09 Common Sense常识
Society in every state is a blessing,but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil；in its worst state an intolerable one；for when we suffer,or are exposed to the same miseries by a government,which we might expect in a country without government,our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer！Government,like dress,is the badge of lost innocence；the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear,uniform,and irresistibly obeyed,man would need no other lawgiver；but that not being the case,he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest；and this he is induced to do by the same prudence which in every other case advises him out of two evils to choose the least.Wherefore,security being the true design and end of government,it unanswerably follows that whatever form thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us,with the least expense and greatest benefit,is preferable to all others.
社会在各种情况下都是受人欢迎的，但是政府，即使在最好的情况下，也免不了是一个祸害；在最坏的情况下，就成了不可容忍的祸害；这是因为，当我们受苦的时候，当我们从一个政府那儿遭受了只有在无政府的国家中才可能遭受的不幸时，一想到是我们自己给自己带来了苦难，就格外痛心。政府好比衣服，象征着天真的流失；帝王的宫殿是建立在乐园的亭榭的废墟上的。如果良心的激发是日月可鉴、始终如一又忠贞不渝的，人类就无须其他的立法者；但事实并非如此，他必须交出一部分财产来换取对剩余财富的保护；谨慎小心的原则在其他任何场合都劝他两害相权取其轻，现在这个原则也促使他这样做。因此，既然安全是政府的真正的意图和目的，那就可以毫无疑义地推断，任何看起来最有可能保证我们安全的形式，只要是花费最少而得益最大，人都是愿意接受的。
In order to gain a clear and just idea of the design and end of government,let us suppose a small number of persons settled in some sequestered part of the earth,unconnected with the rest,they will then represent the first peopling of any country,or of the world. In this state of natural liberty,society will be their first thought.A thousand motives will excite them thereto,the strength of one man is so unequal to his wants,and his mind so unfitted for perpetual solitude,that he is soon obliged to seek assistance and relief of another,who in his turn requires the same.Four or five united would be able to raise a tolerable dwelling in the midst of a wilderness,but one man might labor out the common period of life without accomplishing any thing；when he had felled his timber he could not remove it,nor erect it after it was removed；hunger in the mean time would urge him from his work,and every different want call him a different way.Disease,nay even misfortune would be death,for though neither might be mortal,yet either would disable him from living,and reduce him to a state in which he might rather be said to perish than to die.
为了清晰准确地了解政府的意图和目的，我们假定有一部分人在地球的某一个隐僻的地方住下来，同其余的人不发生联系，他们就将代表任何一块地方或世界上的第一批移民。在这种自然的自由状态下，他们首先想到的将会是社会。千百种的动机都将鼓励他们趋向这一目标。单单一个人的力量满足不了他的需求，他的心境又不甘永远孤独，因此他不久后就必须从另一个人那儿得到帮助和安慰，而对方也有同样的需要。四五个人通力合作，就能够在旷野当中兴建一个勉强凑合的住所，但单靠一个人的力量可能劳碌终生也一事无成。砍完了木头搬不动，就是搬动了也搭建不起来；同时饥饿会逼他停止工作，每一种不同的需要会以不同的方式来支配着他。疾病，而且不幸还意味着死亡；尽管它们并不致死，但也会使他不能维持生活，落到与其说是死亡不如说是毁灭的境地。
furnish[ˈfəːniʃ]v.提供，供应；陈设，布置
例 She furnished him with the facts surrounding the case.
她向他提供了与案件有关的事实。
bower[ˈbauə（r）]n.凉亭，阴凉处
例 He sat in the bower to have a seat.
他坐在凉亭里休息一下。
sequestered[siˈkwestəd]adj.隐退的；幽静的；偏僻的
例 She knew sequestered spots where the hens laid their eggs.
他知道母鸡在什么隐蔽的地方下蛋。
be obliged to v.不得不；必须；只好
例 She is obliged to abandon her idea of trying again.
她不得不放弃再试试的想法。
timber[ˈtimbə（r）]n.木材，木料
例 The fire has burned up 18，000 acres of timber.
那场大火烧光了1.8万英亩的木材。
nay[nei]adv.不仅如此；而且
例 Such a policy is difficult,nay impossible.
这一政策很难实施，甚至是不可能的。
①Government,like dress,is the badge of lost innocence；the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise.
“like dress”为插入语，并在此处涉及了明喻（simile）的修辞手法。
例 I rushed to the dining room like a hungry bear.
我像饿狼扑食般冲向食堂。
例 She is as red as a rose.
她面若桃花。
“be built on”以……为基础，建立在……之上
例 A good relationship is built on honesty,trust,and mutual respect.
良好的关系建立在诚实、信任和相互尊敬之上。
②For were the impulses of conscience clear,uniform,and irresistibly obeyed,man would need no other lawgiver；but that not being the case,he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest.
此句话为由for引导的原因状语从句，句子的主句为“man would need no other lawgiver”，从句中又涉及由if引导的条件状语从句，在虚拟语气中的从句中出现were、should、had时，if可省略，同时把were/should/had放在句首，形成倒装句。原句的语序为：“If the impulses of conscience were clear,uniform,and irresistibly obeyed……”。
例 Were she a man,she might be elected president.
如果她是男人，就能被选为总统。
③Wherefore,security being the true design and end of government,it unanswerably follows that whatever form thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us,with the least expense and greatest benefit,is preferable to all others.
“security being the true design and end of government”是独立主格结构，此句真正的主语是it，谓语动词是follows。
例 The meeting being over,all of us went home.
开完会我们都回家了。
1.You cannot catch old birds with chaff.
用糠做诱饵捉不住老鸟。（姜还是老的辣。）
2.You cannot eat your cake and have your cake.
两者不可兼得。
3.You cannot get blood out of a stone.
你不可能从铁石心肠的人那里求得帮助。
4.You cannot get leave to thrive for throng.
心急吃不了热豆腐。（欲速则不达。）
5.Care and diligence bring luck.
谨慎和勤奋带来好运。
6.Care is enemy to health.
忧虑乃健康之敌。
7.Opportunity seldom knocks twice.
机遇很少敲两次门。（机不可失，时不再来。）
8.A bad life,a bad end.
恶有恶报。
9.One today is worth two tomorrows.
一个今天胜似两个明天。
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