英国人灵魂里的气象

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上期推文“这可能是最好看的英国文学史了分享了《英国文学史》的第一章，王佐良先生引用了桑塔亚纳的话，说“英国人听命于他心里的气氛，他灵魂里的气候。”那么关于英国人灵魂里的气候，桑塔亚纳是怎样解读的呢？

The Weather in His Soul (excerpt)

英国人灵魂里的气象（节选）

George Santayana

乔治•桑塔亚纳

Let me come to the point boldly; what governs the Englishman is his inner atmosphere, the weather in his soul. It is nothing particularly spiritual or mysterious. 

让我直截了当地谈正题吧：是什么左右着英国人的言行举止呢？是他内在的情调，即他灵魂的气象。它不是某种宗教精神的，也不是神秘莫测的。

When he has taken his exercise and is drinking his tea or his beer and lighting his pipe; when, in his garden or by his fire, he sprawls in an aggressively comfortable chair; when well-washed and well-brushed, he resolutely turns in church to the east and recites the Creed (with genuflexions, if he likes genuflexions) without in the least implying that he believes one word of it; when he hears or sings the most crudely sentimental and thinnest of popular songs, unmoved but not disgusted; when he makes up his mind who is his best friend or his favourite poet; when he adopts a party or a sweetheart; when he is hunting or shooting or boating, or striding through the fields; when he is choosing his clothes or his profession—never is it a precise reason, or purpose, or outer fact that determines him; it is always the atmosphere of his inner man.

设想一个英国人，在运动之余点着烟斗品茶或喝啤酒时；或者在花园里或壁炉旁懒洋洋地躺在舒适的安乐椅上时；或者在他精心梳洗之后，在教堂里毅然转向东方背诵（跪诵，假如他喜欢跪诵）信经，但丝毫也不意味着他相信其中的只言片语时；或者在他听着或哼着最粗俗、最伤感、最浅薄的流行歌曲，虽然无动于衷但也并不讨厌时；或者他在确定谁是他最好的朋友或最喜爱的诗人时；或者在他选择一个群体或一个恋人时；或者在他打猎、射击、划船或大踏步走过田野时；或者在他挑选服装或选择职业时——在他做这一切的时候，想必从来都不是因为某一确定的理由，或目的，或外界的事物在唆使他，而总是他内在的情调使然吧。

To say that this atmosphere was simply a sense of physical well-being, of coursing blood and a prosperous digestion, would be far too gross; for while psychic weather is all that, it is also a witness to some settled disposition, some ripening inclination for this or that, deeply rooted in the soul. It gives a sense of direction in life which is virtually a code of ethics, and a religion behind religion. 

若说这一内在的情调仅仅是对于身体状况、血液循环和消化功能的感觉，那未免过于粗浅；因为，尽管如此，灵魂的气象也是某种稳定的气质和日臻成熟的非此即彼的癖好的见证，都植根于灵魂深处。它给人以生活的方向感，实则是一种伦理准则，一种宗教背后的宗教。

On the other hand, to say it was the vision of any ideal or allegiance to any principle would be making it far too articulate and abstract. The inner atmosphere, when compelled to condense into words, may precipitate some curt maxim or over-simple theory as a sort of war-cry; but its puerile language does it injustice, because it broods at a much deeper level than language or even thought. It is a mass of dumb instincts and allegiances, the love of a certain quality of life, to be maintained manfully. 

 另一方面，若说它是对于任何理想的见识或对任何原则的忠诚，那就把它说得过于直白也过于抽象了。这种“内在的情调”，在必须用凝练的语言表述时，可能生发出简短的格言或简单的理论，作为一种战斗口号；但那幼稚的语言并不能把它表述清楚，因为它孕育在比语言、甚至比思想还要深得多的层次上。它是许多无法言传的本能与忠诚的结合体，是对于一种生活品质的爱，只待勇敢地予以保持。

It is pregnant with many a stubborn assertion and rejection. It fights under its trivial fluttering opinions like a smoking battleship under its flags and signals; you must consider, not what they are, but why they have been hoisted and will not be lowered. One is tempted at times to turn away in despair from the most delightful acquaintance—the picture of manliness, grace, simplicity, and honour, apparently rich in knowledge and humour—because of some enormous platitude he reverts to, some hopelessly stupid little dogma from which one knows that nothing can ever liberate him. 

它充满了执意的坚持和非摈弃不可的固执。它在各种微妙的、涌动于内心的见解之下进行战斗，就像一艘喷吐浓烟的战舰在各种旗帜和信号的指挥下进行战斗一样；你所要考虑的不是这些旗帜和信号是什么，而是它们既然已经升起就不再降落这是为什么。有时人在绝望中会回避他最乐于相处的知己——一幅具有大丈夫气概、儒雅、朴素和荣耀，而且显然是知识渊博和具有幽默感的形象——因为他这个相识有时会重新使用陈词滥调，陷入愚蠢的小小教条之中而不能自拔，又不听劝告。

The reformer must give him up; but why should one wish to reform a person so much better than oneself? He is like a thoroughbred horse, satisfying to the trained eye, docile to the light touch, and coursing in most wonderful unison with you through the open world. What do you care what words he uses? Are you impatient with the lark because he sings rather than talks? and if he could talk, would you be irritated by his curious opinions? Of course, if any one positively asserts what is contrary to fact, there is an error, though the error may be harmless; and most divergences between men should interest us rather than offend us, because they are effects of perspective, or of legitimate diversity in experience and interests.

若想改变他就千万不要干涉他；可是，为什么偏要改变一个比自己好得多的人呢？何况他就像是一匹英国纯种马，在内行人看来无可挑剔，轻轻一拍就能领会你的意图，载着你穿越空旷的原野，和你完全融为一体。至于他说话时如何措辞，那有什么关系？你会因为云雀只会歌唱不会说话就对它失去耐心吗？假使它会说话，你会对它那些奇怪的念头感到厌烦吗？当然，假如有人武断地坚持与事实相反的意见，那肯定是错误的，虽然这错误未必有害；再说，人们之间有分歧应该使我们感到兴趣，而不是感到恼火，因为这些分歧是由于看问题的角度不同，或者由于经验和兴趣的多样性而引起的，而多样性总是合乎情理的。

 Trust the man who hesitates in his speech and is quick and steady in action, but beware of long arguments and long beards. Jupiter decided the most intricate questions with a nod, and a very few words and no gestures suffice for the Englishman to make his inner mind felt most unequivocally when occasion requires.

应当信任那种言语迟疑但行动迅速而坚定的人，但是要警惕无休止地争论和长着长胡子的人。即便面对最棘手的问题，朱庇特一点头就决定了，而当情况需要的时候，英国人只需三言两语而无需比比划划，就能使人准确无误地了解他的内心世界。

以上内容摘自《英语经典散文翻译与赏析》，译者为南开大学外国语学院的刘士聪教授、谷启楠教授。

本书为近代重要英语作家、名人的散文随笔选译本，收录蒲柏、骚塞、兰姆、狄更斯、吉卜林、休谟等名家的60篇散文精品。书中每个篇目包括作家简介、原文、译文和译后语四部分。

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