《四季随笔》节选 - 春 13

《四季随笔》是吉辛的散文代表作。其中对隐士赖克罗夫特醉心于书籍、自然景色与回忆过去生活的描述，其实是吉辛的自述，作者以此来抒发自己的情感，因而本书是一部富有自传色彩的小品文集。

吉辛穷困的一生，对文学名著的爱好与追求，以及对大自然恬静生活的向往，在书中均有充分的反映。本书分为春、夏、秋、冬四个部分，文笔优美，行文流畅，是英国文学中小品文的珍品之一。

以下是由网友分享的《四季随笔》节选 - 春 13的内容，让我们一起来感受吉辛的四季吧!

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 Hopelessly out of date.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 The zeal of learning is never out of date; the example—were there no more—burns before one as a sacred fire, forever unquenchable.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?

一定还有几个和我志趣经历相同的人，还记得波特兰街车站对面的那家小书店。这家书店独树一帜，卖的都是有充实内容的书—主要是神学和经典书籍—大都是些老版本，被认为不值一钱，没有珍藏价值，为了实用的缘故已经被现代的版本替换掉了。店主很有绅士风范，店里的书标价极低，这些奇特的情形让我觉得他经营这家店完全是出于对文学的热爱。我眼中的“无价之宝”在这里花几个便士就可以买到，回想起来，我在这里买的书价钱从没有超过一个先令。有一次，我注意到店里有一个刚下课的年轻人，他看着书架上那些老古董，眼神里满是疑惑和不屑。而就是这些老古董，每次我从摊位上拿起它们或者从店内藏书甚丰的架上将它们取下时，心里满是欢喜。比如，我的《西塞罗书信集》，这是一本羊皮纸制成的臃肿的书，里面包括了格雷菲乌斯和赫罗诺维厄斯以及很多我不认识的学者们的注释。唉！真是无可救药的过时。但是我从没有这种感觉。我对格雷菲乌斯和赫罗诺维厄斯还有其他学者怀有一种深沉的感情，如果能和他们一样博学，那么即使受到那个年轻人的鄙夷，我也可以满足地安息了。求知的热情从不会过时，榜样的光辉在你的面前如一团圣火，永不熄灭。现在这些编辑，我在哪一个身上能找到旧时学者们注解中映射出的对学问的爱和热情？

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.

在当今时代，就连最好的版本都只能说是教科书。你经常会感觉到，编者们没有将作品视为文学，而仅仅看作是文本。以学究对学究来言，老的总胜过新的。