2012年7月11日星期三

古德明: 彭定康別港講詞



問:前港督彭定康的告別講詞有以下一句,是什麼意思?─All that is a reminder that sometimes we should remember the past the better to forget it

答:這一句較難明白的,應是the better to三字。The better to do something意思等於in order to do something better(以便某事可以做得較好),例如:(1The better to express his meaning, he uses a comparison(為了把意思說得清楚一點,他用了個比喻)。(2I wore a broad-brimmed straw hat, the better to fend off the sun(我戴上闊邊草帽,抵禦烈日)。

彭定康那一句的前文,寫得頗為隱晦,必須先談談。The chapter began with events that... none of us here would wish or seek to condone一語,是說「香港歷史的這一章,始於我們今天都不會原諒的事」,那無疑是指鴉片戰爭等侵華惡行。其後一句是:But we might note that most of those who live in Hong Kong now do so because of events in our own century which would today have few defenders。這是說,「但我們也該知道,今天香港多數居民,當年來港定居,是因為本世紀發生了一些事,一些現在幾乎無人稱道的事」,這自然是指大躍進、文革等暴政。跟着就是讀者示下那一句:「這一切提醒我們,要把歷史拋諸腦後,最好先重溫歷史。」這應是說,不要一味記着英國的侵華惡行,應記得許多香港人因這惡行而得免中共暴政。