The most notorious scientific feud in history - Lukas Rieppel

翻译人员: William Wu 校对人员: Helen Chang

After the California Gold Rush of 1848,

在1848年加利福尼亚淘金潮后

white settlers streamed west to strike it rich.

白人移民者涌向西方去淘金

In addition to precious metals, they unearthed another treasure:

除了发现稀有金属之外 他们还挖掘了其他的宝藏

dinosaur bones.

恐龙化石

Two wealthy scientists in particular—

两个特别富有的科学家

Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope—

奥斯尼尔 查尔斯 马什 和爱德华 德林克 科普

competed to uncover these prehistoric monsters.

互相竞争着去发掘这些史前怪兽

Marsh and Cope were first to describe iconic creatures

马什和科普是第一个描述代表性生物

like Brontosaurus, Triceratops, and Stegosaurus.

像雷龙、三角恐龙和剑龙

But they also showcased the destructive whirlwind of profiteering and ambition

但与此同时他们也展现出了 毁灭性般谋取暴利的旋风

that fueled American science during the late 1800s.

和在十九世纪晚期 推动美国科学进程的野心

Their rivalry, one of the most notorious scientific feuds in history,

他们的对抗是史上 特别臭名昭著的一次科学世仇

became known as the Bone Wars.

被熟知为“化石战争”

Marsh was ill-tempered and had a knack for debunking falsehoods.

马什脾气很暴躁 并且对于击碎谎言很有一套

One woman said that getting to know him was “like running against a pitchfork.”

有个女人说了解他就像 “和干草叉比赛跑”

Cope, on the other hand, was charismatic and given to bold theorizing.

在另一方面 科普是很有魅力的 而且勇于大胆推论的

But he was also sarcastic and temperamental.

但他同时又喜欢挖苦人且喜怒无常

By his own admission, he wasn’t

他自己承认

他并不是为和大多数人好好相处而生

“constructed for getting along comfortably with the general run of people.”

When Marsh and Cope first met in 1864, they were friendly,

马什和科普初次在1864年相遇时 彼此相当地友好

and each named a new species in the other’s honor.

并都以对方的名字命名了新的物种

But their relationship soon soured.

但他们的关系很快就变质了

In 1868, Cope took Marsh to a quarry near his home in New Jersey

在1868年 科普带着马什 去了他新泽西家附近的采石场

where one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons to date

是截至当时为止 最完整的恐龙头骨

had recently been discovered.

才刚被挖掘了出来

Sensing an opportunity, Marsh paid the mine operators

马什嗅到了机会 付钱给了矿工

to send him the most interesting new finds.

取得了最有意思的新发现

Outraged, Cope accused Marsh of bribery.

愤怒的科普指控马什贿赂

That same year, Cope showed Marsh his reconstruction of a new marine reptile

同年 科普向马什展示了 他重建的新海洋爬行动物

called Elasmosaurus.

叫做板龙

Marsh immediately noticed that something was wrong:

马什很快注意到有些异样

Cope had mistaken the creature’s long neck for its tail.

科普错把生物的长颈当作了它的尾巴

When Cope's mentor sided with Marsh, Cope was mortified.

当科普的导师赞同马什时 科普感觉很羞辱

He tried to buy and destroy every copy of the article containing his blunder,

他试着买下并且毁掉 所有印有他错误的文章

but to no avail.

但并没什么用

Their mutual resentment blossomed.

他们共同的怨恨生根发芽了

After the transcontinental railroad was completed the following year,

在次年横贯大陆的铁路竣工后

Cope and Marsh began scouring the American West for fossils.

科普和马什开始擦亮美国西部的化石

They found riches the likes of which neither had dreamed.

他们发现了从未幻想的重要结果

Relying on the help of Native American guides,

依靠着美国土著向导的帮助

Marsh made some especially significant discoveries,

马什有了些特别重大的发现

like ancient birds with teeth that are still celebrated

一种有齿的古代鸟类

as a missing link between dinosaurs and modern birds.

至今仍被因为是恐龙 与现代鸟的过度物种

Cope made important discoveries, too,

科普也发现了重要的化石

but Marsh successfully invalidated many of them,

但是马什成功地使其中的许多失效

showing them to be redundant with other known species.

展示这些化石其实是已知物种

Enraged, Cope tried to secure priority for new findings

愤怒之下 科普想通过电报

by announcing them via telegram.

赶紧发布他的新发现

He even purchased a respected journal

他甚至购买了一个有名气的期刊

so future publications could be rushed into print.

来快速的发布他未来的发现

But Marsh used his personal fortune to gain the upper hand,

但是马什用他个人的财富

招聘了一些私人化石猎手 从而胜过他的对手

hiring a small army of fossil hunters to out-compete his rival.

In 1878, Marsh bought an especially promising quarry in Como Bluff, Wyoming,

1878年 马什从两名收藏家那里 购买了一个有前景的

from two frontier collectors.

位于怀俄明州的采石场

It yielded tons of fossils,

结果有了数吨的化石，

including the near-complete skeleton of a gigantic dinosaur

包括一个大恐龙的几乎完整的化石

that Marsh named Brontosaurus.

这个恐龙被马什命名为“雷龙”

Over the next 10 years, his men shipped him more than 480 boxes

接下来十年 他的手下 发现了480多箱化石

of dinosaur bones from Como alone.

仅仅来自怀俄明州的采石场

Marsh named dozens of new species.

马什命名了几十个新的物种

But his assistants could be ruthless in their quest

但是他的助理为了 马什在科学领域的领先

to further Marsh’s scientific ambitions.

使用了无情的手段

They sometimes destroyed fossils just to prevent them

他们有时摧毁了化石 仅仅为了防止

from falling into Cope’s hands.

化石落入科普的手里

Desperate to catch up with Marsh,

为了赶上马什

Cope invested his dwindling fortune into silver mining.

科普把他日益减少的财富 投资到了银矿挖掘中

The gamble failed, and he was left nearly destitute.

他投资失败 陷入了贫困中

While Cope contemplated selling his precious collection,

在科普思考卖出自己珍贵的收藏品时

Marsh was named lead paleontologist for the US Geological Survey.

马什被认为美国地质调查局 评价为顶尖古生物学家

This well-funded branch of the government often sponsored Westward expeditions,

这个经费充足的政府机构 经常赞助向西的远征

giving Marsh even more resources to vanquish his rival.

给了马什更多击败他对手的资源

The Bone Wars spilled into public view when Cope had a tabloid newspaper

当科普在报纸上控诉 马什侵权、诈骗、腐败时

publish an article accusing Marsh of plagiarism, fraud, and corruption.

公众才知道了这场化石战争

Marsh fired back and the two further tarnished each other’s reputations.

马什也不甘示弱 两人都在互相诋毁对方的名誉

Neither ever relented.

并且都不肯让步

When Cope died, he donated his skull to science,

科普去世后 他把自己的头骨捐献了出去

hoping to prove that his brain was larger than that of his enemy.

来证明他的大脑比他的对手要大

Marsh never accepted the challenge.

马什从未接受这个挑战

Although Marsh named more species than Cope,

尽管马什发现的新物种比科普多

both men greatly expanded our understanding of evolution.

这两人都为人类对进化论的理解 做出了不可磨灭的贡献

But their egotistical one-upmanship reminds us that,

但是他们自大的自我提醒了我们：

in spite of its ideals,

尽管科学有理想

science is a personal enterprise conducted by individual—

科学是由人类个体进行的个人事业

and at times deeply flawed— human beings.

而人往往存在严重的缺陷