海倫·凱勒自傳《我的生活》第59期

　　I have since read Shakespeare’s plays many times and know parts of them by heart, but I cannot tell which of them I like best. My delight in them is as varied as my moods. The little songs and the sonnets have a meaning for me as fresh and wonderful as the dramas. But, with all my love for Shakespeare, it is often weary work to read all the meanings into his lines which critics and commentators have given them. I used to try to remember their interpretations, but they discouraged and vexed me; so I made a secret compact with myself not to try any more. This compact I have only just broken in my study of Shakespeare under Professor Kittredge. I know there are many things in Shakespeare, and in the world, that I do not understand; and I am glad to see veil after veil lift gradually, revealing new realms of thought and beauty.

　　后來，我曾多次閱讀莎士比亞戲劇，可以說對其中的部分章節(jié)熟稔于心，可是我卻無法說出我最喜歡哪出戲。我對這些作品的喜愛層次是廣泛的，就像我的情緒一樣變化多端。在我看來，短小的民謠和十四行詩能夠傳達出同戲劇一樣的神韻。但是另一方面，對莎士比亞的喜愛也增加了我閱讀上的困難——讀懂評論家和注釋者們對每一行詩的闡釋確實是一項十分勞累的工作。我試圖記住別人的評論，但是那些(蹩腳的)評論每每令我氣惱不已，所以，我悄悄地同自己簽訂了一份“協(xié)議”——不再看那些評論。直到接觸了吉特萊芝教授開設(shè)的莎士比亞課，“協(xié)議”才被我打破。我知道，莎士比亞(戲劇)博大精深，而且，我并不了解世界范圍內(nèi)的莎劇研究。我很高興看到一層層的面紗被人掀起，將一個嶄新而美妙的思想王國展現(xiàn)在我們面前。

　　Next to poetry I love history. I have read every historical work that I have been able to lay my hands on, from a catalogue of dry facts and dryer dates to Green’s impartial, picturesque "History of the English People"; from Freeman’s "History of Europe" to Emerton’s "Middle Ages." The first book that gave me any real sense of the value of history was Swinton’s "World’s History," which I received on my thirteenth birthday. Though I believe it is no longer consideredvalid, yet I have kept it ever since as one of my treasures. From it I learned how the races of menspread from land to land and built great cities, how a few great rulers, earthly Titans, put everything under their feet, and with a decisive word opened the gates of happiness for millions and closed them upon millions more: how different nations pioneered in art and knowledge and broke ground for the mightier growths of coming ages; how civilization underwent, as it were, the holocaust of a degenerate age, and rose again, like the Phoenix, among the nobler sons of the North; and how by liberty, tolerance and education the great and the wise have opened the way for the salvation of the whole world.

　　在我喜歡的書籍中，僅次于詩歌的就是歷史。我把能用雙手觸摸到的每一本歷史著作都讀了個遍。從樸素的書頁目錄、記事年表到格林所著的客觀公正、視角獨特的《英國人民史》;從弗里曼的《歐洲歷史》到艾默頓的《中世紀》。真正使我意識到歷史價值的第一本書是斯溫頓的《世界歷史》，這本書是我十三歲時收到的生日禮物。雖然我已經(jīng)不再認為這本書無懈可擊，但是我仍然把它視做我(童年)的珍寶之一。正是通過這些歷史書籍，我了解到了上古人類是如何分散到世界各地并建立起巨大的城市的;那些偉大的統(tǒng)治者，也就是人世間的“提坦”，是如何把萬物置于自己的腳下，又是如何以一句決定性的話語為千百萬人開啟和關(guān)閉幸福之門的;不同種族的先驅(qū)們是如何在藝術(shù)和知識的領(lǐng)域開疆拓土，促進時代進步的;人類文明如何遭受社會墮落的浩劫，又是如何像鳳凰涅槃一樣重生的;人類又是如何通過自由、寬容的精神和聰明才智鋪設(shè)拯救世界之路的。

　　In my college reading I have become somewhat familiar with French and German literature. The German puts strength before beauty, and truth before convention, both in life and in literature. There is a vehement, sledge-hammer vigour about everything that he does. When he speaks, it is not to impress others, but because his heart would burst if he did not find an outlet for the thoughts that burn in his soul.

　　在上大學(xué)期間，我比較熟悉的是法語和德語的文學(xué)作品。德國人總是使美好的事物凸顯某種力量，使傳統(tǒng)習(xí)俗蘊涵某種真理，這種民族性格在他們的生活和文學(xué)作品中隨處可見。不妨說，在他們所做的每一件事情中，大都具有某種澎湃而個性鮮明的激情。當他們說話的時候，你并不覺得有何感人之處，這是因為，如果他們沒有為靈魂深處灼熱沸騰的思想尋找到一個出路，那么，他們的心就會爆裂。所以，他們不會輕易地使自己滅亡。