02　Beauty Is Meaningless美是難以言傳的

A young man sees a sunset and, unable to understand or to express the emotion that it rouses in him, concludes that it must be the gateway to a world that lies beyond. It is difficult for any of us in moments of intense aesthetic experience to resist the suggestion that we are catching a glimpse of a light that shines down to us from a different realm of existence, different and, because the experience is intensely moving, in some way higher.And though the gleams blind the eyes and dazzle, yet they do convey a hint of beauty and serenity greater than we have known or imagined.Greater too than we can describe, for language, which was invented to convey the meanings of this world, cannot readily be fitted to the uses of another.

年輕人看到日落，由于無(wú)法理解或表達(dá)心中激起的那種強(qiáng)烈感情，便斷定日落處一定是通往遙遠(yuǎn)世界的大門。我們?nèi)魏稳嗽趶?qiáng)烈感受到美的時(shí)刻都不禁聯(lián)想到：我們似乎瞥見(jiàn)從一個(gè)不同世界射向我們的一線光芒，不僅不同，而且因?yàn)檫@種美具有強(qiáng)烈的感染力，所以在某種程度上更高級(jí)。還有，盡管這光芒使人眼花繚亂，但它確實(shí)傳達(dá)了一種我們未曾經(jīng)歷的和無(wú)法想象的美和靜謐的啟示。這種美和靜謐是我們所不能描述的，因?yàn)槿藗儎?chuàng)造語(yǔ)言的目的是表達(dá)我們的世界的各種意義，無(wú)法輕易地運(yùn)用于另一個(gè)世界。

That all great art has this power of suggesting a world beyond is undeniable. In some moods, nature shares it.There is no sky in June so blue that it does not point forward to a bluer, no sunset so beautiful that it does not wake the vision of a greater beauty, a vision which passes before it is fully glimpsed, and in passing leaves an indefinable longing and regret.But, if this world is not merely a bad joke, life a vulgar flare amid the cool radiance of the stars, and existence an empty laugh braying across the mysteries, if these intimations of a something behind and beyond are not evil humor born of indigestion, or whimsies sent by the devil to mock and madden us, if, in a word, beauty means something, yet we must not seek to interpret the meaning.

不可否認(rèn)，一切偉大的藝術(shù)都具有使人超塵脫俗的浮想的力量。在某種狀態(tài)下，大自然就具有這種魅力。六月的天空不是藍(lán)得不能再藍(lán)，日落不是美得不能再喚起一個(gè)更美的景象，一個(gè)未被飽覽就消失的而且在消失的時(shí)候留給人們一種莫名的渴望和遺憾的景象。但是，如果這個(gè)世界不只是一場(chǎng)惡作劇的話，如果生命不只是慘淡星光里的平凡的一閃的話，如果存在不只是神秘宗教發(fā)出的一陣空虛的笑聲的話，如果對(duì)某種玄妙事物的暗示不是由于消化不良而引起的不好情緒，或者不是一種魔鬼送來(lái)嘲笑我們并使我們發(fā)狂的怪念頭的話，一句話，如果美有某種意義的話，我們千萬(wàn)不要設(shè)法去闡明它的意義。

If we glimpse the unutterable things, it is not wise to try to utter it, nor should we seek to invest with significance which we cannot grasp. Beauty in the terms of human meanings is meaningless.

如果我們瞥見(jiàn)難以言傳的東西，企圖用語(yǔ)言把它表達(dá)出來(lái)是不明智的。我們也不應(yīng)該設(shè)法給我們所不理解的事物賦予意義。從人生各種意義來(lái)看，美是難以言傳的。

單詞解析　Word Analysis

rouse[ra?z]v.喚醒；激起

例　He’s very hard to rouse in the morning.

他早晨很難被喚醒。

gateway[?ge?twe?]n.門；通路

例　We stood by the gateway watching the sunset.

我們站在門口看日落。

aesthetic[es?θet?k]adj.美學(xué)的；審美的；有美感的

例　From an aesthetic point of view it’s thetic.

從美學(xué)觀點(diǎn)來(lái)說(shuō)，這是個(gè)武斷的看法。

realm[relm]n.領(lǐng)域；王國(guó)

例　The material realm is one area that everyone relates to.

物質(zhì)領(lǐng)域是與每個(gè)人有聯(lián)系的一個(gè)地方。

gleam[gli?m]n.微光；閃光；閃現(xiàn)

例　I could see the faint gleam of light in the distance.

我能看見(jiàn)遠(yuǎn)處微弱的燈光。

dazzle[?d?zl]v.使眼花；使贊許

例　His eyes dazzled before the strong light.

他面對(duì)強(qiáng)光頭暈?zāi)垦！?/p>

hint[h?nt]n.暗示

例　There were subtle hints in his letter.

他的信中有些微妙的暗示。

serenity[s??ren?ti]n.寧?kù)o；沉著

例　I enjoyed the serenity and the peacefulness when I was in the church.

當(dāng)我身處大教堂時(shí)感到平和與寧?kù)o。

vulgar[?v?lg?r]adj.通俗的；粗俗的；鄉(xiāng)土的

例　Her taste in clothing is rather vulgar.

她的穿著相當(dāng)俗氣。

amid[??m?d]prep.在其間；在其中

例　He sat down amid deafening applause.

他在震耳欲聾的掌聲中就座。

radiance[?re?di?ns]n.光輝；輻射

例　The radiance of electric lights radiates from the ceiling.

電燈的光芒從天花板上輻射下來(lái)。

whimsy[?w?mzi]n.怪念頭；異想天開(kāi)；心情浮動(dòng)；反復(fù)無(wú)常

例　Some show cars are pure whimsy, dreamed up by young designers at play.

展出的車型中有些純屬異想天開(kāi)，只是年輕設(shè)計(jì)師們閑來(lái)無(wú)事的憑空想象。

madden[?m?dn]v.使發(fā)狂；激怒

例　I cannot reconcile myself to this idea—it would madden me.

我不能接受這種想法，它會(huì)使我發(fā)瘋的。

interpret[?n?t??rpr?t]v.口譯；解釋；翻譯；詮釋

例　Not everybody agreed with the way she interpreted the violin concerts, but it was still a technically perfect performance.

并非每個(gè)人都同意她對(duì)那首小提琴協(xié)奏曲的詮釋，但是她的演奏在技巧上仍是無(wú)懈可擊。

語(yǔ)法知識(shí)點(diǎn)　Grammar Points

①A young man sees a sunset and, unable to understand or to express the emotion that it rouses in him, concludes that it must be the gateway to a world that lies beyond.

這是一個(gè)較為復(fù)雜的句子。句子的主干“A young man sees a sunset and concludes that it must be the gateway to a world that lies beyond.”中有兩個(gè)that，其中第一個(gè)that　引導(dǎo)的是賓語(yǔ)從句，that　在從句中不充當(dāng)成分；第二個(gè)that引導(dǎo)的是定語(yǔ)從句，先行詞是world, that　在從句中充當(dāng)主語(yǔ)。另外，兩個(gè)逗號(hào)中間的部分“unable to understand or to express the emotion that it rouses in him”做主語(yǔ)補(bǔ)語(yǔ)，是補(bǔ)充解釋說(shuō)明主語(yǔ)“A young man”的。

例　He arrived at home at ten p.m.，tired and hungry.

他晚上十點(diǎn)才到家，又累又餓。

②It is difficult for any of us in moments of intense aesthetic experience to resist the suggestion that we are catching a glimpse of a light that shines down to us from a different realm of existence, different and, because the experience is intensely moving, in some way higher.

這個(gè)句子用了“It is+adj.+for sb.to do sth.”這一句型。其中，it做形式主語(yǔ)，真正的主語(yǔ)是后面的to do　不定式。因?yàn)橹髡Z(yǔ)較長(zhǎng)，為了避免頭重腳輕，所以用了it來(lái)做形式主語(yǔ)。

例　It is very necessary for students to study hard.

對(duì)學(xué)生來(lái)說(shuō)，用功讀書是很必要的。

句中有兩個(gè)that。其中，第一個(gè)that引導(dǎo)的是同位語(yǔ)從句，suggestion是先行詞，從句是對(duì)suggestion的解釋說(shuō)明，從句是一個(gè)完整的句子，that在從句中不充當(dāng)成分；第二個(gè)that引導(dǎo)的是定語(yǔ)從句，先行詞是light, that在從句中充當(dāng)主語(yǔ)。

例　The news that the team of our school won the game excited us.

我們學(xué)校的球隊(duì)贏得比賽的消息令我們十分振奮。

后面的兩個(gè)逗號(hào)之間的“because the experience is intensely moving”是插入語(yǔ)。分析句子結(jié)構(gòu)時(shí)可忽略不看。

③If we glimpse the unutterable things, it is not wise to try to utter it, nor should we seek to invest with significance that which we cannot grasp.

這個(gè)句子中有部分倒裝結(jié)構(gòu)“nor should we seek to……”。以no, nor, only in this way, never, little, often, not only, not until, hardly, scarcely　等詞引起的句子，常用倒裝語(yǔ)序。

例　Under no circumstances must a soldier leave his post.

無(wú)論在什么情況下，士兵都不會(huì)離開(kāi)他的崗位。

I couldn't answer the question. Nor could anyone else answer in our class.

我回答不出這個(gè)問(wèn)題，我們班上的其他人也都回答不出來(lái)。

經(jīng)典名句　Famous Classics

1.Make the best of a bad business（or job or bargain）.

身處山窮水盡，力爭(zhēng)柳暗花明。

2.How often are we to die before we go quite off the stage?In every friend we lose a part of ourselves, and the best part.

在我們完全離開(kāi)這個(gè)世界以前，我們是怎樣慢慢死去的呢？每次失去一個(gè)朋友，我們就有一部分死去了，而且是最好的那一部分。

3.True mastery of any skill takes a lifetime.

對(duì)任何技能的掌握都需要一生的刻苦操練。

4.Sweat is the lubricant of success.

汗水是成功的潤(rùn)滑劑。

5.You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

通過(guò)對(duì)別人感興趣來(lái)交朋友比試圖讓別人對(duì)你感興趣來(lái)交朋友要快得多。

6.If you are doing your best, you will not have to worry about failure.

如果你竭盡全力，你就不用擔(dān)心失敗。

7.Energy and persistence conquer all things.

能量和堅(jiān)持可以征服一切事情。

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