《四季隨筆》是吉辛的散文代表作。其中對(duì)隱士賴(lài)克羅夫特醉心于書(shū)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(shū)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(shū)中均有充分的反映。本書(shū)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。
以下是由網(wǎng)友分享的《四季隨筆》節(jié)選 - 秋 11的內(nèi)容,讓我們一起來(lái)感受吉辛的四季吧!
Yet that, perhaps, will be the mind of coming man; if not the final attainment of his intellectual progress, at all events a long period of self-satisfaction, assumed as finality. We talk of the "ever aspiring soul"; we take for granted that if one religion passes away, another must arise. But what if man presently finds himself without spiritual needs? Such modification of his being cannot be deemed impossible; many signs of our life to-day seem to point towards it. If the habits of thought favoured by physical science do but sink deep enough, and no vast calamity come to check mankind in its advance to material contentment, the age of true positivism may arise. Then it will be the common privilege, "rerum cognoscere causas"; the word supernatural will have no sense; superstition will be a dimly understood trait of the early race; and where now we perceive an appalling Mystery, everything will be lucid and serene as a geometric demonstration. Such an epoch of Reason might be the happiest the world could know. Indeed, it would either be that, or it would never come about at all. For suffering and sorrow are the great Doctors of Metaphysic; and, remembering this, one cannot count very surely upon the rationalist millennium.
這,也許將是未來(lái)之人的心智,若不是智力發(fā)展的最后成就,無(wú)論如何也是人類(lèi)沾沾自喜的很長(zhǎng)的一個(gè)時(shí)期,被假定為終結(jié)。我們談?wù)撝坝肋h(yuǎn)向上的靈魂”;我們想當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為,一種宗教消失,另一種宗教必會(huì)興起。但是,萬(wàn)一人們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己沒(méi)有精神需求了呢?這種改變不能視為不可能,今天我們生活的許多跡象似乎都表明了這一趨勢(shì)。如果自然科學(xué)青睞的思維習(xí)慣影響足夠深遠(yuǎn),又沒(méi)有重大災(zāi)難發(fā)生,來(lái)遏制人類(lèi)追求物質(zhì)滿足的步伐,那么真正的實(shí)證主義時(shí)代可能會(huì)崛起。接著“追尋事物的原因”將會(huì)是公眾享受的特權(quán),“超自然”一詞將失去意義;迷信則將被懵懂地理解為早期人類(lèi)的一種特征;一切我們現(xiàn)在視為駭人的“謎團(tuán)”,都將如同幾何證明一樣明白清晰。這種理智的時(shí)代可能是世人所知最快樂(lè)的時(shí)代了。確實(shí),它要么是這樣,要么將永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)發(fā)生??嚯y和悲傷是“形而上學(xué)之大師”;記著這一點(diǎn),人們便不能非常確信地指望理性主義新千年了。