評論
打印
Note the word "bankrupt." I spoke as a member of a prudent middle-class nation, always anxious to meet my liabilities, but my friend spoke as an Oriental, and the Oriental has behind him a tradition, not of middle-class prudence but of kingly munificence and splendour. He feels his resources are endless, just as John Bull feels his are finite. As regards material resources, the Oriental is clearly unwise. Money isn't endless. If we spend or give away all the money we have, we haven't any more, and must take the consequences, which are frequently unpleasant. But, as regards the resources of the spirit, he may be right. The emotions may be endless. The more we express them, the more we may have to express.
注意“破產”一詞，我是作為慎重的中產階級一員講這番話的，而且我們總惦記著欠債就一定要償還。然而我的朋友是從東方人的角度出發的，而且東方人背后的傳統不是中產階級的謹慎而是皇帝般的慷慨大方與豐富多彩。東方人認為自己的財富是取之不盡用之不竭的，正如約翰·布爾認為他的財富是無窮無盡的。對于物質資源，東方人的態度顯然是不明智的，金錢并不是無窮盡的。如果我們花費或讓出我們全部的金錢，我們便身無分文，而且必須承擔后果，這經常是令人不悅的。但是，就精神財富而言，東方人也許是對的。感情或許是取之不盡用之不竭的。我們表達感情越充分，我們所要表達的感情就越豐富。
True love in this differs from gold and clay,
真愛不同于黃金和泥土，
That to divide is not to take away.
分享不會使之減少，
Says Shelley. Shelley, at all events, believes that the wealth of the spirit is endless; that we may express it copiously, passionately, and always; that we can never feel sorrow or joy too acutely.
雪萊寫道。無論怎樣，雪萊相信精神的財富是無無盡的，他相信我們可以大量地、充滿激情地，在各種場合表達我們的情感，我們無論怎樣表現悲哀和歡樂都不過分。
In the above anecdote, I have figured as a typical Englishman. I will now descend from that dizzy and somewhat unfamiliar height, and return to my business of notetaking. A note on the slowness of the English character. The Englishman appears toe cold and unemotional because he is really slow. When an event happens, he may understand it quickly enough with his mind, but he takes quite a while to feel it. Once upon a time a coach, containing some Englishmen and some Frenchmen, was driving over the Alps. The horses ran away, and as they were dashing across a bridge the coach caught on the stonework, tottered, and nearly fell into the ravine below. The Frenchmen were frantic with terror: they screamed and gesticulated and flung themselves about, as Frenchmen would. The Englishmen sat quite calm. An hour later, the coach drew up at an inn to change horses, and by that time the situations were exactly reversed. The Frenchmen had forgotten all about the danger, and were chattering gaily; the Englishmen had just begun to feel it, and one had a nervous breakdown and was obliged to go to bed. We have here a clear physical difference between the two races—a difference that goes deep into character. The Frenchmen responded at once; the Englishmen responded in time. They were slow and they were also practical. Their instinct forbade them to throw themselves about in the coach, because it was more likely to tip over if they did.
我已通過上面的逸事描繪出一個典型的英國人了。現在我將從這個眩暈又不熟悉的高度降下來，繼續評論英國人的性格特點，關于英國人遲鈍的特點。英國人表面上冷漠而且無感情，因為他們確實遲鈍。每當有事發生，英國人會迅速弄清楚事情的來龍去脈，但是他們需要一段時間才能在感情上做出反應。從前一輛馬車正駛過阿爾卑斯山，車上坐著英國人和法國人。拉車的馬脫韁，馬車在沖過橋時刮到了橋上的石頭，馬車來回搖晃，險些跌進橋下的溝壑。法國人極度恐懼，他們肆意尖叫，慌張地揮動雙臂胡亂沖撞；而英國人則相當鎮靜地坐著。一小時后，馬車停在一家小旅館前換馬，此時情形發生了逆轉。法國人完全忘卻了危險，快樂地閑談著；此時英國人則剛剛感受到危險，其中一個人還因驚嚇而精神崩潰，因此必須臥床休息。由此可見，兩個民族在身體上存在明顯差異，正是這一差異對其性格特點產生了重大影響。法國人的反應迅速及時，而英國人則需過一段時間才做出反應。英國人遲鈍而又實際，英國人的本能制止他們在馬車中搖來擺去，因為如果他們這樣做，就更容易翻車。
