14 Henry Thoreau 亨利·梭羅
He was born David Henry Thoreau in Concord, Massachusetts, to John Thoreau (a pencil maker) and Cynthia Dunbar. 梭羅出生時取名大衛(wèi)·亨利·梭羅,他出生在馬薩諸塞州的康科德鎮(zhèn),父親是約翰·梭羅(鉛筆制造商),母親叫辛西婭·鄧巴。
David Henry was named after a recently deceased paternal uncle, David Thoreau. 大衛(wèi)·亨利以新近去世的叔叔大衛(wèi)·梭羅命名。
He did not become "Henry David" until after college, although he never petitioned to make a legal name change. 他直到大學(xué)畢業(yè)后才使用"亨利·大衛(wèi)"這個名字,雖然他從未請求合法地改變姓名。
He had two older siblings, Helen and John Junior, and a younger sister, Sophia. 他有一個姐姐海倫和一個哥哥小約翰,還有一個妹妹,索菲婭。
Thorea's birthplace still exists on Virginia Road in Concord and is currently the focus of preservation efforts. 梭羅的出生地仍然保存于康科德的Virginia Road,是目前的重點文物保護(hù)遺址。
The house is original, but it now stands about 100 yards away from its first site. 房子還是老房子,但據(jù)最初的地點有100碼遠(yuǎn)。
Thoreau studied at Harvard University between 1833 and 1837. 梭羅1833年到1837年間就讀哈佛大學(xué)。
He lived in Hollis Hall and took courses in rhetoric, classics, philosophy, mathematics, and science. 他住在霍利斯大廳,學(xué)習(xí)修辭、古典文學(xué)、哲學(xué)、數(shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)。
A legend proposes that Thoreau refused to pay the five-dollar fee for a Harvard diploma. 據(jù)說,梭羅拒絕支付五美元的費用以獲得哈佛文憑。
In fact, the master's degree he declined to purchase had no academic merit: 事實上,他拒絕購買的這個碩士學(xué)位,沒有學(xué)術(shù)價值:
Harvard College offered it to graduates "who proved their physical worth by being alive three years after graduating, 哈佛大學(xué)向那些"畢業(yè)三年后還活著回來證明其實際價值的畢業(yè)生"頒發(fā)此學(xué)位,
and their saving, earning, or inheriting quality or condition by having Five Dollars to give the college." His comment was: "Let every sheep keep its own skin." 同時"他們的儲蓄、收入、所承襲的財產(chǎn)或是社會地位使之能向?qū)W院支付五美元。" 而他對此的評論是"讓每個人都能有不同的個性"。
In appearance he was homely, with a nose that he called "my most prominent feature," again in Cape Cod. 在外表上他并無吸引力,他有著一個被其稱為"我最突出的特征"的鼻子,在《科德角》中他也這么說。
Of his face, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote: "is as ugly as sin, long-nosed, queer-mouthed, and with uncouth and rustic, though courteous manners, corresponding very well with such an exterior. 有關(guān)梭羅的臉,納撒尼爾·霍桑如此描寫道(梭羅)簡直其丑無比,鼻子長,嘴巴怪,笨拙且粗俗,然而他彬彬有禮卻和這樣的外表很好地相互映襯。
But his ugliness is of an honest and agreeable fashion, and becomes him much better than beauty." 他的丑陋帶著正直與和藹可親的風(fēng)格,比美貌更適合他。"
After college, Thoreau taught school, wrote essays and poems for The Dial, and briefly attempted freelance writing in New York City. 大學(xué)畢業(yè)后,梭羅在學(xué)校教書,為《曰規(guī)》撰寫散文和詩歌,他還在紐約短暫地嘗試了一下做一名自由撰稿人。
The death of his brother in 1842 was a profound emotional shock and may have influenced his decision to live with his parents and never to marry. 1842年他兄弟的死對他打擊很大,可能同時也影響了他的決定,使其和父母一起生活而且終生未娶。