威廉·赫茲里特William Hazlitt1778—1830。英國19世紀著名散文家、文學評論家。出生于牧師家庭。在愛爾蘭和美國度過童年時代。曾就讀于哈克尼神學院。去過巴黎學習繪畫。早期以作畫為主當過記者以后轉向文學和戲劇評論。1805年后，潛心研究過哲學結識。著名詩人柯勒律治和華茲華斯與蘭姆的友誼則持續終生。他同情法國大革命，積極主張民主共和，崇尚個人主義反對權威和習俗以觀點鮮明、思想激進和喜好論爭而聞名于文壇。他著述范圍較廣包括文學、歷史、哲學和政論等主要成就在于文藝批評和小品隨筆。他從少年到青年時期廣泛閱讀過各種書籍“淵深如海”才氣橫溢。他以文筆犀利、風趣語言準確流暢文章既充滿生活氣息又富于哲理多機智的警句和通俗的類比愛廣征博引寓精煉于浩瀚之中。

On the Fear of Death 談怕死
by William Hazlitt

PERHAPS the best cure for the fear of death is to reflect that life has a beginning as well as an end. There was a time when we were not: this gives me no concern- why then should it trouble us that a time will come when we shall cease to be? I have no wish to have been alive a hundred years ago, or in the reign of Queen Anne? Why should I regret and lay it so much to heart that I shall not be alive a hundred years hence, in the reign of I cannot tell whom?
克服怕死心理的最好辦法，也許是要想到人生不僅有終結，也有開端。本來我們并未生存于世間，這個事實并不使我們憂慮，那么，我們為什么要為了將來有一天自己會停止生存而煩惱呢？我既然不希望自己在一百年前，或在安女王的朝代活在世上，為什么就要為了自己在一百年后不知哪位皇帝在位的朝代，不能仍然活在世上而抱憾，而耿耿于懷呢？

To die is only to be as we were born; yet no one feels any remorse, or regret, or repugnance, in contemplating this last idea. It is rather a relief and disburdening of the mind: it seems to have been a holiday time with us then: we were not called to appear upon the stage of life, to wear robes or tatters, to laugh or cry, be hooted or applauded; we had lain perdus all this while, snug out of harm’s way; and had slept out our thousands of centuries without wanting to be waked up; at peace and free from care, in a long nonage, in a sleep deeper and calmer than that of infancy, wrapped in the softest and finest dust. And the worst that we dread is, after a short fretful , feverish being, after vain hopes, and idle fears, to sink to final repose again, and forget the trouble dream of life!
死亡只是恢復誕生前的原狀而已；在想到誕生前的情形時，我們都毫無悔恨、遺憾、或厭惡之感，反而覺得輕松解脫，那個時候彷佛是我們所度過的一段假期，我們還沒有被召出現在人生舞臺之上，或身著華服，或衣衫襤褸，或笑，或哭，或遭叫囂反對，或受喝采贊揚；在那個時候，我們一直高臥在虛無之境，無人聞問，舒適而又安全；我們在長眠中度過了千百世紀，不希望被人喚醒，一直逍遙于一個漫長的渾渾噩噩的時期之中，享受著一場比嬰兒時代的更為深沉而平靜的睡眠，覆蔽在最輕柔最微小的塵之中，安安靜靜，無憂無慮。然后，我們在人世度過了一段短暫、煩躁、而狂熱的生活，曾經抱著種種虛空的希望，懷著種種無意的恐懼，現在所最怕的事情，卻是再度沉入那種最后的安息，和忘記人生的煩惱的夢境！