On Reading in Bed論臥讀

阿爾弗雷德·喬治·加德納

Among the few legacies that my father left me was a great talent for sleeping. I think I can say， without boasting， that in a sleeping match I could do as well as any man. I can sleep long， I can sleep often， and I can sleep sound. When I put my head on the pillow I pass into a fathomless peace where no dreams come， and about eight hours later I emerge to consciousness， as though I have come up from the deeps of infinity.

父親留給我為數(shù)寥寥的幾筆遺產(chǎn)，其中之一是超常的睡覺本領(lǐng)?？梢哉f，在一場酣睡比賽中，我的表現(xiàn)定不會(huì)遜于其他任何人，這并非自夸。我可以睡得很久，可以頻繁入睡，可以睡得香甜。我只要頭一沾枕頭就能進(jìn)入一種無底的靜謐狀態(tài)，半點(diǎn)夢都不會(huì)做，約摸八個(gè)小時(shí)后才會(huì)醒，仿佛從無盡深淵中走出。

That is my normal way， but occasionally I have periods of wakefulness in the middle of the night. My sleep is then divided into two chapters， and between the chapters there is a slab of unmitigated1 dreariness. It is my hour of pessimism. The tide has ebbed， the water is dead-low， and there is a vista of endless mud. It is then that this tragi-comedy of life touches bottom， and I see the heavens all hung with black. I despair of humanity， I despair of the war， I despair of myself. There is not one gleam of light in all the sad landscape， and the abyss seems waiting at my feet to swallow me up with everything that I cherish. It is no use saying to this demon of the darkness that I know he is a humbug2， a mere Dismal Jemmy of the brain， who sits there croaking like a night owl or a tenth-rate journalist. My Dismal Jemmy is not to be exorcised by argument. He can only be driven out by a little sane companionship.

我一向如此，但偶爾也在半夜失眠。我的睡眠因此分做了兩節(jié)。其間清醒時(shí)，我覺得極其沉悶。這是我的悲觀時(shí)段。潮水退去，水位漸低，呈現(xiàn)在眼前的是一望無際的泥沼。彼時(shí)彼刻，人生的悲喜劇觸底，我的思想被一片漆黑的夜空霸占。我對(duì)人性絕望，對(duì)戰(zhàn)爭絕望，對(duì)自己絕望。在這漫天凄涼的風(fēng)景里，我看不到一絲光亮，深淵似乎就在我腳下，要把我和我所珍愛的一切全都吞掉。我想對(duì)這個(gè)黑暗魔鬼說我知道他是個(gè)耍把戲的騙子，不過是個(gè)存在于頭腦中的憂郁化身，坐在那里像夜貓子或差勁的記者那樣呱噪。但說這些毫無用處。這可憐的憂郁化身不會(huì)輕易被罵聲驅(qū)除，只能用幾分清醒的同伴之誼把他趕走。

So I turn on a light and call for one of my bedside friends. They stand there in noble comradeship， ready to talk， willing to remain silent， only asking to do my pleasure. Oh， blessed be the name of Gutenberg3， the Master Printer. A German？ I care not. Even if he had been a Prussian—which I rejoice to think he was not—I would still say： “Blessed be the name of Gutenberg，” though Sir Richard Cooper， M.P.， sent me to the Tower4 for it.

于是我打開燈，從床邊隨手抓起一本書。這些書可真把我當(dāng)朋友，一本本立在那兒隨時(shí)可與我交談，也愿保持沉默，全隨我高興。噢，上帝保佑那個(gè)叫古騰堡的人——活字印刷大師。是個(gè)德國人？我不在乎。就算他是普魯士人——我樂意認(rèn)為他不是——我還是會(huì)說：“上帝保佑這個(gè)叫古騰堡的人?！敝徊贿^這樣的話讓國會(huì)議員理查德·庫珀爵士聽到，大概會(huì)把我關(guān)進(jìn)監(jiān)獄。

For Gutenberg is the Prometheus not of legend but of history. He brought down the sacred flame and scattered the darkness that lay on the face of the waters. He gave us the Daily Owl， it is true， but he made us also freemen of time and thought， companions of the saints and the sages， sharers in the wisdom and the laughter of the ages. Thanks to him I can， for the expenditure of a few shillings， hear Homer sing and Socrates talk and Rabelais laugh; I can go chivvying5 the sheep with Don Quixote and roaming the hills with Borrow; I can carry the whole universe of Shakespeare in my pocket， and call up spirits to drive Dismal Jemmy from my pillow.

因?yàn)楣膨v堡是普羅米修斯般的人物，不是神話傳說中的，而是人類歷史上的啟明人。他送來了神圣的火種，驅(qū)散了彌漫在水面上的黑暗。的確，他讓我們看到了《貓頭鷹日?qǐng)?bào)》，但他使我們成為時(shí)間和思想上的逍遙客，圣人和智者的伙伴，智慧的分享者和時(shí)代的快樂源泉。多虧了他，我花幾先令，就能聽荷馬吟唱，聽蘇格拉底演講，聽拉伯雷大笑。我可以和堂吉訶德一起趕羊，同博羅一起漫游山丘；我可以將莎士比亞的整個(gè)天地裝在口袋里，還可以召喚神靈來把憂郁化身從枕邊趕走。

Who are these spirits？ In choosing them it is necessary to avoid the deep-browed argumentative fellows. I do not want Plato or Gibbon or any of the learned brotherhood by my bedside， nor the poets， nor the novelists， nor the dramatists， nor even the professional humorists. These are all capital fellows in their way， but let them stay downstairs. To the intimacy of the bedside I admit only the kindly fellows who come in their dressing-gowns and slippers， so to speak， and sit down and just talk to you as though they had known you ever since you were a little nipper6， and your father and your grandfather before you. Of course， there is old Montaigne7. What a glorious gossip he is！ What strange things he has to tell you， what a noble candour8 he shows！ He turns out his mind as carelessly as a boy turns out his pockets， and gives you the run of9 his whole estate. You may wander everywhere， and never see a board warning you to keep off the grass or reminding you that you are a trespasser.

這些神靈是誰呢？在抉擇的時(shí)候，我定要避免那些睿智好辯的家伙。我不想讓柏拉圖、吉本這樣博學(xué)的伙計(jì)出現(xiàn)在我的床邊，也不想讓詩人、小說家、劇作家乃至幽默作家伴我入睡。這些人都是各自領(lǐng)域的大人物，且讓他們留在樓下吧。為了確保床邊的親密氛圍，我只允許那些和藹可親的人進(jìn)來，這些人就像穿著睡衣和拖鞋，坐下來同你聊天，仿佛他們在你孩童時(shí)期就認(rèn)識(shí)你，還比你更早認(rèn)識(shí)你的父親和祖父。當(dāng)然，老蒙田算一個(gè)。他是個(gè)多么健談的人啊！他講給你聽的事多么新奇，他表現(xiàn)得無比坦蕩！他就像孩子漫不經(jīng)心地翻口袋般道出他的思想，讓你自由出入他的整個(gè)莊園。你可以到處逛，不會(huì)看到讓你遠(yuǎn)離草坪的警示或提醒你是非法侵入者的告示牌。

And Bozzy10. Who could do without Bozzy by his bedside—dear， garrulous old Bozzy， most splendid of toadies， most miraculous of reporters？ When Bozzy begins to talk to me， and the old Doctor growls “Sir，” all the worries and anxieties of life fall magically away， and Dismal Jemmy vanishes like the ghost at cock-crow. I am no longer imprisoned in time and the flesh： I am of the company of the immortals. I share their triumphant aloofness from the play that fills our stage and see its place in the scheme of the unending drama of men.

還有鮑齊。誰能沒有他在自己的床邊呢。老頑童鮑齊，喋喋不休的一流馬屁精，最非凡的記錄者。當(dāng)鮑齊開始和我聊天，老約翰遜博士咆哮著“先生”時(shí)，生活中的所有煩惱和焦慮都奇跡般消失了，陰魂不散的憂郁化身像黎明破曉時(shí)分的鬼魂般悄然消散。我不再被時(shí)間和肉體囚禁；我與不朽同在。我和他們一樣，對(duì)舞臺(tái)正上演的這場戲抱持洋洋得意的超然態(tài)度，看得清它在人類無休止的戲劇體系中的一席之地。

That sly rogue Pepys11， of course， is there—more thumb-stained than any of them except Bozzy. What a miracle is this man who lives more vividly in our eyes than any creature that ever walked the earth！ What was the secret of his magic？ Is it not this， that he succeeded in putting down on paper the real truth about himself？ A small thing？ Well， you try it. You will find it the hardest job you have ever tackled. No matter what you adopt you will discover that you cannot tell yourself the whole truth about yourself. Pepys did that. Benvenuto Cellini12 pretended to do that， but I refuse to believe the fellow. Benjamin Franklin tried to do it and very nearly succeeded. St. Augustine13 was frank enough about his early wickedness， but it was the overcharged frankness of the subsequent saint. No， Pepys is the man. He did the thing better than it has ever been done in this world.

當(dāng)然，那個(gè)狡猾的流氓佩皮斯也在我的選擇之列——他比其他任何人的劣跡都多，只有鮑齊可以與之相較。令人驚嘆的是，在我們眼中，這個(gè)人比地球上任何生物都要鮮活！他如此神奇的秘訣是什么？將自己如實(shí)記錄下來，難道不是這一點(diǎn)嗎？小事一樁？那你試試看。你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這是自己處理過的最棘手的任務(wù)。無論你采取什么手段，都無法對(duì)自己說出關(guān)于自身的全部真相。但佩皮斯做到了。本韋努托·切利尼自詡也做到了，但我不愿相信這家伙。本杰明·富蘭克林嘗試過，差一點(diǎn)就成功了。圣·奧古斯丁倒是對(duì)自己早年的不堪足夠坦誠，但也是后來成為圣人，他才坦誠到如此夸張的地步。不，佩皮斯才是毫無保留的人?？傊?，在這件事上，佩皮斯是古今中外做得最好的人了。

I should like to say more about my bedside friends—strapping14 George Borrow15 sitting with Petulengros16 sister under the hedge or fighting the Flaming17 Tinman; the dear little Boston doctor who talks so chirpily over the Breakfast Table18; the Compleat Angler19 that takes you out into an eternal May morning， and Sainte-Beuve20 whom I have found a first-rate bedside talker. But I must close.

我還想聊聊我床邊的其他朋友——身材魁梧的喬治·博羅或是和佩圖朗格羅的妹妹坐在樹籬下，或是跟可惡的鐵匠搏斗；可愛的波士頓小醫(yī)生在早餐桌上談笑風(fēng)生；《釣客清話》將你帶進(jìn)一個(gè)永恒的五月清晨，還有圣勃夫，我發(fā)現(xiàn)他真是個(gè)一等一的床邊聊伴。但我還是就此打住吧。

There is one word， however， to be added. Your bedside friends should be dressed in soft leather and printed on thin paper. Then you can talk to them quite snugly. It is a great nuisance if you have to stick your arms out of bed and hold your hands rigid.

噢，還有就是，床邊的朋友們可得裹著軟質(zhì)皮革，紙頁得薄。這樣才能舒坦地跟他們暢聊。如果為了看書不得不伸長胳膊，雙手僵硬地端著，那可太麻煩了。

（譯者單位：揚(yáng)州大學(xué)）

1 unmitigated（常指壞事或不成功的事）完全的，徹底的，十足的。? 2 humbug謊言；騙人的把戲。? 3 指約翰內(nèi)斯·古騰堡（Johannes Gutenberg），歐洲活字印刷術(shù)的發(fā)明者。? 4 〈英〉send sb to the Tower關(guān)押，囚禁。Tower指倫敦塔（Tower of London），是位于倫敦市中心泰晤士河北岸的一座城堡，歷史上曾是一座著名的監(jiān)獄，關(guān)押上層階級(jí)的囚犯。

5 chivvy催促；強(qiáng)求。? 6 nipper小孩。

7指米歇爾·德·蒙田（Michel de Montaigne，1533—1592），文藝復(fù)興時(shí)期法國思想家、作家、懷疑論者。所著《隨筆集》三卷名列世界文學(xué)經(jīng)典，對(duì)弗蘭西斯·培根、莎士比亞等名家產(chǎn)生過重要影響。? 8 candour（尤指對(duì)棘手或難堪話題的）直率，坦誠。? 9 the run of sth出入（某地）的自由。? 10指詹姆斯·鮑斯韋爾（James Boswell，1740—1795），英國文學(xué)大師、傳記作家。他是塞繆爾·約翰遜（Samuel Johnson）的好友，所著《約翰遜傳》（Life of Johnson）有70余萬字，按年記述約翰遜的生平，對(duì)重大事件則本末悉記，記約翰遜的談話尤為詳實(shí)生動(dòng)。Bozzy是鮑斯韋爾的昵稱。? 11指塞繆爾·佩皮斯（Samuel Pepys，1633—1703），英國托利黨政治家，曾任海軍部首席秘書，但他最為后人熟知的身份是日記作家。他在1660年到1669年間寫的日記是英國復(fù)辟時(shí)期社會(huì)現(xiàn)實(shí)和重大歷史事件（如倫敦大瘟疫、第二次英荷戰(zhàn)爭、倫敦大火）的第一手資料和研究素材。

12（1500 —1571），意大利文藝復(fù)興時(shí)期的一位金匠和雕塑家，但真正讓切利尼名揚(yáng)后世的是《切利尼自傳》這部極具個(gè)人主義色彩的自傳——它被認(rèn)為是16世紀(jì)最重要的文獻(xiàn)之一。? 13（354—430），古羅馬帝國時(shí)期天主教思想家，歐洲中世紀(jì)基督教神學(xué)、教父哲學(xué)的重要代表人物。著有《懺悔錄》《論自由意志》《論三位一體》等。? 14 strapping魁梧的，高大健壯的。? 15英國作家、語言學(xué)家，通曉幾十種語言，曾到西班牙傳教五年，著有自傳體小說《拉文格羅》（Lavengro）和《羅曼·羅依》（The Romany Rye）、游記《圣經(jīng)在西班牙》（The Bible in Spain）等。? 16指賈斯珀·佩圖朗格羅（Jasper Petulengro），《拉文格羅》中的半虛構(gòu)人物。Lavengro在羅曼語中的含義是“語言大師”，是吉普賽人對(duì)喬治·博羅親切的稱呼。故事講述了一個(gè)喜歡語言的英國男孩的成長史。他生長于倫敦，后離開倫敦四處漫游，碰到了形形色色的人與事。

17 flaming（尤用于強(qiáng)調(diào)憤怒）可惡的，討厭的。? 18出自老奧利弗·溫德爾·霍姆斯（Oliver Wendell Holmes， Sr.，1809—1894）的著名散文隨筆作品《早餐桌上的獨(dú)裁者》（The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table）。霍姆斯是美國19世紀(jì)著名的作家、醫(yī)生和詩人，他的“早餐桌”系列隨筆集一共三部：《早餐桌上的獨(dú)裁者》（1858）、《早餐桌上的教授》（The Professor at the Breakfast Table，1859）、《早餐桌上的詩人》（The Poet at the Breakfast Table，1872）?！对绮妥郎系莫?dú)裁者》收錄了奧利弗·溫德爾·霍姆斯在1857年和1858年間發(fā)表在“大西洋月刊”的隨筆，每篇文章結(jié)尾處都以一首詩來點(diǎn)明主題，后來這些詩歌也都成為霍姆斯的代表作?；裟匪乖诓ㄊ款D醫(yī)學(xué)研究領(lǐng)域也頗有建樹，曾擔(dān)任哈佛醫(yī)學(xué)院教授和院長。? 19《釣客清話》（1653年）是一本關(guān)于釣魚的樂趣與垂釣哲學(xué)的英文圖書，作者是英國著名作家艾薩克·沃爾頓（Izaak Walton，1593—1683）。該書以釣客、鷹客、獵人三人之間的辯論開始，他們都介紹各自運(yùn)動(dòng)的優(yōu)點(diǎn)，最終，釣客說服了獵人，使他成為自己的門徒，然后向他傳授釣魚技藝。書中包含對(duì)大自然、野生動(dòng)植物、食物飲料以及鄉(xiāng)村道路和風(fēng)景等的評(píng)論。? 20指夏爾·奧古斯丁·圣勃夫（Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve，1804—1869），法國作家、文藝批評(píng)家。