Beauty(爱默生)译文

Beauty问世间美为何物
Ralph Waldo Emerson 拉尔夫·瓦尔多·爱默生
from Nature, published as part of Nature; Addresses and Lectures
节选自《论自然》（收录于《论自然演讲集》）
Not less excellent, except for our less susceptibility in the afternoon, was the charm, 昨日傍晚，落日熔金，暮云合璧，一月的黄昏美景依旧，
last evening, of a January sunset. The western clouds divided and subdivided
然而毕竟薄暮，倦意袭人，难以抵挡。

themselves into pink flakes modulated with tints of unspeakable softness; and the air 西云漫卷，幻化万千，粉霞片片，糅杂着无法言喻的柔和色彩；
had so much life and sweetness, that it was a pain to come within doors. What was it 空气中有暗香浮动，氤氲着蓬勃的生息，叫人流连忘返，不忍归家。

that nature would say? Was there no meaning in the live repose of the valley behind 大自然喃喃低语，不知所言为何？磨坊后的溪谷，鲜活如许，静谧如许，
the mill, and which Homer or Shakspeare could not reform for me in words? The
纵有荷翁莎翁的生花妙笔，恐亦难绘其万一。

此情此景，岂无殊意！
leafless trees become spires of flame in the sunset, with the blue east for their
遥望东际，天幕蔚蓝，下有萧萧落木，映衬着斜阳晚照，恍惚似燃烧的尖塔，back-ground, and the stars of the dead calices of flowers, and every withered stem and 花瓣凋零，点点如繁星坠落，枝茎摧折，残株凝霜，
stubble rimed with frost, contribute something to the mute music.
这一切，共谱出无声的乐章。

The inhabitants of cities suppose that the country landscape is pleasant only half the 久居城市的人总认为山野之美只在春夏，然而我却认为乡间冬景
year. I please myself with the graces of the winter scenery, and believe that we are as 也不遑多让。

在我看来，正如夏日宜人令人心喜，
much touched by it as by the genial influences of summer. To the attentive eye, each 冬日也自有其动人之处。

只要有双善于观察的眼睛，就能发现，一年四季，
moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds, every hour, a 每时每刻都有其独特的魅力。

即使是乡间原野，
picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again. The
景致也时刻变化，映入眼帘的每一帧画面都独一无二。

heavens change every moment, and reflect their glory or gloom on the plains beneath. 天空变幻无穷，观照出下界土地的盛衰枯荣。

The state of the crop in the surrounding farms alters the expression of the earth from 周围农场的谷物，每周都呈现新的面貌。

week to week. The succession of native plants in the pastures and roadsides, which
牧场和路边土生土长的草木逐渐演替，
makes the silent clock by which time tells the summer hours, will make even the
沉默地反映着四季更迭，倘若你观察得足够敏锐，
divisions of the day sensible to a keen observer. The tribes of birds and insects, like
甚至能察觉到朝夕交替。

鸟虫们与植物一样，
the plants punctual to their time, follow each other, and the year has room for all. By 遵循着冥冥中自定的时间法则，四时流转，万物皆有其成长空间。

water-courses, the variety is greater. In July, the blue pontederia or pickerel-weed
河道之间，生物种类则更加丰富。

每到七月，溪流欢腾，
blooms in large beds in the shallow parts of our pleasant river, and swarms with
大片蓝色梭鱼草和海寿布于浅水之处，黄蝶成群，翩跹起舞。

yellow butterflies in continual motion. Art cannot rival this pomp of purple and gold. 这紫金交织的浮华旖旎，所谓艺术又怎能与之媲美。

Indeed the river is a perpetual gala, and boasts each month a new ornament.
清溪丽流，潺潺不息，如日日佳节，道不尽的风流繁华，换不完的点缀装饰。

But this beauty of Nature which is seen and felt as beauty, is the least part. The shows 但这些可为我们所见所感的自然之美，实则不过冰山一角。

of day, the dewy morning, the rainbow, mountains, orchards in blossom, stars,
夫一日之景，朝露未晞，雨后明虹，如黛远山，桃李满园，星月辉映，
moonlight, shadows in still water, and the like, if too eagerly hunted, become shows 疏影横斜水清浅，凡此种种，若是过于垂涎，则不免流于下乘，
merely, and mock us with their unreality. Go out of the house to see the moon, and 't 为其虚幻的表象所蒙蔽。

正如刻意乘月出行，则失于俗丽，
is mere tinsel; it will not please as when its light shines upon your necessary journey. 清辉洒亮征途之乐景，亦不得见。

The beauty that shimmers in the yellow afternoons of October, who ever could clutch 十月昏黄的午后，微光熠熠，这种美景谁又能将之握于掌心？
it? Go forth to find it, and it is gone: 't is only a mirage as you look from the windows 越是穷追不舍，越是转瞬即逝。

从驿站马车再向外望去，
of diligence.
才发现眼前之景不过镜花水月而已。