25 Kant

25 康德

……the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me……

……头上闪烁的星空与心中的道德规范…… 

It was close to midnight before Major Albert Knag called home to wish Hilde a happy birthday.

过了午夜，少校才打电话回家祝席德生日快乐。 

Hilde's mother answered the telephone.

是妈妈接的电话。 

"It's for you, Hilde."

“席德，是找你的。” 

"Hello?"

“喂？” 

"It's Dad."

“我是爸爸。” 

"Are you crazy? It's nearly midnight!"

“你疯了吗？现在已经半夜了。” 

"I just wanted to say Happy Birthday ..."

“我只是想跟你说生日快乐……” 

"You've been doing that all day."

“你已经说了一整天了。” 

"... but I didn't want to call before the day was over."

“可是……在今天还没过完前，我不想打电话给你。” 

"Why?"

“为什么？” 

"Didn't you get my present?"

“你没收到我的礼物吗？” 

"Yes, I did. Thank you very much."

“收到了。谢谢你。” 

"I can't wait to hear what you think of it."

“那你就别卖关子了。你觉得怎么样？” 

"It's terrific. I have hardly eaten all day, it's so exciting."

“很棒!我今天几乎一整天都没吃东西。” 

“你要吃才行。” 

“可是那本书太吸引人了。” 

"I have to know how far you've gotten."

“告诉我你读到哪里了？” 

"They just went inside the major's cabin because you started teasing them with a sea serpent."

“他们进去少校的小木屋了，因为你找了一只水怪来捉弄他们。” 

"The Enlightenment."

“那你是读到启蒙时期那一章了。” 

"And Olympe de Gouges."

“还有德古日。” 

"So I didn't get it completely wrong."

“那么我并没有弄错。” 

"Wrong in what way?"

“弄错什么？” 

"I think there's one more birthday greeting to come. But that one is set to music."

“我想你还会再听到一次生日快乐。不过那次是用音乐来表现的。” 

 "I'd better read a little more before I go to sleep."

“那我想我最好在睡觉前再读一些。” 

"You haven't given up, then?"

“那么你还没有放弃啰？” 

"I've learned more in this one day than ever before. I can hardly believe that it's less than twenty-four hours since Sophie got home from school and found the first envelope."

“我今天学到的比……比从前都要多。我几乎不能相信现在距离苏菲放学回家发现第一封信时还不到二十四小时。” 

"It's strange how little time it takes to read."

“是呀，真奇怪，居然只花了这么一点时间。” 

"But I can't help feeling sorry for her."

“可是我还是忍不住替她难过。” 

"For Mom?"

“你是指妈妈吗？” 

"No, for Sophie, of course."

“不，我说的当然是苏菲。” 

"Why?"

“为什么呢？” 

"The poor girl is totally confused."

“她完全被搞胡涂了，真可怜。” 

"But she's only ..."

“可是她只是……我的意思是……”

"You were going to say she's only made up."

“你是不是想说她只是一个虚构的人物？” 

"Yes, something like that."

“是的，可以这么说。” 

"I think Sophie and Alberto really exist."

“可是我认为苏菲和艾伯特真有其人。” 

"We'll talk more about it when I get home."

“等我回家时我们再谈好了。” 

"Okay."

“好吧！” 

"Have a nice day."

“祝你有个美好的一天。” 

"What?"

“你说什么？” 

"I mean good night."

“我是说晚安。” 

"Good night."

“晚安。” 

When Hilde went to bed half an hour later it was still so light that she could see the garden and the little bay. It never got really dark at this time of the year.

半小时后，席德上床了。此时天色仍然明亮，她可以看见外面的花园和更远处的小海湾。每年这个时节，天色从来不会变暗。 

She played with the idea that she was inside a picture hanging on the wall of the little cabin in the woods. She wondered if one could look out of the picture into what surrounded it.

她脑海里想象着她置身于林间小木屋墙上那幅画的里面。她很好奇，不知道一个人是否可以从画中伸出头来向四周张望。 

Before she fell asleep, she read a few more pages in the big ring binder.

入睡前，她又看了几页大讲义夹里的东西。 

Sophie put the letter from Hilde's father back on the mantel.

苏菲将席德的父亲写的信放回壁炉架上。 

"What he says about the UN is not unimportant," said Alberto, "but I don't like him interfering in my presentation."

“有关联合国的事并不是不重要，”艾伯特说，“但我不喜欢他干扰我上课。” 

"I don't think you should worry too much about that."

“这点你不需要大担心。” 

Nevertheless, from now on I intend to ignore all extraordinary phenomena such as sea serpents and the like. Let's sit here by the window while I tell you about Kant.

“无论如何，从今天起，我决定要无视于所有类似水怪等等的不寻常现象。接下来我要谈康德的哲学。我们就坐在窗户旁吧!” 

Sophie noticed a pair of glasses lying on a small table between two armchairs. She also noticed that the lenses were red.

苏菲注意到两张扶手椅间的小茶几上放着一副眼镜。她还发现那镜片是红色的。 

Maybe they were strong sunglasses . . .

也许是遮挡强光的太阳眼镜吧。 

"It's almost two o'clock," she said. "I have to be home before five. Mom has probably made plans for my birthday."

“已经快两点了。”她说。“我得在五点前回家。妈妈可能已经安排了我的生日节目。” 

"That gives us three hours."

“算算还有三小时。” 

"Let's start."

“那我们就开始吧!” 

"Immanuel Kant was born in 1724 in the East Prussian town of Konigsberg, the son of a master saddler. He lived there practically all his life until he died at the age of eighty. His family was deeply pious, and his own religious conviction formed a significant background to his philosophy. Like Berkeley, he felt it was essential to preserve the foundations of Christian belief."

“康德于一七二四年诞生于普鲁士东部的哥尼斯堡(Konigsberg)，父亲是一位马鞍师傅。康德一辈子都住在这个小镇上，一直到他八十岁过世为止。他们一家人都是非常虔诚的教徒，而他的宗教信仰也成为他的哲学的重要背景之一。他和柏克莱一样，觉得有必要巩固基督徒信仰的基础。” 

"I've heard enough about Berkeley, thanks."

“谢啦!我已经听太多柏克莱的事了。” 

"Kant was the first of the philosophers we have heard about so far to have taught philosophy at a university. He was a professor of philosophy."

“康德是我们到目前为止谈过的哲学家中唯一曾在大学里教授哲学的人。他是一位哲学教授。” 

"Professor?"

“教授？” 

"There are two kinds of philosopher. One is a person who seeks his own answers to philosophical questions. The other is someone who is an expert on the history of philosophy but does not necessarily construct his own philosophy."

“世上有两种哲学家。一种是不断找寻他对哲学问题的答案的人。另一种则是精通哲学史，但并不一定曾建立自己的哲学理论的人。” 

"And Kant was that kind?"

“康德就是那种吗？”

"Kant was both. If he had simply been a brilliant professor and an expert on the ideas of other philosophers, he would never have carved a place for himself in the history of philosophy. But it is important to note that Kant had a solid grounding in the philosophic tradition of the past. He was familiar both with the rationalism of Descartes and Spinoza and the empiricism of Locke, Berkeley, and Hume."

“他两者都是。如果他只是一个很好的哲学教授，通晓其他哲学家的理念，他就不会在哲学史上有一席之地。不过，有一点很重要的就是：康德对于古往今来的哲学传统有很深厚的了解。他对笛卡尔和史宾诺莎的理性主义与洛克、柏克莱和休姆等人的经验主义都很精通。” 

"I asked you not to mention Berkeley again."

“我说过请你不要再提柏克莱了。” 

"Remember that the rationalists believed that the basis for all human knowledge lay in the mind. And that the empiricists believed all knowledge of the world proceeded from the senses. Moreover, Hume had pointed out that there are clear limits regarding which conclusions we could reach through our sense perceptions."

“你应该还记得理性主义者认为人类的心灵是所有知识的基础，而经验主义者则认为我们对于世界的了解都是从感官而来的。休姆更指出，我们透过感官认知所能获得的结论显然有其限制。” 

"And who did Kant agree with?"

“那么康德同意哪一派说法呢？” 

"He thought both views were partly right, but he thought both were partly wrong, too.

“他认为两派的说法都有一部分正确，也有一部分是错误的。

The question everybody was concerned with was what we can know about the world. This philosophical project had been preoccupying all philosophers since Descartes."Two main possibilities were drawn up: either the world is exactly as we perceive it, or it is the way it appears to our reason."

在这方面大家一致关心的问题是：我们对于这个世界能够有什么样的知识？自从笛卡尔以来的哲学家们都专注于思考这个问题。他们提出两种最大的可能性：一、这世界正如我们感官所认知的那样，二、这世界乃是像我们的理性所体悟到的一般。”

"And what did Kant think?"

“那康德怎么想呢？” 

"Kant thought that both 'sensing' and 'reason' come into play in our conception of the world. But he thought the rationalists went too far in their claims as to how much reason can contribute, and he also thought the empiricists placed too much emphasis on sensory experience."

“康德认为我们对于这个世界的观念是我们同时透过感官与理性而得到的。不过他认为理性主义者将理性的重要性说得太过火了，而经验主义者则过分强调感官的经验。” 

"If you don't give me an example soon, it will all be just a bunch of words."

“如果你不赶快举一个例子，这些话我可是听不懂。” 

"In his point of departure Kant agrees with Hume and the empiricists that all our knowledge of the world comes from our sensations. But--and here Kant stretches his hand out to the rationalists--in our reason there are also decisive factors that determine how we perceive the world around us. In other words, there are certain conditions in the human mind that are contributive to our conception of the world."

“首先，康德同意休姆和经验主义者的说法，认为我们对于世界的了解都是透过感官而来的，但他也赞成理性主义者的部分说法，认为我们的理性中也有一些因素可以决定我们如何认知周遭的世界。换句话说，他认为我们对于世界的观念会受到人类心灵中某些状况的影响。” 

"You call that an example?"

“这就是你举的例子呀？” 

"Let us rather do a little experiment. Could you bring those glasses from the table over there? Thank you. Now, put them on."

“我们还是来做一个小小的实验好了。请你帮我把那边茶几上的眼镜拿来好吗？对，就是那副。好，请你戴上它。” 

Sophie put the glasses on. Everything around her became red. The pale colors became pink and the dark colors became crimson.

苏菲把眼镜戴上。于是她眼中所看到的每一件事物全都变红了。原本淡淡的颜色变成了粉红色，原本是深色的，则变成深红色。 

"What do you see?"

“你看到什么？” 

"I see exactly the same as before, except that it's all red."

“每一件东西都跟以前一样，只不过都变红了。” 

"That's because the glasses limit the way you perceive reality. Everything you see is part of the world around you, but how you see it is determined by the glasses you are wearing. So you cannot say the world is red even though you conceive it as being so."

“这是因为眼镜限制了你感知现实世界的方式。你看到的每一件东西都是你周遭世界的一部分，但你怎么看它们却取决于你所戴的眼镜。因此，即使你看到的一切东西都是红色的，你也不能说世界是红色的。” 

 "No, naturally."

“当然哼。” 

"If you now took a walk in the woods, or home to Captain's Bend, you would see everything the way you normally do. But whatever you saw, it would all be red."

“现在你如果到树林里去散步，或回到船长湾去，你会看到平常你见到的一切，只是它们统统会变成红色的。” 

"As long as I didn't take the glasses off, yes."

“对，只要我不拿下这副眼镜。” 

"And that, Sophie, is precisely what Kant meant when he said that there are certain conditions governing the mind's operation which influence the way we experience the world."

“这正是康德之所以认为我们的理性中有若干倾向会左右我们获得的经验。” 

"What kind of conditions?"

“什么样的倾向？” 

"Whatever we see will first and foremost be perceived as phenomena in time and space. Kant called 'time' and 'space' our two 'forms of intuition.' And he emphasized that these two 'forms' in our own mind precede every experience. In other words, we can know before we experience things that we will perceive them as phenomena in time and space. For we are not able to take off the 'glasses' of reason."

“我们所见到的事物首先会被看成是时间与空间里的一个现象。康德将‘时间’与‘空间’称为我们的两种‘直观形式’(Form of intuition)。他强调我们心灵中的这两种‘形式’先于一切经验。换句话说，我们在还没有经验事物之前，就可以知道我们感知到的将是一个发生在时间与空间里的现象。因为我们无法脱掉理性这副‘眼镜’。” 

"So he thought that perceiving things in time and space was innate?"

“所以他认为我们天生就能够在时间与空间里感知事物？” 

"Yes, in a way. What we see may depend on whether we are raised in India or Greenland, but wherever we are, we experience the world as a series of processes in time and space. This is something we can say beforehand."

“是的，可以这么说。我们看见什么虽然视我们生长在印度或格陵兰而定，但不管我们在哪里，我们体验到的世界就是一连串发生在时间与空间里的过程。这是我们可以预知的。” 

"But aren't time and space things that exist beyond ourselves?"

“可是时间和空间难道不是存在于我们本身之外的事物吗？” 

"No. Kant's idea was that time and space belong to the human condition. Time and space are first and foremost modes of perception and not attributes or the physical world."

“不。康德的概念是：时间与空间属于人类的条件。时、空乃是人类感知的方式，并非物质世界的属性。” 

"That was a whole new way of looking at things."

“这种看事情的方式倒是很新颖。”

"For the mind of man is not just 'passive wax' which simply receives sensations from outside. The mind leaves its imprint on the way we apprehend the world. You could compare it with what happens when you pour water into a glass pitcher. The water adapts itself to the pitcher's form. In the same way our perceptions adapt themselves to our 'forms of intuition.' "

“因为人类的心灵不只是纯粹接收外界感官刺激的‘被动的蜡’，也是一个会主动塑造形状的过程。心灵影响了我们理解世界的方式，就像你把水倒进一个玻璃壶里面，水立刻会顺应水壶的形状一般。同样的，我们的感官认知也会顺应我们的‘直观形式’。” 

"I think I understand what you mean."

“我想我懂你的意思了。” 

因果律

"Kant claimed that it is not only mind which conforms to things. Things also conform to the mind. Kant called this the Copernican Revolution in the problem of human knowledge.

“康德宣称，不仅心灵会顺应事物的形状，事物也会顺应心灵。他把这个现象称为人类认知问题上的‘哥白尼革命’。

"By that he meant that it was just as new and just as radically different from former thinking as when Copernicus claimed that the earth revolved around the sun and not vice versa."

意思是这种看法和从前的观念截然不同，就像哥白尼当初宣称地球绕着太阳转，而不是太阳绕着地球转一样。” 

"I see now how he could think both the rationalists and the empiricists were right up to a point. The rationalists had almost forgotten the importance of experience, and the empiricists had shut their eyes to the way our own mind influences the way we see the world."

“我现在了解为何他认为理性主义者与经验主义者都只对了一部分了。理性主义者几乎忘记了经验的重要性，而经验主义者则无视于我们的心灵对我们看世界的方式的影响。” 

"And even the law of causality--which Hume believed man could not experience--belongs to the mind, according to Kant."

“就拿因果律来说，休姆认为这是人可以经验到的，但在康德的想法中，因果律仍然属于心灵这部分。” 

"Explain that, please."

“请你说明白一些。” 

"You remember how Hume claimed that it was only force of habit that made us see a causal link behind all natural processes. According to Hume, we cannot per-ceive the black billiard ball as being the cause of the white ball's movement. Therefore, we cannot prove that the black billiard ball will always set the white one in motion."

“你还记得休姆宣称，我们只是因为受到习惯的驱策，才会以为各种自然现象之向有所关联吗？根据休姆的说法，我们无法感知黑球是促使白球移动的肇因，因此我们无法证明黑球一定会使白球移动。” 

"Yes, I remember."

“对，我记得。” 

"But that very thing which Hume says we cannot prove is what Kant makes into an attribute of human reason. The law of causality is eternal and absolute simply because human reason perceives everything that happens as a matter of cause and effect."

“休姆认为我们无法证明因果律，康德则认为因果律的存在正是人类理性的特色。正因为人类的理性可以感知事物的因果，因此因果律是绝对的，而且永恒不变的。” 

"Again, I would have thought that the law of causality lay in the physical world itself, not in our minds."

“可是在我认为因果律是存在于物质世界的法则，并不存在于我们的心灵。” 

"Kant's philosophy states that it is inherent in us. He agreed with Hume that we cannot know with certainty what the world is like 'in itself.' We can only know what the world is like 'for me'--or for everybody. Kant's greatest contribution to philosophy is the dividing line he draws between things in themselves--das Ding an sich-- and things as they appear to us."

“康德的理论是：因果律是根植于我们的内心的。他同意休姆的说法，认为既然我们无法确知世界本来的真貌，我们只能根据自己的认识来了解世界。康德对哲学最大的贡献在于他认为das Ding an sich和das Ding for mich是不相同的。” 

"I'm not so good at German."

“拜托，我的德文不是很好。” 

"Kant made an important distinction between 'the thing in itself and 'the thing for me.' We can never have certain knowledge of things 'in themselves.' We can only know how things 'appear' to us. On the other hand, prior to any particular experience we can say something about how things will be perceived by the human mind."

“康德认为‘事物本身’和‘我眼中的事物’是不一样的。这点很重要。我们永远无法确知事物‘本来’的面貌。我们所知道的只是我们眼中‘看到’的事物。从另外一个角度来看，我们在每一次经验之前都可以预知我们的心灵将如何认知事物。” 

"We can?"

“真的吗？” 

"Before you go out in the morning, you cannot know what you will see or experience during the day. But you can know that what you see and experience will be perceived as happening in time and space. You can moreover be confident that the law of cause and effect will apply, simply because you carry it with you as part of your consciousness."

“你每天早上出门前，一定不知道今天会看到什么事情或有什么经验。但你可以知道你所看到、经验到的事物都是发生在时间和空间里的事物。你也可以确定这些事物可以适用因果律，因为你的意识里就存在着这个因果律。” 

"But you mean we could have been made differently?"

“你的意思是说我们人类的构造不一定会像现在这样？” 

"Yes, we could have had a different sensory apparatus. And we could have had a different sense or time and a different feeling about space. We could even have been created in such a way that we would not go around searching for the cause of things that happen around us."

“是的，我们可能会有不同的感官构造，对于时间和空间可能也会有不同的感觉。我们甚至可能被创造成一种不会到处去寻求我们四周事物的成因的生物。” 

"How do you mean?"

“这是什么意思？” 

"Imagine there's a cat lying on the floor in the living room. A ball comes rolling into the room. What does the cat do?"

“假设有一只猫躺在客厅的地板上，然后突然有一个球滚进来。你想那只猫会有什么反应？” 

"I've tried that lots of times. The cat will run after the ball."

“这个我试过好几次了。这时候猫咪就会去追那个球。” 

"All right. Now imagine that you were sitting in that same room. If you suddenly see a ball come rolling in, would you also start running after it?"

“好，现在再假设坐在客厅里的是你。如果你突然看到一个球滚进来，你也会跑去追那个球吗？” 

"First, I would turn around to see where the ball came from."

“首先我会转身看看球是从哪里来的。”

"Yes, because you are a human being, you will inevitably look for the cause of every event, because the law of causality is part of your makeup."

“对了，因为你是人，你势必会寻求每一件事物的原因，因为因果律是你构造中的一部分。” 

"So Kant says."

“然后呢？” 

"Hume showed that we can neither perceive nor prove natural laws.

“休姆认为我们既不能感知自然法则，也不能证明自然法则。 

That made Kant uneasy. But he believed he could prove their absolute validity by showing that in reality we are talking about the laws of human cognition."

康德对这点不太苟同。他相信他可以证明事实上我们所谓的自然法则乃是人类认知的法则，由此而证明这些法则的真实性。” 

"Will a child also turn around to see where the ball came from?"

“小孩子也会转身看看球从哪里来的吗？” 

"Maybe not. But Kant pointed out that a child's reason is not fully developed until it has had some sensory material to work with. It is altogether senseless to talk about an empty mind."

“可能不会。但康德指出，小孩子的理性要等到他有若干感官的材料可以处理后才会充分发展。谈论一个空白的心灵是没有意义的。” 

"No, that would be a very strange mind."

“这样的心灵将是很奇怪的心灵。” 

"So now let's sum up. According to Kant, there are two elements that contribute to man's knowledge of the world. One is the external conditions that we cannot know of before we have perceived them through the senses. We can call this the material of knowledge. The other is the internal conditions in man himself--such as the perception of events as happening in time and space and as processes conforming to an unbreakable law of causality. We can call this the form of knowledge."

“所以我们现在可以做个总结。根据康德的说法，人类对于世界的观念受到两种因素左右。一个是我们必须透过感官才能知道的外在情况，我们可以称之为知识的原料。另外一个因素就是人类内在的情况，例如我们所感知的事物都是发生在时、空之中，而且符合不变的因果律等。我们可以称之为知识的形式。” 

Alberto and Sophie remained seated for a while gazing out of the window. Suddenly Sophie saw a little girl between the trees on the opposite side of the lake.

艾伯特和苏菲继续坐了一会，看着窗外的世界。突然间苏菲瞥见湖对岸的树丛间有一个小女孩。 

"Look!" said Sophie. "Who's that?"

“你看!”苏菲说。“那是谁？” 

"I'm sure I don't know."

“我不知道。” 

The girl was only visible for a few seconds, then she was gone. Sophie noticed that she was wearing some kind of red hat.

小女孩只出现了几秒钟就消失了。苏菲注意到她好像戴了一顶红色的帽子。 

"We shall under no circumstances let ourselves be distracted."

“我们绝对不可以因为那种事情而分心。” 

"Go on, then."

“那你就继续说吧。” 

"Kant believed that there are clear limits to what we can know. You could perhaps say that the mind's 'glasses' set these limits."

“康德相信我们的心灵所能感知的事物很明显的有其限制，你可以说是我们的心灵所戴的‘眼镜’给我们加上了这种限制。” 

"In what way?"

“怎么会呢？” 

"You remember that philosophers before Kant had discussed the really 'big' questions--for instance, whether man has an immortal soul, whether there is a God, whether nature consists of tiny indivisible particles, and whether the universe is finite or infinite."

“你应该还记得康德之前的哲学家曾经讨论过一些很‘大’的问题，如人是否有不朽的灵魂、上帝是否存在、大自然是否由很多看不见的分子所组成，以及宇宙是有限还是无限的等等。” 

"Yes."

“嗯。” 

"Kant believed there was no certain knowledge to be obtained on these questions. Not that he rejected this type of argument. On the contrary. If he had just brushed these questions aside, he could hardly have been called a philosopher."

“康德认为我们不可能得到这些问题确实的答案，这并不是因为他不肯讨论这方面的问题，相反的，如果他对这些问题不屑一顾，那他就不能够称得上是一个哲学家了。” 

"What did he do?"

“那他怎么说呢？” 

"Be patient. In such great philosophical questions, Kant believed that reason operates beyond the limits of what we humans can comprehend. At the same time, there is in our nature a basic desire to pose these same questions. But when, for example, we ask whether the universe is finite or infinite, we are asking about a totality of which we ourselves are a tiny part. We can therefore never completely know this totality."

“慢慢来，要有耐心。康德认为在这些大问题上，理性所能够运作的范围超过了我们人类所能理解的程度。可是在这同时，我们的本性中有一种基本的欲望要提出这些问题。可是，举个例子，当我们问‘宇宙是有限还是无限？’时，我们的问题关系到的是一个我们本身在其中占一小部分的事物。因此我们永远无法完全了解这个事物。” 

"Why not?"

“为什么不能呢？” 

"When you put the red glasses on, we demonstrated that according to Kant there are two elements that contribute to our knowledge of the world."

“当你戴上那副红色的眼镜时，根据康德的想法，有两种因素影响我们对世界的了解。” 

"Sensory perception and reason."

“感官知觉和理性。” 

"Yes, the material of our knowledge comes to us through the senses, but this material must conform to the attributes of reason. For example, one of the attributes of reason is to seek the cause of an event."

“对。我们的知识材料是透过感官而来，但这些材料必须符合理性的特性。举例来说，理性的特性之一就是会寻求事件的原因。” 

"Like the ball rolling across the floor."

“譬如说看到球滚过地板的时候就会问球从哪里来。” 

"If you like. But when we wonder where the world came from--and then discuss possible answers--reason is in a sense 'on hold.' For it has no sensory material to process, no experience to make use of, because we have never experienced the whole of the great reality that we are a tiny part of."

“没错。可是当我们想知道世界从何而来，并且讨论可能的答案时，我们的理性可以说‘暂时停止作用’。因为它没有感官的材料可能加以处理，也没有任何相关的经验可资利用，因为我们从未经验过我们渺小的人类所隶属的这个大宇宙。” 

"We are--in a way--a tiny part of the ball that comes rolling across the floor. So we can't know where it came from."

“也可以说我们是滚过地板这个球的一小部分，所以我们不知道它是从哪里来的。” 

"But it will always be an attribute of human reason to ask where the ball comes from. That's why we ask and ask, we exert ourselves to the fullest to find answers to all the deepest questions. But we never get anything firm to bite on; we never get a satisfactory answer because reason is not locked on."

“可是人类理性的特色就是一定会问球从哪里来。这也是为什么我们会一问再问，全力解答这些艰深问题的原因。可是我们从来没有获得过任何确定的材料，所以我们永远不能得到满意的答案，因为我们的理性不能发挥作用。” 

"I know exactly how that feels, thank you very much."

“谢啦。这种感觉我很清楚。” 

"In such weighty questions as to the nature of reality, Kant showed that there will always be two contrasting viewpoints that are equally likely or unlikely, depending on what our reason tells us."

“谈到现实世界的本质这类重量级的问题，康德指出，人永远会有两种完全相反，但可能性相当的看法，这完全要看我们的理性怎么说。” 

"Examples, please."

“请举一些例子好吗？” 

"It is just as meaningful to say that the world must have had a beginning in time as to say that it had no such beginning. Reason cannot decide between them. We can allege that the world has always existed, but con anything always have existed if there was never any beginning? So now we are forced to adopt the opposite view.

“我们可以说世界一定有一个开始的时刻，但我们也可以说，世界无所谓终始。这两种说法同样都有道理。这两种可能性对于人的理性来说，同样都是无法想象的。我们可以宣称世界一直都存在，但如果世界不曾开始的话，如何一直存在呢？因此我们势必被迫采取另外一种相反的观点。

"We say that the world must have begun sometime-- and it must have begun from nothing, unless we want to talk about a change from one state to another. But can something come from nothing, Sophie?"

于是，我们说世界一定是在某一时刻开始的，而且一定是无中生有的。可是一件事物可能会无中生有吗？” 

"No, both possibilities are equally problematic. Yet it seems one of them must be right and the other wrong."

“不，这两种可能性都一样无法想象。可是两者之中一定有一个是对的，有一个是错的。” 

"You probably remember that Democritus and the materialists said that nature must consist of minimal parts that everything is made up of. Others, like Descartes, believed that it must always be possible to divide extended reality into ever smaller parts. But which of them was right?"

“你可能还记得德谟克里特斯和那些唯物论者曾说过，大自然中的万物一定是由一些极微小的分子组成的。而笛卡尔等人则认为扩延的真实世界必然可以一再分解成更小的单位。他们两派到底谁对呢？” 

"Both. Neither."

“两派都对，也都不对。” 

"Further, many philosophers named freedom as one of man's most important values. At the same time we saw philosophers like the Stoics, for example, and Spinoza, who said that everything happens through the necessity of natural law. This was another case of human reason being unable to make a certain judgment, according to Kant."

“还有，许多哲学家都认为自由是人类最珍贵的财产之一。但也有一些哲学家，像是斯多葛学派和史宾诺莎等人，相信万事万物的发生根据自然法则而言都是有必要的。康德认为，在这个问题上人类的理性也一样无法做一个合理的判断。” 

"Both views are equally reasonable and unreasonable."

“这两种看法都一样合理，也一样不合理。” 

信仰

"Finally, we are bound to fail if we attempt to prove the existence of God with the aid of reason. Here the rationalists, like Descartes, had tried to prove that there must be a God simply because we have the idea of a 'supreme being.' Others, like Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, decided that there must be a God because every-thing must have a first cause."

“最后，如果我们想借理性之助证明上帝存在或不存在的话，也一定不会成功。笛卡尔等理性主义者曾试图证明上帝必然存在，理由是：我们都有一个关于‘至高存在’的概念。而亚理斯多德和圣多玛斯等人之所以相信上帝存在的理由是：一切事物必然有一个最初的原因。” 

"What did Kant think?"

“那康德的看法呢？” 

"He rejected both these proofs of the existence of God. Neither reason nor experience is any certain basis for claiming the existence of God. As far as reason goes, it is just as likely as it is unlikely that God exists."

“这两种理由他都不接受。他认为无论理性或经验都无法确实证明上帝的存在。对于理性而言，上帝存在与上帝不存在这两者都有可能。” 

"But you started by saying that Kant wanted to preserve the basis for Christian faith."

“可是你刚开始时说过康德想维护基督教信仰的基础。” 

"Yes, he opened up a religious dimension. There, where both reason and experience fall short, there occurs a vacuum that can be filled by faith."

“是的，他开创了一个宗教的空间。在这个空间中，理性和经验都派不上用场，因此形成了一种真空的状况。这种真空只能用信仰来填补。” 

"That's how he saved Christianity?"

“这就是他挽救基督教的方式吗？” 

 "If you will. Now, it might be worth noting that Kant was a Protestant. Since the days of the Reformation, Protestantism has been characterized by its emphasis on faith. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, has since the early Middle Ages believed more in reason as a pillar of faith.

“可以这么说。值得一提的是康德是一个新教徒。自从宗教革命以来，基督新教的特色就是强调信仰的重要性。而天主教自从中世纪初期以来就倾向于相信理性乃是信仰的支柱。

"But Kant went further than simply to establish that these weighty questions should be left to the faith of the individual. He believed that it is essential for morality to presuppose that man has an immortal soul, that God exists, and that man has a free will."

“不过康德除了认定这些大问题应该交由个人的信仰来决定之外，他还更进一步认为，为了维护道德的缘故，我们应该假定人有不朽的灵魂、上帝确实存在以及人有自由意志。” 

"So he does the same as Descartes. First he is very critical of everything we can understand. And then he smuggles God in by the back door."

“这么说他所做的和笛卡尔是一样的。首先他怀疑我们所能理解的事物，然后他从后门把上帝走私进来。” 

"But unlike Descartes, he emphasizes most particularly that it is not reason which brought him to this point but faith. He himself called faith in the immortal soul, in God's existence, and in man's free will practical postulates."

“不过他和笛卡尔不同的一点是：他特别强调让他如此做的并不是他的理性，而是他的信仰。他称这种对灵魂不朽、上帝存在以及自由意志的信仰为‘实践的设准’。”

"Which means?"

“意思是.....？”

"To 'postulate' something is to assume something that cannot be proved. By a 'practical postulate,' Kant meant something that had to be assumed for the sake of 'praxis,' or practice; that is to say, for man's morality. 'It is a moral necessity to assume the existence of God,' he said."

“所谓‘设准’就是某个无法证实的假设。而所谓‘实践的设准’则是某个为了实践(也就是说，为了人类的道德)而必须假定为真的说法。康德说：‘为了道德的缘故，我们有必要假定上帝存在。’” 

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Sophie got up, but as Alberto gave no sign of rising, she asked: "Shouldn't we see who it is?"

这时突然有人敲门。苏菲立刻起身要开门，但艾伯特却一点也没有要站起来的意思。苏菲问道：“你不想看看是谁吗？”。 

Alberto shrugged and reluctantly got up. They opened the door, and a little girl stood there in a white summer dress and a red bonnet. It was the girl they had seen on the other side of the lake. Over one arm she carried a basket of food.

艾伯特耸耸肩，很不情愿地站起来。他们打开门，门外站了一个穿着白色夏装、戴着红帽的小女孩，也就是刚才出现在湖对岸的那个女孩。她一只手臂上挽着一个装满食物的篮子。 

"Hi," said Sophie. "Who are you?"

“嗨!”苏菲说，“你是谁？” 

"Can't you see I am Little Red Ridinghood?"

“你难道看不出我就是小红帽吗？” 

Sophie looked at Alberto, and Alberto nodded.

苏菲抬头看着艾伯特，艾伯特点点头。 

"You heard what she said."

“你听到她说的话了。” 

"I'm looking for my grandmother's house," said the girl. "She is old and sick, but I'm taking her some food."

“我在找我奶奶住的地方。”小女孩说。“她年纪大又生病了，所以我带点东西给她吃。” 

"It's not here," said Alberto, "so you'd better get on your way."

“这里不是你奶奶的家。”艾伯特说，“你最好还是赶快上路吧。” 

He gestured in a way that reminded Sophie of the way you brush off a fly.

他手一挥，苏菲觉得他仿佛是在赶苍蝇似的。 

"But I'm supposed to deliver a letter," continued the girl in the red bonnet.

“可是有人托我转交一封信。”戴红帽的小女孩说。 

With that, she took out a small envelope and handed it to Sophie. Then she went skipping away.

接着她抽出一个小信封，递给苏菲，然后就蹦蹦跳跳地走开了。 

"Watch out for the wolf!" Sophie called after her.

“小心大野狼啊!”苏菲在她身后喊。 

Alberto was already on his way back into the living room.

这时艾伯特已经走向客厅了。苏菲跟着他，两人又像从前那样坐了下来。 

"Just think! That was Little Red Ridinghood," said Sophie.

“哇!居然是小红帽耶!”苏菲说。 

"And it's no good warning her. She will go to her grandmother's house and be eaten by the wolf. She never learns. It will repeat itself to the end of time "

“你警告她是没有用的。她还是会到她奶奶家，然后被大野狼吃掉。她不会学到什么教训的。事情会一再重演，一直到时间的尽头。” 

"But I have never heard that she knocked on the door of another house before she went to her grandmother's."

“可是我从来没有听说过她到奶奶家前曾经敲过别人家的门。” 

"A bagatelle, Sophie."

“只不过是一个小把戏罢了。” 

Now Sophie looked at the envelope she had been given. It was addressed "To Hilde." She opened it and read aloud:

苏菲看着小红帽给她的那封信。收信人是席德。她把信拆开，念了出来：

Dear Hilde, If the human brain was simple enough for us to understand, we would still be so stupid that we couldn't understand it. Love, Dad.

亲爱的席德：如果人类的脑袋简单得足以让我们了解的话，我们还是会愚笨得无法理解它。爱你的爸爸 

Alberto nodded.

艾伯特点点头。 

"True enough. I believe Kant said something to that effect. We cannot expect to understand what we are. Maybe we can comprehend a flower or an insect, but we can never comprehend ourselves. Even less can we expect to comprehend the universe."

“没错。我相信康德也说过类似的话。我们不能够期望了解我们是什么。也许我们可以了解一朵花或一只昆虫，但我们永远无法了解我们自己。” 

伦理学

Sophie had to read the cryptic sentence in the note to Hilde several times before Alberto went on: "We are not going to be interrupted by sea serpents and the like. Before we stop for today, I'll tell you about Kant's ethics."

苏菲把信上谜样的句子念了好几遍。艾伯特又继续说：“我们不要被水怪之类的东西打断。在我们今天结束前，我要和你谈康德的伦理学。” 

"Please hurry. I have to go home soon."

“请快一点，我很快就得回家了。”

"Hume's skepticism with regard to what reason and the senses can tell us forced Kant to think through many of life's important questions again. Not least in the area of ethics."

“由于休姆怀疑我们透过理性与感官能够获得的知识，因此康德不得不把生命中许多重要的问题再想透彻。其中之一就是关于伦理的问题。 

"Didn't Hume say that you can never prove what is right and what is wrong2 You can't draw conclusions from is - sentence? to ought-sentences."

“休姆说我们永远不能证明什么是对的，什么是错的，不是吗？他说我们不能从‘是不是’的语句得出‘该不该’的结论。” 

"For Hume it was neither our reason nor our experience that determined the difference between right and wrong. It was simply our sentiments. This was too tenuous a basis for Kant."

“休姆认为无论我们的理性或经验都不能决定是非与对错，决定这些的乃是我们的感觉。对于康德而言，这种理论基础实在太过薄弱。” 

"I can imagine."

“这是可能想象的。” 

"Kant had always felt that the difference between right and wrong was a matter of reason, not sentiment. In this he agreed with the rationalists, who said the ability to distinguish between right and wrong is inherent in human reason. Everybody knows what is right or wrong, not because we have learned it but because it is born in the mind. According to Kant, everybody has 'practical reason,' that is, the intelligence that gives us the capacity to discern what is right or wrong in every case."

“康德一向觉得是与非、对与错之间确实是有分别的。在这方面他同意理性主义者的说法，认为辨别是非的能力是天生就存在于人的理性中的。每一个人都知道何谓是、何谓非。这并不是后天学来的，而是人心固有的观念。根据康德的看法，每一个人都有‘实践理性’，也就是说每个人都有辨别是非的智慧。” 

"And that is innate?"

“这是天生的？” 

"The ability to tell right from wrong is just as innate as all the other attributes of reason. Just as we are all intelligent beings, for example, perceiving everything as having a causal relation, we all have access to the same universal moral law.

“辨别是非的能力就像理性的其他特质一样是与生俱来的。举个例子，就像我们都有感知事物因果关系的智慧一样，我们也都能够感知普遍的道德法则。

"This moral law has the same absolute validity as the physical laws. It is just as basic to our morality as the statements that everything has a cause, or that seven plus five is twelve, are basic to our intelligence."

这种道德法则和物理法则一样都是绝对能够成立的。对于我们的道德意识而言，这是很基本的法则，就像对我们的智慧而言，‘事出必有因’以及‘七加五等于十二’乃是很基本的观念一样。” 

"And what does that moral law say?"

“这个道德法则的内容是什么呢？” 

"Since it precedes every experience, it is 'formal.' That is to say, it is not bound to any particular situation of moral choice. For it applies to all people in all societies at all times. So it does not say you shall do this or this if you find yourself in that or that situation. It says how you are to behave in all situations."

“由于这个法则在于每个经验之先，因此它是‘形式的’，也就是说，它必不限于任何特定的情况。因为它适宜于古往今来每个社会、每一个人，所以它不会告诉你你在什么情况下应该做什么事，而是告诉你在所有的情况下你应该有的行为。” 

"But what is the point of having a moral law implanted inside yourself if it doesn't tell you what to do in specific situations?"

“可是就算你内心有一套道德法则，如果它不能告诉你在某些情况下应该怎么做，那又有什么用呢？” 

"Kant formulates the moral law as a categorical imperative. By this he means that the moral law is 'categorical,' or that it applies to all situations. It is, moreover, 'imperative,' which means it is commanding and therefore absolutely authoritative."

“康德指出，这套道德法则乃是‘无上命令’(categorical imperative)，意思就是这套法则是‘无条件的’、适用于所有情况的。它也是一项‘命令’，是强迫性的，因此也是绝对权威的。” 

"Kant formulates this 'categorical imperative' in several ways. First he says: Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will a Universal Law of Nature."

“康德用好几种方式来说明这个‘无上命令’。首先他说应如此做，好使你做事的原则将透过你的意志而成为普遍的自然法则。” 

"So when I do something, I must make sure I want everybody else to do the same if they are in the same situation."

“所以当我做某件事时，我必须确定自己希望其他人在同样情况下也会做同样的事情。” 

"Exactly. Only then will you be acting in accordance with the moral law within you. Kant also formulates the 'categorical imperative' in this way: Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end."

“一点也没错。只有在这种情况下，你才会依据内心的道德法则来行事。康德也说明‘无上命令’的意义乃是：尊重每一个人的本身，而不要将他当成达成某种外在目的的手段。” 

"So we must not exploit other people to our own advantage."

“所以我们不能为了自己的利益利用别人。” 

"No, because every man is an end in himself. But that does not only apply to others, it also applies to you yourself. You must not exploit yourself as a mere means to achieving something, either."

“没错，因为每一个人本身就是目的。不过，这个原则不只适用于他人，也适用于我们自己。我们也不可以利用自己，把自己当成达到某种目的的手段。” 

"It reminds me of the golden rule: Do unto others . . ."

“这使我想到圣经上的金科玉律：欲人施于己者，己必施诸人。” 

"Yes, that is also a 'formal' rule of conduct that basically covers all ethical choices. You could say that the golden rule says the same thing as Kant's universal law of morals."

“是的，这也是一个‘形式上’的行为准则，基本上适用于所有道德抉择。你可以说你刚才讲的金科玉律正是康德所谓的普遍性道德法则。” 

"But surely this is only an assertion. Hume was probably right in that we can't prove what is right or wrong by reason."

“可是这显然只是一种论断而已。休姆说我们无法以理性证明何者是、何者非的说法也许是有道理的。” 

"According to Kant, the law of morals is just as absolute and just as universal as the law of causality. That cannot be proved by reason either, but it is nevertheless absolute and unalterable. Nobody would deny that."

“根据康德的说法，这个道德法则就像因果律一样是绝对的、放诸四海而皆准的。这当然也是无法用理性来证明的，但是它仍然是绝对的、不可改变的。没有人会否认它。” 

"I get the feeling that what we are really talking about is conscience. Because everybody has a conscience, don't they?"

“我开始觉得我们谈的其实就是良心。因为每个人都有良心，不是吗？” 

"Yes. When Kant describes the law of morals, he is describing the human conscience. We cannot prove what our conscience tells us, but we know it, nevertheless."

“是的，当康德描述道德法则时，他所说的正是人类的良心。我们无法证明我们的良心告诉我们的事情，但我们仍然知道它。” 

"Sometimes I might only be kind and helpful to others because I know it pays off. It could be a way of becoming popular."

“有时候我们对别人很好或帮助别人，可能只是因为我们知道：这样做会有好处，也可能是因为我们想成为一个受欢迎的人。” 

"But if you share with others only to be popular, you are not acting out of respect for moral law. You might be acting in accordance with moral law--and that could be fair enough--but if it is to be a moral action, you must have conquered yourself. Only when you do something purely out of duty can it be called a moral action. Kant's ethics is therefore sometimes called duty ethics."

“可是如果你只是为了想受人的欢迎而与别人分享东西，那你就不算是真正依据道德的法则行事。当然你的行为并没有违反道德法则(其实这样就算不错了)，但是真正的道德行为是在克服自己的情况下所做的行为。只有那些你纯粹是基于责任所做的事才算是道德行为。所以康德的伦理观有时又被称为‘义务伦理现’。” 

"I can feel it my duty to collect money for the Red Cross or the church bazaar."

“譬如说，我们可能会感觉为红十字会或教会的义卖筹款是我们的义务。” 

"Yes, and the important thing is that you do it because you know it is right. Even if the money you collect gets lost in the street, or is not sufficient to feed all the mouths it is intended to, you obeyed the moral law. You acted out of good will, and according to Kant, it is this good will which determines whether or not the action was morally right, not the consequences of the action. Kant's ethics is therefore also called a good will ethic."

“是的，重要的是：你是因为知道一件事情是你应该做的才去做它。即使你筹的款项在街上遗失了，或它的金额不足以使那些你要帮助的人吃饱，你仍然算是已经遵守道德法则了，因为你的行为乃是出自一片善意。而根据康德的说法，你的行为是否合乎德正取决于你是否出自善意而为之，并不取决于你的行为后果。因此康德的伦理学有时也被称为善意的伦理学。” 

"Why was it so important to him to know exactly when one acts out of respect for moral law? Surely the most important thing is that what we do really helps other peo-pie."

“为什么他一定要分清楚在哪一种情况下我们做的事才真正符合道德原则？我想最重要的应当是我们做的事确实对别人有所帮助。” 

"Indeed it is and Kant would certainly not disagree. But only when we know in ourselves that we are acting out of respect for moral law are we acting freely."

“的确如此。我想康德一定不会反对你的说法。但是，只有我们自己确知我们纯粹是为了遵守道德法则而行动时，我们的行为才是自由的。” 

"We act freely only when we obey a law? Isn't that kind of peculiar?"

“只有在遵守一项法则的时候，我们的行为才是自由的？这不是很奇怪吗？” 

"Not according to Kant. You perhaps remember that he had to 'assume'or 'postulate' that man has a free will. This is an important point, because Kant also said that everything obeys the law of causality. How, then, can we have a free will?"

“对于康德来说并不奇怪。你也许还记得他必须‘假定’人有自由意志。这一点很重要，因为康德也说过每一件事都服从因果律，那么我们怎么会有自由意志呢？” 

"Search me."

“我怎么会知道？” 

"On this point Kant divides man into two parts in a way not dissimilar to the way Descartes claimed that man was a 'dual creature,' one with both a body and a mind. As material creatures, we are wholly and fully at the mercy of causality's unbreakable law, says Kant. We do not decide what we perceive--perception comes to us through necessity and influences us whether we like it or not. But we are not only material creatures--we are also creatures of reason.

“在这点上，康德把人分为两部分，有点像笛卡尔说人是‘二元的受造物’一样，因为人有身体，也有心灵。康德说，做为一个由物质形成的生物，我们完全受到不变的因果律的支配。我们不能决定自己的感官经验。这些经验因为某种必要性而发生在我们身上，并对我们造成影响，不管我们乐意与否。但我们不仅是由物质形成的受造物，也是具有理性的受造物。” 

"As material beings we belong wholly to the natural world. We are therefore subject to causal relations. As such, we have no free will. But as rational beings we have a part in what Kant calls das Ding an sich--that is, the world as it exists in itself, independent of our sensory impressions. Only when we follow our 'practical reason'-- which enables us to make moral choices--do we exercise our free will, because when we conform to moral law, it is we who make the law we are conforming to."

“做为一个由物质形成的存在者，我们完全属于自然界，因此受到因果律的支配。在这种情况下我们没有自由意志可言。可是做为一个有理性的存在者，我们在康德所谓的‘物自身’(与我们的感官印象没有关系的世界本身)中占有一席之地。只有在我们追随我们的‘实践理性’，并因此得以做道德上的抉择时，我们才有自由意志可言。因为当我们遵守道德法则时，我们也正是制定这项法则的人。” 

"Yes, that's true in a way. It is me, or something in me, which tells me not to be mean to others."

“是的，从某个角度来说，这是对的。因为是我自己(或我内心的某种东西)决定不要对别人不好的。” 

"So when you choose not to be mean--even if it is against your own interests--you are then acting freely."

“所以当你选择不要对别人不好时——即使这样会违反你自己的利益——你就是在从事自由的行为。” 

"You're not especially free or independent if you just do whatever you want, in any case."

“而如果你只是做自己想做的事，你就不算自由或独立。” 

"One can become a slave to all kinds of things. One can even become a slave to one's own egoism. Independence and freedom are exactly what are required to rise above one's desires and vices."

“我们可能会成为各种事物的奴隶，我们甚至可能成为我们的自我中心思想的奴隶。独立与自由正是我们超脱自我的欲望与恶念的方法。” 

"What about animals? I suppose they just follow their inclinations and needs. They don't have any freedom to follow moral law, do they?"

“那动物呢？我想它们大概只是遵循自己的天性和需求，而没有任何遵守道德法则的自由，不是吗？” 

"No, that's the difference between animals and humans."

“对。这正是动物与人不同的地方。” 

"I see that now."

“我懂了。” 

"And finally we could perhaps say that Kant succeeded in showing the way out of the impasse that philosophy had reached in the struggle between rationalism and empiricism. With Kant, an era in the history of philosophy is therefore at an end. He died in 1804, when the cultural epoch we call Romanticism was in the ascendant. One of his most quoted sayings is carved on his gravestone in Konigsberg: Two things fill my mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more intensely the reflection dwells on them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.' "

“最后，我们也许可以说康德指引了一条道路，使哲学走出了理性主义与经验主义之间的僵局。哲学史上的一个纪元于是随着康德而结束。他死于一八O四年，当时我们所谓的‘浪漫主义’正开始发展。康德死后葬在哥尼斯堡。他的墓碑上刻着一句他最常被人引用的名言：‘有两件事物我愈是思考愈觉神奇，心中也愈充满敬畏，那就是我头顶上的星空与我内心的道德准则。它们向我印证：上帝在我头顶，亦在我心中。，” 

Alberto leaned back in his chair.

艾伯特靠回椅背。 

That's it, he said. "I think I have told you what's most important about Kant."

“说完了。”他说。“我想我已经把康德最重要的理念告诉你了。” 

"Anyway, it's a quarter past four."

“也已经四点十五分了。” 

"But there is just one thing. Please give me a minute."

“不过还有一件事。请你再给我一分钟的时间。” 

"I never leave the classroom before the teacher is finished."

“老师没讲完，我是不会离开教室的。” 

"Did I say that Kant believed we had no freedom if we lived only as creatures of the senses?"

“我有没有说过康德认为如果我们只是过着感官动物的生活，我们就没有自由可言？” 

"Yes, you said something like that."

“有，你说过类似的话。” 

"But if we obey universal reason we are free and independent. Did I say that, too?"

“可是如果我们服膺宇宙普遍的理性，我们就是自由和独立的。我也说过这样的话吗？” 

"Yes. Why are you saying it again now?"

“说过呀。你干嘛要再说一遍？” 

Alberto leaned toward Sophie, looked deep into her eyes, and whispered: "Don't believe everything you see, Sophie."

艾伯特倾身向前，靠近苏菲，深深地凝视她的眼睛，并轻声地说道：“苏菲，不要相信你所看到的每一件事物。” 

"What do you mean by that?"

“你是什么意思？” 

"Just turn the other way, child."

“孩子，你要走另外一条路。” 

"Now, I don't understand what you mean at all."

“我不懂。” 

"People usually say, I'll believe that when I see it. But don't believe what you see, either."

“人们通常说：眼见为信。可是即使是你亲眼见到的，也不一定能相信。” 

"You said something like that once before."

“你以前说过类似的话。” 

"Yes, about Parmenides."

“是的，在我讲帕梅尼德斯的时候。” 

"But I still don't know what you mean."

“可是我还是不懂你的意思。” 

"Well, we sat out there on the step, talking. Then that so-called sea serpent began to flap about in the water."

“唔……我们坐在台阶上讲话的时候，不是有一只所谓的水怪在湖里翻腾吗？” 

"Wasn't it peculiar!"

“对呀。真是大奇怪了。” 

"Not at all. Then Little Red Ridinghood came to the door. 'I'm looking for my grandmother's house.' What a silly performance! It's just the major's tricks, Sophie. Like the banana message and that idiotic thunderstorm."

“一点也不奇怪。后来小红帽来到门口说：‘我在找我奶奶住的地方。’多愚蠢的表演哪!那只是少校的把戏，苏菲。就像那香蕉里写的字和那愚蠢的雷雨一般。” 

"Do you think ... ?"

“你以为……” 

"But I said I had a plan. As long as we stick to our reason, he can't trick us. Because in a way we are free. He can let us 'perceive' all kinds of things; nothing would surprise me. If he lets the sky go dark or elephants fly, I shall only smile. But seven plus five is twelve. That's a fact that survives all his comic-strip effects. Philosophy is the opposite of fairy tales."

“我说过我有一个计划。只要我们坚守我们的理性，他就不能骗过我们。因为就某一方面来说，我们是自由的。他可以让我们‘感知’各种事物，但没有一件事物会让我感到惊讶。就算他让天色变黑、让大象飞行，我也只会笑笑而已。可是七加五永远是十二。不管他耍再多的把戏，这仍然会是一个事实。哲学是童话故事的相反。” 

Sophie sat for a moment staring at him in amazement.

有好一会儿，苏菲只是坐在那儿惊奇地注视着他。 

"Off you go," he said finally. "I'll call you for a session on Romanticism. You also need to hear about Hegel and Kierkegaard. But there's only a week to go before the major arrives at Kjevik airport. Before then, we must manage to free ourselves from his gluey fantasies. I'll say no more, Sophie. Except that I want you to know I'm working on a wonderful plan for both of us."

“你走吧。”他终于说。“我会打电话通知你来上有关浪漫主义的课。除此以外，你也得听听黑格尔和祁克果的哲学。可是只剩一个礼拜少校就要在凯耶维克机场着陆了。在那之前，我们必须设法挣脱他那死缠不休的想象力。我就说到这里为止了，苏菲。不过我希望你知道我正在为我们两人拟定一个很棒的计划。” 

"I'll be off, then."

“那我走哼。” 

"Wait--we may have forgotten the most important thing."

“等一下——我们可能忘记了最重要的事。” 

"What's that?"

“什么事？” 

"The birthday song, Sophie. Hilde is fifteen today."

“生日快乐歌。席德今天满十五岁了。” 

"So am I."

“我也是呀。” 

"You are, too, yes. Let's sing then."

“对，你也一样。那么我们就来唱吧。” 

They both stood up and sang:

于是他们两人便站起身来唱： 

"Happy Birthday to You."

“祝你生日快乐。”

It was half-past four. Sophie ran down to the water's edge and rowed over to the other side. She pulled the boat up into the rushes and began to hurry through the woods.

已经四点半了。苏菲跑到湖边，划到对岸。她把船拉进草丛间，然后便开始快步穿过树林。

When she reached the path, she suddenly noticed something moving between the trees. She wondered if it was Little Red Ridinghood wandering alone through the woods to her grandmother's, but the figure between the trees was much smaller.

当她走到小路上时，突然看到树林间有某个东西在动。她心想不知道是不是小红帽独自一人走过树林到她奶奶家，可是树丛间那个东西形状比小红帽要小得多。 

She went nearer. The figure was no bigger than a doll. It was brown and was wearing a red sweater.

她走向前去，那个东西只有一个娃娃大小。它是棕色的，身上穿了一件红色的毛衣。 

Sophie stopped dead in her tracks when she realized it was a teddy bear.

当她发现那是一个玩具熊时，便陡然停下了脚步。 

That someone could have left a teddy bear in the forest was in itself no surprise. But this teddy bear was alive, and seemed intensely preoccupied.

有人把玩具熊留在森林里，这并不是什么奇怪的事。问题是这只玩具熊是活的，并且正专心一意地忙着某件事。 

"Hi," said Sophie.

“嗨!”苏菲向它打招呼。 

"My name is Winnie-the-Pooh," said the teddy bear, "and I have unfortunately lost my way in the woods on this otherwise very fine day. I have certainly never seen you before."

“我的名字叫波波熊。”它说。“很不幸的。我在树林里迷路了。唉，本来我今天过得很好的。咦，我以前从来没有见过你。” 

"Maybe I'm the one who has never been here before," said Sophie. "So for that matter you could still be back home in Hundred Acre Wood."

“也许迷路的人是我。”苏菲说。“所以，你现在可能还是在你的家乡百亩林。” 

"No, that sum is much too hard. Don't forget I'm only a small bear and I'm not very clever."

“你说的话太难懂了。别忘了，我只是一只小熊，而且不是很聪明。” 

"I have heard of you."

“我听说过你的故事。” 

"And I suppose you are Alice. Christopher Robin told us about you one day. I suppose that's how we met. You drank so much out of one bottle that you got smaller and smaller. But then you drank out of another bottle and started to grow again. You really have to be careful what you put in your mouth. I ate so much once that I got stuck in a rabbit hole."

“你大概是爱丽丝吧!有一天罗宾告诉我们你的事。所以我们才见过面。你从一个瓶子里喝了好多好多的水，于是就愈变愈小。可是然后你又喝了另外一瓶水，于是又开始变大了。你真该小心不要乱吃东西。有一次我吃得太多，居然在一个兔予洞里被卡住了。” 

"I am not Alice."

“我不是爱丽丝。” 

"It makes no difference who we are. The important thing is that we are. That's what Owl says, and he is very wise. Seven plus four is twelve, he once said on quite an ordinary sunny day. Both Eeyore and me felt very stupid, 'cos it's hard to do sums. It's much easier to figure out the weather."

“我们是谁并没有关系，重要的是我们是什么，这是猫头鹰说的话。它是很聪明的。有一天，天气很好时，它说过七加四等于十二。驴子和我都觉得自己好笨，因为算算术是很难的。算天气就容易得多。” 

"My name is Sophie."

“我的名字叫苏菲。” 

"Nice to meet you, Sophie. As I said, I think you must be new around here. But now this little bear has to go 'cos I've got to find Piglet. We are going to a great big garden party for Rabbit and his friends."

“很高兴见到你，苏菲。我说过了，我想你一定是没到过这儿。不过我现在得走了，因为我必须要找到小猪。我们要去参加一个为兔子和它的朋友们举行的盛大花园宴会。” 

He waved with one paw. Sophie saw now that he was holding a little folded piece of paper in the other.

它挥了挥它的手掌。苏菲看到它的另外一只手里拿着一小片卷起来的纸。 

"What is that you've got there?" she asked.

“你手里拿的是什么东西？”苏菲问。 

Winnie-the-Pooh produced the paper and said: "This was what made me lose my way."

小熊拿出那张纸说：“我就是因为这个才迷路的。” 

"But it's only a piece of paper."

“可是那只是一张纸呀！” 

"No it's not only a piece of paper. It's a letter to Hilde-through-the-Looking-Glass."

“不，这不只是一张纸。这是一封写给‘镜子另外一边的席德’的信。”

"Oh--I can take that."

“原来如此，你可以交给我。” 

"Are you the girl in the looking glass?"

“你就是镜子里面的那个女孩吗？” 

"No, but. . ."

“不是，可是……” 

"A letter must always be delivered personally. Christopher Robin had to teach me that only yesterday."

“信一定要交给本人。罗宾昨天才教过我。” 

"But I know Hilde."

“可是我认识席德。”。 

"Makes no difference. Even if you know a person very well, you should never read their letters."

“那又怎么样？就算你跟一个人很熟，你也不应该偷看他的信。” 

"I mean, I can give it to Hilde."

“我的意思是我可以帮你转交给席德。” 

"That's quite a different thing. Here you are, Sophie. If I can get rid of this letter, I can probably find Piglet as well. To find Hilde-through-the-Looking-Glassyou must first find a big looking glass. But that is no easy matter round here."

“那还差不多。好吧，苏菲，你拿去吧。如果我可以把这封信交出去，也许我也可以找到小猪。你如果要找到镜子那边的席德，必须先找到一面大镜子。可是要在这里找到镜子可不简单哪！” 

And with that the little bear handed over the folded paper to Sophie and set off through the woods on his little feet. When he was out of sight, Sophie unfolded the piece of paper and read it:

小熊说完了，就把那张折起来的纸交给苏菲，然后用它那双小脚走过树林。它消失不见后，苏菲打开那张纸开始看： 

Sophie put the note in her pocket and continued on her way homeward. This was the kind of meeting in the woods Alberto had warned her about. But she couldn't have let the little teddy wander about in the woods on a never ending hunt for Hilde-through-the-Looking-Glass, could she?

苏菲将纸条放进口袋，继续走回家。艾伯特曾经警告她在树林里会发生这样的事，但她总不能让那只小玩具熊在树林里滚来滚去，不停地找寻“镜子那边的席德”吧！