27. 合理的权威（讲解）

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Such power was a thing for the little prince to marvel at. If he had been master of such complete authority, he would have been able to watch the sunset, not forty-four times in one day, but seventy-two, or even a hundred, or even two hundred times, without ever having to move his chair. And because he felt a bit sad as he remembered his little planet which he had forsaken, he plucked up his courage to ask the king a favor:

"I should like to see a sunset . . . Do me that kindness . . . Order the sun to set . . ."

"If I ordered a general to fly from one flower to another like a butterfly, or to write a tragic drama, or to change himself into a sea bird, and if the general did not carry out the order that he had received, which one of us would be in the wrong?" the king demanded. "The general, or myself?"

"You," said the little prince firmly.

"Exactly. One must require from each one the duty which each one can perform," the king went on. "Accepted authority rests first of all on reason. If you ordered your people to go and throw themselves into the sea, they would rise up in revolution. I have the right to require obedience because my orders are reasonable."

"Then my sunset?" the little prince reminded him: for he never forgot a question once he had asked it.

"You shall have your sunset. I shall command it. But, according to my science of government, I shall wait until conditions are favorable."

"When will that be?" inquired the little prince.

"Hum! Hum!" replied the king; and before saying anything else he consulted a bulky almanac. "Hum! Hum! That will be about--about--that will be this evening about twenty minutes to eight. And you will see how well I am obeyed!"

The little prince yawned. He was regretting his lost sunset. And then, too, he was already beginning to be a little bored.

语言点

- marvel：v. 感到惊讶；例：Everyone marvelled at his courage. 人人都对他的勇气惊叹不已。
- forsake：v. 抛弃；例：God forsaken land 蛮荒之地
- pluck up：鼓起；例：to pluck up one’s courage 鼓起勇气
- ask sb. a favor：请人帮忙；相关表达：do sb. a favor 帮忙；例：Do me a favor and stop talking. 你可拉倒吧！赶紧闭嘴吧！
- tragic：adj. 悲惨的
- carry out：实行，执行；例：to carry out a plan 执行计划
- firmly：adv. 坚定地；例：I firmly believe that . . . 我坚信……
- accepted：adj. 公认的
- rest on：依靠；例：All our hopes now rest on you. 我们现在就指望你了。
- revolution：n. 革命，革命性巨变；例：the French Revolution 法国大革命 / the Industrial Revolution 工业革命
- command：v. 命令
- consult：v. 咨询，查阅；例：I’d like to consult you about this matter. 我想针对这件事问问你的意见。
- bulky：adj. 笨重的
- almanac：n. 历书
- regret ：v. 后悔；例：I regret my decision. 我后悔作了这个决定。