《四季隨筆》節(jié)選 - 夏 18

《四季隨筆》是吉辛的散文代表作。其中對(duì)隱士賴克羅夫特醉心于書籍、自然景色與回憶過(guò)去生活的描述，其實(shí)是吉辛的自述，作者以此來(lái)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(duì)文學(xué)名著的愛(ài)好與追求，以及對(duì)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(guó)文學(xué)中小品文的珍品之一。

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It is easy to understand that common judgment of foreigners regarding the English people. Go about in England as a stranger, travel by rail, live at hotels, see nothing but the broadly public aspect of things, and the impression left upon you will be one of hard egoism, of gruffness and sullenness; in a word, of everything that contrasts most strongly with the ideal of social and civic life. And yet, as a matter of fact, no nation possesses in so high a degree the social and civic virtues. The unsociable Englishman, quotha? Why, what country in the world can show such multifarious, vigorous and cordial co-operation, in all ranks, but especially, of course, among the intelligent, for ends which concern the common good? Unsociable! Why, go where you will in England you can hardly find a man—nowadays, indeed, scarce an educated woman—who does not belong to some alliance, for study or sport, for municipal or national benefit, and who will not be seen, in leisure time, doing his best as a social being. Take the so-called sleepy market-town; it is bubbling with all manner of associated activities, and these of the quite voluntary kind, forms of zealously united effort such as are never dreamt of in the countries supposed to be eminently "social." Sociability does not consist in a readiness to talk at large with the first comer. It is not dependent upon natural grace and suavity; it is compatible, indeed, with thoroughly awkward and all but brutal manners. The English have never (at all events, for some two centuries past) inclined to the purely ceremonial or mirthful forms of sociability; but as regards every prime interest of the community—health and comfort, well-being of body and of soul—their social instinct is supreme.

外國(guó)人對(duì)英國(guó)人的一般評(píng)價(jià)很容易理解。一個(gè)外國(guó)人，在英國(guó)四處走走，坐坐火車，住住旅館，泛泛地看一下公共層面的東西，英國(guó)留給你的印象會(huì)是冷酷自我、粗魯陰郁。總而言之，所有的一切顯得與社會(huì)和公民理想相去甚遠(yuǎn)。而實(shí)際上，在人民擁有社會(huì)和公民美德方面，沒(méi)有一個(gè)國(guó)家比得上英國(guó)這么高的程度。英國(guó)人不愛(ài)交際，真的嗎？為達(dá)到涉及共同利益的目標(biāo)，社會(huì)各個(gè)階層尤其是有才智的人之間進(jìn)行多層面和積極熱情的合作，從這一點(diǎn)上說(shuō)，世界哪個(gè)國(guó)家能比得上英國(guó)？什么不愛(ài)交際！隨便你到英國(guó)哪個(gè)地方，你會(huì)很難找到一個(gè)男人—或是一個(gè)受過(guò)教育的女人，就現(xiàn)在來(lái)說(shuō)—不是某個(gè)團(tuán)體的成員，也許是學(xué)習(xí)團(tuán)體，或是運(yùn)動(dòng)團(tuán)體，又或是為了地方或國(guó)家利益組成的團(tuán)體。而在閑暇時(shí)間里，他們每個(gè)人都在盡全力承擔(dān)著服務(wù)社會(huì)的角色。就拿所謂的不活躍的市鎮(zhèn)來(lái)說(shuō)，其中組織著各式各樣的團(tuán)體活動(dòng)，都是一些自愿性質(zhì)的，有些形式的熱忱社團(tuán)的組成，恐怕在那些貌似極其“喜歡交際”的國(guó)家是做夢(mèng)都想不到的。喜歡交際不是指第一次見(jiàn)面便無(wú)所不談。它并不依賴于人們的自然風(fēng)度和溫文爾雅，其實(shí)，它與極其笨拙和徹底野蠻的舉止是可以相容的。英國(guó)人從來(lái)都不喜歡純粹儀式性或娛樂(lè)性的社交形式（至少在過(guò)去兩個(gè)世紀(jì)如此），然而一旦涉及到社區(qū)的任何重要利益—比如健康舒適、身體和精神的福利等—他們便會(huì)表現(xiàn)出極強(qiáng)的社交能力。

Yet it is so difficult to reconcile this indisputable fact with that other fact, no less obvious, that your common Englishman seems to have no geniality. From the one point of view, I admire and laud my fellow countryman; from the other, I heartily dislike him and wish to see as little of him as possible. One is wont to think of the English as a genial folk. Have they lost in this respect? Has the century of science and money-making sensibly affected the national character? I think always of my experience at the English inn, where it is impossible not to feel a brutal indifference to the humane features of life; where food is bolted without attention, liquor swallowed out of mere habit, where even good-natured accost is a thing so rare as to be remarkable.

但是，還是很難調(diào)和這個(gè)無(wú)可辯駁的事實(shí)和另一個(gè)同樣顯而易見(jiàn)的事實(shí)，即你見(jiàn)過(guò)的普通英國(guó)人似乎并不友好。從一個(gè)角度來(lái)說(shuō)，我欣賞并贊美我的同胞；從另一角度，我打心眼里不喜歡他，希望見(jiàn)他越少越好。人們習(xí)慣上認(rèn)為英國(guó)人是友好的。他們什么時(shí)候喪失了這個(gè)品質(zhì)？難道這個(gè)科學(xué)昌明和財(cái)富積累的世紀(jì)明顯影響了國(guó)民的性格？我總會(huì)想起在英國(guó)客棧的經(jīng)歷，在那里，你不可能感受不到一種對(duì)生活中人情味的野蠻漠視；在那里，人們狼吞虎咽，對(duì)食物毫不在意，喝酒也只是習(xí)慣使然，好意的搭訕?lè)浅Ｏ『保瑫?huì)很引人注意。

Two things have to be borne in mind: the extraordinary difference of demeanour which exists between the refined and the vulgar English, and the natural difficulty of an Englishman in revealing his true self save under the most favourable circumstances.

但要記住兩件事：第一，有教養(yǎng)的和粗俗的英國(guó)人之間，舉止風(fēng)度有天壤之別；第二，除非在極為適宜的環(huán)境下，英國(guó)人天生地很難將真正的自我顯露出來(lái)。

So striking is the difference of manner between class and class that the hasty observer might well imagine a corresponding and radical difference of mind and character. In Russia, I suppose, the social extremities are seen to be pretty far apart, but, with that possible exception, I should think no European country can show such a gap as yawns to the eye between the English gentleman and the English boor. The boor, of course, is the multitude; the boor impresses himself upon the traveller. When relieved from his presence, one can be just to him; one can remember that his virtues—though elementary, and strictly in need of direction—are the same, to a great extent, as those of the well-bred man. He does not represent—though seeming to do so a nation apart. To understand this multitude, you must get below its insufferable manners, and learn that very fine civic qualities can consist with a personal bearing almost wholly repellent.

階級(jí)之間在行為舉止上有如此顯著的差別，倉(cāng)促的觀察者可能得出結(jié)論認(rèn)為，英國(guó)人在思想和性格上也相應(yīng)地存在巨大差異。在俄國(guó)，我想，社會(huì)兩極分化應(yīng)該是相當(dāng)嚴(yán)重的。但是除了這一個(gè)可能的例外，我想歐洲沒(méi)有一個(gè)國(guó)家存在像英國(guó)的紳士和鄉(xiāng)野鄙夫之間那樣巨大的鴻溝。當(dāng)然，鄉(xiāng)下人是大多數(shù)，所以也容易給旅行者留下印象。等離開(kāi)他時(shí)，我們便能公正地看待他，我們可以記起他的美德—雖然粗糙并需嚴(yán)格引導(dǎo)—和那些有教養(yǎng)的人在很大程度上是一樣的。他并不代表—盡管表面如此—一個(gè)完全不同的國(guó)家。要了解這大多數(shù)人，你必須看透過(guò)他們俗不可耐的舉止，才會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)那幾乎令人厭惡的個(gè)人舉止下掩藏著很好的公民品質(zhì)。

Then, as to the dogged reserve of the educated man, why, I have only to look into myself. I, it is true, am not quite a representative Englishman; my self-consciousness, my meditative habit of mind, rather dim my national and social characteristics; but set me among a few specimens of the multitude, and am I not at once aware of that instinctive antipathy, that shrinking into myself, that something like unto scorn, of which the Englishman is accused by foreigners who casually meet him? Peculiar to me is the effort to overcome this first impulse—an effort which often enough succeeds. If I know myself at all, I am not an ungenial man; and yet I am quite sure that many people who have known me casually would say that my fault is a lack of geniality. To show my true self, I must be in the right mood and the right circumstances—which, after all, is merely as much as saying that I am decidedly English.

那么，說(shuō)到有教養(yǎng)的人那份固執(zhí)的內(nèi)斂，我只要看看自己就知道了。我真的不算是一個(gè)典型的英國(guó)人，我拘謹(jǐn)靦腆，有沉思的習(xí)慣，這淡化了我身上民族和社會(huì)的特性。但是，把我和英國(guó)民眾的幾個(gè)代表放在一起，我會(huì)立刻感到本能的疏遠(yuǎn)，變得沉默內(nèi)斂，幾乎生出一種輕蔑，這不正是外國(guó)人對(duì)他們只有泛泛之交的英國(guó)人的指責(zé)嗎？我有些與眾不同，一直在努力克服這種第一反應(yīng)—這種努力通常還很成功。如果我了解自己，那我不是一個(gè)不友好的人，但我肯定許多跟我交情淺的人都會(huì)認(rèn)為我的缺點(diǎn)是缺乏友好的態(tài)度。要展現(xiàn)真正的自己，我需要恰當(dāng)?shù)那榫w和適宜的環(huán)境—這也就幾乎等于說(shuō)，我是一個(gè)地地道道的英國(guó)人。