you'll probably remember one thing about history: just how boring it can be.

你可能對它只有一個印象，那就是它有多無聊

You might harbour painful memories of the 100 Years War, the War of Spanish Succession,

你可能對以下這些事件懷有痛苦的記憶：英法百年戰爭、西班牙王位繼承戰爭、

Crop Rotation in the Middle Ages or - heaven forbid - the good deeds of Florence Nightingale.

中世紀的輪作制度，或是不得不提到的，南丁格爾的善行

As a result, it wouldn't be surprising if - nowadays - you tended to steer well clear of the whole topic.

因此，假使現在你傾向避開所有跟歷史有關的討論，也不令人感到意外

But that would be a pity. The real reason why history is so boring is that we're not clear about what it should be for.

但那會是一件很可惜的事。歷史會如此枯燥的原因，是因為我們不清楚它真正的用意

Here's the big reason why history matters:

歷史之所以如此重要的原因在於：

it matters because it can provide us with solutions to many of the problems of the present.

它可以提供我們很多解決當代難題的方法

At its best, history is there to introduce us to some of the things we need but that aren't sufficiently visible in the world today.

歷史最擅長的就是將一些我們需要，但卻無法在這個時代看到的事情展演給我們看

As a society, we're very obsessed by what we're up to right now.

我們這個社會太被當下所發生的事情所纏縛

Unknowingly, we're hugely biased towards the present.

不知不覺中，我們對當下抱有相當大的偏見

The news - which is about the most prestigious force in the world today -

新聞，這個應當是當代最具權威性的力量，

circles obsessively around some of the things that have happened in the last five minutes.

卻總不停播送著一些五分鐘前才發生的事情

And yet, many of the most important things that we need to nourish, sustain and inspire us are a lot older.

然而，大部分那些能夠滋養我們，支撐我們並啟發我們的東西，都是很久以前的事

What we nowadays need above all else are GOOD IDEAS and history is full of them.

我們現在最迫切需要的就是好方法，而歷史裡處處可見

Imagine you're dissatisfied with aspects of contemporary Capitalism.

假設你對當代資本主義的一些面向感到不滿

It might help hugely to read about the HISTORY of the Levellers,

閱讀關於平等派，一群在 1645 到 1650 年間寫作與活躍的英國激進份子，

a group of English radicals writing and acting between 1645 and 1650.

他們的歷史將對你大有幫助

Or if you question what the point of going on holiday is,

或者，當你在想假日的意義何在時，

you might dramatically enrich your thoughts by considering the HISTORY of pilgrimage,

有關朝聖的歷史可能會可能會大大豐富你的思考，

especially the motives which people had for trekking off to visit distant shrines.

尤其當你深入去探討，那些令人們願意長途跋涉去拜訪遠方神殿的動機

History teaches us that THINGS CAN CHANGE.

歷史告訴我們事情都會改變

People haven't always been as they are now: materialistic and work obsessed,

人們不總是像現在一樣地崇尚物質生活、被工作占據、

unable to build nice architecture, over-concerned with being “connected” or hung up on being absurdly thin.

無法蓋出優秀的建築、過度關心與他人的連結，或是非常執著於變瘦

There's an annoying saying that goes: THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT.

有句惱人的俗諺這樣說：「對歷史一無所知的人，終將宿命式地重蹈那些過錯。」

But that's suggesting the only thing history is full of is mistakes.

但這句話隱含的意思是，歷史總是充滿錯誤

Yet it's as fair to say, those who don't know history won't be able to IMPROVE the present.

比較公允的說法是，「那些對歷史一無所知的人，無法改善現況。」

History can also teach us COURAGE.

歷史可以教我們勇氣

It's easy to feel, when you're pressed up against the present, that things are exceptionally awful right now,

當你被現況逼到走投無路時，你很容易覺得凡事都格外的糟糕，

but they rarely are, once you open the lens wide enough.

但當你把視野拉得夠遠，就會發現這並不是特例

The present isn't unusual in its levels of mediocrity and compromise.

這個時代的平庸與妥協在程度上並不特出

Once you read the letters, the old guys were just as bad.

當你翻閱字裡行間，就會發現那些歷史人物也好不到哪裡去

And though our challenges are of course great, they aren't exceptional -

我們所面臨的挑戰固然偉大，但他們並不特別，

when compared with say, those facing the survivors of the sack of Rome or the Lisbon earthquake.

尤其當我們和羅馬之劫 ( 1527 年) 或里斯本大地震 ( 1755 年) 的生還者相比

History ends up as a tool for the APPRECIATION of some of our advantages which is easy to miss.

歷史最終會成為一項工具，讓我們得以珍惜某些我們容易忽略的優勢

It can teach us to judge our society against other societies rather than against our ideals.

它教導我們將自己的社會與其他時空下的社會進行衡量，而非與我們的理型相較

Of course the European Union has problems, but the Habsburg Empire had them too and many more.

歐盟當然有它的問題，但哈布斯堡君主國 ( 1780 年的奧地利體制) 的問題也不惶多讓

Our governments are deeply imperfect, but there have been worse.

我們的政府十分地不完美，但他們曾經更糟

Traffic is terrible, but so was the siege of Leningrad.

交通很紊亂，但列寧格勒圍城戰 ( 1941 年) 也相當糟糕

History can console.

歷史可以撫平傷痛

Getting clearer about what history is for should change how the subject is taught.

當我們更了解歷史的功能，應該就可以改變這個科目的教學方式

In the future, we should treat history a little like a doctor treats a medicine cabinet.

在未來，我們應該視歷史如同一個醫生看待他的醫藥箱

Before diving into history, we'd first have to work out what was wrong with us, what we were lacking in the here and now.

在埋首進入史冊之前，我們應該先檢視我們自身出了什麼問題，現在的我們又缺乏些什麼。

We might be diagnosed for a lack of courage, or a spoiled nature or a hesitation about whether to marry.

我們有可能被診斷出缺乏勇氣、被寵慣了的天性，或是猶豫該不該結婚

And we should be prescribed history accordingly.

這時，我們就應該依自己的症候，去領取名為歷史的處方

For their part, historians themselves should get clearer about what problems in the present they're trying to solve.

至於歷史學家們，則應該釐清他們想解決當代的哪些問題

They should explicitly aim to tell us things about the past that can help us with issues of today.

他們應該直截了當的告訴我們，哪些過去的事物可以幫助我們面對當代的問題

Not the past for its sake, but the past for our sakes.

因此，學習歷史就不是為了那些史實，而是將它們運用在現代的生活中

Good history should always mean: history with solutions or consolations for today.

真正好的歷史，立意應該是充滿對現代的解答與慰藉

Now that could be interesting…

這時，歷史就可以變得有趣了...