“What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.”
— George Bernard Shaw, Playwright
「确定一个人所相信的事,不是透过他的教条得知,而是他惯于依据的意识型态。」– 萧伯纳 (剧作家)
ascertain (v.) 弄清,查明。例:The government conducted a test to ascertain air pollution levels. (政府进行一个确定空污程度的测试。) creed (n.) 信条,教条。例:a religious creed (宗教信条)。assumption (n.) 假定,假设。例:We made the decision based on the assumption that housing prices would drop. (我们是以房价会跌的假设而做此决定。) habitually (adv.) 习惯性地。act on… 按照…而行动。例:Mary is acting on the advice of her attorney. (玛莉依她律师的建议而行动。) 最后一句可看做是 “assumptions which he habitually acts on.”
乔治‧萧伯纳 (1856-1950) 是爱尔兰人,他在 1925 年获得诺贝尔文学奖,他的作品《卖花女》在 1935 改拍为电影并获得奥斯卡最佳剧本奖。他也是伦敦大学的伦敦经济学院 (London School of Economics) 创办人之一。