熱愛美食

At supper Johnson talked of good eating with uncommon satisfaction. "Some people," said he, "have a foolish way of not minding, or pretending not to mind, what they eat. For my part, I mind my belly very studiously, and very carefully; for I look upon it, that he who does not mind his belly will hardly mind anything else,"He was, for the moment, not only serious but vehement. Yet I have heard him, upon other occasions, talk with great contempt of people who were anxious to gratify their palates; and the 206th number of his Rambler is a masterly essay against gulosity. His practice, indeed, I must acknowledge, may be considered as casting the balance of his different opinions upon this subject; for I never knew any man who relished good eating more than he did.
晚餐時約翰遜談起了美食，滿意之情異乎尋常。他說："有些人不介意，或者假裝不介意他們吃的食物 ，這是愚蠢的表現(xiàn)。對我來說，我非常細(xì)心和認(rèn)真地為我的肚子考慮。我認(rèn)為，一個不在意肚子的人 幾乎不會在意任何其他的事情。"此刻，他不僅神情嚴(yán)肅，而且感情激烈。然而，在其他一些時候，我 曾聽到他對那些急于滿足自己食欲的人又嗤之以鼻。并且他的《漫步者》一書中的第206篇就是一則反 對貪食的散文佳作。我必須承認(rèn)，他的行為確實(shí)可以被認(rèn)為是在平衡有關(guān)同一話題的不同觀點(diǎn)，因?yàn)?我從未碰到過比他還要更熱衷于美食的人。

When at table, he was totally absorbed in the business of the moment; his looks seemed riveted to his plate; nor would he, unless when in very high company, say one word, or even pay the least attention to what was said by others, till he had satisfied his appetite, which was so fierce, and indulged with such intenseness，that while in the act of eating, the veins of his forehead swelled, and generally a strong perspiration was visible. To those whose sensations were delicate, this could not but be disgusting; and it was doubtless not very suitable to the character of a philosopher, who should be distinguished by self-command. But it must be owned, that Johnson, though he could be rigidly ABSTEMIOUS, was not a TEMPERATE man either in eating or drinking. He could refrain, but he could not use moderately.
在飯桌邊，他完完全全被眼前的食物所吸引，他的臉?biāo)坪趵卫蔚刭N在了盤子上，除非賓客眾多，他都 一言不發(fā)，甚至一點(diǎn)也不留意其他人的言談，直到他強(qiáng)烈的食欲得以滿足，神情專注地暴飲暴食完畢 為止。吃飯時，他前額青筋爆出，通常還能看見額頭上大滴大滴的汗珠。對那些感覺敏感的人而言， 這副吃相絕對令人作嘔；毫無疑問，這和一位哲學(xué)家的品質(zhì)太不相稱了，哲學(xué)家應(yīng)以嚴(yán)于律己而得名 。但是，必須指出的是，盡管約翰遜可能是一個嚴(yán)格約束自己的人，但是在飲食上他沒有節(jié)制。他可 以克制，但真正吃喝起來就不能自拔了。

He told me, that he had fasted two days without inconvenience, and that he had never been hungry. They who beheld with wonder how much he eat upon all occasions when his dinner was to his taste, could not easily conceive what he must have meant by hunger.
他告訴我，他巳經(jīng)順利齋戒兩天了，并且從來沒有感到過饑餓。但是一旦餐點(diǎn)合他的胃口，他便狼吞 虎咽起來，每次目睹他這副吃相的朋友們都深感驚奇，想不出他所謂的饑餓到底意指何意。

And not only was he remarkable for the extraordinary quantity which he eat, but he was, or affected to be, a man of very nice discernment in the science of cookery. He used to descant critically on the dishes which had been at table where he had dined or supped, and to recollect very minutely what he had liked. I remember, when he was in Scotland, his praising "Gordon's palates，" (a dish of palates at the Honourable Alexander Gordon's) with a warmth of expression which might have done honour to more important subjects. "As for Maclaurin's imitation of a MADE DISH, it was a wretched attempt." He about the same time was so much displeased with the performances of a nobleman's French cook, that he exclaimed with vehemence, "I'd throw such a rascal into the river"，and he then proceeded to alarm a lady at whose house he was to sup, by the following manifesto of his skill: "I，Madam, who live at a variety of good tables, am a much better judge of cookery, than any person who has a very tolerable cook, but lives much at home; for his palate is gradually adapted to the taste of his cook; whereas, Madam, in trying by a wider range, I can more exquisitely judge." When invited to dine, even with an intimate friend, he was not pleased if something better than a plain dinner was not prepared for him. I have heard him say on such an occasion, "This was a good dinner enough, to be sure; but it was not a dinner to ASK a man to." On the other hand, he was wont to express, with great glee, his satisfaction when he had been entertained quite to his mind.
約翰遜不僅因食量驚人而引人注目，而且他還是，或者假裝是鑒賞烹飪技藝的能手。他過去常常在餐 桌邊詳細(xì)地評論剛剛品嘗或飲用過的菜肴，非常細(xì)致地回味他喜愛的食物。我記得在蘇格蘭的時候， 他稱贊"高登閣下府邸的飲食味道"（尊敬的亞歷山大·高登閣下）時，言辭激動熱烈，而這本該是在 探討更重要的話題時才應(yīng)有的情感和語氣。"至于麥克勞林仿效的拼盤，真是一次惡劣的嘗試。"當(dāng)時 他對一位貴族的法國廚師的表現(xiàn)極為不悅，甚至義憤填鷹地說："我要把這個惡棍扔進(jìn)河里。"之后他 繼續(xù)警示一位女士，不久他要去女士家進(jìn)餐，他對自己的美食技藝發(fā)表了如下宣言："夫人，我生活在 各式各樣的美食桌旁，更是一個美食行家，評判能力遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)勝過長期居家、有優(yōu)秀廚師備餐的任何人， 因?yàn)檫@樣的人往往會逐漸適應(yīng)廚師的口味。但是，夫人，我嘗過的飯菜種類繁多，能夠更加細(xì)致地作 出判斷。"只要有人邀他進(jìn)餐，即使是親密的朋友，如果招待他的只是家常便飯，沒有配備更為精美的 飯菜，他就會面露不悅的神色。一次我聽他提起："這頓飯很不錯，那是肯定的，但是這不是款待客人 的食物。"另一方面，如果款待他的飯菜正合他心意，他常常會興高采烈地表達(dá)他的滿足感。