It sounds pretty tough not to have too many hopes, and to claim to be able to see through the dreams of others.

對他們來說擁有希望是件困難的事，且他們覺得自己看穿所謂「希望」的本質。

Cynics will tell you that everyone is selfish and weak, that the system is rigged and driven by greed, that you can never succeed, so it's pointless and contemptible to try, that all ideals are ridiculous, and the do-gooders are only out to show off their own supposed virtues.

憤世嫉俗者會告訴你，每個人都是自私、脆弱的，他們的價值觀認為人是被操弄的，被貪欲所驅使，你永遠無法成功，對他們而言完成夢想，是毫無意義且可悲的，所有的夢想都是無稽之談，行善也只是為了炫耀的假面具。

It's hopeless to try to disprove cynicism.

試圖反駁憤世嫉俗者是相當困難的

There will always be an abundance of vivid examples to back up a catastrophic interpretation of humanity.

他們總是會有許多悲慘的案例，來支持他們的理論

But what identifies people as cynics, is not so much what they claim - as why they do so.

但那些人是憤世嫉俗主義，事實是否如他們聲稱的那麼多，而他們為什麼這麼做呢

Their downbeat assessments are based not on a dispassionate analysis of our species, but on an inner emotional compulsion.

憤世嫉俗者所給的評論，並非基於理性的分析，憤世嫉俗者的內在情感是被壓迫的。

Their philosophy is, first and foremost, a defense against suffering.

他們將避免痛苦作為第一要務

Beneath that gruff surface, cynics are afflicted by a near hysterical fragility, around the idea of expecting anything, which turns out to be less impressive than they'd hoped.

在憤世嫉俗行為底下，憤世嫉俗者的內心相當敏感，受到莫名的恐懼百般折磨，受到這些價值觀影響，又過度執著於完美，讓他們對現實更加失望

And so they twist their mental apparatus to secure themselves against the eventuality of any discouragement.

因此，他們建立一套心理防衛機制來保護自己不再被失望傷害

They disappoint themselves before the world can ever do it for them, at a time and in a manner of its own choosing.

他們會先自暴自棄，藉此避免遭受到眾人打擊，也是他們感覺可以掌握自己生命的方式

Cynics may look like people trying very hard to see the facts as they are, but in truth, they are trying even harder to insulate themselves against pain.

憤世嫉俗者讓人感覺他們才是掌握真相的人，眾人卻無法如同他們一樣，但事實上，他們是用隔絕、抽離的方式，避免遭受到痛苦

The origin of their stance is not worldly experience and insight; it is - rather more poignantly - psychological trauma.

他們所建立的價值觀，並非現實生活的經驗和觀察，它是較為深層的心理創傷。

Somewhere in the past, there will probably have been a blow to their hopes that felt too powerful to handle.

他們可能在過往的經驗中，曾經發生過重大的打擊，摧毀他們的希望，而那感覺太過強烈，超過他們內心可以處理的

Sadly though, cynics don't give away the slightest clue as to their touching and vulnerable backstories.

可悲的是，憤世嫉俗者不願意讓人接觸他們過往脆弱悲傷的經驗

They will instead talk stridently about corruption and manipulation, pile up ample examples of greed, and profit complex-sounding theories about economics.

他們反而一再強調社會的腐敗和操縱，收集許多貪婪的例子，並建立聽起來複雜的且有利於他的經濟學理論。

But what they won't do, is voluntarily or easily reveal how their father humiliated them when he was drunk; or how it felt when their mother ran away to another city when they were just five.

但他們不會輕易透露，喝醉酒的父親是如何羞辱他們，或者告訴你，當他五歲母親離開他，跑了到另一個城市時，他的感受是什麼。

The cynic is never truly and completely cynical.

憤世嫉俗者，並非真正的、全然的憤世嫉俗

They are still recovering from hopes that grew too painful to avow.

他們仍然嚮往著懷抱希望，但要承認成長過程的痛苦相當困難

A natural temptation, when encountering a cynic, is to try to argue them out of their attitude, by citing counter examples. But this is in its own way cruel, because it misunderstands what cynicism is about.

當一個正常人用自己的價值觀，試圖來糾正憤世嫉俗者的想法，這只是粗暴地強迫憤世嫉俗者接受所謂正常價值觀，因為眾人都誤解了憤世嫉俗者的成因。

It is an emotional protection, in essence, a mode of coping, learned under conditions of duress.

從本質上講，這樣的保護機制，是憤世嫉俗者經驗教訓中學到的

What the cynic really needs, and yet fears they may never get, so naturally never asks for, is kindness.

那什麼是憤世嫉俗者真正需要的，也是他們因為害怕無法真正的擁有，而從不敢要求的，那就是慈愛

The kindness that may eventually help them to rekindle their stunted secret desires, for hope, and fulfillment.

慈愛有機會幫助他們重新燃起內心隱藏許久的希望，並且有能力去實踐。