《四季隨筆》節(jié)選 - 春 13

《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 - 春 13的內(nèi)容，讓我們一起來感受吉辛的四季吧!

There must be several men of spirit and experiences akin to mine who remember that little book-shop opposite Portland Road Station. It had a peculiar character; the books were of a solid kind—chiefly theology and classics—and for the most part those old editions which are called worthless, which have no bibliopolic value, and have been supplanted for practical use by modern issues. The bookseller was very much a gentleman, and this singular fact, together with the extremely low prices at which his volumes were marked, sometimes inclined me to think that he kept the shop for mere love of letters. Things in my eyes inestimable I have purchased there for a few pence, and I don't think I ever gave more than a shilling for any volume. As I once had the opportunity of perceiving, a young man fresh from class-rooms could only look with wondering contempt on the antiquated stuff which it rejoiced me to gather from that kindly stall, or from the richer shelves within. My Cicero's Letters11 for instance: podgy volumes in parchment, with all the notes of Graevius12, Gronovius13, and I know not how many other old scholars. Pooh! Hopelessly out of date. But I could never feel that. I have a deep affection for Graevius and Gronovius and the rest, and if I knew as much as they did, I should be well satisfied to rest under the young man's disdain. The zeal of learning is never out of date; the example—were there no more—burns before one as a sacred fire, forever unquenchable. In what modern editor shall I find such love and enthusiasm as glows in the annotations of old scholars?

一定還有幾個和我志趣經(jīng)歷相同的人，還記得波特蘭街車站對面的那家小書店。這家書店獨樹一幟，賣的都是有充實內(nèi)容的書—主要是神學和經(jīng)典書籍—大都是些老版本，被認為不值一錢，沒有珍藏價值，為了實用的緣故已經(jīng)被現(xiàn)代的版本替換掉了。店主很有紳士風范，店里的書標價極低，這些奇特的情形讓我覺得他經(jīng)營這家店完全是出于對文學的熱愛。我眼中的“無價之寶”在這里花幾個便士就可以買到，回想起來，我在這里買的書價錢從沒有超過一個先令。有一次，我注意到店里有一個剛下課的年輕人，他看著書架上那些老古董，眼神里滿是疑惑和不屑。而就是這些老古董，每次我從攤位上拿起它們或者從店內(nèi)藏書甚豐的架上將它們?nèi)∠聲r，心里滿是歡喜。比如，我的《西塞羅書信集》，這是一本羊皮紙制成的臃腫的書，里面包括了格雷菲烏斯和赫羅諾維厄斯以及很多我不認識的學者們的注釋。唉！真是無可救藥的過時。但是我從沒有這種感覺。我對格雷菲烏斯和赫羅諾維厄斯還有其他學者懷有一種深沉的感情，如果能和他們一樣博學，那么即使受到那個年輕人的鄙夷，我也可以滿足地安息了。求知的熱情從不會過時，榜樣的光輝在你的面前如一團圣火，永不熄滅。現(xiàn)在這些編輯，我在哪一個身上能找到舊時學者們注解中映射出的對學問的愛和熱情？

Even the best editions of our day have so much of the mere schoolbook; you feel so often that the man does not regard his author as literature, but simply as text. Pedant for pedant, the old is better than the new.

在當今時代，就連最好的版本都只能說是教科書。你經(jīng)常會感覺到，編者們沒有將作品視為文學，而僅僅看作是文本。以學究對學究來言，老的總勝過新的。