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At last she remarked that there were an awful lot of Methodists, and they couldn't be wrong, could they—not all those millions? That was too easy, said I restively (for the nearer you were to Ruth, the nicer she was to be near to) since there were more Roman Catholics than Methodists anyway; and they couldn't be wrong, could they—not all those hundreds of millions? An awful flicker of doubt appeared in her eyes. I slid my arm around her waist and murmured that if we were counting heads, the Buddhists were the boys for my money. She fled. The combination of my arm and those countless Buddhists was too much for her.
最后她说循道公会的教徒人数相当可观，他们不可能错，他们即便可能错——难道几百万人都错了么？那太有可能了，我焦躁不安地说（因为你离露丝越近，就越觉得她可爱），因为不管怎么说，罗马天主教徒的人数要比循道公会的教徒多：因此，这些罗马天主教徒是不会错的，他们可能错——难道几亿人都错了吗？她的眼中闪过一丝疑惑的目光。我用手臂搂住她的腰，喃喃道，如果我们计算人数的话，佛教徒人数恐怕要独占鳌头了。她急忙跑掉了。我手臂亲昵的动作和关于无数佛教徒的话令她难以接受。
That night her father visited my father and left, red-cheeked and indignant. I was given the third degree to find out what had happened. I lost Ruth, and gained an undeserved reputation as a potential libertine.
那天晚上，露丝的父亲前来拜访了我父亲，结果离开时是面红耳赤并愤愤不平。于是他们逼问我到底发生了什么事情。就这样，我失去了露丝，还背上了这样的冤枉名声：说我很可能将来是个浪荡公子。
Grade-two thinking, though it filled life with fun and excitement, did not make for content. To find out the deficiencies of our elders satisfies the young ego but does not make for personal security. It took the swimmer some distance from the shore and left him there, out of his depth. A typical grade-two thinker will say, "What is truth?" There is still a higher grade of thought which says, "What is truth?" and sets out to find it.
第二级思考尽管让人的生活充满了乐趣和激动，但并没有使人满足。找出我们长辈的不足之处满足了年轻人的自我愿望，但并不能给人以安全感。这就好比把游泳者带到离岸较远的地方，让他在超过自己身高的深水里挣扎而无法靠岸一样。一个典型的第二级思考者会问：“什么是真理？”而高级别的思考者也会提出同样的问题：“什么是真理？”并开始着手去探求真理。
