《四季随笔》节选 - 秋 24

《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 - 秋 24的内容，让我们一起来感受吉辛的四季吧!

Waking at early dawn used to be one of the things I most dreaded. The night which made me capable of resuming labour had brought no such calm as should follow upon repose; I woke to a vision of the darkest miseries and lay through the hours of daybreak—too often—in very anguish. But that is past. Sometimes, ere yet I know myself, the mind struggles as with an evil spirit on the confines of sleep; then the light at my window, the pictures on my walls, restore me to happy consciousness, happier for the miserable dream. Now, when I lie thinking, my worst trouble is wonder at the common life of man. I see it as a thing so incredible that it oppresses the mind like a haunting illusion. Is it the truth that men are fretting, raving, killing each other, for matters so trivial that I, even I, so far from saint or philosopher, must needs fall into amazement when I consider them? I could imagine a man who, by living alone and at peace, came to regard the everyday world as not really existent, but a creation of his own fancy in unsound moments. What lunatic ever dreamt of things less consonant with the calm reason than those which are thought and done every minute in every community of men called sane? But I put aside this reflection as soon as may be; it perturbs me fruitlessly. Then I listen to the sounds about my cottage, always soft, soothing, such as lead the mind to gentle thoughts. Sometimes I can hear nothing; not the rustle of a leaf, not the buzz of a fl y, and then I think that utter silence is best of all.

在拂晓醒来曾经是我最惧怕的事情之一。那让我为重新工作养精蓄锐的夜晚，并没有带给我休息后本该有的平静；我醒来，看到是最黑暗苦难的景象，破晓之前，我还得在床上躺几个小时——时常感到十分的痛苦。但这已成为过去了。有时，在意识清醒之前，我的头脑会奋力挣扎，好像是在跟梦境里的恶魔斗争。然后窗户射进的一道光，墙上的几幅画，会让我愉快起来，刚才的噩梦反而使我心情更加愉快。现在我躺在床上思考时，最折磨我的是对普通人生活的惊异，它在我眼里那么不可思议，就像萦绕不去的幻象一样压迫着我的思想。人们发怒吼叫互相杀戮，真的就因为如此琐屑的小事，即使在我这样一个远非圣人或哲学家的人看来，都会不胜惊异。我可以想象，一个过着宁静独居生活的人，会逐渐将尘世看作并非真的存在，而视为他感觉不适时幻想的一种产物。什么样的疯子会梦到比所谓正常人组成的每个社区每一分钟的所思所为更不可理喻的事呢？但是我很快地把这个想法搁置起来；它让我心神不宁，又徒劳无益。接着我会倾听我房子周围的声音，它总是那么柔和，让人平静，让头脑能有一些温和的想法。有时，我什么也听不到，即使是一片树叶的沙沙声，一只苍蝇的嗡嗡声，然后我会想，完全的寂静是最好的了。

This morning I was awakened by a continuous sound which presently shaped itself to my ear as a multitudinous shrilling of bird voices. I knew what it meant. For the last few days I have seen the swallows gathering, now they were ranged upon my roof, perhaps in the last council before their setting forth upon the great journey. I know better than to talk about animal instinct, and to wonder in a pitying way at its resemblance to reason. I know that these birds show to us a life far more reasonable, and infinitely more beautiful, than that of the masses of mankind. They talk with each other, and in their talk is neither malice nor folly. Could one but interpret the converse in which they make their plans for the long and perilous f light--and then compare it with that of numberless respectable persons who even now are projecting their winter in the South!

今天早晨，一阵持续不断的声音把我吵醒，随之在我耳朵里变成无数鸟儿的尖叫声。我知道那意味着什么。过去几天里，我看到燕群聚集：此时它们就在我的屋顶上，也许正在召开大迁徙前的最后一次会议。我还不至于愚蠢到谈论动物的本能，也不会为它与理智的相似而表现出可怜的惊讶。我知道，这些鸟儿让我们看到的生活，与人类的大众生活相比，要更加合理和无限美丽。它们彼此交谈，谈话中没有恶意或是愚蠢。如果有人能够破译它们为漫长危险的旅行制定计划时的谈话——那么请与现在仍计划在南方过冬的无数体面人的谈话比上一比！