"Now, if you teach that nigger how to read, he would be forever unfit for being a slave and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy".
“现在,如果你教会奴隶如何阅读,他就永远不再适合当一个奴隶,对他的主人也就没有价值了。而且,对他自己,除了极大的伤害,什么好处也没有。这会让他心生不满,感到不快乐。”
These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up my sentiments, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought. It was a new and special revelation, explaining dark and mysterious things, with which my youthful understanding had struggled, but in vain. I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty—namely the white man's power to enslave the black man. From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. It was just what I wanted, and I got it at a time when I the least expected it. While I was saddened by the thought of losing the help of my kind mistress, I was gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by mere accident, I had gained from my master. Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read.
这些话深深地沉入我心中,令我伤心,因此我萌生出一连串新的想法。这给了我一种全新而奇特的启发,也明白了一些黑暗而神秘的事情。年少时的认识与此进行了激烈的抗争,但却徒劳无功。我现在明白了那时令我感到非常混乱的困难所在,那就是白人拥有的奴役黑人的权力。从那一刻起,我明白了从当奴隶到获得自由的途径。那正是我想要的,而且是在我最意想不到的时候获得的。尽管我因失去热心女主人的帮助而感到伤心,但是从男主人那儿偶然获得的这种无比珍贵的教育却令我感到高兴。尽管知道自学的困难,我仍满怀希望地决心要学会阅读,无论面临多大的困难。
来源:可可英语 //m.moreplr.com/daxue/201703/484422.shtml