英譯現(xiàn)代散文●容忍 ◎ 季羨林

容忍

Patience

◎　季羨林

◎　Ji Xianlin

人處在家庭和社會中，有時候恐怕需要講點容忍的。

In home and social life one probably needs to be a little bit patient now and then.

唐朝有一個姓張的大官，家庭和睦，美名遠揚，一直傳到了皇帝的耳中。皇帝贊美他治家有道，問他道在何處，他一氣寫了一百個“忍”字。這說得非常清楚：家庭中要互相容忍，才能和睦。這個故事非常有名。在舊社會，中國姓張的全以祖先的容忍為榮了。

During the Tang Dynasty, a high official surnamed Zhang was known far and wide for his harmonious home life. When the emperor gave him praise and asked him how he had been running the family to achieve harmony, he wrote down without a break one hundred characters meaning“patience.”Evidently, the message he tried to bring home to the emperor was that family members must be accommodating to each other for the sake of harmony. That's a famous story. Consequently, people surnamed Zhang in the old days all felt greatly honored that one of their ancestors had been known for exercising patience.

但是容忍也并不容易。1935年，我乘西伯利亞鐵路的火車經(jīng)蘇聯(lián)赴德國，車過中蘇邊界上的滿洲里，停車四小時，由蘇聯(lián)海關(guān)檢查行李。這是無可厚非的，入國必須檢查，這是世界公例。但是，當時的蘇聯(lián)大概認為，我們這一幫人，從一個資本主義國家到另一個資本主義國家，恐怕沒有好人，必須嚴查，以防萬一。檢查其他行李，我決無意見。但是，在哈爾濱買的一把最粗糙的鐵皮壺，卻成了被檢查的首要對象。這里敲敲，那里敲敲，薄薄的一層鐵皮決藏不下一顆炸彈的，然而他們卻敲打不止。我真有點無法容忍，想要發(fā)火。我身旁有一位年老的老外，是與我們同車的，看到我的神態(tài)，在我耳旁悄悄地說了句：Patience is a great virtue(容忍是很大的美德)。我對他微笑，表示致謝。我立即心平氣和，天下太平。

However, it is easier said than done to be tolerant towards others. In 1935, I traveled to Germany via the Soviet Union over the Siberian railway. At the Sino-Soviet border in Manzhouli, the train stopped for a 4-hourinspection by the Soviet customs. That was all right because entry inspection was an international practice. But the then Soviet Union subjected me to a closer-than-usual customs inspection probably on the assumption that I, like all those traveling from one capitalist country to another, must be a dubious character. I had no objection to the check-up of my belongings except when a crudely-made tinplate kettle that I had bought at Harbin became something very fishy to them. The kettle was certainly too flimsy for holding a hidden bomb, but they barked up the wrong tree and kept clanking it repeatedly here and there. Driven beyond the limit of my patience, I was about to flare up when an elderly foreigner, who was my co-passenger, whispered to me,“Patience is a great virtue.”That calmed me down, and I turned to him with a smile by way of expressing my thanks.

看來容忍確是一件好事，甚至是一種美德。但是，我認為，也必須有一個界限。我們到了德國以后，就碰到這個問題。舊時歐洲流行決斗之風，誰污辱了誰，特別是誰的女情人，被污辱者一定要提出決斗，或用手槍，或用劍。普希金就是在決斗中被槍打死的。我們到了的時候，此風已息，但仍發(fā)生。我們幾個中國留學(xué)生相約：如果外國人污辱了我們自身，我們要揣度形勢，主要要容忍，以東方的恕道克制自己。但是，如果他們污辱我們的國家，則無論如何也要同他們玩兒命，決不容忍。這就是我們?nèi)萑痰慕缦蕖Ｐ姨澾@樣的事情沒有發(fā)生，否則我就活不到今天在這里舞筆弄墨了。

Obviously, patience is a good thing or rather a great virtue. But I think there should be a demarcation line to be observed. Fighting a duel was a common practice in old Germany. One who suffered an insult to himself or especially his girlfriend would challenge the offender to a fight in which they used pistols or swords. The great Russian poet A. S. Pushkin was one of those shot dead in a duel. At the time when I arrived in Germany together with some other Chinese students, the practice of dueling was still lingering on there though less prevalent. We pledged that in case of ourselves being insulted we should weigh the pros and cons and give precedence to patience in line with the Oriental doctrine of magnanimity, but that in case of a humiliating insult directed against our dear country, we should wage a life-and-death struggle against the offender without showing any patience. That is what I mean by drawing a demarcation line. Fortunately, nothing of the kind happened; otherwise, I might not have survived to write this article today.

現(xiàn)在我們中國人的容忍水平，看了真讓人氣短。在公共汽車上，擠擠碰碰是常見的現(xiàn)象。如果碰了或者踩了別人，連忙說一聲：“對不起!”就能夠化干戈為玉帛。然而有不少人連“對不起”都不會說了，于是就相吵相罵，甚至于扭打，甚至打得頭破血流。我們這個偉大的民族怎么竟變成了這個樣子!我在自己心中暗暗祝愿：容忍兮，歸來!

It is disheartening nowadays to see so little patience shown by our compatriots. On a crowded bus, for instance, when you happen to bump into a co-passenger or step on his feet, an immediate word of apology from you will serve to prevent a dispute. But many even grudge saying,“Sorry!”Thereupon a quarrel or a fist-fight will follow until both parties are beaten black and blue. Oh, what has brought our great nation to such a pass? May PATIENCE come back to stay!

《容忍》是季羨林先生寫于1966年的一篇隨筆。