On Solitude　享受孤独

时间：2024-03-21 02:30:55

（单词翻译:单击）

On Solitude1　享受孤独
◎ Henry David Thoreau
I find it wholesome2 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 chambers3. 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 diligent4 student in one of the crowded hives of Cambridge College is as solitary5 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 ennui6 and
the blues7; 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.
Society is commonly too cheap. We meet at very short intervals8, not having had time to acquire
any new value for 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 etiquette9 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 sociable10, and about 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 hearty11 communications.
Consider the girls in a factory—never alone, 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.
I have a great deal of company in my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls. Let
me suggest a few comparisons, that some one may convey an idea of my situation. I am no more
lonely than the loon12 in the pond that laughs so loud, or than Walden Pond itself. What company has
that lonely lake, I pray?
And yet it has not the blue devils, but the blue angels in it, in the azure13 tint14 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, he 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 Creek15, or a weathercock, or the north star, or the
south wind, or an April shower, or a January thaw16, or the first spider in a new house.
我发现人若大部分时间用于独处，将有益身心。与人为伴，即使是挚友，也很快会有厌
烦或虚度光阴的感觉。我喜欢独处。我发现没有比独处更好的伴侣了。出国，身在熙攘人群
中，要比退守陋室更让人寂寞。心有所想、身有所系的人总是孤身一人，不论他身处何地。
独处与否也不是由人与人之间的距离来确定的。在剑桥苦读的学子虽身处蜂巢般拥挤的教
室，实际上却和沙漠中的苦行僧一样，是在独处。农人终日耕于田间，伐于山野，此时他虽
孤单但并不寂寞，因他专心于工作；但当他日暮而息，却未必能忍受形影相吊、空有思绪做
伴的时光，他必到“可以看见大伙儿”的去处去找乐子，如他所认为的那样，以补偿白日里的
孤独；因此他无法理解学子如何能终日独坐而不心生厌倦或备感凄凉；然而他没意识到，学
子虽身在学堂，但心系劳作，耕于心田，伐于学林，这正和农人一样，学子在寻求的无非是
和他一样的快乐与陪伴，只是形式更简洁罢了。
与人交往通常都因唾手可得而毫无价值。在频繁的相处中，我们无暇从彼此身上获取新
的价值。我们每日三餐相聚，反复让彼此重新审视的也是依旧故我，并无新奇之处。为此我
们要循规蹈矩——懂礼仪，讲礼貌，以便在这些频繁的接触中相安无事，无须论战而有辱斯
文。我们相遇在邮局，邂逅在社交场所，围坐在夜晚的炉火旁，彼此干扰着，纠缠着；实际
上我认为，这样我们都或多或少失去了对彼此的尊重。对于所有重要的倾心交流，相见不必
过频。想想工厂里的女孩，她们虽从不落单，但也少有梦想。像这样方圆一英里仅一人居
住，那情况会更好。一个人的价值非在肌肤相亲，而在心有灵犀。
我的房子里有很多伙伴，尤其在无人造访的清晨。把我和周围事物对比一下，你或许能
窥见我的处境。比起那湖中大叫的潜鸟，还有那瓦尔登湖，我并不比它们孤独多少。你看：
这孤单的湖又何以为伴呢？
然而它那一湾天蓝的湖水里有的却是天使的纯净，而非魔鬼的忧郁。太阳是孤独的，虽
然时而在阴郁的天气里会出现两个太阳，但其中之一为幻日。上帝是孤独的——魔鬼才从不
孤单，他永远不乏伙伴，因从他者甚众。比起牧场上的一朵毛蕊花，一支蒲公英，一片豆
叶，一束酢浆草，一只牛虻或大黄蜂，我并不孤单多少；比起密尔溪，风标，北极星，南
风，四月春雨，一月融雪，或者新房中的第一只蜘蛛，我也并不孤单。

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1 solitude xF9yw     
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方
参考例句：
  • People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
  • They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。
2 wholesome Uowyz     
adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的
参考例句：
  • In actual fact the things I like doing are mostly wholesome.实际上我喜欢做的事大都是有助于增进身体健康的。
  • It is not wholesome to eat without washing your hands.不洗手吃饭是不卫生的。
3 chambers c053984cd45eab1984d2c4776373c4fe     
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅
参考例句：
  • The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网
4 diligent al6ze     
adj.勤勉的，勤奋的
参考例句：
  • He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
  • She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。
5 solitary 7FUyx     
adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士
参考例句：
  • I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
  • The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。
6 ennui 3mTyU     
n.怠倦，无聊
参考例句：
  • Since losing his job,he has often experienced a profound sense of ennui.他自从失业以来，常觉百无聊赖。
  • Took up a hobby to relieve the ennui of retirement.养成一种嗜好以消除退休后的无聊。
7 blues blues     
n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐
参考例句：
  • She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
  • He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。
8 intervals f46c9d8b430e8c86dea610ec56b7cbef     
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息
参考例句：
  • The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
  • Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。
9 etiquette Xiyz0     
n.礼仪，礼节；规矩
参考例句：
  • The rules of etiquette are not so strict nowadays.如今的礼仪规则已不那么严格了。
  • According to etiquette,you should stand up to meet a guest.按照礼节你应该站起来接待客人。
10 sociable hw3wu     
adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的
参考例句：
  • Roger is a very sociable person.罗杰是个非常好交际的人。
  • Some children have more sociable personalities than others.有些孩子比其他孩子更善于交际。
11 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的
参考例句：
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
12 loon UkPyS     
n.狂人
参考例句：
  • That guy's a real loon.那个人是个真正的疯子。
  • Everyone thought he was a loon.每个人都骂他神经。
13 azure 6P3yh     
adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的
参考例句：
  • His eyes are azure.他的眼睛是天蓝色的。
  • The sun shone out of a clear azure sky.清朗蔚蓝的天空中阳光明媚。
14 tint ZJSzu     
n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色
参考例句：
  • You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
  • She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。
15 creek 3orzL     
n.小溪，小河，小湾
参考例句：
  • He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
  • People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
16 thaw fUYz5     
v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和
参考例句：
  • The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
  • The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

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