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"We aimed at the mastery of the whole Caribbean," he said, "and don't think that because we are a little country we could not have succeeded. War is no longer a matter of armies; it depends on the intelligence of scientists. And we had a scientist who, as I have since seen proved, had no rival west of the Atlantic."
“我们的目标是控制整个加勒比海地区，”他说道，“你可不要认为我们是个小国家，就不能成功实现这一点。战争不再是军队的比拼：它的胜负取决于科学家的智慧。而我们就有一个已被我证实在大西洋西岸都找不到敌手的顶尖科学家。”
"You proved it?" I could not help saying.
“你证实的？”我不禁问道。
"Yes," he said. "You shall hear."
“是的，”他说道，“你好好听着。”
I had another bottle of wine set before him, and I did hear.
我又给他叫了一瓶酒，听他讲故事。
"You may not have thought it," he said, "but I was in our Ministry of Warfare."
“你可能想不到，”他说，“我以前在国防部干过。”
And I had not thought it, for he was not at all what one would regard as the figure of a soldier.
我确实没有想到这个，因为他与一个战士的形象相差甚远。
But warfare, as he explained to me, has altered.
但是战争如他所说那样，已经发生了变化。
"Our Minister," he said, "was a cavalry officer and could not adapt his ideas to modern science. He thought of war simply as an opportunity for cavalry charges and fine uniforms and glory. We had to get rid of him in order to fulfill our just aspirations."
“我们的部长，”他说，“是个骑兵队指挥官，思想适应不了现代科学。他把战争简单地看成是骑兵们的冲锋陷阵、身穿精美制服和博得荣誉。我们不得不让他下台，以实现我们正义的抱负。”
"And what are they?" I asked.
“什么抱负呢？”我问他。
"Why, the domination of the whole Caribbean," he said. "And it is just that we should have it. We are the people who have been born to it."
“就是对整个加勒比海地区的统治权，”他答道，“这是正义的事业，是我们民族的天职。”
"Of course," I said soothingly, though I did not know for which country he spoke.
“当然，”我安慰道，虽然我并不知道他是代表哪个国家在说话。
