奥利弗·哥尔德斯密斯(Oliver Goldsmith)
I was yesterday invited by a gentleman to dinner, who promised that our entertainment should consist of an haunch of venison, a turtle, and a great man. I came, according to appointment. The venison was fine, the turtle good, but the great man insupportable . The moment I ventured to speak, I was at once contradicted with a snap. I attempted, by a second and a third assault, to retrieve my lost reputation, but was still beat back with confusion. I was resolved to attack him once more from entrenchment , and turned the conversation upon the government of China: but even here he asserted, snapped, and contradicted as before. Heavens, thought I, this man pretends to know China even better than myself! I looked round to see who was on my side, but every eye was fixed in admiration on the great man, I therefore, at last thought proper to sit silent, and act the pretty gentleman during the ensuing conversation.
When a man has once secured a circle of admirers, he may be as ridiculous here as he thinks proper and it all passes for elevation of sentiment, or learned absence. If he transgresses the common forms of breeding, mistakes even a teapot for a tobacco-box, it is said, that his thoughts are fixed on more important objects: to speak and act like the rest of mankind is to be no greater than they. There is something of oddity in the very idea of greatness; for we are seldom astonished at a thing very much resembling ourselves.
- haunch [hɔːntʃ] n. (动物的)腰腿
- venison [ˈvenɪzn] n. 鹿肉，野味
- insupportable [ˌɪnsəˈpɔːtəbl] a. 难以忍受的
- retrieve [rɪˈtriːv] v. 挽回，重新得到
- entrenchment [ɪnˈtrentʃmənt] n. 堑壕，堡垒
- ensue [ɪnˈsjuː] v. 接着而来
- transgress [trænsˈɡres] v. 超过，违背
昨天，一位先生邀我共进晚餐，答应说招待的将包括一份鹿的后肘子肉、一只海龟和一个大人物。我如约到场。鹿肉烧得好，海龟也烹饪得不错，就是这个大人物叫人受不了。我刚要斗胆说句话，立即就遭到厉声呵斥。我尝试着第二次、第三次进攻，来挽回失去的面子，但还是被打得落花流水。我决心从堑壕里再一次向他发起攻击，把话题转向了中国政府：但即便说起这个，他也是大言不惭，厉声厉色，把我驳得体无完肤。天哪，我心里想，这家伙假装对中国的了解比我还多！我环顾四周，看看谁站在我这一边，看到每只眼睛都钦羡着那位大人物。因此，我最后觉得自己只好闭嘴，在接下来的谈话中当一个好好先生。
一个人一旦拥有了一群仰慕者，他就可能会荒唐可笑，丑态百出，这反而被认为是情趣高雅，大智若愚。如果他有伤大雅，连一般的教养也没有，把茶壶当香烟盒，也有人替他解嘲，说他的思想专注在更重要的东西上了。在有关“大”的真正想法里有某种怪异之处，这是因为我们对跟自己非常相似的东西很少感到惊奇。