LESSON 28 The temperate regions
第二十八课 温带地区
THE North Temperate Zone is the work-shop of the world. In the Frigid and Torrid Zones nature is preeminent. She defeats human labour in the former, by her sterility; in the latter she makes it unnecessary, by her luxuriance. But the supremacy of Man is the leading characteristic of the temperate regions of the globe. They contain three-fourths of the whole human race. Within them civilization has been most highly developed; and there the great events of history have been enacted, both in ancient and in modern times.
北温带地区是世界工厂，因为不管在寒冷的地区还是炎热的地区大自然都是出类拔萃的，前者它的不孕战胜了人类劳动，后者她的繁茂则使得人类劳动变得可有可无。然而人类的至高无上是全球温带地区的主要特征，它们占据了整个人类物种的四分之三。人类发展了高度的文明、上演了一系列古往今来的历史事件。
This activity and movement are due in a great measure to the influences of climate. In temperate climes, says Guyot, "the alternations of heat and cold, the changes of the seasons, a fresher and more bracing air, incite man to a constant struggle, to forethought, and to the vigorous employment of all his faculties. A more economical nature yields nothing, except to the sweat of his brow; every gift on her part is a recompense for effort on his. Nature here, even while challenging man to the conflict, gives him the hope of victory; and if she does not show herself prodigal, she grants to his active and intelligent labour more than his necessities require. While she calls out his energy, she thus gives him ease and leisure, which permit him to cultivate all the lofty faculties of his higher nature. Here, physical nature is not a tyrant, but a useful helper: the active faculties, the understanding, and the reason, rule over the instincts and the passive faculties; the soul over the body; man over nature.
然而，人类的活动在很大程度上受限于气候。在温带地区，约盖特说：“天气的冷热交替、季节的变化、清爽的空气，都促使人们不断地努力奋斗、深谋远虑、并充分发挥自己的才能。除了额头上的汗珠，吝啬的大自然不会给人类带来任何好处，而它的每一份礼物都是对人类努力的回报。这里的自然，在向人类挑战的同时也给了人类胜利的希望。如果她不够慷慨，那么它便赠与人类超出自身所需的积极和智慧的劳动。她在唤起人类精力的同时还给予了人类安逸和闲暇，允许人类培养自己天性中所有高级的能力。在这里，物质上的大自然不是一个暴君，而是一个有用的帮手，它赋予了人类积极的个性、理解力、理智，使得人类能够支配本能和被动能力，使得人类的灵魂可以凌驾于肉体之上，使得人类超越了自然。
"In the frozen regions man also contends with nature, but it is with a niggardly and severe nature; it is a desperate struggle—a struggle for life. With difficulty, by force of toil, he succeeds in providing for himself a miserable support, which saves him from dying of hunger and hardship during the tedious winters of that climate. High culture is not possible under such unfavourable conditions."
“在冰天雪地里，人类也会与大自然竞争，不过大自然吝啬而严酷。所以这是一场绝望的斗争——一场为生存而战的斗争。通过艰苦的劳动，人类成功养活了自己，使自己免于在沉闷的冬季里死于饥饿和艰辛。在如此恶劣的条件下，高雅文化是不可能存在的。”
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