Casey

Daniel Mendoza 丹尼爾.門多薩

Boxing matches were very popular in England two hundred years ago. In those days, boxers fought with bare fists for prize money.Because of this, they were known as 'prize-fighters'. However, boxing was very crude, for there were no rules and a prize-fighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match.

One of the most colourful figures in boxing history was Daniel Mendoza, who was born in 1764. The use of gloves was not introduced until 1860, when the Marquis of Queensberry drew up the first set of rules. Though he was technically a prize-fighter, Mendoza did much to change crude prize-fighting into a sport, for he brought science to the game. In his day, Mendoza enjoyed tremendous popularity. He was adored by rich and poor alike.

Mendoza rose to fame swiftly after a boxing-match when he was only fourteen years old. This attracted the attention of Richard Humphries who was then the most eminent boxer in England. He offered to train Mendoza and his young pupil was quick to learn. In fact, Mendoza soon became so successful that Humphries turned against him. The two men quarrelled bitterly and it was clear that the argument could only be settled by a fight. A match was held at Stilton, where both men fought for an hour. The public bet a great deal of money on Mendoza, but he was defeated. Mendoza met Humphries in the ring on a later occasion and he lost for a second time. It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humphries and became Champion of England. Meanwhile, he founded a highly successful Academy and even Lord Byron became one of his pupils. He earned enormous sums of money and was paid as much as 100 pounds for a single appearance. Despite this, he was so extravagant that he was always in debt. After he was defeated by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson, he was quickly forgotten. He was sent to prison for failing to pay his debts and died in poverty in 1836.

兩百年前，拳擊比賽在英國非常盛行。當時，拳擊手們不戴手套，為爭奪獎金而搏鬥。因此，他們被稱作‚職業拳擊手‛。不過，拳擊是十分野蠻的，因為當時沒有任何比賽規則，職業拳擊手有可能在比賽中受重傷，甚至喪命。

拳擊史上最引人注目的人物之一是丹尼爾.門多薩，他生於1764年。 1860年昆斯伯里侯爵第一次為拳擊比賽制定了規則，拳擊比賽這才用上了手套。雖然門多薩嚴格來講不過是個職業拳擊手，但在把這種粗野的拳擊變成一種體育運動方面，他作出了重大貢獻。是他把科學引進了這項運動。門多薩在他的全盛時期深受大家歡迎，無論是富人還是窮人都對他祟拜備至。門多薩在14歲時參加一場拳擊賽后一舉成名。這引起當時英國拳壇名將理查德.漢弗萊斯的注意。他主動提出教授門多薩，而年少的門多薩一學就會。事實上，門多薩不久便名聲大振，致使漢弗萊斯與他反目為敵。兩個人爭吵不休，顯而易見，只有較量一番才能解決問題。於是兩人在斯蒂爾頓設下賽場，廝打了一個小時。公眾把大筆賭注下到了門多薩身上，但他卻輸了。後來，門多薩與漢弗萊斯再次在拳擊場上較量，門多薩又輸了一場。直到1790年他們第3次對壘，門多薩才終於擊敗漢弗萊斯，成了全英拳擊冠軍。同時，他建立了一所拳擊學校，辦得很成功，連拜倫勳爵也成了他的學生。門多薩掙來大筆大筆的錢，一次出場費就多可達100英鎊。儘管收入不少，但他揮霍無度，經常債台高築。他被一個叫傑克遜紳士的拳擊手擊敗後很快被遺忘。他因無力還債而被捕入獄，最後於1836年在貧困中死去。

Nothing to sell and nothing to buy 沒有東西可賣也沒有東西可買

It has been said that everyone lives by selling something. In the light of this statement, teachers live by selling knowledge, philosophers by selling wisdom and priests by selling spiritual comfort . Though it may be possible to measure the value of material good in terms of money, it is extremely difficult to estimate the true value of the services which people perform for us. There are times when we would willingly give everything we possess to save our lives, yet we might grudge paying a surgeon a high fee for offering us precisely this
service. The conditions of society are such that skills have to be paid for in the same way that goods are paid for at a shop. Everyone has something to sell.

Tramps seem to be the only exception to this general rule. Beggars almost sell themselves as human beings to arouse the pity of passers-by. But real tramps are not beggars. They have nothing to sell and require nothing from others. In seeking independence, they do not sacrifice their human dignity. A tramp may ask you for money, but he will never ask you to feel sorry for him. He has deliberately chosen to lead the life he leads and is fully aware of the consequences. He may never be sure where the next meal is coming from, but he is free from the thousands of anxieties which afflict other people. His few material possessions make it possible for him to move from place to place with ease. By having to sleep in the open, he gets far closer to the world of nature than most of us ever do. He may hunt, beg, or steal occasionally to keep himself alive; he may even, in times of real need, do a little work; but he will never sacrifice his freedom. We often speak of tramps with contempt and put them in the same class as beggars, but how many of us can honestly say that we have not felt a little envious of their simple way of life and their freedom from care?

據說每個人都靠出售某種東西來維持生活。根據這種說法，教師靠賣知識為生，哲學家靠賣智慧為生，牧師靠賣精神安慰為生。雖然物質產品的價值可以用金錢來衡量，但要估算別人為我們為所提供的服務的價值卻是極其困難的。有時，我們為了挽救生命，願意付出我們所佔有的一切。但就在外科大夫給我們提供了這種服務後，我們卻可能為所支付的昂貴的費用而抱怨。社會上的情況就是如此，技術是必須付錢去買的，就像在商店裡要花錢買商品一樣。人人都有東西可以出售。

在這條普遍的規律前面，好像只有流浪漢是個例外，乞丐出售的幾乎是他本人，以引起過路人的憐憫。但真正的流浪並不是乞丐。他們既不出售任何東西，也不需要從別人那兒得到任何東西，在追求獨立自由的同時，他們並不犧牲為人的尊嚴。遊浪漢可能會向你討錢，但他從來不要你可憐他。他是故意在選擇過那種生活的，並完全清楚以這種方式生活的後果。他可能從不知道下頓飯有無著落，但他不像有人那樣被千萬樁愁事所折磨。他幾乎沒有什麼財產，這使他能夠輕鬆自如地在各地奔波。由於被迫在露天睡覺，他比我們中許多人都離大自然近得多。為了生存，他可能會去打獵、乞討，偶爾偷上一兩回；確實需要的時候，他甚至可能乾一點兒活，但他決不會犧牲自由。說起流浪漢，我們常常帶有輕蔑並把他們與乞丐歸為一類。但是，我們中有多少人能夠坦率地說我們對流浪漢的簡樸生活與無憂無慮的境況不感到有些羨慕呢？