質問: 和訳お願い致します。 the reduction of the earth into the state in which we now behold it has been the slowly continued work of ages. the races of organic beings which have populated its surface have from time to time passed away,and been supplanted by others, introduced we know not certainly by what means, but evidently according to a fixed method and order and with a gradually increasing complexity and fitness of organization , until we come to man as the crowning point of all. geologically speaking, the history of his first appearance is obscure, nor does archaeology do much to clear this obscurity. science has, however, made some efforts towards tracing man to his cradle, and patient observation and collection of facts much more may perhaps be done in this direction. as for history and tradition, they afford little upon which anything can be built. the human race, like each individual man, has forgotten its own birth, and the void of its early years has been filled up by imagination, and not from genuine recollection. thus much is clear, that man's existence on earth is brief, compared with the ages during which unreasoning creatures were the sole possessors of the globe.
回答: the reduction of the earth into the state in which we now behold it has been the slowly continued work of ages. 我々が現在注視する状態への地球の縮小は、長い時間をかけてゆっくりと続いてきたものなのだ。 the races of organic beings which have populated its surface have from time to time passed away, and been supplanted by others, introduced we know not certainly by what means, but evidently according to a fixed method and order and with a gradually increasing complexity and fitness of organization, until we come to man as the crowning point of all. 時に息絶え他のものに取って変られた、地球の表面に生息していた有機生命体の子孫達は、何を意味するのかわからぬまま、しかしあきらかに決められた法則と順番により、そして徐々に増加する生命の組織としての複雑さと適応性に従うことにより、すべてのものの頂点として我々人間がいずるまで地球に発生していたのだ。 geologically speaking, the history of his first appearance is obscure, nor does archaeology do much to clear this obscurity. 地質学的にいえば、人間の初登場の歴史はあいまであり、この曖昧さを明確にする為に考古学が貢献しているとも言えない。 science has, however, made some efforts towards tracing man to his cradle, and patient observation and collection of facts much more may perhaps be done in this direction. しかしながら科学は人類をその幼少期までたどることを目指して多くの努力をした。そして辛抱強い研究と事実の収集は多分、いっそうまっすぐ進むであろう。 as for history and tradition, they afford little upon which anything can be built. 歴史と伝統に関してどうかというと、それらの上に何かを作り上げるということはほとんど出来ない。 the human race, like each individual man, has forgotten its own birth, and the void of its early years has been filled up by imagination, and not from genuine recollection. それぞれの1個人の人間と同じように、人類はその誕生を忘れているし、創世記の空洞の部分は本当の記憶からではなく、想像力で埋めてきたからだ。 thus much is clear, that man's existence on earth is brief, compared with the ages during which unreasoning creatures were the sole possessors of the globe. よって、理性を持ち合わせない動物達がこの世界の唯一の占有者だった時代と比較すると、地球における人間の存在が短いのはとても明らかだ。