《四季隨筆》節(jié)選 - 夏 04

《四季隨筆》是吉辛的散文代表作。其中對隱士賴克羅夫特醉心于書籍、自然景色與回憶過去生活的描述，其實(shí)是吉辛的自述，作者以此來抒發(fā)自己的情感，因而本書是一部富有自傳色彩的小品文集。

吉辛窮困的一生，對文學(xué)名著的愛好與追求，以及對大自然恬靜生活的向往，在書中均有充分的反映。本書分為春、夏、秋、冬四個(gè)部分，文筆優(yōu)美，行文流暢，是英國文學(xué)中小品文的珍品之一。

以下是由網(wǎng)友分享的《四季隨筆》節(jié)選 - 夏 04的內(nèi)容，讓我們一起來感受吉辛的四季吧!

It is Sunday morning, and above earth's beauty shines the purest, softest sky this summer has yet gladdened us withal. My window is thrown open; I see the sunny gleam upon garden leaves and flowers; I hear the birds whose wont it is to sing to me; ever and anon the martins that have their home beneath my eaves sweep past in silence. Church bells have begun to chime; I know the music of their voices, near and far.

這是禮拜天的早晨，大地上景色美不勝收，頭上是今夏最純凈最溫柔的天空，讓人心情愉快。我的窗戶大開，陽光在花園的樹葉和花朵上閃耀；鳥兒對我唱歌，這是它們的習(xí)慣；屋檐下不時(shí)有燕子悄悄掠過，它們把家安在了那里。教堂的鐘聲開始響起，遠(yuǎn)近各個(gè)教堂的鐘聲，都是我所熟悉的。

There was a time when it delighted me to flash my satire on the English Sunday; I could see nothing but antiquated foolishness and modern hypocrisy in this weekly pause from labour and from bustle. Now I prize it as an inestimable boon, and dread every encroachment upon its restful stillness. Scoff as I might at "Sabbatarianism," was I not always glad when Sunday came? The bells of London churches and chapels are not soothing to the ear, but when I remember their sound—even that of the most aggressively pharisaic conventicle, with its one dire clapper—I find it associated with a sense of repose, of liberty. This day of the seven I granted to my better genius; work was put aside, and, when Heaven permitted, trouble forgotten.

曾幾何時(shí)，嘲諷英國的禮拜天在我是一樁樂事。這每周暫時(shí)擺脫勞累和喧嚷的日子，我從中看到的只有過時(shí)的愚蠢和現(xiàn)代的虛偽。而現(xiàn)在，我將它視為無限的恩惠，憎惡任何對這種悠閑寧靜氣氛的侵犯。我也許會(huì)嘲笑“嚴(yán)守安息日主義”，然而，當(dāng)這一天來臨，我總是很高興，不是嗎？倫敦大小教堂的鐘聲并不悅耳怡神，然而，回憶起它們的聲音—即便是最偽善的非國教教堂的鐘錘發(fā)出的沉悶刺耳的聲音—我都會(huì)聯(lián)想到安詳和自由。每周的第七天，我會(huì)用來做更有價(jià)值的事情，將工作撇在一邊，如蒙上蒼庇佑，煩惱也拋諸腦后。

When out of England I have always missed this Sunday quietude, this difference from ordinary days which seems to affect the very atmosphere. It is not enough that people should go to church, that shops should be closed and workyards silent; these holiday notes do not make a Sunday. Think as one may of its significance, our Day of Rest has a peculiar sanctity, felt, I imagine, in a more or less vague way, even by those who wish to see the village lads at cricket and theatres open in the town. The idea is surely as good a one as ever came to heavy-laden mortals; let one whole day in every week be removed from the common life of the world, lifted above common pleasures as above common cares. With all the abuses of fanaticism, this thought remained rich in blessings; Sunday has always brought large good to the generality, and to a chosen number has been the very life of the soul, however heretically some of them understood the words. If its ancient use perish from among us, so much the worse for our country. And perish no doubt it will; only here in rustic solitude can one forget the changes that have already made the day less sacred to multitudes. With it will vanish that habit of periodic calm, which, even when it has become so largely void of conscious meaning, is, one may safely say, the best spiritual boon ever bestowed upon a people. The most difficult of all things to attain, the most difficult of all to preserve, the supreme benediction of the noblest mind, this calm was once breathed over the whole land as often as sounded the last stroke of weekly toil; on Saturday at seven began the quiet and the solace. With the decline of old faith, Sunday cannot but lose its sanction, and no loss among the innumerable that we are suffering will work so effectually for popular vulgarization. What hope is there of guarding the moral beauty of the day when the authority which set it apart is no longer recognized?—Imagine a bank-holiday once a week!

身在國外時(shí)，我總是會(huì)懷念英格蘭安息日的靜謐，它與平日的不同之處似乎影響了這一天的氣氛。這一天，人們到教堂做禮拜，店鋪歇業(yè)，工廠也安靜下來，但這是不夠的，這些節(jié)日的音符并不能成就一個(gè)安息日。想想它的意義吧，我們的“休息之日”有一種獨(dú)特的神圣感，我想，即使是那些希望看鄉(xiāng)下孩子打板球和城里劇院開業(yè)的人們，也能模糊地感覺到。對所有不堪負(fù)累的人們，這個(gè)主意當(dāng)然是再好不過了。每周拿出一天，讓它有別于普通的日子，在這一天，平凡的歡樂可以得到升華，平日的煩惱可以置之不理。雖然它遭到宗教狂熱分子的濫用，但還是帶著很大的安慰。安息日總是給大多數(shù)人帶來快樂，但對少數(shù)人，它意味著靈魂的生活，盡管其中有些人對靈魂的生活有著離經(jīng)叛道的理解。如果它的古老作用不復(fù)存在，那對我們國家是多大的損失。但是毫無疑問它終會(huì)消失，只有在這鄉(xiāng)下的僻靜中，你才能忘記逐漸消弭安息日神圣感的那些變化。隨之消失的，是定期享受平靜的習(xí)慣，盡管這一習(xí)慣的自覺性多半已經(jīng)消失，但還可以肯定地說，它是賜予一個(gè)民族最好的精神恩惠。這種平靜是所有事物中最難獲得、最難保存的，是最高尚頭腦的終極祝福。以前，每當(dāng)一周勞作結(jié)束的鐘聲響起，這種平靜便彌漫整個(gè)國土；在周六的七點(diǎn)鐘，靜謐和安慰便開始擴(kuò)散。隨著古老信仰的衰落，安息日只能喪失它的神圣感；在我們遭受的無數(shù)損失中，這種損失對大眾生活的庸俗化起到了無可比擬的效用。如果將這一天與平日區(qū)別開來的權(quán)威不被承認(rèn)，那還有什么希望來捍衛(wèi)它的道德之美？—想象每周有一天法定休假日吧！