Little compliments mean so much to me sometimes.Children have never been very good at listening to their elders,but they have never failed to imitate them.

有時候，一點微不足道的肯定，對我卻意義非凡。孩子們從來不會好好聽從長輩的話，可是他們從來忘不了模仿長輩。

E.B.White to His Mother

(Jessie Hart White)　艾溫·布魯克斯·懷特致母親

（杰西·哈特·懷特）

Beta Theta Pi house

Ohio State University

Columbus,Ohio

26 April 1922

Dearest Mum,

I am hoping this will arrive on April 27 to greet you on your 42nd wedding anniversary,but I am a little late in starting it as usual.Your letter reached me at Mansfield,O.a couple of days ago where it was forwarded from East Aurora.I guess I told you in one of my previous letters that the way to reach me by mail is via 159 Park Place,East Aurora.Mr.Cushman does the forwarding.

So you've been gay for forty years

For forty years and two—

Been jolly all through smiles and tears

So you've been gay for forty years

A thing one very seldom hears

I send my love to you

So you've been gay for forty years

For forty years and two

I hardly think I have written you since we left East Aurora a week ago Monday in the afternoon.We remained over Easter at the Cushman's and had Easter Sunday dinner at the Roy Croft's.The next day we left,clanking merrily out of town with our bed upon our back as goes the turtle...

Spring has arrived in Ohio.This is a flat state where red pigs graze in bright green fields and where farms are neat and prosperous—not like New York farms.We roll along through dozens of villages and cities whose names we never heard.They are typical of the Middle West.The oldest inhabitant is generally standing somewhere pulling a long white beard,the smithy door is generally open and the sound of the anvil to be heard,the village flapper is generally flapping up and down along Main Street in front of a group of jobless youths who help hold the drug store up,and somewhere there is always a housewife sweeping off a porch or carrying a spadeful of manure to the garden.Toward evening the country scenes become idyllic—the sort of thing you have seen in the moving pictures and never quite believed in.Sheep come drifting up long green lawns where poplars throw interminable shadows,come drifting up and stand like statues beneath white plum blossoms,while far down the lane and off in the fields a little Ford tractor moves like a snail across the furrows.Lilacs are in full bloom and the lavender iron-wood blossoms are coloring all the roads.

I've given up cigarettes until I get to California.Isn't that a good idea?Cush thinks it's great.I also am looking forward soon to giving up clean shirts.They're worse than cigarettes.I'm on my last one now.

The Ford is a tremendous expense.Repairs have cost up 75 cents since we left New York—50 cents for a busted radiator and 25 cents for a fan belt.Pretty heavy going.

New York is the state for roads.Here there are pikes,which are cement on one side and dirt on the other.When you meet another car if you are on the cement side all is well,and when you are on the dirt side you steer to one side,sink down indefinitely,and then get out and lift the car back onto the road again.That's why Fords can go places where heavier cars have difficulty.Whenever your Ford shows signs of weakening,you can lift it back where it belongs.

Tell Father he ought to read Benchley's Of All Things if he wants a good time.I read it the other day in Mansfield.It's about as funny as anything there is on the market today with the exception,of course,of the Cushman-White travelogues which are simply killing.

We'll be leaving for Kentucky on Friday morning.This place is so beautiful we want to stay for a day or so to become acquainted with it.

Congratulations again on your anniversary.Have a good time at Atlantic City honey mooning.Love to Father—tell him I received his letter and thank you.I mailed the slip to the Trust Company the other day in Mansfield.

Yours,Andy

最親愛的媽媽：我希望這封信可以在4月27日到達(dá)您手中，趕上慶賀您結(jié)婚42周年紀(jì)念日，但是如往常一樣我的這封信寫得有點遲了。您的信幾天前在曼斯菲爾德到達(dá)了我手中，是從東奧羅拉那邊轉(zhuǎn)過來的。我猜想我在前幾封信中的某一封信告訴過您，可以寫信給東奧羅拉公園路159號的庫什曼先生，讓他轉(zhuǎn)交給我。四十年來您是如此快樂四十二年了——一路走來，充滿著喜悅的微笑和淚水四十年來您是如此快樂一件多么少見的事情我把我的愛寄送給您四十年來您是如此快樂四十二年了我根本沒想到，自從上周周一下午我們離開東奧羅拉后我竟會給您寫信。我們在庫什曼家停留到了復(fù)活節(jié)，還在羅伊克羅夫特家吃了復(fù)活節(jié)晚餐。第二天我們就離開了，我們像烏龜一樣，背上背著我們的鋪蓋，邁著歡快的步子走出了城……俄亥俄州的春天已經(jīng)來臨了。這是一個平坦之州，紅豬在翠綠的田野里悠閑地覓食。這里的農(nóng)場非常整潔，呈現(xiàn)出一片繁榮景象——不像紐約的農(nóng)場。我們的車輪一直向前滾動著，穿過了許許多多的村莊和城市，那些村莊和城市的名字我們從未聽說過。這里是典型的中西部地區(qū)。最年長的村民通常站在某個地方，捋著長長的白色胡須；打鐵鋪的門通常是開著的，可以聽到鐵砧的聲音；村里的年輕女子通常會沿著大街在一群沒有工作的年輕人面前來回晃動著，那些年輕人通常都只是幫忙照看藥店；在某個地方總有一個家庭主婦在掃著門廊，或者運滿滿的一鍬肥料到花園去。接近黃昏時，鄉(xiāng)村景色變得如田園詩一般美好——那是您只有在電影里才能見到的風(fēng)光，您是不會相信的。羊群沿著長長的綠色的草地移動過來，白楊樹在草地上投射下了冗長的陰影，羊群過來了，它們就像雕像一樣站立在盛開的白梅樹下。沿著遠(yuǎn)處的鄉(xiāng)間小路望向田野，你可以看到一輛小福特拖拉機(jī)像一只蝸牛在阡陌間慢行。紫丁香花盛開，熏衣香鐵樹的花兒把每條路都裝點得五彩繽紛。我想在去加利弗尼亞前把煙戒了，我想這是一個不錯的主意，庫什也這么認(rèn)為。同時我也很想盡快擺脫這些潔凈的襯衫，現(xiàn)在穿著的已經(jīng)是最后一件了。福特牌汽車花銷很驚人。自我們離開紐約到現(xiàn)在，維修費已花了75美分——50美分花在修理炸裂的散熱器上，25美分則花在修理鼓風(fēng)機(jī)皮帶上。開支相當(dāng)大。紐約州是一個公路之州。這里有收費的公路，它一邊是水泥路，另一邊是泥土路。當(dāng)你的車與另一輛車相遇時，假如你正好在水泥路這一邊，那一切還好；但是如果你的車是在泥土路這一邊，你要轉(zhuǎn)到水泥路上，說不定你的車就會陷下去。那樣你就必須下車，然后把車拖回到路上。這就是為什么福特車能去的地方而重型車卻存在困難，未必能去。無論什么時候福特車有拋錨的跡象，你能把它拖回到它原來的地方。告訴父親，如果他想擁有快樂的時光，那他應(yīng)該讀一下本奇利的《萬花筒》。幾天前我在曼斯菲爾德看過那本書。它幾乎和當(dāng)今市面上所有的其他東西一樣有趣，當(dāng)然庫什曼·懷特的旅行見聞除外，那只不過可以拿來消磨時間而已。我們星期五早晨準(zhǔn)備動身前往肯塔基州。這個地方是如此美麗，我想再多呆一兩天以加深對它的了解。在您的結(jié)婚周年紀(jì)念日之際再次向您表示祝賀。祝愿您在大西洋城度過一個愉快的蜜月。代我向父親大人問好——告訴他我已收到了他的信，謝謝您。幾天前，我把那張便條寄到了曼斯菲爾德的信托公司。

您的：安迪

1922年4月26日寫于俄亥俄州哥倫布俄亥俄州大學(xué)

名人小課堂

E.B.懷特（E.B.White,1899～1985年）美國當(dāng)代著名散文家、評論家，以散文聞名于世。他畢業(yè)于康奈爾大學(xué)，曾為多家雜志報社工作過。除了大量的隨筆，懷特還寫了三部童話，分別是《斯圖爾特鼠小弟》（又譯《精靈鼠小弟》）、《夏洛的網(wǎng)》、《天鵝的喇叭》（又譯《吹小號的天鵝》），同樣成為兒童與成人共同喜愛的文學(xué)經(jīng)典。

T.E.Lawrence to

His Mother(I)　托馬斯·愛德華·勞倫斯致母親（1）

Fleece Hotel Colchester

August 13,1905

Dear Mother,

We came here from Ipswich over a rather hilly road 18 miles long.Still we took two hours over it;and walked about six hills;a proceeding Father does not like.We are feeding splendidly.Father is much better and has not coughed since Lynn.

I have had to give up Bures.We came by the other road because of the wind.Still I hope to get Pebmarsh tomorrow,and I got one rubbing yesterday so I'm not altogether mournful.I have sent off all my rubbings to Miss Powell.Hope she'll like them.I expect you have Will with you now.Will you please tell him not to let you do more work than is necessary to keep you in condition?Also tickle Arnie when he gets up and when he goes to bed all from me.Tell him there are dozens of butterflies fall sorts about here,some Red Admirals;and a lot of other very queer ones.Ask Beadle to come up here as he has never seen a Death's Head or some such insect.Norwich Museum he would have enjoyed.There was the largest collection of raptorial birds in existence 409 out of 470 species.I wonder if he'll shriek with horror when he hears that I did not look at them but went off and examined the Norman W.C.s.In the hall there was a thrilling stuffed group a boa constrictor strangling a tiger.We hope to return to Oxford Wednesday.Kindly take heaps of love from me for yourself.And when you've had enough,divide the remainder into three portions,and give them to the three worms you have with you.I wonder how the Doctor is enjoying Jerry.Don't forget the Canon's birthday next Sunday.We have had one post card from Will,one from yourself and one letter from you.Loud snores to all.Love to yourself.

Ned

親愛的媽媽：我們從伊普斯威奇郡到這里花了兩個多小時，走過一條長18英里的山路，翻越了大約六座山。父親不喜歡這樣的行程。不過一路上我們吃得很好。父親現(xiàn)在好多了，自從離開林恩以后他就再也沒有咳嗽過。我不得不放棄取道布爾斯。因為起風(fēng)了，我們只好從另一條路走。但我依然希望明天能到達(dá)佩伯瑪西。昨天我又得到了一塊拓片，所以我不是那么悲傷。我已將所有的拓片寄給了鮑威爾小姐，希望她會喜歡。我想現(xiàn)在威爾正與您在一起。請告訴他不要讓您過于操勞以免影響健康。此外，我不能在阿尼起床或上床睡覺時再去擾他了。告訴他這兒有很多不同種類的蝴蝶：如“赤蛺蝶”，以及其他一些很奇特的品種。也告訴比德爾，讓他到這兒來，因為他還從未看過“骷髏天蛾”或諸如此類的昆蟲。他肯定會喜歡諾威奇博物館的。這兒收藏了最多的猛禽類標(biāo)本，藏有現(xiàn)存470個品種中的409種。我在想如果他知道我沒有去看那些鳥，而是去看了諾曼的W.C.s是否會驚恐得大叫。大廳里有一組令人恐怖的蟒蛇勒死老虎的標(biāo)本。我們希望星期三能返回牛津。請為您自己帶上我無限的愛，并向您的三只小蟲轉(zhuǎn)達(dá)我的愛。我想知道醫(yī)生到底有多么喜歡杰里。不要忘了下個星期天是坎農(nóng)的生日。我們已收到了威爾的一張明信片，還有您的一張明信片以及一封信。向所有人大聲問好！

愛您的：內(nèi)德1

905年8月13日寫于科爾切斯特福利斯旅館

名人小課堂

托馬斯·愛德華·勞倫斯（T.E.Lawrence,1888～1935年）英國軍官，因在1916年至1918年的阿拉伯起義中作為英國聯(lián)絡(luò)官的角色而出名，被稱為“阿拉伯的勞倫斯”。他的代表作品是《智慧的七柱》，許多阿拉伯人將他看成民間英雄，推動了他們從奧斯曼帝國和歐洲的統(tǒng)治中獲得自由的理想。

T.E.Lawrence to His Mother(ò)　托馬斯·愛德華·勞倫斯致母親（2）

Evreux

Sunday 11 August 1907

Dear Mother,

Father is out,and so I am at last writing to you.I would have written before,but was so busy taking photos,etc.at Chateau Gaillard.Beauvais was a wonderful place,and I left it with great regret for Gisors which was disappointing,(a large castle,but all the towers locked up),from Gisors we came to Petit Andelys.The Chateau Gaillard was so magnificent,and the post cards so abominable,that I stopped there an extra day.And I did nothing but photograph,from 6.a.m.to 7.p.m.I took ten altogether.And if all are successful,I will have a wonderful series.I will certainly have to start a book.Some of them were very difficult to take,and the whole day was very hard.I think Pt.Andelys would be a good place to stop at.The hotel is cheap,and very pleasant.The Seine runs near the back door.And the bathing is excellent,from a little wooded island in the centre of the river.There are plenty of hills within sight,and many interesting places.Also the scenery all along the river is exceedingly fine.Long strings of barges pulled by a steam-tug pass the hotel occasionally,and the whole place is overshadowed by the hills with the ruins of the Chateau.I have talked so much about this to you that you must know it all by heart,so I had better content myself with saying that its plan is marvelous,the execution wonderful,and the situation perfect.The whole construction bears the unmistakable stamp of genius.Richard I must have been a far greater man than we usually consider him.He must have been a great strategist and a great engineer,as well as a great man-at-arms.

親愛的媽媽：父親出去了，我終于能給您寫信了。我早就應(yīng)該寫的，但是一直忙于在蓋拉德城堡拍照等等。博韋是一個迷人的地方，我?guī)е鵁o限的遺憾離開動身去日索爾（一個大城堡，但是那里所有的塔都被上了鎖），這令我大失所望。我們又從日索爾出發(fā)前往小安德利斯。蓋拉德城堡是如此富麗堂皇，然而那里的明信片卻是那么的糟糕，以致使我在那兒多停留了一天。除了拍照，沒做其他任何事，我一直從早晨6點拍到下午7點，一共拍了10卷。如果所拍的照片全部成功，我就有一套精彩絕倫的系列照了，那么我肯定得為此而寫一本書。有些場景特別難拍，所以那一整天很辛苦。我認(rèn)為小安德利斯是個不錯的停留之地，旅店既便宜又舒適。塞納河從旅店后門的不遠(yuǎn)處流過，在河中心的一個樹林茂密的小島有一個極佳的浴場。許多小山丘和有趣的景致盡收眼底。塞納河沿岸的風(fēng)光也非常優(yōu)美。偶爾可以看到蒸汽拖船拖著一長串駁船從旅店門前駛過。整個地方被堆著城堡廢墟的小山丘的陰影遮蔽著。我對你描述了這么多，想必你一定對它的情況心領(lǐng)神會了。那么，我最好滿足一下自己的感覺，發(fā)表一下對蓋拉德城堡的感慨。它的規(guī)劃設(shè)計非凡，施工技藝精湛，選址位置完美。整個建筑物真是巧奪天工，實乃天才之作。理查德一世一定是一位遠(yuǎn)比我們通常所想象的還要偉大得多的人物：他一定是一位偉大的戰(zhàn)略家，一位偉大的工程師，同時也一定是一位偉大的士兵。

于埃莆勒，星期日1907年8月11日

Ernest Hemingway to His Mother

(Grace Hall Hemingway)　歐內(nèi)斯特·海明威致母親

（格雷斯·霍爾·海明威）

Gstaad,5 February 1927

Dear Mother,

Thank you very much for sending me the catalogue of the Marshal Field exhibit with the reproduction of your painting of the Blacksmith Shop in it.It looks very lovely and I should have liked to see the original.

I did not answer when you wrote about the Sun etc.book as I could not help being angry and it is very foolish to write angry letters and more than foolish to do so to one's mother.It is quite natural for you not to like the book and I regret your reading any book that causes you pain or disgust.

On the other hand I am in no way ashamed of the book,except in as I may have failed in accurately portraying the people I wrote of,or in making them really come alive to the reader.I am sure the book is unpleasant.But it is not all unpleasant and I am sure is no more unpleasant than the real inner lives of some of our best Oak Park families.You must remember that in such a book all the worst of the people's lives is displayed while at home there is a very lovely side for the public and the sort of thing of which I have had some experience in observing behind closed doors.Besides you,as an artist,know that a writer shouldn't be forced to defend his choice of a subject but should be criticized on how he has treated that subject.The people I wrote of were certainly burned out,hollow and smashed—and that is the way I have attempted to show them.I am only ashamed of the book in whatever way it fails to really give the people I wished to present.I have a long life to write other books and the subjects will not always be the same—except as they will all,I hope,be human beings.

And if the good ladies of the book study club under the guidance of Miss Fanny Butcher,who is not an intelligent reviewer—I would have felt very silly had she praised the book—agree unanimously that I am prostituting a great talent etc.for the lowest ends—why the good ladies are talking about something of which they know nothing and saying very foolish things.

As for Hadley,Bumby and myself—although Hadley and I have not been living in the same house for some time(we have lived apart since last Sept.and by now Hadley may have divorced me)we are the very best of friends.She and Bumby are both well,healthy and happy and all the profits and royalties of The Sun Also Rises,by my order,are being paid directly to Hadley,both from America and England.The book has gone into,by the last ads I saw in January,5 printings(15000)copies,and is still going strongly.It is published in England in the spring under the title of Fiesta.Hadley is coming to America in the spring so you can see Bumby on the profits of Sun Also Rises.I am not taking one cent of the royalties,which are already running into several thousand dollars,have been drinking nothing but my usual wine or beer with meals,have been leading a very monastic life and trying to write as well as I am able.We have different ideas about what constitutes good writing—that is simply a fundamental disagreement—but you really are deceiving yourself if you allow any Fanny Butchers to tell you that I am pandering to sensation-alism etc.I get letters from Vanity Fair,Cosmopolitan etc.asking me for stories,articles,and serials,but am publishing nothing for six months or a year(a few stories sold to Scribner's the end of last year and one funny article out)because I know that now is a very crucial time and that it is much more important for me to write in tranquility,trying to write as well as I can,with no eye on any market,nor any thought of what the stuff will bring,or even if it can ever be published—than to fall into the money making trap which handles American writers like the corn husking machine handled my noted relative's thumb.

I'm sending this letter to both of you because I know you have been worried about me and I am always sorry to cause you worry.But you must not do that—because,although my life may smashup in different ways,I will always do all that I can for the people I love(I don't write home a lot because I haven't time and because,writing,I find it very hard to write letters and have to restrict correspondence to the letters I have to write—and my real friends know that I am just as fond of them whether I write or not)that I have never been a drunk nor even a steady drinker(You will hear legends that I am—they are tacked on everyone that ever wrote about people who drink)and that all I want is tranquility and a chance to write.You may never like anything I write—and then suddenly you might like something very much.But you must believe that I am sincere in what I write.Dad has been very loyal and while you,mother,have not been loyal at all I absolutely understand that it is because you believed you owed it to yourself to correct me in a path which seemed to you disastrous.

So maybe we can drop that all.I am sure that,in the course of my life,you will find much cause to feel that I have disgraced you if you believe everything you hear.On the other hand with a little shot of loyalty as an anesthetic you may be able to get through all my obvious disreputability and find,in the end,that I have not disgraced you at all.

Anyhow,best love to you both,

Ernie

親愛的母親：十分感謝您給我寄來馬歇爾·菲爾德展覽的目錄，以及您在展覽中展出的油畫《鐵匠鋪》的復(fù)制品。這幅畫看起來非常可愛，我真想看一看原作。您之前的來信中談到《太陽照樣升起》這本書，我沒有回信，因為我無法抑制自己憤怒的心情。寫一封字里行間流露出憤怒心情的信是愚蠢的；而且，給自己的母親寫這樣的信則遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不止愚蠢那么簡單了。您不喜歡這本書那是相當(dāng)自然的，我為讓您讀到引起您痛苦和厭惡的書而感到抱歉。另一方面，我無論怎樣也不會為這本書感到慚愧，當(dāng)然在某些方面除外——例如，我可能沒能準(zhǔn)確地描繪我書中所寫的人物，或沒能將那些人物栩栩如生地展現(xiàn)在讀者面前。我肯定這本書里的內(nèi)容會令人感到厭惡。但這本書并不是所有的內(nèi)容都令人感到厭惡；而且我肯定，它不會比我們最好的奧克·帕克家族真正的內(nèi)部生活更令人感到厭惡。您一定記得，在這本書里，人們生活中所有最陰暗的一面都被揭露出來，但同時它還向公眾展現(xiàn)了家庭生活美好的一面，以及我暗中親眼觀察到的那類事情。此外，作為一位藝術(shù)家，您知道一個作者不應(yīng)被迫去為他所選的主題辯護(hù)，而應(yīng)當(dāng)接受別人對他如何對待這一主題方面的評論。我所描繪的人物肯定是心力交瘁、空洞虛偽和支離破碎的——而那正是我試圖表達(dá)的。我只是遺憾在這本書里，我沒能把自己真正想要表達(dá)給讀者知道的內(nèi)容寫出來。不過，我的一生還很長，我有足夠的時間來寫其他的書，而且我所選的主題也不會總是一樣——除了如我希望的，它們都將是關(guān)于人類的話題之外。假如“讀書俱樂部”的淑女們，在并不聰明的書評者范妮·布徹小姐的指導(dǎo)下——要是得到她對這本書的表揚，我倒會感到非常可笑——全體一致同意我為那最壞的結(jié)局而踐踏天資等等——為什么那些淑女們要去談?wù)撍齻円桓[不通的東西，還凈說些蠢話呢？至于哈德利、邦比和我自己——盡管哈德利和我已經(jīng)有一段時間沒有一同居住在同一所房子里（我們從去年九月份開始分居，到目前為止哈德利可能已跟我離了婚了），但我們還是最要好的朋友。她和邦比都很好，身體健康且生活愉快。按照我的要求，《太陽照樣升起》這部書的所有收益和版稅都會從美國和英國直接匯給哈德利。我從1月份最后一次看到的廣告中得知，這部書已經(jīng)第五次印刷（15000本），并且銷量仍在急劇上升。這部書春季在英國出版，書名為《節(jié)日》。這個春天，哈德利將會到美國來，到時您就可以看到邦比得到《太陽照樣升起》這部書的收益。版稅共計已有幾千美元，不過我一分錢也沒拿。一直以來，我吃飯時除了喝一點平時喝的葡萄酒或啤酒外，什么也沒喝；我一直過著修道士般清貧的生活，并盡我所能地寫出優(yōu)秀作品。對于什么是優(yōu)秀作品，我們有不同的見解——那僅僅是一種基本的不一致——但是如果您讓范妮·布徹這類人告訴您，說我在嘩眾取寵之類的話，那么您就真的是在欺騙自己。我收到《名利場》、《世界主義者》等刊物來信要我為其寫短篇小說、文章、以及連載小說，但我最近6個月或者說這一年都沒有發(fā)表任何作品（去年年底賣過幾個短篇小說和一篇滑稽文章給斯克里布納出版社），因為我知道現(xiàn)在是非常關(guān)鍵的時刻，對我來說，安心地寫作并盡我所能地寫得更好，既不去關(guān)注市場，也不去考慮寫作能帶來什么，甚至不去在乎我的作品能否出版——這些事情比掉入操縱美國作家們的賺錢陷阱重要得多，這個陷阱就像玉米脫殼機(jī)解決了我那著名的親戚的拇指一樣。我知道您二老一直擔(dān)心著我，所以我把這封信寄給您們，我很抱歉，讓您們擔(dān)心了。但您們不必那樣做——因為，盡管我的人生可能遭遇不同的災(zāi)難，但我會永遠(yuǎn)為我所愛的人們?nèi)プ鑫宜茏龅囊磺惺虑椋ㄎ覜]有給家里寫很多的信，因為我沒有時間，也因為寫信本身，我發(fā)覺寫信是很難的一件事，因此只寫那些不得不寫的信——而且，我的那些真正的朋友都知道，不管我是否給他們寫信，我都一如既往地愛著他們），我從來不是一個酒鬼，也很少喝酒（你們會聽到關(guān)于我是酒鬼的傳聞——人們總是把任何一個描寫酒徒的作家冠上酗酒的罪名），而我所想要的只不過是安寧的環(huán)境和一個寫作的機(jī)會。也許您們從未喜歡過我寫的任何作品——您們也可能會突然非常喜歡某部作品。但是您們一定要相信，我對于自己所寫的東西都是非常真誠的。父親一直是非常誠心的，而您，母親，一點兒都不誠心，我完全理解這是因為在您看來，我走的是一條災(zāi)難性的道路，而您認(rèn)為您有義務(wù)來糾正我。因此，或許我們該停止那一切了。我敢肯定，在我的人生道路上，假如您相信道聽途說的每一件事，您將會找到很多的理由覺得我讓您蒙羞了。但在另一方面，如果您帶有一點點兒誠心作為麻醉劑，您也許會明白，我所有顯而易見的聲名狼藉，到最后發(fā)現(xiàn)事實上我一點兒都沒有讓您蒙羞。不論怎樣，真心的愛獻(xiàn)給您二老。

歐尼

名人小課堂

歐內(nèi)斯特·海明威（Ernest Hemingway,1899～1961年）美國小說家。海明威出生于美國伊利諾伊州芝加哥市郊區(qū)的奧克帕克，代表作品有《老人與海》、《太陽照樣升起》、《永別了，武器》、《喪鐘為誰而鳴》等，他憑借《老人與海》獲得1953年普利策獎及1954年諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。1961年，蜚聲世界文壇的海明威用自己的獵槍結(jié)束了自己的生命。

Ernest Hemingway to His Father　歐內(nèi)斯特·海明威致父親

Hendaye,France,14 September 1927

Dear Dad,

Thanks very much for your letter and for forwarding the letter to Uncle Tyley.I had a good letter from him yesterday.You cannot know how badly I feel about having caused you and Mother so much shame and suffering—but I could not write you about all of my and Hadley's troubles even if it were the thing to do.It takes two weeks for a letter to cross the Atlantic and I have tried not to transfer all the hell I have been through to anyone by letter.I love Hadley and I love Bumby—Hadley and I split up—I did not desert her nor was I committing adultery with anyone.I was living in the apartment with Bumby—looking after him while Hadley was away on a trip and it was when she came back from this trip that she decided she wanted the definite divorce.We arranged everything and there was no scandal and no disgrace.Our trouble had been going on for a long time.It was entirely my fault and it is no one's business.I have nothing but love admiration and respect for Hadley and while we are busted up I have not in any way lost Bumby.He lived with me in Switzerland after the divorce and he is coming back in November and will spend this winter with me in the mountains.

You are fortunate enough to have only been in love with one woman in your life.For over a year I had been in love with two people and had been absolutely faithful to Hadley.When Hadley decided that we had better get a divorce the girl with whom I was in love was in America.I had not heard from her for almost two months.In her last letter she had said that we must not think of each other but of Hadley.You refer to"Love Pirates,""persons who break up your home etc."and you know that I am hot tempered but I know that it is easy to wish people in Hell when you know nothing of them.I have seen,suffered,and been through enough so that I do not wish anyone in Hell.It is because I do not want you to suffer with ideas of shame and disgrace that I now write all this.We have not seen much of each other for a long time and in the meantime our lives have been going on and there has been a year of tragedy in mine and I know you can appreciate how difficult and almost impossible it is for me to write about it.

After we were divorced,if Hadley would have wanted me,I would have gone back to her.She said that things were better as they were and that we were both better off.I will never stop loving Hadley nor Bumby nor will I cease to look after them.I will never stop loving Pauline Pfeiffer to whom I am married.I have now responsibility toward three people instead of one.Please understand this and know that it doesn't make it easier to write about it.I do understand how hard it is for you to have to make explanations and answer questions and not hear from me.I am a rotten correspondent and it is almost impossible for me to write about my private affairs.Without seeking it—through the success of my books—all the profits of which I have turned over to Hadley—both in America,England,Germany and the Scandinavian countries—because of all this there is a great deal of talk.I pay no attention to any of it and neither must you.I have had come back to me,stories people have told about me of every fantastic and scandalous sort—all without foundation.These sorts of stories spring up about all writers—ball players—popular evangelists or any public performers.But it is through the desire to keep my own private life to myself—to give no explanations to anybody—and not to be a public performer personally that I have unwittingly caused you great anxiety.The only way I could keep my private life to myself was to keep it to myself—and I did owe you and Mother a statement on it.But I can't write about it all the time.

I know you don't like the sort of thing I write but that is the difference in our taste and all the critics are not Fanny Butcher.I know that I am not disgracing you in my writing but rather doing something that some day you will be proud of.I can't do it all at once.I feel that eventually my life will not be a disgrace to you either.It also takes a long time to unfold.

You would be so much happier and I would too if you could have confidence in me.When people ask about me,say that Ernie never tells us anything about his private life or even where he is but only writes that he is working hard.Don't feel responsible for what I write or what I do.I take the responsibility,I make the mistakes and I take the punishment.

親愛的父親：非常感謝您的來信以及幫忙轉(zhuǎn)交信件給泰勒叔叔。我昨天收到了一封他寄來的充滿善意的信。您無法知道，我對自己給您和母親帶來如此多的羞辱和痛苦是感到多么的糟糕——但我沒法寫信告訴您關(guān)于我和哈德利之間所有的問題，即使那是我應(yīng)該做的。一封信跨越大西洋需要花費兩個星期的時間，而且我盡量不要把我所經(jīng)歷過的痛苦通過書信轉(zhuǎn)移給任何人。我愛哈德利和邦比——哈德利和我離婚了——我并沒有遺棄她，也沒有與任何人通奸。我之前一直和邦比住在公寓里——哈德利外出旅行時，我一直照顧著他。而當(dāng)她旅行回來時，她決定想要跟我明確地提出離婚。我們安排好了一切，沒有流言蜚語，也沒有恥辱。我們之間的問題由來已久，冰凍三尺非一日之寒。這全部是我的過錯，與他人無關(guān)。對于哈德利，我除了敬仰和尊重，別無其他。當(dāng)我們的婚姻破裂時，我無論如何不能失去邦比。離婚后，邦比和我一起居住在瑞士，他11月份將會回來陪我在山里過冬。您非常幸運，一生中只愛一個女人。在一年多的時間里，我同時愛上兩個人，但我絕對忠實于哈德利。當(dāng)哈德利決定我們最好離婚時，我愛的那個女孩正在美國。我已經(jīng)差不多有兩個月時間沒有收到她的來信了。在她的上一封信里，她說道，我們不能只考慮彼此，而應(yīng)該考慮考慮哈德利。您提到“愛情女強盜”、“破壞您的家庭的人”等等，您知道我脾氣急躁，但是我知道，當(dāng)一個人不了解別人時，很容易詛咒他們進(jìn)地獄。可我已經(jīng)目睹了、遭受了并經(jīng)歷了足夠的痛苦，因此我不會詛咒任何人進(jìn)地獄。正是因為我不希望您承受羞愧和恥辱等思想的包袱，現(xiàn)在我才給您寫信說明這一切。我們已有很長一段時間沒有見面了，與此同時，我們的生活還在繼續(xù)，發(fā)生在我身上的悲劇已有一年了。我知道您能理解，對我來說，將這一切寫出來有多么困難，幾乎不可能。我們離婚后，假如哈德利還需要我，我將會回到她的身邊。但她說情況有所好轉(zhuǎn)，已如過去一樣，我們倆也都漸入佳境。我將永遠(yuǎn)不會停止對哈德利和邦比的愛，也不會停止對他們的照顧。我也永遠(yuǎn)不會停止對與我結(jié)婚的寶琳·費孚的愛。現(xiàn)在，我對三個人而不只是對一個人負(fù)有責(zé)任。請您理解這一切，并理解我寫出這一切并不會更輕松。我真的理解，您不得不向別人解釋和回答別人的提問，加上又收不到我的信，這一切對您來說有多么困難。我是一個糟糕的通信者，對我來說，把我的私事寫出來幾乎是不可能的。沒有刻意追求——憑借我的作品的成功——由此帶來的所有收益，我已轉(zhuǎn)交給哈德利——包括美國、英國、德國、斯堪的納維亞半島上的國家——因為這一切，又引起了一堆的閑言碎語。我根本不在乎這些閑話，您也不必在乎。我已經(jīng)回歸自我，人們所談?wù)摰年P(guān)于我的每一個空想和誹謗類的故事，都是沒有根據(jù)的。這類故事涌現(xiàn)在每一個作家、運動員、受歡迎的福音傳道士或任何公眾表演者的身上。但由于我渴望擁有屬于自己的私人生活——我沒有對任何人做出解釋——而且就個人而言，我不愿成為一個公眾表演者。我的行為卻在不知不覺中給您帶來了巨大的焦慮。唯一使我擁有屬于自己的私人生活的辦法，就是把它保留給自己——對于這件事，我的確欠您和母親一個解釋，但我不能總是寫信談?wù)撍Ｎ抑滥幌矚g我寫的那種類型的作品，但那是我們的品味有所不同，而且并非所有的評論家都是范妮·布徹。我知道我沒有在我的作品中讓您蒙羞，而是做了一件將來某一天會令您引以為傲的事。我不能立刻做到。我覺得我的生活最終也將不會給您帶來恥辱。這同樣需要很長一段時間才能展示出來。如果您對我充滿信心，您會感到快樂得多，我也會感到快樂得多。當(dāng)人們問起我，您就說歐尼從來不告訴我們他的私人生活，甚至不告訴我們他在哪里，而只是寫信說他在努力工作。您不必覺得要為我所寫的或者我所做的事情負(fù)責(zé)。我自己承擔(dān)責(zé)任，我犯了錯誤，我接受懲罰，一人做事一人當(dāng)。

1927年9月14日寫于法國，昂達(dá)伊

William Cullen Bryant to His Mother　威廉·庫倫·布萊恩特致母親

(June,1821)

Dear Mother,

I hasten to send you the melancholy intelligence of what has lately happened to me.

Early on the evening of the eleventh day of the present month,I was at a neighboring house in this village.Several people of both sexes were assembled in one of the apartments,and three or four others,with myself,were in another.At last came in a little elderly gentleman,pale,thin,with a solemn countenance,hooked nose,and hollow eyes.It was not long before we were summoned to attend in the apartment where he and the rest of the company were gathered.We went in and took our seats;the little elderly gentleman with the hooked nose prayed,and we all stood up.When he had finished,most of us sat down.The gentleman with the hooked nose then muttered certain cabalistical expressions which I was too much frightened to remember,but I recollect that at the conclusion I was given to understand that I was married to a young lady of the name of Frances Fairchild,whom I perceived standing by my side,and I hope in the course of a few months to have the pleasure of introducing to you as your daughter-in-law,which is a matter of some interest to the poor girl,who has neither father nor mother in the world...

I looked only for goodness of heart,an ingenuous and affectionate disposition,a good understanding,etc.,and the character of my wife is too frank and single-hearted to suffer me to fear that I may be disappointed.I do myself wrong;I did not look for these nor any other qualities,but they trapped me before I was aware,and now I am married in spite of myself.

Thus the current of destiny carries us along.None but a madman would swim against the stream,and none but a fool would exert himself to swim with it.The best way is to float quietly with the tide...

Your affectionate son,

William

親愛的母親：我匆忙給您寄去這封信，是想告訴您最近發(fā)生在我身上的一件令人郁悶的事情。這個月11號那天的傍晚時分，我剛好在與村子相鄰的一棟房子里。有幾個男女聚集在其中一間屋里，而我自己跟其他三四個人則待在另外一間里。最后，進(jìn)來了一位年紀(jì)稍長的小個子先生，他臉色蒼白、身材瘦削，有著一副嚴(yán)肅的面孔、如鷹鉤般的鼻子以及一雙空洞的眼睛。不一會兒，我們被人召喚到另外那間屋子里去，那位先生和其他人都聚集在那里。我們走進(jìn)去，坐了下來。那位鷹鉤鼻小個子先生開始作禱告，我們?nèi)w起立。他作完禱告之后，我們多數(shù)人都坐了下來。接著，那位鷹鉤鼻先生口中念念有詞，講了些神秘的話語。我當(dāng)時非常害怕，以至于沒有記住他到底說了些什么。但是我記得在結(jié)束的時候，我被告知自己已經(jīng)和一個名叫弗朗西絲·菲切爾德的姑娘結(jié)婚了。我感覺得到她當(dāng)時就站在我身邊，我希望幾個月后能榮幸地把她作為您的兒媳婦介紹給您。這是一件令那個可憐的姑娘感興趣的事，她的父母均已不在人世……我所要尋找的對象，只要求她心地善良、性情直率、重感情、溫柔體貼等。而我的妻子為人過于坦率和單純，我害怕自己會失望。我自己做錯了，我并沒有去尋求這些或那些品質(zhì)，但是在我自己還未意識到之前，卻已掉入了他們的圈套，身不由己地結(jié)婚了。命運的潮流正是這樣帶領(lǐng)著我們一直向前的。除了瘋子，沒人會逆流而上；除了傻子，也沒人會竭力與潮共舞。最好的辦法就是靜靜地隨波逐流……

您深情的兒子：威廉

寫于1821年6月

名人小課堂

威廉·庫倫·布萊恩特（William Cullen Bryant,1794～1878年）美國詩人和新聞記者。美國最早期的浪漫主義詩人之一，代表作品有《詩集》、《死亡隨想》、《致水鳥》及《自然之聲》等。作為美國首位重要的自然派詩人，他常被稱為“美國的華茲華斯”。布萊恩特引導(dǎo)美國詩歌擺脫了古典主義模式的僵硬束縛，使之進(jìn)入一個簡樸清新的時期。

Albert Schweitzer to His Parents(I)　阿爾貝特·施韋澤致父母（1）

Barcelona

Wednesday,2:00 P.M.

22 October,1908

My dear parents,

The worst is behind us!That was last night's organ concert and the lecture preceding it.Quite frankly I was somewhat worried about this lecture since I am not used to giving long talks in French and the hall is enormous:three thousand people.But to my amazement I discovered that I felt as much at home in French as I do in German and that it was easier for me to speak loudly and clearly in French than in German!I stood there without a manuscript,and within three minutes I sensed that I had captured my audience more surely than I had ever done before.I spoke for fifty-five minutes,and next came an organ recital that lasted for one hour.I have never been so successful.When the program ended,they all remained in their seats.I had to go back to my organ and play for another half hour.The audience was sorry to leave...it was half-past midnight!

Here,the concerts are announced for 9:15,but at that time there's not a soul in the auditorium;toward 9:30 the first few people arrive,strolling about in the hall and the lobby,and toward ten o'clock,after three rings of a bell,the people deign to finally take their seats!

On Saturday,a grand concert with organ and orchestra is scheduled in the morning,and I have long rehearsals in the evening,for the organ is very difficult to play since the sound is always delayed.Luckily,I am well rested,and I am managing to overcome the difficulties.Absolutely everyone addresses me as"cheer ma re";the art critics settle down in the auditorium during rehearsals;my portrait is displayed in the music stores.It's such fun.

I am staying with Walter at the premier hotel on the grand square with splendid palm trees.I have a view of the square and the entire city all the way to the big mountains forty minutes away from here;they are as high as the Hohnack.I walk over to them every afternoon;it takes me a total of two hours.

The weather is the same as at home on a lovely June day.The men who were waiting for me at the railroad station roared with laughter when they saw Walter and me in overcoats.

As I am writing to you,the square below my window is filled with a terrible din.The king is arriving in an hour,and the troops are now taking up their positions.Tomorrow evening there will be a grand gala performance at the theater.I have been invited,but I am not going;I want to rest,for I feel too well to risk my excellent condition.

I will close now;otherwise the letter won't go off tonight.It has to be at the post office by four o'clock.There is no night train to France.

Please forward this letter to the Ehretsmanns and to the Woytts.

Hugs and kisses,

Albert

親愛的父母親：最壞的時刻已經(jīng)過去了！我指的是昨晚的管風(fēng)琴音樂會以及音樂會前的演講。坦白講，我多少有點擔(dān)心這次演講，因為我不習(xí)慣用法語作長篇演講，加之音樂廳非常大，坐了有3000人。但令我感到驚訝的是，我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的法語竟然可以和德語講得一樣熟練，而且對我來說，洪亮清晰地講法語比講德語更容易！我站在那兒，沒有演講稿，3分鐘內(nèi)我比以前任何一次都更確定地感覺到我已經(jīng)把聽眾深深地吸引住了。我持續(xù)講了55分鐘，接下來是持續(xù)一個小時的管風(fēng)琴獨奏音樂會。我從未如此成功過。當(dāng)節(jié)目演奏完畢時，所有的聽眾仍然停留在他們座位上不愿離去，我不得不再次回到管風(fēng)琴旁，又加演了半小時。當(dāng)聽眾們依依不舍地離去時，已是午夜12點半了！這里，音樂會雖然通知9點15分開始，但到了開始的時間，大廳里卻不見一個人影；接近9點半時，第一批才到了幾個人，他們在禮堂或前廳里閑逛，快到10點鐘時，3次鈴響之后，人們才最終屈尊就座！這個星期六的上午安排了一場由管風(fēng)琴及管弦樂隊演奏的盛大音樂會，前天晚上我花了很長時間彩排，由于管風(fēng)琴發(fā)出的聲音總是滯后，所以很難演奏。幸運的是，我休息得很好，精力充沛，成功地設(shè)法克服了這些困難。每一個人都稱我為“尊敬的藝術(shù)大師”；藝術(shù)評論家們在彩排期間都認(rèn)認(rèn)真真地坐在聽眾席上；我的畫像還被懸掛在許多樂器店里。這多么有趣啊！我與沃爾特住在大廣場上的首相賓館，這里四周環(huán)繞著美麗壯觀的棕櫚樹。在房間里，透過窗戶我能欣賞到整個廣場、整個城市，甚至能一直看到離這兒有40分鐘路程之遙的群山；那些山與霍荷納克山一樣高。我每天下午步行至山腳下，來回得花費我整整兩個小時的時間。此時這里的氣候猶如家鄉(xiāng)那宜人的6月。在火車站，接我的那些人看到我和沃爾特竟還穿著大衣，他們都哈哈大笑起來。就在我給你們寫信之際，窗外的廣場上人聲鼎沸，國王將于一小時后駕到，此刻儀仗隊正在列隊準(zhǔn)備迎接。明天晚上劇院里將舉行一場盛大的歡慶表演。我已接到邀請，但我不打算去。我想休息一下，因為我現(xiàn)在感覺很好，我不想冒險破壞我的最佳狀態(tài)。我得就此擱筆了，否則這封信今晚就寄不出去了。這封信得在4點鐘之前交到郵局，因為這兒沒有開往巴黎的夜班火車。請把這封信轉(zhuǎn)交給埃雷茨曼夫婦和沃伊特夫婦。擁抱、親吻你們！

阿爾貝特

1908年10月22日星期三，下午2:00寫于巴塞羅那

名人小課堂

阿爾貝特·施韋澤（Albert Schweitzer,1875～1965年）德國哲學(xué)家、神學(xué)家、醫(yī)生、管風(fēng)琴演奏家、社會活動家、人道主義者。1904年，在哲學(xué)、神學(xué)和音樂方面已經(jīng)擁有巨大聲望的他聽到剛果缺少醫(yī)生的呼吁，決定到非洲行醫(yī)。1913年他來到非洲，在加蓬的蘭巴雷內(nèi)建立了叢林診所，服務(wù)非洲直至逝世。1952年，他獲得了諾貝爾和平獎，被稱為“非洲之子”。

Albert Schweitzer to His Parents(ò)　阿爾貝特·施韋澤致父母（2）

Barcelona

Friday,23 October,1908

My dear parents,

I have just been asked to participate in the gala concert that will be given on Monday evening in honor of the king and queen.I have accepted.I am to play a Handel concerto for organ and orchestra and the organ part in Bach's Magnificence.The tickets are horrendously expensive.Some of the boxes cost one thousand francs!The net receipts are earmarked for the Catalonian orphans.I am the only soloist in this concert.

I get no chance to write because so much time is wasted here;yesterday's rehearsal dragged on until 12:30 A.M.!Today from 2:00 to 6:00!No one ever hurries,and they all smoke constantly.No sooner have we rehearsed for ten minutes than the conductor sits down,rolls himself a cigarette,and smokes it,and the instrumentalists do likewise...and they don't continue rehearsing until the cigarette has been smoked.Paul could see fiddlers galore here,each fiddling away with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth.At first I was annoyed at the waste of time,but now I am quite domesticated,and I smile.

The newspapers have reported very positively on my lecture and my recital.On Saturday evening the auditorium will be sold out.I live very sensibly.I have just taken a big two-hour stroll along the large ring street,which runs from the hotel to the mountains.No rehearsal tomorrow morning!I'll sleep,write...and take a walk.

Yesterday I was amazed to see that they don't take anything like the same security measure for the monarchs as in Germany.The crowd thronged around the king's carriage,so it could advance only at a walking pace.Freedom reigns here.They did not even clear the streets for the military parade.A woman with a donkey cart held up an entire regiment.It was too comical.We went to the harbor—immensely huge—to see the French squadron.

The city and the people generally make the best impression.Everything is clean,everyone works.

It is ten-thirty at night.I am writing to you by the open window...the large palm trees are swaying in the wind.

I embrace you with all my heart,

Albert

親愛的父母親：我剛剛被邀請參加下周一晚上為國王和王后舉行的慶祝音樂會。我接受了這一邀請。我將為管風(fēng)琴和管弦樂演奏一段韓德爾的協(xié)奏曲，管風(fēng)琴部分則演奏巴赫的《輝煌》。這場音樂會的票價貴得要命，有些包廂賣到1000法郎！音樂會的純收入將指定為加泰羅尼亞的孤兒的專款專用。我是本場音樂會唯一的獨奏者。我沒有機(jī)會寫信，因為許多時間都白白地浪費在這兒了。昨天的彩排一直拖到上午12點半！今天則從2點拖到6點！沒有一個人抓緊時間的，而且他們還時不時地抽煙。我們彩排還不到10分鐘，樂隊指揮就坐下來，為自己卷了支煙，抽了起來，于是樂手們也有樣學(xué)樣……直到香煙抽完了，他們才繼續(xù)彩排。保羅可以看到小提琴手們聚集在這里，每個人嘴角都叼著一支香煙在那浪費時間。一開始我對如此浪費時間的行為感到氣憤，但我現(xiàn)在相當(dāng)習(xí)以為常了，一笑置之。報界對我的演講及獨奏會進(jìn)行了高度肯定的報道。星期六晚上，音樂會的門票將出售一空。我過得非常瀟灑。我剛剛沿著從賓館至群山的環(huán)形大街散了兩個小時的步。明天早上沒有彩排！我可以睡睡覺、寫寫信……還有散散步。昨天，我看到他們竟然沒有采取任何像在德國為君主采取的那些安保措施，我感到非常驚奇。人群蜂擁在國王的馬車周圍，馬車只能以步行的速度緩緩前行。這里充滿了自由。他們甚至沒有為軍隊的檢閱肅清街道。一個趕著驢車的婦女擋住了整個閱兵團(tuán)。真是太滑稽了。我們還去了港口——非常大的港口——去看法國的海軍艦隊。這個城市和這兒的人們普遍地給我留下了最好的印象。這里每件事物都是干凈的，每個人都在工作。現(xiàn)在是晚上10點半。我正在敞開的窗下給你們寫信……高大的棕櫚樹在風(fēng)中搖曳。我全身心地?fù)肀銈儭?

阿爾貝特

1908年10月23日，星期五寫于巴塞羅那