This ancient Greek myth, which dates back to the earliest days of civilization, introduces us to the gifted and canny architect Daedalus, who was imprisoned by evil king Minos in a tall tower in an isolated corner of Crete, together with his beloved son Icarus.

這個可以追溯到人類文明早期的古希臘神話向我們介紹了天才而聰明的建築師代達羅斯，他和他心愛的兒子伊卡洛斯一起被邪惡的國王米諾斯囚禁在克里特島一個偏僻角落的高塔裡。

Unwilling to spend the rest of his days in captivity, Daedalus constructed some wings by gluing together the feathers of passing birds with beeswax and invited Icarus to join him on the window ledge in a bid for freedom.

代達羅斯不甘心在囚禁中度過餘生，他用蜂蠟粘合路過鳥兒的羽毛，做成了一雙翅膀，並邀請伊卡洛斯和他一起站在窗臺上，爭取自由。

But with one caveat.

但有一點需要注意。

If Icarus ever went too high, the sun's rays would turn the wax into liquid and Icarus would be done for.

如果伊卡洛斯飛得太高，太陽光就會把蠟變成液體，伊卡洛斯就完了。

After successfully negotiating a way through Cretan airspace, somewhere past Samos, despite his father's kindly and patient warnings, Icarus got carried away.

伊卡洛斯不顧父親善意而耐心的警告，成功地通過了克里特島的領空，飛過了薩摩斯島。

The young man couldn't keep a handle on his joy.

年輕人無法控制自己的喜悅。

His wings fell apart and he plunged into the sea, just off the coast of a picturesque small island that honors his memory to this day.

他的翅膀散架了，墜入大海，就在一個風景如畫的小島海岸邊，這個小島至今仍在紀念他。

Icaria.

伊卡里亞。

The way we're typically told the story, the moral is weighted firmly in one direction.

我們通常聽到的故事寓意都是偏向一個方向的。

Don't get over-exuberant.

不要過度興奮。

Keep a rein on your impulses.

控制你的衝動。

Make sure you don't get big-headed.

確保你不會頭腦發熱。

Don't show off.

不要炫耀。

Calm yourself.

冷靜下來。

The myth would not have entered the folklore of our species if this were not supremely sensible advice.

如果這不是極其明智的建議，這個神話就不會進入我們人類的民間傳說。

Clearly, no good life is possible without a sharp awareness of the perils of egomania and of untempered raw appetite.

顯然，如果不能清醒地認識到自大狂和無節制的原始慾望的危害，就不可能有美好的生活。

But the very solidity of the message is at risk of blinding us to a crucial subsidiary idea lurking covertly within the narrative.

但是，資訊的牢固性有可能會矇蔽我們的眼睛，使我們看不到隱藏在敘事中的一個重要的輔助思想。

This is not just the tale of pride and arrogance, not just the tale of getting too big for one's boots and of neglecting one's true position.

這不僅僅是一個驕傲自大的故事，也不僅僅是一個好大喜功、忽視自身真正地位的故事。

It's also a story of hope, of necessary escape, of giving something a chance, of not remaining locked up forever at the whims of foolish authorities, of daring to plot an alternative.

這也是一個關於希望的故事，一個關於必要的逃亡的故事，一個關於給某件事一個機會的故事，一個關於不要永遠被愚昧的當局所禁錮的故事，一個關於敢於謀劃另一種選擇的故事。

For every one person who jumps out of towers without sufficient self-control, there are, we should note, others, perhaps many others, who just as tragically stay in towers their whole lives long,

我們應該注意到，每一個沒有足夠自制力而跳出高塔的人，都會有其他人，也許是很多其他人，同樣悲慘地終生呆在高塔裡，

not just in one room, but at the edge of a box within a cupboard under a bed, too frightened ever to accede to their own potency and freedom, too timid ever to dare to evade unfair restrictions, too cowed to bring themselves to I magine a better future.

不只是呆在一個房間裡，而是呆在床下櫃子裡的一個盒子的邊緣，他們太害怕了，永遠不敢承認自己的能力和自由，太膽小了，永遠不敢逃避不公平的限制，太膽怯了，永遠不敢想象更美好的未來。

There are, when we look at the matter squarely, in fact two morals in this central ancient Greek myth, the traditional one about the troubles of flying too close to the sun and also, more quietly, the lesser known one about the terrible risks of remaining a prisoner all one's life.

當我們正視這個問題時，在這個核心的古希臘神話中其實有兩個寓意，一個是傳統的關於飛離太陽太近的麻煩，另一個是鮮為人知的關於終生做囚徒的可怕風險。

There is a figure in this story to whom we should look for clues as to how we might handle the painful dichotomy at play.

在這個故事中有一個人物，我們應該從他身上尋找線索，瞭解我們該如何處理這種痛苦的二元對立。

It's Daedalus, who, despite what eventually transpired, should be recognized as having tried with particular dexterity to model for his son what a successful life could be like.

這就是代達羅斯，儘管最終發生了這樣的事情，但我們還是應該承認，他以特別的靈巧為兒子樹立了成功人生的榜樣。

He didn't just warn Icarus of boundless dangers.

他不只是警告伊卡洛斯危險無邊。

He didn't just go on about how bold schemes never work out and how timidity is mandatory.

他並沒有一味地強調大膽的計劃永遠不會成功，膽小是必須的。

He expressly didn't want his son to spend the rest of his days in confinement.

他明確表示不想讓兒子在囚禁中度過餘生。

He spoke to him of the possibilities of trying on wings.

他向他講述了嘗試翅膀的可能性。

He wanted his child to head out on the prevailing currents and to have a shot at reaching new lands.

他希望他的孩子能順應潮流，有機會到達新的土地。

We should not inevitably deploy examples of ghastly accidents to impede our appetite for novelty and satisfaction.

我們不應該不可避免地用慘痛事故的例子來阻礙我們對新奇和滿足的渴望。

We have clever minds with which to plot sound escape routes.

我們有聰明的頭腦，可以規劃出合理的逃學生路線。

We can be ingenious in the face of our enemies.

面對敵人，我們可以巧妙應對。

We must, of course, take sensible precautions.

當然，我們必須採取明智的預防措施。

There are, of course, requirements for strategy and forbearance.

當然，戰略和寬容也是有要求的。

But if we only ever think of safety, if all we're obsessed by are the crashes, then we're fated to die in despair at any case.

但是，如果我們只考慮安全，如果我們只執著於撞車，那麼無論如何，我們都註定會在絕望中死去。

There must and can be a good midway point between succumbing in a prison and drowning out at sea.

在監獄中屈服和在海上被淹死之間，一定會有一個很好的中間點。

What typically shapes our underlying attitudes is, as it were, who Daedalus was for us.

對我們來說，代達羅斯就是我們的代達羅斯。

There are fathers and mothers who talk to us gently and imaginatively about risks and returns.

有些父親和母親會溫和而富有想象力地與我們談論風險和回報。

They discuss the downsides of overexcitement, but also of those of meekness.

他們討論了過度興奮的弊端，也討論了溫順的弊端。

And then there are others who cannot countenance their children ever taking to the skies, perhaps because they still haven't worked out a way out of prison for themselves.

還有一些人無法接受自己的孩子飛上天空，也許是因為他們還沒有為自己找到一條出獄之路。

We know a lot, maybe too much, about the catastrophes that can follow from ambition.

關於野心可能帶來的災難，我們知道很多，也許知道得太多了。

We shouldn't allow ourselves to forget that whatever the fate of poor Icarus, there are always equally potent risks bound up with never pushing ourselves a little closer to our sun's vital and warming rays.

我們不應該忘記，無論可憐的伊卡洛斯的命運如何，永遠不把自己推近太陽的生命力和溫暖的光芒，都會有同樣巨大的風險。