马克·吐温（Mark Twain）是19世纪美国著名的作家，其真实姓名为塞缪尔·克莱门斯（Samuel Clemens）。他以其机智幽默的作品和对美国社会现实的深刻观察而闻名于世。
生平：
马克·吐温生于1835年，在密苏里州的汉尼拔市长大。他在年轻时曾当过打字员、报社编辑和河船船长，这些经历为他后来的文学创作提供了丰富的素材和灵感。他的作品涵盖了小说、散文、游记等多种文体，深受读者喜爱。
代表作品：
1. 《汤姆·索亚历险记》（The Adventures of Tom Sawyer）：这部小说以少年汤姆·索亚为主角，讲述了他在美国南方小镇上的冒险故事，描绘了美国乡村生活的情景，以及少年的友情和童真。
2. 《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》（The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn）：这部小说以贫穷孤儿哈克贝利·费恩为主角，讲述了他与奴隶吉姆一同展开的冒险旅程，深刻揭示了种族歧视和人性的复杂。
作品片段赏析：
以下是《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》中的一段经典文字：
"Right is right, and wrong is wrong, and a body ain't got no business doing wrong when he ain't ignorant and knows better."
“对的是对的，错的是错的，一个人明明知道应该做对的事情，却去做错的事情，这就不对。”
这段文字体现了马克·吐温作品中对人性、道德和社会问题的深刻思考。通过哈克贝利的口吻，作者表达了对道德观念和自我认知的反思，凸显了对人类行为和社会伦理的关注。同时，这句话也展现了马克·吐温幽默、直白的风格，以及对人性深处的深刻洞察力。
Man is the only animal that robs his helpless fellow of his country—takes possession of it and drives him out of it or destroys him. Man has done this in all the ages. There is not an acre of ground on the globe that is in possession of its rightful owner, or that has not been taken away from owner after owner, cycle after cycle, by force and bloodshed.
Man is the only Slave. And he is the only animal who enslaves. He has always been a slave in one form or another, and has always held other slaves in bondage under him in one way or another. In our day he is always some man's slaves for wages, and does that man's work; and this slave has other slaves under him for minor wages, and they do his work. The higher animals are the only ones who exclusively do their own work and provide their own living.
Man is the only Patriot. He sets himself apart in his own country, under his own flag, and sneers at the other nations, and keeps multitudinous uniformed assassins on hand at heavy expense to grab slices of other people's countries, and keep them from grabbing slices of his. And in the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood off his hands and works for "the universal brotherhood of man"—with his mouth.
Man is the Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has True Religion—several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself, and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother's path to happiness and heaven. He was at it in the time of the Caesars, he was at it in Mahomet's time, he was at it in the time of the Inquisition, he was at it in France a couple of centuries, he was at it in England in Mary's day, he has been at it ever since he first saw the light, he is at it today in Crete—as per the telegrams quoted above—he will be at it somewhere else tomorrow. The higher animal have no religion. And we are told that they are going to be left out, in the Hereafter. I wonder why? It seems questionable taste.
Man is the Reasoning Animal. Such is the claim. I think it is open to dispute. Indeed, my experiments have proven to me that he is the Unreasoning Animal. Note his history, as sketched above. It seems plain to me that whatever he is not a reasoning animal. His record is the fantastic record of a maniac. I consider that the strongest count against his intelligence is the fact that with record back of him he blandly sets himself up as the head animal of the lot: whereas by his own standards he is the bottom one.
In truth, man is incurably foolish. Simple things which the other animals easily learn, he is incapable of learning. Among my experiments was this. In an hour I taught a cat and a dog to be friends. I put them in a cage. In another hour I taught them to be friends with a rabbit. In the course of two days I was able to add a fox, a goose, a squirrel and some doves. Finally a monkey. They lived together in peace; even affectionately.
Excerpt From The Damned Human Race By Mark Twain
［参考译文］
最低等的动物
马克·吐温
人是唯一一种抢夺无助同类国土的动物——占有同类的国土，将其驱逐出境或者将其摧毁。人类代代从事着这种行径。地球上没有一寸土地属于正当的主人，要么就是循环反复地通过烧杀抢夺、流血牺牲在不同的主人间易手。
人是唯一的奴隶。人也是唯一奴役他人的动物。人总是以这种或者那种形式成为奴隶，又总是以这种或者那种方式把其他奴隶牢牢地掌控在手中。如今，人为了领工资而成为某个人的奴隶，为那个人做事；这个奴隶又拥有其他奴隶，并且支付更少的工资，让他们替他干活。高级动物是只给自己干活、自谋生路的人。
人是唯一的爱国者。他在自己的国土上傲然而立，号召维护国家，蔑视其他国家，支付重金进行大量的军事暗杀活动，攫取其他国家的财产，防止他们抢夺本国财产。在一次次争斗的间歇，他洗掉沾满双手的鲜血，口口声声叫喊着“为广大同胞”而战。
人是信奉宗教的动物。人是唯一信奉宗教的动物。人是唯一拥有真正宗教的动物——有好几种宗教。人是唯一爱邻如己的动物，如果邻居信仰邪门歪教，他会切断邻居的喉咙。人竭尽全力地为兄弟开辟通往幸福和天堂的大道，从而已经使地球变为一片坟场。恺撒时代，人热衷于此；穆罕默德时代，人热衷于此；宗教法庭时代，人热衷于此；几个世纪以来，人在法国热衷于此；在英国玛丽女王时代，人热衷于此；自从人第一次看见光明，人就热衷于此，如今在克里特岛，人热衷于此——正如以上引用的每则电报中提到的——人将来在其他某个地方还会热衷于此。高级动物不信仰宗教。有人告诉我们，今后人们会摈弃宗教。我不清楚其中缘由。看起来这值得怀疑。
人是理性的动物。原因如下。我认为可以开诚布公地进行讨论。的确，我的研究表明人是丧失理性的动物。注意以上提及的历史。人是没有理性的动物，在我看来乃寻常之事。人的记录即是一个疯子的荒诞记录。大量记载显示人把自己当作万物之灵：然而，依照人自己的标准，人是最低级的，我认为这是反对人的智慧的最强有力的证据。
事实上，人愚蠢之极，不可救药。其他动物轻易掌握的简单之事，人却无法学会。我的一项实验就证明了这一点。我花了一个小时教一只猫和一条狗交朋友。我把它们放在一个笼子中。我又花了一个小时教它们和一只兔子、一只松鼠和几只鸽子交朋友。最后，教它们和一只猴子交朋友。它们和平相处，甚至情深意切。
［注释］
the time of the Inquisition : 宗教审判时代
as per : 根据
open to dispute : 值得争议
-maniac [ˈmeɪnɪæk] n. 疯子 an insane person
set himself up as : 自封为……