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1705039568 西南联大英文课(英汉双语版) [:1705033847]
1705039569 29 经典之所以为经典
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1705039571 我们大部分民众对文学的关心程度犹如他们对飞机或立法的态度,不忽视也不十分漠视。但他们对文学的兴趣却是微不足道且敷衍了事的,即使这种兴趣可能会十分强烈,但也只是一时兴起。在二十万人中做个调查,十年前他们的热情曾使一部小说盛行一时,现今,当问及他们对那部小说的印象时,你会发现他们已经将其彻底遗忘,而且他们宁可阅读斯塔布斯主教的《宪章精选》,也不会想起再次阅读那本小说。即使他们开卷重阅,也可能不会乐在其中了——并不是因为这本小说的可读性不如十年前,也不是因为人们的鉴赏力有所精进——而是因为人们没有足够的实践来依赖自己的品位获取持久的快乐。连他们自己也不知道,明天将有什么带给他们快乐。
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1705039573 面对这个问题,有人可能会问:经典作家享有的那伟大而普世的声誉为何能够延续?答案在于:经典作家的声誉独立于大众读者而存在。试想一下,如果莎士比亚的声誉仅仅依靠大街上的普通民众来维持,你能指望这种声誉持续多久呢?经典作家的声望,源起并维系于少数对他们情有独钟的读者。有时某位一流作家在其一生中获得了巨大成功,然而,人们对他表现出的真诚欣赏可能还不及对某个二流作家。他的声誉得以巩固是因那些热情的少数读者。而有些作家在其死后才被冠以荣誉,这样乐观的结果也仅仅是因为少数人的坚持不懈。这类少数人无法也永不会将他们的“偶像”遗忘,而是继续讨论他,品味他,购买他的经典作品,表现得极其热衷。他们相信自己的权威判断并充满自信,最终,其他大多数人也耳濡目染,都对这位作家的名字耳熟能详,进而自然地认可其文学天赋。其实,大部分人并不真正在乎其是否为经典。
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1705039575 正因为少数人对文学的执着和热情,文学巨匠的声誉才得以代代相传。这些少数人孜孜不倦,凭借着浓重的好奇心和无限的热情,不断地挖掘天才,极少使得文学巨匠遭到埋没。而且,这些少数人总是在支持或反对大众的观点。大众可以制造声望,但却无心将其维持下去。倘若在某特定情形下,少数人与大众的观点达成一致,他们也会不断地提醒大众,某种声誉已经建立。而大众也会敷衍地同意道:“哦,是的。顺便说一下啊,我们绝不能忘了某某声誉存在着。”若没有少数人持久的记忆,经典作家的声望就会迅速埋没殆尽。这些少数人坚信自己对文学的热情,以及文学对于他们的重要性。他们仅凭自身的坚持和反复强调同一个观点来征服大部分人。你想象过这么一幅场景吗?这些少数人走向大街向平民证明莎士比亚是一位伟大的文学艺术家。而平民甚至都无法理解这些少数人使用的言辞术语。但是,如果继续口口相传、代代因袭,那么这些平民就会认可莎士比亚是个伟大的文学艺术家,这种认可并非源于理性,而是出自信仰。而且,他还会重复前人的观点,认为莎士比亚是一位伟大的文学艺术家,会购买莎士比亚的文学作品,放到家里的书架上,也会去剧院欣赏《李尔王》或《哈姆雷特》的舞台剧,然后笃定莎士比亚就是一位文学大师。所有这些的发生只是因为那些少数人不愿将对莎士比亚的膜拜局限于自身。这并非愤世嫉俗,而是实事求是。而且,对于那些想塑造自己文学品位的人而言,明白这一点极为重要。
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1705039577 是什么让这些狂热的少数人对文学如此热衷?答案只有一个:他们能从文学中获得强烈而持久的乐趣。他们痴迷于文学,就像有些人沉醉于啤酒。这种乐趣的反复重现自然而然地维系着他们对于文学的热情。他们总是孜孜不倦地开展新研究,并身体力行去展开实践。他们学着理解自我,明确自己真正想要什么。随着经验的增长,他们对文学的鉴赏越发可靠。他们不会去欣赏一部未来可能使他们感到无趣的作品。当他们发现一本书索然无味时,任何舆论的喧嚣都不能使他们认为此书富有一丝乐趣。相反,当他们发觉那本书趣味盎然时,任何来自众人的冷漠都无法改变他们对此书的永久认可。他们对自己的鉴赏力充满了信心。什么样的文学作品会为少数人带来那强烈而持久的乐趣呢?这个问题难以回答,到现在都没人能给出确切的答案。你可能会轻率地认为应该是作品中的真理、洞见、智慧、幽默和美感。但是这些美辞并不能使你体会到那种乐趣,因为每个词都需要有确切的含义,尤其是何为“真理”,何为“美感”。不错,济慈用他轻快的文风证明了真理即是美感,美感即是真理,而这也正是他所了解或需要了解的全部。但对我而言,我需要了解更多。即便如此,我也很难真正理解它们的含义。任何人,包括黑兹利特和圣伯夫,到最后都没能解释为什么一本文学作品可以被称优美。我手头有两句文学作品中的诗句——
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1705039579 阿卡狄的森林已然死亡, 它们那古朴的欢乐也已结束。[1]
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1705039581 我认为这两句诗十分优美,因为它们让我心情愉悦。但为什么会这样?没有答案。我只知道,那些痴迷于文学作品的少数人大体上能与我达成共识,他们能从这些诗行中获得神秘的快乐。我们从同一个作家的这些诗行和其他诗行中体会到的快乐,会使得大众坚信威廉·巴特勒·叶芝是一个文学巨匠,对此我深信不疑。令人欣慰的是,这些少数文学爱好者所表现出来的志趣始终如一。在实践中,坚持一类兴趣的可以最终形成具有共性的观点,不同的只是兴趣的广度。这些少数人中,有些人的兴趣由于缺乏广泛性,常常局限于某一狭窄领域内,从而所剩寥寥。因此他们对作家声誉的促进作用也仅能作用于更有局限性的作家,如克拉肖。但是,这些人的文学偏好并不会和其他少数文学爱好者的文学主张相违背,相反,是对他们文学主张的巩固。
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1705039583 所谓经典著作,就是那些作品,它们能够给那些对文学表现出持久且浓厚兴趣的少数人带来快乐的作品。这种快乐感之所以存在,是因为这类少数人愿意体验新的快感,于是怀揣一颗永无止境的好奇心,投入于永不止步的再发现当中。成就一部经典之作并不倚仗于伦理道德。经典作品能够流芳百世,并不是因为其遵循了某套标准,也不是因为其备受关注而免受疏忽,而是因为经典作品是快乐的源泉。狂热的少数人绝不会对经典视而不见,就像蜜蜂绝不会对花朵视而不见一样。这类少数人不会因为作品内容是正确的就去阅读它们,换句话说不会犯本末倒置的错误。中意的作品之所以中意仅仅因为它们为少数人所阅读,这些人是因为的确喜爱文学,而去阅读经典的文学作品。因此,我的观点是:文学品位的一个基本要素就是对文学的极度热爱。你做到了这一点,那剩下的则是水到渠成。目前,你没有在某些经典文学作品中获得快乐,这并无大碍。你对文学的兴趣,会驱使你获得更多经验。这些经验会教你运用快乐的方法,那就是你本人也不知道的快乐秘诀,仅此而已。持久的兴趣一定会带给你强烈的快乐感。但是,经验的获得既可能是明晰顺理,也可能无章可循,就如同去帕特尼,既可以经由沃尔瑟姆·格林,也可以经由圣彼得堡一样。
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1705039585 (罗选民 译)
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1705039589 [1]这两句为叶芝的《快乐的牧人之歌》一诗的开篇。此处引用傅浩译文。
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1705039591 西南联大英文课(英汉双语版) [:1705033848]
1705039592 30 EVOLUTION
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1705039594 By John Galsworthy
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1705039597 EVOLUTION, by John Galsworthy, in his The Inn of Tranquillity , New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1912. As reprinted in Chamberlain and Bolton,Progressive Readings in Prose , pp. 45-47.
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1705039601 John Galsworthy (1867-1933), English novelist, is well known among present-day English writers of plays and novels subtly analyzing the upper and the middle classes of England and revealing the conditions which largely determine them. Of his novels The Patrician , dealing with class distinctions and conventions, and The Man of Property , studying the passion for possession in the Forsyte family, are best known.Strife , a powerful account of the evil and the futility of a strike, and Justice , an indictment of the English legal system, are two of his finest plays.Evolution (1910)is a characteristic essay in its treatment of a changing phase of society and is typical of the exposition which combines the informality of the essay with the narrative interest of fiction.
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1705039603 Coming out of the theater, we found it utterly impossible to get a taxicab; and, though it was raining slightly, walked through Leicester Square in the hope of picking one up as it returned down Piccadily. Numbers of hansoms and four-wheelers passed, or stood by the curb, hailing us feebly, or not even attempting to attract our attention, but every taxi seemed to have its load. At Piccadily Circus, losing patience, we beckoned to a four-wheeler and resigned ourselves to a long, slow journey. A sou’westerly air blew through the open windows, and there was in it the scent of change, that wet scent which visits even the hearts and towns and inspires the watcher of their myriad activities with thought of the restless Force that forever cries: “On, on!” But gradually the steady patter of the horse’s hoofs, the rattling of the windows, the slow thudding of the wheels, pressed on us so drowsily that when, at last, we reached home we were more than half asleep. The fare was two shillings, and, standing in the lamplight to make sure the coin was a half-crown before handing it to the driver, we happened to look up. This cabman appeared to be a man of about sixty, with a long thin face, whose chin and drooping gray mustaches seemed in permanent repose on the up-turned collar of his old blue overcoat. But the remarkable features of his face were the two furrows down his cheeks, so deep and hollow that it seemed as though that face were a collection of bones without coherent flesh, among which the eyes were sunk back so far that they had lost their luster. He sat quite motionless, gazing at the tail of his horse. And, almost unconsciously, one added the rest of one’s silver to that half-crown. He took the coins without speaking; but, as we were turning into the garden gate, we heard him say:
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1705039605 “Thank you; you’ve saved my life.”
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1705039607 Not knowing, either of us, what to reply to such a curious speech, we closed the gate again and came back to the cab.
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1705039609 “Are things so very bad?”
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1705039611 “They are,” replied the cabman. “It’s done with—is this job. We’re not wanted now.” And, taking up his whip, he prepared to drive away.
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1705039613 “How long have they been as bad as this?”
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1705039615 The cabman dropped his hand again, as though glad to rest it, and answered incoherently:
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1705039617 “Thirty-five year I’ve been drivin’ a cab.”
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