Thomas Wolfe's "Man's Youth" (2)

A young man is so strong, so mad, so certain, and so lost. He has everything and he is able to use nothing. He hurls the great shoulder of this strength forever against phantasmal barriers, he is a wave whose poser explodes in lost mid-oceans under timeless skies, he reaches out to grip a fume of painted smoke; he wants all, feels the thirst and power for everything, and finally get nothing. In the end, he is destroyed by his own strength, devoured by his won hunger, impoverished by his own wealth. Thoughtless of money or the accumulation of material possessions, he is none the less defeated in the end by his own greed – a greed that makes the avarice of King Midas seem paltry by comparison.

And that is the reason why, when youth is gone, every man will look back upon that period of his life with infinite sorrow and regret. It is the bitter sorrow and regret of a man who knows that once he had a great talent and wasted it, of a man who knows that once he had a great talent and wasted it, of a man who knows that once he had a great treasure and got nothing from it, of a man who knows that he had strength enough for everything and never used it.

Thomas Wolfe's "Man's Youth"

Man's youth is a wonderful thing; it is so full of anguish and of magic and he never comes to know it as it is, until it has gone from him forever.

It is the thing he cannot bear to lose, it is the thing whose passing he watches with infinite sorrow and regret, it is the thing whose loss he must lament forever, it is the thing whose loss he really welcomes with a sad and secret joy, the thing would never willingly relive again, could it be restored to him by any magic.

新學期的展望. A Prospects for New Semester

二十世紀著名的存在哲學家Heidegger曾經說過: 閒話,好奇心,與生活中模擬兩可的生活態度,是人存在的基本方式.
此為"此有的陷溺"(das Verfallen des Daseins).

人往往習慣"陷溺"在茫茫人海之中. 不覺自己的墮落,反覺得有趣.

在這之中.人忘記自己: 從何而來? 所由為何?? 又何去何從???....

此為"存有的遺忘".

人在存有之中遺忘自己. 只有"良心"才能將之喚醒.....

翻譯練習(中翻英) - 2 -

存在先於本質.
Existence is prior to Essence.
...
Essence and Existence
Essence (from Latin, essentia, from esse, be) is that which makes a thing what it is and without which it would not be what it is.
Essence is often contrasted in abstraction with Existence. But for philosophers who take the concept of essence seriously, a thing could not exist without having an essence. Therefore, Essence is prior to Existence.
....
西方的人文主義傳統，從基督教到啟蒙運動，皆主張普遍的人性（human nature）。根據基督教的神學，人性是就“受造物”來瞭解。作為造物者的上帝，依其概念造人，猶如工匠依藍圖造物。人的存在是個殊的，人的本質則是普遍的概念。邏輯地說或存有論地說，人“本質”先於人的“存在”。到了啟蒙運動，如狄多羅，伏爾泰，甚至於康德，雖然不再接受中世紀的神學觀點，卻仍繼承“本質先於存在”（essence is prior to existence）的人觀，即個人只是人底普遍概念（人性）的具體存在而已。但是到了二十世紀，存在主義哲學家沙特提出“存在先於本質”（existence is prior to essence）的人觀。對沙特來說，人無所謂“人性”或“普遍概念”以為人之自我實現的目的。他說，人無“人性”可言，因此無法定義。人之為人，並非有什麼“本質”可言，而全在於人之“成為”人自己。對沙特來說，人是企向未來的存在，在企向（projection）之前原是“一無所有”（nothing），無所謂“本質”或“人性”可言。沙特因此提出有名的“存在先於本質”（existence is prior to essence）之說，此“存在”即是人的主觀性選擇與行動。

翻譯練習(中翻英) –1–

墾丁，位於台灣南端，是一個中外馳名的度假勝地。近年來，每年一次的“春天吶喊”音樂會，更吸引了數以萬計愛好搖滾音樂的年輕人前來一遊。
...
*請依literal的level翻譯.

Kenting, located in the southern Taiwan, is a world-wide resort. In recent years, its annual “Spring Scream” rock-and-roll concert attracts thousands of young fans to come to visit this vacation paradise.

翻譯自由度練習 -2-

If at first you don't succeed, don't try skydiving.
...
*translate this by the levels of semantic and free translation.