There would be no science if it were concerned only with that one nude goddess and with nothing else.
如果科学只崇奉那一位裸体女神，而不顾其他神灵，世间也就不会有科学了。
For in that case her devotees would have to feel like men who wanted to dig a hole straight through the earth, assuming that each of them realized that even if he tried his utmost, his whole life long, he would only be able to dig a very small portion of this enormous depth, and even that would be filled in again before his own eyes by the labors of the next in line,
因为，这样一来，科学的信徒们就会觉得自己好象一个人要凿穿大地。谁都知道，即使尽毕生的最大努力，也只能掘入深不可测的大地的皮层，而且后来者的发掘不难就在他眼前填满了他所凿的洞；
so a third person would seem to do well if he picked a new spot for his drilling efforts.
所以，如果第三者独自选择一个新地点来探凿，那就显得是聪明的做法了。
Now suppose someone proved convincingly that the goal of the antipodes cannot be reached in this direct manner: who would still wish to go on working in these old depths, unless he had learned meanwhile to be satisfied with finding precious stones or discovering laws of nature?
设使现在有人证明了对点是不能用这直接方法达到的，那末，谁还愿意在这旧洞里发掘下去呢，除非他寻得了珍宝，或者发现了自然规律，而还不知满足。
Therefore Lessing, the most honest theoretical man, dared to announce that he cared more for the search after truth than for truth itself--and thus revealed the fundamental secret of science, to the astonishment, and indeed the anger, of the scientific community.
因此，最诚实的理论家莱森曾大胆自白，说他关心真理之探索甚于关心真理本身：这一语道破了科学的基本秘密，使得科学界为之震惊，甚或为之愤怒。