Thomas Henry Huxley

　　托馬斯亨利赫胥黎

　　May 5,1883

　　1883年5月5日

　　I beg leave to thank you for the extremely kind and appreciative manner in which you have received the toast of Science.It is the more grateful to me to hear that toast proposed in an assembly of this kind,because I have noticed of late pears a great and growing tendency among those who were once jestingly said to have been born in a pre-scientific age to look upon science as an invading and aggressive force,which if it had its own way would oust from the universe all other pursuit.I think there are many persons who look upon this new birth of our times as a sort of monster rising out of the sea of modern thought with the purpose of devouring the Andromeda of art .And now and then a Perseus,equipped with the shoes of swiftness of the ready writer,with the cap of invisibility of the editorial artical,and it may be with the Medusa head of vituperation,shows himself ready to try conclusions with the scientific dragon.Sir,I hope that Perseus will think better of it;first,for his own sake,because the creature is hard of head ,strong of jaw ,and for some time past has shown a great capacity for going over and through whatever comes in his way;and secondly,for the sakeof justice,for I assure you ,of my own personal knowledge that if left alone,the creature is a very debonair and gentle monster.As for the Andromeda of art ,he has the tenderest respect for that lady,and desires nothing more than to see her happily settled and annually producing a flock of such charming children as those we see about us.

　　請允許我感謝諸位極其友好、極有眼光地聽取了為科學而作的祝酒辭。在今天這樣的會上聽到這個祝酒辭，更使我感激不已。因為近年來我注意到，在那些被戲稱為生于前科學時代的人當中，出現(xiàn)了一種日益強大的、把科學視為一股侵略勢力的傾向。他們以為，如果科學要想隨心所欲的話，就會把其他行業(yè)逐出宇宙。我想，現(xiàn)在有許多人都認為當代的這個新生事物是一頭從現(xiàn)代思潮的海洋中冒出來的怪獸，它想要吞噬藝術的安德洛墨達。于是，一位帕修斯就會不時出現(xiàn)。他腳登寫作快手的追風靴，頭戴重要評論的隱形盔，也許還長著裝滿謾罵之詞的美杜薩腦袋，擺出了欲與科學之龍決勝負的架勢。諸位，我希望這位帕修斯三思。首先要為自己著想。因為怪獸的頭很堅硬，顎也很強壯，而且一段時間以來，它在沖破任何羈絆方面已大顯身手。其次要為公正著想。因為我向諸位擔保，依本人之愚見，這頭怪獸如果不去惹它的話，本來是非常溫文爾雅的。至于藝術的安德洛墨達，它對那位女士非常敬慕，而且別無他求，只盼她幸福地安家落戶，年年生育一大群招人喜愛的兒女，就像我們在自己周圍所看到的孩子們那樣。

　　But putting parables aside ,I am unable to understand how any one with a knowledge of mankind can imagine that the growth of science can threaten the development of art in any of its forms.If I understand the matter at all,science and art are the obverse and reverse of Natures medal;the one expressing the rternal order of things,in terms of feeling,the other in terms of thought.When men no longer love nor hate;when suffering causes to thrill,when the lily of the field shall seem no longer more beautifully arrayed than Solomon in all his glory,and the awe has vanished from the snow-capped peak and deep ravine,then indeed science may have the world yo itself ,but it will not be because the monster has devoured art ,but because one side of human nature is dead ,and because men have lost the half of their ancient and present attributes.

　　但是，撇開上述比喻不談，我實在弄不懂，一個具有人類知識的人，怎么能以為科學的進步竟會威脅到任何藝術形式的發(fā)展。如果我對此還不是門外漢的話，我以為，科學和藝術乃是自然這枚圣牌的正反面。一個是用感情來表達事物的永恒秩序，另一個則是用思想。當人們不再有愛恨之心;當苦難不再引起同情，偉大的英雄業(yè)績的故事不再動人地傳唱;當田野里的百合花不能再與身披盛裝榮耀已極的所羅門媲美，雪峰和深淵不再使人驚嘆，到那時，科學確實有可能占據(jù)世界，但這不是因為怪物吞噬了藝術，而是因為人類天性的一個方面已經(jīng)死亡，因為人類丟掉了古往今來所擁有的那一半天性。

　　Thomas Henry Huxley

　　托馬斯亨利赫胥黎

　　May 5,1883

　　1883年5月5日

　　I beg leave to thank you for the extremely kind and appreciative manner in which you have received the toast of Science.It is the more grateful to me to hear that toast proposed in an assembly of this kind,because I have noticed of late pears a great and growing tendency among those who were once jestingly said to have been born in a pre-scientific age to look upon science as an invading and aggressive force,which if it had its own way would oust from the universe all other pursuit.I think there are many persons who look upon this new birth of our times as a sort of monster rising out of the sea of modern thought with the purpose of devouring the Andromeda of art .And now and then a Perseus,equipped with the shoes of swiftness of the ready writer,with the cap of invisibility of the editorial artical,and it may be with the Medusa head of vituperation,shows himself ready to try conclusions with the scientific dragon.Sir,I hope that Perseus will think better of it;first,for his own sake,because the creature is hard of head ,strong of jaw ,and for some time past has shown a great capacity for going over and through whatever comes in his way;and secondly,for the sakeof justice,for I assure you ,of my own personal knowledge that if left alone,the creature is a very debonair and gentle monster.As for the Andromeda of art ,he has the tenderest respect for that lady,and desires nothing more than to see her happily settled and annually producing a flock of such charming children as those we see about us.

　　請允許我感謝諸位極其友好、極有眼光地聽取了為科學而作的祝酒辭。在今天這樣的會上聽到這個祝酒辭，更使我感激不已。因為近年來我注意到，在那些被戲稱為生于前科學時代的人當中，出現(xiàn)了一種日益強大的、把科學視為一股侵略勢力的傾向。他們以為，如果科學要想隨心所欲的話，就會把其他行業(yè)逐出宇宙。我想，現(xiàn)在有許多人都認為當代的這個新生事物是一頭從現(xiàn)代思潮的海洋中冒出來的怪獸，它想要吞噬藝術的安德洛墨達。于是，一位帕修斯就會不時出現(xiàn)。他腳登寫作快手的追風靴，頭戴重要評論的隱形盔，也許還長著裝滿謾罵之詞的美杜薩腦袋，擺出了欲與科學之龍決勝負的架勢。諸位，我希望這位帕修斯三思。首先要為自己著想。因為怪獸的頭很堅硬，顎也很強壯，而且一段時間以來，它在沖破任何羈絆方面已大顯身手。其次要為公正著想。因為我向諸位擔保，依本人之愚見，這頭怪獸如果不去惹它的話，本來是非常溫文爾雅的。至于藝術的安德洛墨達，它對那位女士非常敬慕，而且別無他求，只盼她幸福地安家落戶，年年生育一大群招人喜愛的兒女，就像我們在自己周圍所看到的孩子們那樣。

　　But putting parables aside ,I am unable to understand how any one with a knowledge of mankind can imagine that the growth of science can threaten the development of art in any of its forms.If I understand the matter at all,science and art are the obverse and reverse of Natures medal;the one expressing the rternal order of things,in terms of feeling,the other in terms of thought.When men no longer love nor hate;when suffering causes to thrill,when the lily of the field shall seem no longer more beautifully arrayed than Solomon in all his glory,and the awe has vanished from the snow-capped peak and deep ravine,then indeed science may have the world yo itself ,but it will not be because the monster has devoured art ,but because one side of human nature is dead ,and because men have lost the half of their ancient and present attributes.

　　但是，撇開上述比喻不談，我實在弄不懂，一個具有人類知識的人，怎么能以為科學的進步竟會威脅到任何藝術形式的發(fā)展。如果我對此還不是門外漢的話，我以為，科學和藝術乃是自然這枚圣牌的正反面。一個是用感情來表達事物的永恒秩序，另一個則是用思想。當人們不再有愛恨之心;當苦難不再引起同情，偉大的英雄業(yè)績的故事不再動人地傳唱;當田野里的百合花不能再與身披盛裝榮耀已極的所羅門媲美，雪峰和深淵不再使人驚嘆，到那時，科學確實有可能占據(jù)世界，但這不是因為怪物吞噬了藝術，而是因為人類天性的一個方面已經(jīng)死亡，因為人類丟掉了古往今來所擁有的那一半天性。