30 Darwin
30 达尔文
……a ship sailing through life with a cargo of genes……
……满载基因航行过生命的一艘小船……
Hilde was awakened on Sunday morning by a loud bump. It was the ring binder falling on the floor. She had been lying in bed reading about Sophie and Alber-to's conversation on Marx and had fallen asleep. The reading lamp by the bed had been on all night.
星期天上午，席德被一声响亮的碰撞声惊醒，原来是讲义夹落地的声音。昨晚她一直躺在床上看苏菲与艾伯特有关马克思的对话，后来就仰躺着睡着了，讲义夹放在棉被上，床边的台灯整晚都亮着。
The green glowing digits on her desk alarm clock showed 8:59.
她书桌上的闹钟现在正显示着8:59这几个绿色的发光数字。
She had been dreaming about huge factories and polluted cities; a little girl sitting at a street corner selling matches--well-dressed people in long coats passing by without as much as a glance.
昨晚她梦见了巨大的工厂和受到污染的城市，一个小女孩坐在街角卖火柴，而穿着体面、披着长大衣的人们来来去去，连看都不看她一眼。
When Hilde sat up in bed she remembered the legislators who were to wake up in a society they themselves had created. Hilde was glad she had woken up in Bjer-kely, at any rate.
席德在床上坐起来时，突然想到那些将会在他们自己所创造的社会中醒来的立法委员，她很高兴自己醒来时还在柏客来山庄。
Would she have dared to wake up in Norway without knowing whereabouts in Norway she would wake up?
万一她醒来时身在挪威另一个陌生的地方，那她会不会害怕呢？
But it was not only a question of where she would wake up. Could she not just as easily have woken up in a different age? In the Middle Ages, for instance--or in the Stone Age ten or twenty thousand years ago? Hilde tried to imagine herself sitting at the entrance to a cave, scraping an animal hide, perhaps.
不过，这还不只是在哪里醒来的问题而已。她会不会醒来时发现自己是在另外一个年代呢？譬如说中世纪之类的，或一两万年前的石器时代？席德想象自己坐在山洞口，制作兽皮的模样。
What could it have been like to be a fifteen-year-old girl before there was anything called a culture? How would she have thought? Could she have had thoughts at all?Hilde pulled on a sweater, heaved the ring binder onto the bed and settled down to read the next chapter.
在世上还没有一种叫做文化的东西以前，当一个十五岁的女孩会是什么滋味呢？那时的她会有什么想法呢？席德穿上一件毛衣，使劲把讲义夹拿到床上，然后便安坐床上，开始读下一章。
Alberto had just said "Next chapter!" when somebody knocked on the door of the major's cabin.
艾伯特刚说完“下一章”，便有人敲少校小木屋的门。
We don't have any choice, do we? said Sophie.
“我们没有其他选择吧？”苏菲说。
No, I suppose we don't, said Alberto.
“我想是没有。”艾伯特嘀咕道。
On the step outside stood a very old man with long white hair and a beard. He held a staff in one hand, and in the other a board on which was painted a picture of a boat The boat was crowded with all kinds of animals.
门外的台阶上站着一位年纪很大的老人，有着长长的白发和一脸白胡子。他一手拿了根拐杖，另一手则拿了一块板子，上面画了一艘船，船上载满了各种动物。
And who is this elderly gentleman? asked Alberto.
“老先生贵姓大名？”
My name is Noah.
“我名叫诺亚。”
I guessed as much.
“我猜也是。”
Your oldest ancestor, my son. But it is probably no longer fashionable to recognize one's ancestors.
“孩子，我是你的老祖宗。不过现代人大概不流行认识自己的祖先了。”
What is that in your hand? asked Sophie.
“你手上拿着什么？”苏菲问。
This is a picture of all the animals that were saved from the Flood. Here, my daughter, it is for you.
“这上面画的是所有从大洪水里获救的动物。拿去，孩子，这是给你的。”
Sophie took the large board.
苏菲接过那块大板子。
"Well, I'd better go home and tend the grapevines. " the old man said, and giving a little jump, he clicked his heels together in the air and skipped merrily away into the woods in the manner peculiar to very old men now and then.
老人又说道：“我得回家去照管那些葡萄藤了。”说着他便跳了起来，双脚在空中啪答互敲了一下，然后便以轻快的步伐跳进树林中。只有年纪很大的老人家在一种很不寻常的情绪下才会有那种步法。
Sophie and Alberto went inside and sat down again. Sophie began to look at the picture, but before she had a chance to study it, Alberto took it from her with an authoritative grasp.
苏菲和艾伯特走进屋里再度坐下。苏菲开始看那幅图画。可是在她还没来得及细看之前，艾伯特便很权威地一把将它拿了过去。
We'll concentrate on the broad outlines first.
“我们首先要谈谈大纲。”
Okay, okay.
“好，好，先生!”
I forgot to mention that Marx lived the last 34 years of his life in London. He moved there in 1849 and died in 1883. All that time Charles Darwin was living just outside London. He died in 1882 and was buried with great pomp and ceremony in Westminster Abbey as one of England's distinguished sons. So Marx and Darwin's paths crossed, but not only in time and space. Marx wanted to dedicate the English edition of his greatest work, Capital, to Darwin, but Darwin declined the honor. When Marx died the year after Darwin, his friend Friedrich En-gels said: As Darwin discovered the theory of organic evolution, so Marx discovered the theory of mankind's historical evolution.
“我刚才忘了提到马克思一生的最后三十四年是在伦敦度过的。他在一八四九年迁居到那儿，并在一八八三年去世。这段时间达尔文就住在伦敦近郊，在一八八二年去世，在一场隆重盛大的典礼中下葬于西敏寺，成为英国最杰出的人士之一。就这样，马克思和达尔文在人生的旅途上曾经交错。达尔文死后一年，马克思也去世了。当时他的友人恩格斯说：达尔文创立了有机物进化的理论，而马克思则创立了人类历史进化的理论。”
I see.
“喔，原来如此。”
Another great thinker who was to link his work to Darwin was the psychologist Sigmund Freud. He also lived his last years in London. Freud said that both Darwin's theory of evolution and his own psychoanalysis had resulted in an affront to mankind's naive egoism.
“另外一个在作品上也与达尔文有关联的大思想家是心理学家佛洛伊德。他最后几年也是在伦敦度过的。佛洛伊德说，达尔文的进化论和他自己的精神分析理论对于人类以自我为中心的天真无知态度构成了挑衅。”
That was a lot of names at one time. Are we talking about Marx, Darwin, or Freud?
“你一下子提太多名字了。我们现在要谈的究竟是马克思、达尔文还是佛洛伊德？”
自然主义
In a broader sense we can talk about a naturalistic current from the middle of the nineteenth century until quite far into our own. By 'naturalistic' we mean a sense of reality that accepts no other reality than nature and the sensory world. A naturalist therefore also considers mankind to be part of nature. A naturalistic scientist will exclusively rely on natural phenomena--not on either rationalistic suppositions or any form of divine revelation.
“我们可以更广泛地谈到从十九世纪中到我们这个时代所流行的一股自然主义风潮。所谓‘自然主义’指的是一种认为除了大自然和感官世界之外，别无其他真实事物的态度。因此，自然主义者也认为人是大自然的一部分。一个自然主义的科学家只相信自然现象，而不相信任何理性假设或圣灵的启示。”
And that applies to Marx, Darwin, and Freud?
“马克思、达尔文和佛洛伊德都是这样的人吗？”
Absolutely. The key words from the middle of the last century were nature, environment, history, evolution, and growth. Marx had pointed out that human ideologies were a product of the basis of society. Darwin showed that mankind was the result of a slow biological evolution, and Freud's studies of the unconscious revealed that people's actions were often the result of 'animal' urges or instincts.
“一点也没错。从上一世纪中期开始，最流行的几个字眼就是自然、环境、历史、进化与成长。当时马克思已经指出人类的意识形态是社会基础的产物，达尔文则证明人类是生物逐渐演化的结果，而佛洛伊德对潜意识的研究则发现人们的行动多半是受到‘动物’本能驱策的结果。”
I think I understand more or less what you mean by naturalistic, but isn't it best we talk about one person at a time?
“我想我多少了解你所说的‘自然主义’的意思。可是我们是不是最好一次只谈一个人呢？”
We'll talk about Darwin, Sophie. You may recall that the pre-Socratics looked for natural explanations of the processes of nature. In the same way that they had to distance themselves from ancient mythological explanations, Darwin had to distance himself from the church's view of the creation of man and beast.
“我们要先谈达尔文。苏菲，你可能还记得苏格拉底之前的哲学家曾试图为大自然的变化寻找合乎自然的解释，因为他们不接受那些古老神话中的说法。同样的，达尔文也不接受教会对人与动物如何创造出来的说法。”
But was he a real philosopher?
“不过他算是哲学家吗？”
Darwin was a biologist and a natural scientist. But he was also the scientist of recent times who has most openly challenged the Biblical view of man's place in Creation.
“达尔文是一个生物学家和自然科学家，不过他也是近代唯一一个公开质疑圣经中对人在万物中的地位的说法的科学家。”
So you'll have to say something about Darwin's theory of evolution.
“那么你得说说达尔文的进化论到底是怎么回事？”
达尔文
Let's begin with Darwin the man. He was born in the little town of Shrewsbury in 1809. His father, Dr. Robert Darwin, was a renowned local physician, and very strict about his son's upbringing. When Charles was a pupil at the local grammar school, his headmaster described him as a boy who was always flying around, fooling about with stuff and nonsense, and never doing a stroke of anything that was the slightest bit useful. By 'useful,' the headmaster meant cramming Greek and Latin verbs. By 'flying around,' he was referring among other things to the fact that Charles clambered around collecting beetles of all kinds.
“我们先来谈谈达尔文这个人吧。他在一八O九年生于休斯柏瑞(Shrewsbury)这个小镇。他的父亲罗伯特·达尔文博士是当地一位很有名望的医生，对儿子的管教非常严格。达尔文在当地的小学上学时，他的校长说他总是到处乱跑，把玩东西，不知所云，从不做些有用的事。这位校长所谓的‘有用的事’是指勤念希腊文和拉丁文的动词。所谓‘到处乱跑’，则是说达尔文到处去搜集各式各样的甲虫。”
I'll bet he came to regret those words.
“我敢打赌他后来一定会后悔自己说过那些话。”
When he subsequently studied theology, Charles was far more interested in bird-watching and collecting insects, so he did not get very good grades in theology. But while he was still at college, he gained himself a reputation as a natural scientist, not least due to his interest in geology, which was perhaps the most expansive science of the day. As soon as he had graduated in theology at Cam-bridge in April 1831, he went to North Wales to study rock formations and to search for fossils. In August of the same year, when he was barely twenty-two years old, he received a letter which was to determine the course of his whole life . . .
“达尔文后来开始研究神学，可是他对赏鸟和搜集昆虫等事更有兴趣，因此他在神学方面的成绩从来不顶好。不过，他在大学时就已经有了自然科学家的名声，一部分是因为他对地质学有兴趣的缘故。地质学也许是当时最大的一门学科。一八三一年他从剑桥大学神学院毕业后，随即前往北威尔斯研究岩石的形成并搜寻化石。同一年八月(当时他还不到二十二岁)，他接到了一封从此改变他一生的信……”
What was the letter about?
“那是一封什么样的信呢？”
It was from his friend and teacher, John Steven Hens-low. He wrote: 'I have been requested to ... recommend a naturalist to go as companion to Captain Fitzroy, who has been commissioned by the government to survey the southern coasts of South America. I have stated that I consider you to be the best qualified person I know of who is likely to undertake such a situation. As far as the financial side of it is concerned, I have no notion. The voyage is to last two years ... '
“是他的朋友兼老师韩斯洛(John Steven Henslow)写的。他在信里说：有人请我……推荐一位自然科学家陪同受政府委派的费兹罗伊(Fitzroy)船长前往南美洲南部的海岸从事调查研究工作。我向他们说我认为你是最有资格且很可能会接受这类工作的人。至于其中牵涉的经费问题，我并不清楚。这次航程将花两年的时间......”
How can you remember all that by heart?
“你怎么会记得这么多东西？”
A bagatelle, Sophie.
“小事一桩。”
"And what did he answer?"
“那达尔文怎么答复呢？”
He wished ardently to grasp the chance, but in those days young men did nothing without their parents' consent. After much persuasion, his father finally agreed-- and it was he who financed his son's voyage. As far as the 'financial side' went, it was conspicuous by its absence.
“他迫不及待要抓住这次机会，可是在那个时代，一个年轻人做任何事都必须得到父母的许可。经过他一番游说之后，他的父亲终于同意了，并且答应资助旅费。因为在所谓的‘经费问题’上，他显然并没有得到任何补助。”
Oh.
“喔。”
The ship was the naval vessel HMS Beagle. It sailed from Plymouth on December 27, 1831, bound for South America, and it did not return until October of 1836. The two years became five and the voyage to South America turned into a voyage round the world. And now we come to one of the most important voyages of discovery in recent times.
“那艘船是海军舰艇小猎犬号。它在一八三一年十二月二十七日从普利茅斯航向南美洲，一直到一八三六年十月才返航。原本只有两年的航程变成五年，而航行的范围也从原定的南美洲扩展到世界各地。这是近代史上最重要的一次调查航行之一。”
They sailed all the way round the world?
“他们就一路环绕世界吗？”
Yes, quite literally. From South America they sailed on across the Pacific to New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. Then they sailed back to South America before setting sail for England. Darwin wrote that the voyage on board the Beagle was without doubt the most significant event in his life.
“是的，差不多就是这样，他们从南美继续航行，经过太平洋到纽西兰、澳洲和南非，然后又开回南美洲，最后才回到英国。达尔文写道，在猎犬号上的这次航行无疑是他生命中最有意义的事件。”
It couldn't have been easy to be a naturalist at sea.
“在海上做自然科学研究可不容易呀!”
For the first years, the Beagle sailed up and down the coast of South America. This gave Darwin plenty of opportunity to familiarize himself with the continent, also inland. The expedition's many forays into the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific west of South America were of decisive significance as well. He was able to collect and send to England vast amounts of material. However, he kept his reflections on nature and the evolution of life to himself. When he returned home at the age of twenty-seven, he found himself renowned as a scientist. At that point he had an inwardly clear picture of what was to become his theory of evolution. But he did not publish his main work until many years after his return, for Darwin was a cautious man--as is fitting for a scientist.
“最初几年，小猎犬号在南美海岸来回行驶。这使得达尔文有很多机会可以熟悉这块大陆，包括内陆地区。他们多次进入南美洲西边大平洋上的加拉帕哥斯(Galapagos)群岛，而这几次探险对他们的发现也有决定性的影响。他在那儿搜集到大量的材料并将它们寄回英国。可是当时他并没有透露他本人对于自然与生命进化的看法。当他回到英国(那时他才二十七岁)时，发现自己成了一位著名的科学家。在那个时候，他内心关于进化论的概念已经很清晰了。可是直到许多年后他才发表他的主要作品，因为他是一个很谨慎的人，而这也是一个科学家应有的态度。”
What was his main work?
“他的主要作品是什么？”
Well, there were several, actually. But the book-which gave rise to the most heated debate in England was The Origin of Species, published in 1859. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. The long title is actually a complete resume of Darwin's theory.
“事实上他写了好几本书。但其中在英国引起了最热烈的辩论的是《物种起源论》。这本书出版于一八五九年。它的全名是《物竞天择，适者生存之物种起源论》。这样长的书名事实上就是达尔文进化论的完整摘要。”
He certainly packed a lot into one title.
“他确实是把好多东西放在一个书名里。”
进化论
But let's take it piece by piece. In The Origin of Species, Darwin advanced two theories or main theses: first, he proposed that all existing vegetable and animal forms were descended from earlier, more primitive forms by way of a biological evolution. Secondly, that evolution was the result of natural selection.
“我们还是一样一样地谈。达尔文在《物种起源论》一书中提出两个理论。首先他认为，既存的所有动植物样式都是依照生物进化的法则，从较早期、较原始的形式演变而来。其次，他认为生物进化乃是自然淘汰的结果。”
The survival of the fittest, right?
“适者生存，对吗？”
That's right, but let us first concentrate on the idea of evolution. This, in itself, was not all that original. The idea of biological evolution began to be widely accepted in some circles as early as 1800. The leading spokesman for this idea was the French zoologist Lamarck. Even before him, Darwin's own grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, had suggested that plants and animals had evolved from some few primitive species. But none of them had come up with an acceptable explanation as to how this evolution happened. They were therefore not considered by churchmen to be any great threat.
“对。不过我们还是先来谈进化的概念好了，这个观念其实并不很新鲜。早在一八OO年时，某些领域内的人士就已经开始普遍接受生物进化的观念。最主要的倡导人是法国的动物学家拉马克(Lamarck)。甚至在他之前，达尔文的祖父伊拉斯穆斯·达尔文(Erasmus Darwin)就已经提出动植物是由某些少数原始物种进化而来的观念。可是他们当中没有一个人提出一个合理的解释，说明进化的过程是如何发生的，因此教会也就不认为他们是很大的威胁。”
But Darwin was?
“但达尔文就是了吗？”
Yes, indeed, and not without reason. Both in ecclesiastic and scientific circles, the Biblical doctrine of the immutability of all vegetable and animal species was strictly adhered to. Each and every form of animal life had been created separately once and for all. This Christian view was moreover in harmony with the teachings of Plato and Aristotle.
“是的，而这也不是没有原因的。在当时，无论教会还是科学界都坚决相信圣经中所说的所有动植物种类都不会改变的说法。他们相信上帝一次就造出了所有的生物。而基督教的这种看法也与柏拉图和亚理斯多德的学说一致。”
How so?
“怎么说呢？”
Plato's theory of ideas presupposed that all animal species were immutable because they were made after patterns of eternal ideas or forms. The immutability of animal species was also one of the cornerstones of Aristotle's philosophy. But in Darwin's time there were a number of observations and finds which were putting traditional beliefs to the test.
“柏拉图的概念理论主张各种动物都是不可改变的，因为他们是根据永恒的概念或形式造的。这也是亚理斯多德哲学的基础之一。但在达尔文的时代，一些新的发现促使这种传统的观念受到考验。”
What kind of observations and finds were they?
“什么样的新发现呢？”
Well, to begin with an increasing number of fossils were being dug out. There were also finds of large fossil bones from extinct animals. Darwin himself was puzzled to find traces of sea creatures far inland. In South America he made similar discoveries high up in the mountains of the Andes. What is a sea creature doing in the Andes, Sophie? Can you tell me that?
“首先，愈来愈多的化石被挖掘出来。此外也有人发现一些绝种动物的大型骨头化石。达尔文本人也在一些深入内陆的地方发现海洋生物的遗迹，使他感到很困惑。在南美洲高耸的安第斯山山顶上他也发现了类似的现象。苏菲，你说说看，海洋生物跑到安第斯山做什么呢？”
No.
“我不知道。”
Some believed that they had just been thrown away there by humans or animals. Others believed that God had created these fossils and traces of sea creatures to lead the ungodly astray.
“有人认为他们是被人类或动物扔在那儿的，也有人相信那些化石和海洋生物的遗迹是上帝故意安排的，目的在让那些不信神的人走入迷途。”
But what did scientists believe?
“那科学家们怎么说呢？”
Most geologists swore to a 'catastrophe theory/ according to which the earth had been subjected to gigantic floods, earthquakes, and other catastrophes that had destroyed all life. We read of one of these in the Bible--the Flood and Noah's Ark. After each catastrophe, God renewed life on earth by creating new--and more perfect-- plants and animals.
“大多数地质学家相信一种‘大灾难理论’，认为地球曾经遭遇大洪水、地震等等大灾难，导致所有的生物都被毁灭。我们在圣经诺亚方舟的故事中也读过类似的记载。他们相信，在每次天灾后，上帝会重新再创造更新、更完美的动植物，以延续地球的生命。”
So the fossils were imprints of earlier life forms that had been wiped out after these gigantic catastrophes?
“所以他们认为那些化石就是古时的大天灾所毁灭的生物的印记？”
Precisely. For example, it was thought that fossils were imprints of animals that had failed to get into the Ark. But when Darwin set sail on the Beagle, he had with him the first volume of the English biologist Sir Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology. Lyell held that the present geology of the earth, with its mountains and valleys, was the result of an interminably long and gradual evolution. His point was that even quite small changes could cause huge geological upheavals, considering the aeons of time that have elapsed.
“没错。举个例子，他们认为化石里的那些动物就是当年没有登上诺亚方舟的动物。不过，当年达尔文搭乘猎犬号启航时，身边曾带着英国生物学家莱尔(Charles Lyell)所著的《地质学原理》第一册。莱尔认为目前地球的地质——包括山脉和河谷等等——都是长期不断逐渐演化的结果。他的论点是：在这千万年的过程中，即使一些小小的变化也会造成地质上的大变动。”
What kind of changes was he thinking of?
“他所说的变化是指哪一种？”
He was thinking of the same forces that prevail today: wind and weather, melting ice, earthquakes, and elevations of the ground level. You've heard the saying about a drop of water wearing away a stone--not by brute force, but by continuous dripping. Lyell believed that similar tiny and gradual changes over the ages could alter the face of nature completely. However, this theory alone could not explain why Darwin found the remains of sea creatures high up in the Andes. But Darwin always remembered that tiny gradual changes could result in dramatic alterations if they were given sufficient time.
“他指的是那些直到今天仍然在作用的一些力量，如风力、天气、冰层的融解、地震和地平面的隆起。你应该听说过‘滴水穿石’的故事，它凭的不是力量，而是不断的侵蚀。莱尔相信这类微小而逐渐发生的变化，持续千百年后就可以完全改变大自然的形貌。虽然这种理论并不能够完全解释，为何达尔文会在安第斯山山顶这样高的地方发现海洋生物的遗迹。不过达尔文本人也一直相信，只要时间足够，逐渐发生的微小改变就可以造成巨大的变化。”
I suppose he thought the same explanation could be used for the evolution of animals.
“我猜他一定想同样的现象也可以用来解释动物的进化。”
Yes, that was his thought. But as I said before, Darwin was a cautious man. He posed questions long before he ventured to answer them. In that sense he used the same method as all true philosophers: it is important to ask but there is no haste to provide the answer.
“是的，他正是这么想。但我曾经说过，达尔文是一个很谨慎的人。他先提出问题，等到过了很久之后才加以回答。从这个角度来看，他用的方法正和所有真正的哲学家一样，也就是说：重要的是提出问题，而毋需急着解答问题。”
Yes, I see.
“嗯，我懂了。”
A decisive factor in Lyell's theory was the age of the earth. In Darwin's time, it was widely believed that about 6,000 years had elapsed since God created the earth. That figure had been arrived at by counting the generations since Adam and Eve.
“莱尔的理论中有一个决定性的因素就是地球的年纪。在达尔文那个时代，人们普遍相信上帝创造世界大约已有六千年。这个数字是由计算亚当与夏娃以后的世代得出来的。”
How naive!
“真是大天真了!”
Well, it's easy to be wise after the event. Darwin figured the age of the earth to be 300 million years. Because one thing, at least, was clear: neither Lyell's theory of gradual geological evolution nor Darwin's own theory of evolution had any validity unless one reckoned with tremendously long periods of time.
“说到这点，后见之明当然是比较容易。达尔文推算地球的年纪大约在三亿年左右。因为很明显的，除非地球存在的时间确实很长很长，否则无论莱尔的地质逐渐演进论或达尔文自己的进化论都无法获得证实。”
How old is the earth?
“那么地球存在到底有多久了？”
Today we know that the earth is 4.6 billion years old.
“据我们今天所知，应该有四十六亿年了。”
Wow!
“哇！”
Up to now, we have looked at one of Darwin's arguments for biological evolution, namely, the stratified deposits of fossils in various layers of rock. Another argument was the geographic distribution of living species. This was where Darwin's scientific voyage could contribute new and extremely comprehensive data. He had seen with his own eyes that the individuals of a single species of animal within the same region could differ from each other in only the minutest detail. He made some very interesting observations on the Galapagos Islands, west of Ecuador, in particular.
“我们刚才已经谈到达尔文提出的生物进化的证据，就是那些在岩石各层结构中发现的一层层化石矿床。另外一个证据则是各现存物种的地理分布情况。在这方面，达尔文的科学之旅提供了许多完整的新资料。他亲眼看到同一个地区内的同一种动物彼此之间有极细微的差异。此外，他在加拉帕哥斯群岛，尤其是在厄瓜多尔西部，也发现了一些很有趣的现象。”
物竞天择
Tell me about them.
“是什么现象？”
The Galapagos Islands are a compact group of volcanic islands. There were therefore no great differences in the plant and animal life there. But Darwin was interested in the tiny differences. On all the islands, he came across giant tortoises that were slightly different from one island to another. Had God really created a separate race of tortoises for each and every island?
“加拉帕哥斯群岛是一小群火山岛，因此那儿的动植物并没有很大的差异。但使达尔文感到兴趣的是它们之间的细微差异。他发现，他在每个岛屿上看到的大海龟都和其他岛屿有些不同。难道上帝为每个岛屿各创造了一种海龟吗？”
It's doubtful.
“嗯，这确实是一个问题。”
Darwin's observations of bird life on the Galapagos were even more striking. The Galapagos finches were clearly varied from island to island, especially as regards the shape of the beak. Darwin demonstrated that these variations were closely linked to the way the finches found their food on the different islands. The ground finches with steeply profiled beaks lived on pine cone seeds, the little warbler finches lived on insects, and the tree finches lived on termites extracted from bark and branches ... Each and every one of the species had a beak that was perfectly adapted to its own food intake. Could all these finches be descended from one and the same species? And had the finches adapted to their surroundings on the different islands over the ages in such a way that new species of finches evolved?
“达尔文在加拉帕哥斯群岛上观察到的鸟类生态更令人惊讶。他发现每个岛屿上的雀鸟都各有特色，尤其是在鸟喙的形状上。达尔文指出，这些差异与雀鸟在各个岛屿上觅食的方式有很密切的关系。鸟喙又尖又长的地雀是以松子为食，小鸣雀是以昆虫为食，树雀则以树皮和树枝里的白蚁为食……每一种雀的鸟喙形状都完全取决它摄取的食物种类。于是他想，这些雀可不可能有共同的祖先呢？它们是不是因为千百年来不断适应各个岛屿不同的环境之后才变成新的品种呢？”
That was the conclusion he came to, wasn't it?
“这就是他得到的结论，不是吗？”
Yes. Maybe that was where Darwin became a 'Darwinist'--on the Galapagos Islands. He also observed that the fauna there bore a strong resemblance to many of the species he had seen in South America. Had God once and for all really created all these animals slightly different from each other--or had an evolution taken place? Increasingly, he began to doubt that all species were immutable. But he still had no viable explanation as to how such an evolution had occurred. But there was one more factor to indicate that all the animals on earth might be related.
“是的。达尔文可能就是在加拉帕哥斯群岛上变成一位‘达尔文主义者’的。他还发现当地的动物与他在南美洲见到的许多种类非常相似。于是他问：上帝真的一次就创造了这些各有细微差异的动物吗？还是它们是进化而来的？他开始愈来愈怀疑物种不会改变的说法。不过，对于进化现象发生的过程，他还是提不出合理的解释。不过，后来他又发现了一个现象，显示地球上所有的动物可能是互相关联的。”
And what was that?
“什么现象？”
The development of the embryo in mammals. If you compare the embryos of dogs, bats, rabbits, and humans at an early stage, they look so alike that it is hard to tell the difference. You cannot distinguish a human embryo from a rabbit embryo until a very late stage. Shouldn't this indicate that we are distant relatives?
“就是哺乳动物胚胎发育的情况。如果你把狗、蝙蝠、兔子和人类早期的胚胎拿来比较，你会发现它们非常相似，几乎难以分辨。一直要到非常晚期之后，你才能分别人类的胚胎与兔子的胚胎。这不正显示我们和这些动物是远亲吗？”
But he had still no explanation of how evolution happened?
“可是这时他仍然无法解释进化的现象是如何发生的。”
He pondered constantly on Lyell's theory of the minute changes that could have great effect over a long period of time. But he could find no explanation that would apply as a general principle. He was familiar with the theory of the French zoologist Lamarck, who had shown that the different species had developed the characteristics they needed. Giraffes, for example, had developed long necks because for generations they had reached up for leaves in the trees. Lamarck believed that the characteristics each individual acquires through his own efforts are passed on to the next generation. But this theory of the heredity of 'acquired characteristics' was rejected by Darwin because Lamarck had no proof of his bold claims. However, Darwin was beginning to pursue another, much more obvious line of thought. You could almost say that the actual mechanism behind the evolution of species was right in front of his very nose.
“他时常想到莱尔所说的细微的变化经过长时间作用后可以造成很大效果的理论。不过他仍然找不到一个可以解释各种现象的通则。此外，他对法国动物学家拉马克的理论也很熟悉。拉马克指出，各个物种会逐渐发现自己所需的特征。例如长颈鹿之所以长了一个长脖子就是因为它们世世代代都伸长了脖子去吃树上的叶子。拉马克认为每一种动物透过自己的努力获取的特征会遗传给下一代。可是达尔文并不接受这种‘后天特征’遗传论，因为拉马克并没有任何证据证明他这项大胆的说法。不过这时达尔文开始往另外一个较为明显的方向思考。我们几乎可以说物种进化现象后面的实际机制恰恰就在他的眼前。”
So what was it?
“是什么呢？”
I would rather you worked the mechanism out for yourself. So I ask: If you had three cows, but only enough fodder to keep two of them alive, what would you do?
“我宁愿让你自己想出来。所以我要问你：如果你有三只母牛，但你所有的饲料只够养两只，那你会怎样办呢？”
I suppose I'd have to slaughter one of them.
“我想我只好把其中一只杀了。”
All right... which one would you slaughter?
“好……那么你要杀哪一只呢？”
I suppose I'd slaughter the one that gave the least milk.
“我想我会杀那只产奶最少的。”
Would you?
“是吗？”
Yes, that's logical, isn't it?
“是的，这不是很合理吗？”
That is exactly what mankind had done for thousands of years. But we haven't finished with your two cows yet. Suppose you wanted one of them to calve. Which one would you choose?
“这正是人类千百年来所做的事，可是我们还没讲完那两只牛的事。假设你希望其中一只能生小牛，你会选哪一只？”
The one that was the best milker. Then its calf would probably be a good milker too.
“最会产奶的那一只。这样它生的小牛以后可能比较会产奶。”
You prefer good milkers to bad, then. Now there's one more question. If you were a hunter and you had two gundogs, but had to give up one of them, which one would you keep?
“这么说，你比较喜欢产奶多的母牛。那么现在还有一个问题：如果你去打猎，而你有两条猎狗，可是必须放弃其中一只。那么你会留下哪一只？”
The one that's best at finding the kind of game I shoot, obviously.
“我当然会留下比较能够找到猎物的那只。”
Quite so, you would favor the better gundog. That's exactly how people have bred domestic animals for more than ten thousand years, Sophie. Hens did not always lay five eggs a week, sheep did not always yield as much wool, and horses were not always as strong and swift as they are now. Breeders have made an artificial selection. The same applies to the vegetable kingdom. You don't plant bad potatoes if there are good seed potatoes available, and you don't waste time cutting wheat that yields no grain. Darwin pointed out that no cows, no stalks of wheat, no dogs, and no finches are completely alike. Nature produces an enormous breadth of variation. Even within the same species, no two individuals are exactly alike. You probably experienced that for yourself when you drank the blue liquid.
“对，你会选择那只比较好的猎狗。这正是一万多年来人们豢养牲畜的方式。从前的母鸡不一定每周下五个蛋，羊也不一定会产那么多羊毛，马儿也不一定像现在这么强壮敏捷。在这方面，饲主做了人为的选择。同样的道理也适用于植物。如果有品种比较好的马铃薯，你一定不会种那比较差的，你也不会浪费时间去砍那些不会结穗的玉米。达尔文指出，没有一只母牛、一株玉米、一只狗或一只雀是完全一样的。大自然造成了许多差异。即使是同一品种，也没有两个个体会一模一样。你喝下蓝色瓶子的水时，可能有过这种经验。”
I'll say.
“可不是嘛!”
So now Darwin had to ask himself: could a similar mechanism be at work in nature too? Is it possible that nature makes a 'natural selection' as to which individuals are to survive? And could such a selection over a very long period of time create new species of flora and fauna?
“所以达尔文开始问：大自然是否也有同样的机制？大自然是否也可能选择哪些物种可以存活？而这种选择淘汰的过程在历经很长的时间之后是否可能形成新的植物或动物品种？”
I would guess the answer is yes.
“我猜答案是肯定的。”
Darwin could still not quite imagine how such a natural selection could take place. But in October 1838, exactly two years after his return on the Beagle, he chanced to come across a little book by the specialist in population studies, Thomas Malthus. The book was called An Essay on the Principle of Population. Malthus got the idea for this essay from Benjamin Franklin, the American who in-vented the lightning conductor among other things. Franklin had made the point that if there were no limiting factors in nature, one single species of plant or animal would spread over the entire globe. But because there are many species, they keep each other in balance.
“这时达尔文仍然无法确知这种‘天择’的过程是如何发生的。但在一八三八年十月，也就是他乘猎犬号返航整整两午后，他偶然读到了一本由一位人口研究专家马尔萨斯(Thomas Malthus)所写的一本小书，书名叫《人口论》。马尔萨斯撰写此书的灵感是得自那位发明避雷针等东西的美国人富兰克林。富兰克林曾经指出，如果没有受到大自然的限制，一种植物或动物将会遍布全球。但是由于世上有许多物种，因此这些物种会彼此制衡。”
I can see that.
“这点我可以了解。”
Malthus developed this idea and applied it to the world's population. He believed that mankind's ability to procreate is so great that there are always more children born than can survive. Since the production of food can never keep pace with the increase in population, he believed that huge numbers were destined to succumb in the struggle for existence. Those who survived to grow up-- and perpetuate the race--would therefore be those who came out best in the struggle for survival.
“马尔萨斯将这个观念加以发展，并应用于全球人口上。他相信人类的生殖力很强，因此世界上出生的儿童人数永远多过能够存活的人数。他认为既然粮食的生产永远无法赶得上人口的增加，因此有一大部分人口注定要在求生存的竞争中落败。那些能够存活、长大并延续种族生命的人一定是那些在生存竞争中表现最好的人。”
That sounds logical.
“听起来很有道理。”
But this was actually the universal mechanism that Darwin had been searching for. Here was the explanation of how evolution happens. It was due to natural selection in the struggle for life, in which those that were best adapted to their surroundings would survive and perpetuate the race. This was the second theory which he proposed in The Origin of Species. He wrote: The elephant is reck-oned the slowest breeder of all known animals,' but if it had six young and survived to a hundred, 'after a period of from 740 to 750 years there would be nearly nineteen million elephants alive, descended from the first pair.'
“这正是达尔文一直在寻找的普遍性机制。他以此来解释进化发生的过程：进化是生存竞争中自然淘汰的结果。在这个过程中，那些最能够适应环境的人就存活下来，继续繁衍种族。这是他在《物种起源论》一书中所提的第二个理论。他在书中写道：在所有动物中，大象是生育速度最慢的一种。但如果所有的幼象都得以存活，则在七百五十年之后，一对大象将可有一千九百万个后代。”
Not to mention all the thousands of cods' eggs from a single cod.
“那么一只可以产下几千个卵的鳕鱼就更不用说了。”
Darwin further proposed that the struggle for survival is frequently hardest among species that resemble each other the most. They have to fight for the same food. There, the slightest advantage--that is to say, the infinitesimal variation--truly comes into its own. The more bitter the struggle for survival, the quicker will be the evolution of new species, so that only the very best adapted will survive and the others will die out.
“达尔文进一步指出，生存竞争在那些彼此最为相似的物种之间往往也最激烈，因为它们必须争夺同样一些食物。在这种情况下，纵使只比别人多占一点点优势——也就是说与别人有一点点差异——也会使情况大不相同。生存竞争愈激烈，进化到新物种的速度也愈快，到最后只剩下最能适应环境的品种可以生存下来，其他的则会灭绝。”
The less food there is and the bigger the brood, the quicker evolution happens?
“那么食物愈少，生育数量愈多的种类进化的速度也就愈快吗？”
Yes, but it's not only a question of food. It can be just as vital to avoid being eaten by other animals. For example, it can be a matter of survival to have a protective camouflage, the ability to run swiftly, to recognize hostile animals, or, if the worst comes to the worst, to have a repellent taste. A poison that can kill predators is quite useful too. That's why so many cacti are poisonous, Sophie. Practically nothing else can grow in the desert, so this plant is especially vulnerable to plant-eating animals.
“没错。可是这不只是食物多寡的问题而已。如何避免被其他动物吃掉也是很重要的。举例来说，动物有没有保护色、是否能跑得很快、是否能辨识有敌意的动物或(在最糟的情况下)是否能闻出驱虫剂的味道，都可能攸关它是否能生存。如果能分泌一种毒液杀死敌人也很有用。这也是为什么这么多仙人掌都有毒的原因。由于沙漠中几乎没有其他植物生长，因此仙人掌特别容易受到那些草食类动物的伤害。”
Most cacti are prickly as well.
“所以它们多半也都有刺。”
The ability to reproduce is also of fundamental importance, obviously. Darwin studied the ingenuity of plant pollination in great detail. Flowers glow in glorious hues and exude delirious scents to attract the insects which are instrumental in pollination. To perpetuate their kind, birds trill their melodious tones. A placid or melancholy bull with no interest in cows will have no interest for genealogy either, since with characteristics like these, its line will die out at once. The bull's sole purpose in life is to grow to sexual maturity and reproduce in order to propagate the race. It is rather like a relay race. Those that for one reason or another are unable to pass on their genes are continually discarded, and in that way the race is continually refined. Resistance to disease is one of the most important characteristics progressively accumulated and preserved in the variants that survive.
“除此之外，生物繁衍能力的强弱显然也是很重要的。达尔文非常仔细地研究了植物巧妙的传粉方式。植物借着色彩美丽的花朵和迷人的香味来吸引昆虫为它传粉。鸟儿唱出美妙的歌声也是为了同样的目的。一只安静、忧郁、对母牛没有兴趣的公牛对于传宗接代可是一点用处也没有，因为这样的公牛会立刻绝种。公牛生命中唯一的目的，就是长到发育成熟后与母牛交配以繁衍种族。这就像是一场接力赛一样。那些因为某种原因不能将它们的基因传给下一代的动物会不断被淘汰，整个种族也就因此愈来愈进步。而那些存活下来的品种所不断累积并保存的最重要特征之一就是抵抗疾病的能力。”
So everything gets better and better?
“所以一切的物种都愈来愈进步吗？”
The result of this continual selection is that the ones best adapted to a particular environment--or a particular ecological niche--will in the long term perpetuate the race in that environment. But what is an advantage in one environment is not necessarily an advantage in another. For some of the Galapagos finches, the ability to fly was vital. But being good at flying is not so necessary if food is dug from the ground and there are no predators. The reason why so many different animal species have arisen over the ages is precisely because of these many niches in the natural environment.
“这种不断淘汰的结果就是那些最能够适应某种环境或某种生态体系的品种就能够在那个环境中长期繁衍种族。可是在这个环境中占优势的特征不见得能在另一个环境中占到便宜。例如，对某些加拉帕哥斯群岛上的雀儿来说，飞翔能力很重要。可是在一个必须从土里挖出食物而且没有敌人的地方，会不会飞就不重要了。千百年来之所以有这么多不同的动物品种出现，就是因为自然环境中有这么多种不同的情况。”
But even so, there is only one human race.
“可是即使这样，人类还是只有一种呀!”
That's because man has a unique ability to adapt to different conditions of life. One of the things that amazed Darwin most was the way the Indians in Tierra del Fuego managed to live under such terrible climatic conditions. But that doesn't mean that all human beings are alike. Those who live near the equator have darker skins than people in the more northerly climes because their dark skin protects them from the sun. White people who expose themselves to the sun for long periods are more prone to skin cancer.
“这是因为人有一种独特的能力可以适应生活中不同的情况。达尔文最感到惊讶的事情之一就是提耶拉德傅耶哥(Tierradel Fuego)的印第安人居然可以在当地如此恶劣的气候下生活。可是这并不表示所有的人类都是一样的。那些住在赤道附近的人皮肤的颜色就要比住在北方的人要黑，因为黑皮肤可以使他们免于受到日照的伤害。白种人如果长期暴露在阳光下比较容易得皮肤癌。”
Is it a similar advantage to have white skin if you live in northern countries?
“住在北方国家的人有白皮肤是否也是一种优点呢？”
Yes, otherwise everyone on earth would be dark-skinned. But white skin more easily forms sun vitamins, and that can be vital in areas with very little sun. Nowa-days that is not so important because we can make sure we have enough sun vitamins in our diet. But nothing in nature is random. Everything is due to infinitesimal changes that have taken effect over countless generations.
“是的，要不然地球上的每一个人皮肤都是黑的了。白皮肤在日晒后比较容易制造维他命，这在日照很少的地方是很重要的。当然，到了今天这点就没有那么重要了，因为我们可以透过饮食得到足够的阳光维他命。可是在大自然中没有一件事是偶然的。每一件事都是一些微小的改变在无数个世代的过程中产生作用的结果。”
Actually, it's quite fantastic to imagine.
“想起来还真有趣!”
It is indeed. So far, then, we can sum up Darwin's theory of evolution in a few sentences.
“确实如此。说到这里，我们可以用下面这些话来总结达尔文的进化论……”
Go ahead!
“请说。”
We can say that the 'raw material' behind the evolution of life on earth was the continual variation of individuals within the same species, plus the large number of progeny, which meant that only a fraction of them survived, the actual 'mechanism,' or driving force, behind evolution was thus the natural selection in the struggle for survival. This selection ensured that the strongest, or the 'fittest,' survived.
“我们可以说地球生物进化的‘原料’就是同一种生物之间不断出现的个体差异，再加上子孙的数量庞大，以致只有一小部分能够存活。而进化的实际‘机制’(或驱动力)则是生存竞争中的自然淘汰作用。这种淘汰过程可以确保最强者或‘最适者’能够生存下来。”
It seems as logical as a math sum. How was The Origin of Species received?
“听起来跟算术题目一样合理。当时人对《物种起源论》这本书的反应如何？”
It was the cause of bitter controversies. The Church protested vehemently and the scientific world was sharply divided. That was not really so surprising. Darwin had, after all, distanced God a good way from the act of creation, although there were admittedly some who claimed it was surely greater to have created something with its own innate evolutionary potential than simply to create a fixed entity.
“它引起了激烈的争辩。教会提出强烈抗议，科学界则反应不一。其实这并不令人惊讶。毕竟，达尔文的理论把上帝与世界之间的距离拉远了很多。不过，也有人宣称，创造一些具有进化能力的生物要比创造一些固定不变的生物更伟大。”
Suddenly Sophie jumped up from her chair.
突然间，苏菲从椅子上跳起来。
Look out there! she cried.
“你看那里！”她喊。
She pointed out of the window. Down by the lake a man and a woman were walking hand in hand. They were completely naked.
她指着窗外。只见湖边有一对男女手牵着手在走路。两人都是一丝不挂。
That's Adam and Eve, said Alberto. "They were gradually forced to throw in their lot with Little Red Rid-inghood and Alice in Wonderland. That's why they have turned up here."
“那是亚当和夏娃。”艾伯特说。“他们逐渐被迫与小红帽和梦游奇境的爱丽丝等人为伍了。所以他们才会在这里出现。”
Sophie went to the window to watch them, but they soon disappeared among the trees.
苏菲走到窗前去看他们，可是他们很快就消失在林间。
Because Darwin believed that mankind was descended from animals?
“这是因为达尔文相信人类也是从动物进化而来的吗？”
In 1871 Darwin published The Descent of Man, in which he drew attention to the great similarities between humans and animals, advancing the theory that men and anthropoid apes must at one time have evolved from the same progenitor. By this time the first fossil skulls of an extinct type of man had been found, first in the Rock of Gibraltar and some years later in Neanderthal in Germany. Strangely enough, there were fewer protests in T871 than in 1859, when Darwin published The Origin of Species. But man's descent from animals had been implicit in the first book as well. And as I said, when Darwin died in 1882, he was buried with all the ceremony due to a pioneer of science.
“一八七一年，达尔文发表了《人的由来》(The Descent of Man)这本书。他在书中提醒大家注意人与动物之间许多极为相似之处，并提出一个理论，认为人与类人猿必定是在某段时间由同一祖先进化而来的。这时，科学家已经相继在直布罗陀岩(Rock of Gibraltar)和德国的尼安德(Neanderthal)等地发现了第一批某种绝种人类的头骨化石。奇怪的是，一八七一年这次引起的反对声浪反而比一八五九年达尔文发表《物种起源论》那一次要小。不过，他的第一本书事实上已经隐约指出人是从动物进化而来的。我曾经说过，达尔文在一八八二年去世时，以科学先驱的身份被隆重地葬在西敏寺。”
So in the end he found honor and dignity?
“这么说他最后还是得到了应有的荣耀和地位？”
Eventually, yes. But not before he had been described as the most dangerous man in England.
“是的，最后是这样。不过在那之前他曾经被形容成英国最危险的人物。”
Holy Moses!
“天哪!”
'Let us hope it is not true,' wrote an upper-class lady, 'but if it is, let us hope it will not be generally known.' A distinguished scientist expressed a similar thought: 'An embarrassing discovery, and the less said about it the better.'
“当时有一位上流社会的女士曾经写道：让我们希望这不是真的。如果是真的；希望不会有太多人知道。另一位很杰出的科学家也表示了类似的看法，他说：这真是一个令人很难为情的发现，愈少人谈论它愈好。”
That was almost proof that man is related to the ostrich!
“这几乎可以证明人和鸵鸟有血缘关系!”
Good point. But that's easy enough for us to say now. People were suddenly obliged to revise their whole approach to the Book of Genesis. The young writer John Ruskin put it like this: 'If only the geologists would leave me alone. After each Bible verse I hear the blows of their hammers.'
“说得好。不过我们现在说这种话当然是比较容易了。达尔文的理论提出后，当时的人们突然不得不重新调整他们对于《创世记》的看法。年轻的作家罗斯金(John Ruskin)如此形容他的感觉：‘真希望这些地质学家能够放过我。如今在圣经的每一个章节后面，我都可以听到他们的锤子敲打的声音。’”
And the blows of the hammers were his doubts about the word of God?
“这些锤子敲打的声音是指他自己对上帝话语的怀疑吗？”
That was presumably what he meant. Because it was more than the literal interpretation of the story of creation that toppled. The essence of Darwin's theory was the utterly random variations which had finally produced Man. And what was more, Darwin had turned Marv into a product of something as unsentimental as the struggle for existence.
“应该是这样，因为当时被推翻的不仅是上帝造人的说法。达尔文理论的重点也在于人是由一些偶然发生的变化所形成的。更糟的是，达尔文使得人变成生存竞争这种冷酷事实下的产物。”
遗传与突变
Did Darwin have anything to say about how such random variations arose?
“达尔文有没有解释这种偶然的差异是如何发生的？”
You've put your finger on the weakest point in his theory. Darwin had only the vaguest idea of heredity. Something happens in the crossing. A father and mother never get two identical offspring. There is always some slight difference. On the other hand it's difficult to produce anything really new in that way. Moreover, there are plants and animals which reproduce by budding or by simple cell division. On the question of how the variations arise, Darwin's theory has been supplemented by the so-called neo-Darwinism.
“这是他理论中最弱的一环。达尔文对于遗传没有什么概念，他只知道在交配的过程中发生了某些事情。因为一对父母从来不会有两个完全一样的子女，每个子女之间总是会有些微的差异。此外，这种方式很难产生新的特征。更何况有些植物和动物是靠插枝或单细胞分裂等方式来繁衍的。关于那些差异如何发生的问题，达尔文主义如今已经被所谓的‘新达尔文主义’取代。”
What's that?
“什么是新达尔文主义？”
All life and all reproduction is basically a matter of cell division. When a cell divides into two, two identical cells are produced with exactly the same hereditary factors. In cell division, then, we say a cell copies itself.
“就是说所有的生命和所有的繁殖过程基本上都与细胞分裂有关。当一个细胞分裂成两个时，就产生了两个一模一样、具有相同遗传因子的细胞。我们说细胞分裂的过程就是一个细胞复制自己的动作。”
Yes?
“然后呢？”
But occasionally, infinitesimal errors occur in the process, so that the copied cell is not exactly the same as the mother cell. In modern biological terms, this is a mutation. Mutations are either totally irrelevant, or they can lead to marked changes in the behavior of the individual. They can be directly harmful, and such 'mutants' will be continually discarded from the large broods. Many diseases are in fact due to mutations. But sometimes a mutation can give an individual just that extra positive characteristic needed to hold its own in the struggle for existence.
“在这个过程当中，偶尔会有一些很小的错误发生，导致那个被复制出来的细胞并不与母细胞完全相同。用现代生物学的术语来说，这就是‘突变’。有些突变是不相干的，但有些突变则可能对个体的行为造成明显的影响。这些突变可能有害，而此类对于物种有害的‘变种’将不断被淘汰。许多疾病事实上就是突变所引起的。不过有时候，突变的结果可能会使个体拥有一些优势，使它能在生存竞争中立于不败之地。”
Like a longer neck, for instance?
“譬如说脖子变长等等？”
Lamarck's explanation of why the giraffe has such a long neck was that giraffes have always had to reach upwards. But according to Darwinism, no such inherited characteristic would be passed on. Darwin believed that the giraffe's long neck was the result of a variation. Neo-Darwinism supplemented this by showing a clear cause of just that particular variation.
“对于长颈鹿何以有如此长的脖子，拉马克的解释是因为它们总是必须伸长脖子到上面去吃树叶。但根据达尔文的看法，这种特征并不会传给下一代。他认为长颈鹿的长脖子是个体差异的结果。新达尔文主义则指出这种差异形成的原因，借以补充说明。”
Mutations?
“是因为突变吗？”
Yes. Absolutely random changes in hereditary factors supplied one of the giraffe's ancestors with a slightly longer neck than average. When there was a limited supply of food, this could be vital enough. The giraffe that could reach up highest in the trees managed best. We can also imagine how some such 'primal giraffes' evolved the ability to dig in the ground for food. Over a very long period of time, an animal species, now long extinct, could have divided itself into two species. We can take some more recent examples of the way natural selection can work.
“没错。遗传因素的偶然改变使得长颈鹿的某位祖先有一个比别人稍长的脖子。当食物有限时，这个特征就变得很重要了，能够把脖子伸到树木最高处的那只鹿就可以活得最好。我们也可以想象这些‘原始长颈鹿’在进化的过程中如何发展了掘地觅食的能力。经过很长的一段时期后，某种现在早已绝迹的动物有可能会分化成两个品种。我们还可以举出一些比较近代的例子来说明自然淘汰的过程是如何进行的。”
Yes, please.
“好啊!”
In Britain there is a certain species of butterfly called the peppered moth, which lives on the trunks of silver birches. Back in the eighteenth century, most peppered moths were silvery gray. Can you guess why, Sophie?
“英国有一种蝴蝶叫做斑蝶。它们住在白桦树的树干上。十八世纪时，大多数斑蝶都是银灰色的。你猜这是什么缘故？”
So they weren't so easy for hungry birds to spot.
“这样它们才不容易被那些饥饿的鸟发现呀。”
But from time to time, due to quite chance mutations, some darker ones were born. How do you think these darker variants fared?
“可是，由于某些偶然的突变，时常会出现一些颜色较黑的斑蝶。你想这些比较黑的斑蝶会怎样？”
They were easier to see, so they were more easily snapped up by hungry birds.
“它们比较容易被看见，因此也比较容易被饥饿的鸟吞吃。”
Yes, because in that environment--where the birch trunks were silver--the darker hue was an unfavorable characteristic. So it was always the paler peppered moths that increased in number. But then something happened in that environment. In several places, the silvery trunks became blackened by industrial soot. What do you think happened to the peppered moths then?
“没错。因为在那个环境里，桦树的树干是银灰色的，所以比较暗的颜色就变成了不利的特征，也因此在数量上有所增加总是那些颜色较白的斑蝶，可是后来那个环境发生了一件事：在许多地方原本银色的桦树树干被工厂的煤烟染黑了。这时候你想那些斑蝶会变成怎样？”
the darker ones survived best.
“这个嘛，那些颜色较黑的就比较容易存活啦。”
Yes, so now it wasn't long before they increased in number. From 1848 to 1948, the proportion of dark peppered moths increased from 1 to 99 percent in certain places. The environment had changed, and it was no longer an advantage to be light. On the contrary. The white 'losers' were weeded out with the help of the birds as soon as they appeared on the birch trunks. But then something significant happened again. A decrease in the use of coal and better filtering equipment in the factories has recently produced a cleaner environment.
“确实如此，所以它们的数量很快就增加了。从一八四八年到一九四八年，若干地方黑色斑蝶的比例从百分之一增加到百分之九十九。这是因为环境改变了，颜色白不再是一个优点。相反的，那些白色的‘输家’一出现在黑色的桦树树干上就马上被鸟儿吃掉了。不过，后来又发生了一件很重要的事：由于工厂减少使用煤炭并改善过滤设备的结果，近来的环境已经变得比较干净了。”
So now the birches are silver again?
“这么说那些桦树又变回银色的吗？”
And therefore the peppered moth is in the process of returning to its silvery color. This is what we call adaptation. It's a natural law.
“对。也因此斑蝶又开始恢复原来的银白色，这就是我们所称的适应环境。这是一种自然法则。”
Yes, I see.
“嗯，我明白了。”
But there are numerous examples of how man interferes in the environment.
“不过也有很多人类干涉环境的例子。”
Like what?
“比如说？”
For example, people have tried to eradicate pests with various pesticides. At first, this can produce excellent results. But when you spray a field or an orchard with pesticides, you actually cause a miniature ecocatastrophe for the pests you are trying to eradicate. Due to continual mutations, a type of pest develops that is resistant to the pesticide being used. Now these 'winners' have free play, so it becomes harder and harder to combat certain kinds of pest simply because of man's attempt to eradicate them. The most resistant variants are the ones that survive, of course.
“例如，人们不断利用各种杀虫剂来扑杀害虫。最初效果非常好，可是当你在一块地或一座果园里喷洒杀虫剂时，事实上你是为那些害虫制造了一场小小的生态灾难。由于不断突变的结果，一种可以抵抗现有杀虫剂的害虫就产生了。结果这种害虫就变成‘赢家’，可以随心所欲了。因此，人们试图扑灭害虫的结果，反而使得有些害虫愈来愈难对付。当然，这是因为那些存活下来的都是一些抵抗力最强的品种。”
That's pretty scary.
“挺可怕的。”
It certainly is food for thought. We also try to combat parasites in our own bodies in the form of bacteria.
“这当然值得我们深思。同样的，我们也一直试图对付那些寄生在我们体内的细菌。”
We use penicillin or other kinds of antibiotic.
“我们用盘尼西林或其他种抗生素来对付它们。”
Yes, and penicillin is also an ecocatastrophe for the little devils. However, as we continue to administer penicillin, we are making certain bacteria resistant, thereby cultivating a group of bacteria that is much harder to combat than it was before. We find we have to use stronger and stronger antibiotics, until . . .
“没错。对于这些小魔鬼来说，盘尼西林也是一个‘生态灾难’。可是当我们继续使用盘尼西林时，我们就不断使得某些细菌产生抗药性，因此造成了一个比从前更难对付的细菌群。我们发现我们必须使用愈来愈强的抗生素，直到……”
Until they finally crawl out of our mouths? Maybe we ought to start shooting them?
“直到最后它们从我们的嘴巴里爬出来？那时候我们是不是该用枪射杀它们？”
That might be a tiny bit exaggerated. But it is clear that modern medicine has created a serious dilemma. The problem is not only that a single bacterium has become more virulent. In the past, there were many children who never survived--they succumbed to various diseases. Sometimes only the minority survived. But in a sense modern medicine has put natural selection out of commission. Something that has helped one individual over a serious illness can in the long run contribute to weakening the resistance of the whole human race to certain diseases. If we pay absolutely no attention to what is called hereditary hygiene, we could find ourselves facing a degeneration of the human race. Mankind's hereditary potential for re-sisting serious disease will be weakened.
“这也许有一点太夸张了。但很明显的，现代医药已经造成一个很严重的进退两难的局面。问题并不仅仅在于某种细菌已经变得更顽强。在过去，有许多小孩因为得了各种疾病而夭折，有时甚至只有少数能够存活。现代医药虽然改善了这个现象，却也使得自然淘汰的作用无法发挥。某种可以帮助一个人克服一种严重疾病的药物，长期下来可能会导致整个人类对于某些疾病的抵抗力减弱。如果我们对所谓的‘遗传卫生’毫不注意，人类的品质可能会逐渐恶化。人类的基因中抵抗严重疾病的能力将会减弱。”
What a terrifying prospect!
“真可怕!”
But a real philosopher must not refrain from pointing out something 'terrifying' if he otherwise believes it to be true. So let us attempt another summary.
“一个真正的哲学家不能避免指出一些‘可怕的’事实，只要他相信那是真的。现在让我们再来做个总结。”
Okay.
“好。”
You could say that life is one big lottery in which only the winning numbers are visible.
“我们可以说生命是一个大型的摸彩活动。只有中奖的号码才能被人看见。”
What on earth do you mean?
“这是什么意思？”
Those that have lost in the struggle for existence have disappeared, you see. It takes many millions of years to select the winning numbers for each and every species of vegetable and animal on the earth. And the losing numbers--well, they only make one appearance. So there are no species of animal or vegetable in existence today that are not winning numbers in the great lottery of life.
“因为那些在生存竞争中失败的人就消失了。在这场摸彩活动中，为地球上每一种动植物逐一抽奖的过程要花上几百万年的时间。至于那些没有中奖的号码则只出现一次，因此现存的各种动植物全部都是这场生命大摸彩活动中的赢家。”
Because only the best have survived.
“因为只有最好的才能存活。”
Yes, that's another way of saying it. And now, if you will kindly pass me the picture which that fellow--that zookeeper--brought us . . .
“是的，可以这么说。现在，麻烦你把那个家伙——那个动物园园长——带来的图画递给我好吗？”
Sophie passed the picture over to him. The picture of Noah's Ark covered one side of it. The other was devoted to a tree diagram of all the various species of animals. This was the side Alberto was now showing her.
苏菲把图递过去给他。上面有一边是诺亚方舟的画像，另外一边则画着一个各种不同动物的演化树图表。艾伯特把这一边拿给她看。
Our Darwinian Noah also brought us a sketch that shows the distribution of the various vegetable and animal species. You can see how the different species belong in the different groups, classes, and subkingdoms.
“这个简图显示各种动植物的分布。你可以看到这些不同的动物各自属于不同的类、纲和门。”
Yes.
“对。”
Together with monkeys, man belongs to the so-called primates. Primates are mammals, and all mammals belong to the vertebrates, which again belong to the multi-cellular animals.
“人和猴子一样属于所谓的灵长类。灵长类属于哺乳类，而所有的哺乳类动物都属于脊椎动物，脊椎动物又属于多细胞动物。”
It's almost like Aristotle.
“简直像是亚理斯多德的分类一样。”
Yes, that's true. But the sketch illustrates not only the distribution of the different species today. It also tells something of the history of evolution. You can see, for example, that birds at some point parted from reptiles, and that reptiles at some point parted from amphibia, and that amphibia parted from fishes.
“没错。但这幅简图不只显示今天各种动物的分布，也多少说明了进化的历史。举个例子，你可以看到鸟类在某个时候从爬虫类分了出来，而爬虫类又在某个时候从两栖类分了出来，两栖类则是从鱼类分出来的。”
Yes, it's very clear.
“嗯，很清楚。”
Every time a line divides into two, it's because mutations have resulted in a new species. That is how, over the ages, the different classes and subkingdoms of animals arose. In actual fact there are more than a million animal species in the world today, and this million is only a fraction of the species that have at some time lived on the earth. You can see, for instance, that an animal group such as the Trilobita is totally extinct.
“一类动物之所以会分成两种，就是因为突变的结果造成了新的品种。这是为什么在历经千万年后有这么多不同的门和纲出现的原因。事实上在今天，全世界大约有一百多万种动物，而这一百多万种只是那些曾经活在地球上的物种的一小部分而已。举个例子，你会发现一个名叫‘三叶虫类’的动物现在已经完全绝种了。”
And at the bottom are the monocellular animals.
“而在最下面的是单细胞动物。”
Some of these may not have changed in two billion years. You can also see that there is a line from these monocellular organisms to the vegetable kingdom. Because in all probability plants come from the same primal cell as animals.
“这些单细胞动物有一些可能在这二十亿年来一直都没有改变。你也可以看到从单细胞生物这里有一条线连接到植物，因为植物也非常可能和动物来自同样的原始细胞。”
生命源起
Yes, I see that. But there's something that puzzles me.
“嗯，我看到了，可是有一件事情我不大懂。”
Yes?
“什么事？”
Where did this first primal cell come from? Did Darwin have any answer to that?
“这个最初的原始细胞又是从哪里来的呢？达尔文有没有说明这点？”
I said, did I not, that he was a very cautious man. But as regards that question, he did permit himself to propose what one might call a qualified guess. He wrote: If (and O, what an if!) we could picture some hot little pool in which all manner of ammoniacal and phosphorous salts, light, heat, electricity and so forth were present, and that a protein compound were to be chemically formed in it, ready to undergo even more complicated changes ...
“我不是说过他是一个非常谨慎的人吗？但在这个问题上他提出了一个可以说不大缜密的猜测。他写道……如果(啊，这是怎样一种可能性呀）我们可以想象有一小摊热热的水，里面有各种氨盐、磷盐、阳光、热、电等等，而且有一个蛋白质化合物正在里面。这个化合物可能会发生一些化学合成的现象，并经历更加复杂的变化......”
What then?
“然后呢？”
What Darwin was philosophizing on here was how the first living cell might have been formed out of inorganic matter. And again, he hit the nail right on the head. Scientists of today think the first primitive form of life arose in precisely the kind of 'hot little pool' that Darwin pictured.
“达尔文想说的是最初的活细胞有可能是由无机物形成的，在这方面他又说对了。现代的科学家也认为原始的生命形式正是从达尔文所描述的那种‘一小摊热热的水’里形成的。”
Go on.
“然后呢？”
That will have to suffice because we're leaving Darwin now. We're going to jump ahead to the most recent findings about the origins of life on earth.
“到这里已经讲得差不多了。我们现在就不再谈达尔文，我们要谈谈有关地球生命起源的最新发现。”
I'm rather apprehensive. Does anybody really know how life began?
“我很心急，大概没有人知道生命是如何开始的吧？”
Maybe not, but more and more pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place to form a picture of how it may have begun.Let us first establish that all life on earth--both animal and vegetable--is constructed of exactly the same substances. The simplest definition of life is that it is a substance which in a nutrient solution has the ability to subdivide itself into two identical parts. This process is governed by a substance we call DNA. By DNA we mean the chromosomes, or hereditary structures, that are found in all living cells. We also use the term DNA molecule, because DNA is in fact a complex molecule--or macro-molecule. The question is, then, how the first molecule arose.
“也许是这样，但有愈来愈多的资料让我们可以揣测生命可能是如何开始的。我们先确定地球上所有的生命，包括动物与植物在内——是由同样一些物质组成的。生命最简单的定义是：生命是一种物质，这种物质在有养分的液体里能够自行分化成两个完全一样的单位。这个过程是由一种我们称为DNA的物质控制的。所谓DNA就是我们在所有活细胞里面都可以发现的染色体(或称为遗传结构)。我们同时也使用DNA分子这个名词，因为DNA事实上是一个复合的分子(或称为巨分子)。问题在于这世上第一个分于是如何形成的。”
Yes?
“答案呢？”
The earth was formed when the solar system came into being 4.6 billion years ago. It began as a glowing mass which gradually cooled. This is where modern science believes life began between three and four billion years ago.
“地球是在四十六亿年前太阳系出现时形成的。它最初是一个发热体，后来逐渐冷却。现代科学家相信生命就是在大约三十亿年到四十亿年之前开始的。”
It sounds totally improbable.
“听起来实在不太可能呀。”
Don't say that before you have heard the rest. First of all, our planet was quite different from the way it looks today. Since there was no life, there was no oxygen in the atmosphere. Free oxygen was first formed by the photosynthesis of plants. And the fact that there was no oxygen is important. It is unlikely that life cells--which, again, can form DNA--could have arisen in an atmosphere containing oxygen.
“在还没听完前，你不可以这样说。首先你要了解地球当时的面貌和今天大不相同。由于没有生命，因此大气层里也没有氧气，氧气最初是由植物行光合作用所制造的。而没有氧气这件事可说关系重大，因为可能形成DNA的生命细胞是不可能在一个含有氧气的大气层里产生的。”
Why?
“为什么呢？”
Because oxygen is strongly reactive. Long before complex molecules like DNA could be formed, the DNA molecular cells would be oxydized.
“因为氧气会造成强烈的反应。像DNA这样的复合分子在还没来得及形成前，它的分子细胞早就被氧化了。”
Really.
“喔!”
That is how we know for certain that no new life arises today, not even so much as a bacterium or a virus. All life on earth must be exactly the same age. An elephant has just as long a family tree as the smallest bacterium. You could almost say that an elephant--or a human being-- is in reality a single coherent colony of monocellular creatures. Because each cell in our body carries the same hereditary material. The whole recipe of who we are lies hidden in each tiny cell.
“这是我们为什么可以确定现在地球不可能会再有新的生命(包括细菌和病毒)形成的缘故。地球上所有生物存在的时间一定是相当的；大象的家族史和最小的细菌一样悠久。我们几乎可以说一只大象(或一个人)事实上是一群单细胞生物的集合体，因为我们体内的每一个细胞都有同样的遗传物质。我们会成为什么样的人，完全是由这些隐藏在每一个小小细胞里面的物质决定的。”
That's an odd thought.
“想起来真奇怪!”
One of life's great mysteries is that the cells of a multicellular animal have the ability to specialize their function in spite of the fact that not all the different hereditary characteristics are active in all the cells. Some of these characteristics--or genes--are 'activated' and others are 'deactivated.' A liver cell does not produce the same proteins as a nerve cell or a skin cell. But all three types of cell have the same DMA molecule, which contains the whole recipe for the organism in question. Since there was no oxygen in the atmosphere, there was no protective ozone layer around the earth. That means there was nothing to stop the radiation from the cosmos. This is also significant because this radiation was probably instrumental in forming the first complex molecule. Cosmic radiation of this nature was the actual energy which caused the various chemical substances on the earth to start combining into a complicated macro-molecule.""
“生命最神秘的地方之一在于；虽然所有不同的遗传特征不见得都活跃在每个细胞内，但多细胞动物的细胞还是能够执行它特殊的功能。有些遗传特征(或称基因)是‘活跃的’，有些是‘不活跃的’。一个肝脏细胞所制造的蛋白质和神经细胞或皮肤细胞不同。但这三种细胞都有同样的DNA分子，同样含有决定各个有机体形貌的所有遗传物质。在最初的时候，由于大气层里没有氧气，地球的四周也就没有一层可以保护它的臭氧层。这表示没有东西可以挡住来自宇宙的辐射线。这点也是很重要的，因为这种辐射线可能有助于第一个复合分子的形成。这类的宇宙辐射线是真正促使地球上各种化学物质开始结合成为一个复杂的巨分子的能量。”
Okay.
“喔。”
Let me recapitulate: Before such complex molecules, of which all life consists, can be formed, at least two conditions must be present: there must be no oxygen in the atmosphere, and there must be access for cosmic radiation.
“我现在要做个总结：所有生命都赖以组成的复合分子要能够形成，至少要有两个条件：一、大气层里不能有氧气，二、要受到宇宙辐射线的照射。”
I get it.
“我懂了。”
In this 'hot little pool'--or primal soup, as it is often called by modern scientists--there was once formed a gigantically complicated macromolecule, which had the wondrous property of being able to subdivide itself into two identical parts. And so the long evolutionary process began, Sophie. If we simplify it a bit, we can say that we are now talking of the first hereditary material, the first DNA or the first living cell. It subdivided itself again and again--but from the very first stage, transmutation was occurring. After aeons of time, one of these monocellular organisms connected with a more complicated multicel-lular organism. Thus the photosynthesis of plants also began, and in that way the atmosphere came to contain oxygen. This had two results: first, the atmosphere permitted the evolution of animals that could breathe with the aid of lungs. Secondly, the atmosphere protected life from the harmful cosmic radiation. Strangely enough, this radiation, which was probably a vital 'spark' in the formation of the first cell, is also harmful to all forms of life.
“在这‘一小摊热热的水’(现代科学家时常称之为‘原始汤’)里，曾经形成了一个巨大而复杂的巨分子。这个分子有一种很奇妙的特性可以自行分裂成两个一模一样的单位。于是，漫长的进化过程就这样开始了。简单一点说，这个巨分子就是最初的遗传物质，也就是最初的DNA或是第一个活细胞。它不断分裂再分裂，但从一开始，在分裂过程中就不断有变化产生。历经千万年后，这些单细胞的有机体中，有一个突然和一个更复杂的多细胞有机体连结上了。就这样，植物的光合作用开始了，大气层慢慢有了氧气。这个现象造成了两个结果；第一，含氧的大气层使得那些可以用肺呼吸的动物逐渐进化。第二，大气层如今已可以保护各种生命，使他们不致受到宇宙辐射线的伤害。说也奇怪，这种辐射线原本可能是促使第一个细胞形成的重要推动力，但却也会对所有的生物造成伤害。”
But the atmosphere can't have been formed overnight. How did the earliest forms of life manage?
“可是大气层不可能在一夜之间形成。那最早的一些生物是怎么捱过来的呢？”
Life began in the primal 'seas'--which are what we mean by primal soup. There it could live protected from the harmful rays. Not until much later, when life in the oceans had formed an atmosphere, did the first amphibians crawl out onto land. The rest is what we have already talked about. And here we are, sitting in a hut in the woods, looking back on a process that has taken three or four billion years. And in us, this long process has finally become aware of itself.
“生命最初开始于原始‘海’，也就是我们所说的‘原始汤’。那些生物可能生活在其中，因此而得免于辐射线的伤害。一直到很久很久以后，当海洋里的生物已经形成了一个大气层时，最早的一批两栖类动物才开始爬上陆地。至于后来发生的事，我们已经讲过了。于是，我们今天才能坐在这栋林间的小木屋里，回顾这个已经有三四十亿年的过程。透过我们，这个漫长的过程本身终于开始逐渐了解自己了。”
And yet you don't think it all happened quite accidentally?
“可是你还是不认为所有的事都是在很偶然的情况下发生的？”
I never said that. The picture on this board shows that evolution had a direction. Across the aeons of time animals have evolved with increasingly complicated nerve systems--and an ever bigger brain. Personally, I don't think that can be accidental. What do you think?
“我从来没有说过这样的话。无论如何，这块板子上的图表显示进化仍有一个方向。这几千万年来，动物已经发展出一套愈来愈复杂的神经系统，脑子也愈来愈大。我个人认为，这绝不是偶然的。你说呢？”
It can't be pure chance that created the human eye. Don't you think there is meaning in our being able to see the world around us?
“我想人类之所以有眼睛绝非偶然。你难道不认为我们能够看到周遭的世界这件事是很有意义的吗？”
Funnily enough, the development of the eye puzzled Darwin too. He couldn't really come to terms with the fact that something as delicate and sensitive as an eye could be exclusively due to natural selection.
“说来好笑，达尔文也曾经对眼睛发展的现象感到不解。他不大能够接受像眼睛这样精巧敏锐的东西会是纯粹物竞天择作用之下的产物。”
Sophie sat looking up at Alberto. She was thinking how odd it was that she should be alive now, and that she only lived this one time and would never again return to life. Suddenly she exclaimed:
苏菲坐在那儿，看着艾伯特。她心想，她现在能够活着，而且只能活一次，以后就永远不能复生，这件事是多么奇怪呀！突然间她脱口念道：
What matters our creative endless toil, When, at a snatch, oblivion ends the coil?
“一世人劳苦奔忙有何益？”
Alberto frowned at her.
艾伯特皱着眉头向她说：
You must not talk like that, child. Those are the words of the Devil.
“你不可以这样说。这是魔鬼说的话。”
The Devil?
“魔鬼？”
Or Mephistopheles--in Goethe's Faust 'Was soil uns denn das ew'ge Schaffen! Geschaffenes zu nichts hinweg-zuraffenV
“就是歌德作品《浮士德》里面的曼菲斯多弗里斯(Mephistopheles)。”
"But what do those words mean exactly?"
“但这话究竟是什么意思呢？”
"As Faust dies and looks back on his life's work, he says in triumph:'Then to the moment could I say:
“浮士德死时，回顾他一生的成就，他用一种胜利的语气说：
Linger you now, you are so fair!
Now records of my earthly day
No flights of aeons can impair--
Foreknowledge comes, and fills me with such bliss,
I take my joy, my highest moment this."
‘此时我便可呼喊：停驻吧!
美妙的时光!
我在人世的日子会留下印记，
任万代光阴飞逝也无法抹去，
我在这样的预感中欣喜无比，
这是我生命中最崇高的瞬际。’”
That was very poetic.
“嗯，很有诗意。”
But then it's the Devil's turn. As soon as Faust dies, he exclaims:
“可是后来轮到魔鬼说话了。浮士德一死，他便说：
A foolish word, bygone.
How so then, gone?
Gone, to sheer Nothing, past with null made one!
What matters creative endless toil,When, at a snatch, oblivion ends the coil?
'It is bygone'--How shall this riddle run?
As good as if things never had begun,Yet circle back, existence to possess:
I'd rather have Eternal Emptiness.
谈到既往，不过是蠢话一句!
过去的已经过去，
消失在虚无里，一切又从零开始！
一生劳苦奔忙有何益？
到头终究须把眼儿闭！
‘消逝了！’这个谜可有尽期？
正仿佛一切不曾开始，
若再回头重新活过一天，
我情愿选择永恒的太虚。”
That's pessimistic. I liked the first passage best. Even though his life was over, Faust saw some meaning in the traces he would leave behind him.
“这太悲观了。我比较喜欢第一段。即使生命结束了，浮士德仍旧认为他留下的足迹是有意义的。”
And is it not also a consequence of Darwin's theory that we are part of something all-encompassing, in which every tiny life form has its significance in the big picture? We are the living planet, Sophie! We are the great vessel sailing around a burning sun in the universe. But each and every one of us is also a ship sailing through life with a cargo of genes. When we have carried this cargo safely to the next harbor--we have not lived in vain. Thomas Hardy expresses the same thought in his poem Transformations':
“所以，达尔文的理论不是正好让我们体认到我们是大千世界的一部分，在这个世界里，每一个细微的生物都有它存在的价值吗？苏菲，我们就是这个活的星球。地球是航行在宇宙中燃烧的太阳四周的一艘大船。而我们每一个人则是满载基因航行过生命的一条小船。当我们安全地把船上的货品运到下一个港口时，我们就没有白活了。英国诗人兼小说家哈代(Thomas Hardy)在《变形》这首诗中表达过同样的想法：
‘Portion of this yew
Is a man my grandsire knew,
Bosomed here at its foot:
This branch may be his wife,
A ruddy human life
Now turned to a green shoot.
‘这紫杉的一截是我先人的旧识，
树干底的枝桠也许是他的发妻，
原本鲜活的血肉之躯，
如今皆化为嫩绿的新枝。
‘These grasses must be made
Of her who often prayed,
Last century, for repose;
And the fair girl long ago
Whom I often tried to know
May be entering this rose.
‘这片草地必然是百年前
那渴求安眠女子的化身，
而许久前我无缘相识的那位佳丽，
或者已凝为这株蔷薇的魂魄。
‘So, they are not underground,
But as nerves and veins abound
In the growths of upper air,
And they feel the sun and rain,
And the energy again
That made them what they were!
‘所以他们并未长眠于地下，
而只是化做花树的血脉经络
充斥于天地万物之间，
再次领受阳光雨露
以及前世造化赋形的活力!”
"That's very pretty."
“好美呀！”
""But we will talk no more. I simply say next chapter!""
“我们不能再讲下去了。我只想说：下一章！”
"Oh, stop all that irony!"
“哦，别再说那些反讽的话吧！”
"New chapter, I said! I shall be obeyed!"
“我说：下一章!你得听我的话。”