past 的詞源

14世紀初，“完成，結束，不再存在”，是“ passed ”的變體，是“ passen ”的過去分詞（參見“ pass (v.)”）。意思是“已經過去，屬於此之前的時間”自14世紀中期起。 “表示過去的動作或狀態”的語法意義始於1520年代； “ past participle ”記錄於1775年； “ past tense ”於1650年代出現。作爲介詞，“超越時間或位置”，始於公元1300年，源自形容詞。

約於1500年，“過去的時光，已經過去的時間”，來自 past（形容詞）。1836年有“過去的生活、職業或歷史”的意思。

The past is the only dead thing that smells sweet,

The only sweet thing that is not also fleet.

[Edward Thomas, from "Early one morning"]

過去是唯一散發出甜香的死物，

唯一不會逝去的甜物。

[愛德華·托馬斯，《清晨早起》]

AMERICA does not repel the past, or what it has produced under its forms or amid other politics or the idea of castes or the old religions .... accepts the lesson with calmness ... is not so impatient as has been supposed that the slough still sticks to opinions and manners and literature while the life which served its requirements has passed into the new life of the new forms ... perceives that the corpse is slowly borne from the eating and sleeping rooms of the house ... perceives that it waits a little while in the door ... that it was fittest for its days ... that its action has descended to the stalwart and wellshaped heir who approaches ... and that he shall be fittest for his days. [Whitman, opening of the preface to "Leaves of Grass," 1855]

美國不排斥過去，或者在其他政治形式或種姓制度或舊宗教中所產生的東西……以平靜的心態接受教訓……並不像人們所認爲的那樣急切，認爲觀念、風俗和文學仍然沾染着腐朽，而爲其服務的生活已經過渡到新形式的新生活中……意識到屍體正在緩緩地從房間裏的餐廳和臥室裏搬出去……意識到它在門口等待了一會兒……它最適合它的時代……它的行動已經傳給了接近的健壯和優美的繼承人……他將是他的時代最適合的人。[惠特曼，《草葉集》前言開篇，1855年]

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. [George Santayana, "The Life of Reason," 1905]

進步並非在於變革，而在於保留。當變革是絕對的時候，就沒有存在可以改進，也沒有方向可以指向可能的改進； 當經驗不被保留時，如同野蠻人一樣，嬰兒期就是永恆的。那些不能記住過去的人註定要重蹈覆轍。[喬治·桑塔亞那，《理性的生命》，1905年]

[T]he past cannot be presented; we cannot know what we are not. [Thoreau]

[ past ]無法被 presented； 我們無法瞭解我們不是什麼。[梭羅]

The past is never dead. It's not even past. [Faulkner, "Requiem for a Nun," 1950]

過去從未死去。它甚至沒有過去。[福克納，《爲修女安魂曲》，1950年]