《四季隨筆》節(jié)選 - 春 14

《四季隨筆》是吉辛的散文代表作。其中對隱士賴克羅夫特醉心于書籍、自然景色與回憶過去生活的描述，其實是吉辛的自述，作者以此來抒發(fā)自己的情感，因而本書是一部富有自傳色彩的小品文集。

吉辛窮困的一生，對文學(xué)名著的愛好與追求，以及對大自然恬靜生活的向往，在書中均有充分的反映。本書分為春、夏、秋、冬四個部分，文筆優(yōu)美，行文流暢，是英國文學(xué)中小品文的珍品之一。

以下是由網(wǎng)友分享的《四季隨筆》節(jié)選 - 春 14的內(nèi)容，讓我們一起來感受吉辛的四季吧!

To-day's newspaper contains a yard or so of reading about a spring horse-race. The sight of it fills me with loathing. It brings to my mind that placard I saw at a station in Surrey a year or two ago, advertising certain races in the neighbourhood. Here is the poster, as I copied it into my note-book:

今天，報紙上刊登了一則關(guān)于春季賽馬的長篇報道，看到它我就覺得很反感。這讓我想起一兩年前在薩里郡某車站看到的一張布告，是為附近舉辦的賽馬活動做宣傳的。下面是布告原文，我當(dāng)時把它抄在了筆記本上：

Engaged by the Executive to ensure order and comfort to the public attending this meeting: “為維持本次大會的秩序，保證公眾順利觀看比賽，特以行政命令安排以下人員： 14 detectives (racing), 十四名偵探（比賽專用）， 15 detectives (Scotland Yard14 ) , 十五名偵探（來自蘇格蘭場）， 7 police inspectors, 七名督察， 9 police sergeants, 九名巡佐， 76 police, and a supernumerary contingent of specially selected men from the Army Reserve and the Corps of Commissionaires. 七十六名警官，以及一支由陸軍預(yù)備役部隊和退伍士兵之精英組成的分遣隊。 The above force will be employed solely for the purpose of maintaining order and excluding bad characters, etc. They will have the assistance also of a strong force of the Surrey Constabulary.

上述人員力量僅用于維持秩序、驅(qū)逐破壞分子等目的。另外，薩里郡警察將提供有力支援。”

I remember, once, when I let fall a remark on the subject of horseracing among friends chatting together, I was voted "morose." Is it really morose to object to public gatherings which their own promoters declare to be dangerous for all decent folk? Every one knows that horseracing is carried on mainly for the delight and profit of fools, ruffians, and thieves. That intelligent men allow themselves to take part in the affair, and defend their conduct by declaring that their presence "maintains the character of a sport essentially noble," merely shows that intelligence can easily enough divest itself of sense and decency.

我記得有一次，在友人相聚閑談之際，我對賽馬發(fā)表了一句評論，結(jié)果被眾人貼上“孤僻不合群”的標(biāo)簽。反對一場連倡導(dǎo)者都承認(rèn)會給所有體面人士帶來威脅的集會真的就是孤僻不合群嗎？人人都知道，舉辦賽馬主要是讓愚人、暴徒和小偷高興并有利可圖。智慧的人參加這樣的集會時，宣稱自己的到場“維護(hù)了一場本質(zhì)上高貴運動的品質(zhì)”，以此來進(jìn)行自我辯護(hù)，而這也正顯示了智慧要脫去理智和體面的外衣是多么容易！