第三册第17篇：多才多艺的人

17 Versatile 1 man 多才多艺的人



It is, perhaps, no accident that many of the outstanding figures of the past were exceptionally versatile men. Right up until comparatively recent times, it was possible for an intelligent person to acquaint himself with almost every branch of knowledge. Thus, men of genius likeLeonardo da Vinci or Sir Philip Sidney, engaged in many careers at once as a matter of course. Da Vinci was so busy with his numerous inventions, that he barely found the time to complete his paintings; Sidney, who died in battle when he was only thirty-two years old, was not only a great soldier, but a brilliant scholar and poet as well. Both these men came very near to fulfilling the Renaissance 2 ideal of the ' universal man', the man who was proficient 3 at everything.

在过去的时代中，许多杰出人物都异乎寻常地多才多艺，这也许并不是偶然的。就在距今不远的时代，一个聪明人还有可能熟悉知识的几乎每个部门。因此，达芬奇和西德尼这样的天才人物被认为理所当然地要同时从事许多方面的工作。达?芬奇搞着他的数目众多的发明，忙得几乎没有时间来完成他的画；三十二岁就战死在沙场的西德尼，不仅是一个勇敢的战士，也是一个才气横溢的学者和诗人。他们几乎成为文艺复兴时期的理想人物－－“万能的人”，即精通每一件事情的人。



Today, we rarely, if ever, hear that a musician has just invented a new type of submarine. Knowledge has become divided and sub-divided into countless 4, narrowly-defined compartments 5. The specialist is venerated 6; the versatile person, far from being admired, is more often regarded with suspicion. The modern world is a world of highly-skilled 'experts' who have had to devote the greater part of their lives to a very limited field of study in order to compete with their fellows.

今天，我们不会听说一个音乐家刚刚发明了一种新型的潜水艇，即使听到的话也是极难得的。知识领域被分了又分，分成范围狭窄而互相不通气的无数部门。受人尊敬的是专家；而多面手非但不会被人钦佩，反而常常不为人所信任。当今的世界是一个高度精通业务的“专家”的世界，这些专家都曾经不得不用一生大部分时间研 究一个十分狭隘的领域，这样才能和他的同行竞争。



With this high degree of specialization, the frontiers of knowledge are steadily 7 being pushed back more rapidly than ever before. But this has not achieved without considerable cost. The scientist, who outside his own particular subject is little more than a moron 8, is a modern phenomenon; as is the man of letters who is barely aware of the tremendous strides that have been made in technology. Similarly, specialization has inderectly affected 9 quite ordinary people in every walk of life. Many activities which were once pursued for their own sakes, are often given up in despair: they require techniques, the experts tell us, which take a life-time to master. Why learn to play the piano, when you can listen to the world's greatest pianists in your own drawing-room?

随着专业化程度的提高，各门知识的边界正在以前所未有的速度往里收缩。但这种收缩并不是没有付出相当大的代价就做到的。一个科学家离开了他的特殊专题，就不会比一个傻瓜强多少，正象一个文人对科技方面的重大进展几乎一无所知一样，都是现代才有的怪现象。同样，专业化也间接地影响了各行各业中很普通的人。以前仅仅是由于对它们本身感到兴趣而去从事的许多活动，现在常常被绝望地放弃了。专家们告诉我们，从事这些活动所需要的技术，得付出毕生的精力才能掌握。当你能在客厅里欣赏世界上最伟大的钢琴家演奏时，你干吗还要学钢琴呢？