《四季随笔》节选 - 夏 01

《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 - 夏 01的内容，让我们一起来感受吉辛的四季吧!

Today, as I was reading in the garden, a waft of summer perfume—some hidden link of association in what I read—I know not what it may have been—took me back to schoolboy holidays; I recovered with strange intensity that lightsome mood of long release from tasks, of going away to the seaside, which is one of childhood's blessings. I was in the train; no rushing express, such as bears you great distances; the sober train which goes to no place of importance, which lets you see the white steam of the engine float and fall upon a meadow ere you pass. Thanks to a good and wise father, we youngsters saw nothing of seaside places where crowds assemble; I am speaking, too, of a time more than forty years ago, when it was still possible to find on the coasts of northern England, east or west, spots known only to those who loved the shore for its beauty and its solitude. At every station the train stopped; little stations, decked with beds of flowers, smelling warm in the sunshine where country-folk got in with baskets, and talked in an unfamiliar dialect, an English which to us sounded almost like a foreign tongue. Then the first glimpse of the sea; the excitement of noting whether tide was high or low—stretches of sand and weedy pools, or halcyon wavelets frothing at their furthest reach, under the sea-banks starred with convolvulus. Of a sudden, OUR station!

今天，我在花园读书，一缕夏日的香气悠然而至—和读的书有某种潜在联系，是什么我也说不清—恍惚我被带回到了学生时代的假期。那真是童年的一桩乐事，从课业中长时间地解脱出来，到海边肆意玩耍，我好像重温了那种轻松愉快的心情，奇异而强烈。我坐在火车上，不是那种长途旅行乘坐的高速快车，而是慢车，去的都是一些小地方，能看到火车头冒出的白色蒸汽在草地上飘起又沉下，慢慢从眼前掠过。感谢慈爱睿智的父亲，我们小时候没有看过人潮汹涌的海滩。我说的是四十多年前，那时候，在英格兰北部的海岸上，热爱美丽、僻静海滩的人们还能找到几处清静的去处。火车逢站必停，那些小站，装饰着几方花坛，阳光下散发着温暖的气息，乡下人挎着篮子上车来，用我们不熟悉的方言交谈着，他们的英语听起来简直像外语。接下来，大海闯进了视线。好兴奋，终于看见了潮涨潮落—远处有几段沙滩和几个长满水草的水塘，白色小浪花欢快地向沙滩最远处奔去，上方是缀着点点旋花的海岸。忽然间，我们到站了！

Ah, that taste of the brine on a child's lips! Nowadays, I can take holiday when I will, and go whithersoever it pleases me; but that salt kiss of the sea air I shall never know again. My senses are dulled; I cannot get so near to Nature; I have a sorry dread of her clouds, her winds, and must walk with tedious circumspection where once I ran and leapt exultingly. Were it possible, but for one half-hour, to plunge and bask in the sunny surf, to roll on the silvery sand-hills, to leap from rock to rock on shining sea-ferns, laughing if I slipped into the shallows among starfish and anemones! I am much older in body than in mind; I can but look at what I once enjoyed.

啊，孩子嘴唇上海水的那种味道呀！现在，我可以随时去度假，想去哪里都随心所欲；但是大海印在唇上的咸咸的吻我再也感受不到了。我的感官都已经麻木，我已不能像当年那样亲近自然，我甚至害怕云朵和风吹，真是无可奈何。在曾经欢呼雀跃的地方，现在我必须小心地移动着单调的步子。如果可能，哪怕只有半小时，让我纵身跃入阳光下的波涛之中，在银光点点的沙岗上打滚，踩着闪闪发亮的蕨从一块岩石跃到另一块，在不慎滑倒在海星和海葵包围着的浅滩上时纵声欢笑！现在我心有余而力不足，曾经可以尽情玩耍的地方现在只能饱饱眼福了。