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Anyone who lives alone and manifests no longing to be in a relationship is in our times, almost automatically, more or less secretly viewed as both pitiable and deeply troubled.
在我们这个时代，任何一个独居并表现出不想谈恋爱的人，几乎自动地、或多或少地被周围的人自动视为深感不安的可怜虫。
It's simply not thought possible to be at once, alone and normal.
大家就是觉得孤独的人不可能正常。
This sets up for collective catastrophe, because it means that a huge number of people, who have no innate wish to live with anyone else,
这导致了集体性的灾难，因为这意味着，每年都有大量的人，那些与生俱来就没有欲望和其他任何人生活在一起
and are at heart deeply ill-suited to doing so are every year press ganged and shinned into conjugal life with disastrous results for all involved.
而且被认为自己非常不适合这样做的人，被迫跟别人凑成一对，迈入婚姻生活，给所有相关人等带来了灾难性的后果。
Only once singlehood has completely equal prestige with its alternative can we ensure that people will be free in their choices and hence join couples for the right reasons; because they love another person, rather than because they are terrified of remaining single.
只有当独身与另一种选择处于完全平等的地位时，我们才能确保人们可以自由选择，从而出于正确的理由走出单身——即因为他们爱另一个人，而不是因为他们害怕保持单身。
Here, then, are a few of the many good reasons to spend your life alone:
那么，以下是你独自生活的诸多好理由中的几个：
Because romantic love is a dangerous illusion.
因为罗曼蒂克式的爱情是一种危险的错觉。
We should recognize that romantic love the idea of being deeply enamored of one special partner over a whole lifetime,
我们应该认识到，浪漫的爱情，即一生都深深迷恋于一个特别的伴侣，
is a very new, ambitious and really pretty odd concept, at best 250 years old.
是一个崭新的、雄心勃勃的和非常奇怪的概念，它最多只有250年的历史。
From close-up, over long periods of time, almost everyone is condemned to be pretty dispiriting and difficult.
把镜头聚焦到个人身上，几乎每个人在很长的一段时间里都注定过的憋屈和困难。
A good Romantic marriage is evidently theoretically possible, but it's also be extremely unlikely in practice, which should make any failure feel a good deal less shameful.
一段美好的浪漫婚姻显然在理论上是可能的，但在实践中也是极不可能的，因此也不必因为婚姻上的失败而觉得过于羞愧。
No one thinks their partner is terrific - After a while.
没有人会认为他们的伴侣很棒——经过一段时间的相处后。
Those among us who chose to stay single should not be thought un-romantic.
因此，我们当中那些选择保持单身的人不应该被视为浪漫主义的天敌。
Indeed, we may be among the very most Romantic of all,
事实上，我们可能是最浪漫的人群之一，
because it is in the end the fervent Romantics who should be especially careful of ending up in mediocre relationships:
因为只有狂热的浪漫主义者才会小心翼翼地不陷入平庸的关系中：
relationships best suit the kind of people who don't actually expect too much from them.
平庸的关系最适合那些实际上没有对它们赋予过高期望的人。
We aren't sane enough to be in relationships.
我们还不够理智到陷入恋情。
Though it is a sign of some maturity to know how to love and live alongside someone,
虽然知道如何爱一个人并与之共处是某种成熟的标志，
it it is actually a sign of even greater maturity to recognise that this is something one isn't in the end going to be psychologically capable of – as a good portion of us simply are not.
但能认识到爱情是这个人最终无法在心理上实现的事，实际上是一个更加成熟的标志——因为我们中的很大一部分人确实做不到。
Retiring oneself voluntarily, in order to save others (and oneself) from the consequences of one's own inner emotional turmoil is the true sign of a great and kind soul.
为了让别人(和自己)免受自己内心情感混乱的后果，主动站在场外，才是一个伟大而善良的灵魂应该做的。
Being alone means not inflicting yourself on others.
独处意味着不把自己强加给别人。
It spares you from constant reminders of how difficult and strange you are.
这样你就不会经常被人提醒你是多么的难相处、多么的奇怪。
No one is there to hold a mirror up – record your antics and constantly make you accountable for them.
没有人在那里拿着一面镜子——记录你的滑稽动作，并不断让你对他们负责。
If you're lucky, you will be able to tolerate and even like yourself if you are on your own.
如果你幸运的话，你就能够在独身的时候包容甚至喜爱自己。
Relationships spoil love.
恋爱关系会毁了爱情。
It may be better to feel alone and be denied sex outside of a relationship than inside one.
相比独身时，当你处在恋爱关系中，感到孤独和求欢被拒绝的受伤感是更加强烈的。
One thing the single are never denied, is hope.
单身的人永远可以怀有希望。
All this isn't to say that being alone is without problems.
但这一切也并不说明独处就是没有缺点的。
There are of course drawbacks to both states, being single and being in a couple: loneliness in the one; suffocation, anger and frustration in the other.
当然，这两种状态都有缺点，独身的孤独和恋爱的窒息、愤怒和沮丧感。
The truth is, we're simply not terribly good at being happy whatever our relationship status.
事实是，无论我们处在什么样的关系中，我们都不擅长快乐。
Which is ultimately an argument for neither rushing too fast into a couple, or rushing too fast out of one.
这就是人们既不急于投入一段感情，也不急于离开一段感情的根本原因。
