美国语文第五册 第288期：泼冷水的艺术（04）
He did not deny that it was beautiful; but he instantly fastened upon a small crack in it that nobody had observed;
他不否认那创意挺好，但只死死盯住那东西内部的某道细缝，而其他人均未留意那道裂缝。
and upon that crack he would dilate whenever the work was discussed in his presence.
后来，只要出席讨论那桩创新，他总会不厌其烦地尽力夸张那点瑕疵，
Indeed, he did not see the work, but only the crack in it.
当然，除却那道裂缝，他并不关注事情本身，
That flaw,—that little flaw,—was all in all to him.
那个缺陷——毕竟微不足道，可对他来说，瑕疵意味一切。
The cold-water pourers are not all of one form of mind.
泼冷水人心态各异。
Some are led to indulge in this recreation from genuine timidity.
有的人由于真正胆怯，不由自主地陷入或沉湎这类娱乐消遣，
They really do fear that all new attempts will fail.
他们确实内心恐惧所有创新尝试势必遭遇失败，
Others are simply envious and ill-natured.
而其他人则仅仅出于嫉妒或心存不良。
Then, again, there is a sense of power and wisdom in prophesying evil.
那么，世上是否存在一种预言邪恶的力量与智慧？
Moreover, it is the safest thing to prophesy,
此外，看来预言最为安全妥当，
for hardly anything at first succeeds exactly in the way that it was intended to succeed.
因为几乎没有任何创意伊始就能获得大获成功，究其成功方式，初衷甚或结局，大多大相径庭。
Again, there is the lack of imagination which gives rise to the utterance of so much discouragement.
再来看看，由于想象力匮乏引起气馁情绪的普遍存在。
For an ordinary man, it must have been a great mental strain
对一位普通人来说，冒险行为无疑将承受巨大的精神负担，
to grasp the ideas of the first projectors of steam and gas, electric telegraphs, and pain-deadening chloroform.
那种来自攫取最初创意灵感的压力。诸如蒸汽与燃气、电报或用作麻醉剂的氯仿，
The inventor is always, in the eyes of his fellow-men, somewhat of a madman; and often they do their best to make him so.
在旁观者看来，创新者多少难免走火入魔，他们往往更是不遗余力地促使冒险家抓狂。
