My Library1我的書(shū)房

艾倫·亞歷山大·米爾恩/文　沈潔/譯

When I moved into a new house a few weeks ago， my books， as was natural， moved with me. Strong， perspiring men shovelled them into packing-cases， and staggered with them to the van， cursing Caxton2 as they went. On arrival at this end， they staggered with them into the room selected for my library， heaved off the lids of the cases， and awaited orders. The immediate need was for an emptier room. Together we hurried the books into the new white shelves which awaited them， the order in which they stood being of no matter so long as they were off the floor. Armful after armful was hastily stacked， the only pause being when （in the curious way in which these things happen） my own name suddenly caught the eye of the foreman. “Did you write this one， sir？” he asked. I admitted it. “Hm，” he said noncommittally. He glanced along the names of every armful after that， and appeared a little surprised at the number of books， which I hadnt written. An easy-going profession， evidently.

幾個(gè)星期前我遷居新房，我的書(shū)自然也隨我一起搬走。幾個(gè)壯漢大汗淋漓地忙活著，他們把書(shū)胡亂塞進(jìn)包裝箱，踉踉蹌蹌地將箱子搬上貨車(chē)，一邊走一邊詛咒卡克斯頓。到達(dá)這邊的新居后，他們又踉踉蹌蹌地把書(shū)搬入我選定的書(shū)房，掀開(kāi)箱蓋，等候我的指令。眼下急需在屋里騰出一些地方。我們一起匆匆把書(shū)放入待用的白色新書(shū)架，無(wú)所謂擺成什么順序，只要將它們搬離地板即可。一摞摞的書(shū)迅速堆積起來(lái)，其間唯一的停頓（這種事不知怎的就發(fā)生了），是在我的名字驀然攫住工頭的目光之際?！斑@書(shū)是你寫(xiě)的嗎，先生？”他問(wèn)道。我承認(rèn)了?！昂哙拧彼貞?yīng)了一聲，但之后每搬一摞書(shū)都要掃一眼署名，發(fā)現(xiàn)那么多書(shū)都不是我寫(xiě)的，顯得有些驚訝。這顯然是一個(gè)做事不慌不忙的職業(yè)。

So we got the books up at last， and there they are still. I told myself that when a wet afternoon came along I would arrange them properly. When the wet afternoon came， I told myself that I would arrange them one of these fine mornings. As they are now， I have to look along every shelf in the search for the book which I want. To come to Keats is no guarantee that we are on the road to Shelley. Shelley， if he did not drop out on the way， is probably next to How to be a Golfer though Middle-aged.

于是我們終于把所有的書(shū)都放上了書(shū)架，它們一直原樣兒擺放在那里。我告訴自己，等到哪個(gè)午后陰雨天，我再將它們收拾整齊。可是那個(gè)午后陰雨天到來(lái)時(shí)，我卻對(duì)自個(gè)兒說(shuō)，還是等到哪個(gè)晴朗的早晨再整理它們吧。按照它們?nèi)缃竦臉幼?，我得逐排掃視所有的?shū)架，才能尋找到所需之書(shū)。找到濟(jì)慈不能確保我隨即看見(jiàn)雪萊。雪萊，如果沒(méi)有走失的話，大概挨著那本《中年高爾夫進(jìn)階》。

Having written as far as this， I had to get up and see where Shelley really was. It is worse than I thought. He is between Geometrical Optics and Studies in New Zealand Scenery. Ella Wheeler Wilcox3， whom I find myself to be entertaining unawares， sits beside Anarchy or Order， which was apparently “sent in the hope that you will become a member of the Duty and Discipline Movement”—a vain hope， it would seem， for I have not yet paid my subscription. What I Found Out， by an English Governess， shares a corner with The Recreations of a Country Parson; they are followed by Villette and Baedekers Switzerland4. Something will have to be done about it.

走筆至此，我得起身去看看雪萊到底在哪兒。比我想象的還糟，他置身于《幾何光學(xué)》和《新西蘭風(fēng)景繪畫(huà)習(xí)作》之間。艾拉·惠勒·威爾科克斯，我無(wú)意中用以消遣的讀物，眼下位于《無(wú)政府或秩序》旁邊，顯然，他們“寄贈(zèng)此書(shū)，希望您能成為責(zé)任與紀(jì)律運(yùn)動(dòng)這一組織的成員”——這一希望似乎落空了，因?yàn)槲移裆形粗Ц稌?huì)費(fèi)。英格蘭家庭女教師所寫(xiě)的《親眼所見(jiàn)》，與《鄉(xiāng)村牧師自?shī)视蟹健饭矒?jù)一個(gè)角落，緊隨其后的是《維萊特》和《瑞士旅行指南》。我確實(shí)得為此做點(diǎn)什么了。

But I am wondering what is to be done. If I gave you the impression that my books were precisely arranged in their old shelves， I misled you. They were arranged in the order known as “all anyhow.” Possibly they were a little less “anyhow” than they are now， in that the volumes of any particular work were at least together， but that is all that can be claimed for them. For years I put off the business of tidying them up， just as I am putting it off now. It is not laziness; it is simply that I dont know how to begin.

但我不知道到底該做點(diǎn)什么。如果我讓你覺(jué)得，搬家之前我的書(shū)擺放得井然有序，那是受了我的誤導(dǎo)。當(dāng)初放置它們，是按照一種名曰“混亂不堪”的順序，其混亂程度相較如今大概稍有不及，畢竟當(dāng)時(shí)每一部作品是成套擺放的，但也就這一點(diǎn)可取之處。這些書(shū)多少年我始終拖著不加整理，現(xiàn)如今依舊如此。并非懶惰所致，只是我不知道該如何著手。

Let us suppose that we decide to have all the poetry together. It sounds reasonable. But then Byron is eleven inches high （my tallest poet）， And Beattie5 （my shortest） is just over four inches. How foolish they will look standing side by side. Perhaps you dont know Beattie， but I assure you that he was a poet. He wrote those majestic lines：

不妨假設(shè)我們決定把所有的詩(shī)集放在一起。此言聽(tīng)似有理，但是拜倫足足高達(dá)11英寸（我最高的詩(shī)人），而貝蒂（我最矮的詩(shī)人）只有4英寸出頭，讓他倆并排而立是何等荒唐。也許你不認(rèn)識(shí)貝蒂，但我向你擔(dān)保他是詩(shī)人無(wú)疑。他曾寫(xiě)下那些雄渾的詩(shī)句：

“The shepherd-swain of whom I mention made

“我先前提到的那位牧羊郎，

On Scotias mountains fed his little flock;

在斯科舍群山間喂養(yǎng)他的一小群羊；

The sickle， scythe or plough he never swayed——

既不揮鐮也不扶犁——

An honest heart was almost all his stock.”

一顆真心幾乎是他的全部寶藏?！?/p>

Of course， one would hardly expect a shepherd to sway a plough in the ordinary way， but Beattie was quite right to remind us that Edwin didnt either. Edwin was the name of the shepherd-swain. “And yet poor Edwin was no vulgar boy，” we are told a little further on in a line that should live. Well， having satisfied you that Beattie was really a poet， I can now return to my argument that an eleven-inch Byron cannot stand next to a four-inch Beattie， and be followed by an eight-inch Cowper6， without making the shelf look silly. Yet how can I discard Beattie—Beattie who wrote：

當(dāng)然，人們一般不會(huì)指望一個(gè)牧羊人扶犁耕地，好在貝蒂相當(dāng)明智，他提醒我們埃德溫也不會(huì)這么做。埃德溫是牧羊郎的名字?！叭欢蓱z的埃德溫絕非粗笨小伙”，詩(shī)人在稍后本應(yīng)永久流傳的一行詩(shī)里這樣告訴我們。好了，已經(jīng)向你們證明貝蒂果真是詩(shī)人，且容我回歸剛才的話題：如果將11英寸高的拜倫放在4英寸高的貝蒂旁，隨后再擺上8英寸高的柯珀，整個(gè)書(shū)架勢(shì)必顯得不倫不類(lèi)?？晌邑M能拋棄貝蒂——貝蒂還曾寫(xiě)下——

“And now the downy cheek and deepened voice

“如今毛茸茸的臉頰和渾厚的嗓音

Gave dignity to Edwins blooming prime.”

給風(fēng)華正茂的埃德溫平添了尊嚴(yán)?！?/p>

You see the difficulty. If you arrange your books according to their contents you are sure to get an untidy shelf. If you arrange your books according to their size and colour you get an effective wall， but the poetically inclined visitor may lose sight of Beattie altogether. Before， then， we decide what to do about it， we must ask ourselves that very awkward question， “Why do we have books on our shelves at all？” It is a most embarrassing question to answer.

這下你知道困難所在了吧。假如按照書(shū)的內(nèi)容分類(lèi)整理，書(shū)架注定雜亂無(wú)章；假如按照書(shū)的顏色和大小擺放，書(shū)架的陳設(shè)當(dāng)然整齊醒目。但是，喜歡讀詩(shī)的客人可能遍尋貝蒂而不見(jiàn)。如此說(shuō)來(lái)，在決定就此做點(diǎn)什么之前，我們必須向自己提出那個(gè)特別尷尬的問(wèn)題：“我們到底為什么要把書(shū)放在書(shū)架上呢？”回答這個(gè)問(wèn)題，會(huì)讓你無(wú)比難堪。

Of course， you think that the proper answer （in your own case） is an indignant protest that you bought them in order to read them， and that you put them on your shelves in order that you could refer to them when necessary. A little reflection will show you what a stupid answer that is. If you only want to read them， why are some of them bound in morocco and half-calf and other expensive coverings？ Why did you buy a first edition when a hundredth edition was so much cheaper？ Why have you got half a dozen copies of The Rubáiyát7？ What is the particular value of this other book that you treasure it so carefully？ Why， the fact that its pages are uncut. If you cut the pages and read it， the value would go.

不消說(shuō)，你認(rèn)為合適的答復(fù)（根據(jù)你自己的情況），是憤憤不平地反駁道，你買(mǎi)書(shū)是為了讀書(shū)，把它們放上書(shū)架是為了不時(shí)查閱之需。但只要稍加思索，你就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)回答何其荒謬。你若是僅僅為了閱讀，那為什么其中一些書(shū)是用摩洛哥革、牛犢皮或其他昂貴的皮面裝幀呢？你為什么要高價(jià)購(gòu)置首版，而第100版明明便宜得多？為什么你有半打各種版本的《魯拜集》？你視若珍寶的那本書(shū)又有什么特殊的價(jià)值呢？唉，為何實(shí)際上你連書(shū)頁(yè)都沒(méi)切邊。你一旦切邊讀起來(lái)，其價(jià)值也將隨之失去。

So， then， your library is not just for reference. You know as well as I do that it furnishes your room; that it furnishes it more effectively than does paint or mahogany or china. Of course， it is nice to have the books there， so that one can refer to them when one wishes. One may be writing an article on sea-bathing， for instance， and have come to the sentence which begins： “In the well-remembered words of Coleridge8， perhaps almost too familiar to be quoted” and then one may have to look them up. On these occasions a library is not only ornamental but useful. But do not let us be ashamed that we find it ornamental.

所以，你的書(shū)房不只是為了查閱資料。你我都知道，書(shū)籍裝飾了你的房間，書(shū)籍的裝飾效果勝過(guò)油漆、桃花心木和瓷器。當(dāng)然，把書(shū)放在那里，便于隨時(shí)查閱，這本身是件好事。比如，某人在寫(xiě)一篇關(guān)于海水浴的文章時(shí)，碰到一句話開(kāi)頭寫(xiě)到：“柯勒律治的這段名言我們耳熟能詳，因其幾乎盡人皆知，以致無(wú)需引用”——他大概只得查尋原話啰。此類(lèi)情形下的書(shū)房不僅是裝飾，而且實(shí)用。但我們不必因?yàn)榘l(fā)現(xiàn)它的裝飾功能而羞愧。

Indeed， the more I survey it， the more I feel that my library is sufficiently ornamental as it stands. Any reassembling of the books might spoil the colour-scheme. Baedekers Switzerland and Villette are both in red， a colour which is neatly caught up again， after an interlude in blue， by a volume of Browning and Jevons Elementary Logic. We had a woman here only yesterday who said， “How pretty your books look，” and I am inclined to think that that is good enough. There is a careless rapture about them which I should lose if I started to arrange them methodically.

確實(shí)，我愈加端詳我的書(shū)房，便愈覺(jué)其裝飾氣派十足。任何形式的書(shū)籍整理，都會(huì)破壞現(xiàn)有的色彩搭配。《瑞士旅行指南》和《維萊特》都是紅色封皮，中間夾了一本藍(lán)色的書(shū)，緊接著又是紅色，是布朗寧和杰文斯的《初級(jí)邏輯學(xué)》。昨天來(lái)訪的一位女士說(shuō)：“你的書(shū)擺放得好美觀呀?！蔽乙睬樵刚J(rèn)為如此甚好。其中自有一種悠然自得的樂(lè)趣。一旦我中規(guī)中矩地整理，這種樂(lè)趣便不復(fù)存在。

But perhaps I might risk this to the extent of getting all their heads the same way up. Yes， on one of these fine days （or wet nights） I shall take my library seriously in hand. There are still one or two books which are the wrong way round. I shall put them the right way round.

不過(guò)，我仍有可能冒險(xiǎn)行事，至多是將所有的書(shū)頭尾擺正置于架上。沒(méi)錯(cuò)，等到哪個(gè)晴天（或者某個(gè)雨夜），我會(huì)認(rèn)真擺弄自己的書(shū)房。眼下仍有一兩本書(shū)放得不對(duì)頭。我得把它們放好。

1選自英國(guó)作家艾倫·亞歷山大·米爾恩（1882—1956）的散文集《無(wú)關(guān)緊要》（Not That It Matters）? 2威廉·卡克斯頓（William Caxton，1422—1491），英國(guó)印刷商，翻譯家，1476年創(chuàng)辦第一家印刷所。

3 （1850—1919），19世紀(jì)美國(guó)著名作家和詩(shī)人。

4 Baedeker源自19世紀(jì)德國(guó)出版商卡爾·貝德克爾（Karl Baedeker）的姓。他所出版的“貝德克爾旅行指南叢書(shū)”囊括歐洲各國(guó)，內(nèi)容豐富，攜帶方便，不斷再版。Baedeker后來(lái)變成了“旅行指南”的代名詞，并且還擴(kuò)展到其他領(lǐng)域，表示“入門(mén)手冊(cè)”。? 5詹姆斯·貝蒂（James Beattie，1735—1803），蘇格蘭早期浪漫主義詩(shī)人。

6威廉·柯珀（William Cowper，1731—1800），英國(guó)詩(shī)人。

7《魯拜集》是波斯著名詩(shī)人歐瑪爾·海亞姆（Omar Khayyam）的四行詩(shī)詩(shī)集，在世界范圍內(nèi)享有極其崇高的聲譽(yù)。? 8塞繆爾·泰勒·柯勒律治（Samuel Taylor Coleridge，1772—1834），英國(guó)詩(shī)人、文評(píng)家，英國(guó)浪漫主義文學(xué)的奠基人之一。