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我的生活海伦·凯勒自传
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

英文中文双语对照双语交替

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Chapter XXII

第二十二章

I trust that my readers have not concluded from the preceding chapter on books that reading is my only pleasure; my pleasures and amusements are many and varied.

我相信我的读者们并不会从前面的章节中得出这样的结论——阅读是我唯一的快乐。事实上，我的快乐和兴趣是广泛而多样的。

More than once in the course of my story I have referred to my love of the country and out-of-door sports. When I was quite a little girl, I learned to row and swim, and during the summer, when I am at Wrentham, Massachusetts, I almost live in my boat. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to take my friends out rowing when they visit me. Of course, I cannot guide the boat very well. Some one usually sits in the stern and manages the rudder while I row. Sometimes, however, I go rowing without the rudder. It is fun to try to steer by the scent of watergrasses and lilies, and of bushes that grow on the shore. I use oars with leather bands, which keep them in position in the oarlocks, and I know by the resistance of the water when the oars are evenly poised. In the same manner I can also tell when I am pulling against the current. I like to contend with wind and wave. What is more exhilarating than to make your staunch little boat, obedient to your will and muscle, go skimming lightly over glistening, tilting waves, and to feel the steady, imperious surge of the water!

在讲述自己故事的过程中，我不止一次地提到了我对乡间和户外运动的热爱。当我还是一个小姑娘的时候，我就学会了划船和游泳。在马萨诸塞州的兰瑟姆过暑假期间，我几乎整日住在我的船上。有朋友来访时，再没有什么能比带他们出去划船更令我快乐的事了。当然，我并不能很好地掌握行船方向。在通常情况下，当我划船的时候，就会有人坐在船尾为我掌舵。然而，有时候不靠舵手我也能划。凭借着水草和百合花，以及岸边灌木丛的气味辨别方向是十分有趣的一件事。我使用的是用皮革捆绑的船桨，这样就能把桨固定在桨架上。当船桨处于平稳状态时，我可以通过水的阻力来感知航行状态。用同样的方式，我也能说出船在什么时候正处于激流之中。我喜欢同风浪较量一番。你让忠实的小船听命于自己的意愿和力量；你让它轻轻地掠过波光潋滟的水面；你感受着或平稳，或汹涌的波浪——还有什么能比这更令人兴奋的事情呢！

I also enjoy canoeing, and I suppose you will smile when I say that I especially like it on moonlight nights. I cannot, it is true, see the moon climb up the sky behind the pines and steal softly across the heavens, making a shining path for us to follow; but I know she is there, and as I lie back among the pillows and put my hand in the water, I fancy that I feel the shimmer of her garments as she passes. Sometimes a daring little fish slips between my fingers, and often a pond-lily presses shyly against my hand. Frequently, as we emerge from the shelter of a cove or inlet, I am suddenly conscious of the spaciousness of the air about me. A luminous warmth seems to enfold me. Whether it comes from the trees which have been heated by the sun, or from the water, I can never discover. I have had the same strange sensation even in the heart of the city. I have felt it on cold, stormy days and at night. It is like the kiss of warm lips on my face.

我也喜欢划独木舟。我想，当你们听说我尤其喜欢月夜泛舟时，你们一定会莞尔相视的。坦白地讲，我无法看见月亮爬上松树的枝头，一边悄悄地在天际间穿行，一边为路人铺就发光的小径。但是，我知道她（月亮）就在那里。当我仰面躺在枕头上，并且把手放在水中时，我就幻想着触摸到了她微光闪烁的“外衣”。有时候，一条勇敢的小鱼会从我的手指间滑过，而睡莲则害羞地挤压着我的手掌。最常发生的情况是，当我们一从小河湾里划出来，我就会立刻觉察到周围开阔的空间。一团明亮的暖意似乎将我围裹其中，无论这股暖意是来自被阳光晒热的林木，还是来自水面，我都无法寻觅其踪。甚至在城市的核心地带，我也会产生这种奇怪的感觉。我已经在夜晚和暴风骤雨来临的时刻触摸到了它的气息，这就好似温暖的双唇吻在脸上的感觉。

My favourite amusement is sailing. In the summer of 1901 I visited Nova Scotia, and had opportunities such as I had not enjoyed before to make the acquaintance of the ocean. After spending a few days in Evangeline's country, about which Longfellow's beautiful poem has woven a spell of enchantment, Miss Sullivan and I went to Halifax, where we remained the greater part of the summer. The harbour was our joy, our paradise. What glorious sails we had to Bedford Basin, to McNabb's Island, to York Redoubt, and to the Northwest Arm! And at night what soothing, wondrous hours we spent in the shadow of the great, silent men-of-war. Oh, it was all so interesting, so beautiful! The memory of it is a joy forever.

我尤其喜爱的娱乐活动是坐船航行。1901年夏天的时候，我去诺瓦斯科夏游览，这使我第一次有了同海洋亲密接触的机会。在伊万杰琳的家乡——一个美得如同朗费罗笔下的诗歌般迷人的地方——盘桓几日后，我和苏立文小姐来到了哈利法克斯，我们在这里度过了几乎整个夏天。可以说，这座海港城市是我们的快乐源泉，也是我们的天堂。驾船航行在贝德福德海湾，麦克奈布斯岛，约克堡，一直到西北军（驻地）——这是一次多么伟大而光荣的航行啊！到了夜晚，我们会一连好几个小时置身在巨大战舰的阴影之下，那的确是一种惬意而奇妙的感觉。哦，周围的一切都是那么新奇而美丽！它给我留下了难以磨灭的愉快回忆。

One day we had a thrilling experience. There was a regatta in the Northwest Arm, in which the boats from the different warships were engaged. We went in a sail-boat along with many others to watch the races. Hundreds of little sail-boats swung to and fro close by, and the sea was calm. When the races were over, and we turned our faces homeward, one of the party noticed a black cloud drifting in from the sea, which grew and spread and thickened until it covered the whole sky. The wind rose, and the waves chopped angrily at unseen barriers. Our little boat confronted the gale fearlessly; with sails spread and ropes taut, she seemed to sit upon the wind. Now she swirled in the billows, now she sprang upward on a gigantic wave, only to be driven down with angry howl and hiss. Down came the mainsail. Tacking and jibbing, we wrestled with opposing winds that drove us from side to side with impetuous fury. Our hearts beat fast, and our hands trembled with excitement, not fear; for we had the hearts of vikings, and we knew that our skipper was master of the situation. He had steered through many a storm with firm hand and sea-wise eye. As they passed us, the large craft and the gunboats in the harbour saluted and the seamen shouted applause for the master of the only little sail-boat that ventured out into the storm. At last, cold, hungry and weary, we reached our pier.

有一天，我们经历了一次惊心动魄的事件。当时在“西北军驻地”正举行一次赛舟会，而参赛船只则来自不同的战舰。我们随同众人一道登上一条帆船观看比赛。上百条小艇来来回回地从我们身边穿梭而过，海面风平浪静。就在比赛结束，我们正准备回家的时候，人群里有个人发现从海上飘来了一团黑云。这团黑云迅速地扩散增厚，直到遮蔽了整个天空。此时风起云涌，海浪猛烈地击打着堤坝。我们的小船勇敢地面对狂风的袭击，它鼓起风帆，缆绳紧绷，似乎正好坐在风波浪尖之上。很快，它便在波涛中左冲右突，它猛地跃上一个巨大的浪峰，顷刻间就被愤怒的嘶吼声所吞没。随着主帆的下落，小船在浪涛中逆风而行。我们奋力地抵御着风浪的侵袭，而身体却被颠簸得东倒西歪。我们的心剧烈地跳动着，我们的手激动得连连颤抖，我们毫无畏惧。因为我们就在“维京”号的核心位置，而我们的船长则是对付风浪的行家里手，凭借着坚实的手掌和一双老练的眼睛，他曾多次驾船穿越风暴。风浪过后，港口中的大船和炮舰纷纷向我们（升旗）致敬，水手们也为这艘小帆船在风暴中的壮举而欢呼呐喊。终于，伴着寒冷、饥饿和满身的疲惫，我们回到了码头。

Last summer I spent in one of the loveliest nooks of one of the most charming villages in New England. Wrentham, Massachusetts, is associated with nearly all of my joys and sorrows. For many years Red Farm, by King Philip's Pond, the home of Mr. J. E. Chamberlin and his family, was my home. I remember with deepest gratitude the kindness of these dear friends and the happy days I spent with them. The sweet companionship of their children meant much to me. I joined in all their sports and rambles through the woods and frolics in the water. The prattle of the little ones and their pleasure in the stories I told them of elf and gnome, of hero and wily bear, are pleasant things to remember. Mr. Chamberlin initiated me into the mysteries of tree and wild-flower, until with the little ear of love I heard the flow of sap in the oak, and saw the sun glint from leaf to leaf. Thus it is that

去年夏天，我在新英格兰地区的一个最迷人最幽静的村庄里度过了一段愉快的时光。可以说，马萨诸塞州的兰瑟姆是一个几乎涵盖了我所有喜悦和悲伤的地方。很多年来，红色农庄——菲利普国王池塘边钱伯林先生和他的家人的住所，都曾是我的家。我由衷地感谢这些朋友们的仁慈和慷慨，我同他们在一起度过了最美好的时光。对我而言，同他们的子女建立起的友谊尤显珍贵。他们所有的活动我都参加，我们还在林中漫步，在水中嬉戏。我为他们讲述精灵和土地神、英雄和狡猾的黑熊的故事，同这些小孩子们谈天说地，感受着他们的快乐，这对我的确是一种令人愉快的回忆。钱伯伦先生教我辨认神秘的树种和野花，直到我的耳朵似乎听到了橡树体内树液流动的声音，我的眼睛似乎看到了树叶间闪烁的阳光。那景象如同这样的诗句——

Even as the roots, shut in the darksome earth,

根，即使被封存在暗无天日的泥土中

Share in the tree-top's joyance, and conceive

依旧会分享到树冠的喜悦，而且会想象着

Of sunshine and wide air and wing閐 things,

阳光、辽阔的天宇以及林间的飞鸟，

By sympathy of nature, so do I gave evidence of things unseen.

自然和谐有序，我亦顺应天地

It seems to me that there is in each of us a capacity to comprehend the impressions and emotions which have been experienced by mankind from the beginning. Each individual has a subconscious memory of the green earth and murmuring waters, and blindness and deafness cannot rob him of this gift from past generations. This inherited capacity is a sort of sixth sense--a soul-sense which sees, hears, feels, all in one.

在我看来，自人类出现以来，我们每一个人的内心深处就已经具备了感知种种情绪的经验。在每一个人的潜意识里，都会存留有关绿色土地和潺潺流水的记忆，即使失明和失聪，也无法剥夺祖先赐予人类的这份礼物。我们通常会将这种源自遗传的特质称之为第六感——一种集视觉、听觉、触觉于一身的“心灵的感觉”。

I have many tree friends in Wrentham. One of them, a splendid oak, is the special pride of my heart. I take all my other friends to see this king-tree. It stands on a bluff overlooking King Philip's Pond, and those who are wise in tree lore say it must have stood there eight hundred or a thousand years. There is a tradition that under this tree King Philip, the heroic Indian chief, gazed his last on earth and sky.

我在兰瑟姆有很多“大树朋友”，其中有一棵秀美的橡树可以说是令我引以为豪的伙伴。我曾带领我所有的朋友们参观过这位树王。这棵耸立在悬崖之上的大树径直俯瞰着菲利普国王池塘，那些熟谙树木知识的人一定会说，这棵树至少已有八百或者一千年的历史了。在这棵菲利普国王之树下面延续着一种传统——菲利普，这位英勇的印第安酋长，将他临终的凝望献给了大地和天空，他已经把自己的精神同自然融为一体。

I had another tree friend, gentle and more approachable than the great oak--a linden that grew in the dooryard at Red Farm. One afternoon, during a terrible thunderstorm, I felt a tremendous crash against the side of the house and knew, even before they told me, that the linden had fallen. We went out to see the hero that had withstood so many tempests, and it wrung my heart to see him prostrate who had mightily striven and was now mightily fallen.

我还有另外一位“树友”，同庄严的橡树相比，它显得相当随和而平易近人——这是一株生长在红色农庄庭院里的菩提树。在一个雷电交加的下午，我感觉房子的一边似乎受到了剧烈的碰撞，即使没有人告诉我，我也立刻猜出是菩提树被雷击倒了。于是我们都跑到院子里察看这位“英雄”到底经受了怎样的磨难，看到它奋勇抗争后又轰然倒地的景象，我不禁心如刀绞。

But I must not forget that I was going to write about last summer in particular. As soon as my examinations were over, Miss Sullivan and I hastened to this green nook, where we have a little cottage on one of the three lakes for which Wrentham is famous. Here the long, sunny days were mine, and all thoughts of work and college and the noisy city were thrust into the background. In Wrentham we caught echoes of what was happening in the world--war, alliance, social conflict. We heard of the cruel, unnecessary fighting in the far-away Pacific, and learned of the struggles going on between capital and labour. We knew that beyond the border of our Eden men were making history by the sweat of their brows when they might better make a holiday. But we little heeded these things. These things would pass away; here were lakes and woods and broad daisy-starred fields and sweet-breathed meadows, and they shall endure forever.

我决不会忘记我所要描述的那个特别的夏天。我的考试刚一结束，苏立文小姐和我就急匆匆地赶到了这个“绿色幽境”。兰瑟姆有三个很出名的湖，我们在其中的一个湖上拥有一所小房子。在这里，阳光普照的一整天都是属于我的。有关学院和课业的所有思绪，以及喧嚣聒噪的城市生活，统统地被这里的幽深美景消解殆尽。虽然身在兰瑟姆，我们仍然捕捉到了世界时事的回声——战争、盟约、社会矛盾。我们听说了残酷而不必要的太平洋战事，也了解到了资本和劳工之间日趋激烈的对抗形势。我们还知道，在我们的伊甸园边界之外，人类正在挥汗如雨创造着历史，虽然他们本可以给自己放个假。但是我们很少留意到这些事情，早晚有一天，世事会像过眼云烟般在我们眼前匆匆消逝；而此处的湖泊和林木，遍布雏菊的旷野和气味清新的草地，则延续着其永恒的生命。

People who think that all sensations reach us through the eye and the ear have expressed surprise that I should notice any difference, except possibly the absence of pavements, between walking in city streets and in country roads. They forget that my whole body is alive to the conditions about me. The rumble and roar of the city smite the nerves of my face, and I feel the ceaseless tramp of an unseen multitude, and the dissonant tumult frets my spirit. The grinding of heavy wagons on hard pavements and the monotonous clangour of machinery are all the more torturing to the nerves if one's attention is not diverted by the panorama that is always present in the noisy streets to people who can see.

人们都对我的鉴别视觉和听觉范畴事物的能力备感惊讶，除了能够发现人行道的断裂缺失，我还能辨别出城市行走和乡村漫步之间的差别。人们或许忘记了，我的整个身体都在实时感受着周围的环境，城市的嘈杂和低沉的隆隆声常常会撞击着我的面部神经，我可以感觉到看不见的人群踏着永无止息的沉重脚步，刺耳的喧嚣一点点地侵蚀着宁静的心灵。沉重的车轮在坚硬的路面上隆隆碾过，机器发出乏味的铿锵声。对于那些耳目俱全，常年在城市中穿梭往来的人而言，假如不是因为骚动的街道和纷乱的景象转移了他们的注意力，我想，他们一定会被这种单调的噪音逼疯的。

In the country one sees only Nature's fair works, and one's soul is not saddened by the cruel struggle for mere existence that goes on in the crowded city. Several times I have visited the narrow, dirty streets where the poor live, and I grow hot and indignant to think that good people should be content to live in fine houses and become strong and beautiful, while others are condemned to live in hideous, sunless tenements and grow ugly, withered and cringing. The children who crowd these grimy alleys, half-clad and underfed, shrink away from your outstretched hand as if from a blow. Dear little creatures, they crouch in my heart and haunt me with a constant sense of pain. There are men and women, too, all gnarled and bent out of shape. I have felt their hard, rough hands and realized what an endless struggle their existence must be--no more than a series of scrimmages, thwarted attempts to do something. Their life seems an immense disparity between effort and opportunity. The sun and the air are God's free gifts to all we say; but are they so? In yonder city's dingy alleys the sun shines not, and the air is foul. Oh, man, how dost thou forget and obstruct thy brother man, and say, "Give us this day our daily bread," when he has none! Oh, would that men would leave the city, its splendour and its tumult and its gold, and return to wood and field and simple, honest living! Then would their children grow stately as noble trees, and their thoughts sweet and pure as wayside flowers. It is impossible not to think of all this when I return to the country after a year of work in town.

但是在乡间，你所看到的只有大自然的杰作。在拥挤不堪的城市中，你会为了起码的生存而展开残酷的竞争，而在这里，你郁郁寡欢的心境会荡然无存。我曾好几次参观过穷人聚居的狭窄、肮脏的街道。社会现实不问是非，那些居住在豪宅里的上等人当然会心满意足，他们是些强大而衣冠楚楚的人物；而那些贫民则在破败阴暗的公寓里苟且偷生。每每想到这些，我就难以抑制心中的激愤之情。小孩子们全都挤在这些污秽不堪的巷子里，他们衣不蔽体，食不果腹；在你向他们伸出双手时，他们怯懦地闪退一旁，如同被一阵风吹散。这些可爱的小生灵始终蜷伏在我的心头，把持久的痛苦加负在我的精神世界，挥之不去。穷街陋巷中也聚居着为数众多的男人和女人，他们全都因过度劳作而扭曲了身形。我已经触摸到了他们那僵硬、粗糙的双手，我也了解到了他们为生存而进行的无休止的抗争——当然，这只不过是一连串徒劳无益的混战而已。在奋斗和机遇之间，他们的生活似乎处于巨大的失衡状态。我们经常会说，阳光和空气是神赐予所有人的免费礼物，事实果真如此吗？在城市偏僻而阴暗的街巷中，阳光不见踪影，而空气也是污浊的。哦，（善良的）人啊，你们怎么能对你们的手足弟兄如此冷漠呢？当你们（祷告）说“感谢主赐予我们今日的饮食”，而你们的弟兄却一无所有！哦，假如人们真的能够远离城市，舍弃它的浮华、喧嚣和财富；假如人们能投入到森林和田野之中，过一种朴素而诚实的生活，那么，他们的子女一定会像高贵的林木一样茁壮成长，而他们的思想也会如路旁的花朵一样纯洁无瑕。在城市工作了一年之后，当我重返乡间的时候，我不可能不对我的所见所闻做出深入的思考。

What a joy it is to feel the soft, springy earth under my feet once more, to follow grassy roads that lead to ferny brooks where I can bathe my fingers in a cataract of rippling notes, or to clamber over a stone wall into green fields that tumble and roll and climb in riotous gladness!

再次感受到脚下松软、湿润的土地是多么令人高兴的事啊。绿草茵茵的小路会把你领到蕨草繁茂的溪水边，在这里，我可以把我的手指浸泡在潺潺流水之中，或者，我也可以爬过一堵石墙进入草地，然后忘乎所以地翻滚跳跃！

Next to a leisurely walk I enjoy a "spin" on my tandem bicycle. It is splendid to feel the wind blowing in my face and the springy motion of my iron steed. The rapid rush through the air gives me a delicious sense of strength and buoyancy, and the exercise makes my pulses dance and my heart sing.

除了休闲散步，我最大的乐趣就是在我的双人自行车上“疾驰”。由此你可以真切地体会到风儿扑面和“铁马”行进的轻*。驾车疾驰不但带给我力量感和悬浮感的美妙享受，这项运动还令我的脉搏起舞，心儿歌唱。

Whenever it is possible, my dog accompanies me on a walk or ride or sail. I have had many dog friends--huge mastiffs, soft-eyed spaniels, wood-wise setters and honest, homely bull terriers. At present the lord of my affections is one of these bull terriers. He has a long pedigree, a crooked tail and the drollest "phiz" in dogdom. My dog friends seem to understand my limitations, and always keep close beside me when I am alone. I love their affectionate ways and the eloquent wag of their tails.

只要有可能，我的狗儿都会陪我一起散步、骑车或航行。我有很多狗儿朋友——体形硕大的獒犬，长着一对温柔大眼睛的西班牙长耳犬，顽皮聪明的塞特犬和忠诚、朴实的短毛犬。目前最为我钟爱的就是其中的一只短毛犬。他有着很纯正的血统，还长着一条弯曲的尾巴和一张狗世界中最滑稽可笑的“脸”。我的狗儿朋友们好像都明白我的行动不便，所以当我一个人的时候，他们总是时刻不离我的左右。我欣赏他们的友善忠诚，他们那不停摆动的尾巴也很招人喜爱。

When a rainy day keeps me indoors, I amuse myself after the manner of other girls. I like to knit and crochet; I read in the happy-go-lucky way I love, here and there a line; or perhaps I play a game or two of checkers or chess with a friend. I have a special board on which I play these games. The squares are cut out, so that the men stand in them firmly. The black checkers are flat and the white ones curved on top. Each checker has a hole in the middle in which a brass knob can be placed to distinguish the king from the commons. The chessmen are of two sizes, the white larger than the black, so that I have no trouble in following my opponent's maneuvers by moving my hands lightly over the board after a play. The jar made by shifting the men from one hole to another tells me when it is my turn.

每当雨天把我困在家里的时候，我就会学着其他姑娘们的样子找点有趣的事干干。我喜欢用钩针做一些女红；我会以逍遥自在的方式浏览书籍，这里看一行，那里看一行；我也可能同朋友下盘跳棋或者国际象棋。我有一个专用木板棋盘，棋盘上的方格子都被重新雕琢过，这样棋子就可以稳稳地立在上面。黑色的格子是平的，白色的格子则略微凸出；每一个格子的中心位置都有一个小孔，而其中的一个带有黄铜小圆凸的格子则代表国王的位置。棋子也有两种规格，白棋比黑棋要大一些，这样我就能用手轻轻地在棋盘上摸索，辨别对手的棋路也不会有什么困难。而移动棋子时的微弱振动则提醒我出棋的先后顺序。

If I happen to be all alone and in an idle mood, I play a game of solitaire, of which I am very fond. I use playing cards marked in the upper right-hand corner with braille symbols which indicate the value of the card.

如果碰巧遇到孤身一人且无所事事的情况，我就会兴致盎然地玩一局单人纸牌游戏。当然，在我使用的纸牌的右上角都印有盲文标记，以此可以表明纸牌的大小。

If there are children around, nothing pleases me so much as to frolic with them. I find even the smallest child excellent company, and I am glad to say that children usually like me. They lead me about and show me the things they are interested in. Of course the little ones cannot spell on their fingers; but I manage to read their lips. If I do not succeed they resort to dumb show. Sometimes I make a mistake and do the wrong thing. A burst of childish laughter greets my blunder, and the pantomime begins all over again. I often tell them stories or teach them a game, and the wing閐 hours depart and leave us good and happy.

如果有小孩子在身边，那么再没有比同他们嬉戏更让我高兴的事了。我发现即便是最小的孩子，也能成为我的好伙伴，而且，我可以很荣幸地说，孩子们都喜欢和我一起玩。他们会领着我四处走动，还把他们感兴趣的东西指给我看。当然，小一点的孩子还不会用手指拼写句子，但是我可以设法读懂他们的唇语。有时候我也无法领会他们的“哑语”，难免会做出错误的举动，这时我的失误就会遭到一阵孩子气的哄堂大笑，于是用手势沟通的过程又重新开始。我通常会给他们讲故事或者教他们做游戏，几个小时就这样匆匆流逝，唯有快乐和满足留存在每个人的心中。

Museums and art stores are also sources of pleasure and inspiration. Doubtless it will seem strange to many that the hand unaided by sight can feel action, sentiment, beauty in the cold marble; and yet it is true that I derive genuine pleasure from touching great works of art. As my finger tips trace line and curve, they discover the thought and emotion which the artist has portrayed. I can feel in the faces of gods and heroes hate, courage and love, just as I can detect them in living faces I am permitted to touch. I feel in Diana's posture the grace and freedom of the forest and the spirit that tames the mountain lion and subdues the fiercest passions. My soul delights in the repose and gracious curves of the Venus; and in Barr?s bronzes the secrets of the jungle are revealed to me.

博物馆和艺术品商店是带给我快乐和灵感的另一个源泉。很多人都觉得难以理解——在冷冰冰的大理石雕像面前，不凭借视觉，单靠触摸就能“看到”它的形态、情感和艺术魅力，这可能吗？事实上，我的确从触摸伟大艺术作品的过程中获得了无上的快乐，这一点是确凿无疑的。当我的指尖摸索着起伏的线条时，它们自会发现艺术家作画时的想法和激情。我能在众神和英雄们的脸上触摸到仇恨、勇气和爱怜的表情。当然，也只有在被允许触摸的时候，我才能探查到雕像生动的面容。我在狄安娜的身姿中触摸到了优雅和权威——这位主宰森林生灵的女神有本领驯化凶猛的山狮，也能慑服最狂暴的激情。在维纳斯的优雅曲线和睡姿当中，我感受到了灵魂的喜悦；而芭利的青铜雕像则揭示了丛林的秘密。

A medallion of Homer hangs on the wall of my study, conveniently low, so that I can easily reach it and touch the beautiful, sad face with loving reverence. How well I know each line in that majestic brow--tracks of life and bitter evidences of struggle and sorrow; those sightless eyes seeking, even in the cold plaster, for the light and the blue skies of his beloved Hellas, but seeking in vain; that beautiful mouth, firm and true and tender. It is the face of a poet, and of a man acquainted with sorrow. Ah, how well I understand his deprivation--the perpetual night in which he dwelt--

我书房的墙壁上悬挂着一尊荷马的圆形浮雕，雕像挂得很低，因此我一伸手就可以触摸到荷马那张优美而悲伤的脸。雕像有着庄严的面目表情，我对脸部的每一根线条都了如指掌——生命的轨迹，挣扎的苦涩和忧伤；即使被凝固在冷冰冰的石膏中，（荷马）那双失明的眼睛仍然在探寻，只为了他所至爱的明媚阳光、碧空如洗的希腊，然而寻找是徒劳的。荷马的嘴轮廓优美，显示出坚忍、诚实而温柔的特质。这是一张诗人的脸，一张了解悲伤为何物的男人的脸。哦，我是多么理解他的失明之痛啊——与之相伴的唯有永恒的黑夜：

O dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon,

哦，黑暗，黑暗，黑暗，被正午的光辉围裹，

Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse

无可挽回的黑暗，遮天蔽日

Without all hope of day!

将人间的所有希望摒弃！

In imagination I can hear Homer singing, as with unsteady, hesitating steps he gropes his way from camp to camp--singing of life, of love, of war, of the splendid achievements of a noble race. It was a wonderful, glorious song, and it won the blind poet an immortal crown, the admiration of all ages.

在想象当中，我能听到荷马的歌唱，他拖着蹒跚而踌躇的脚步在营地间逡巡——为生命，爱情，战争和一个高尚民族取得的丰功伟绩而吟唱。这是一首无比绚丽而辉煌的颂歌，它为盲诗人赢得了一顶不朽的王冠，也赢得了世人的景仰赞颂。

I sometimes wonder if the hand is not more sensitive to the beauties of sculpture than the eye. I should think the wonderful rhythmical flow of lines and curves could be more subtly felt than seen. Be this as it may, I know that I can feel the heart-throbs of the ancient Greeks in their marble gods and goddesses.

我有时也想知道，在感知雕塑品的艺术魅力方面，手是否真的比不上眼睛的敏锐。我个人认为，相对于视觉而言，手更能够觉察到雕塑线条的韵律感和其内在的微妙变化。总之，在一尊尊古希腊众神的大理石雕像面前，我能够以自己的独特方式触摸到他们的心跳。

Another pleasure, which comes more rarely than the others, is going to the theatre. I enjoy having a play described to me while it is being acted on the stage far more than reading it, because then it seems as if I were living in the midst of stirring events. It has been my privilege to meet a few great actors and actresses who have the power of so bewitching you that you forget time and place and live again in the romantic past. I have been permitted to touch the face and costume of Miss Ellen Terry as she impersonated our ideal of a queen; and there was about her that divinity that hedges sublimest woe. Beside her stood Sir Henry Irving, wearing the symbols of kingship; and there was majesty of intellect in his every gesture and attitude and the royalty that subdues and overcomes in every line of his sensitive face. In the king's face, which he wore as a mask, there was a remoteness and inaccessibility of grief which I shall never forget.

我的另一个很特别的爱好就是去剧院看戏。大幕拉开，戏剧在舞台上展开——真实剧情带给我的享受远非阅读剧本所能企及，因为动荡起伏的故事情节会让你产生身临其境的感觉。而且，我还享受到了自由会见那几个杰出男女演员的特别待遇，他们的表演具有一种强大的魔力，它可以令你忘却时间和空间的限制，而重新生活在过去的浪漫年代。当艾伦·泰莉小姐扮好人们理想中的王后时，我被允许触摸她的脸和身上的装束。我能感受到她赋予了角色一种庄严的神圣感，以及抑制无尽悲伤的高贵气质。站在她身边的是亨利·欧文爵士，他穿着象征王权的袍服，举手投足之间，无不流露出君王的雄才大略；而含而不露的王家威仪则铭刻在他脸部的每一个纹路上。在国王的脸上，我似乎摸到了一副面具，那种冷漠而难以解读的忧伤令人终身难忘。

I also know Mr. Jefferson. I am proud to count him among my friends. I go to see him whenever I happen to be where he is acting. The first time I saw him act was while at school in New York. He played "Rip Van Winkle." I had often read the story, but I had never felt the charm of Rip's slow, quaint, kind ways as I did in the play. Mr. Jefferson's beautiful, pathetic representation quite carried me away with delight. I have a picture of old Rip in my fingers which they will never lose. After the play Miss Sullivan took me to see him behind the scenes, and I felt of his curious garb and his flowing hair and beard. Mr. Jefferson let me touch his face so that I could imagine how he looked on waking from that strange sleep of twenty years, and he showed me how poor old Rip staggered to his feet.

我还认识了杰弗逊先生，我以结交他这样的朋友为荣。无论什么时候，我去看他的时候他都有演出。我第一次看他的表演是在纽约上学的时候，当时他正在演出《里普·梵·温克尔》。我曾经读过这个故事，可是我从来不觉得里普那慢条斯理、奇特而友善的行为方式有什么过人之处。而杰弗逊先生那优美动人，极具悲剧意味的表演一下子就抓住了我的心。我的手指上“保留着”一幅“老里普”的画像，我永远也不会失去它。演出过后，苏立文小姐带我来到后台，我触摸到了里普那奇特的装束，他飘拂的头发和脸上的胡须。杰弗逊先生让我摸他的脸，这样我就能想象出在他沉睡了二十年之后一朝复苏的样子；而且，他还向我演示了可怜的老里普是如何步履蹒跚地走路的。

I have also seen him in "The Rivals." Once while I was calling on him in Boston he acted the most striking parts of "The Rivals" for me. The reception-room where we sat served for a stage. He and his son seated themselves at the big table, and Bob Acres wrote his challenge. I followed all his movements with my hands, and caught the drollery of his blunders and gestures in a way that would have been impossible had it all been spelled to me. Then they rose to fight the duel, and I followed the swift thrusts and parries of the swords and the waverings of poor Bob as his courage oozed out at his finger ends. Then the great actor gave his coat a hitch and his mouth a twitch, and in an instance I was in the village of Falling Water and felt Schneider's shaggy head against my knee. Mr. Jefferson recited the best dialogues of "Rip Van Winkle," in which the tear came close upon the smile. He asked me to indicate as far as I could the gestures and action that should go with the lines. Of course, I have no sense whatever of dramatic action, and could make only random guesses; but with masterful art he suited the action to the word. The sigh of Rip as he murmurs, "Is a man so soon forgotten when he is gone?" the dismay with which he searches for dog and gun after his long sleep, and his comical irresolution over signing the contract with Derrick--all these seem to be right out of life itself; that is, the ideal life, where things happen as we think they should.

我还在《对手》中看到过他的表演。记得有一次我曾在波士顿拜访过他，而他特别为我表演了《对手》中最精彩的情节。我们见面的会客厅被当做一个临时舞台，他和他的儿子一起坐在一张大桌子旁边，而鲍勃·埃克斯则书写着他的战表。我用双手追随着他的每一次移动，捕捉着他滑稽可笑的肢体语言——在某种程度上，这种“语言”是无法通过拼写的方式传情达意的。终于，他们进行了最后的决斗。我感觉到了双剑击刺闪避时的锋芒，还有鲍勃摇摇晃晃的身形；可怜的鲍勃勇气渐失，他的斗志已经在指端消解殆尽。接着，这位伟大的演员猛地拉下自己的战袍，双唇止不住地抽搐。转瞬之间，我就置身在瀑布村，而且触摸到了施奈德那毛发蓬松的头正抵着我的膝盖。杰弗逊先生背诵了《里普·梵·温克尔》中的精彩对白，这是一段笑中含泪的感人情节。他还详尽地向我介绍了手势和形体应该步调一致的舞台表演经验。当然，无论是多么生动的表演，我全都一无所知，我所能做的只是胡乱猜想而已。但是，他精湛的艺术功力使他赋予表演以生命力，正如他所沉吟的里普的慨叹：“死去的人儿怎么这么快就被人遗忘？”在经历了长眠之后，他怀着失魂落魄的心情寻找他的狗和猎枪，而且，他犹豫不决地同德里克签订合约的举动也十分可笑——所有这些似乎都脱离了生活本身的意义。换句话说，理想的生活状态，应该是依照我们所认定的方式而发生的。

I remember well the first time I went to the theatre. It was twelve years ago. Elsie Leslie, the little actress, was in Boston, and Miss Sullivan took me to see her in "The Prince and the Pauper." I shall never forget the ripple of alternating joy and woe that ran through that beautiful little play, or the wonderful child who acted it. After the play I was permitted to go behind the scenes and meet her in her royal costume. It would have been hard to find a lovelier or more lovable child than Elsie, as she stood with a cloud of golden hair floating over her shoulders, smiling brightly, showing no signs of shyness or fatigue, though she had been playing to an immense audience. I was only just learning to speak, and had previously repeated her name until I could say it perfectly. Imagine my delight when she understood the few words I spoke to her and without hesitation stretched her hand to greet me.

我十分清楚地记得我第一次到剧院看戏时的情景，那是十二年以前的事了。艾尔希·莱斯利，就是那位儿童演员，她当时也在波士顿，她和苏立文小姐带我去看她在《王子与乞丐》中的演出。我永远也不会忘记这出感人的小话剧，尤其是悲喜交加的剧情和儿童演员的精彩表演。演出结束后，我被允许到后台见识一下她的王家装束。我得说，你很难找到一个像莱斯利这么惹人喜爱的小孩了，尤其是当她面带微笑，顶着一头如云般飘逸垂肩的金发默默伫立时，你更感到妙不可言。她丝毫没有流露出胆怯或者疲惫的迹象，尽管她所面对的是台下的一大群观众。那时我只是刚开始学习讲话，于是我预先把“莱斯利”的名字重复了一遍又一遍，直到我能通顺自如地说出口。想象一下，当她听懂了我对她说的几个词语，并且毫不犹豫地伸出手来向我问候时，这该是多么令人高兴的事啊。

Is it not true, then, that my life with all its limitations touches at many points the life of the World Beautiful? Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.

因此，难道不可以这样说——我的生命正是带着它所有的局限性，从许多角度来感受世间万物之美的吗？每一种事物都有它的神奇之处，即使像黑暗和寂静这样的事也不例外。而且，我已经领悟到了生活的真谛，所以无论身处何境，我都会欣然面对。

Sometimes, it is true, a sense of isolation enfolds me like a cold mist as I sit alone and wait at life's shut gate. Beyond there is light, and music, and sweet companionship; but I may not enter. Fate, silent, pitiless, bars the way. Fain would I question his imperious decree, for my heart is still undisciplined and passionate; but my tongue will not utter the bitter, futile words that rise to my lips, and they fall back into my heart like unshed tears. Silence sits immense upon my soul. Then comes hope with a smile and whispers, "There is joy in self-forgetfulness." So I try to make the light in others' eyes my sun, the music in others' ears my symphony, the smile on others' lips my happiness.

有时候，一种与世隔绝的无助感也会将我裹挟，如同将我抛进一股寒冷的雾霭当中，我孤独地坐在那道关闭的生命之门面前苦苦等待。门的那一边有光明，有乐音，有甜蜜的友情；但是我却无法进入。苦难、沉寂、冷酷的命运之手将我挡在门外。于是，我不得不对它（命运）那专横的天条质疑，因为我仍有一颗恣肆昂扬而充满激情的心。但是，我的舌头将不会发出苦难的声音。当徒劳的话语到达嘴边的时候，它们就会像尚未流出的眼泪一样再次退却到我的心房，无边的寂静压在我的心头。这时希望就会微笑着窃窃私语：“喜悦存在于忘我之中。”于是，我努力把我心中的太阳照耀进别人的眼中，把我心中的交响乐在别人的耳中奏响，把我的快乐镌刻在别人的脸庞上。