part one the logical esprit de corps
第一章:他得学会合群
beginning my studies the first step pleas'd me so much,
探索伊始,我心已醉。
the mere fact consciousness, these forms, the power of motion,
只说那微妙的知觉,形态,力量,
the least insect or animal, the senses, eyesight, love,
只说那轻巧的昆虫,动物,还有感受,还有目光,
the first step i say awed me and pleas'd me so much,
还有爱,都让我由心敬畏,欣然忘食。
i have hardly gone and hardly wish'd to go any farther,
我止步不前,不再期待远方,
but stop and loiter all the time to sing it in ecstatic songs.
我要留在这里,用狂喜的曲子,不住地歌唱。
a son of the british empire, alan turing's social origins lay just on the borderline between the landed gentry and the commercial classes. as merchants, soldiers and clergymen, his ancestors had been gentlemen, but not of the settled kind. many of them had made their way through the expansion of british interests throughout the world.
大英帝国之子艾伦·图灵,出身于一个半贵族半资产阶级的家族。在他的祖先中,有上流社会的商人、军人和牧师。随着不列颠席卷全球的扩张,他们也开拓了自己的世界。
the turings could be traced back to turins of foveran, aberdeenshire, in the fourteenth century. there was a baronetcy in the family, created in about 1638 for a john turing, who left scotland for england. audentes fortuna juvat (fortune helps the daring) was the motto of the turings, but however brave, they were never very lucky. sir john turing backed the losing side in the english civil war, while foveran was sacked by the covenanters. denied compensation after the restoration, the turings languished in obscurity during the eighteenth century, as the family history, the lay of the turings1, was to describe:
上溯到公元14世纪,图灵家族发源于北苏格兰阿伯丁郡的佛汶然地区。1638年,这个家族里有一位准男爵,叫约翰·图灵,他离开了苏格兰,来到英格兰。图灵家族的信条是「勇者好运」,但不幸的是,约翰勇气有余,却没遇到好运。在英国内战中,准男爵吃了败仗,佛汶然遭到大肆洗掠,在王政复辟后,他也没有得到赔偿。于是,到了18世纪,图灵的家族没落了。在他的家史上,有这么一首歌谣: