LESSON 47

CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS

哥伦布的性格

Washington Irving, 1783-1859. Among those whose works have enriched American literature, and have given it a place in the estimation of foreigners, no name stands higher than that of Washington Irving. He was born in the city of New York; his father was a native of Scotland, and his mother was English. He had an ordinary school education, and at the age of sixteen began the study of law. Two of his older brothers were interested in literary pursuits; and in his youth he studied the old English authors. He was also passionately fond of books of travel. At the age of nineteen, he began his literary career by writing for a paper published by his brother. In 1804 be made a voyage to the south of Europe. On his return he completed his studies in law, but never practiced his profession. “Salmagundi,” his first book (partly written by others), was published in 1807. This was followed, two years later, by “Knickerbocker’s History of New York.” Soon after, he entered into mercantile pursuits in company with two brothers. At the close of the war with England he sailed again for Europe, and remained abroad seventeen years. During his absence he formed the acquaintance of the most eminent literary men of his time, and wrote several of his works; among them were: “The Sketch Book,” “Bracebridge Hall,” “Tales of a Traveler,” “Life and Voyages of Columbus,” and the “Conquest of Granada.” On his return he made a journey west of the Mississippi, and gathered materials for several other books. From 1842 to 1846 he was Minister to Spain. On his return to America he established his residence at “Sunnyside,” near Tarrytown, on the Hudson, where he passed the last years of his life. A young lady to whom he was attached having died in early life, Mr. Irving never married.

His works are marked by humor, just sentiment, and elegance and correctness of expression. They were popular both at home and abroad from the first, and their sale brought him a handsome fortune. The “Life of Washington,” his last work, was completed in the same year in which he died.

Columbus was a man of great and inventive genius. The operations of his mind were energetic, but irregular; bursting forth, at times, with that irresistible force which characterizes intellect of such an order. His ambition was lofty and noble, inspiring him with high thoughts and an anxiety to distinguish himself by great achievements. He aimed at dignity and wealth in the same elevated spirit with which he sought renown; they were to rise from the territories he should discover, and be commensurate in importance.

His conduct was characterized by the grandeur of his views and the magnanimity of his spirit. Instead of ravaging the newly-found countries, like many of his cotemporary discoverers, who were intent only on immediate gain, he regarded them with the eyes of a legislator; he sought to colonize and cultivate them, to civilize the natives, to build cities, introduce the useful arts, subject everything to the control of law, order, and religion, and thus to found regular and prosperous empires. That he failed in this was the fault of the dissolute rabble which it was his misfortune to command, with whom all law was tyranny and all order oppression.

He was naturally irascible and impetuous, and keenly sensible to injury and injustice; yet the quickness of his temper was counteracted by the generosity and benevolence of his heart. The magnanimity of his nature shone forth through all the troubles of his stormy career. Though continually outraged in his dignity, braved in his authority, foiled in his plans, and endangered in his person by the seditions of turbulent and worthless men, and that, too, at times when suffering under anguish of body and anxiety of mind enough to exasperate the most patient, yet he restrained his valiant and indignant spirit, and brought himself to forbear, and reason, and even to supplicate. Nor can the reader of the story of his eventful life fail to notice how free he was from all feeling of revenge, how ready to forgive and forget on the least sign of repentance and atonement. He has been exalted for his skill in controlling others, but far greater praise is due to him for the firmness he displayed in governing himself.

His piety was genuine and fervent. Religion mingled with the whole course of his thoughts and actions, and shone forth in his most private and unstudied writings. Whenever he made any great discovery he devoutly returned thanks to God. The voice of prayer and the melody of praise rose from his ships on discovering the new world, and his first action on landing was to prostrate himself upon the earth and offer up thanksgiving. All his great enterprises were undertaken in the name of the Holy Trinity, and he partook of the holy sacrament previous to embarkation. He observed the festivals of the church in the wildest situations. The Sabbath was to him a day of sacred rest, on which he would never sail from a port unless in case of extreme necessity. The religion thus deeply seated in his soul diffused a sober dignity and a benign composure over his whole deportment; his very language was pure and guarded, and free from all gross or irreverent expressions.

A peculiar trait in his rich and varied character remains to be noticed; namely, that ardent and enthusiastic imagination which threw a magnificence over his whole course of thought. A poetical temperament is discernible throughout all his writings and in all his actions. We see it in all his descriptions of the beauties of the wild land he was discovering, in the enthusiasm with which he extolled the blandness of the temperature, the purity of the atmosphere, the fragrance of the air, “full of dew and sweetness,” the verdure of the forests, the grandeur of the mountains, and the crystal purity of the running streams. It spread a glorious and golden world around him, and tinged everything with its own gorgeous colors.

With all the visionary fervor of his imagination, its fondest dreams fell short of the reality. He died in ignorance of the real grandeur of his discovery. Until his last breath, he entertained the idea that he had merely opened a new way to the old resorts of opulent commerce, and had discovered some of the wild regions of the East. What visions of glory would have broken upon his mind could he have known that he had indeed discovered a new continent equal to the old world in magnitude, and separated by two vast oceans from all the earth hitherto known by civilized man! How would his magnanimous spirit have been consoled amid the afflictions of age and the cares of penury, the neglect of a fickle public and the injustice of an ungrateful king, could he have anticipated the splendid empires which would arise in the beautiful world he had discovered, and the nations, and tongues, and languages which were to fill its land with his renown, and to revere and bless his name to the latest posterity!

【中文阅读】

哥伦布是一位伟人、一位富有创造性的天才。他的思维非常活跃，别出心裁，爆发出不可遏制的力量，这种力量以睿智为标志。他抱负极高，以崇高的思想和对自己完成重大使命的焦虑来激励自己。他在提升追求名望所必需的精神同时，他的人生目标体现在尊贵和财富上。这些东西就在他发现的领土上，其重要性堪比领土本身。

他的行为以视野的宏伟和精神的雅量高致为特征。与在新发现的国家进行破坏和蹂躏不同的是，同许多与他同时代的发现者——只是一心想马上索取——一样，他用立法者的眼光看待这些领土；他致力于殖民和拓荒，对土著进行教化，修建城市，引进实用技艺，将所有的一切都纳入法律、秩序和宗教的控制之下，只有这样才能建立合乎原则和兴旺繁荣的帝国。导致他失败的错误在于无节制的暴民，不幸的是他未能控制住他们。对这些人而言，所有的法律都是残暴的，所有的秩序都是压迫。

他自然而然地失去理性并好冲动了，对损害和不公平尤其敏感。然而，他性情的急躁受被他内心的慷慨和仁爱所抵消。他天性中的宽宏大量能够化解他那急风暴雨般职业生涯中出现的所有麻烦。尽管那些好挑动是非和毫无价值的人的叛乱一再冒犯他的尊严，践踏他的权威，打乱他的计划，危及他的人身安全，与此同时身体上的痛苦和内心的焦虑都达到了能承受的极限，但他还是约束自己好勇和易怒的情绪，极力克制自己，诉诸理性，甚至恳求那些暴民。读了这个描述他多灾多难人生经历故事的人，当然会注意到他是如何抛开所有复仇想法的，他是怎样准备宽恕和忘却哪怕一点点忏悔和赎罪的迹象。他以指挥和控制别人所显示出来的技巧而受到推崇，但是更多的赞誉源于他在自我控制中体现出来的坚毅。

他的虔敬是发自肺腑和热诚的。在他思想和行为的整个发展过程中始终都离不开宗教，在他最私密和未经认真研究的日记里毕现无遗。每当有重大发现，他都会虔诚地感谢上帝的恩赐。在发现新世界的过程中，从他带领的船队上始终都能听到祈祷者的心声和对上帝赞美的声音。他踏上陆地最先做的就是匍匐在地，献上对上帝的感恩。他的全部伟大事业都是以圣三一体（指圣父、圣子、圣灵三位一体）的名义达成的，他是按先前的圣礼礼拜上帝。在最荒凉的环境下，他仍然遵循宗教习俗。对他来说，安息日就是神圣的休息日，除非非常必要，否则在这一天他绝不会驾船远航。因此，宗教已经扎根于他的灵魂深处，他的整个举止仪态流露出严肃的高贵和仁慈宽厚的镇静。最能体现出他性格的语言就是纯粹和谨慎，而不是粗俗或不相干的表达方式。

他那丰富和易变的性格突出的特征显而易见。也就是说，赋予他整个思维活动以华丽特征的热情和满腔热忱的想象。贯穿他全部著作和行为的是诗人般的气质。在他对发现的蛮荒之地流露出来的美全部描述中能窥到这种气质，在这种热情的赞美中他极力赞颂气候之温润，环境之清纯，空气之芬芳，到处“充满珍露和芳香”。森林翠绿怡人，群山巍峨耸立，小溪流水潺潺，如水晶般纯净。在他眼前展开的是一个充满荣耀和黄金的世界，用其令人垂涎的色彩给万物镀上了象征荣耀的金色。

他的想象力和极富有远见的热情，最心仪的梦想离现实太远。他死于对自己发现真正的宏伟意义茫然无知上。直到生命最后一刻，他都抱有这一想法，即他的所作所为仅仅为旧世界繁荣的商业开辟了一条新道路，仅仅在东方发现一些蛮荒地区而已。这种虚幻的荣耀在他心里破灭了，殊不知他发现新大陆的重要意义在于其价值与旧大陆一般无二，将新旧大陆分开的两条世界上最大的大洋由此为世界所熟知！尽管饱受岁月的折磨、对生计的牵挂、易变的公众的忽视和薄情寡义的国王的不公正对待，但是那颗宽宏大量的心最终得到了慰藉。他期待的那些光辉的帝国已经从他发现的这个美丽的世界诞生，各个国家，各个民族和各种语言注定会将他的名声铭刻在这些土地上，永远尊敬他，求神赐福于他！