The 1755 Lisbon earthquake made two-thirds of a prosperous city uninhabitable. Among European intellectuals, the disaster inspired widespread doubts about the beneficence of the deity and a fear that human effort was vain against the powers of nature. The former issue remains open, but Friday’s earthquake in Japan and tsunami will show that people can indeed limit the damage from what insurers call acts of God.
1755年里斯本地震摧毁了这座繁荣的城市，三分之二的地区不再适宜居住。经过这起天灾，欧洲知识分子对神祇的仁爱产生了广泛的怀疑，也因为人类的努力在大自然面前的苍白无力而充满恐惧。神祇是否仁爱或许尚无结论，但周五日本发生的地震和海啸却显示出，人类的确能够控制保险公司所说的“不可抗力”所造成的损失。
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