序言
在平静无知的山谷中，人类过着幸福的生活。
在东南西北各个方向，延伸着绵亘不绝的山脉。
一条知识的小溪，沿着幽深破败的溪谷缓缓流淌。
它发源于昔日的高山，消失在未来的沼泽。
它不像河流那样声势浩大，但对于村民的低级需求来说绰绰有余。
在晚上，当他们饮完牲口、灌满木桶时，就会心满意足地坐下来享受生活。
守旧的老人被从阴凉的角落里搀扶出来。他们在那里待了整个白天，对一本古书的神秘内容冥思苦想。
他们向子孙咕哝着一些奇怪的词，但孩子们更想玩自远方带来的漂亮卵石。
这些词的含意经常很不清晰。
但它们是1000年前由一个被遗忘的部族写的，因此很神圣。
在无知的山谷，古老的东西总是受到尊敬。敢于否认祖先智慧的人，正人君子会避之而唯恐不及。
所以，他们都和睦相处。
恐惧总是如影随形。如果他们得不到园中果实的应有份额，又该怎么办？
products of the garden?
Vague stories there were, whispered at night among the narrow streets of the little town, vague stories of men and women who had dared to ask questions.
They had gone forth, and never again had they been seen.
A few had tried to scale the high walls of the rocky range that hid the sun.
Their whitened bones lay at the foot of the cliffs.
The years came and the years went by.
Happily lived Mankind in the peaceful Valley of Ignorance.
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Out of the darkness crept a man.
The nails of his hands were torn.
His feet were covered with rags, red with the blood of long marches.
He stumbled to the door of the nearest hut and knocked.
Then he fainted. By the light of a frightened candle, he was carried to a cot. In the morning throughout the village it was known:“He has come back.”
The neighbors stood around and shook their heads. They had always known that this was to be the end.
Defeat and surrender awaited those who dared to stroll away from the foot of the mountains.
And in one corner of the village the Old Men shook their heads and whispered burning words.
They did not mean to be cruel, but the Law was the Law. Bitterly this man had sinned against the wishes of Those Who Knew.
As soon as his wounds were healed he must be brought to trial.
晚上，在小镇狭窄的街道里，人们低声讲着情节模糊的故事——那些敢于质疑的男男女女。
这些人后来走了，再也没有回来。
还有些人曾试图攀登挡住太阳的岩石高墙。
但他们的白骨堆积在崖脚下。
岁月如梭。
在平静无知的山谷中，人类过着幸福的生活。
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漆黑的外面爬着一个人。
他手上的指甲已经被磨破。
他的脚上缠着因长途跋涉而被染成血红色的破布。
他步履蹒跚地来到最近一座棚屋的门前，敲了敲门。
然后，他昏死过去。在颤动的烛光下，他被抬上了一张吊床。
早上，整个村子都知道了这条消息：“他回来了。”
邻居们站在周围，全都摇头。他们明白，这是注定的结局。
失败和屈服总在等着那些胆敢离开山脚的人。
在村子的一个角落，守旧的老人们摇着头，低声说着恶毒的话。
他们并非天性残忍，但律法毕竟是律法。这个人犯了违背守旧老人意愿的罪过。
他的伤一好就必须接受审判。
They meant to be lenient.
They remembered the strange, burning eyes of his mother. They recalled the tragedy of his father, lost in the desert these thirty years ago.
The Law, however, was the Law; and the Law must be obeyed.
The Men Who Knew would see to that.
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They carried the wanderer to the Market Place, and the people stood around in respectful silence.
He was still weak from hunger and thirst and the Elders bade him sit down.
He refused.
They ordered him to be silent.
But he spoke.
Upon the Old Men he turned his back and his eyes sought those who but a short time before had been his comrades.
“Listen to me,” he implored.“Listen to me and be rejoiced. I have come back from beyond the mountains. My feet have trod a fresh soil. My hands have felt the touch of other races. My eyes have seen wondrous sights.
“When I was a child, my world was the garden of my father.
■无知的山谷
“To the west and to the east, to the south and to the north lay the ranges from the Beginning of Time.
他们本想宽大为怀。
他们还记得他母亲那双奇异明亮的眼睛，也回忆起他父亲的悲剧——他30年前在沙漠失踪了。
然而，律法就是律法；律法必须遵守。
守旧的老人将执行律法。
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他们把这位漫游者抬到集市，人们恭敬而肃穆地站在周围。
漫游者因饥渴而仍显虚弱，老人们就让他坐下来。
他拒绝了。
他们命令他闭嘴。
但他偏要说话。
他转身背对守旧老人，双眼在人群中搜寻那些不久前还与他志同道合的人。
“听我说，”他恳求道，“听我说，大家都高兴起来吧！我刚从山那边回来。我踏上了一块新土地，感受到了其他民族的亲切抚摸，看到了奇妙的景象。
“我还是个孩子的时候，我的世界是父亲的花园。
“自从创世以来，东南西北四面疆界早就确定了。
“当我问疆界后面藏着什么时，人们就会嘘声连连，不断摇头。当我坚持要问时，我就被带到岩石这边，让我看那些敢于蔑视上帝的人的白骨。
“我大声哭喊道：‘撒谎！上帝喜欢勇敢的人！’守旧的老人就会走过来，给
■孤独的漫游者
“When I asked what they were hiding, there was a hush and a hasty shaking of heads. When I insisted, I was taken to the rocks and shown the bleached bones of those who had dared to defy the Gods.
“When I cried out and said, ‘It is a lie! The Gods love those who are brave!' the Men Who Knew came and read to me from their sacred books. The Law, they explained, had ordained all things of Heaven and Earth. The Valley was ours to have and to hold. The animals and the flowers, the fruit and the fishes were ours, to do our bidding. But the mountains were of the Gods.What lay beyond was to remain unknown until the End of Time.
“So they spoke, and they lied. They lied to me, even as they have lied to you.
“There are pastures in those hills. Meadows too, as rich as any. And men and women of our own flesh and blood. And cities resplendent with the glories of a thousand years of labor.
“I have found the road to a better home. I have seen the promise of a happier life. Follow me and I shall lead you thither. For the smile of the Gods is the same there as here and everywhere.”
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He stopped and there went up a great cry of horror.
“Blasphemy!” cried the Old Men.“Blasphemy and sacrilege! A fit punishment for
我读他们圣书中的内容。并解释说，上帝的旨意已经通过律法表现出来，他已安排好了天地万物。山谷由我们拥有和掌管，百兽、花朵、果实、鱼虾都属于我们，并听从我们的安排。但大山是属于上帝的，就算到了世界末日，山那边的事我们也应该永远一无所知。
“他们这都是在撒谎。他们欺骗了我，更欺骗了你们。
“那边的山上有牧场，当然，牧草肥沃得很；那里的男人和女人们和我们拥有的血肉不差分毫，所有的城市经过上千年的经营，发展得非常好，灿烂辉煌。
“我已经找到了康庄大道，已经看到了幸福生活的曙光。来吧，我带你们去。那里也有上帝的笑容，因为上帝无处不在。”
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他刚停下来，人群里就响起了一声恐怖的吼叫。
“亵渎！”守旧的老人喊，“这是亵渎圣灵。要让他付出代价！他已经丧失理智，竟敢嘲弄1000年前定下的律法。他罪该万死！”
人们举起沉重的石头，杀害了漫游者。
他的尸体被扔到山崖脚下，以此警告所有敢怀疑祖先智慧的人。
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没过多久，遇上了一场大旱。知识的小溪很快干涸了，牲畜因干渴而毙命，粮食在田里枯萎，无知的山谷一片饥荒。
但守旧的老人并没有灰心。他们预言说，最后一切都会好的，因为他们眼里最
his crime! He has lost his reason. He dares to scoff at the Law as it was written down a thousand years ago. He deserves to die!”
And they took up heavy stones.
And they killed him.
And his body they threw at the foot of the cliffs, that it might lie there as a warning to all who questioned the wisdom of the ancestors.
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Then it happened a short time later that there was a great drought. The little Brook of Knowledge ran dry. The cattle died of thirst. The harvest perished in the fields, and there was hunger in the Valley of Ignorance.
The Old Men Who Knew, however, were not disheartened. Everything would all come right in the end, they prophesied, for so it was written in their most Holy Chapters.
Besides, they themselves needed but little food. They were so very old.
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Winter came.
The village was deserted.
More than half of the populace died from sheer want.
The only hope for those who survived lay beyond the mountains.
But the Law said “No!”
And the Law must be obeyed.
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One night there was a rebellion.
Despair gave courage to those whom fear had forced into silence.
Feebly the Old Men protested.
神圣的篇章就是这样写的。
况且，他们自己几乎不需要食物。因为他们太老了。
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冬天来了。
村庄上一片荒凉。
半数以上的人因饥寒交迫而死去。
幸存的人，把仅有的希望寄托在山那边。
但是律法告诉他们：“不行！”
律法必须遵守。
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一天夜里，爆发了叛乱。
那些因恐惧而逆来顺受的人因失望而有了勇气。
守旧的老人极力地抗争着。
他们被搁置不理。他们开始抱怨命运，诅咒忘恩负义的孩子们。但是当最后一辆马车即将驶出村子时，他们拦住车夫，逼他带他们一起走。
未知之旅开始了。
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距那个漫游者回家之时已经有很多年，要探索出他当年开辟的道路并不容易。
在找到第一个圆石堆路标之前，成千上万人因饥渴而倒下死去了。
■新的家园
They were pushed aside. They complained of their lot. They bewailed the ingratitude of their children, but when the last wagon pulled out of the village, they stopped the driver and forced him to take them along.
The flight into the unknown had begun.
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It was many years since the Wanderer had returned. It was no easy task to discover the road he had mapped out.
Thousands fell a victim to hunger and thirst before the first cairn was found.
From there on the trip was less difficult.
The careful pioneer had blazed a clear trail through the woods and amidst the endless wilderness of rock.
By easy stages it led to the green pastures of the new land.
Silently the people looked at each other.
“He was right after all” they said.“He was right, and the Old Men, was were wrong...”
“He spoke the truth, and the Old Men lied...”
“His bones lie rotting at the foot of the cliffs, but the Old Men sit in our carts and chant their ancient lays...”
“He saved us, and we slew him...”
“We are sorry that it happened, but of course, if we could have known at the time...”
从那以后，旅途上的磨难少多了。
那位细心的先驱已在丛林和无边无际的乱石荒野中烧出了一条宽敞的大道。
它一步一步带人们轻松迈向新土地的绿色牧场。
人们相互看着，先是一片沉默。
■可怕的冬天
“终究还是他对了，”人们说，“他是对的，守旧的老人错了。”
“他说的是真的，守旧的老人撒了谎……”
“他的尸骨还在崖下腐烂，守旧的老人却坐在我们的车里唱他们的老歌……”
“他救了我们，我们却毁了他……”
“对此，我们很难过，但是如果我们当时就知道的话，当然……”
然后，他们解下马和牛的套具，把牛羊赶进牧场，建起自己的房子，规划出自己的土地。此后，他们幸福地生活了很长一段时间。
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几年后，人们准备把那位勇敢先驱埋在一座曾为智慧老人建的雄伟的新大厦里面。
一支肃穆的队伍来到已荒芜的山谷。但当人们到
Then they unharnessed their horses and their oxen and they drove their cows and their goats into the pastures and they built themselves houses and laid out their fields and they lived happily for a long time afterwards.
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A few years later an attempt was made to bury the brave pioneer in the fine new edifice which had been erected as a home for the Wise Old Men.
A solemn procession went back to the now deserted valley, but when the spot was reached where his body ought to have been, it was no longer there.
A hungry jackal had dragged it to his lair.
A small stone was then placed at the foot of the trail（now a magnificent highway）. It gave the name of the man who had first defied the dark terror of the unknown, that his people might be guided into a new freedom.
■纪念的石碑
And it stated that it had been erected by a grateful posterity.
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As it was in the beginning—as it is now—and as some day（so we hope）it shall no longer be.
达先驱者的尸体本该所在的地方时，尸体荡然无存。
一条饥饿的豺狗早将尸体拖进了洞穴。
人们把一块小石头放在那位先驱足迹所踏之处（现在它是一条大道），石头上刻着这个率先向未知世界的黑暗恐怖挑战的人的名字，是他把他的人民引向了自由的新生活。
石头上还写着它是由感恩的后代建的。
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这样的事情发生在过去——就像现在一样——不过将来（我们希望）不应该再发生。