
“We’ll make this a short session today. The journey itself begins tomorrow. Meanwhile, you can spend the rest of today groping for the story the people of your culture have been enacting in the world for the past ten thousand years. Do you remember what it’s about?”
"我们今天的会议很短。旅程明天开始。在此期间，你们可以用今天剩下的时间来摸索 你们文化中的人们过去一万年来在世界上演绎的故事。你还记得是关于什么的吗？"
“About?” "关于什么？"
“It’s about the meaning of the world, about divine intentions in the world, and about human destiny.”
"它关乎世界的意义 关乎世界的神意 关乎人类的命运"
“Well, I can tell you stories about these things, but I don’t know any one story.”
"好吧，我可以告诉你关于这些事情的故事 但我不知道任何一个故事"
“It’s the one story that everyone in your culture knows and accepts.”
"这是你们文化中每个人都知道并接受的故事"
“I’m afraid that doesn’t help much.”
"恐怕这没什么用"
“Perhaps it’ll help if I tell you that it’s an explaining story, like ‘How the Elephant Got Its Trunk’ or 'How the Leopard Got Its Spots.”’
"也许我告诉你这是一个解释性的故事会有帮助，就像《大象是如何得到它的树干的》或者《豹子是如何长出斑点的》"。
“Okay.” "好吧"
“And what do you suppose this story of yours explains?”
"你觉得你的故事能解释什么呢？"
“God, I have no idea.”
"天啊，我不知道"
“That should be clear from what I’ve already told you. It explains how things came to be this way. From the beginning until now.”
"我已经告诉过你了，你应该很清楚。它解释了事情为什么会变成这样。从开始到现在"
“I see,” I said, and stared out the window for a while. “I’m certainly not aware of knowing such a story. As I said, stories, yes, but nothing like a single story.”
"我明白了，"我说，并盯着窗外看了一会儿。"我当然不知道有这样一个故事。就像我说的，故事，是的，但不像一个单一的故事。"
Ishmael pondered this for a minute or two. "One of the pupils I mentioned yesterday felt obliged to explain to me what she was looking for, and she said, ‘Why is it that no one is excited? I hear people talking in the Laundromat about the end of the world, and they’re no more excited than if they were comparing detergents. People talk about the destruction of the ozone layer and the death of all life. They talk about the devastation of the rain forests, about deadly pollution that will be with us for thousands and millions of years, about the disappearance of dozens of species of life every day, about the end of speciation itself. And they seem perfectly calm.’
伊斯梅尔思考了一两分钟。"我昨天提到的一个学生觉得有义务向我解释她在寻找什么，她说：'为什么没有人感到兴奋呢？我在洗衣店听到人们谈论世界末日，他们的兴奋程度不亚于在比较洗涤剂。人们谈论臭氧层的破坏和所有生命的死亡。他们谈论热带雨林的毁灭，谈论将伴随我们几千年、几百万年的致命污染，谈论每天几十种生命的消失，谈论物种繁衍本身的终结。而他们似乎非常平静。
“I said to her, ‘Is this what you want to know then-why people aren’t excited about the destruction of the world?’ She thought about that for a while and said, 'No, I know why they’re not excited. They’re not excited because they believe what they’ve been told.”’
"我对她说，'这就是你想知道的--为什么人们对世界毁灭并不感到兴奋？'她想了一会儿，说：'不，我知道他们为什么不兴奋。他们不兴奋是因为他们相信别人告诉他们的东西"。
I said, “Yes?” 我说："是吗？"
“What have people been told that keeps them from becoming excited, that keeps them relatively calm when they view the catastrophic damage they’re inflicting on this planet?”
"当人们看到自己对地球造成的灾难性破坏时" "是什么让他们不至于激动" "让他们保持相对的冷静？"
“I don’t know.” "我不知道"
“They’ve been told an explaining story. They’ve been given an explanation of how things came to be this way, and this stills their alarm. This explanation covers everything, including the deterioration of the ozone layer, the pollution of the oceans, the destruction of the rain forests, and even human extinction-and it satisfies them. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it pacifies them. They put their shoulders to the wheel during the day, stupefy themselves with drugs or television at night, and try not to
"他们被告知了一个解释性的故事。他们已经知道了事情是如何演变成这样的，这让他们不再惊慌失措。这个解释涵盖了一切，包括臭氧层的恶化、海洋的污染、热带雨林的破坏，甚至是人类的灭绝。或者更准确地说，这安抚了他们。他们白天肩扛车轮，晚上用药物或电视来麻醉自己，尽量不
think too searchingly about the world they’re leaving their children to cope with.”
对他们留给孩子们的这个世界过于深思熟虑"。
“Right.” "对"
“You yourself were given the same explanation of how things came to be this way as everyone else-but it apparently doesn’t satisfy you. You’ve heard it from infancy but have never managed to swallow it. You have the feeling something’s been left out, glossed over. You have the feeling you’ve been lied to about something, and if you can, you’d like to know what it is-and that’s what you’re doing here in this room.”
"你自己也得到了和其他人一样的解释，说明事情为什么会变成这样，但显然你并不满意。你从襁褓中就听过这个解释，但却始终无法接受。你感觉有些东西被遗漏了，被掩盖了。你觉得自己在某些事情上被欺骗了，如果可以，你想知道那是什么，而这正是你在这个房间里要做的。"
“Let me think about this for a second. Are you saying that this explaining story contains the lies I was talking about in my paper about Kurt and Hans?”
"让我想一想。你是说这个解释性的故事 包含了我在论文中提到的关于库尔特和汉斯的谎言？"
“That’s right. That’s it exactly.”
"没错，就是这样" "That's right.就是这样
“This boggles my mind. I don’t know any such story. Not any single story.”
"这让我摸不着头脑。我不知道有这样的故事。任何一个故事都没有。"
“It’s a single, perfectly unified story. You just have to think mythologically.”
"这是一个完美统一的故事。你只需要从神话的角度去思考"。
“What?” "什么？"
“I’m talking about your culture’s mythology, of course. I thought that was obvious.”
"当然，我说的是你们文化中的神话。我想这是显而易见的。"
“It wasn’t obvious to me.”
"对我来说并不明显"
“Any story that explains the meaning of the world, the intentions of the gods, and the destiny of man is bound to be mythology.”
"任何解释世界的意义、神的意图和人的命运的故事都必然是神话"。
“That may be so, but I’m not aware of anything remotely like that. As far as I know, there’s nothing in our culture that could be called mythology, unless you’re talking about Greek mythology or Norse mythology or something like that.”
"也许是这样，但我不知道有任何类似的东西。据我所知，我们的文化中没有任何东西可以被称为神话，除非你说的是希腊神话或北欧神话之类的东西。"
“I’m talking about living mythology. Not recorded in any bookrecorded in the minds of the people of your culture, and being enacted all over the world even as we sit here and speak of it.”
"我说的是活生生的神话没有记录在任何书籍中 记录在你们文化中人们的脑海中 就在我们坐在这里谈论它的时候 它已经在全世界上演了"
“Again, as far as I know, there’s nothing like that in our culture.”
"再说一遍，据我所知，我们的文化中没有这样的东西。"

Ishmael’s tarry forehead crinkled into furrows as he gave me a look of amused exasperation. “This is because you think of mythology as a set of fanciful tales. The Greeks didn’t think of their mythology this way. Surely you must realize that. If you went up to a man of Homeric Greece and asked him what fanciful tales he told his children about the gods and the heroes of the past, he wouldn’t know what you were talking about. He’d say what you said: ‘As far as I know, there’s nothing like that in our culture.’ A Norseman would have said the same.”
伊斯梅尔布满焦油的额头皱成了一团，他向我投来了恼怒的目光。"这是因为你认为神话是一系列虚构的故事。希腊人可不是这样看待他们的神话的。你肯定意识到了这一点。如果你走到一个荷马史诗时代的希腊人面前，问他给孩子们讲了哪些关于过去的神和英雄的虚构故事，他不会知道你在说什么。他会像你说的那样：'据我所知，我们的文化中没有这样的东西。'北欧人也会这么说"。
“Okay. But that doesn’t exactly help.”
"好吧 但这也没什么用"
“All right. Let’s cut the assignment down to a more modest size. This story, like every story, has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And each of these parts is a story in itself. Before we get together tomorrow, see if you can find the beginning of the story.”
好吧让我们把任务缩减到更小的规模。这个故事和其他故事一样，有开头、中间和结尾。每个部分本身就是一个故事。在我们明天聚在一起之前，看看你能不能找到故事的开头。"
“The beginning of the story.”
"故事的开始"
“Yes. Think … anthropologically.”
"是的，从人类学角度思考......"
I laughed. “What does that mean?”
我笑了"那是什么意思？"
“If you were an anthropologist after the story being enacted by the Alawa aborigines of Australia, you would expect to hear a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.”
"如果你是一位人类学家，在听完澳大利亚阿拉瓦原住民讲述的故事后，你会期望听到一个有开头、中间和结尾的故事"。
“Okay.” "好吧"
“And what would you expect the beginning of the story to be?”
"你希望故事的开头是什么？"
“I have no idea.” "我不知道"
“Of course you do. You’re just playing dumb.”
"你当然知道你只是在装傻"
I sat there for a minute, trying to figure out how to stop playing dumb. “Okay,” I said at last. “I guess I’d expect it to be their creation myth.”
我在那里坐了一分钟，试图想出如何停止装傻。"好吧，"我最后说"我想我希望这是他们的创世神话。"
“Of course.” "当然"
“But I don’t see how that helps me.”
"但我看不出这对我有什么帮助"
“Then I’ll spell it out. You’re looking for your own culture’s creation myth.”
"那我就直说了"你在寻找自己文化的创世神话"

I stared at him balefully. “We have no creation myth,” I said. “That’s a certainty.”
我怒视着他。"我们没有创世神话，"我说。"这是肯定的。"

“What’s that?” I said when I arrived the following morning. I was referring to an object resting on the arm of my chair.
"那是什么？"第二天早上，我来到学校时说。我指的是放在我椅子扶手上的一个东西。
“What does it look like?”
"它看起来像什么？"
“A tape recorder.” "录音机"
“That’s exactly what it is.”
"正是如此"
“I mean, what’s it for?”
"我是说，这是干什么用的？"
“It’s for recording for posterity the curious folktales of a doomed culture, which you are going to tell me.”
"这是为后人记录一个注定灭亡的文化的奇特民间故事" "你要告诉我的"

I laughed and sat down. “I’m afraid I haven’t as yet found any curious folktales to tell you.”
我笑了笑，坐了下来。"恐怕我还没找到什么有趣的民间故事可以讲给你听"
“My suggestion that you look for a creation myth bore no fruit?”
"我建议你寻找创世神话，但没有结果？"
“We have no creation myth,” I said again. “Unless you’re talking about the one in Genesis.”
"我们没有创世神话，"我又说。"除非你说的是《创世纪》里的那个"
“Don’t be absurd. If an eighth-grade teacher invited you to explain how all this began, would you read the class the first chapter of Genesis?”
"别傻了如果八年级的老师请你解释这一切是如何开始的 你会给全班读《创世纪》的第一章吗？"
“Certainly not.” "当然不是"
“Then what account would you give them?”
"那你会给他们什么交代？"
“I could give them an account, but it certainly wouldn’t be a myth.”
"我可以给他们一个交代，但肯定不会是神话"
“Naturally you wouldn’t consider it a myth. No creation story is a myth to the people who tell it. It’s just the story.”
"你自然不会认为这是神话。对讲故事的人来说，任何创世故事都不是神话。那只是故事而已。"
“Okay, but the story I’m talking about is definitely not a myth. Parts of it are still in question, I suppose, and I suppose later research might make some revisions in it, but it’s certainly not a myth.”
"好吧，但我说的故事绝对不是神话。我想，它的部分内容还存在疑问，我想以后的研究可能会对它进行一些修正，但它肯定不是神话。"
“Turn on the tape recorder and begin. Then we’ll know.”
"打开录音机，开始录然后我们就知道了。"

I gave him a reproachful look. “You mean you actually want me to … uh …”
我责备地看了他一眼。"你是说你真的想让我......呃......"
“To tell the story, that’s right.”
"讲故事，没错"
“I can’t just reel it off. I need some time to get it together.”
"我不能就这样放弃我需要一些时间来整理"
“There’s plenty of time. It’s a ninety-minute tape.”
"时间很充裕这是一盘九十分钟的带子。"
I sighed, turned on the recorder, and closed my eyes.
我叹了口气，打开录音机，闭上眼睛。
“It all started a long time ago, ten or fifteen billion years ago,” I began a few minutes later. “I’m not current on which theory is in the lead, the steady-state or the big-bang, but in either case the universe began a long time ago.”
"一切都开始于很久以前，100亿年或150亿年前，"几分钟后我开始说。"我不知道目前哪种理论处于领先地位，是稳态理论还是大爆炸理论，但无论哪种理论，宇宙都是在很久以前开始的。"
At that point I opened my eyes and gave Ishmael a speculative look.
这时，我睁开眼睛，用一种猜测的眼神看了看伊斯梅尔。

He gave me one back and said, “Is that it? Is that the story?”
他还给我一张，说："就这样？就是这个故事吗？"
“No, I was just checking.” I closed my eyes and began again. “And then, I don’t know-I guess about six or seven billion years agoour own solar system was born… I have a picture in my mind from some childhood encyclopedia of blobs being thrown out or blobs coalescing … and these were the planets. Which, over the next couple billion years, cooled and solidified… Well, let’s see. Life appeared in the chemical broth of our ancient oceans about whatfive billion years ago?”
"不，我只是检查一下"我闭上眼睛，重新开始。"然后，我不知道--我猜大约六七十亿年前，我们的太阳系诞生了......我脑海中浮现出童年百科全书中的一幅画面：一团一团的东西被抛出，或者一团一团的东西凝聚在一起......这些就是行星。在接下来的几十亿年里，行星冷却凝固......好吧，让我们来看看。生命出现在我们远古海洋的化学汤里 大概是在50亿年前？"
“Three and a half or four.”
"三个半或四个"
“Okay. Bacteria, microorganisms evolved into higher forms, more complex forms, which evolved into still more complex forms. Life gradually spread to the land. I don’t know … slimes at the edge of the oceans … amphibians. The amphibians moved inland, evolved into reptiles. The reptiles evolved into mammals. This was what? A billion years ago?”
"好吧，细菌、微生物进化成更高级的形式，更复杂的形式，再进化成更复杂的形式。生命逐渐扩散到陆地上。我不知道......海洋边缘的粘液......两栖动物。两栖动物向内陆移动 进化成爬行动物爬行动物进化成哺乳动物这是什么？十亿年前？"
“Only about a quarter of a billion years ago.”
"只有大约25亿年前"
“Okay. Anyway, the mammals … I don’t know. Small critters in small niches-under bushes, in the trees… From the critters in the trees came the primates. Then, I don’t know-maybe ten or fifteen million years ago-one branch of the primates left the trees and …” I ran out of steam.
"好吧。总之，哺乳动物......我不知道。树丛下、树上......树上的小动物产生了灵长类动物。然后，我不知道--也许是一千万年或一千五百万年前--灵长类的一个分支离开了树林，然后......"我没力气了
“This isn’t a test,” Ishmael said. “The broad outlines will do-just the story as it’s generally known, as it’s known by bus drivers and ranch hands and senators.”
"这不是考试，"伊斯梅尔说。"大纲就可以了--只讲一般人都知道的故事，公共汽车司机、农场主和参议员都知道的故事"。
“Okay,” I said, and closed my eyes again. “Okay. Well, onething led to another. Species followed species, and finally man appeared. That was what? Three million years ago?”
"好吧，"我说着，又闭上了眼睛。"好吧好吧，有一件事导致了另一件事。物种接着物种，最后人类出现了。那是什么时候？三百万年前？
“Three seems pretty safe.”
"三个人似乎很安全"
“Okay.” "好吧"
“Is that it?” "就这样吗？"
“That’s it in outline.” "这就是它的轮廓"
“The story of creation as it’s told in your culture.”
"你们文化中的创世故事"
“That’s right. To the best of our present knowledge.”
"没错就我们目前所知。"
Ishmael nodded and told me to turn off the tape recorder. Then he sat back with a sigh that rumbled through the glass like a distant volcano, folded his hands over his central paunch, and gave me a long, inscrutable look. “And you, an intelligent and moderately well-educated person, would have me believe that this isn’t a myth.”
伊斯梅尔点点头，让我关掉录音机。然后，他坐下来，叹了一口气，叹息声穿过玻璃，就像远处的火山在隆隆作响，他双手合十，捂着中央的驼背，用一种高深莫测的眼神看了我很久。"而你，一个聪明且受过中等教育的人 却要我相信这不是神话"
“What’s mythical about it?”
"它有什么神秘之处？"
“I didn’t say there was anything mythical about it. I said it was a myth.”
"我没说它有什么神话色彩我说这是一个神话。"

I think I laughed nervously. “Maybe I don’t know what you mean by a myth.”
我想我紧张地笑了"也许我不知道你说的神话是什么意思"
“I don’t mean anything you don’t mean. I’m using the word in the ordinary sense.”
"我没有任何你不知道的意思。我是在普通意义上使用这个词。"
“Then it’s not a myth.”
"那就不是神话"
“Certainly it’s a myth. Listen to it.” Ishmael told me to rewind the tape and play it back.
"这当然是个神话。听听吧。"伊斯梅尔让我把磁带倒回去重放。

After listening to it, I sat there looking thoughtful for a minute or two, for the sake of appearances. Then I said, “It’s not a myth. You could put that in an eighth-grade science text, and I don’t think there’s a school board anywhere that would quibble with it-leaving aside the Creationists.”
听完之后，我坐在那里若有所思地想了一两分钟，为的是装装样子。然后我说："这不是神话。你可以把它写进八年级的科学课本里，我想没有一个地方的学校董事会会对此提出异议--创世论者除外。"
“I agree wholeheartedly. Haven’t I said that the story is ambient in your culture? Children assemble it from many media, including science textbooks.”
"我完全同意。我不是说过，这个故事在你们的文化中是有氛围的吗？孩子们从包括科学教科书在内的许多媒体中收集故事"。
“Then what are you saying? Are you trying to tell me that this isn’t a factual account?”
"那你想说什么？你是想告诉我这不是事实吗？"
“It’s full of facts, of course, but their arrangement is purely mythical.”
"当然，它充满了事实 但他们的安排纯粹是神话"
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
"我不知道你在说什么"
“You’ve obviously turned off your mind. Mother Culture has crooned you to sleep.”
"很明显，你已经失去理智了"文化之母已经把你哄睡着了"

I gave him a hard look. “Are you saying that evolution is a myth?”
我狠狠地瞪了他一眼。"你是说进化论是个神话？"
“No.” "不"
“Are you saying that man did not evolve?”
"你是说人类没有进化？"
“No.” "不"
“Then what is it?” "那是什么？"
Ishmael looked at me with a smile. Then he shrugged his shoulders. Then he raised his eyebrows.
伊斯梅尔微笑着看着我。然后他耸了耸肩。然后他挑了挑眉毛。

I stared at him and thought: I’m being teased by a gorilla. It didn’t help.
我盯着他想我被一只大猩猩戏弄了但这无济于事。
“Play it again,” he told me.
"再放一遍，"他对我说。
When it was over, I said, “Okay, I heard one thing, the word appeared. I said that finally man appeared. Is that it?”
结束后，我说："好吧，我听到了一件事，就是'出现'这个词。我说终于有人出现了。是这样吗？"
“No, it’s nothing like that. I’m not quibbling over a word. It was clear from the context that the word appeared was just a synonym for evolved.”
"不，不是那样的。我不是在争论一个词。从上下文来看，"出现 "这个词显然只是 "进化 "的同义词。
“Then what the hell is it?”
"那到底是什么？"
“You’re really not thinking, I’m afraid. You’ve recited a story you’ve heard a thousand times, and now you’re listening to Mother Culture as she murmurs in your ear: 'There, there, my child, there’s nothing to think about, nothing to worry about, don’t get excited, don’t listen to the nasty animal, this is no myth, nothing I tell you is
"恐怕你真的没有思考。你已经背诵了一个听了千百遍的故事，现在你正听着文化妈妈在你耳边喃喃自语：'好了，好了，我的孩子，没什么好想的，没什么好担心的，别激动，别听那讨厌的动物的话，这不是神话，我告诉你的一切都不是真的。
a myth, so there’s nothing to think about, nothing to worry about, just listen to my voice and go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep…”
一个神话，所以什么也不用想，什么也不用担心，只要听着我的声音入睡，入睡，入睡......"

I chewed on a lip for a while, then I said, “That doesn’t help.”
我咬了一会儿嘴唇，然后说："那也没用。"
“All right,” he said. “I’ll tell you a story of my own, and maybe that’ll help.” He nibbled for a moment on a leafy wand, closed his eyes, and began.
"好吧，"他说"我给你讲个我自己的故事，也许会有帮助。"他咬了一会儿一根带叶的魔杖，闭上眼睛，开始了。

This story (Ishmael said) takes place half a billion years ago-an inconceivably long time ago, when this planet would be all but unrecognizable to you. Nothing at all stirred on the land, except the wind and the dust. Not a single blade of grass waved in the wind, not a single cricket chirped, not a single bird soared in the sky. All these things were tens of millions of years in the future. Even the seas were eerily still and silent, for the vertebrates too were tens of millions of years away in the future.
这个故事（伊斯梅尔说）发生在 5 亿年前--那是一个难以想象的漫长岁月，那时这个星球对你来说已经面目全非了。除了风和尘土，大地上没有任何动静。没有一片草叶随风摇摆，没有一只蟋蟀鸣叫，没有一只鸟儿在天空翱翔。这一切，都是千万年后的事情。就连海洋也是静谧无声的，因为脊椎动物也是几千万年以后的事情了。
But of course there was an anthropologist on hand. What sort of world would it be without an anthropologist? He was, however, a very depressed and disillusioned anthropologist, for he’d been everywhere on the planet looking for someone to interview, and every tape in his knapsack was as blank as the sky. But one day as he was moping along beside the ocean he saw what seemed to be a living creature in the shallows off shore. It was nothing to brag about, just a sort of squishy blob, but it was the only prospect he’d seen in all his journeys, so he waded out to where it was bobbing in the waves.
当然，现场还有一位人类学家。没有人类学家的世界会是什么样呢？然而，他是一个非常沮丧和失望的人类学家，因为他已经走遍了地球上的每一个角落，寻找可以采访的对象，而他背包里的每一盘磁带都像天空一样空白。但是有一天，当他在海边闷闷不乐的时候，他在岸边的浅滩上看到了一个似乎是生物的东西。这没什么值得炫耀的，只是一个软软的圆球，但这是他在所有旅行中看到的唯一前景，于是他涉水来到它在波浪中晃动的地方。

He greeted the creature politely and was greeted in kind, and soon the two of them were good friends. The anthropologist explained as well as he could that he was a student of life-styles and customs, and begged his new friend for information of this sort, which was readily forthcoming. “And now,” he said at last, “I’d like to get on tape in your own words some of the stories you tell among yourselves.”
他礼貌地向这个生物打招呼，这个生物也礼貌地向他打招呼，很快他们两个就成了好朋友。人类学家尽可能地解释说，他是一名生活方式和风俗习惯的研究者，并恳求他的新朋友提供这方面的信息，他的新朋友很爽快地答应了。"现在，"他最后说，"我想用你们自己的话 把你们之间的一些故事录下来。"
“Stories?” the other asked.
"故事？"对方问道。
“You know, like your creation myth, if you have one.”
"你知道，就像你的创世神话，如果你有的话"
“What is a creation myth?” the creature asked. “Oh, you know,” the anthropologist replied, “the fanciful tale you tell your children about the origins of the world.”
"什么是创世神话？"怪物问。"哦，你知道的，"人类学家回答道，"就是你给孩子们讲的关于世界起源的虚构故事。"

Well, at this, the creature drew itself up indignantly-at least as well as a squishy blob can do-and replied that his people had no such fanciful tale.
听了这话，这只生物愤愤不平地站了起来--至少像一团软绵绵的东西一样，回答说他的族人没有这样的奇谈怪论。
“You have no account of creation then?”
"那你没有关于创世的记载吗？"
“Certainly we have an account of creation,” the other snapped. “But it is definitely not a myth.”
"我们当然有关于创世的记载，"另一个人说。"但它绝对不是神话。"
“Oh, certainly not,” the anthropologist said, remembering his training at last. “I’ll be terribly grateful if you share it with me.”
"哦，当然不是，"人类学家说，他终于想起了自己的训练。"如果你能与我分享，我将感激不尽。"
“Very well,” the creature said. “But I want you to understand that, like you, we are a strictly rational people, who accept nothing that is not based on observation, logic, and the scientific method.”
"很好，"怪物说。"但我希望你们明白，我们和你们一样，是一个严格理性的民族，不接受任何不基于观察、逻辑和科学方法的东西。"
“Of course, of course,” the anthropologist agreed.
"当然，当然，"人类学家表示同意。
So at last the creature began its story. “The universe,” it said, “was born a long, long time ago, perhaps ten or fifteen billion years ago. Our own solar system-this star, this planet and all the others -seem to have come into being some two or three billion years ago. For a long time, nothing whatever lived here. But then, after a billion years or so, life appeared.”
最后，这个生物开始了它的故事。"它说："宇宙诞生于很久很久以前，也许是 100 亿年或 150 亿年以前。我们的太阳系--这颗恒星、这颗行星和其他所有行星--似乎是在大约二三十亿年前诞生的。在很长一段时间里，这里什么都没有。但在十亿年左右之后，生命出现了"。
“Excuse me,” the anthropologist said. “You say that life appeared. Where did that happen, according to your myth-I mean, according to your scientific account.”
"对不起，"人类学家说。"你说生命出现了。根据你们的神话，我的意思是，根据你们的科学解释，生命是在哪里出现的？
The creature seemed baffled by the question and turned a pale lavender. “Do you mean in what precise spot?”
怪物似乎被这个问题弄糊涂了，脸色变成了淡紫色。"你是说在哪个准确的地方吗？"
“No. I mean, did this happen on the land or in the sea?”
"不，我是说，这是在陆地上还是在海里发生的？"
“Land?” the other asked. “What is land?”
"土地？"对方问道。"土地是什么？"
“Oh, you know,” he said, waving toward the shore, “the expanse of dirt and rocks that begins over there.”
"哦，你知道的，"他说着，朝岸边挥了挥手 "那片广阔的泥土和岩石就是从那里开始的。"
The creature turned a deeper shade of lavender and said, “I can’t imagine what you’re gibbering about. The dirt and rocks over there are simply the lip of the vast bowl that holds the sea.”
那怪物的脸色变成了更深的淡紫色，说："我无法想象你在胡言乱语些什么。那边的泥土和岩石只是容纳大海的巨大碗口。"
“Oh yes,” the anthropologist said, “I see what you mean. Quite. Go on.”
"哦，是的，"人类学家说，"我明白你的意思了。没错。继续说。"
“Very well,” the other said. "For many millions of centuries the life of the world was merely microorganisms floating helplessly in a chemical broth. But little by little, more complex forms appeared: single-celled creatures, slimes, algae, polyps, and so on.
"很好，"对方说。"千百万个世纪以来，世界上的生命只是在化学汤中无助地漂浮着的微生物。但渐渐地，更复杂的形式出现了：单细胞生物、粘液、藻类、息肉等等。
“But finally,” the creature said, turning quite pink with pride as he came to the climax of his story, “but finally jellyfish appeared!”
"但最后，"这只生物说，当他讲到故事的高潮部分时，得意地变成了粉红色，"但最后水母出现了！"

Nothing much came out of me for ninety seconds or so, except maybe waves of baffled fury. Then I said, “That’s not fair.”
在九十秒左右的时间里，我什么话也没说出来，除了莫名其妙的愤怒。然后我说 "这不公平"
“What do you mean?” "你是什么意思？"
“I don’t exactly know what I mean. You’ve made some sort of point, but I don’t know what it is.”
"我不知道我到底是什么意思。你说得很有道理，但我不知道是什么意思。"
“You don’t?” "你不知道吗？"
“No, I don’t.” "不，我没有"
“What did the jellyfish mean when it said, ‘But finally jellyfish appeared’?”
"水母说'但最后水母出现了'是什么意思？"
“It meant … that is what it was all leading up to. This is what the whole ten or fifteen billion years of creation were leading up to: jellyfish.”
"这意味着......这就是一切的结果。这就是整个100亿年或150亿年创世的结果：水母。"
“I agree. And why doesn’t your account of creation end with the appearance of jellyfish?”
"我同意那你的创世记为什么不以水母的出现作为结尾呢？"
I suppose I tittered. “Because there was more to come beyond jellyfish.”
我想我是在窃窃私语"因为除了水母还有更多"
“That’s right. Creation didn’t end with jellyfish. Still to come were the vertebrates and the amphibians and the reptiles and the mammals, and of course, finally, man.”
"没错创世并没有因为水母的出现而结束还有脊椎动物、两栖动物、爬行动物和哺乳动物 当然，最后还有人类"
“Right.” "对"
“And so your account of creation ends, 'And finally man appeared.” “Yes.”
"所以你的创世记结尾说 "人类终于出现了""是的"
“Meaning what?” "什么意思？"
“Meaning that there was no more to come. Meaning that creation had come to an end.”
"意味着不再有未来意味着创造已经结束"
“This is what it was all leading up to.”
"这就是一切的前因后果"
“Yes.” "是的"
“Of course. Everyone in your culture knows this. The pinnacle was reached in man. Man is the climax of the whole cosmic drama of creation.”
当然你们文化中的每个人都知道这一点。人类达到了顶峰。人是整个宇宙创造剧的高潮。"
“Yes.” "是的"
“When man finally appeared, creation came to an end, because its objective had been reached. There was nothing left to create.”
"当人类最终出现时，创造就结束了，因为它的目标已经达到。没有什么可以创造了"。
“That seems to be the unspoken assumption.”
"这似乎是不言而喻的假设"
“It’s certainly not always unspoken. The religions of your culture aren’t reticent about it. Man is the end product of creation. Man is the creature for whom all the rest was made: this world, this solar system, this galaxy, the universe itself.”
"当然，这并不总是心照不宣的。你们文化中的宗教对此并不讳言。人是造物的最终产物。人是造物主，其他一切都为之而生：这个世界、太阳系、银河系、宇宙本身。"
“True.” "没错"
“Everyone in your culture knows that the world wasn’t created for jellyfish or salmon or iguanas or gorillas. It was created for man.”
"你们文化中的每个人都知道 世界不是为水母、鲑鱼、鬣蜥或大猩猩创造的它是为人类创造的"
“That’s right.” "没错"
Ishmael fixed me with a sardonic eye. “And this is not mythology?”
伊斯梅尔用讥讽的目光盯着我。"这不是神话吗？"
“Well … the facts are facts.”
"嗯......事实就是事实"。
“Certainly. Facts are facts, even when they’re embodied in mythology. But what about the rest? Did the entire cosmic process of creation come to an end three million years ago, right here on this little planet, with the appearance of man?”
"当然。事实就是事实，即使是神话中的事实。那其他的呢？三百万年前，就在这个小星球上，随着人类的出现 整个宇宙的创造过程是不是就结束了？"
“No.” "不"
“Did even the planetary process of creation come to an end three million years ago with the appearance of man? Did evolution come to a screeching halt just because man had arrived?”
"难道三百万年前人类的出现，就连地球的创世过程也戛然而止了吗？难道进化就因为人类的出现而戛然而止？"
“No, of course not.” "不，当然不是"
“Then why did you tell it that way?”
"那你为什么要这么说？"
“I guess I told it that way, because that’s the way it’s told.”
"我想我是这么说的 因为我就是这么说的"
“That’s the way it’s told among the Takers. It’s certainly not the only way it can be told.”
"这就是'接受者'的说法。这当然不是唯一的说法"
“Okay, I see that now. How would you tell it?”
"好吧，我现在明白了。你会怎么说呢？"
He nodded toward the world outside his window. “Do you see the slightest evidence anywhere in the universe that creation came to an end with the birth of man? Do you see the slightest evidence anywhere out there that man was the climax toward which creation had been straining from the beginning?”
他朝窗外的世界点了点头。"你能在宇宙中的任何地方找到丝毫证据 证明造物随着人类的诞生而终结吗？你能在任何地方找到丝毫证据 证明人类是造物从一开始就努力追求的高潮吗？"
“No. I can’t even imagine what such evidence would look like.”
"不，我甚至无法想象这样的证据会是什么样子"
“That should be obvious. If the astrophysicists could report that the fundamental creative processes of the universe came to a halt five billion years ago, when our solar system made its appearance, that would offer at least some support for these notions.”
"这应该是显而易见的。如果天体物理学家能够报告说，宇宙的基本创造过程在 50 亿年前，也就是我们的太阳系出现的时候就停止了，那至少可以为这些观点提供一些支持。"
“Yes, I see what you mean.”
"是的，我明白你的意思"
“Or if the biologists and paleontologists could report that speciation came to a halt three million years ago, this too would be suggestive.”
"或者，如果生物学家和古生物学家能够报告说，300万年前物种繁衍就已经停止了，这也是一种暗示"。
“Yes.” "是的"
“But you know that neither of these things happened in fact. Very far from it. The universe went on as before, the planet went on as before. Man’s appearance caused no more stir than the appearance of jellyfish.”
"但你知道，事实上这两件事都没有发生。远非如此。宇宙一如既往，地球一如既往。人类的出现和水母的出现一样 没有引起任何轰动"
“Very true.” "非常正确"
Ishmael gestured toward the tape recorder. “So what are we to make of that story you told?”
伊斯梅尔朝录音机做了个手势。"我们该怎么理解你讲的故事？"
I bared my teeth in a rueful grin. “It’s a myth. Incredibly enough, it’s a myth.”
我呲牙咧嘴地笑了。"这是一个神话。令人难以置信的是，这是一个神话。"

“I told you yesterday that the story the people of your culture are enacting is about the meaning of the world, about divine intentions in the world, and about human destiny.”
"我昨天告诉过你，你们文化中的人们正在演绎的故事关乎世界的意义，关乎世界的神意，关乎人类的命运"。
“Yes.” "是的"
“And according to this first part of the story, what is the meaning of the world?”
"根据故事的第一部分 世界的意义是什么？"
I thought about that for a moment. “I don’t quite see how it explains the meaning of the world.”
我想了一会儿"我不太明白它如何解释世界的意义"
“Along about the middle of your story, the focus of attention shifted from the universe at large to this one planet. Why?”
"在你的故事讲到一半的时候，人们的注意力从整个宇宙转移到了这颗星球上。为什么？"
“Because this one planet was destined to be the birthplace of man.”
"因为这颗行星注定是人类的诞生地"
“Of course. As you tell it, the birth of man was a central eventindeed the central event-in the history of the cosmos itself. From the birth of man on, the rest of the universe ceases to be of interest, ceases to participate in the unfolding drama. For this, the earth alone is sufficient; it is the birthplace and home of man, and that’s its meaning. The Takers regard the world as a sort of human lifesupport system, as a machine designed to produce and sustain human life.”
当然正如你所说，人类的诞生是宇宙历史中的一个中心事件，甚至是中心事件。从人类诞生开始，宇宙的其他部分就不再重要，不再参与这场正在上演的戏剧。为此，只有地球就足够了；它是人类的诞生地和家园，这就是它的意义所在。创世者将世界视为一种人类生命支持系统，是为生产和维持人类生命而设计的机器"。
“Yes, that’s so.” "是的，就是这样"
“In your telling of the story, you naturally left out any mention of the gods, because you didn’t want it to be tainted with mythology. Since its mythological character is now established, you no longer have to worry about that. Supposing there is a divine agency behind creation, what can you tell me about the gods’ intentions?”
"在讲述这个故事时，你自然不会提及神灵，因为你不想让它沾染神话色彩。既然现在已经确定了它的神话性质，你就不必再担心这个问题了。假设创世背后有一个神的机构，你能告诉我神的意图吗？
“Well, basically, what they had in mind when they started out was man. They made the universe so that our galaxy could be in it. They made the galaxy so that our solar system could be in it. They
"嗯，基本上，他们一开始想到的就是人类。他们创造了宇宙，所以我们的银河系才会在其中。他们创造了银河系，所以我们的太阳系可以在其中。他们
made our solar system so that our planet could be in it. And they made our planet so that we could be in it. The whole thing was made so that man would have a hunk of dirt to stand on.”
他们创造了太阳系，让我们的星球在其中。他们创造了我们的星球 好让我们在其中"所有的一切都是为了让人类站在一块泥土上"
“And this is generally how it’s understood in your culture-at least by those who assume that the universe is an expression of divine intentions.”
"在你们的文化中，人们一般是这样理解的--至少那些认为宇宙是神意表达的人是这样理解的。"
“Yes.” "是的"
“Obviously, since the entire universe was made so that man could be made, man must be a creature of enormous importance to the gods. But this part of the story gives no hint of their intentions toward him. They must have some special destiny in mind for him, but that’s not revealed here.”
"很显然，既然整个宇宙是为了造人而创造的，那么人对诸神来说一定是非常重要的生物。但这部分故事并没有暗示他们对人类的意图。他们肯定对人类有什么特殊的安排，但这里没有透露。"
“True.” "没错"

“Every story is based on a premise, is the working out of a premise. As a writer, I’m sure you know that.”
"每一个故事都基于一个前提，都是对前提的加工。作为一个作家，我相信你知道这一点。"
“Yes.” "是的"
“You’ll recognize this one: Two children of warring families fall in love.”
"你会认出这个的两个交战家庭的孩子坠入爱河"
“Right. Romeo and Juliet.”
"对罗密欧与朱丽叶"
“The story being enacted in the world by the Takers also has a premise, which is embodied in the part of the story you told me today. See if you can figure out what it is.”
"'创世者'在这个世界上演绎的故事也有一个前提，它就体现在你今天告诉我的那部分故事里。看看你能不能找出它是什么。"
I closed my eyes and pretended I was working hard, when in fact I knew I didn’t stand a chance. “I’m afraid I don’t see it.”
我闭上眼睛，假装自己很努力 其实我知道自己根本没有机会"恐怕我看不出来"
“The story the Leavers have enacted in the world has an entirely different premise, and it would be impossible for you to discover it at this point. But you should be able to discover the premise of your own story. It’s a very simple notion and the most powerful in all of human history. Not necessarily the most beneficial but certainly the most powerful. Your entire history, with all its marvels and catastrophes, is a working out of this premise.”
"离经叛道者在这个世界上编造的故事有着完全不同的前提，你们现在不可能发现它。但你们应该能够发现自己故事的前提。这是一个非常简单的概念，也是人类历史上最强大的概念。不一定是最有益的，但一定是最强大的。你们的整个历史，包括所有的奇迹和灾难，都是这个前提的产物。"
“Truthfully, I can’t even imagine what you’re getting at.”
"说实话，我根本无法想象你在说什么"
“Think… Look, the world wasn’t made for jellyfish, was it?”
"想想......听着，这个世界不是为水母创造的，不是吗？"
“No.” "不"
“It wasn’t made for frogs or lizards or rabbits.”
"它不是为青蛙、蜥蜴或兔子制造的"
“No.” "不"
“Of course not. The world was made for man.”
"当然不是世界是为人类创造的"
“That’s right.” "没错"
“Everyone in your culture knows that, don’t they? Even atheists who swear there is no god know that the world was made for man.”
"你们文化中的每个人都知道，不是吗？即使是发誓没有神的无神论者 也知道世界是为人类创造的"
“Yes, I’d say so.” "是的，我也这么认为"
“All right. That’s the premise of your story: The world was made for man.”
好吧这就是你故事的前提："世界是为人类创造的"
“I can’t quite grasp it. I mean, I can’t quite see why it’s a premise.”
"我不太明白我是说，我不太明白为什么这是个前提。"
“The people of your culture made it a premise-took it as a premise. They said: What if the world was made for us?”
"你们文化中的人把它作为前提--把它作为前提。他们说："如果世界是为我们创造的呢？"
“Okay. Keep going.” "好的 继续走" "Okay.继续走"
“Think of the consequences of taking that as your premise: If the world was made for you, then what?”
"想一想以此为前提的后果：如果世界是为你创造的，那又怎样？
“Okay, I see what you mean. I think. If the world was made for us, then it belongs to us and we can do what we damn well please with it.”
"好吧，我明白你的意思了。我觉得如果世界是为我们创造的 那它就是属于我们的 我们可以为所欲为"
“Exactly. That’s what’s been happening here for the past ten thousand years: You’ve been doing what you damn well please with the world. And of course you mean to go right on doing what you damn well please with it, because the whole damn thing belongs to you.”
没错这就是过去一万年来这里发生的事情：你们对这个世界为所欲为你当然想继续为所欲为 因为整个世界都属于你"
“Yes,” I said, and thought for a second. “Actually, that’s pretty amazing. I mean, you hear this fifty times a day. People talk about our environment, our seas, our solar system. I’ve even heard people talk about our wildlife.”
"是的，"我说，然后想了一会儿。"事实上，这很了不起。我是说，你每天都能听到五十次这样的话。人们谈论我们的环境、我们的海洋、我们的太阳系。我甚至听到人们谈论我们的野生动物。"
“And just yesterday you assured me with complete confidence that there was nothing in your culture remotely resembling mythology.”
"就在昨天，你还信心十足地向我保证 你们的文化中没有任何与神话相似的东西"
“True. I did.” Ishmael continued to stare at me morosely. “I was wrong,” I told him. “What more do you want?”
"没错我是这么说的。"伊斯梅尔继续呆呆地看着我。"我错了。"我告诉他。"你还想要什么？"
“Astonishment,” he said. "惊讶，"他说。
I nodded. “I’m astonished, all right. I just don’t let it show.”
我点了点头。"我很惊讶，没错。我只是没有表现出来。"
“I should have gotten you when you were seventeen.”
"我应该在你17岁的时候就得到你"
I shrugged, meaning that I wished he had.
我耸耸肩，意思是我希望他这么做。