《四季隨筆》節(jié)選 - 夏 19

《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(duì)文學(xué)名著的愛好與追求，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 19的內(nèi)容，讓我們一起來感受吉辛的四季吧!

On my breakfast table there is a pot of honey. Not the manufactured stuff sold under that name in shops, but honey of the hive, brought to me by a neighbouring cottager whose bees often hum in my garden. It gives, I confess, more pleasure to my eye than to my palate; but I like to taste of it, because it is honey.

我的早餐桌上有一罐蜂蜜。不是商店里賣的那種加工品，而是蜂箱里的蜂蜜，一個(gè)鄰居送來的，他的蜜蜂經(jīng)常光顧我的花園。得承認(rèn)，我的眼睛從這罐蜂蜜中得到的愉悅感要超過味蕾；但我還是喜歡嘗一嘗，因?yàn)樗吘故欠涿邸?/p>

There is as much difference, said Johnson, between a lettered and an unlettered man as between the living and the dead; and, in a way, it was no extravagance. Think merely how one's view of common things is affected by literary association. What were honey to me if I knew nothing of Hymettus14 and Hybla15?—if my mind had no stores of poetry, no memories of romance? Suppose me town-pent, the name might bring with it some pleasantness of rustic odour; but of what poor significance even that, if the country were to me mere grass and corn and vegetables, as to the man who has never read nor wished to read. For the Poet is indeed a Maker: above the world of sense, trodden by hidebound humanity, he builds that world of his own whereto is summoned the unfettered spirit. Why does it delight me to see the bat flitting at dusk before my window, or to hear the hoot of the owl when all the ways are dark? I might regard the bat with disgust, and the owl either with vague superstition or not heed it at all. But these have their place in the poet's world, and carry me above this idle present.

約翰遜說過，飽讀詩書者與目不識(shí)丁者之間的差別，猶如生死之間的不同。從某個(gè)角度講，這并不是夸張，只要想想人們看待平常事物怎樣受到文學(xué)聯(lián)想的影響。如果我對(duì)伊米托斯山和海布拉一無所知—如果我的頭腦中沒有詩歌的積累，沒有傳奇故事的記憶，那么蜂蜜對(duì)我來說有什么意味？如果我是一個(gè)久居城市的人，蜂蜜這個(gè)名字也許能讓我想到令人愉悅的鄉(xiāng)野風(fēng)情；而假如我是一個(gè)從沒讀過書也不愿讀書的人，這一聯(lián)想意義會(huì)是多么貧乏，鄉(xiāng)下對(duì)我來說不過是青草、玉米和蔬菜而已。因?yàn)樵娙说拇_是一個(gè)“創(chuàng)造者”：他在感官的世界之上，偏狹人性的踐踏之下，構(gòu)建起自己的世界，將無拘無束的靈魂召集來?？吹奖∧褐序鹪谖掖扒帮w來飛去，聽到暗夜中貓頭鷹咕咕的叫聲，我為什么會(huì)感到愉快？我也許會(huì)對(duì)蝙蝠感覺厭惡，對(duì)貓頭鷹有迷信的含糊聯(lián)想，或者根本注意不到它。但它們?cè)谠娙说氖澜缋镎紦?jù)著一席之地，所以它們讓我從無意義的現(xiàn)實(shí)中超脫出來。

I once passed a night in a little market-town where I had arrived tired and went to bed early. I slept forthwith, but was presently awakened by I knew not what; in the darkness there sounded a sort of music, and, as my brain cleared, I was aware of the soft chiming of church bells. Why, what hour could it be? I struck a light and looked at my watch. Midnight. Then a glow came over me. "We have heard the chimes at midnight, Master Shallow16!" Never till then had I heard them. And the town in which I slept was Evesham, but a few miles from Stratford-on-Avon17. What if those midnight bells had been to me but as any other, and I had reviled them for breaking my sleep?—Johnson did not much exaggerate.

有一次，我在一個(gè)小集鎮(zhèn)上過夜。到達(dá)的時(shí)候已經(jīng)筋疲力盡，便早早上了床，我很快地入睡了，但沒有多久就被不知是什么弄醒了。我聽到黑暗中傳來某種音樂，等腦袋清醒后，我意識(shí)到那是教堂柔和的鐘聲。怎么回事，幾點(diǎn)鐘了？我擦亮一根火柴，看看手表，時(shí)針指向午夜。我心頭靈光一閃，“我們?cè)犚娢缫沟溺娐?，謝洛老爺！”這午夜的鐘聲我之前從沒聽到過。那一天，我過夜的小鎮(zhèn)是離埃文河畔斯特拉特福只有幾英里遠(yuǎn)的伊夫舍姆。試想一下，如果我和其他人一樣，對(duì)這午夜鐘聲毫無感覺，還咒罵它打攪了我的好夢(mèng)，那會(huì)怎樣？—約翰遜確實(shí)沒有夸張。