《四季隨筆》節(jié)選 - 夏 23

《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(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 23的內(nèi)容，讓我們一起來感受吉辛的四季吧!

A visit from N-. He stayed with me two days, and I wish he could have stayed a third. (Beyond the third day, I am not sure that any man would be wholly welcome. My strength will bear but a certain amount of conversation, even the pleasantest, and before long I desire solitude, which is rest.)

N先生來做客。他在我這里住了兩天，我希望他還能多呆一天（過了第三天，任何人我都不敢保證能受到十分的歡迎。即使對于最愉快的談話，我身體的承受能力也有限，我不久就會想要獨處，也就是休息）。

The mere sight of N-, to say nothing of his talk, did me good. If appearances can ever be trusted, there are few men who get more enjoyment out of life. His hardships were never excessive; they did not affect his health or touch his spirits; probably he is in every way a better man for having—as he says—"gone through the mill." His recollection of the time when he had to work hard for a five-pound note, and was not always sure of getting it, obviously lends gusto to his present state of ease. I persuaded him to talk about his successes, and to give me a glimpse of their meaning in solid cash. Last Midsummer day, his receipts for the twelvemonth were more than two thousand pounds. Nothing wonderful, of course, bearing in mind what some men are making by their pen; but very good for a writer who does not address the baser throng. Two thousand pounds in a year! I gazed at him with wonder and admiration.

光看到N先生就讓我心情愉快，更不用說跟他聊天了。如果外表可以信任的話，那幾乎沒有誰比他更享受生活了。他受過的苦難從來算不上深重，不足以損害他的健康，或者影響他的精神；現(xiàn)在的他各方面都很優(yōu)秀，可能是因為曾經(jīng)—他的原話是—“歷經(jīng)滄?！?。他還記得為了賺五英鎊而努力工作，并且還不確定能否拿到錢，顯然這些記憶讓他更加熱愛現(xiàn)在的舒適生活。我讓他談?wù)勛约旱某晒χ?，讓我大概了解一下成功的物質(zhì)意義。去年仲夏日，他一年的收入是兩千多英鎊。想想有些人用筆桿子能掙到的錢，這當(dāng)然沒什么可大驚小怪的，但是對于一個不迎合下流趣味的作家來說，這已經(jīng)很好了。一年兩千英鎊?。∥业难酃饫锍錆M了驚奇和艷羨。

I have known very few prosperous men of letters; N- represents for me the best and brightest side of literary success. Say what one will after a lifetime of disillusion, the author who earns largely by honest and capable work is among the few enviable mortals. Think of N-'s existence. No other man could do what he is doing, and he does it with ease. Two, or at most three, hours' work a day—and that by no means every day—suffices to him. Like all who write, he has his unfruitful times, his mental worries, his disappointments, but these bear no proportion to the hours of happy and effective labour. Every time I see him he looks in better health, for of late years he has taken much more exercise, and he is often travelling. He is happy in his wife and children; the thought of all the comforts and pleasures he is able to give them must be a constant joy to him; were he to die, his family is safe from want. He has friends and acquaintances as many as he desires; congenial folk gather at his table; he is welcome in pleasant houses near and far; his praise is upon the lips of all whose praise is worth having. With all this, he has the good sense to avoid manifest dangers; he has not abandoned his privacy, and he seems to be in no danger of being spoilt by good fortune. His work is more to him than a means of earning money; he talks about a book he has in hand almost as freshly and keenly as in the old days, when his annual income was barely a couple of hundred. I note, too, that his leisure is not swamped with the publications of the day; he reads as many old books as new, and keeps many of his early enthusiasms.

成功的作家我認(rèn)識的不多。在我眼里，N先生就代表了成功文學(xué)家最美好和最光明的一面。一生失意的人說什么話都隨他去，而一個靠誠實和專業(yè)文學(xué)創(chuàng)作取得不菲收入的作家，是為數(shù)不多的令人羨慕的人。想想N先生的生活吧。他做的事情無人能替代，在他卻得心應(yīng)手。一天工作兩小時，最多三小時，對他就足夠了，而且不是每天都要工作。如所有寫作的人一樣，他也有歉收期，有精神煩惱和失意的時候，但和那些愉快而高效工作的時間相比，是不值一提的。近年來他很注重鍛煉，而且經(jīng)常旅行，所以每次見到他，都會覺得他看起來身體狀況更好了。他和妻兒一家人其樂融融，想到能給他們提供舒適愉悅的生活條件，他一定常常感到快樂；假如他去世了，家人的生活也不會陷入困頓。他隨心所欲結(jié)交了很多朋友和熟人；意氣相投的人在他家聚餐；在遠(yuǎn)近四鄰友善的人家里，他都是受歡迎的人；所有評價值得一聽的人都對他交口稱贊。即使擁有這些，他還是能明智地避開顯見的危險；他沒有放棄自己的隱私，似乎也并沒有任何被好運慣壞的跡象。工作對他來講不只是一種掙錢的手段，他談起手頭的一本書時，帶著和年收入不過幾百磅的時候一樣的熱情和新鮮感。我還注意到，他沒有將閑暇時間全部用來閱讀時髦的出版物。他閱讀很多的經(jīng)典古籍，也保持著早年的很多興趣。

He is one of the men I heartily like. That he greatly cares for me I do not suppose, but this has nothing to do with the matter; enough that he likes my society well enough to make a special journey down into Devon. I represent to him, of course, the days gone by, and for their sake he will always feel an interest in me. Being ten years my junior, he must naturally regard me as an old buffer; I notice, indeed, that he is just a little too deferential at moments. He feels a certain respect for some of my work, but thinks, I am sure, that I ceased writing none too soon—which is very true. If I had not been such a lucky fellow—if at this moment I were still toiling for bread—it is probable that he and I would see each other very seldom; for N- has delicacy, and would shrink from bringing his high-spirited affluence face to face with Grub Street squalor and gloom; whilst I, on the other hand, should hate to think that he kept up my acquaintance from a sense of decency. As it is we are very good friends, quite unembarrassed, and—for a couple of days—really enjoy the sight and hearing of each other. That I am able to give him a comfortable bedroom, and set before him an eatable dinner, flatters my pride. If I chose at any time to accept his hearty invitation, I can do so without moral twinges.

他是我打心眼里喜歡的人。他是否喜歡我就不得而知了，不過也無關(guān)緊要。他能專程跑到德文郡來探訪我，說明他還是很喜歡與我相處，這就夠了。當(dāng)然，我對他而言代表的是過去的時光，因為這個原因，他會對我一直有種興趣。他比我小十歲，他自然而然肯定會把我看做一個老古板；我確實注意到，他有時對我會有點過于恭敬。他尊重我的一些作品，但是認(rèn)為我停筆太早—這是真的。如果我不是這么幸運—如果我至今還在為糊口而勞碌—那我和他很可能會很少見面。N先生是很照顧別人感受的，他不會把自己的歡樂富足，帶到我居住的齷齪陰郁的文丐街；而另一方面，想到他與我結(jié)交只是出于禮貌，我也會覺得反感?，F(xiàn)在，我們是很好的朋友，沒什么尷尬之處，甚至一連幾天都很愿意看到對方，樂意聽對方談話。我能為他提供一間舒適的臥房，在他面前擺上可口食物，這讓我的虛榮心得到滿足。如果他衷心邀請我去做客，我也可以坦然接受。

Two thousand pounds! If, at N-'s age, I had achieved that income, what would have been the result upon me? Nothing but good, I know; but what form would the good have taken? Should I have become a social man, a giver of dinners, a member of clubs? Or should I merely have begun, ten years sooner, the life I am living now? That is more likely.

兩千磅！如果我在N先生的年紀(jì)能取得這樣的收入，那對自己會有什么影響呢？我知道肯定只有好的影響，但是具體怎樣好呢？我會變得喜歡交際，舉辦宴會，成為俱樂部會員？或者只是會早十年開始過現(xiàn)在的生活。后一種是比較可能的情形。

In my twenties I used to say to myself: what a splendid thing it will be WHEN I am the possessor of a thousand pounds! Well, I have never possessed that sum—never anything like it—and now never shall. Yet it was not an extravagant ambition, methinks, however primitive. As we sat in the garden dusk, the scent of our pipes mingling with that of roses, N- said to me in a laughing tone: "Come now, tell me how you felt when you first heard of your legacy?" And I could not tell him; I had nothing to say; no vivid recollection of the moment would come back to me. I am afraid N- thought he had been indiscreet, for he passed quickly to another subject. Thinking it over now, I see, of course, that it would be impossible to put into words the feeling of that supreme moment of life. It was not joy that possessed me; I did not exult; I did not lose control of myself in any way. But I remember drawing one or two deep sighs, as if all at once relieved of some distressing burden or constraint. Only some hours after did I begin to feel any kind of agitation. That night I did not close my eyes; the night after I slept longer and more soundly than I remember to have done for a score of years. Once or twice in the first week I had a hysterical feeling; I scarce kept myself from shedding tears. And the strange thing is that it seems to have happened so long ago; I seem to have been a free man for many a twelvemonth, instead of only for two. Indeed, that is what I have often thought about forms of true happiness; the brief are quite as satisfying as those that last long. I wanted, before my death, to enjoy liberty from care, and repose in a place I love. That was granted me; and, had I known it only for one whole year, the sum of my enjoyment would have been no whit less than if I live to savour it for a decade.

二十多歲的時候，我常對自己說：如果我能擁有一千英磅該多好！不過，我從來也沒有過那么多錢—甚至連影子都沒有—現(xiàn)在也永遠(yuǎn)不會有了。然而我想，這理想也許幼稚，但并非不切實際。我們坐在薄暮中的花園里，煙斗和玫瑰的香味混合在一起，N先生笑著對我說：“來吧，跟我講講你剛聽到自己獲贈那筆遺產(chǎn)時的感覺！”而我不能告訴他，我沒什么可說的，對于那個時刻我沒有什么鮮明的記憶。我想N先生一定覺得他有些冒昧，因為他很快就轉(zhuǎn)移了話題?，F(xiàn)在細(xì)想想，我知道自己當(dāng)然還是不能用言語表達(dá)出那一個重要人生轉(zhuǎn)折時刻的感受。當(dāng)時我的心情不是快樂，也沒有欣喜若狂，我一點兒也沒有情不自禁。但是我記得深深地吸了一兩口氣，似乎一下子從某種令人壓抑的重負(fù)和約束下解脫出來。幾小時后，我開始感到一種興奮。當(dāng)晚我一夜沒有合眼，而第二天晚上，是我記憶中二十年來睡得最長和最香的一夜。第一個星期里有一兩次，我忽然異常興奮，我?guī)缀醪荒芸刂频氐粞蹨I。奇怪的是，現(xiàn)在我感覺好像事情已經(jīng)發(fā)生了很久，似乎我已經(jīng)做自由人好多年了，而不僅僅是兩年。這確實就是我以前常想到過的真正幸福的表現(xiàn)形式；不管是短短一瞬，還是經(jīng)年累月，幸福感會讓人獲得同樣的滿足。我曾希望能在有生之年擺脫煩惱，享受自由，在我熱愛的地方平靜生活。這個愿望實現(xiàn)了，即使這種日子我只過上一年，那我獲得的所有快樂比十年幸福生活中享受的絲毫也不會少。