再谈“唬人的词语”（long words ）

武夷山

 

我在“作家谈科学”（http://www.sciencenet.cn/m/user_content.aspx?id=288822）中，将英国文豪切斯特顿的以下一句话

Science in the modern world has many uses; its chief use, however, is to provide long words to cover the errors of the rich.

翻译成：

现代世界的科学有很多用途，然而其首要用途是提供唬人的词语来掩饰富人的错误。

但是，我确实未想明白“长词”与“掩饰富人错误”有何关联。今天一位网友告诉我：

原来，切斯特顿是这么说的：

Science in the modern world has many uses; its chief use, however, is to provide long words to cover the errors of the rich. The word "kleptomania" is a vulgar example of what I mean. It is on a par with that strange theory, always advanced when a wealthy or prominent person is in the dock, that exposure is more of a punishment for the rich than for the poor. Of course, the very reverse is the truth. Exposure is more of a punishment for the poor than for the rich. The richer a man is the easier it is for him to be a tramp. The richer a man is the easier it is for him to be popular and generally respected in the Cannibal Islands. But the poorer a man is the more likely it is that he will have to use his past life whenever he wants to get a bed for the night. Honour is a luxury for aristocrats, but it is a necessity for hall-porters. This is a secondary matter, but it is an example of the general proposition I offer--the proposition that an enormous amount of modern ingenuity is expended on finding defences for the indefensible conduct of the powerful. As I have said above, these defences generally exhibit themselves most emphatically in the form of appeals to physical science. And of all the forms in which science, or pseudo-science, has come to the rescue of the rich and stupid, there is none so singular as the singular invention of the theory of races.

确实，这就明白了。"kleptomania"这个词包含四个音节、五个元音字母，是个长词，它的意思是“盗窃癖”。人们一般认为，穷人日子实在过不下去了，万般无奈才去偷窃、抢劫。因此，社会制度不公才是要害。而"kleptomania"这个词就轻描淡写地将盗窃看成某些个体的心理疾患，与社会制度无涉，与富人的为富不仁无涉。这便是掩饰富人的错误了。

感谢那位不露真姓名的网友。

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