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  3. The most thoroughly studied intellectuals in the history of the New World are the ministers and political leaders of seventeenth

The most thoroughly studied intellectuals in the history of the New World are the ministers and political leaders of seventeenth

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问题    The most thoroughly studied intellectuals in the history of the New World are the ministers and political leaders of seventeenth-century New England. According to the standard history of American philosophy, nowhere else in colonial America was "so much importance attached to intellectual pursuits." According to many books and articles, New England’s leaders established the basic themes and preoccupations of an unfolding, dominant Puritan tradition in American intellectual life.
   To take this approach to the New Englanders normally means to start with the Puritans’ theological innovations and their distinctive ideas about the church — important subjects that we may not neglect. But in keeping with our examination of southern intellectual life, we may consider the original Puritans as carriers of European culture, adjusting to New World circumstances. The New England colonies were the scenes of important episodes in the pursuit of widely understood ideals of civility and virtuosity.
   The early settlers of Massachusetts Bay included men of impressive education and influence in England. Besides the ninety or so learned ministers who came to Massachusetts churches in the decade after 1629, there were political leaders like John Winthrop, an educated gentleman, lawyer, and official of the Crown before he journeyed to Boston. These men wrote and published extensively, reaching both New World and Old World audiences, and giving New England an atmosphere of intellectual earnestness.
   We should not forget, however, that most New Englanders were less well educated. While few craftsmen or farmers, let alone dependents and servants, left literary compositions to be analyzed, it is obvious that their views were less fully intellectualized. Their thinking often had a traditional superstitious quality. A tailor named John Dane, who emigrated in the late 1630s, left an account of his reasons for leaving England that is filled with signs. Sexual confusion, economic frustrations, and religious hope — all came together in a decisive moment when he opened the Bible, told his father that the first line he saw would settle his fate, and read the magical words: "Come out from among them, touch no unclean thing, and I will be your God and you shall be my people." One wonders what Dane thought of the careful sermons explaining the Bible that he heard in Puritan churches.
   Meanwhile, many settlers had slighter religious commitments than Dane’s, as one clergyman learned in confronting folk along the coast who mocked that they had not come to the New world for religion. "Our main end was to catch fish."
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答案 美洲新大陆的历史上，被研究得最透彻的知识分子当属17世纪新英格兰地区的牧师和政治领导人。根据正统的美国哲学史，所有美洲殖民地当中，没有哪里比新英格兰地区更加“重视追求知识”了。很多书籍和文章都提到。当时新英格兰的领袖们确立了美国知识生活中逐渐发展并成为主导的清教传统中的基本主题与关注要点。 用这种方法来研究新英格兰人，通常意味着要首先研究清教徒的神学创新和他们对教会的独特看法，而这些主题我们也许是不会忽略的。但是，如果要进一步研究美国南方的知识生活，我们可以把美国最初的清教徒看做是欧洲文化的传递者，他们将欧洲文化作了调整，使之适用于新大陆的环境。在追求广为民众理解的礼节和精湛技艺的过程中，很多重要事件都发生在新英格兰殖民地。 马萨诸塞湾区的早期移民包括了在英格兰受过良好教育并且颇具影响力的人。1629年之后的10年当中，来到马萨诸塞各教堂的90多名牧师，个个都是博学之士。此外，还有政治领导人来到此地，约翰-温斯罗普就是其中之一，他是一名受过良好教育的富绅和律师，来波士顿之前还是王室官员。这些人大量著书立说，在新旧大陆都拥有读者，还给新英格兰营造了认真治学的氛围。 但是，我们不应该忘记。大多数新英格兰人都没有什么文化。虽然工匠和农民——更不用说需人供养的人和仆人——很少留下文学作品可供分析。但是有一点很明显，那就是他们的见解并不具备多少智慧之言。他们的想法通常带有传统的迷信色彩。一位名叫约翰-丹的裁缝是17世纪30年代末移民过来的，他写下了他离开英格兰的理由，记叙中满是各种征兆。在一个重要时刻他打开了《圣经》，告诉父亲说，他看见的第一行字将会决定他的命运，于是他读到了这些神奇的字眼：“离开他们，勿触摸不净之物，我就是你的上帝，而你是我的子民。”——这一刹那，性的迷惑、经济上的挫折以及宗教希望全都涌入脑中。人们不知道丹在清教徒教堂里听到布道牧师认真解释《圣经》时将会作何感想。 同时，正如一名教师认识到的那样，很多移民还不如丹那样度诚。该牧师在沿海地区遇见过一些移民，他们嘲笑地说自己来新大陆并不是为了追求宗教信仰。“我们来这儿的主要目的是捕鱼。”
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