【人文科大】英文版《重访卡普里》和方校长之原文
第 307 期
编者按
本文为方校长的著名散文，记录在意大利卡普里小岛上度过的美好时光。英文版《重访卡普里》由巫宁坤教授翻译。巫宁坤，江苏扬州人。中国著名翻译家，英美文学研究专家，燕京大学教授，曾翻译过《了不起的盖茨比》、《白求恩传》等著作。2019年8月10日，在美国逝世，享年99岁。
CAPRI REVISITED
translated by Wu Ningkun
Capri is a small island in the Bay of Naples. In the eyes of the Italians, Capri is perhaps just like the legendary Land of Peach Blossoms in the eyes of the Chinese: natural, peaceful, and free of mundane pollution.
I have visited Capri twice, once in 1983, once in 1987. The purpose of the first visit in 1983 was simply sightseeing. The tour, as first planned, was to do Naples only. In the space of two days, we did nearly all the sights in Naples: from the palace and opera house of the time of the Kingdom of Naples to the monastery where Thomas Aquinas wrote his Summa Theologia, the ruins of Pompeii, etc. Most of the group who were well contented with what they had seen decided to end the tour and return to Rome. But the rest preferred to revisit Capri, I among them. At the time, the reason why I made this choice was perhaps that I had felt, subconsciously, the need for a mental balance. For, after seeing too many things which had a lot to do with ideologies, one could not but feel rather tense, even though they were only traces of ancient strifes. So, to seek relaxation after tension, we came again to Capri.
The atmosphere in Capri was indeed altogether different, although the passage from the port of Naples took only an hour and a half. Here there were no medi castles that were black like clotted blood, no crucifixes that were too large and too heavy, no frenzied dissipations of Pompeii, no statues of heroes who always looked down at you with swords unsheathed. Here there were only wind, water, and sunshine, only sunlit colorful sails gliding along placidly. All sounds receded, even tourists waxed silent as if forbearing to disturb the transparent atmosphere.Only the rhythmic beating of the waves responded to distant songs. Across the sea could be seen dimly blocks of red buildings and green trees marking Sorrento, the homeland of "Solo Mio" and "Santa Lucia".
In 1987 I came to Capri for the second time, but not to seek mental balance. Rather, for the sake of astronomy although it was also after having too much "sightseeing" of ideology, and modern ideology at that. Now there is a very small observatory on the island which is used for the study of the sun, as the sun is particularly bright over here and it is therefore easier to see clearly the black spots in its brightness. The observatory belongs to German astronomers. Due to inconvenience in administration, the Germans offered to close down the observatory and sell the estate. The Italian Ministry of Education, which was inclined to buy it, therefore asked the International Centre for Relativistic Astrophysics to make an uation first. As a member of the Centre, I took part in the uation.
The Capri Observatory, like the island itself, is small and exquisite, very fascinating. It does not boast an imposing telescope dome, neither is it built on the top of a hill. It is housed in a villa overlooking the sea. Like the other villas in the neighborhood, it has a large forest and extensive lawns, amid which stand small white buildings .There is a sun tower at the observatory, which also stands in the midst of trees, and is also white and so very tranquil that it seems to have the solemnity of a graveyard. It occurred to me that the German astronomers who worked here must have often recalled the epitaph of Immanuel Kant:
The starry heavens above me and the moral law within me fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and the more steadily we reflect on.
As it was vacation time, we did not meet the German astronomers. There was only a caretaker around, who knew nothing of astronomy, but who very obligingly showed us around the place. He told us as much as he knew about the observatory, including the facilities and the working and living conditions, and also a nearby country inn which he said was the finest in all Capri.
When we dined at the inn, the table was set under the shade of the trees, surrounded by tall grass with insects flying about. An Italian friend remarked casually, “Everything in Capri is so friendly. Look, there are many small animals and small winged insects here, but none of them does man any harm. There are varieties of trees and grasses here, but none is poisonous."My uation followed spontaneously: The Capri Observatory may have no special scientific value, but it may be an observatory that can best embody the spirit of astronomy. There are many areas of research in astronomy, but not a single one of them does any harm to mankind. Astronomy seeks neither worldly vanities, nor overbearing power and influence .It seeks only understanding of the heavens ,and accepts only direct revelation from the heavens .In the entire world of science ,astronomy is the Island of Capri, clean, noble, inspiring.
Of course, astronomy does not stand aloof from the world. On the contrary, more understanding and more revelation will lead to more firmness, a firmness of conviction that cannot be got any other way. Likewise ,the moral law within man will rise to a higher level,after one is cleansed by the wind and water of Capri.
When you stand on Monte Salero, the highest peak on Capri, you will find the waves looking smaller and the surface of the sea becoming more and more an ideal plane ,open and boundless. Yes, the whole world should be like this: ideal, open, and boundless. At this time, there grows in your mind not only disgust and disdain at the curses by totems, uncivilized barbarities ,the addiction to lies, and the worship of the non-existent ,but a feeling of pity, pity for ignorance. I came to understand how Galileo must have felt when murmured:"The earth is still rotating!"What he felt was a pity for the world which was still replete with ignorance. Being a man who knew clearly how the sun rotated and how the universe evolved, what else but pity could he feels for those ignoramuses who persisted in a primitive creed? The age of Galileo was long past, yet not quite past.
When night came, these thoughts of mine grew even stronger. For one thing ,as Capri at night was even more quiet and more natural, you could feel only your own thoughts when everything else receded. For another we stayed at a hotel at a distinctive location-----Via Mulo or the Alley of Mountain Mules----on a hillside. Next to the hotel stood a very elegant villa with a marble plaque beside the door, on which was inscribed:
Maxim Gorky lived here from February 1911 to November 1913.
What, Gorky had stayed next to us for nearly three long years! It seemed so inharmonious. For in my mind, the image of Gorky should always be among the waifs of Kazan, the boat trackers on the Volga, and the red flags of The Mother. How could he have also lingered among the hills and waters of Capri where there were neither flags nor warcries?
But actually, the two can be brought into harmony. What is it mainly that enables man to free himself from the sufferings of homeless waifs and trackers ?To be sure, the warcries of yesterday did help, but certainly not warcries of ignorance and benightedness, nor even less, threats of bloodshed against freedom. What brings man happiness and freedom is first of all wisdom, a wisdom that manifests reason in sobriety. What could more make a man feel the sober beauty of this wisdom than Capri? What could more inspire a man's yearning for a free heaven and a free earth than Capri? Gorky was right.
The night grew late and Capri was fast asleep. I felt I was already looking forward to another visit to Capri.
Lovely is the sea around me
Like your deep blue eyes a-dancing
Wakes memories entrancing
Starts me dreaming, dear, of you
Next time I come I will certainly sing this song "Come Back to Sorrento" and enjoy once again the pursuit of freedom.
21 June,1987 at Villa Contatino, Florence
方励之《重访卡普里》原文
卡普里是那不勒斯海灣中的一個小島。在意大利人心目中的卡普里，也許就像中國人心目中的世外桃源，自然、幽靜、沒有塵世的污染。
我兩次訪問過卡普里，一次是1983年，一次是1987年。1983年的初訪，目的純粹是旅游。那次觀光，原本只限于那不勒斯。兩天里我們幾乎走遍了整個那不勒斯的名勝。從那不勒斯王國時代的宮廷、歌劇院，到托馬斯‧阿奎那撰著的《神學大全》的修道院，到威甦維火山腳下的廢城龐培……許多人就此盡了興，決定結束旅游，返回羅馬。但一些人執意再去卡普里。我就屬于後者。當時我之所以這樣選擇，可能是下意識地感到精神需要平衡。因為看了許多的具有濃厚意識形態色彩的東西之後，不免令人緊張，哪怕那些東西都只是古代紛爭的遺跡。為了尋求緊張之後的松弛，我們來到了卡普里。
卡普里的氣氛，的確完全不同了，雖然它距那不勒斯港只有一個半小時的船程。這里沒有黑黑如血跡的古堡，沒有太大太沉重的十字架，沒有龐培的瘋狂的淫逸，沒有總是俯視你的刀劍出鞘的英雄雕像。這里只有風、水和陽光。只有陽光之下的彩色的帆，靜靜的，似動不動。一切聲響都隱退了，甚至游客也不再多說，似乎不忍用任何聲音去打擾這透明的空氣。只有浪的節拍和著遠處的歌。隔海隱約可見的一片紅房綠樹，就是甦蓮托，就是《我的太陽》、《桑塔露齊亞》的故鄉。
1987年再訪卡普里，並不是為了尋求平衡。雖然，按時間說，這也恰是在太多的意識形態“觀光”之後，而且是當代的意識形態“觀光”。我們來到卡普里，是為了天文學。原來，卡普里島上有一個很小的天文台，是研究太陽的，因為這里的太陽更明亮，也更容易看清它的明亮中的黑斑。天文台屬于德國天文學家。由于管理上的不便，德國人準備關掉這個天文台，賣掉它所屬的地產。意大利教育部有意買下它，為此，先請國際相對論天體物理中心評價一下這個天文台。作為該中心的成員之一，我參加了這一評價。
卡普里天文台，像卡普里的整個環境一樣，小巧、精致、引人玩賞，它沒有高大的望遠鏡圓頂，也並不設在山顛。它就在一座臨海的別墅中。同周圍的別墅一樣，有很大的樹林、草地、和散在其中的白色小樓。天文台有一個太陽塔，也在樹叢中，也是白色的。肅靜極了，似有一種墓地的崇高。我想，在這里工作的德國天文學家一定時常想起康德的墓志銘︰
因為是假日，我們沒有遇到德國天文學家。只有一位看門人在。他不懂天文學，但很殷勤地領著我們參觀，盡他所知地向我們介紹，包括這里的設施、工作和生活條件，也包括他告訴我們距天文台很近的一家鄉村式餐館，是整個卡普里島上第一流的。
當我們在那個餐館就餐時，餐桌就放在樹陰下，周圍是草叢，還有草叢中的飛蟲。一位意大利朋友不經心地說︰“卡普里的一切都很友善，你看，這里有許多小動物、小飛蟲，但其中沒有一種是為害于人的，這里有各種草木，也沒有一種是有毒的。”我不由得作出了我的評價︰卡普里天文台也許不具有太特別的學術價值，但它可能是最能體現天文學精神的一個天文台了。天文學中有許多研究領域，但沒有一種是為害于人的。天文學不追求市俗的虛榮，不追求咄咄的聲勢。它只追求對蒼穹的理解，接受來自蒼穹的直接啟示。在整個科學中，天文學就是卡普里島，潔淨、高尚、令人神往。
當然，天文學並不是出世的超脫，相反，越多的理解，越多的啟示，就會有越多的堅定，一種用其他途徑都不能獲得的信念的堅定。就如同經過卡普里的風和水的洗滌之後，心中的道德律會有一種升騰。當你站在卡普里的最高峰沙來羅峰向下看時，你會發現，原來的波浪變小了。海面成了越來越理想的平面，坦蕩、無邊。是啊，整個世界都應當是這樣的理想、坦蕩、無邊。這時，在你的心里，對于那些圖騰的賭咒、未開化的野蠻、對謊言的嗜好、對不存在的崇拜，不再僅僅是厭惡、鄙棄，而且有一種可憐，對愚昧的可憐。我懂了，伽利略在喃喃地說出“地球還在轉動啊”時的心境，那是一種對世間還充滿如此多的愚昧的可憐。一個清清楚楚地知道地球如何運行、宇宙如何演化的人，對那些堅持原始教義的愚昧，除了可憐他們之外，還能有什麼呢？伽利略的時代早就過去了，但還沒有完全過去。
入夜，我的這些想法更強烈了。一則因為，夜的卡普里更靜，更自然，你除了感到你的思想外，其他都消失了。也因為，我們下榻在一個位置很特別的旅館里。旅館在半山的一個小巷中，巷名是Ｖia Mulo，直譯是山驢胡同。旅館隔壁有一個相當考究的別墅，門前有一塊大理石板，上面刻著︰
馬克西姆‧高爾基于1911年2月至1913年11月居住于此。
高爾基曾在我們隔壁住過三年之久！似乎太不協調了。在我的印象中，高爾基的形象應當總是在喀山的流浪兒中，在伏爾加河的縴夫中，在《母親》的紅旗中。他怎麼竟也會在這沒有紅旗、沒有吶喊的卡普里山水中流連？其實，二者是可以協調的。使人擺脫流浪、擺脫拉縴的苦難的，主要是什麼？當然有那些昨天的吶喊，但並不是無知和愚昧的吶喊，更不是以“不怕流血”對自由的恫嚇。給人類帶來美好和自由的，首先是智慧，冷靜里透出理性的智慧。有什麼比卡普里更能使人感受到這種智慧的冷靜的美！有什麼比卡普里更能引起人們對自由天地的響往！高爾基是對的。
夜更深了，卡普里已經睡去。我盼著有機會再來卡普里。
看這海洋多麼美麗，
多麼激動人的心情。
看這大自然的光輝，
多麼使人陶醉！
下一次一定要唱著這首《重歸甦蓮托》，再來享受對自由的追求！
1987年６月21日寫于翡冷，康塔梯諾山莊
编辑： 牟志坚796 王雅薇MBA1407
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