“凯撒的归凯撒,上帝的归上帝”这句话大家可能听说过,据说出自耶稣之口,在《圣经·新约》的《马太福音》《马可福音》以及《路加福音》里都有故事记载。
故事大意是说:当时,法利赛人(Pharisees)想要构陷耶稣,就打发他们的门徒及希律党人(Herodians)去见耶稣,问耶稣“纳税给凯撒应该吗?合法吗?(Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?)”。当时犹太人生活的巴勒斯坦地区(Palestine)受罗马人统治,而凯撒是罗马的国王。拿上面这个问题来问同样是犹太人的耶稣,这里就有两难陷阱。
如果他说应该纳税,那他们就会煽动犹太民众来反对耶稣;如果他说不应该纳税,那么他们就可以去凯撒那里告发耶稣。所以,无论耶稣怎么回答都会掉入陷阱。
耶稣看出了他们的恶意,于是说道:“假冒伪善的人哪,为什么要试探我?拿一个上税的钱给我看!”他们就拿一个银钱来给他。耶稣说:“这头像和这名号是谁的?”他们说:“是凯撒的。”
耶稣就在这时说出了上面这句改变了整个世界的话:“这样,凯撒之物当归给凯撒,上帝之物当归给上帝。(Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.)”
本来自鸣得意的法利赛人一听到这句话瞬间石化,完全没料到耶稣会这么巧妙地回答,最后他们构陷不成,只好灰溜溜地离开了。
这句话背后的要义就是要用“二分法”来看世界。在西方文化语境中,人有肉身和灵魂之分:给国王纳税,是因为人的肉身安放在王国里,要服从这个王国的世俗秩序,是肉身对国王的服从;而人的精神世界,依然属于上帝,肉身的服从并不意味着精神和灵魂对国王的臣服,心中的信仰是任何世俗权力也无法剥夺的。这种世俗权力与精神权力的分化,促使西方社会中国家与教会相分离,宗教对世俗的影响完全退缩至精神层面,形成了“政教分离”的基本共识。
这种“二分法”的思想同样也适用于语言世界。比如,对主句和从句的分析,我们也要采取“ 主从分离 ”的思维视角,套用上面那句话就是“ 主句的归主句,从句的归从句 ” ,也就是要把主句和从句独立开来分析,分别研究它们各自的结构,这是分析主从句要遵循的一条最基本的原则。 以下我称其为“ 二分法 ”,以区别于传统语法分析主从句的错误视角“ 二任法 ”(下文 第4.4节 将详述)。
虽然主句与从句合为一体构成完整的主从复合句,但是,在做句法分析时,尤其是在分析从句结构时,一定要把从句从主句中单独抽离出来,独立分析从句的结构。下面这个例句就是一个很好的佐证,来自2022年考研英语一真题试卷,我将其改编为一道选择题:
____ a degree is the desired route, consider that this may well be the first of many.(2022年英语一Text 2)
A. For those who B. Those for whom C. Those who D. For those for whom
你的答案:________。
该句的语境是:
This is not to say that there is no point in getting a degree, but rather stress that a degree is not for everyone, that the switch from classroom to lecture hall is not an inevitable one and that other options are available.
Thankfully, there are signs that this is already happening, with Generation Z seeking to learn from their millennial predecessors, even if parents and teachers tend to be still set in the degree mindset. Employers have long seen the advantages of hiring school leavers who often prove themselves to be more committed and loyal employees than graduates. Many too are seeing the advantages of scrapping a degree requirement for certain roles.
a degree is the desired route, consider that this may well be the first of many . In this age of generalists, it pays to have specific knowledge or skills. Postgraduates now earn 40 per cent more than graduates. When more and more of us have a degree, it makes sense to have two. (2022年英语一Text 2)
在上面这个语境中,上面画线句子的空格处该填入什么内容呢?
真题 For those for whom a degree is the desired route, consider that this may well be the first of many. (2022年英语一Text 2)
解析 这个句子虽然不长,但很有看点。对于这里For those for whom这样的结构,常常有同学来问我 “为什么要用两个for?难道不是重复了吗?用一个for不就行了吗?比如选A或B” 。这就需要我们遵循上述 主从分离的“二分法”原则 ,把从句从主句中抽离出来,分别观察这两个for在各自句子中的作用。
现在对该句进行主从句切分,如下:
For those for whom a degree is the desired route, consider that this may well be the first of many.
= For those , consider that this may well be the first of many(主句)
+ for whom a degree is the desired route(定语从句)
这里For those就是普通的介词短语,位于主句中,表示“对那样的人来说”,然后接定语从句for whom a degree is the desired route来描述什么样的人。这个定语从句改为简单句就是:
for whom a degree is the desired route
→ for them a degree is the desired route (对他们来说,获取学位是他们想要走的路径)
或:
→ a degree is the desired route for them
我们看到,如果没有for,那就变成了:
them a degree is the desired route*
或
a degree is the desired route them *
这种语法结构错误的句子。这就证明定语从句的关系词whom前面的for是必须要有的。
另一方面,我们再来看主句中those前面的for要和不要有什么差异,请比较:
a. For those , consider that this may well be the first of many.
b. Those , consider that this may well be the first of many.
我们看到,如果像b句那样不要for,那么Those后边的逗号应该去掉,此时Those作主语,后接谓语动词consider,因此句子写成:
c. Those consider that this may well be the first of many.
这么造句意思就是“那些人去考虑”,但原文不是这个意思。原文采用 祈使句 consider that …, 是作者邀请读者“你们”去考虑 ,相当于说:
I encourage you to consider that … 或 I think you should consider that …
作者原文表达的意思是“ 对于那样的人,你们读者要认为…… ”。
综上可见,这两个for在各自句子结构中都是起作用的,且都表示“对某人来说”。
另外要注意这里的指代关系:this、first和many都是指代或者限定degree的,若把this may well be the first of many写完整那就是:
this degree may well be the first degree of the many degrees (that they may very likely get in future)
可见,这句要表达的意思是 “所获得的这个学位很可能只是(他们将来很可能获得的)众多学位中的第一个” ,也就是说,仅仅获得一个学位是不够的。所以下文讲到 “ When more and more of us have a degree, it makes sense to have two.( 当我们当中越来越多的人拥有学位时,有必要取得两个学位。)”
译文 对于那些希望获得学位的人来说, 我们姑且认为,这个学位很可能只是(他们将来很可能获得的)众多学位中的第一个。
以上这句话有力地证明了分析从句时,要根据“二分法”原则分别研究主句和从句的结构。
分析从句要遵循主从分离的“二分法”原则,也就是要把主句和从句独立开来分析,分别研究它们各自的结构。
1. The actors' names are listed ____ they appear.
A. in the order which B. in the order in which C. in order that D. in order which
2. When you sequence events, you put them ____ they occur.
A. the order which B. the order in which C. in the order which D. in the order in which
1. B 解析 The actors' names are listed in the order in which they appear.(演员姓名是根据出场顺序排列的。)
根据“二分法”原则,主句为The actors' names are listed in the order(演员名单按顺序排列) ,定语从句为 in which (the order) they appear (按照他们出场的顺序) 。整个复合句改为简单句可以说成:The actors' names are listed in the order of their appearance . (演员姓名按出场顺序排列。)
2. D 解析 When you sequence events, you put them in the order in which they occur.(所谓对事件排序,就是按照它们发生的顺序进行排列。)
根据“二分法”原则,主句为you put them in the order(你把它们按顺序排列) ,定语从句为 in which (the order) they occur (按照它们发生的顺序) 。后半句改为简单句可以说成:you put them in the order of their occurrence(你按照事件发生的顺序排列)