公民Ben的七大美德（12/13）

Franklin had been among the first to develop, 30 years earlier, the concept of a federal compromise, where both the national government and the state governments could have sovereign powers. And as the Constitutional Convention was about to break down in the hot Philadelphia summer of 1787, he set in motion the process that would break the impasse and, to a large extent, shape the new nation.

三十年前，Franklin就曾首次提出联邦制折衷案的概念，即国家政府和州政府都有独立自治权。而1787年炎热的费城夏天，合众国制宪大会却试图打破这个定制。他为了缓解僵局不断奔走，在很大程度上，可以说是他创立了这个新国家。

First Franklin succinctly stated the problem: "The diversity of opinions turns on two points. If a proportional representation takes place, the small States contend that their liberties will be in danger. If an equality of votes is to be put in its place, the large States say their money will be in danger."

首先，Franklin简洁明了地概括了这个问题：“这些差异化的意见可以概括为这样两点。如果采取按照人口分配选票的决定，那些人口稀少的小州就会为自己的自由担心。如果按照州数来分配选票，那些大州则会觉得他们投入的金钱得不到回报。”

Then he gently emphasized, in a homespun analogy that drew on his affection for craftsmen and construction, the importance of compromise: "When a broad table is to be made, and the edges of planks do not fit, the artist takes a little from both, and makes a good joint. In like manner here, both sides must part with some of their demands."

然后他慢慢道来，拿过去的工匠经验，用一个亲切的比喻强调了折衷的重要性：“在制作一个大圆桌的时候，如果桌腿嵌入的木板并不切合，工匠会同时调整桌面的插孔和桌腿的大小，以使其契合。现在我们面临的状况与其相似，各方都要牺牲一点自己的利益。”

Finally, he incorporated some compromises suggested by others into a specific motion. Representatives to the lower House would be popularly elected and apportioned by population, but in the Senate "the Legislatures of the several States shall choose and send an equal number of Delegates."

最后，他整合了一些各个方面建议，得出折衷议案。下议院的众议员们通过普选产生，按照人口分配选票，但是参议院“这个立法机关必须经过筛选，按照各州都有平等一票的原则进行。”

For Franklin, who personally believed in proportional representation, compromise was not only a practical approach but a moral one. Tolerance, humility and a respect for others required it. The near perfect document that arose from his compromise could not have been approved if the hall had contained only crusaders who stood on unwavering principle. Compromisers may not make great heroes, but they do make great democracies.

对Franklin来说，他自己就十分支持比例代表制，而折衷方案不仅是最实际的还是最合道德的解决方法。宽容、谦逊和对他人的尊重是他作出选择的原因。而这个近乎完美的折衷方案，如果在大会上尽是十字军那样顽固的家伙的话，也是不可能通过的。折衷的态度并不能造就伟大的英雄，但是可以成就伟大的民主国家。

7 TOLERANCE 7 宽容

The great struggles of the 20th century were against fascism and then communism. As was made clear on Sept. 11, the great struggle of the 21st century will be between the forces of fanatic fundamentalism and those of tolerance. It is important to remember that America was not born with the virtue of religious tolerance, but had to acquire it. One of the myths is that the first settlers were advocates of religious freedom. In fact, the Puritans were very intolerant, not only of witches but also of any deviation from the tribal orthodoxy. The most arcane antinomian dispute ended up forcing people to move and found a new state like Rhode Island.

二十世纪伟大的战斗除了反法西斯战争以外则是共产主义革命了。在911以后，我们便明了了二十一世纪的重要战斗发生在狂热的原教旨主义和宽容的态度之间。我们要记住，美国并不因为宗教宽容的教化才成立的，但是我们必须学会它。传说中，第一批移民者都是宗教自由的推崇者。实际上，清教徒都十分偏执，不仅有女巫这样的人，而且都偏离了正统宗教的轨道。这辩不明的唯信仰论者争论的结果是，这批人被强迫移民，发配到类似于罗得岛那样的地区去。

Among those who ran away from the intolerant orthodoxy of Boston was Franklin. He ended up in Philadelphia, a place unlike much of the world. There were Lutherans and Moravians and Quakers and even Jews, as well as Calvinists, living side by side in what became known as the City of Brotherly Love. Franklin helped formulate the creed that they would all be better off, personally and economically, if they embraced an attitude of tolerance.

Franklin就是受不了波士顿偏执的宗教气氛才逃离那里。他抵达费城，一个与世界上其他城市不一样的地方。那里居住着路德教徒、莫拉维亚教徒、贵格教徒甚至犹太教徒，还有加尔文教徒。他们混杂居住，就如《友爱之城》（City of Brotherly Love）一样。Franklin因此建立了个信念：不论从个人还是经济角度来看，如果都以宽容的态度接受对方的话，大家都会生活融洽。

Franklin believed in God and in the social usefulness of religion, but he did not subscribe to any particular sectarian doctrine. This led him to help raise money to build a new hall in Philadelphia that was, as he put it, "expressly for the use of any preacher of any religious persuasion who might desire to say something." He added, "Even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service."

Franklin信教，并相信宗教的作用，但是他并不赞成对任何一个宗派特殊化。这种观念让他在费城集资建立了一座礼堂，正如他所说的那样：“各种宗教的传道者都试图表达他们的观点。”他还补充道：“即便是一名伊斯坦丁堡的主教派发使者向我们传输伊斯兰教教义，我们也会给他提供传教台。”