《乌托邦》6：双语彩蛋

原文：

In choosing their wivesthey use a method that would appear to us very absurd and ridiculous, but it isconstantly observed among them, and is accounted perfectly consistent withwisdom.  Before marriage some grave matron presents the bride, naked, whethershe is a virgin or a widow, to the bridegroom, and after that some grave manpresents the bridegroom, naked, to the bride.  We, indeed, both laughed atthis, and condemned it as very indecent.  But they, on the other hand,wondered at the folly of the men of all other nations, who, if they are but tobuy a horse of a small value, are so cautious that they will see every part ofhim, and take off both his saddle and all his other tackle, that there may beno secret ulcer hid under any of them, and that yet in the choice of a wife, onwhich depends the happiness or unhappiness of the rest of his life, a manshould venture upon trust, and only see about a handsbreadth of the face, allthe rest of the body being covered, under which may lie hid what may be contagiousas well as loathsome.  

中文：

在选择配偶时，乌托邦人严肃不苟地遵守在我们看来是愚笨而极端可笑的习惯。女方不管是处女抑孀妇，须赤身露体，由一位德高望重已婚老妇人带去求婚男子前亮相。同样，男方也一丝不挂，由一位小心谨慎的男子陪伴来到女方面前。我们非笑这样的风俗，斥为愚蠢。

乌托邦人却对所有其他国家的极端愚蠢表示惊异。试看人们买一匹花钱本不太多的小马，尚且非常慎重，尽管这匹马差不多是光着身子，尚且不肯付值，除非摘下它的鞍子，取下全副挽具，唯恐下面隐蔽着什么烂疮。可是在今后一生苦乐所系的选择妻子这件事上，他们却掉以轻心，对女方的全部评价只根据几乎是一手之宽的那部分，即露出的面庞，而身体其余部分全裹在衣服里，这样，和她结成伴侣，如果日后发现什么不满意之处，就很难以融洽地共同生活下去。