16. On National Prejudices《论民族偏见》

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世界经典文学精选 ·16

On National Prejudices《论民族偏见》

作者：Oliver Goldsmith 奥利弗·哥尔德斯密斯

选自奥利弗·哥尔德斯密斯《The Citizen of the World》

《世界公民》——1762年出版

英文原文

As I am one of that sauntering tribe of mortals,

who spend the greatest part of their time in taverns, coffee houses,

and other places of public resort,

I have thereby an opportunity of observing an infinite variety of characters,

of a person of a contemplative turn,

and to witness all the combinations of art or nature.

I accidentally fell into the company of half a dozen gentlemen,

who were engaged in a warm dispute about some political affairs;

the decision of which, as they were equally divided in their sentiments,

they thought proper to refer to me,

which naturally drew me in for a share of the conversation.

Amongst a multiplicity of other topics,

we took occasion to talk of the different characters of the several nations of Europe;

and when one of the gentlemen,

with an air of importance as if he possessed all the wisdom of the English nation in his own person,

described the Dutch as a set of gluttons and misers,

the French as vain, poor, and insolent,

and the Spaniards as proud, gloomy, and superstitious;

and then, with great modesty,

said that the English alone had received a genuine spirit of approbation.

I sat by and heard all,

and in order to preserve my own opinions,

and to keep my gravity as well as I could,

I reclined my head upon my arm,

and continued for some time in a posture of affected thoughtfulness.

I did not seem to attend to the subject of conversation;

hoping by these means to avoid the disagreeable necessity of explaining myself,

and thereby depriving the gentleman of his imaginary happiness.

But my pseudo-patriot had no mind to let me escape so easily.

He was determined to have a suffrage of every one in the company;

for which purpose he turned to me with an inexpressible confidence,

and pressed me to give my opinion freely.

I told him, that I believed it would not be agreeable;

so when I have reason to believe that it will not please,

I always keep my sentiments to myself.

He still insisted, and I at last complied.

I told him that I had travelled a good deal in Europe,

and examined the manners of these several nations with great care and accuracy.

I found that the French were not all vain,

nor were the Spaniards universally proud and gloomy,

and that the Germans were not all slavish and laborious,

as the common report had represented them.

I could easily perceive that his whole national argument began to stagger upon this.

He was astonished that any person

could have the confidence to live in a country which they did not love.

I ventured to reply,

Is it not very possible that I may love my own country,

without hating the natives of other countries?

I may exult in its heroism, its bravery, and its wisdom,

without at the same time degrading the rest of mankind.

National prejudices are generally found in the uneducated and untravelled.

They judge all strangers by the narrow circle of their own experience,

and condemn what they do not understand.

But it is a melancholy truth,

that even men of rank and learning too often give way to the same weakness.

They pride themselves on the merits of their own nation,

and think all other people inferior in every virtue.

We love our country naturally,

and this love is noble and praiseworthy.

But prejudice changes this noble affection into blind partiality.

A man under its influence sees only the virtues of his own people,

and only the vices of others.

He measures all foreign nations by one distorted standard,

and refuses to acknowledge merit wherever it appears beyond his own border.

A person who has travelled,

and conversed with different races of mankind,

soon learns that virtue and vice are not confined to any single land.

Good men and bad men exist in every nation under heaven.

The same passions, the same hopes and fears,

the same weaknesses and nobilities,

belong to humanity everywhere.

The peasant in France,

the merchant in Holland,

the nobleman in Spain,

and the labourer in Britain,

are all men;

subject to the same joys and sorrows,

liable to the same temptations,

and capable of the same generosity and the same selfishness.

It is not the nation that makes the man virtuous or vicious,

but the individual heart and conduct.

National prejudice is one of the greatest obstacles to human peace.

It creates hatred where there should be mutual respect.

It blinds our eyes to the merits of foreigners,

and fills our minds with false tales and unfair stereotypes.

We learn to despise people merely because they speak a different tongue,

or wear different clothes,

or follow different customs.

If we wish to judge other nations fairly,

we must lay aside these early prejudices.

We must look upon all mankind as brethren,

and judge each person by his own actions,

not by the country where he was born.

To love one’s own country is right,

but to hate others on account of their birth is unreasonable and unjust.

True patriotism does not require us to

think our nation alone possesses every excellence.

It teaches us to improve our own country,

and to admire goodness wherever we may find it,

in whatever land it dwells.

Until we can separate our love for our

native land from contempt for other peoples,

we shall never know the true spirit of humanity.

译文

我属于那一类四处闲逛的凡人，

大半时光消磨在酒馆、咖啡馆以及其他公共场所，

借此得以观察形形色色的人物，

以沉思者的目光，

见证人性百态，无论天然或是雕琢。

一次，我偶然和六位绅士同席，

他们正热烈争论一些时政议题；

众人观点分歧、各执一词，

便提议让我来做决断。

就这样，我自然而然被卷入这场谈话之中。

话题繁多，其间我们谈及欧洲各个民族迥异的性格特质。

席间一位绅士摆出一副煞有介事的姿态，

仿佛一身承载着整个英格兰民族全部的智慧。

他描述荷兰人皆是贪吃吝啬之徒，

法国人虚荣、穷困又傲慢，

西班牙人高傲阴郁、迷信盲从。

而后，他故作谦逊地说道，

唯有英格兰人，生来拥有纯粹高尚的品性。

我静静坐在一旁聆听，

为了保留自己的想法，

同时尽量维持神态沉稳，

我把头倚靠在手臂上，

佯装沉思，久久不语。

我刻意不去专注这场交谈，

希望借此避开解释观点的麻烦，

不去剥夺这位绅士心中这份虚幻的自得。

但这位自诩爱国者的人，不愿轻易放过我。

他执意要在场每个人都表态认同他，

于是满怀十足的自信转向我，

催促我自由说出看法。

我告诉他，我的观点恐怕不合他心意；

但凡预判言语难以取悦对方时，

我习惯将想法藏于心底。

他依旧坚持，我最终只好应允。

我告诉他，我曾游历欧洲多地，

仔细审慎地考察过这些民族的风俗品性。

我发现，法国人并非个个虚荣，

西班牙人也不全是高傲阴郁，

德国人也绝非传闻所言，一律卑微辛劳。

我能明显察觉到，听到这番话，

他整套关于民族的论点开始动摇。

他十分诧异：一个人怎会有底气，

生活在一个自己并不全然推崇的国度。

我大胆回应：

热爱自己的国家，难道就一定要憎恨他国人民吗？

我可以为本国的英勇、胆识与智慧而自豪，

不必与此同时贬低其余人类。

民族偏见，大多扎根于未曾游历、缺乏学识之人心中。

他们仅凭自身狭隘的阅历评判所有异乡人，

凡是自己无法理解的事物，便一概加以否定。

但令人怅然的真相是：

即便身居高位、饱读诗书之人，也常常难以摆脱这一弱点。

他们为本国的长处沾沾自喜，

认定其他民族，在一切美德上都低人一等。

热爱祖国，是人之天性，这份热爱高尚且值得称颂。

但偏见，会把这份美好的情感，扭曲成盲目的偏袒。

深陷偏见的人，只看得见本民族的美德，

只看得到其他民族的劣迹。

他用一套扭曲的标尺衡量所有异国族群，

拒绝承认国境之外，同样存在闪光点。

但凡游历四方、与不同族群交谈相处的人，

很快便会明白：善与恶，从不局限于某一片土地。

普天之下，每个国家，都同时存在好人与恶人。

同样的热忱、同样的希冀与恐惧，

同样的软弱与高贵，

属于全人类，不分地域。

法国的农夫，

荷兰的商人，

西班牙的贵族，

不列颠的劳动者，

他们都是凡人；

承受同样的欢喜与哀伤，

面对同样的诱惑，

既能慷慨向善，也会自私自利。

决定一个人善恶的，不是他所属的民族，

而是他个人的本心与言行。

民族偏见，是人类和平最大的阻碍之一。

它在本该互相尊重之处，滋生仇恨。

它蒙蔽我们的双眼，看不见异乡人的优点，

让脑海充斥不实传闻与不公的刻板印象。

我们仅仅因为别人说着不同语言、穿着不同服饰、遵循不同习俗，

便心生鄙夷。

倘若我们想要公正评判其他民族，

就必须放下这些早年形成的偏见。

我们应当视全人类为同胞，

评判一个人，看他自身的所作所为，

而非他出生的国度。

热爱自己的国家理所应当，

但只因出身国别而憎恨他人，既无道理，也不公正。

真正的爱国，并不要求我们认定唯有本国集一切优点于一身。

它教会我们建设完善自己的祖国，

同时无论身处何地，

无论在哪个国度，见到美好品德，都心怀欣赏。

唯有我们能够将对故土的热爱，和对其他民族的轻蔑分离开，

我们才能领会人性真正的精神内核。

🔍长难句赏析与拆解

原句：Amongst a multiplicity of other topics,

we took occasion to talk of the different characters of the several nations of Europe;

and when one of the gentlemen,

with an air of importance as if he

possessed all the wisdom of the English nation in his own person,

described the Dutch as a set of gluttons and misers,

the French as vain, poor, and insolent,

and the Spaniards as proud, gloomy, and superstitious;

and then, with great modesty,

said that the English alone had received a genuine spirit of approbation.

句式解读：

本句为分号连接的并列复合长句。

主句主干为we took occasion to talk of the different characters；

when引导时间状语从句，

从句主干是one of the gentlemen described…and said…；

with an air of importance介词短语作伴随状语，

as if引导方式状语从句；

连续使用describe A as B的平行结构，

列举对各国人的刻板评价；said后面嵌套that宾语从句。

句式繁复流畅，还原多人交谈的现场感，

讽刺意味藏于平铺直叙之中。

句子主干：

we took occasion to talk of the different characters of the several nations of Europe;

one of the gentlemen described the Dutch,

the French and the Spaniards,

and said that the English alone had received a genuine spirit of approbation.

文学赏析：

作者以沙龙闲谈开篇，借一位绅士的发言，

生动再现当时社会普遍存在的民族刻板印象。

看似客观转述对话，字里行间暗含讽刺，

引出全文核心议题：人们习惯简单标签化不同民族。

开篇叙事自然，由小事引出宏大思辨，是哥尔德斯密斯散文典型笔法。

写作迁移点拨：

适用于刻板印象、偏见、民族认知主题段落。

仿写：Among many other questions,

we fell into discussion about the different qualities of people from various regions;

and when one speaker,

with a tone of certainty as if he knew every truth of human nature,

described people from the north as reserved and quiet,

and those from the south as warm and unrestrained.

原句：Is it not very possible that I may love my own country,

without hating the natives of other countries?

I may exult in its heroism, its bravery, and its wisdom,

without at the same time degrading the rest of mankind.

句式解读：

第一句为反问句，

that引导同位语从句，修饰possible；

without引导介词短语作伴随状语，表伴随状态。

第二句为主句，

三个名词并列作宾语，同样搭配without伴随结构。

两句句式对仗，层层递进，语气温和但立场坚定。

句子主干：

I may love my own country without hating the natives of other countries.

I may exult in its heroism, its bravery, and its wisdom,

without degrading the rest of mankind.

文学赏析：这是全文的核心金句。

以温和的反问直击民族偏见的逻辑漏洞：爱国不等于仇视他国。

没有激烈控诉，以理性思辨说服读者，

清晰区分“爱国自豪”和“排外偏见”两种完全不同的情感，立意深刻。

写作迁移点拨：

适用于爱国、包容、文明互鉴主题升华句。

仿写：Is it not reasonable that we can cherish our own culture,

without looking down upon the traditions of other nations?

We may take pride in our own history and art,

while respecting the splendid civilization elsewhere.

📝全篇句式特点

本文选自奥利弗·哥尔德斯密斯经典散文《论民族偏见》，

属于18世纪英国经典随笔，文风典雅诙谐，

兼具对话感与思辨力量，贴合英文经典散文书面语体。

文章逻辑完整层层递进：

以咖啡馆众人闲谈故事开篇 →

记录绅士对欧洲各民族的片面标签化评价 →

“我”受邀发表看法，提出质疑 →

辨析民族偏见的来源与人群→阐明善恶不分国界，

人性共通 → 区分狭隘排外与真正的爱国 → 结尾升华，

倡导人类相互尊重，摒弃偏见。

句式大量使用并列平行结构、时间状语从句、 同位语从句，

善用反问句增强思辨感染力；长短句交错，

长句铺叙交谈场景，短句凝练核心哲理。

完整保留原作讽刺与理性并存的风格，以小故事承载宏大议题，

不篡改原文主旨与情感。叙事自然流畅，

说理克制，适合文学赏析，金句适合议论文摘抄。

核心词汇

1. prejudice

/ˈpredʒudɪs/

偏见，成见

名词 (n.)

2. saunter

/ˈsɔːntə(r)/

闲逛，漫步

动词 (v.)

3. contemplative

/kənˈtemplətɪv/

沉思的，爱思考的

形容词 (adj.)

4. multitude

/ˈmʌltɪtjuːd/

大量，众多

名词 (n.)

5. glutton

/ˈɡlʌtn/

贪吃者，暴食者

名词 (n.)

6. miser

/ˈmaɪzə(r)/

吝啬鬼，守财奴

名词 (n.)

7. superstitious

/ˌsuːpəˈstɪʃəs/

迷信的

形容词 (adj.)

8. pseudo-patriot

/ˌsjuːdəʊ ˈpeɪtriət/

伪爱国者

名词 (n.)

9. suffrage

/ˈsʌfrɪdʒ/

赞同，意见；选举权

名词 (n.)

10. stagger

/ˈstæɡə(r)/

动摇，踉跄

动词 (v.)

11. partiality

/ˌpɑːʃiˈæləti/

偏袒，偏心

名词 (n.)

12. stereotype

/ˈsteriətaɪp/

刻板印象

名词 (n.)

13. brethren

/ˈbreðrən/

同胞，兄弟

名词 (n.)

14. virtuous

/ˈvɜːtʃuəs/

品德高尚的

形容词 (adj.)

15. degrade

/dɪˈɡreɪd/

贬低，诋毁

动词 (v.)

16. exult

/ɪɡˈzʌlt/

欢欣，自豪

动词 (v.)

17. obstacle

/ˈɒbstəkl/

障碍，阻碍

名词 (n.)

18. native

/ˈneɪtɪv/

本地人，国民

名词 (n.)

💡主旨品读

《论民族偏见》是奥利弗·哥尔德斯密斯的经典名篇。

作者从一场咖啡馆闲谈切入，

借人物对话，揭示人们普遍存在的民族刻板印象：

人们习惯于简单地给不同民族贴上好坏标签，

盲目抬高本国，贬低其他国度。

作者指出，民族偏见大多源于见识局限。

人们仅凭有限见闻评判异族，

把地域风俗差异等同于品性优劣。

但善恶并不绑定国籍，无论身处哪个国家，

人性都拥有共通的喜怒哀乐，善人与恶人遍布世界各处。

文章最重要的观点，是区分狭隘排外和真正的爱国：

热爱祖国是美好的情感，但爱国不等于蔑视其他民族。

真正的爱国，是努力完善自身故土，

同时能够欣赏异域文明之中一切美好的事物。

民族偏见制造隔阂与仇恨，

唯有放下成见，视全人类为同胞，

以个人品行而非出身国别评判他人，

人与人之间才能够实现彼此尊重。

全文说理温和克制，没有激烈批判，

以故事带入思辨，兼具文学美感与思想深度。

适合用于包容、偏见、文明互鉴、理性爱国等高阶写作主题，

文中反问句、哲理段落可以直接摘抄，提升作文思辨层次。

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