中英文本

They ordered him to be silent.

他们命令他闭嘴。

But he spoke.

但他偏要说话。

Upon the Old Men he turned his back and his eyes sought those who but a short time before had been his comrades.

他把脊背转向老者，两眼搜寻着不久以前还与他志同道合的人。

“Listen to me,” he implored.

“听我说吧，”他恳求道，

“Listen to me and be rejoiced.

“听我说，大家都高兴起来吧！

I have come back from beyond the mountains.

我刚从山的那边来，

My feet have trod a fresh soil.

我的脚踏上了新鲜的土地，

My hands have felt the touch of other races.

我的手感觉到了其他民族的抚摸，

My eyes have seen wondrous sights.

我的眼睛看到了奇妙的景象。

“When I was a child, my world was the garden of my father.

“小时候，我的世界只是父亲的花园。

“To the west and to the east, to the south and to the north lay the ranges from the Beginning of Time.

“早在创世的时候，花园东面、南面、西面和北面的疆界就定下来了。

“When I asked what they were hiding, there was a hush and a hasty shaking of heads.

“只要我问疆界那边藏着什么，大家就不住地摇头，一片嘘声。

When I insisted, I was taken to the rocks and shown the bleached bones of those who had dared to defy the Gods.

可我偏要刨根问底，于是他们把我带到这块岩石上，让我看那些敢于蔑视上帝的人的嶙嶙白骨。

“When I cried out and said,It is a lie! The Gods love those who are brave!

“骗人！上帝喜欢勇敢的人！我喊道。

The Men Who Knew came and read to me from their sacred books.

于是，守旧老人走过来，对我读起他们的圣书。

The Law, they explained, had ordained all things of Heaven and Earth.

他们说，上帝的旨意已经决定了天上人间万物的命运。

The Valley was ours to have and to hold.

山谷是我们的，由我们掌管，

The animals and the flowers, the fruit and the fishes were ours, to do our bidding.

野兽和花朵，果实和鱼虾，都是我们的，按我们的旨意行事。

But the mountains were of the Gods.

但山是上帝的，

What lay beyond was to remain unknown until the End of Time.

对山那边的事物我们应该一无所知，直到世界的末日。

“So they spoke, and they lied.

“他们是在撒谎。

They lied to me, even as they have lied to you.

他们欺骗了我，就象欺骗了你们一样。

“There are pastures in those hills.

“那边的山上有牧场，

Meadows too, as rich as any.

牧草同样肥沃，

And men and women of our own flesh and blood.

男男女女有同佯的血肉，

And cities resplendent with the glories of a thousand years of labor.

城市是经过一千年能工巧匠细心雕琢的，光采夺目。

作者介绍

房龙
亨德里克威廉房龙（Hendrik Willem Van Loon 1882--1944），荷裔美国人，著名学者，作家，历史地理学家。1882年出生在荷兰鹿特丹，他是出色的通俗作家，在历史、文化、文明、科学等方面都有著作，而且读者众多，是伟大的文化普及者，大师级的人物。