談書

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談書

Chiang Yee

蔣彝

作者簡介

蔣彝（Chiang Yee，1903—1977），字仲雅，又字重啞，畫家、詩人、作家、書法家。

蔣彝年輕時正值國運衰敗，他起先從政，以求變革，后痛心于政治腐敗，遠赴英美旅居40余年。其間，他以筆名“啞行者”撰寫旅行筆記?！皢⌒姓摺币幻∽运淖帧爸貑　保环矫姹砺端麑鴥?nèi)黑暗政治的憤懣，一方面也暗示他身處中西文化之間的困境。蔣彝的游記詩文并重，書畫交融，以中國視角詮釋了西方文化。他被譽為“中國文化的國際使者”，其作品更是暢銷國內(nèi)外。

本文選自1938年出版的《倫敦畫記》（The Silent Traveller in London），為“啞行者畫記”系列中的一部。在這篇雜記中，作者精心描摹了倫敦的出版界與讀書人，并不時穿插中國的風俗與典故，讀來饒有趣味。

I have a great admiration for Londoners in the matter of books. In the streets I notice most of them walking about with books under their arms, and they even read them in the buses, trains, and tubes. I have visited many friends’ houses, both humble and well-to-do, and nearly everyone has a library of sorts. When I went to tea with a grocer friend of mine, whom I know well and who lives at the corner of my road, I saw a number of books there and he told me he wished he had more time to read. What an admirable thing that even a working-class man has that sort of outlook! It makes me think of my own country and wish everyone of my compatriots could learn to read and enjoy doing so. England has gathered the great fruits of “compulsory education”. I was told that when this new educational system was brought up for adoption, there was a great conflict of ideas and opinions, and now everybody is grateful for it. Of course all readers have a different degree of appreciation, but I admire in anyone the ability simply to enjoy reading for itself.

說到書，我對倫敦人深表欽佩。我發(fā)現(xiàn)路上大多數(shù)行人胳膊底下都夾著書，他們甚至在公交車、火車、地鐵上讀書。我去過許多朋友家，他們無論有錢沒錢，家里幾乎都有書房。我有個熟識的雜貨商朋友，住在我家那條街的街角。我去他家喝茶的時候，在那里看見許多書。他告訴我，他希望自己能有更多時間讀書。連工人階級都有如此見識，真是令人欽佩！這讓我想起我的祖國，真希望我的同胞都能學會閱讀、愛上閱讀。英國已經(jīng)嘗到了“義務教育”的甜頭。有人告訴我，這個新的教育體系剛推行時曾引發(fā)極大爭議，但如今人們都對它感激不已。當然，每個讀者的鑒賞力不同，但我敬佩的是那種“享受閱讀本身”的做法。

In a speech at the 148th anniversary dinner of the Royal Literary Fund, the Duke of Kent said: “I have always liked reading, and it is one of my chief regrets that our modern life does not give us more time for it. I often envy the gentleman of leisure of the eighteenth century who was able to build himself a magnificent room in which he could place his library and where he was able to sit in peace and enjoy it. He really could read and think carefully of what he was reading, knowing that he had ample time. Today we read the first and last sentences of each paragraph and talk about the book as though we had studied it profoundly...”

He made some criticisms of the production of books, but I only wish he could suggest a plan for having time to read in the way he said was so desirable. Everybody is always saying they love reading but that there is no time for it. I cannot help asking what has happened to people’s time. If other pleasures take the place of reading books, it means this kind of enjoyment will cease to exist. If modern life does not give time for enjoyment, what is the use of it? I quite agree with the duke in what he said, yet there must be time for reading I feel sure. The very title of “six-minute short story” in the Evening Standard only makes me feel more rushed and nervous, in keeping with London’s atmosphere. Why should it last six minutes only, not five or seven? Perhaps there is no other man stupid enough to ask this question!

在皇家文學基金會第148屆年度餐會上，肯特公爵1在演講中說：“我一向熱愛閱讀，但現(xiàn)代生活沒有給我們留下多少閱讀時間，這一直令我深感遺憾。我常常羨慕18世紀悠閑的紳士們。他們能給自己建一個大書房，將藏書置于其中。他們可以靜靜坐在屋里，享受閱讀的樂趣。他知道閱讀時間充裕，自己可以細細品味、認真思考。如今，我們只讀每段的第一句和最后一句話，然后就像研讀完了整本書一樣侃侃而談……”

肯特公爵對書籍出版提出了一些批評，但我只希望他能提個建議，讓我們有時間像他向往的那樣閱讀。每個人都說自己熱愛閱讀，卻苦于沒有時間。我不禁要問，大家的時間都跑到哪兒去了。如果其他娛樂取代了讀書，那就意味著閱讀之樂行將絕跡。如果現(xiàn)代生活使人無暇娛樂，那這種生活還有什么意義？我十分贊同公爵的說法，但我確信一定會有讀書的時間?！镀鞄猛韴蟆返摹?分鐘短篇故事”這個標題讓我覺得要趕上倫敦的節(jié)奏，真是又匆忙又緊張。為什么只有6分鐘，而不是5或7分鐘？或許沒有別的人會提出這么愚蠢的問題！

London publishers produce thousands of books year after year. According to the daily papers, it seems to me that there are new books coming out every day or rather, say, every hour or even every six minutes. Although the publishers do not intend their books to be finished in six minutes, yet they would probably be quite glad for the readers to finish reading in that short time and then buy a new one.

The Duke of Kent is not the only one who has found that literature as an art is faced every year with the increasing danger of being swamped by Commercialism; even publishers themselves feel the same. A publisher friend of mine once told me that his firm had no wish to produce quantities of books at high speed but that the public forced this policy on them. Another said to me that part of the trouble arose from the fact that people nowadays wanted to buy books for presents, not for reading.

年復一年，倫敦出版商出版了成千上萬本書。根據(jù)日報的說法，看上去每天都有新書出版，甚至每小時、每6分鐘就有新書問世。盡管出版商并沒有打算讓讀者用6分鐘就讀完他們的書，但如果讀者用這么短的時間就讀完舊書、去買新書，出版商或許會很開心。

文學這門藝術正日漸面臨被商業(yè)化大潮淹沒的危險?？咸毓舨皇俏ㄒ灰庾R到這個問題的人，出版商也有同感。一位出版商朋友曾經(jīng)告訴我，他的公司并不想高速出版大量書籍，但公眾迫使他們這么做。另一位出版商告訴我，這個問題的部分原因在于，如今人們買書不是用來讀，而是用來送禮。

Ah, I understand now why they have a special “Christmas Sale”! I ask myself: “Isn’t it better from the commercial point of view to expect people to buy books for presents rather than for reading?” I understand more and more the conditions of publication in China at the present time. In the old days we very seldom dared to write a book and it was very difficult to get it published. In the first place, when we write we have to use a special kind of style which sinologists call the “Chinese written language” and which is different from the spoken language. The difference does not lie so much in the words themselves as in the style or construction of sentences. In this written style, we consider the shorter or more concise the sentence the better it is. It goes without saying that long practice is needed before one can express one’s ideas in book form. As the style is so concise, it takes many years of writing to compose even a thin book. Further, we get no royalty from books published and generally we publish them at our own expense. In the end, most of our ancient authors seldom saw their works published, because by the time they had something written ready for book form, they were generally too old to see it through the Press.

啊，我現(xiàn)在明白為什么他們要舉辦“圣誕大甩賣”特別活動了！我問自己：“從商業(yè)角度看，不是更該期待人們買書作為禮物而不是自己讀嗎？”我越來越理解當前中國的出版狀況了。過去很少有人敢寫書，出書更是難上加難。首先，中國作者必須用一種特殊的語言，即漢學家所謂的“文言文”進行寫作，這種語言有別于口語。它們的文字大同小異，區(qū)別主要在于語言風格和句子結構。我們認為文言文的句子越簡短、越精練越好。不用說，人們只有經(jīng)過長期的練習，才能以書的形式闡述思想。由于文言文如此精練，即使寫一本薄薄的書，也須花費多年時間。此外，中國沒有圖書版稅一說。一般來說，我們要自費出書。最終，大多數(shù)中國古代作家無緣得見自己的作品出版。因為等書完稿，他們已經(jīng)垂垂老矣，很難挨到出版的那一天。

Most old Chinese books are published by their authors’ descendants or disciples. Although the process of publication was so difficult in those days, yet we had countless books in print. For instance, the Chinese Encyclopedia contains 10,000 volumes. But recently our publishing world has come to be commercialized as in any other country. It seems to me personally that it has driven us into making a change in our style of writing. Now we write books in the same way as we talk—we write down as many words as we would speak. If written work is paid according to the number of words, the Chinese old style of writing would never be profitable. So this kind of change had to come!

When we are not at war, our publishers turn out nearly as many books as yours. I should emphasize here that we now appreciate the new style of writing as much as the old ones and we think the former helps the latter in many ways. But strangely enough many sinologists do not attempt to read our new type of writing which is really easier for them, though we try to read modern English rather than Chaucer. Instead they like to stick to their privilege and remain distinct, priding themselves that they can read the “classical Chinese.” How wonderful it is! But what a wrong conception of Chinese literature must be given to the whole world!

大多數(shù)中國古代典籍都由作者的后人或學生出版。盡管過去印書極其困難，但出版的書仍浩如煙海。例如，《古今圖書集成》[1]就包含10000卷書。但近來，中國出版界像其他國家一樣走向了商業(yè)化。我個人認為，這迫使我們改變寫作方式。如今，我們的書面語已近似口語，我們寫的字和說的話一樣多。如果寫作是按字計酬，那么，中國過去的寫作方式永遠賺不了錢。因此，改變勢在必行！

戰(zhàn)爭爆發(fā)前，我們出版的書幾乎和你們[2]一樣多。我這里想強調(diào)的是，我們?nèi)缃褚严窠邮苓^去的寫作方式一樣，接受了新的寫作方式。我們還認為，白話文對文言文助益頗多。但奇怪的是，許多漢學家不愿意讀相對簡單的白話文?？晌覀冏x的也是現(xiàn)代英文，而非喬叟時期的古英文呀。他們寧可端著架子，保持與眾不同，為自己能讀懂“古漢語”而驕傲。這多了不起啊！可這么一來，世人對中國文學的誤解該有多深??！

“No young people in former days have had to face such a mass sex-appeal as is evident today in books, plays, music, and, above all, in the cinema,” says Dr. Drummond Shiels. I am specially interested that he mentioned books. Apart from Dr. Shiels’ feeling in the matter, I wonder whether the use of sex-appeal is a debatable point. As I came from a country where sex-appeal was very strictly prohibited in the past, I was first rebuked by my friends when I expressed surprise at its use here. They told me: “That is beauty, that is art, and that is the thing that people are interested in.” I could only nod my head without saying a word. But I want to tell Dr. Shiels that this kind of mass sex-appeal has gone to my country too. It travels everywhere as if it controls the whole world. If it has such power, why should it not be mentioned in books?

Besides, I have watched another interesting point about the London publishing world. Publishers seem to encourage authors strongly to write on the topical subjects as if they were journalists getting news for papers. And publishers, authors, and journalists seem to work together to cater for a public avid over current events. For instance, during the Italo-Abyssinian war, a vast number of books came out on Abyssinia as well as on Italy in about six months, and then on Spain, Austria, China, Japan, Germany and now Czechoslovakia, and Poland. It seems as though, if there were not so many aggressors, publishers, authors, and journalists might die from starvation! It’s an ill-wind that blows no one any good! And there are always plenty of incidents and crises cropping up throughout the world. Apparently publishers, authors, and journalists will never want for a living!

德拉蒙德?謝爾斯博士[3]說：“過去的年輕人不像今天這樣，要面對書籍、戲劇、音樂，特別是電影中的大量性誘惑?！蔽易铌P心的是他提到了書。暫且不論謝爾斯博士的感覺如何，我不知道利用“性誘惑”是否存在爭議。我來自一個過去嚴禁“性誘惑”的國家，因此對這里的性開放程度表示驚訝。我這么做，一開始就受到了朋友的指責。他們告訴我：“性是美，是藝術，是人們感興趣的東西?！蔽抑荒芤谎圆话l(fā)地點點頭。但我想告訴謝爾斯博士，大量的性誘惑也進入了我的祖國。它四處蔓延，仿佛控制了全世界。如果它有如此威力，為什么書里不應該提及？

此外，我還發(fā)現(xiàn)倫敦出版界另一個有趣的地方：出版商似乎都極力鼓勵作者寫熱門話題，仿佛他們是為報紙搜羅新聞的記者。而且，出版商、作者和記者似乎串通一氣，迎合讀者對時事的渴望。例如，在意大利與阿比西尼亞交戰(zhàn)期間，大約在6個月內(nèi)就出版了一大批關于阿比西尼亞和意大利的書，接下來是西班牙、奧地利、中國、日本、德國，現(xiàn)在則是捷克斯洛伐克和波蘭?？磥恚绻麤]有這么多侵略者，出版商、作家和記者可能都得餓死！這種不良之風對誰都沒有好處！世界上總有許許多多的事故和危機。顯然，出版商、作家和記者永遠不愁生計！

Referring to the journalists, I would like to extend my admiration to all London papers. Truthfully speaking, I enjoy reading them all, for their depiction of various voices in the human world, as varied as human faces. I am especially grateful for the Sunday papers which give me something to do on dull London Sundays. “Almost everything in the newspapers,” says Mr. C. E. M. Joad, “is to some degree untrue by omission, exaggeration, distortion, and selection.” But I suppose not everyone reads papers and believes them entirely. And this is a fact which all editors know very well. It reminds me of an old Chinese saying on books: “If you believe entirely in books, you had better have no books at all.” The modern world gives a very sound proof of this.

There is also an ancient Chinese parable which tells:

“On his return after three years of studies abroad, a native of the Sung State (one of the Warring States) called his mother by her name. ‘After three years’ education,’ asked the latter, ‘why do you come home to address me by my name (contrary to the etiquette of our forefathers)?’‘The most virtuous, in my opinion,’ replied the son, ‘cannot excel Yao and Shun (two excellent emperors in our very ancient time). They are both called by their names. Again, I venerate heaven and earth above all, and these are both names. Now you are not any more virtuous than Yao and Shun, nor any greater than the universe. I think I am justified in addressing you in the way I did!’ ‘My dear son,’ retorted the mother, ‘do you think that you can practise to the very letter what you have been taught? I wish you would leave my name alone. For there are certain principles which, though mentioned in books, should not be acted upon. Hence you had better desist from pronouncing my name. ’”

說到記者，我想對倫敦的報紙表達欽佩之情。說真的，所有報紙我都喜歡讀，因為它們反映了人類世界的種種聲音，這些聲音就像人臉一般各式各樣。我特別感激周日的報紙，它們讓我在倫敦百無聊賴的周日有事可做。喬德先生[4]說：“報上幾乎每件事都經(jīng)過某種程度的省略、夸張、扭曲和挑選?！钡也孪?，不是每個人讀完報都完全相信。所有編輯都深知這一事實。這讓我想起了一句關于書的中國諺語：“盡信書不如無書?！爆F(xiàn)代世界有力地證明了這一點。

有一則中國寓言這樣說：

宋人有學者，三年反而名其母。其母曰：“子學三年，反而名我者，何也？”其子曰：“吾所賢者，無過堯舜，堯舜名；吾所大者，無大天地，天地名。今母賢不過堯舜，母大不過天地，是以名母也?！逼淠冈唬骸白又趯W者，將盡行之乎？愿子之有以易名母也；子之于學也，將有所不行乎？愿子之且以名母為后也。”[5]

This son certainly thought that he had studied books intelligently, and was paying high respect to his mother, but he did not foresee the attitude she would adopt. Oh, do books really help the conduct of human life or does their utility depend entirely upon the reader? Although people acquire much miscellaneous knowledge from books, I doubt whether many people really benefit from them. I can frankly say that I have not got much from Plato’s or Aristotle’s or Descartes’ sayings when I have tried to read them, because I cannot identify them with my environment.

In the same way, I am sure that no Westerner can get very much from Confucius’s sayings (though many translations of his have been published), apart from the few who have especially studied Confucian ideas like those sinologists who are teaching this idea to many promising students. Confucius says: “If you know it, say you know it; if you don’t know, say you don’t know. That is really ‘you know’.” Now, how few people will say that they do not know everything Chinese if they have been learning it?

But anyway, to read books is always a great joy in life. Some people talk about the art of reading, but I do not worry about that. I only like to read for pleasure whenever I have time, and do not care what it is. I find everything written worth reading, from one point of view or another. While I am deep in a book I forget drinking, eating, and sleeping. My room in China was always untidy, with books all over the place, and my family were generally very cross with me about it.

這個兒子顯然自認為飽讀詩書，并且極為尊重母親，但他沒料到母親的反應。哦，書真的有助于指導人類生活嗎？還是說，書的用處完全取決于讀者？盡管人們從書中獲取了各種各樣的知識，但我懷疑是否有很多人從中受益。我可以坦白地說，我曾嘗試去讀柏拉圖、蘇格拉底、笛卡兒的著作，但沒有學到什么東西，因為書中所說和我所處的環(huán)境相去甚遠。

同樣，我相信，盡管市面上已經(jīng)出版了很多《論語》譯本，但除了極少數(shù)研究孔子思想的專家，例如那些向前途遠大的學生傳授孔子思想的漢學家，西方人從《論語》中學不到什么東西。子曰：“知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也?！爆F(xiàn)在，學過中文的人有幾個會承認自己一知半解？

但無論如何，讀書總是人生一大樂事。有些人討論閱讀的藝術，但我并不在乎。我只喜歡一有空就讀書，不管所讀為何，純粹以此為樂。我認為，所有寫下的文字都值得一讀，各家觀點都值得了解。每當沉浸書中，我便廢寢忘食。我在中國的住所總是一片混亂，到處都是書，家人對我這點總是很生氣。

Once I told them that I wanted to be buried in books when the servants came in and tried to carry all the books off my bed. Eventually they called me a “bookworm.” After they gave me this nickname, they stopped trying to reform my ways. I have not become any better in keeping my books orderly since I have been here. But the maid and I understand each other and both benefit, because she need not do much tidying and I am spared interference.

Once I gave the name “bookworm” to an English friend of mine, but she was annoyed by it. “One man’s meat may be another’s poison.” I myself am quite proud of it! I dare say I put on a very funny face or gesture while I am reading, for I often notice that Londoners who read books in trains or buses generally adopt involuntarily expressions totally different from their natural ones. When I see hollowed eyes and two deep thick lines from both sides of the nostrils down to the corners of the mouth I feel that I am looking at a very serious reader. Sometimes a short-sighted gentleman may turn his head repeatedly from left to right and read with the help of a small magnifying glass close to the book. This makes me think about my own movements again. When I read a Chinese book, I move my head up and down repeatedly and from right to left, because our book is printed from the right to the left of each page and vertically.

有一回，仆人走進我的房間，想把書從我床上搬下來。我告訴他們，我寧愿埋在書堆里。最后，他們都喊我“書蟲”。給我取了這個綽號之后，他們就不再試著干涉我了。到英國之后，我也沒把書擺得多整齊。但我和女仆達成了一個互利的共識：她不用經(jīng)常整理，我則可享受清靜。

我曾用“書蟲”稱呼一位英國朋友，卻把她惹惱了?！耙粋€人的佳肴可能是另一人的毒藥?！蔽覍@個綽號感到很自豪！我敢說，我讀書時的表情和姿勢一定很有趣，因為我發(fā)現(xiàn)在火車和公交車上讀書的倫敦人經(jīng)常在無意中做出與平時完全不同的表情。當看到一雙空洞的眼睛和從鼻翼兩側延至嘴角的法令紋時，我就會覺得面前是一位極其嚴肅的讀者。有時，近視的紳士會拿著小號放大鏡湊近書頁，從左到右搖頭晃腦地讀書。這又讓我想起自己讀書的動作。我讀中文書的時候，腦袋從上到下、從右到左地晃動，因為中文書是從右至左豎版印刷的。

An American friend once said to me that Westerners were always complaining that the Chinese did things the wrong way round—from right to left, top to bottom in reading, for instance. “In the English newspaper,” she continued, “they only put the important news in the centre of the paper and you have to read both ways—right to left and left to right.” I think we should call editors the mediators between the West and the East!

I very seldom read in public, because I am afraid to find no space for my book. But I am very fond of reading in the British Museum for a time. When I get tired, after I have stretched my legs I look all round me at the other readers. Sometimes I can distinguish no heads in the row behind me, because they are all hidden in books. And sometimes I can only see a number of small reddish balls of flesh arranged in a row in front of me, because only the tops of the readers’ bald heads are in sight. I wish I could be there more often to make sketches.

一位美國朋友曾和我說過，西方人總是抱怨中國人用錯誤的方法做事——例如讀書時從右到左，從上到下。她接著說：“英文報紙只把重要新聞放在中間，所以你得從兩邊讀——從右到左，從左到右?！蔽蚁?，編輯可謂東西文化的中介人！

我極少在公共場所閱讀，因為擔心沒地方放書。但我一度很喜歡在大英博物館讀書。當我讀累了，就伸伸腿腳，看看周圍的讀者。有時，我看不到背后那排讀者的腦袋，因為全被書擋住了。有時，我只能看見前面一排淡紅的小肉球，因為前排讀者只露出了光禿禿的頭頂。我希望自己能更經(jīng)常地去那兒畫素描。

Another joy is to collect books. In China, nearly every family keeps some books in the house, as a sign of culture. Recently it has become a fashion for young Chinese not only to collect Chinese books, but also Western ones. In a modern house in China one will generally find Western and Chinese books mixed on the shelves. I do not know whether the owners have time to read all in their collection, but such a combination is certainly a sign of being not only a cultured person but actually one who knows a foreign language. If anyone of my fellow countrymen has the opportunity to go abroad, he generally brings quantities of books home in the language of the country where he has been. We in England are no exception. Not all of us may know London very well, but we certainly know where the book-shops are, especially second-hand book-shops.

Foyles’s and the shops around Charing Cross Road and, above all, the Caledonian Market are places where the Chinese are often to be seen. Sometimes the fee we pay for transporting them is more than we pay for the books themselves. I knew a friend who bought a large number of books at the market for about five shillings, so many that he had to hire a taxi to carry them home!

藏書是另一樂事。在中國，幾乎每家每戶都有些藏書，作為有文化的象征。最近中國年輕人不僅收藏中文典籍，還流行收藏西方作品。中國現(xiàn)代的住宅里，書架上往往既有中文書也有西文書。我不知道主人是否有時間讀完所有藏書，但中西并陳的藏書不僅展示了主人有文化，還說明了主人懂外語。我的同胞只要有機會出國，一般就會帶回大量當?shù)卣Z言寫成的書。我們這些來英國的也不例外。并非我們所有人都熟悉倫敦，但我們肯定知道書店在哪，尤其是二手書店。

弗伊爾斯書店[6]和查令十字街[7]附近的書店，特別是喀里多尼亞市場，都是經(jīng)常能看見中國人的地方。有時，我們買書的錢還趕不上運費貴。我認識一位朋友，他在市場用大約5先令買了一大堆書，書實在太多，他只好打車把書運回家！

From my own experience I can say many Chinese ships carry case after case of English books to China every year. I think only Carter Paterson’s Company can tell how many they have packed and transported up till now!

Hannen Swaffer has written a passage in the Daily Herald under the title “Ye Olde Bookes.” He says: “When the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association which has members in all the world’s important cities, met for its annual dinner at the Café Monico, last night, it was grumbling, business has fallen off, good copies of rare books are hard to find. The best specimens all went to America in the boom...” I hope the Second-hand Booksellers’ Association, if any exists, would not grumble so much that the bad specimens all went to China in the boom! After all, simply to collect books is a great joy, and there is no need to buy the most expensive editions.

Mr. Swaffer has also written Kleptomaniac. “In Charing Cross Road,” he says, “London’s book-selling centre, Sam Joseph tells me, dealers have regular clients who turn up every day at one, read the books in the boxes outside, and at two o’clock, before going back to work, turn down the corner of a page to mark it for the next day! They still tell the story of the old gentleman with plenty of money and a passion for stealing rare copies. Every three weeks or so, he would do the rounds of the dealers’ shops, ‘lifting’ a book here and there. They knew him, of course, and kept a check on the copies that disappeared. Regularly they sent the bill in to his secretary, who promptly paid. This suited everyone concerned, until somebody found out that one or two of the less honest dealers were sending in bills for books that he hadn’t stolen, as well as for those he had. He’s dead now. ”

從個人經(jīng)驗出發(fā)，我可以說，每年都有不少中國船一箱又一箱地從英國往中國運書。我想，只有卡特?佩特森公司[8]說得清他們至今一共裝運過多少箱書！

漢尼?斯韋福[9]在《每日先驅報》上寫過一篇題為《談古書》的文章。他說：“會員遍布世界各大城市的古董書商聯(lián)合會昨晚在莫尼卡咖啡館舉行年度餐會。大家滿腹牢騷，抱怨生意一落千丈，珍本很難找到。最好的樣本都跑到珍本書業(yè)興盛的美國去了……”如果存在二手書商協(xié)會的話，我希望他們不會抱怨糟糕的樣本都跑到二手書業(yè)興盛的中國去了！畢竟，藏書本身已是一大樂事，沒有必要買最貴的版本。

斯韋福先生還寫過《盜竊癖》。他說：“薩姆?約瑟夫告訴我，在查令十字街這個倫敦圖書銷售中心，書商都有些?？?。他們每天中午1點出現(xiàn)，讀店外箱子里的書，在2點回去上班前把書折個角，以便第二天接著讀！他們至今仍在談論某位老紳士的故事。這位老紳士家財萬貫，卻酷愛偷竊珍本書。每隔兩三周，他就去各個書店轉一圈，左‘抽’一本右‘取’一本。當然，書商都認識他，都會記下丟的書，定期寄賬單給他秘書，而秘書總是及時付款。這種安排讓大家相安無事，直到有人發(fā)現(xiàn)，一兩個不太誠實的書商把未遭竊的書也列入了賬單。這位老爺子如今已不在人世了?！?

It seems to me that the dealers are very kind to provide books for people to read without any payment. I have been one of their clients too sometimes, though not a regular one. I visit Zwemmer’s most of all. It is funny to have this passion for stealing books. We have many people with that complaint in China, but we do not call them “thieves.” We generally speak of them as “people who take books away at their own convenience.”

I have never heard of their being dunned by the owners, though it is annoying to have a book taken away by others. It is also true that people often borrow books and never want to return them. A friend of mine told me that Sir Walter Scott used to put a small card on the shelves of his library bearing words somewhat as follows: “Here should stand such-and-such books which have been borrowed by so-and-so on a certain day but not returned yet.” Sometimes he would invite the friends to come and have a good look round his library without mentioning anything. I do not know whether it is true or not, but I doubt whether such a device would have much effect. In China we have considerable difficulties in refusing to lend books to others. How can we solve this problem? Better leave it to psychologists and lawyers.

在我看來，書商讓人們免費讀書，真是非常大方。我過去有時也蹭書看，但不經(jīng)常那么做。我去得最多的是茲溫默爾書店。愛偷書是件有趣的事。我們中國也有那種竊書賊，但我們不叫他們“竊賊”。我們提到他們時，一般會說“順手牽書的人”。

盡管別人把書順手拿走挺煩人，但我從未聽說主人追究責任。人們經(jīng)常借書不還，這也是事實。有位朋友告訴我，沃爾特?司各特爵士[10]曾在書架上放了一張小卡片，上面寫著“這里本應放著某書，但某人某天借走它后，至今沒有歸還”。有時，他會邀請朋友來書房好好轉一圈，但什么也不說。我不知道此事是真是假，但我懷疑這樣做沒什么效果。我們中國人一向難以拒絕別人借書。我們怎么解決這個問題？還是留給心理醫(yī)生和律師費心吧。

There is a special custom in China I should describe here. We generally have scorching sunshine most of the time from July until the end of September. On the seventh day of the seventh month of every year every family airs their belongings, chiefly clothes and books, in order to keep them undamaged by insects. Girls are busy carrying out clothes, and boys books, for airing in the hot sun in our courtyards. When I was young I was always ordered to do this job. While I was airing them, I generally took some interesting books to read at the corner of a corridor, in order to amuse myself. It usually took several days for me to finish the job.

It is said that there was a well-known scholar called Hao Lung, who lay down with the upper part of his body naked and his face to the sky, under the hot sunshine on that particular day. Then a friend of his dropped in to his courtyard and asked him the reason for this conduct. He answered that he was airing his books which were kept in his belly. This perhaps needs an explanation. In China, we read books and afterwards generally try to learn them by heart. A good scholar is said to be able to remember most of them from memory. So this one was very proud of himself remembering all that he studied, and was sarcastic at the expense of those who only aired real books. As soon as I was able to understand this story, I felt ashamed of my old job. I have not yet heard of anyone airing books in London!

在此我要說說中國的一個特殊習俗。從七月到九月底，大部分時候我們那里的陽光都很烈。每年七月初七，家家戶戶都會晾曬物品（主要是衣服和書）以防蟲害。女孩忙于搬衣服，男孩忙于搬書，搬到院中烈日下曝曬。我小時候，大人總叫我做這事。我在晾曬物品時，往往會拿幾本有趣的書到走廊角落里讀，以此自尋開心。我通常要花好幾天來做這件事。

從前有個名叫郝隆的學者。他在七月初七這天赤裸上身，仰面朝天躺在烈日下。有個朋友走進他家院子，問他為什么要這樣做。他回答，我在曬我腹中的書。這里或許得解釋一下。中國人讀書一般要背誦，據(jù)說優(yōu)秀的學者能記住大多數(shù)讀過的書。所以郝隆是為自己博聞強識而驕傲，嘲諷那些只曬真書的人。我理解了這個故事以后，立刻對自己過去做的事感到汗顏。我可沒聽說過倫敦有人曬書！

[1]《古今圖書集成》，原名《古今圖書匯編》，是現(xiàn)存規(guī)模最大、資料最豐富的類書。

[2]此處指英國。

[3]德拉蒙德.謝爾斯博士（Dr. Drummond Shiels，1881—1953），英國工黨議員。

[4]西里爾.埃德溫.米欽森.喬德（Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad，1891—1953），英國哲學家、電臺播音員，因主持BBC電臺的戰(zhàn)時節(jié)目而聲名大噪。

[5] 典出《戰(zhàn)國策.魏策三》。譯文：宋國有個求學的人，（求學）三年后回到家，直呼母親的名字。母親說：“你學習了三年，（現(xiàn)在）回家卻直呼我的名字，是為什么？”兒子說：“我認為圣賢沒有超過堯、舜的，堯、舜是名字；我認為事物沒有大過天地的，天、地也是名字。母親你賢不過堯、舜，大不過天地，所以我直呼母親的名字?！蹦赣H說：“你學到的東西會完全照做嗎？希望你改掉直呼母親的名字這一條。你學到的東西，有不準備照做的嗎？希望你把直呼母親名字列為（不照做的）首選?！?

[6] 弗伊爾斯書店，倫敦規(guī)模最大、最著名的獨立書店之一。

[7] 查令十字街，倫敦著名的書店街。

[8] 卡特.佩特森公司，英國一家貨運公司。

[9] 漢尼.斯韋福（Hannen Swaffer，1879—1962），英國記者、戲劇評論家、著名撰稿人。

[10] 沃爾特.司各特（Sir Walter Scott，1771—1832），英國著名歷史小說家和詩人。