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One could have traveled round the word many times while I trudged my weary way through the labyrinthine mazes of grammars and dictionaries, or fell into those dreadful pitfalls called examinations, set by schools and colleges for the confusion of those who seek after knowledge. I suppose this sort of Pilgrim's Progress was justified by the end; and it seemed interminable to me, in spite of the pleasant surprises that met me now and then at a turn in the road.
当我在语法和字典的迷宫中上下求索，或者坠入考试的怪圈之中，你可能已经游历世界很多次了；而考试——我认为这是大中小学为懵懂的学子们所设置的一道检验标准。我觉得《天路历程》的结局是比较合理的，尽管在“天路”的转弯处，我偶尔也会遇到惊喜，但是在我看来，这部作品似乎过于冗长乏味了。
I began to read the Bible long before I could understand it. Now it seems strange to me that there should have been a time when my spirit was deaf to its wondrous harmonies; but I remember well a rainy Sunday morning when, having nothing else to do, I begged my cousin to read me a story out of the Bible. Although she did not think I should understand, she began to spell into my hand the story of Joseph and his brothers. Somehow it failed to interest me. The unusual language and repetition made the story seem unreal and far away in the land of Canaan, and I fell asleep and wandered off to the land of Nod, before the brothers came with the coat of many colours unto the tent of Jacob and told their wicked lie! I cannot understand why the stories of the Greeks should have been so full of charm for me, and those of the Bible so devoid of interest, unless it was that I had made the acquaintance of several Greeks in Boston and been inspired by their enthusiasm for the stories of their country; whereas I had not met a single Hebrew or Egyptian, and therefore concluded that they were nothing more than barbarians, and the stories about them were probably all made up, which hypothesis explained the repetitions and the queer names.
我很早就开始接触《圣经》，但并不能充分理解其内容。我的灵魂竟然一度对天国的奇妙和弦无知无觉。我清楚地记得，在一个细雨霏霏的主日清晨，因为没有其他事可做，于是我央求表姐为我读一段《圣经》故事。虽然她认为我可能听不懂，但她还是把约瑟和他的兄弟们的故事拼写在我的手上。不知是什么原因，这个故事并没有引起我的兴趣。不同寻常的语言和重复的叙述手法令这个故事显得很不真实，似乎不是发生在“迦南地”。我昏昏欲睡，还没等到约瑟的兄弟们拿着彩衣到雅各的帐篷里编造谎言，我的心神就已经跑到了“瞌睡地”。我无法解释为什么那些古希腊神话会令我陶醉其中，而《圣经》故事则令我兴趣全无。我在波士顿求学期间曾结识了好几个希腊人，他们对其祖国历史传说的热爱确实令我感动。鉴于我并没有遇到过一个希伯来人或埃及人，因此我也不能妄下断言，说他们只不过是些野蛮人，或者说他们民族的故事可能都是编造的，我当然不能以这种假设来解释故事的无趣。
