【往期回顧】
英漢雙語閱讀47：如何利用網路資源鑒別古董？
【本期內容】
Two kinds of Justice
兩種正義
A Greek philosopher was walking along one day, thinking about things, when he saw two very tall women towering away in the distance; they were the size of several men placed one on top of another. The philosopher, as wise as he was fearful, ran to hide behind some bushes, intending to listen to their conversation. The huge women came and sat nearby, but before they could start speaking, the King's youngest son appeared. He was bleeding from one ear and shouted pleadingly towards the women, 「Justice! I want justice! That villain cut my ear!」 He pointed to another boy, his younger brother, who arrived wielding a bloody sword.
一天，一位希臘哲學家在路上思考著一些事情，突然他看到兩個個子很高的女人站在遠處；她們有幾個人疊起來那麽高。這位哲學家很聰明，也很害怕，於是他跑去躲在灌木叢後面，打算聽聽他們的談話。那兩個巨大的女人走了過來，坐在附近，但她們還沒來得及開口，國王的小兒子就出現了。他一只耳朵流著血，大聲地懇求著兩個女人：「正義！我要正義！那個惡棍割破了我的耳朵！」他指著另一個男孩，他的弟弟，他正揮舞著一把帶血的劍來到這裏。
"We will be delighted to give you justice, young Prince," replied the two women, "That's why we are the goddesses of justice. Just choose which of the two of us you would prefer to help you." "What's the difference?" the victim asked, "What would each of you do?" "I," said one of the goddesses, who looked the more weak and delicate, "will ask your brother what was the cause of his action, and I will listen to his explanation. Then I will oblige him to protect your other ear with his life, and to make you the most beautiful helmet to cover your scar and to be your ears when you need it." "I, for my part," said the other goddess. "will not let him go unpunished for his action. I will punish him with a hundred lashes and one year of imprisonment, and he must compensate you for your pain with a thousand gold coins. And I will give you the sword and you can choose if you're able to keep the ear or, on the contrary, you want both ears to end up on the ground. Well, what is your decision? Who do you want to apply justice for the offence?"
「年輕的王子，我們將很高興為您伸張正義。」兩個女人回答道，「這就是我們身為正義女神的原因。只要選擇我們兩個中你更希望去幫助你的那一個。」「那有什麽區別嗎？」受害者問道，「你們每個人都會做什麽？」「我」，其中一位女神說，她看起來更虛弱、更嬌弱，「我會問你哥哥他的所為是出於什麽原因，我會聽他的解釋。然後我會讓他用生命保護你的另一只耳朵，給你做最漂亮的頭盔，蓋住你的傷疤，在你需要的時候成為你的耳朵。」「就我而言，」另一位女神說，「我不會讓他不受懲罰。我會懲罰他一百下鞭笞和一年監禁，他必須用一千金幣補償你的痛苦。我會把劍給你，你可以選擇是保住另一只耳朵，還是相反，你想讓兩只耳朵都落地。好吧，你的決定是什麽？你想讓誰為罪行伸張正義？」
The Prince looked at the two goddesses. Then he put his hand to the wound, and on touching it his face gave a gesture of undeniable pain, which ended with a look of anger and affection for his brother. And in a firm voice, addressing the second of the goddesses he gave his answer, 「I'd rather it was you who helps me. I love him, but it would be unfair if my brother doesn't receive his punishment.」 And so, from his hiding place in the bushes, the philosopher saw the culprit get his comeuppance, and watched how the older brother was content to make a small wound on his brother's ear, without seriously damaging it.
王子看著這兩位女神。然後他把手放在傷口上，一碰傷口，他臉上就露出了明顯的痛苦的表情，最後他露出了對其哥哥憤怒和怨氣。於是他堅定地對第二位女神回答道：「我寧願是你幫助我。我愛他，但如果我哥哥不受到懲罰，那就不公平了。」因此，從他在灌木叢中的藏身之處，哲學家看到罪魁禍首受到了懲罰，並看到哥哥是如何滿足於只是耳朵上留下了個小傷口，並沒有被嚴重損傷。
A while passed and the Princes had left, one without an ear and the other served justice, and the philosopher was still in hiding when the least expected thing happened. In front of his eyes, the second of the goddesses changed her clothes and took her true form. She wasn't a goddess at all, but the powerful Aries, the god of war. Aries bid goodbye to his companion, with a mischievous smile: 「I've done it again, dear Themis. Your friends, mankind, can barely distinguish between your righteousness and my revenge. Bwahahaha! I will prepare my weapons, a new war between brothers is approaching ... ha, ha, ha, ha.」
過了一段時間，王子們離開了，一個沒了只耳朵，另一個受到了正義的懲罰，而哲學家仍在躲藏，但這時最意想不到的事情發生了。就在他眼前，第二個女神換了衣服，露出了她的真實面貌。她根本不是女神，而是強大的白羊座戰神（Aries）。白羊座戰神帶著調皮的微笑向同伴道別：「我又贏了，親愛的忒彌斯（Themis）。你的人類朋友根本無法分辨你的正義和我的仇恨。哇哈哈！我會準備好武器，一場兄弟之間的新的戰爭即將到來……哈哈哈哈！」
When Aries had left and the philosopher was trying to quietly make off, the goddess Themis spoke aloud, 「Tell me, dear philosopher, would you have known how to choose correctly? Did you know how to distinguish between the past and the future?」 And with that strange greeting began many long and friendly talks. And that's how, from the very hand of the goddess of justice, the philosopher learned that true justice lies in improving the future, moving it away from past wrongs, while false justice and vengeance is incapable of forgiving and forgetting past wrongs, and doing so fixes the future, it always ending up being just as bad.
當白羊座戰神已經離開，而哲學家又試圖悄悄溜走時，忒彌斯女神大聲說道：「告訴我，親愛的哲學家，你剛才會知道如何正確選擇嗎？你知道如何分辨過去和未來嗎？」隨著那奇怪的招呼之後，兩人開始了許多次漫長而友好的交談。這就是這位哲學家是如何透過正義女神之手了解到，真正的正義在於讓未來變得更美好，使其遠離過去的錯誤，而虛假的正義和仇恨無法使人原諒和忘記過去的錯誤，雖然這樣做可以修復未來，但最終的結局總會一樣的糟糕。
【Source】www.freestoriesforkids.com
【Translated by】Spark Liao (廖懷寶)
【Illustration】From Bing
