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There was another bookish lad in the town, John Collins by name, with whom I was intimately acquainted.
在镇上另外有一个爱好读书的孩子，叫做约翰·高令斯，我和他往来甚密。
We sometimes disputed, and very fond we were of argument, and very desirous of confuting one another, which disputatious turn, by the way, is apt to become a very bad habit,
有时我们有争论，我们的确十分爱好争辩，很想驳倒对方，这种爱争辩的癖好，让我顺便说一说，很容易发展成为一种很坏的习惯，
making people often extremely disagreeable in company by the contradiction that is necessary to bring it into practice;
为了争辩人们必须提出反对的意见，这种抗辩常常使人在他人面前变成十分讨厌，
and thence, besides souring and spoiling the conversation, is productive of disgusts and, perhaps enmities where you may have occasion for friendship.
因此，它不但使人们的交谈变成别扭和遭到破坏，并且会产生厌恶，甚至使本来可能发生融洽友情的场合产生了敌意。
I had caught it by reading my father's books of dispute about religion.
我这种爱好争辩的习气是从阅读我父亲的那些有关宗教论辩的书籍中得来的。
Persons of good sense, I have since observed, seldom fall into it, except lawyers, university men, and men of all sorts that have been bred at Edinborough.
从那时起我发现，除了律师、大学生以及在爱丁堡受过训练的各式各样的人以外，明达的人很少染上这种习气的。
A question was once, somehow or other, started between Collins and me, of the propriety of educating the female sex in learning, and their abilities for study.
不知怎样，高令斯和我开始辩论起妇女应否受高深教育和妇女有否从事研究工作能力的问题。
He was of opinion that it was improper, and that they were naturally unequal to it.
他认为妇女不应受高深的教育，她们的天赋低劣，不能胜任。
I took the contrary side, perhaps a little for dispute's sake.
我站在另一面，也许有点儿仅仅是为了争辩而争辩罢了。
He was naturally more eloquent, had a ready plenty of words, and sometimes, as I thought, bore me down more by his fluency than by the strength of his reasons.
他天生比我雄辩，他的词汇丰富，有时候我觉得他之所以能压倒我，得力于他流畅的语言较多，他的论据的说服力其实较少。
As we parted without settling the point, and were not to see one another again for some time, I sat down to put my arguments in writing, which I copied fair and sent to him.
我们在分手时，这个问题还没有解决，并且在最近期内我们也不再会有见面的机会，因此我坐了下来，把我的论点写了下来，誊清后寄给他。
He answered, and I replied. Three or four letters of a side had passed, when my father happened to find my papers and read them.
他回信，我又答辩，这样双方交换了三四次信件，碰巧这时我父亲看见了我的信札，读了一遍。
Without entering into the discussion, he took occasion to talk to me about the manner of my writing;
他虽不参加我们的论战，但是他趁机和我讨论我的文章体裁问题，
observed that, though I had the advantage of my antagonist in correct spelling and pointing (which I ow'd to the printing-house),
他说：虽然在正字和标点方面我胜过我的论敌（这点得归功于印刷所），
I fell far short in elegance of expression, in method and in perspicuity, of which he convinced me by several instances.
但在措辞的典雅、叙述的条理清晰方面我远不如对方，他并举了几个实例来使我信服。
I saw the justice of his remarks, and thence grew more attentive to the manner in writing, and determined to endeavor at improvement.
我看出了他的话是公平合理的，所以从此以后更注意文章的风格，决心力求改进。
