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給年輕作家的一些話 A Few Words to a Young Writer Socrates said, "The misuse of language induces evil in the soul." He wasn't talking about grammar. To misuse language is to use it the way politicians and advertisers do, for profit, without taking responsibility for what the words mean. Language used as a means to get power or make money goes wrong: it lies. Language used as an end in itself, to sing a poem or tell a story, goes right, goes towards the truth. A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight. By using words well they strengthen their souls. Story-tellers and poets spend their lives learning that skill and art of using words well. And their words make the souls of their readers stronger, brighter, deeper. -- by Ursula K. Le Guin
蘇格拉底說：「誤用語言會使邪惡侵入靈魂」，他說的可不是文法。所謂誤用語言就像是政客和廣告商那樣，只為了利益，而不為字詞的意義負責。將語言作為獲取權力和金錢的工具，那是在說謊，終導致錯誤；將語言本身視為目的，用來吟詩、說故事，才能接近真實。 作家關切的正是字詞的意義、字詞說的話，以及它們說話的方式。作家知道字詞可以使他們接近真實和自由，所以使用字詞時小心翼翼，惶恐中帶著喜悅。若用得好，他們的靈魂便更加堅強。說書人和詩人終其一生都在學習善用字詞的技藝，而他們說出來的字詞，可以使讀者的靈魂更加堅強、爽朗，而且深沈。 -- 娥蘇拉•勒瑰恩 Author：Ursula K. Le Guin |