-
7.
东方人认为自己的财富是取之不尽用之不竭的，正如约翰·布尔认
为他的财
富是无穷无尽的。
对于物质资源，
东方人的态度显然是不明智的。
金钱并不是无
穷尽的。
如果我们花费或让出我们全部的金钱，
我们便身无分文。
而且必须承担
后果，这经常是令人不悦的。但是，就精神财富而言，东方人
也许是对的。感情
或许是取之不尽用之不竭的。
我们表达感情越
充分，
我们所要表达的感情就越丰
富。
真爱不同于黄金和泥土，
分享不会使
之减少。
。
。
雪莱写道，
无论怎样，
雪莱相信精神财富是无穷无尽的；
他相信我们可以大量地、
充满激情的在各种场合表达我们的感情；<
/p>
而且我们无论怎么样表现悲哀和欢乐都
不过分。
< br>
8.
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
to be 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 it 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.
They
had
this
extraordinary
appreciation
of fact that we shall notice again and again. When
a disaster comes, the
English instinct
is to do what can be done first, and to postpone
the feeling as long as
possible. Hence
they are splendid at emergencies. No doubt they
are brave
—
no one
will deny
that
—
but bravery is partly
an affair of the nerves, and the English nervous
system is well equipped for meeting a
physical emergency. It acts promptly and feels
slowly. Such a combination is fruitful,
and anyone who possesses it has gone a long
way toward being brave. And when the
action is over, then the Englishmen can feel.
我已通过上面的轶事描绘出一个典型的英国人了。
现在我将从这个眩晕又
不
熟悉的高度降下来，
继续评论英国人的性格特点，
关于英国人迟钝的特点。
英国
人表面上冷漠而且无
感情，
因为他们确实迟钝。
每当有事发生，
英国人会迅速弄
清楚事情的来龙去脉，
但是他们需要一段时
间才能在感情上作出反应。
从前一辆
马车正驶过阿尔卑斯山，<
/p>
车上坐着英国人和法国人。
拉车的马脱缰，
马车在冲过
桥时刮到了桥上的石头，
马车来回摇晃，
险些跌进桥下的沟壑。
法国人极度恐惧：
他们肆
意尖叫，
慌张地挥动双臂胡乱冲撞。
而英国人则相当镇静的坐着
。
一小时
后，
马车停在一家小旅馆前换
马，
此时情形发生了逆转。
法国人完全忘却了危险，
快乐地闲谈着；
而此时英国人则刚刚感受到危险，
其中一个人还因患了精神分裂
而必须卧床休息。
由此可见，
两个民族在身体上存在明显差异，
正是这一差异对
< br>其性格特点产生了重大影响。
法国人的反应迅速及时，
而
英国人则需要过一段时
间才能做出反应。
英国人迟钝而又实际。
英国人的本能制止他们在马车中摇来摆
去，
因为如果他们这样做，
更容易翻车。
英国人注意的是我们应
该一再注意的事
实。
当灾难来临时，
英
国人的本能是去做最先能做的事，
并且尽量推迟感情的到
来。因
此英国人在紧急情况下异常镇静。无疑他们是勇敢的，这一点毋庸置疑，
但是勇敢的性情
归功于精神功能，
而英国人的神经系统是为身体上的紧急情况而
准备的。英国人行动迅捷，感觉迟缓。二者的结合的确有用，具备这一结合的人
多半都很
勇敢。动作结束时，英国人才会有感觉。
13.
Jane Austen may seem an odd
authority to cite, but Jane Austen has, within her
limits, a marvelous insight into the
English mind. Her range is limited, her characters
never attempt any of the more scarlet
sins. But she has a merciless eye for questions
of
conduct,
and
the
classical
example
of
two
English
people
muddling
themselves
before
they
embark
upon
a
wrong
course
of
action
is
to
be
found
in
the
opening
chapters of
Sense and
Sensibility
. Old Mr. Dashwood has just
died. He has been twice
married.
By
his
first
marriage
he
has
a
son,
John;
by
his
marriage
three
daughters.
The
son
is
well
off;
the
young
ladies
and
their
mother
—
for
Mr.
Dashwood
’
s
second
wife
survives
him
—
are
badly
off.
He
has
called
his
son
to
his
deathbed
and
has
solemnly
adjured
him
to
provide
for
the
second
family.
Much
moved, the
young man
promises,
and mentally
decides to
give each of his
sisters a
thousand
pounds;
and
then
the
comedy
begins.
For
he
announces
his
generous
intention to
his wife, and Mrs. John Dashwood by no
means approves of depriving
their own
little boy of so large a sum. The thousand pounds
are accordingly reduced
to
five
hundred.
But
even
this
seems
rather
much.
Might
not
an
annuity
to
the
stepmother be less of a wrench?
Yes
—
but though less of a
wrench it might be more of
a drain ,
for
“
she is very stout and
healthy, and scarcely
forty.
”
An occasional
present
of fifty pounds will be better,
“and
will, I think, be amply
discharging my promise to
my
father
”
.
Or, better still,
an
occasional
present
of fish.
And in the end nothing is
done, nothing; the four impecunious
ladies are not even helped in the moving of their
furniture.
这里把简·
奥
斯汀作为权威来引用似乎有些奇怪，
但是简·
奥斯汀已经在她<
/p>
有限的范围内非凡地洞察了英国人的思维。
他的世界是有限的，<
/p>
然而她的性格从
未尝试任何重罪。但在观察行为问题时，她的目光
尖锐无情。她的小说《理智与
情感》
的前几章提供了一个经典例
子，
是我们看到两个英国人在走上一条错误道
路之前是如何先犯
糊涂的。
老达什伍德先生刚刚去世。
他有过两次婚姻，
第一次
婚姻为他留下一个儿子约翰，
第二次婚姻
为他留下三个女儿。
他的儿子富有，
而
比他长寿的第二个妻子和三个女儿则贫困。
他把儿子叫到病榻前，
郑重地将一家
人托付给他。
备受感动的年轻人答应了父亲的要
求，
并暗下决心给每个妹妹
1000
英
镑，
随后戏剧性的情节开始了。
由于约翰·
达什伍德象棋子宣布了自己慷慨的
意图，而太太当然不同意让别人来剥夺自己儿子的
财产。于是
1000
英镑减少俄
日
500
英镑。
即使这个数目也太多了，
那么向继母支付赡养费会不会减少失财的
痛苦？会的，但是减少痛苦
会增加支出，因为“她现在相当强壮、健康，而且还
不到
40<
/p>
岁。
”
现在付
5
0
英镑也许更好，
“而且我认为，
我也
完全履行了对父亲的
诺言。
”最好什么都不给，反正父亲已经死
了。最终什么都没有，什么都没有，
甚至没有帮四位身无分文的女士搬运家具。
16.
Here is the
place to glance at some of the other charges that
have been brought
against the English
as a
nation.
They
have, for instance, been accused of treachery,
cruelty, and fanaticism. In these
charges I have never been able to see the least
point,
because treachery and cruelty
are conscious sins. The man knows he is doing
wrong,
and does it deliberately, like
Tartuffe or Iago. He betrays his friend because he
wishes
to. He tortures his prisoners
because he enjoyes seeing the blood flow. He
worships
the Devil because he prefers
evil to good. From villainies such as these the
average
Englishman
is
free.
His
character,
which
prevents
his
rising
to
certain
heights,
also
prevents him from sinking to these
depths. Because he does not produce mystics he
does not produce villains either; he
gives the world no prophets, but no anarchists, no
fanatics
—
religiou
s or political.
下面来谈论一下对英国人的其他指控。
比如，
英国人被指控狡诈、
残忍与狂
热。
我认为这些指责是名不副实的，
因为狡诈和残忍是
有意识的罪恶。
人们知道
自己做错了，
仍然一意孤行，
就像塔图夫或者雅阁一样。
他出卖朋友因为他喜
欢
如此。
他折磨犯人，
因为他喜欢看见
流血。
他向恶魔顶礼膜拜因为他喜欢恶而不
喜欢善。
普通的英国人没有这样的恶行。
他的性格阻碍他上升到一定高度，
同时
也不会让他堕落到如此糟糕的地步。正因为普通的英国人不会成为神
秘主义者，
因此他们不会成为恶棍，
他们既不为世界造就预言家
，
也不会给世界带来无政府
主义或者宗教与政治的狂热分子。<
/p>
19.
I hope and
believe myself that in the next twenty years we
shall see a great change,
and that the
national character will alter into something that
is less unique but more
lovable. The
supremacy of the middle classes is probably
ending. What new element
the working
classes will introduce one cannot say, but at all
events they will not have
been educated
at public schools. And whether these notes praise
or blame the English
character that is
only incidental. They are the notes of a student
who is trying to get at
the truth and
would value the assistance of others. I believe
myself that the truth is
great and that
it shall prevail. I have no faith in official
caution and reticence. The cats
are
all
out
of
their
bags,
and
diplomacy
cannot
recall
them.
The
nations
must
understand
one
another,
and
quickly;
and
without
the
interposition
of
their
governments, for the
shrinkage of the globe is throwing them into one
another
’
s arms.
To
that
understanding
these
notes
are
a
feeble
contribution
—
notes
on
the
English
character as it has
struck a novelist.
我希望并相信我们可以在未来的
20
年中亲眼目睹一个巨大变化，看到英国人的
性格
特点变得更普遍、
更可爱。
中产阶级的不可一世也许会终结。<
/p>
我们无法确定
工人阶级会引入哪些新的因素，但是无论如何他们将
不会在公学体制下受教育。
上述各点是赞扬还是指责英国人的性格并不是一成不变的。<
/p>
它们是一个追求真知
的学生的笔记，将珍视他人的协助。我相信真
相的伟大并且认为应该将其推广。
我不相信官方的谨慎与缄默。
秘密已经公开，
外交也无法将其挽回。
各民族必须
互相了解，而且要快，不要政府的插手与干预，因为世界在缩小，这使得各国不
可避免地要进行接触。
理解上述笔记只是一点微薄的贡献
—<
/p>
一个小说家对英国人
性格的印象。