其實，有時候，任何人事都束縛不了我們的身軀，更禁錮不了我們的思想。如此，歷史長河才不至于干涸……往往是鏡中的那個自己先放下武器，妥協(xié)求饒…… Most people are like the circus elephant. Have you ever seen an elephant in an indoor arena tied to a little wooden stake? That huge creature can pick up two thousand pounds with its trunk, yet it calmly stays tied. Why?

大多數(shù)人都像馬戲團里的大象。你曾看過一頭大象被拴在室內(nèi)舞臺的一根小木樁上嗎?那頭龐然大物能用它的長鼻子挑起2000磅的重物，卻平靜地甘于被綁縛。為什么呢?

When that elephant was just a baby, and not very strong, it was tied by a huge chain to an iron stake that could not be moved. Regardless of how hard it tried, it could not break the chain and run free. After a while it just gave up. Now, even though it is strong, it never attempts to break free. The “imprint” is permanent. “I can’t! I can’t!” it says.

大象幼年時，身子骨還不甚強壯，就被一根巨大的鐵鏈拴在牢牢固定的鐵樁上。不管它花多大的氣力，都無法掙斷鐵鏈，獲得自由。經(jīng)過一段時間的嘗試，它便放棄了。如今，它強壯了，卻也不再試著去爭取自由了。這個“鉻印”是永久的。“我不能!我不能!”它訴說著。

There are millions of people who behave like this circus creature. They have been tied and told “You’ll never make it,” so many times they finally call it quits. They may have dreams, but the “imprinting” keeps pulling them back.