LESSON 113

A PICTURE OF HUMAN LIFE

人生如画

Samuel Johnson (b. 1709, d. 1784). This remarkable man was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. He was the son of a bookseller and stationer. He entered Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1728; but his poverty compelled him to leave at the end of three years. Soon after his marriage, in 1736, he opened a private school, but obtained only three pupils, one of whom was David Garrick, afterwards a celebrated actor. In 1737, he removed to London, where he resided most of the rest of his life. The most noted of his numerous literary works are his “Dictionary,” the first one of the English language worthy of mention, “The Vanity of Human Wishes,” a poem, “The Rambler,” “Rasselas,” “The Lives of the English Poets,” and his edition of Shakespeare. An annual pension of 300 pounds was granted him in 1762. In person, Johnson was heavy and awkward; in manner, boorish and overbearing; but his learning and his great powers caused his company to be sought by many eminent men.

  1. Obidah, the son of Abnesina, left the caravansary[1] early in the morning, and pursued his journey through the plains of Hindostan. He was fresh and vigorous with rest; he was animated with hope; he was incited by desire; he walked swiftly forward over the valleys, and saw the hills gradually rising before him.

  2. As he passed along, his ears were delighted with the morning song of the bird of paradise; he was fanned by the last flutters of the sinking breeze, and sprinkled with dew by groves of spices; he sometimes contemplated towering height of the oak, monarch of the hills; and sometimes caught the gentle fragrance of the primrose, eldest daughter of the spring; all his senses were gratified, and all care was banished from his heart.

  3. Thus he went on, till the sun approached his meridian, and the increasing heat preyed upon his strength; he then looked round about him for some more commodious path. He saw, on his right hand, a grove that seemed to wave its shades as a sign of invitation; he entered it, and found the coolness and verdure irresistibly pleasant. He did not, however, forget whither he was traveling, but found a narrow way, bordered with flowers, which appeared to have the same direction with the main road, and was pleased, that, by this happy experiment, he had found means to unite pleasure with business, and to gain the rewards of diligence without suffering its fatigues.

  4. He, therefore, still continued to walk for a time, without the least remission of his ardor, except that he was sometimes tempted to stop by the music of the birds, which the heat had assembled in the shade, and sometimes amused himself with picking the flowers that covered the banks on each side, or the fruits that hung upon the branches. At last, the green path began to decline from its first tendency, and to wind among the hills and thickets, cooled with fountains, and murmuring with waterfalls.

  5. Here Obidah paused for a time, and began to consider whether it was longer safe to forsake the known and common track; but, remembering that the heat was now in its greatest violence, and that the plain was dusty and uneven, he resolved to pursue the new path, which he supposed only to make a few meanders[2], in compliance with the garieties of the ground, and to end at last in the common road.

  6. Having thus calmed his solicitude, he renewed his pace, though he suspected he was not gaining ground. This uneasiness of his mind inclined him to lay hold on every new object, and give way to every sensation that might soothe or divert him. He listened to every echo, he mounted every hill for a fresh prospect, he turned aside to every cascade, and pleased himself with tracing the course of a gentle river that rolled among the trees, and watered a large region, with innumerable circumvolutions[3].

  7. In these amusements, the hours passed away uncounted; his deviations[4] had perplexed his memory, and he knew not toward what point to travel. He stood pensive and confused, afraid to go forward lest he should go wrong, yet conscious that the time of loitering was now past. While he was thus tortured with uncertainty, the sky was overspread with clouds, the day vanished from before him, and a sudden tempest gathered round his head.

  8. He was now roused by his danger to a quick and painful remembrance of his folly; he now saw how happiness is lost when ease is consulted; he lamented the unmanly impatience that prompted him to seek shelter in the grove, and despised the petty curiosity that led him on from trifle to trifle. While he was thus reflecting, the air grew blacker and a clap of thunder broke his meditation.

  9. He now resolved to do what remained yet in his power; to tread back the ground which he had passed, and try to find some issue where the wood might open into the plain. He prostrated himself upon the ground, and commended his life to the Lord of nature. He rose with confidence and tranquillity, and pressed on with his saber in his hand; for the beasts of the desert were in motion, and on every hand were heard the mingled howls of rage, and fear, and ravage, and expiration[5]; all the horrors of darkness and solitude surrounded him; the winds roared in the woods, and the torrents tumbled from the hills.

  10. Thus, forlorn and distressed, he wandered through the wild without knowing whither he was going or whether he was every moment drawing nearer to safety or to destruction. At length, not fear but labor began to overcome him; his breath grew short, and his knees trembled, and he was on the point of lying down, in resignation to his fate, when he beheld, through the brambles, the glimmer of a taper. He advanced toward the light, and finding that it proceeded from the cottage of a hermit, he called humbly at the door, and obtained admission. The old man set before him such provisions as he had collected for himself, on which Obidah fed with eagerness and gratitude.

  11. When the repast was over, “Tell me,” said the hermit, “by what chance thou hast been brought hither; I have been now twenty years an inhabitant of this wilderness, in which I never saw a man before.” Obidah then related the occurrences of his journey, without any concealment or palliation[6].

  12. “Son,” said the hermit, “let the errors and follies, the dangers and escapes, of this day, sink deep into your heart. Remember, my son, that human life is the journey of a day. We rise in the morning of youth, full of vigor, and full of expectation; we set forward with spirit and hope, with gayety and with diligence, and travel on awhile in the straight road of piety toward the mansions of rest. In a short time we remit our fervor, and endeavor to find some mitigation[7] of our duty, and some more easy means of obtaining the same end.

  13. “We then relax our vigor, and resolve no longer to be terrified with crimes at a distance, but rely upon our own constancy, and venture to approach what we resolve never to touch. We thus enter the bowers of ease, and repose in the shades of security. Here the heart softens, and vigilance subsides; we are then willing to inquire whether another advance can not be made, and whether we may not at least turn our eyes upon the gardens of pleasure. We approach them with scruple and hesitation; we enter them, but enter timorous and trembling, and always hope to pass through them without losing the road of virtue, which we for a while keep in our sight, and to which we propose to return.

  14. “But temptation succeeds temptation, and one compliance prepares us for another; we, in time, lose the happiness of innocence, and solace our disquiet with sensual gratifications. By degrees we let fall the remembrance of our original intention, and quit the only adequate[8] object of rational desire. We entangle ourselves in business, immerge ourselves in luxury, and rove through the labyrinths[9] of inconstancy till the darkness of old age begins to invade us, and disease and anxiety obstruct our way. We then look back upon our lives with horror, with sorrow, and with repentance; and wish, but too often vainly wish, that we had not forsaken the paths of virtue.

  15. “Happy are they, my son, who shall learn, from thy example, not to despair, but shall remember that though the day is past, and their strength is wasted, there yet remains one effort to be made; that reformation is never hopeless, nor sincere endeavors ever unassisted; that the wanderer may at length return after all his errors; and that he who implores strength and courage from above, shall find danger and difficulty give way before him. Go now, my son, to thy repose: commit thyself to the care of Omnipotence; and when the morning calls again to toil, begin anew thy journey and thy life.”

【中文阅读】

塞缪尔 · 约翰逊(1709～1784)，这位非凡卓越的伟人出生于英国斯塔福德利奇菲尔德，父亲是位书商兼文具商。1728年，塞缪尔进入牛津彭布罗克学院，但三年后因贫困被迫离开学校。1736年，他婚后不久便开办了一所私人学校，可仅招收三名学生，其中就有后来的著名演员大卫 · 加里克。1737年，塞缪尔 · 约翰逊迁至伦敦，在那里度过他人生的大半时光。在约翰逊先生大量的文学作品中，他的《字典》为他的首部英文作品，尤为值得一提，还值得推荐的有诗歌《人类欲望的虚荣》以及作品《漫步者》、《拉塞拉斯》、《英国诗人的生活》与他的莎士比亚版本。1762年，他被授予每年300英镑年金。就外貌而言，约翰逊先生臃肿不堪，为人处世粗鄙傲慢，但他的学识及超凡能力仍吸引不少粉丝拥趸，其中不乏诸多贤达名流。

1．艾比内斯纳的儿子奥巴代亚清早离开了商队旅馆，继续他横贯印度斯坦大平原的漫长旅程。一宿安睡后，他显得神清气爽，满怀征服欲望，他全身充满活力地穿山越谷，一片山峦渐渐地耸立眼前。

2．奥巴代亚一路向前走，清晨，耳边传来偌大一片鸟儿天堂的快乐鸣啾。微风和煦阵阵拂面，灌木丛林露水芬芳，周围景色令他心旷神怡。他时而望着树冠蔽日的高大橡树，厚重沧桑彰显森林君王的大家风范；时而瞥见风光旖旎里蓬勃怒放的迎春花，春风中率先绽放第一缕芳香娇艳；他的脚步愈发轻松矫健，所有烦恼一股脑儿烟飞云散。

3．他不停地走着，太阳慢慢升到头顶，酷日灼热不断地消耗他的力气。他四处打量一番，看能否找到些许凉荫躲避，就在那时，他突然看见右手前方一处树丛似乎向他招手呼唤，正中下怀的他随即走进那片浓密的翠绿凉荫，当然，他并未忘记前方行程，眼前一条缀满鲜花的狭窄小路，方向途径大致不差，显得那么顺理成章。欣喜的是，这种快乐让他感到，枯燥的长途跋涉中，伴随轻松愉悦的音符响起，既能在辛勤劳动有所收获，又无需经历痛苦磨难。

4．他兴致盎然地迈步前行，有时停下脚步，聆听鸟儿声声鸣啾，丛林中扑来沁透心脾的凉爽，似乎收尽了漫天暑气；有时颇为自得地采撷路边野花，或捋下路边枝干上荡悠的三两野果。末了，满眼绿色的小路从此处径直往下延伸，周围山泉叮咚相间，瀑布浪花飞溅越起，空中泛起阵阵清新凉意，眼前小路一路蜿蜒，仄入连绵无尽的山岭密林。

5．走到一处地方，奥巴代亚停住了脚步，他思忖着，离开那条老路是否会发生什么意外，转而一想，此刻阳光炙热灼人，老路上灰尘满天，坑洼不平，他当即决定还是循着新路往前走。他觉得，只消顺着这条路拐上几个弯，最终总会拐回老路上。

6．想到这里，他不再焦虑，继续前行，尽管心中隐隐有些狐疑，或许真会迷路吗？随着心中愈来愈多的忐忑不安，他开始仔细打量周边的景色，不放过视线里不断出现的陌生物体，甚至不时暗自宽慰自己。

他细心聆听树林里的微小回声，他攀爬途经的每处高地，查看延伸向远的风景，揣测推断地形地貌的特征端倪，不幸的是，他所走过的关键路口，毫无例外地偏离了原先的正常路径。直到最后，他才欣喜地发现，一条河流从森林中静静流过，河面流域极为宽广，九曲十八弯中有数不清的回转盘旋。

7．七兜八转的东奔西突，时间过得飞快，难以确定的方向干扰了他的记忆，后来，他简直不知道究竟朝哪里走才好。他木木地站立那里，陷入迷惘，脑子里一片混乱，他不敢迈步向前，唯恐再走错了路，尽管这样，他毕竟觉察到，时间在他的反复折腾中飞快流逝。正当他百般纠结时，刹那间，天空乌云密布，刚才明晃晃的天空旋即变得晦暗混沌，突如其来的暴雨云团在他头顶上空急遽聚集。

8．突然间清楚眼前的困厄险境，他为起初的愚蠢后悔万分，此刻他才意识到，拐入岔路前尚有路人可以询问，而他却是糟蹋了良好机遇！想起当时不假思索，一门心思要在丛林里寻觅荫凉，加上微不足道的好奇心，却让此时的他手足无措，难以脱身，想到这里，他不禁长吁短叹起来。正当他兀自后悔不迭时，天刹时愈来愈黑，一道霹雳电闪，打断了他的思路。

9．他决心利用仅存体力沿原路返回，首先必须先找到森林通向平原的出口。他随后匍匐在地，让身心感应自然之神，片刻功夫，他充满自信地站立起来，内心格外宁静。由于唯恐森林里野兽四处出没，他拔出军刀以作防身。此刻，四面八方的野兽嚎叫接连涌来，愤怒、恐惧、践踏乃至死亡的气息紧紧地攫住了他，他身处黑暗，孤孑一人，惶恐不安在他周边不断萦绕增大，风声尖利地在森林里呼啸而过，激流翻滚端急从山顶訇然而下。

10．他如此孤独地在森林里跌跌撞撞，伴随撕心裂肺的担忧和痛苦，他不清楚自己究竟走往何方，亦不知晓每时每刻离安全抑或死亡距离更近。最后，他心中不再恐惧，只有双脚铅一般沉重，他的呼吸变得特别急促，膝盖甚而亦无法站直，人似乎接近瘫倒。万般无奈之时，透过一处荆棘，他突然看见一丝锥形光亮；他朝着那丝光亮走去，发现一个身影从隐蔽的茅屋里闪出，他怯意地叫唤起来，得到许可，他才走进屋里。一位老人慷慨地拿出食物，摆在他的面前，奥巴代亚忙不迭地吃了起来，满心感激难以表述。

11．吃过饭后，那位森林隐士问他，“告诉我，你怎么来到这里？在这块渺无人烟的荒野森林里，我已经生活了二十年了，这么多年来，我在这片林子里从未遇见任何人。”奥巴代亚告诉老人自己路途中的经历，以及迷路的来龙去脉，他未加丝毫隐瞒地坦诚相告。

12．“我的孩子，”那位老人说，“不妨让今天这些错误与愚蠢，危险与临阵逃脱深深藏于你的心底。请你记住，我的孩子，人的生活就像一天的旅程。我们在青春的早晨起床，到处生机勃勃充满期待；我们怀揣希望，春风得意且勤勉发奋，精神饱满地踏上旅途；我们心怀无比虔诚，走向那条径直通往心灵之乡的大路，没想到刚走不远，转眼间，我们的炽烈热情开始退却，开始努力寻找可以减轻我们职责的东西，寻求更为简单可抵达终结的途径。

13．“然后，我们斗志开始松懈，告诫自己不再对远方的罪孽感到恐惧，我们仅仅依赖个体的坚持，甚至冒险走近危险地带，那块我们曾经发誓永远不会涉及的地方；就这样，我们走进安逸凉亭，在自以为安全的荫凉地带休憩，我们的心在闲逸松弛中得以柔软，警觉随之减退，于是，我们便开始询问是否存在另一种进展可能？我们是否至少不能仅仅沉湎于花前月下的享受？我们踌躇犹豫地走近，怀着颇为羞怯颤抖的内心；我们总是希望自己能够闯关成功，而又不会迷失美德，这条美德道路，我们曾一度举目可及，后来却盘算原路返回。

14．“毕竟，诱惑成功诱惑了诱惑，屈从后面仍是屈从，最终，我们完全失去清纯无辜的快乐，以感官刺激抚慰自己焦虑的身心。渐渐地，我们抛却自己最初目标的承诺，放弃唯一充足信念的理性欲求。我们在金钱中百般纠结，沉湎于奢侈享受，徘徊在反复无常的迷宫，直到风烛残年，黑暗开始吞噬我们；直到忧心忡忡，我们疾病缠身，步履蹒跚。在恐惧悲哀、悔恨夹杂希望欲求的百感交集中，我们回想自己一生，那些太过频繁、徒劳枉然的欲望，迫使我们不得不一次次背离美德的康庄正途。

15．“我的孩子，那些将从你的教训中获得启示的人，将会多么幸福。他们不会绝望，且铭记在心。虽然今天已经过去，辛苦已经付出，然而依然有待继续前行。改变绝非等同失望，真诚拼搏并不意味孤独无助；漂泊者最终将反思自己所有的谬误，祈求从过去失误中获得力量与勇气，那么，他会发现危险或苦难会在他的面前退却。现在动身吧，我的孩子，奔赴你精神的长眠之乡，将自己交与上帝眷顾，当晨钟再次呼唤接受苦难，不妨开始你全新生活的崭新旅程吧！”

LESSON 114

A SUMMER LONGING

夏天的渴望

George Arnold (b. 1834, d. 1865) was born in New York, but removed with his parents to Illinois while yet an infant. There he passed his boyhood, being educated at home by his parents. In 1849 the family again removed to Strawberry Farms, Monmouth County, N.J. When eighteen years old he began to study painting, but soon gave up the art and devoted himself to literature. He became a journalist of New York City, and his productions include almost every variety of writings found in the literary magazines. After his death, two volumes of his poems, “Drift: a Seashore Idyl,” and “Poems, Grave and Gay,” were edited by Mr. William Winter.

1. I must away to the wooded hills and vales,
Where broad, slow streams flow cool and silently
And idle barges flap their listless sails.
For me the summer sunset glows and pales,
And green fields wait for me.
2. I long for shadowy founts, where the birds
Twitter and chirp at noon from every tree;
I long for blossomed leaves and lowing herds;
And Nature’s voices say in mystic words,
“The green fields wait for thee.”
3. I dream of uplands, where the primrose shines
And waves her yellow lamps above the lea;
Of tangled copses, swung with trailing vines;
Of open vistas, skirted with tall pines,
Where green fields wait for me.
4. I think of long, sweet afternoons, when I
May lie and listen to the distant sea,
Or hear the breezes in the reeds that sigh,
Or insect voices chirping shrill and dry,
In fields that wait for me.
5. These dreams of summer come to bid me find
The forest’s shade, the wild bird’s melody,
While summer’s rosy wreaths for me are twined,
While summer’s fragrance lingers on the wind,
And green fields wait for me.

【中文阅读】

乔治 · 阿诺德(1834～1865)，出生于美国纽约，出生不久即随父母搬迁到伊利诺伊州，在伊州度过了他的童年时代，由父母授予家庭教育。1849年，全家重新搬回新泽西州蒙茅斯县的草莓农场。乔治18岁开始学习绘画，但很快放弃艺术致力投身文学事业，成为《新纽约城》杂志记者，他的作品体裁几乎涵盖文学杂志所有文体。乔治 · 阿诺德去世后，他的两册诗歌《漂泊，海边叙事诗》以及《诗歌，坟墓与同性恋》由威廉 · 温特先生编辑出版。

1．我要离开， 去幽深的沟壑溪谷，
河水宽阔， 静穆流淌着沁凉，
停泊的船， 风儿扑打倦怠长帆，
夕阳的光， 炙热刺目，
绿色田野， 等待着我。
2．我向往那，蓊郁树林边清泉，
鸟声鼎沸，躲避正午的炎炎，
繁花落尽，果树下哞哞牛群，
静谧柔和，自然纯净的天籁，
绿色田野，等待着我。
3．我梦想， 樱草花盛开的高处，
草地上， 黄色灯笼随风滚翻，
灌木丛， 藤茎蔓延摇曳多姿，
松林高耸，点缀满目寥廓苍翠，
绿色田野，等待着我。
4．我期待， 漫长舒适的夏季午后，
躺卧在地，聆听远处海浪呼吸，
微风拂过，传来芦苇深深叹息，
虫鸣四起，声声锐利饥渴难耐，
绿色田野，等待着我。
5．夏季梦幻，热烈期待纷沓至来，
丛林荫蔽，孕育鸟儿婉转歌喉，
玫瑰花环，编织夏天繁复美丽，
芳香浓郁，风中徘徊难以忘记，
绿色田野，等待着我。

LESSON 115

FATE

命 运

Francis Bret Harte (b. 1839, d.1902) was born in Albany, N.Y. When seventeen years old he went to California, where he engaged in various employments. He was a teacher, was employed in government offices, worked in the gold mines, and learned to be a compositor in a printing office. In 1868 he started the “Overland Monthly,” and his original and characteristic poems and sketches soon made it a popular magazine. Mr. Harte has been a contributor to some of the leading periodicals of the country, but principally to the “Atlantic Monthly.”

1. “The sky is clouded, the rocks are bare;
The spray of the tempest is white in air;
The winds are out with the waves at play,
And I shall not tempt the sea to-day.
2. “The trail is narrow, the wood is dim,
The panther clings to the arching limb;
And the lion’s whelps are abroad at play,
And I shall not join in the chase to-day.”
3. But the ship sailed safely over the sea,
And the hunters came from the chase in glee;
And the town that was builded upon a rock
Was swallowed up in the earthquake shock.

【中文阅读】

弗朗西斯 · 布雷特 · 哈特(1839～1902)，出生于美国纽约州奥尔巴尼，17岁时，他前去加利福尼亚，曾从事多种职业，做过教师，在政府部门任职，在金矿做过工，在印刷公司学习排版。1868年，哈特先生开始创办杂志《奥弗兰月刊》，很快，这些极具特色的原创诗歌及插图使得杂志名声大噪。哈特一直为美国数家重要期刊写稿，《大西洋月刊》为他的主要文学阵地。

1．浓云密布，岩石嶙峋赤裸，
暴雨骤雨，搅起周天浪花，
风卷浪涌，尽情飞溅追逐，
今天， 我不想冒险出海。
2．狭窄的小路，丛林晦暗，
蜷伏的美洲豹，无声等待，
熊狮幼崽，四下追逐玩耍，
今天，我不想外出打猎。
3．渔船从海上安全返航，
猎手欣喜地满载归来，
荒芜处城镇高耸拔起，
地球将毁于自身劫难。

[1]Caravansary, a kind of inn in the East, where caravans (or large companies of traders) rest at night.

[2]Meanders, windings, turnings.

[3]Circumvolutions, windings or flowings around.

[4]Deviations, wanderins from one’s course.

[5]Expiration, death.

[6]Palliation, concealment of the most blamable circumstances of an offence.

[7]Mitigation, abatement, the act of rendering less severe.

[8]Adequate, fully sufficient.

[9]Labyrinth, a place full of winding passages.