TED演讲：暗喻言说(6)

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　　But before it was fossil poetry, language was fossil metaphor¹. 但是在它成为化石般的诗之前，语言是化石般的暗喻。

　　And these fossils still breathe. 而这些化石现在仍具有生气。

　　Take the three most famous words in all of Western philosophy: "Cogito ergo sum." 就拿在西方哲学中最有名的三个词来说：Cogito ergo sum

　　That's routinely translated as, "I think, therefore I am." But there is a better translation. 通常被翻译为“我思故我在。”但是有一种更好的译法。

　　The Latin word "cogito" is derived² from the prefix³ "co," meaning "together," and the verb "agitare," meaning "to shake." 这里拉丁文"cogito"是从前缀"co"而来，意思是"在一起"，而动词"agitare"是“摇动”的意思

　　So, the original meaning of "cogito" is to shake together. 所以"cogito"的原意是一起摇动。

　　And the proper translation of "cogito ergo sum" is "I shake things up, therefore I am." 而"cogito ergo sum"的适切的翻译是"我摇动事物，故我在."

　　Metaphor shakes things up, giving us everything from Shakespeare to scientific discovery in the process. 暗喻摇动事物，它带给我们从莎士比亚到科学发现的各样事情。

　　The mind is a plastic snow dome⁴, the most beautiful, most interesting, 我们的思想是一个圣诞节的雪花球，它最美丽、最有趣，

　　and most itself, when, as Elvis put it, it's all shook up. 也最本色的时候，就是它被使劲摇动的时候，像埃尔维斯所说的一样。

　　And metaphor keeps the mind shaking, rattling⁵ and rolling, long after Elvis has left the building. Thank you very much. 暗喻让我们的思想不住的摇动，叮当作响，滚动不已，尽管埃尔维斯早已离开。谢谢各位。

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