Scrupulous
英 ['skruːpjʊləs] 美 ['skrupjələs]
adj. 细心的;小心谨慎的;一丝不苟的
Scrupulous表达的是极度地勤勉尽责,对细节小心谨慎,生怕有任何的差错。它的名词是scruple,愿意是粗糙的圆石和焦虑,说的就是因为担心出错的细致态度。中文最贴合的词语是“顾忌”。一个人如果缺乏道德考量,我们就说他没有moral scruple.
"the research has been carried out with scrupulous attention to detail"
研究的执行过程谨慎入微。
"she's too scrupulous to have an affair with a married man"
她小心慎微,担心和已婚男人发生任何关系。
Scrupulous还有“出于良心”的含义,当然它的来源还是事主的一丝不苟的态度。
I have been scrupulous about telling them the dangers.
我已经本着良心将危险告知他们。
《1984》的作者乔治奥维尔在论写作心理时有一段精彩的描述:
“A scrupulous writer in every sentence that he writes will ask himself... What am I trying to say? What words will express it? And he probably asks himself... Could I put it more shortly? But you are not obliged to go to all this trouble. You can shirk it by simply throwing open your mind and letting the ready-made phrases come crowding in. They will construct your sentences for you.”
一位谨慎入微的作者在写作每一句话时都会问自己…… 我想要说什么?什么样的文字能够表达它?他还可能问自己…… 我能够更简单地表达吗? 但是你并没有义务经历这些麻烦,你可以省去这些直接敞开心智,把脑中现成,汹涌而来的短语直接倾泻出来,它们自然会为你构筑出句子。
无独有偶,著名编剧Julien Green也说过:
A scrupulous man will never produce a great novel.
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我是明道创始人任向晖,通过写作而学习,通过学习而存在。