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Curiously enough, it never occurred to me to call Greek patronymics "queer."
不过说来也怪，我从来不觉得希腊神话无趣。
But how shall I speak of the glories I have since discovered in the Bible? For years I have read it with an ever-broadening sense of joy and inspiration; and I love it as I love no other book. Still there is much in the Bible against which every instinct of my being rebels, so much that I regret the necessity which has compelled me to read it through from beginning to end. I do not think that the knowledge which I have gained of its history and sources compensates me for the unpleasant details it has forced upon my attention. For my part, I wish, with Mr. Howells, that the literature of the past might be purged of all that is ugly and barbarous in it, although I should object as much as any one to having these great works weakened or falsified.
但我又该如何言说《圣经》中的智慧与荣耀呢？很多年来，我一直怀着莫大的喜悦和感动阅读《圣经》，我爱这本书胜过爱其他任何书；但是《圣经》中的很多地方都同我的本性相抵触。因此，我是带着愧疚的心情迫使自己把这本书从头到尾读完的。同它强加于我的种种不快相比，我并不认为我从书中获得的历史知识对我是一种补偿。就我本人而言，我希望能同豪厄尔斯先生一起，将古代文学中所有丑陋粗鄙的一面彻底肃清。当然，像任何人一样，我也十分反对把这些伟大的著作进行曲解或篡改。
There is something impressive, awful, in the simplicity and terrible directness of the book of Esther. Could there be anything more dramatic than the scene in which Esther stands before her wicked lord? She knows her life is in his hands; there is no one to protect her from his wrath. Yet, conquering her woman's fear, she approaches him, animated by the noblest patriotism, having but one thought: "If I perish, I perish; but if I live, my people shall live."
在极其率真而朴素的《以斯帖记》中，你会发现某种令人震撼的情节。还有什么比以斯帖面对邪恶的君王时更具戏剧性的场面呢？她知道她的生命就攥在王的手心里。没有人能保护她逃脱王的愤怒。然而，她还是克服了女人的恐惧心理，怀着视死如归的爱国主义情怀。她接近王，她的心里只有一个念头：“如果我毁灭，仅只毁灭我一人而已；但是如果我活着，我的族人就将活着。”
The story of Ruth, too—how Oriental it is! Yet how different is the life of these simple country folks from that of the Persian capital!
《路得记》也属于这样的故事——这是一个多么具有东方情调的故事啊！然而这些淳朴的乡下（犹太）人又是多么难以融入波斯人的首都！
