JUST THE BOY WANTED（霍姆斯：男孩儿想要的东西）中英对照

1 某 x@2013 The Youth's Companion, Feb.7 1889, p.73(Vol 62) JUST THE BOY WANTED, II IN THE LAW, by Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes (from Howe, Mark DeWolfe. Research materials relating to life of Oliver Wendell Holmes.) A boy who wants to succeed in the law will probably do so. An encouraging thought, as far as it goes. But the power to want to do a thing is as much a talent as the power to do it well, and the two are very apt to go together. So that I am not offering encouragement, but stating the first inborn gift which the boy born for the law must have. The boy who is wanted in the law must be able himself to want something very hard all the time, and for a long time. But this is true for the most part of all who are wanted any where in life. There are some other talents which have a more special connection with the law. The law is a great mass of rules, showing when and how for a man is liable to be punished, or to be made to hand over money or property to his neighbors, and so forth. These rules are contained in books. A lawyer learns them in the main by reading books. He begins by doing little else then read, and after he has prepared himself by, any, three years' study to practice, still, all his life long and almost every day, he will be looking into books to read a little more than he already knows about some new question which he has got to answer. The power to use books, then is a talent which the would-be lawyer ought to possess. He ought to have enough flexibility and fineness or mental fibre to make it easy for him to collect ideas from printed words. Be ought to have some readiness in finding what a book contains, and something of an instinct for where to look for what he wants. But although this is the power of which he will first feel the need, it is not the most important. A lawyer does not study law to recite upon it, as a boy studies the Latin grammar or mathematics; he studies it to use it and to act upon the rules which he has learned in real life. His business is to try cases in court, and to advise men what to do in order to keep out or get out of trouble. He studies his books in order to advise and to try his cases in the right way. So it will be seen at once that book-learning is only the beginning. A men may be clumsy with his books, but if he can tell another man in distress what to do, he has the better half of ability. If he can seize at once the important facts from out the sea of dramatic circumstances poured in upon him by eager witnesses or clients, he will find plenty of students to help him to what he wants from the library. Practical judgment, that is, a sense of the relative importance of things with reference to the accomplishment of some desired end, is what commands the world. Before a 2 某 x@2013 boy is fifteen you can tell whether he has it. If he has it, he will show it in the law. The lawyer's judgment is a sense of the relative importance of facts with reference to the rules of law, and a sense also,- the more the better,- of their importance with regard to business, because law and business are bound together very closely, and in advising a man what to do the lawyer often needs to consider business consequences as well as law. But a lawyer's occupation is not only to advise, but to persuade. Persuasion needs other gifts beside judgment, and more than one. If it were only to persuade courts, that is, bodies of experts dealing with questions of the kind which they are trained to answer, the chief needs would be clearness of thought which makes clearness of statement, and that sort of ease and familiarity in handling ideas which is one of the marks of a civilized man. The former is a gift, the latter partly a gift, but more the result of training still comparatively rare in this country. But these are not the only needs. A lawyer has to persuade juries as well as judges, he has to argue before committees, to deal with matters of legislation, and to make men in all kinds of callings believe what he wants to convince them of. You may convince a lawyer of a proposition of law by reasoning alone, but to carry an untrained man upon a question of conduct or of life, takes all the powers of year nature at once. A man's deepest beliefs are the product of all his powers and passions and his whole experience; and in some degree the whole man goes into his belief upon may mixed and practical question. To bring about a fighting belief, the whole man must be roused. When roused he is sometimes easily led. But to lead a man, or even to set in motion the predetermined drift of his nature, you must be able to do more than state your propositions clearly, you must be able to point transporting pictures in which one finds himself arrived at the desired conclusion by an act of vision. A bad man will awaken in his hearers whatever close prejudice, or mean envy, or base unbelief will make it easy for them to side with him. A noble one will reveal to them in themselves heretofore unsuspected powers of aspiration, and high flight toward lofty and generous thoughts, and will carry them on wings over the gulfs that cross his path. But, bad or good, the persuasive man has tact to discern the kind of natures with which he has to dear, and to feel, by a sort of instinct, in what directions they will follow easily, and from what they will turn away. Most of the very successful jury lawyers whom I have known have had some little spark or touch, at least, of imagination. Te most famous, as we all know, have had a great deal. It is surprising how far ever a very little will go, as any one may see by comparing successful speeches with the poetry, or even with the famous prose writing of our literature. One other requisite should be mentioned if a man is to succeed in the most brilliant walks of the profession, and that is a tough constitution. Not necessarily the kind of strength that rows in prize crews, but a talent for living and keeping in working order 3 某 x@2013 under difficulties. An advocate, and in a less degree an adviser, has to undergo great stretches of prolonged intellectual sport, often joined with bodily exertion, and sometimes with great excitement and anxiety. The pace is killing, and very many of the most successful lawyers break down in middle life, have to take a rest, perhaps, for years, and when they come back to their work, do so with soberer gait and with precautions. If they had not been exceptional people, the would not have come back at all. I have mentioned the gifts which seem tome the most important for a great success at the bar. There are quiet and pleasant places in the law for which less is sufficient. It is to be said, too, that the law offers employment, or at least, an opening for a considerable variety of talents. As they say of Boston, it is a good place to go from. In actually making up one's mind, there are many secondary considerations to be taken into account from a good voice to potent temperament or favorable connections. But I do not think much of brilliant starts; the battle will depend after all on the native force of the man. The degree of our force is determined for us in advance, and in the great shaking up of men together in life, most men sooner or later reach the place where they belong. This is destiny if you choose, but a part of man's destiny, and the means by which the inevitable comes to pass, is striving. In a sense, what a man wants he can have. The desire of his soul is the prophecy of his fate. 4 某 x@2013 男孩儿想要的东西 译/刘思达 一个想在法律领域获得成功的男孩很可能会心想事成。就目前来看，这是一个令人鼓舞 的想法。想做一件事的能力与把一件事做好的能力同样都是天赋，这两种能力经常是相辅相 成的。因此我并不是在提供激励，而是在陈述一个为法律而生的男孩首先应当具备的与生俱 来的天赋。 法律所需要的男孩必须是自己能够一直强烈的渴望某种东西并且可以持之以恒的人。但 这对于生活其他方面所需要的人也基本适用。还存在其他一些与法律有着更特殊联系的天 赋。 法律是一大堆的规则，他们显示了在什么情况下一个人会受到怎么样的惩罚，或者会被 要求将金钱或财产转移给他的相邻人，等等。这些规则在书本里。一个法律人主要是通过读 书来掌握它们。 他开始只是读书而已，而当他投入时间工作之后（比如在 3 年学习之后），他一生中也 几乎每天都仍然要从书本里找到一些关于他从前并不知道而又必须回答的某个新问题的东 西。 因此，使用书籍的能力是一个未来的法律人所应当具备的。他应当有足够灵活和敏锐的 精神特质，使他能够很容易从纸上的文字里获得灵感。他应当具有迅速发现一本书内涵的能 力，并且具有某种知道到哪里去找他想要的东西的本能。 这虽然是他最先感到需要的能力，却不是最重要的能力。法律人学习法律不像一个男孩 学习拉丁语语法或者数学那样为了背诵，而是为了使用，并且将其作用于他从真实生活中得 到的那些规则上。他的工作是在法庭上审理案件，并且告诉人们如何防范和解决纠纷。他读 书是为了以正确的方式咨询和审理案件。 于是我们马上可以看出，读书只不过是开始。一个人可能在读书方面很笨拙，但如果他 能告诉另一个处于痛苦中的人应当怎样做，他就具备了更重要的一半能力。如果他能从冲动 的证人或者委托人向他倾斜的戏剧化清净的汪洋大海中立刻抓住那些重要的事实，他就能找 到许多能帮他从图书馆里得到他想要的东西的学生。 实践性的判断十一中关于食物对于达到某个期望目的的相对重要性的感觉，这才是能够 支配世界的东西。在一个男孩 15 岁以前你就能看出他是否具有这样的品质。如果有的话， 他将会在法律中将其显示出来。法律人的判断是一种关于事实对于法律规则相对重要性的感 觉，而且也是他们对于商业的重要性的（越多越好），因为法律和商业是紧密联系在一起的， 在给人提供意见时律师经常需要考虑其商业后果，而不仅仅是法律后果。 但律师们的职业并不仅仅是要提供几件，而是要说服。说服还需要判断之外的其他天赋， 而且不止一种。如果只是要说服法院，也就是要说服一群有处理这类问题的专业训练的专家， 那么最需要的东西是思路的清晰以及与之相应的达的清晰，运用思想史的那种轻车熟路是 一个有教养的人（civilized man）的标志之一。前者是一种天赋，而后者部分也是天赋，但 更多的是在这个国家还相对罕见的训练的结果。 但这并不是唯一的要求。律师不仅要说服法官，还要说服陪审团，他要在各种委员会面 前辩论，要处理各种立法问题，要让各行各业的人相信他试图说明的东西。 5 某 x@2013 你可以只用推理来说服法律人接受一个法律命题，但要让未经训练的人接受一个关于行为或 生活的问题，就必须同时运用你与生俱来的一切能力。 一个人最深的信念是他所有的能力、激情以及全部经验的产物；在某种程度上，人们会 把他的信念融入到任何任何混合的和实际的问题中去。为了激发战斗新年，整个人的激情都 必须被唤起。当激情被唤起时有时比较容易被引导，但如果要引导一个人，或者甚至是调动 他与生俱来的天赋，你要做的就必须比清晰地表达你的主张更多，你必须能会出可以让一个 人通过想象达到他想要的结论的交通线路图。 坏人会利用一切阶级偏见、卑劣的季度或者低俗的怀疑来唤醒他的倾听者，以使他们倒 向他那一边。高尚的人则会揭示出人们心中从未被怀疑过的渴望的力量，让崇高而宽宏的思 想高高飞翔，并用翅膀载着它们越过仙剑道路上的沟沟壑壑。可无论好坏，一个善于说服的 人都有办法辨别他所要应对的种种天性，并且通过某种直觉感到它们更容易朝哪个方向流 动，以及它们将会在哪里改变方向。 我所接触到的绝大多数非常成功的陪审团律师（jury lawyers）都拥有某些想象的小火花， 或者至少是触动。我们都知道，最著名的人拥有大量这样的东西。这一点点小火花产生的后 果令人惊叹，就像任何人在讲成功的演讲与诗歌或者甚至是与我们文学中著名的散文篇章对 比时都能看到的那样。 如果一个人想在这个职业里留下更为辉煌的足迹，就应当提到另一个前提条件，那就是 一个坚强的体格这不一定是伪劣荣誉人群中的那种能力，而是一种在面对困难时能够生存并 且保持工作秩序的才能。辩护律师（advocate）必须承受超长智力运动的高度紧张，经常伴 随着身体消耗，有时候还有巨大的兴奋感和焦虑感，顾问律师（adviser）也几乎如此。 这种工作节奏令人精疲力尽，许多最成功的律师在中年时候倒下了，需要休息一段时间， 而当他们回来重新开始工作时，也必须采用更有节制的步调和高度的谨慎。如果他们不是非 凡的人，那么他们就根本就不会回来。 我已经谈到了在我看来要在律师界取得巨大成功所最需要的种种天赋。在法律领域里还 有一些更加宁静和更令人愉快的地方，那里所需要的天赋要少一些。应该说，法律提供了就 业机会，或者至少给许多种不同的才能提供了一个开放的机会。就像人们说波士顿这座城市 那样，它是一个启程的好地方。 在一个人实际做决定时，还有很多需要考虑的次要因素，比如衣服好嗓子、坚强的性格 和良好的关系。但我并不认为一个辉煌的开始有多么重要；毕竟这一战役最终将取决于一个 人与生俱来的能力。我们自身的能力是预先注定的，在人们共同生活的巨大动荡里，绝大多 数人迟早会照打他们所属的位置。如果你选择了的话，那么这就是你的命运。但人命运的一 部分以及那个必然结果所必须经历的手段就是奋斗。在某种意义上，一个人想要的就是他能 得到的。 他灵魂的欲望就是他命运的先知。