又中又英 | Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan | 褚简宁

　　The late US President John F. Kennedy famously said victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, popularized the proverb which dates back a very long time. He used it in 1961 after the Bay of Pigs invasion. The Bay of Pigs invasion was a botched CIA-backed invasion to overthrow Cuba's Communist leader Fidel Castro. About 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs but Cuban forces killed or captured most of the exiles. Kennedy used the proverb "victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan" when he accepted responsibility for the botched invasion after he faced harsh criticism.

　　The expression "victory has a thousand fathers" means everyone will rush to claim credit when something, such as a project or campaign, succeeds. That's why it has a thousand fathers. But no one wants to take the blame when something fails. They all distance themselves from the defeat. That's why the defeat is an orphan. A botched invasion is a failed invasion that was clumsily or incompetently planned. A US political commentator used the proverb after the Democratic Party soundly beat President Donald Trump's Republican Party in the recent midterm Congressional elections.

　　To "soundly beat" means to thoroughly defeat a competitor. All the different factions of the Democratic Party, including the leftists, centralists, and traditional Democrats, claimed credit for the victory to win control of Congress from the Republicans. This could cause infighting among party members. Many Republicans are blaming each other or Trump for their defeat. Trump has not accepted full responsibility for his party’s loss.

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　　前美国总统约翰甘迺迪，曾说过一句名言：胜利有千个父亲，失败却是个孤儿（victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan）。于1963年遇刺身亡的甘迺迪，令这一句源远流长的谚语重新流行起来。他在1961年猪湾入侵事件（Bay of Pigs invasion）后用到这句话。猪湾入侵事件（Bay of Pigs invasion）是个搞砸了的（botched）入侵事件，由中情局支援，企图推翻古巴的共产领袖菲尔德．卡斯特罗。大约1500名受中情局训练的古巴流亡者在猪湾登陆，但古巴军杀死或俘虏了大部分的流亡者。甘迺迪面对严厉的批评，便用了谚语「胜利有千个父亲，失败却是个孤儿」（victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan）来承担这次拙劣入侵（botched invasion）的责任。

　　习语"victory has a thousand fathers"是指当某事，例如一个企划或战役成功后，人人都争着领功，因此它有一千个父亲；但当某事失败，却无人想承担责任，他们全都跟失败保持距离，因此失败是个孤儿。A botched invasion是个笨拙或规划不当而失败的进攻。当民主党在最近的中期国会选举，彻底击败（soundly beat）总统特朗普的共和党后，一个美国政治评论人就用到了这个谚语。

　　"Soundly beat"是指彻彻底底地击败一个对手。民主党的不同派系，包括左翼、中间派以及传统民主党人，全都把从共和党手中夺回国会控制权的胜利，归功于自己。这可以导致党内人员的内讧。许多共和党人对于他们的失败，都在互相怪责，或归咎于特朗普。特朗普并未为其党的失败承担全部责任。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻