原文
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way–in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
翻译
那是最美好的时代,那是最糟糕的时代;
那是个睿智的年月,那是个蒙昧的年月;
那是信心百倍的时期,那是疑虑重重的时期;
那是阳光普照的季节,那是黑暗笼罩的季节;
那是充满希望的暖春,那是让人绝望的凛冬;
我们面前无所不有,我们面前一无所有;
我们大家都在直奔天堂,我们大家都在直坠地狱。
简而言之,那个时代和当今这个时代是如此相似,因而一些吵嚷不休的权威们也坚持认为,不管它是好是坏,都只能用“ 最……”来评价它。
翻译:选用宋兆霖版本,并在此基础上略有改动。
出处
《双城记(A Tale of Two Cities)》开篇,查尔斯·狄更斯(Charles John Huffam Dickens,1812~1870),维多利亚时代英国最伟大的作家。他一生刻苦勤勉,繁重的劳动和对改革现