Help me to translate it

by jwstudy 6 Replies latest jw friends

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  jwstudy

  Hi!

  I am from Japan and want to translate this quote, but last phrase is uncear for me.

  Here is the quote.

  "If a man, holding a belief which he was taught in childhood or persuaded of afterwards, keeps down and pushes away any doubts which arise about it in his mind, purposely avoids the reading of books and the company of men that call in question or discuss it, and regards as impious those questions which cannot easily be asked without disturbing it -- the life of that man is one long sin against mankind." - William Kingdon Clifford - Contemporary Review (1877)

  I understand mostly, but unclear part for me is the phrase

  " the life of that man is one long sin against mankind."

  Each word is very easy, but the nuance and what he wanted to say is unclear.

  Anyone explain what Clifford wanted to say in English?

  I supporse it was a just irony like " pious with ignorance tends to injure people ", am I right?

  I am native Japanese.

  JWSTUDY
• 

  transhuman68

  LOL, I had to look up 'impious' myself.

  impious ['?mp??s]

  adj 1. lacking piety or reverence for a god; ungodly 2. lacking respect; undutiful impiously adv impiousness n But this : "the life of that man is one long sin against mankind." probably means that the man is part of the problem; not part of the solution- so you are right.
• 

  Splash

  " the life of that man is one long sin against mankind."

  This means that, because of what was said earlier (i.e. a man who refuses to question anything he is taught) that man, for his whole life, is sinning against mankind.

  He is sinning against mankind in that he is not contributing to the growing knowledge, but is rather clinging to ideas which could easily turn out to be false. It infers he is not really worthy of being classed as a part of humanity whose natural instincts are to question and explore.

  Splash.
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  JWB

  He is not fulfilling his moral obligation to his fellow humans to expose error.
  
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  [In case the Japanese script doesn't show up!]
  
  Kare ga eraa wo koukai suru tame ni kare no nakama no ningen ni kare no doutokuteki na gimu wo hatashite inai.
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  jwstudy

  Thank you all for responding my question.

  I have now a better understanding of that phrase.

  JWD, your Japanese is nice, though Japanese Character doesnt show up.

  jwstudy
• 

  notjustyet

  I concur, ( always wanted to use that)

  I think that for mankind to move out of ignorance we have to face the facts, and ignoring the truths only allows mankind to stay in their stagnant state.

  Give of yourself for the betterment of the masses.

  NJY
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  Fernando

  Additional thoughts:

  The degree of ignorance involved in such a closed-minded approach is also important.

  Psychiatrist Morgan Scott Peck defined evil as "militant ignorance" and characterised it as "malignant self-righteouesness".