Balance and Symmetry （平衡與對(duì)稱(chēng)）
試比較以下兩段話(huà)：
1a. The national unity of a free people depends upon a sufficiently even balance of political power to make it impracticable for the administration to be arbitrary and for the opposition to be revolutionary and irreconcilable. Where that balance no longer exists, democracy perishes. For unless all the citizens of a state are forced by circumstances to compromise, unless they feel that they can affect policy but that no one can wholly dominate it, unless by habit and necessity they have to give and take, freedom cannot be maintained.
1b. The national unity of a free people depends upon a sufficiently even balance of political power to make it impracticable for there to be an arbitrary administration against a revolutionary opposition that is irreconcilably opposed to it. Where that balance no longer exists, democracy perishes. For unless all the citizens of a state are habitually forced by necessary circumstances to compromise in a way that lets them affect policy with no one dominating it, freedom cannot be maintained.
在第一段中，作者盡量平衡詞組和詞組，從句和從句，整體上形成一種對(duì)稱(chēng)的結(jié)構(gòu)，讀起來(lái)脈絡(luò)清晰，更具行文風(fēng)格。相反，第二段的寫(xiě)法是從句套從句，不僅讀起來(lái)更加費(fèi)勁，在格式上也失去了鮮明的骨架感。
試看第一段中用到的平衡和對(duì)稱(chēng)的技巧：
We can enhance the rhythm and grace of coordination if we keep in mind a few simple principles.（如果能夠牢記一些簡(jiǎn)單的原則，則可以強(qiáng)化句子的韻律和協(xié)調(diào)感）
First, a coordinate series will move more gracefully if each succeeding coordinate element is longer than the one before it. So if you coordinate within a coordination, do it in the last branch of the main coordination：（在安排一系列的句子時(shí)，如果后面的句子能夠比前面的較長(zhǎng)，讀起來(lái)會(huì)更加優(yōu)雅。所以，如果需要在從句當(dāng)中進(jìn)一步調(diào)配，則最好在最后一個(gè)主分支當(dāng)中展開(kāi)。）
還可以通過(guò)使用both X and Y, not only X but also Y, neither X nor Y 的結(jié)構(gòu)實(shí)現(xiàn)強(qiáng)調(diào)的目的：
Second, You can make these coordinate patterns more rhetorically elegant if you consciously balance parts of phrases and clauses against each other: （還可以通過(guò)韻律上的對(duì)稱(chēng)進(jìn)一步加強(qiáng)句子之間的協(xié)調(diào)感：）
The richest kind of balance and parallelism counterpoints both grammar and meaning: here vacuous is balanced against mindless, emotion against eroticism, daytime against nighttime, soap opera against sitcoms, artists against audiences, able against willing, and create against support. （最徹底的平衡是在語(yǔ)法上和意義上都實(shí)現(xiàn)彼此的對(duì)比）
You can achieve the same effect when you balance parts of sentences that are not coordinated： （并且，即便是不協(xié)調(diào)的句子或片段，也可以實(shí)現(xiàn)彼此之間的平衡：）
1. subject balanced against an object （主語(yǔ)和賓語(yǔ)平衡）
2. the predicate of a relative clause in a subject is balanced against the predicate of the whole sentence （從句中的謂語(yǔ)和主句的謂語(yǔ)平衡）
3. A direct object balanced against the object of a preposition （句中的賓語(yǔ)和介詞后的賓語(yǔ)平衡）
最后再看一例：從句和主句平衡（1a, 1b），從句賓語(yǔ)與介詞的賓語(yǔ)平衡（2a, 2b），主句的賓語(yǔ)和兩個(gè)介詞的賓語(yǔ)平衡（3a, 3b，3c）：
