富有生命的一棵樹 The Lesson of a Tree

沃爾特·惠特曼/Walter Whitman

I should not take either the biggest or the most picturesque tree to illustrate it. Here is one of my favorites now before me, a fine yellow poplar, quite straight, perhaps 90 feet high, and four feet thick at the butt. How strong, vital enduring! How dumbly eloquent! What suggestions of imperturbability and being, as against the human trait of mere seeming. Then the qualities, almost emotional, palpably artistic, heroic, of a tree; so innocent and harmless, yet so savage. It is, yet says nothing. How it rebukes by its tough and equable serenity as weathers, this gusty-temper’d little whiffet, man that runs indoors at a mite of rain or snow. Science (or rather half-way science) scoffs at reminiscence of dryad and hamadryad, and of trees speaking. But, if they don't, they do as well as most speaking, writing, poetry, sermons or rather they do a great deal better. I should say indeed that those old dryad reminiscences are quit as true as any, and profounder than most reminiscences we get. (“Cut this out,”as the quack mediciners say, and keep by you.) Go and sit in a grove or woods, with one or more of those voiceless companions, and read the fore-going, and think.

One lesson from affiliating a tree perhaps the greatest moral lesson anyhow from earth, rock, animals, is that same lesson of inherency, of what is, without the least regard to what the looker (or the critic) supposes or says, or whether he likes or dislikes. What worse what more general malady pervades each and all of us, our literature, education, attitude toward each other, (even toward ourselves,) than a morbid trouble about seems, and no trouble at all, or hardly any, about the sane, slow-growing perennial, real parts of character, books, friendship, marriage humanity's invisible foundations and hold together.

我不會選那棵最大或最獨特的樹來描繪。在我面前，有我最喜歡的一棵樹，那是一棵美麗的黃楊樹，它很直，可能有九十英尺那么高，最粗的地方直徑達四英尺。它是如此強壯！如此富有生命力！如此地挺立在風雨中！又是如此無言而善諭！它所啟示的泰然自若、生存的本質與人生浮華的表象形成了如此鮮明的對比。可以說，一棵樹也是有情感的，它富有生動的藝術性質，它也是英勇無畏的。它是如此天真，不會傷害任何東西，它又是那么原始粗野。它無言地存在著，用自己的堅強、平和、寧靜有力地斥責了風雨雷電以及人類——這個一碰到風吹草動就躲進房子里的沒用的小東西。科學（或者更準確地說是不徹底的科學）對有關樹精、樹仙和會說話的樹等想象嗤之以鼻。然而，即使樹木不會說話，它們卻與大多數的語言、文字、詩歌與訓誡一樣善諭，甚至比它們有過之而無不及。我認為那些關于樹精的古老傳說是非常真實的，甚至比我們大多數人的聯想都更為深刻（“把它砍下來”，騙人的游醫這么說，然后留在你身邊）。請到樹叢中或林地間坐下來，與無言的樹木做伴，然后再把前面的那些話讀一讀、想一想。

人們從一棵樹那里得到的啟示——或者說大地、巖石以及動物賦予人們的最大道德教義，就是它們對于生存的內在本質的提示與觀望者（或批評者）的推測和述說完全無關、與他的喜好與憎惡完全無關。一種疾患在我們每個人和我們大家的心間充斥著，滲透于我們的文學、教育以及對待彼此（甚至自我對待）的態度之中，這便是對表面現象的喋喋不休，而對于人物、書籍、友誼、婚姻中合理的、逐漸增強的、經常存在的真實，亦即人類無形的本質和基礎不予過問或幾乎不加過問。還有什么疾患比這更糟糕、更普遍嗎？

心靈小語

它是一棵樹，不是讓人們以此為榮的千年古柏，也不是讓生物學家激動不已的珍稀樹種。它只是一棵樹，粗不過碗口，但它還是很慶幸老天還算仁慈，給了它結實的體格讓它獨自佇立在這片田地中，沒有因任何一場風暴夭折。

詞匯筆記

illustrate [?il?streit] v. 闡明；舉例說明；圖解；舉例

例 It illustrates that these two scientific departments rely on and affect each other.

這說明，這兩個科學部門是相互依賴、相互影響的。

imperturbability [?imp??t?:b??biliti] n. 冷靜；沉著

例 The imperturbability of the mountains hung upon him like a suit of armor.

高山的寧靜像一套盔甲似的罩在他的身上。

innocent [?in?snt] adj. 天真的；無辜的；無知的

例 I tend to believe he is innocent.

我傾向于相信他是無辜的。

hamadryad [?h?m??drai?d] n. [希臘神話] 樹神；印度產的一種毒蛇

例 This story talks about hamadryad.

這個故事講的是樹神。

小試身手

我不會選那棵最大或最獨特的樹來描繪。

譯_______________

它所啟示的泰然自若、生存的本質與人生浮華的表象形成了如此鮮明的對比。

譯_______________

它是如此天真，不會傷害任何東西，它又是那么原始粗野。

譯_______________

短語家族

Science (or rather half-way science) scoffs at reminiscence of dryad and hamadryad, and of trees speaking.

scoff at：嘲笑；蔑視

造_______________

……they do as well as most speaking, writing, poetry, sermons or rather they do a great deal better.

as well as：除……外（也）；既……又

造_______________