第十五章[第1頁/共8頁]

"What place would you advise me to visit now" he asked.

“我不曉得。”地理學家說。

小王子拜候的第六顆星球比上一顆要大十倍。這顆星球上麵住著一名老先生，他寫了一本龐大的書。

"Because intoxicated men see double. Then the geographer would note down two mountains in a place where there was only one.""I know some one," said the little prince, "who would make a bad explorer.""That is possible. Then, when the moral character of the explorer is shown to be good, an inquiry is ordered into his discovery.""One goes to see it"

"Because an explorer who told lies would bring disaster on the books of the geographer. So would an explorer who drank too much.""Why is that" asked the little prince.

“這是為甚麼呢？”

“這是能夠的。是以，如果探險家的品德不錯，就調查他的發明。”

"Why is that The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!""We do not record them," said the geographer, "because they are ephemeral.""What does that mean― ‘ephemeral'""Geographies," said the geographer, "are the books which, of all books, are most concerned with matters of consequence. They never become old-fashioned. It is very rarely that a mountain changes its position. It is very rarely that an ocean empties itself of its waters. We write of eternal things.""But extinct volcanoes may come to life again," the little prince interrupted. "What does that mean― ‘ephemeral'""Whether volcanoes are extinct or alive, it comes to the same thing for us," said the geographer. "The thing that matters to us is the mountain. It does not change.""But what does that mean― ‘ephemeral'" repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question, once he had asked it.