"...Iwasrich,ifnotinmoney,insunnyhoursandsummerdays."----HenryDavidThoreau
“我是富足的,即使没有万贯家产,却也拥有无数个艳阳天与夏日。”——梭罗
WhenThoreauwrotethatline,hewasthinkingoftheWalden.Pondheknewasaboy.WoodchoppersandtheIronHorsehadnotyetgreatlydamagedthebeautyofitssetting.Aboycouldgotothepondandlieonhisbackagainsttheseatofaboat,lazilydriftingfromshorewhiletheloonsdivedandtheswallowsdippedaroundhim.Thoreaulovedtorecallsuchsunnyhoursandsummerdays“whenidlenesswasthemostattractiveandproductivebusiness.”
当梭罗写下这句话时,他正想起从儿时起就相识的瓦尔登湖。那时,伐木者与火车还未严重破坏湖畔美丽的景色。小男孩可以走向湖边,仰卧小舟,悠闲地游荡在两岸之间。在他周围,潜水鸟在戏水,还有燕子轻盈地掠过湖面。梭罗喜欢回忆这样明媚的时光与夏日。“此时,悠闲也便成为最具有魅力且颇有裨益的事情。“
Itoowasonceaboyinlovewithapond,richinsunnyhoursandsummerdays.Sunandsummerarestillwhattheyalwayswere,buttheboyandthepondchanged.Theboy,whoisnowaman,nolongerfindmuchtimeforidledrifting.Thepondhasbeenannexedbyagreatcity.Theswampswhereheronsoncehuntedarenowdrainedandfilledwithhouses.Thebaywherewaterliliesquietlyfloatedisnowaharborformotorboats.Inshort,everythingthattheboylovednolongerexists----exceptintheman’smemoryofit.
我也曾经是个热爱湖泊的小男孩.也拥有无数个明媚的阳光与夏日。阳光与夏日依旧.而小男孩与湖泊却已改变,小男孩已长大成人,再也没有时间去湖上悠闲玩乐。而湖泊已被大城市所吞并。苍鹭曾经觅食的沼泽,也己干涸,上面盖满了房舍。睡莲漂浮的湖湾,也成了汽艇停泊的港口。总之,小男孩所喜爱的都已不复存在,一切只停留在他的记忆里。
Somepeopleinsistthatonlytodayandtomorrowmatter.Buthowmuchpoorerwewouldbeifwereallylivedbythatrule!Somuchofwhatwedotodayisfrivolousandfutileandsoonforgotten.Somuchofwhatwehopetodotomorrowneverhappens.
一些人坚持认为只有今日与明日最重要。可如按此规则来说,我们的生活将会变得更加贫瘩。今天我们所做之事有多少是琐碎无功的。很快就会被遗忘。而且又有多少我们明天所
Thepastisthebankinwhichwestoreourmostvaluablepossession:thememoriesthatgivemeaninganddepthtoourlives.Thosewhotrulytreasurethepastwillnotbemoanthepassingofthegoodolddays,becausedaysenshrinedinmemoryareneverlost.Deathitselfispowerlesstostillarememberedvoiceorerasearememberedsmile.Andforoneboywhoisnowaman,thereisapondwhichneithertimenortidecanchange,wherehecanstillspendaquitehourinthesun.
过去犹如一所银行,我们将最可贵的财富—记忆珍藏其中。这些记忆赋予我们生命的意义和深度。那些真正珍惜过去的人不会为美好时光的流逝而哀叹,因为那些珍藏于记忆的时光是永远不会消失的。死亡本身也无法止住记忆中的声音;或磨灭掉记忆中的微笑。对于已经长大成人的小男孩来说。那儿将会有一个池塘。它不会因时间和潮汐而改变,可以让他继续在阳光下享受静谧的时光。