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Note the word "bankrupt." I spoke as a member of a prudent middle-class nation, always anxious to meet my liabilities, but my friend spoke as an Oriental, and the Oriental has behind him a tradition, not of middle-class prudence but of kingly munificence and splendour. He feels his resources are endless, just as John Bull feels his are finite. As regards material resources, the Oriental is clearly unwise. Money isn't endless. If we spend or give away all the money we have, we haven't any more, and must take the consequences, which are frequently unpleasant. But, as regards the resources of the spirit, he may be right. The emotions may be endless. The more we express them, the more we may have to express.
注意“破产”一词，我是作为慎重的中产阶级一员讲这番话的，而且我们总惦记着欠债就一定要偿还。然而我的朋友是从东方人的角度出发的，而且东方人背后的传统不是中产阶级的谨慎而是皇帝般的慷慨大方与丰富多彩。东方人认为自己的财富是取之不尽用之不竭的，正如约翰·布尔认为他的财富是无穷无尽的。对于物质资源，东方人的态度显然是不明智的，金钱并不是无穷尽的。如果我们花费或让出我们全部的金钱，我们便身无分文，而且必须承担后果，这经常是令人不悦的。但是，就精神财富而言，东方人也许是对的。感情或许是取之不尽用之不竭的。我们表达感情越充分，我们所要表达的感情就越丰富。
True love in this differs from gold and clay,
真爱不同于黄金和泥土，
That to divide is not to take away.
分享不会使之减少，
Says Shelley. Shelley, at all events, believes that the wealth of the spirit is endless; that we may express it copiously, passionately, and always; that we can never feel sorrow or joy too acutely.
雪莱写道。无论怎样，雪莱相信精神的财富是无无尽的，他相信我们可以大量地、充满激情地，在各种场合表达我们的情感，我们无论怎样表现悲哀和欢乐都不过分。
In the above anecdote, I have figured as a typical Englishman. I will now descend from that dizzy and somewhat unfamiliar height, and return to my business of notetaking. A note on the slowness of the English character. The Englishman appears toe cold and unemotional because he is really slow. When an event happens, he may understand it quickly enough with his mind, but he takes quite a while to feel it. Once upon a time a coach, containing some Englishmen and some Frenchmen, was driving over the Alps. The horses ran away, and as they were dashing across a bridge the coach caught on the stonework, tottered, and nearly fell into the ravine below. The Frenchmen were frantic with terror: they screamed and gesticulated and flung themselves about, as Frenchmen would. The Englishmen sat quite calm. An hour later, the coach drew up at an inn to change horses, and by that time the situations were exactly reversed. The Frenchmen had forgotten all about the danger, and were chattering gaily; the Englishmen had just begun to feel it, and one had a nervous breakdown and was obliged to go to bed. We have here a clear physical difference between the two races—a difference that goes deep into character. The Frenchmen responded at once; the Englishmen responded in time. They were slow and they were also practical. Their instinct forbade them to throw themselves about in the coach, because it was more likely to tip over if they did.
我已通过上面的逸事描绘出一个典型的英国人了。现在我将从这个眩晕又不熟悉的高度降下来，继续评论英国人的性格特点，关于英国人迟钝的特点。英国人表面上冷漠而且无感情，因为他们确实迟钝。每当有事发生，英国人会迅速弄清楚事情的来龙去脉，但是他们需要一段时间才能在感情上做出反应。从前一辆马车正驶过阿尔卑斯山，车上坐着英国人和法国人。拉车的马脱缰，马车在冲过桥时刮到了桥上的石头，马车来回摇晃，险些跌进桥下的沟壑。法国人极度恐惧，他们肆意尖叫，慌张地挥动双臂胡乱冲撞；而英国人则相当镇静地坐着。一小时后，马车停在一家小旅馆前换马，此时情形发生了逆转。法国人完全忘却了危险，快乐地闲谈着；此时英国人则刚刚感受到危险，其中一个人还因惊吓而精神崩溃，因此必须卧床休息。由此可见，两个民族在身体上存在明显差异，正是这一差异对其性格特点产生了重大影响。法国人的反应迅速及时，而英国人则需过一段时间才做出反应。英国人迟钝而又实际，英国人的本能制止他们在马车中摇来摆去，因为如果他们这样做，就更容易翻车。
