He said that he himself in his earlier years had studied the astrologers' art with a view to gaining his living by it as a profession.

他说，他自己早年曾研究过占星术， 希望以此谋生。

It would have been worse had I been a publisher like Marc-Michel Rey, and obliged like him to gain my living at the expense of the stupidity of the public.

如果我是像马克-米歇尔雷伊那样的出版商， 并且不得不像他一样以牺牲公众的愚蠢为代价谋生， 情况会更糟。

Yet, he had given it up and followed medicine for the simple reason that he had discovered astrology to be utterly false and, as a man of honest character, he was unwilling to gain his living by beguiling people.

但他放弃了， 转而行医，原因很简单， 因为他发现占星学完全是错误的，而且作为一个诚实的人， 他不愿意靠欺骗人民来谋生。

At the time when I was literally starving in London, when it seemed impossible that I should ever gain a living by my pen, how many days have I spent at the British Museum, reading as disinterestedly as if I had been without a care!

当我在伦敦几乎快要饿死的时候，当我似乎不可能靠笔谋生的时候，我在大英博物馆度过了多少天，无私地阅读，就像我无所事事一样！