Solitude

I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company，even with the best，is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is always alone，let him be where he will. Solitude is not measured by the miles of space that intervene between a man and his fellows. The really diligent student in one of the crowded hives of Cambridge College is as solitary as a dervish in the desert. The farmer can work alone in the field or the woods all day，hoeing or chopping，and not feel lonesome，because he is employed；but when he comes home at night he cannot sit down in a room alone，at the mercy of his thoughts，but must be where he can see the folks and recreate，and，as he thinks，remunerate himself for his day’s solitude；and hence he wonders how the student can sit alone in the house all night and most of the day without ennui and the blues；but he does not realize that the student，though in the house，is still at work in his field，and chopping in his woods，as the farmer in his，and in turn seeks the same recreation and society that the latter does，though it may be a more condensed form of it.

我發(fā)現(xiàn)人若大部分時(shí)間用于獨(dú)處，將有益身心。與人為伴，即使是摯友，也很快會(huì)有厭煩或虛度光陰的感覺(jué)。我愛(ài)獨(dú)處，我發(fā)現(xiàn)沒(méi)有比獨(dú)處更好的伴侶了。出國(guó)，身在

Solitude

I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company，even with the best，is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is always alone，let him be where he will. Solitude is not measured by the miles of space that intervene between a man and his fellows. The really diligent student in one of the crowded hives of Cambridge College is as solitary as a dervish in the desert. The farmer can work alone in the field or the woods all day，hoeing or chopping，and not feel lonesome，because he is employed；but when he comes home at night he cannot sit down in a room alone，at the mercy of his thoughts，but must be where he can see the folks and recreate，and，as he thinks，remunerate himself for his day’s solitude；and hence he wonders how the student can sit alone in the house all night and most of the day without ennui and the blues；but he does not realize that the student，though in the house，is still at work in his field，and chopping in his woods，as the farmer in his，and in turn seeks the same recreation and society that the latter does，though it may be a more condensed form of it.

我發(fā)現(xiàn)人若大部分時(shí)間用于獨(dú)處，將有益身心。與人為伴，即使是摯友，也很快會(huì)有厭煩或虛度光陰的感覺(jué)。我愛(ài)獨(dú)處，我發(fā)現(xiàn)沒(méi)有比獨(dú)處更好的伴侶了。出國(guó)，身在

熙攘的人群中，要比退守陋室更讓人寂寞。心有所想、身有所系的人總是孤身一人，不論他身在何地。獨(dú)處與否也不是由人與人之間的距離來(lái)確定的。在劍橋苦讀的學(xué)子雖身在蜂巢般擁擠的教室，實(shí)際上卻和沙漠中的苦行僧一樣，是在獨(dú)處。農(nóng)人終日耕于田間，伐于山野，此時(shí)他雖孤單但并不寂寞，因他專心于工作；但待到他日暮而息，卻未必能忍受形影相吊、空有思緒做伴的時(shí)光，他必到“可以看見(jiàn)大伙兒”的去處去找樂(lè)子，如他所認(rèn)為的那樣以補(bǔ)償白日里的孤獨(dú)。因此他無(wú)法理解學(xué)子如何能終日獨(dú)坐而不心生厭倦或倍感凄涼。然而他沒(méi)有意識(shí)到，學(xué)子雖身在學(xué)堂，但心系勞作，他是耕于心田，伐于學(xué)林，這正如農(nóng)人一樣，學(xué)子在尋找的無(wú)非是和他一樣的快樂(lè)與陪伴，只是形式更為簡(jiǎn)潔罷了。

Society is commonly too cheap. We meet at very short intervals，not having had time to acquire any new value from each other. We meet at meals three times a day，and give each other a new taste of that old musty cheese that we are. We have had to agree on a certain set of rules，called etiquette and politeness，to make this frequent meeting tolerable and that we need not come to open war. We meet at the post-office，and at the sociable，and at the fireside every night；we live thick and are in each other’s way，and stumble over one another，and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another. Certainly less frequency would suffice for all important and hearty communications. Consider the girls in a factory—neveralone，hardly in their dreams. It would be better if there were but one inhabitant to a square mile，as where I live. The value of a man is not in his skin，that we should touch him.

與人交往通常都因唾手可得而毫無(wú)價(jià)值，在頻繁的相處中，我們無(wú)暇從彼此獲得新價(jià)值。我們每日三餐相聚，反復(fù)讓彼此重新審視的也是依舊故我，并無(wú)新奇之處。為此我們要循規(guī)蹈矩，稱其為懂禮儀、講禮貌，以便在這些頻繁接觸中相安無(wú)事，無(wú)論論戰(zhàn)有辱斯文。我們相遇在郵局，邂逅在社交場(chǎng)所，圍坐在夜晚的爐火旁，交情甚好，彼此干擾著，糾纏著，實(shí)際上我認(rèn)為這樣我們都或多或少失去了對(duì)彼此的尊重。對(duì)于所有重要的傾心交流，相見(jiàn)不必過(guò)頻。想想工廠里的女孩，她們雖不落單，但也少有夢(mèng)想。像我這樣方圓一英里僅一人居住，那情況會(huì)更好。人的價(jià)值非在肌膚相親，而在心有靈犀。

I have a great deal of company in my house；especially in the morning，when nobody calls. Let me suggest a few comparisons，that someone may convey an idea of my situation. I am no more lonely than the loon in the pond that laughs so loud，or than Walden Pond itself. What company has that lonely lake，I pray?

我的房子里有很多伙伴，尤其是在無(wú)人造訪的清晨。我把自己和周圍事物對(duì)比了一下，你或許能窺見(jiàn)我生活的一角。比起那湖中長(zhǎng)笑的潛鳥(niǎo)，還有那湖，我并不比它們孤獨(dú)多少。你看：這孤單的湖又何以為伴呢？

And yet it has not the blue devils，but the blue angels in it，in the azure tint of its waters. The sun is alone，except in thick weather，when there sometimes appear to be two，but one is a mock sun. God is alone，but the devil is far from being alone，he sees a great deal of company，he is legion. I am no more lonely than a single mullein or dandelion in a pasture，or a bean leaf，or sorrel，or a horse-fly，or a bumblebee. I am no more lonely than the Mill brook，or a weathercock，or the north star，or the south wind，or an April shower，or a January thaw，or the first spider in a new house.

然而它那一灣天藍(lán)的湖水里有的卻是天使的純凈，而非魔鬼的憂郁。太陽(yáng)是孤獨(dú)的，雖然時(shí)而在陰郁的天空里會(huì)出現(xiàn)兩個(gè)太陽(yáng)，但其中之一為幻日；上帝是孤獨(dú)的，而魔鬼從不孤獨(dú)，他永遠(yuǎn)不乏伙伴，因從他者甚眾。比起牧場(chǎng)上的一朵毛蕊花、一支蒲公英、一片豆葉、一束蚱漿草、一只牛蟒或大黃蜂來(lái)，我并不孤單多少；比起密爾溪、風(fēng)標(biāo)、北極星、南風(fēng)、四月春雨、正月融雪，或者新房中的第一只蜘蛛，我也并不覺(jué)得更加孤獨(dú)。

Vocabulary：

1. dissipate v. 浪費(fèi)（金錢或時(shí)間）

2. dervish n.伊斯蘭教的托缽僧，苦修僧人

3. hoe v. 用鋤耕地，鋤

4. remunerate v. 酬勞

5. ennui n. 倦怠，厭倦

6. musty adj.發(fā)霉的，有霉味的，冷淡的

7. etiquette n. 禮節(jié)

8. loon n.懶人，笨蛋，（動(dòng)物）潛鳥(niǎo)

9. azure adj.天藍(lán)的，蔚藍(lán)的

10. legion n. 眾多，大批

11. mullein n. （植物）毛蕊花屬的植物

12. dandelion n. 蒲公英

（文章來(lái)源于網(wǎng)絡(luò)，有刪改）