《四季隨筆》節(jié)選 - 夏 21

《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、冬四個部分，文筆優(yōu)美，行文流暢，是英國文學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 21的內(nèi)容，讓我們一起來感受吉辛的四季吧!

At an inn in the north I once heard three men talking at their breakfast on the question of diet. They agreed that most people ate too much meat, and one of them went so far as to declare that, for his part, he rather preferred vegetables and fruit. "Why," he said, "will you believe me that I sometimes make a breakfast of apples?" This announcement was received in silence; evidently the two listeners didn't quite know what to think of it. Thereupon the speaker, in rather a blustering tone, cried out, "Yes, I can make a very good breakfast on TWO OR THREE POUNDS OF APPLES."

在北邊一家小客棧里，我曾聽到三個人在早餐桌上談論飲食。他們一致認為大多數(shù)人肉吃得太多，其中一個干脆就宣稱，他本人更喜歡蔬菜和水果?！班恕?，他說，“你們相信嗎，我早餐有時候只吃蘋果？”其他兩個人聽后默不作聲，顯然他們不知道該作何感想。那個人隨即以夸張的語調(diào)大聲說道，“是真的，我早餐飽食一頓要兩三磅蘋果”。

Wasn't it amusing? And wasn't it characteristic? This honest Briton had gone too far in frankness. 'This all very well to like vegetables and fruits up to a certain point; but to breakfast on apples! His companions' silence proved that they were just a little ashamed of him; his confession savoured of poverty or meanness; to right himself in their opinion, nothing better occurred to the man than to protest that he ate apples, yes, but not merely one or two; he ate them largely, BY THE POUND! I laughed at the fellow, but I thoroughly understood him; so would every Englishman; for at the root of our being is a hatred of parsimony.

這難道不是很好笑嗎？這不是也很典型嗎？這位誠實的英國人有些過于坦率了。在一定限度內(nèi)喜歡蔬菜水果是不錯的；但是拿蘋果當早餐就過頭了！同伴的沉默，正表明他們?yōu)樗械接悬c害臊，他的話聽來有窮酸或吝嗇的意味。為了向同伴糾正自己的觀點，他最佳的辯護就是承認自己吃蘋果，不是一兩個，而是多到可以用磅來計量！我雖然覺得這個家伙很可笑，但是也完全理解他，每一個英國人也都會理解他，因為我們骨子里有種對吝嗇的憎惡。這一點通過各種可笑或可鄙的形式表現(xiàn)出來，但它無愧是我們最好品質(zhì)的源泉。

This manifests itself in all sorts of ludicrous or contemptible forms, but no less is it the source of our finest qualities. An Englishman desires, above all, to live largely; on that account he not only dreads, but hates and despises, poverty. His virtues are those of the free-handed and warm-hearted opulent man; his weaknesses come of the sense of inferiority (intensely painful and humiliating) which attaches in his mind to one who cannot spend and give; his vices, for the most part, originate in loss of self-respect due to loss of secure position.

一個英國人所希望的，首先是生活優(yōu)裕，所以他不僅害怕貧窮，而且憎恨和鄙視貧窮。他的美德，屬于那些花錢慷慨、心腸熱情的富人；他的弱點，來自一種附著在無力花費和給予的人身上的自卑感（讓人感覺極為痛苦和恥辱）；他的惡習，從很大程度上說，源于自尊隨著安穩(wěn)地位的不保而喪失。