The Law of Development of Human History
Guidance for Reciting
Karl Marx，the philosopher，social scientist，historian and revolutionist，was sure to be the most influential socialist thinker in the 19th century. His name endures through the ages，and so also will his works.
Just as Darwin discovered the law of development of organic nature，so Marx discovered the law of development of human history：the ****** fact，hitherto concealed by an overgrowth of ideology，that mankind must first of all eat，drink，have shelter and clothing，before it can pursue politics，science，art，religion，etc.；that therefore the production of the immediate material means of subsistence and consequently the degree of economic development attained by a given people or during a given epoch form the foundation upon which the state institutions，the legal conceptions，art，and even the ideas on religion，of the people concerned have been evolved，and in the light of which they must，therefore，be explained instead of vice versa，as had hitherto been the case.
Notes
1.hitherto [7hiTE5tu：] ad. 到目前为止，迄今
2.epoch [5i：pRk，5epRk] n. （新）纪元，（新）时代
人类历史的发展规律
诵读导言
马克思这位哲学家，社会科学家，历史学家和革命者，无疑是19世纪出现的最有影响力的社会主义思想家。他的名字和著作永驻不朽。
正像达尔文发现有机界的发展规律一样，马克思发现了人类历史的发展规律，即一种历来为纷繁芜杂的意识形态所掩盖着的某些事实：人们首先必须吃、喝、住、穿，然后才能从事政治、科学、艺术、宗教等等；因此，直接物质生活资料的生产，以及与之相适应的一个民族或一个时代的经济发展阶段，便构成基础；在这个基础上，产生了人们的国家制度、法的观点、艺术、以至宗教观念；当然，它们也必须由这个基础来解释，而不是像过去那样做得相反。
口语点津
这里提到了达尔文的进化论，那么“弱肉强食，适者生存”你会说吗？“弱肉强食”是森林中的生存法则，所以就被说成“the law of the jungle”，而“适者生存”就是“the fittest survive”。我们经常说 This is a world governed by the law of the jungle. Only the fittest survive. （这是一个弱肉强食的世界，惟适者方能生存。）