(资料图片仅供参考)

《万有引力之虹》第一卷引用的出处。随手随便翻译。

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From The Third Book of Words to Live By [1]选自《我们藉以生存之道的第三书》

↑ Von Braun, Wernher, "Why I Believe in Immortality," in William Nichols (ed.), The Third Book of Words to Live By, Simon and Schuster, 1962, pp. 119-120.Why I Believe in Immortality我为何相信灵魂不朽byWernher Von Braun沃纳·冯·布劳恩Inventor and Space Expert发明家与航空专家    "I believe ... that the soul of Man is immortal and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this." –Benjamin Franklin   “我相信……人的灵魂是不朽的，并且会在另一段生命中依照他们各自做过的事受到公正的对待。”——本杰明·富兰克林TODAY, more than ever before, our survival — yours and mine and our children's- depends on our adherence to ethical principles. Ethics alone will decide whether atomic energy will be an earthly blessing or the source of mankind's utter destruction.今天，与以前任何时代相比，我们生存发展的机会——你们的和我的，还有孩子们的——空前依赖于我们对道德原则的忠诚。伦理与道德将决定原子能究竟会是普世的赐福，又或者是人类用于完全毁灭自身的工具。Where does the desire for ethical action come from? What makes us want to be ethical? I believe there are two forces which move us. One is belief in a Last Judgment, when every one of us has to account for what we did with God's great gift of life on earth. The other is belief in an immortal soul, a soul which will cherish the award or suffer the penalty decreed in a final Judgment.对于道德的举动的渴望从何而来？是什么使我们想要过符合伦理道德要求的生活？我相信有两种力量在驱使着我们。其一是对最后审判的信念，那时所有人都必须为自己的一生——神赐予的我们的伟大礼物——在世间的所作所为作出解释。另一种是对不朽灵魂的信念，灵魂要么珍视这份礼物，要么就要承受最终审判时判决的惩罚。Belief in God and in immortality thus gives us the moral strength and the ethical guidance we need for virtually every action in our daily lives.对神的信仰和对不朽灵魂的信念因此给了我们道德上的力量和伦理上的指导原则，后者是我们日常生活中几乎每一个举动所需要的。In our modern world many people seem to feel that science has somehow made such "religious ideas" untimely or old-fashioned.在我们现代社会里，很多人似乎觉得科学已经让这些“宗教观念”变得不合时宜，老气横秋。But I think science has a real surprise for the skeptics. Science, for instance, tells us that nothing in nature, not even the tiniest particle, can disappear without a trace.但我认为科学会让怀疑论者感到着实震惊。科学，比如说，会告诉我们，在自然界中，哪怕是最小的粒子也不会毫无迹象地消失。Think about that for a moment. Once you do, your thoughts about life will never be the same.稍加思考吧。只要你这么做了，你对生命的看法便绝不会如此。Science has found that nothing can disappear without a trace. Nature does not know extinction. All it knows is transformation!科学已经发现，任何事物都不可能突然消失而不留一点痕迹。大自然不理解消亡，它所知道的只有演变！Now, if God applies this fundamental principle to the most minute and insignificant parts of His universe, doesn't it make sense to assume that He applies it also to the masterpiece of His creation — the human soul? I think it does. And everything science has taught me — and continues to teach me — strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death. Nothing disappears without a trace.现在，如果神为他的宇宙中每一分每一秒，还有最不起眼的部分都规定了基本的原则，难道这不意味着他也为自己创造的最高杰作——人类灵魂——作出了如是的规定吗？我想这是毋庸置疑的。并且，科学已经教会我的一切——和它将会教导我的——都坚定了我的信念，我们死后，灵魂继续存在。没有事物会突然消亡。