2006-4-10李敖系列之32坐牢家爸爸给女儿的八十封信-第13章
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ter for other words; 又指吊歌、挽歌。3。 Any grand musical service of hymn in honor of the dead; 对于死者表示敬意的严肃音乐演奏或壮丽的圣歌。)(中国的文学家陶渊明也写过《自祭文》。)爸爸把它翻译给你看:
REQUIEM
Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie。
Glad did I live and gladly die;
And I laid me down with a will。
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor; home from sea;
And the hunter home from the hill。
自挽诗
在星空之下,多么开朗,
掘一个坟,我就一躺,
我活得痛快,死得清爽,
我一心横卧,什么也不想。
请刻这首诗,在我坟场:
他躺的地方,正他所向往,
水手已回来,从那海上,
猎人已回来,从那山岗。
画片上小狗背后刻的诗,就是上面这首。
《金银岛》是一本写海盗的小说,你一定要看一看。写得非常好。英文的学校图书馆一定有,中文的翻译有开明书店的《宝岛》和东方出版社的两种带注音的《金银岛》。
你给爸爸的信、生日卡都收到,你的成绩单也收到,你的好成绩爸爸真高兴。文学家Henry James once praised Stevenson as “the only man in England who can write a decent English sentence。”(英国只有他能写出最好的英文句子)。爸爸盼你在班上也这样。
爸爸 一九七五年四月二十六日
素食种种
亲爱的小文:
英文里有四句诗:
It's a very odd thing——
As odd as can be——
That whatever Miss T eats
Turns into Miss T。(Walter de la Mare,“Miss T。”1913)
(那真是顶怪顶怪的事,要怎么怪怎么怪,不论T小姐吃什么,结果都变成了T小姐。)
为什么吗?因为Miss T肚子里来了一套nutrition,中文叫“营养”。最重要的“营养素”(nutrients)是:
一、蛋白质(proteins)——蛋白质是增加和修补身体组织的材料,就好像房子的砖头一样。蛋白质不能存在身体里,所以要每天吃才行。
缺乏蛋白质就要得“垮十奥克尔”病。kwashiorkor—an often fatal condition of infants and young children caused by a protein deficiency in the diet。 It occurs among poorer peoples of the world and cause stunted physical and mental growth; loss of hair pigment; swelling of tissues; etc。 非洲的小黑人很穷,吃的东西只是热量足,蛋白质不足,所以常得这种病。不但人,动物缺乏了蛋白质也不行,小老鼠缺乏蛋白质就长不大,走起路来也懒洋洋的。
食物中的蛋白质多没用,还得有“生理价”(Biological Value)才行,生理价就是包含“胺基酸”(amino acids)的多少,花生(peanuts)虽然蛋白质比蛋(eggs)多,但生理价却少,所以蛋的蛋白质最多,因为蛋白质的生理价最多。
动物性的蛋白质比植物性的蛋白质生理价多,所以吃肉少的或吃素的块头就小。
“素食主义”(vegetarianism)是很人道的,但缺乏蛋白质,是一个大问题。
很多名人是吃素的,这种人叫vegetarian,十八世纪法国大哲学家、思想家卢梭(Rousseau)是吃素的、十九到二十世纪的俄国文学家托尔斯泰(Leo Tolstoy)是吃素的、十九到二十世纪的英国文学家萧伯纳(George Bernard Shaw)是吃素的、爸爸一再跟你提到过的印度甘地(Gandhi)也是吃素的。吃素的人比较长寿, Shaw活了九十四、Tolstoy活了八十二、Gandhi活了七十八(被刺的)、Rousseau活了六十六(传说被害),由此可见,蛋白质光吃植物性的好像也够了。
二、醣类(carbohydrates)——醣类给人energy,人走路、写字、打架、飞眼、大便……都需要能源,醣类就是电灯的电、汽车的汽油,醣类以糖最多,下面这个表,你可清楚地知道食物中糖占的百分比:
Sugar 100 Banana 22。0
Rice 90。0 Corn 19。2
Prune 73。3 Potato 18。4
Molasses(cane) 69。3 Grapefruit 14。4
Oatmeal 67。5 Apple 14。2
Lima beans 65。9 Orange 11。6
White bread 53。1 Milk 4。9
whole…wheat bread 49。7 Celery 3。7
三、脂肪(fats)——也给人energy,人用不了,多余的脂肪便会存下来,于是变成胖了,变成Mr。 Five…by…Five,像六姑父一样,六姑父再胖一点,就和图片上的大胖子一样。
四、维生素,就是维他命(vitamins)——维他命不能缺,缺了就生怪毛病,比如两只小猪一只缺了维他命B1,就长得不一样。缺乏维他命D,就得软骨病(rickets)。
五、矿物质(minerals)——缺了钙,牙齿和骨头就受影响。人身体里还需要别的许多矿物质。
六、水(water)——水占人体重的六○%—六五%。有人说女人是水做的,男人是泥做的,其实男女都是水做的。
营养病有两种,一种是营养不足(malnutrition),一种是吃得太好体重过重(overweight)。
爸 爸 一九七五年五月十日
姥姥和你五月一日信都收到。你的成绩比别的小朋友都好,爸爸真高兴。
海外人鱼
亲爱的小文:
安徒生(Andersen)的童话你看了吗?童话里的丑小鸭(The Ugly Duckling)、国王的新衣(The Emperor’s New Clothes),你都记得吗?安徒生是丹麦(Danmark)人,一八七五年死的,今年正好是一百年。他童话里的小美人鱼(The Little Mermaid),被丹麦人做成铜像,放在首都哥本哈根(Copenhagen)的港口。
美人鱼并不是安徒生创造的,美人鱼是神话里的人儿,很早很早就有了。不谋而合的是,中国也有,中国小说《镜花缘》里说的“海外人鱼”——“上身宛似妇人,下身仍是鱼形”,就是她。
英国以前有一家美人鱼酒店(Mermaid Tavern; an inn once located on Bread Street; Cheapside; in the heart of old London: a meeting place and informal club for Elizabethan playwrights and poests。),是Shakespeare、Ben Jonson等文学家聚会的地方。Ben Jonson也坐过牢。
英文mermaid有两个意思。1.an imaginary female marine creature,having the head; torso; and arms of a woman and the tail of a fish.2.a highly…skilled girl swimmer; as a member of a swimming team.游泳游得好也叫mermaid。
小文,你要做美人鱼吗?
下周起信寄家里,因你放暑假了。
姥姥生日,你代爸爸送礼物。
爸 爸 一九七五年五月二十四日
他们六个
亲爱的小文:
你要爸爸给你讲六个科学家,好。现在就照你开来的名字讲。
第一个是亚里士多德(Aristotle),活了六十二岁。
公元前五到四世纪的时候,有四个人有师生关系,并且都是大名人,前三个人都是哲学家(philosophers),最后一个是东征西讨的皇帝Alexander the Great。
苏格拉底 柏拉图 亚里士多德 亚历山大
Socrates Plato Aristotle Alexander
Socrates' greatest pupil Plato's greatest pupil Aristotle's greatest pupil
Aristotle的学问很大,是哲学家,也是教育家(educator),也是科学家(scientist),他在科学方面的著作有logic、physics、natural history、psychology……但他究竟是两千三百年前的人,他的科学有很多错误,比如他认为地球是宇宙中心,太阳星星绕地球转,这是错的;他认为月亮表面是光滑的,自己发光,这是错的;他认为同时下落,重的东西比轻的东西先着地,这是错的;他认为男人的牙比女人多,这也是错的,这大概是Mrs。 Aristotle的牙掉了的缘故!
Aristotle的真正贡献,chief contribution是他把学问造成一个“继往开来”(to carry on the heritage so as to pave the way for future generations)的局面,使人类爱真理(truth)。
Aristotle在他的Ethica(ethics伦理学)中表示他爱老师Plato,但是更爱真理。在中国也有这种看法,叫“当仁不让于师”。(to yield to nobody when one is doing what is right;do not refuse to accept a reward or position which one deserves;to be behind none in the desire to benefit mankind。)Aristotle differed from Plato both in the aims of his philosophy and in the methods of his investigation。 In his Ethica he states that; while both Plato and truth are dear to him; he is bound to prefer truth。
While Aristotle was a biologist of note; even if we allow for some rather peculiar lapses; his views on physics and astronomy were hopelessly muddled。 Plato; bining the Milesian and Pythagorean traditions; had been much nearer the mark; and so were later Hellenistic scientists like Aristarchus and Eratosthenes。 Aristotle's most famous contribution to systematic thought is probably his work in logic。
对Aristotle在science方面的conclusion是——300's B。C。 Aristotle's studies in logic and classification contributed to the foundations of science。
第二个科学家——伽利略(Galileo),活了七十八岁。Galileo was the first great experimenter and the father of modern astronomy。 He was also an outstanding mathematician。 Galileo说
Aristotle认为重东西先落地,不对,他跑上比萨斜塔(the Leaning Tower of Pisa),拿两个不同重量的球实验,结果证明Aristotle错了。——但别人都错的时候,他一个人对没有用,他被大学赶走了。
Galileo又印了一本书,说太阳不动,动的是地球,于是,惹起公愤,虽然他对了。——但别人都错的时候,他一个人对没有用,他被抓到“宗教裁判所”,宗教法庭(Inquisition)。Inquisition动不动就把人烧死,因为Galileo是大学者,又太老了(七十岁),又有点后台(有贵人保护),又“认错”,于是“优待”,改判为“终身软禁”(permanent house arrest)。House arrest; a form of arrest in which a person is confined under guard in his own house:Authorities insisted no one had been jailed but said some strikers were under house arrest。(Tuscaloosa News)
他“认错”以后,偷偷在一个朋友耳边说:“但它(地球)还在动啊!”Yet it does move!(Epur si muove!)
他被关在家里,大诗人John Milton(当时三十岁),到Italy旅行,到Galileo家里拜访,Galileo已经瞎了,真巧,十四年后,Milton也瞎了。
John Milton; an English poet and political writer; wrote one of the world's greatest epics; Paradise Lost。(一六六七)He posed this famous epic and two other works; Paradise Regained(一六七一)and Samson Agonistes(一六七一); when he was totally blind。 Milton
Galileo的头脑比时代新,所以老是倒霉。这叫“生不逢辰”(born at a wrong time;luckless;unlucky)。
对Galileo在science方面的conclusion是——c。 1600 Galileo emphasized the mathematical interpretation of experiments in science。 He discovered many important physical laws。
第三个科学家——哈维(William Harvey),活了七十九岁。
中文有句成语叫“周而复始”(to repeat the cycle all over again)血在人身体里就是周而复始的。发现这一现象很不容易。
但是哈维发现了。哈维也指出过Aristotle的错误,但对Aristotle的敬爱并不因而减少。哈维有一个大阔佬病人,也是他的好朋友,就是当时英国的皇帝King Charles I。后来Charles I倒台,在Oxford地方哈维的许多稿本都被反对皇帝的人destroyed了,Their loss caused him great sorrow。
对William Harvey在science方面的conclusion是——1628 William Harvey published his theory on the circulation of the blood。
第四个科学家——波义尔(Robert Boyle),活了六十四岁。
波义尔是哲学家、物理学家、化学家(Boyel was a philosopher; a physicist and a chemist);“the father of modern chemistry”。
英国最有名,也是世界最有名的学术团体——皇家学会(the Royal Society)创办的时候,本来要请Boyel做会长,但因为他在religion方面的原因不愿宣誓,所以没做。(While at Oxford he was the leader of a group of scientists known as the Invisible College; which in 1663 was incorporated as the Royal Society of London。 Although Boyle was invited to be president of this organization in 1680; he refused because he had religious scruples against taking an oath。 Boyle was deeply religious。 At Geneva he had been under strong Calvinist influence which deeply impressed him and gave his life a serious character。)
ROYAL SOCIETY is the oldest scientific society in the world and probably the most famous。 The full title of the organization is The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge。 It grew out of weekly meetings which London scientists held as early as 1645。 In 1660; the society was officially organized with the approval of King Charles II。(就是Charles I的儿子。)
In 1662; the society was formally incorporated by charter of Charles II as the Royal Society of London for Promoting Natural Knowledge; or; as it is popularly known; the Royal Society。 From its earliest years; the Society maintained correspondence with Continental philosopher