官术网_书友最值得收藏!

第11章 DAMASCUS AND LONDON (I) 大馬士革和倫敦(一)

Damascus is one of the greatest and most truly oriental cities in the world; let us, therefore, for our amusement and instruction, compare it in its general external features with London.In this way we may,perhaps,be able to get a clear idea of an oriental city.

From the dome of St. Paul's you behold London lying around, like a wide, waving, endless sea of slates, tiles, houses, churches, spires and monuments of all kinds. The eye is relieved with the heights and the hollows, the great and the little, the lowly lanes and the heaven-pointing spires.

In Damascus the scene is very different: there is much less variety; no spires, but multitudes of domes upon the mosques, and baths surmounted by little minarets. The houses are all flat-roofed, and the hue of the whole is a dim ash colour. A stillness like that of the dead reigns over the whole scene; and the city, surrounded with its celebrated evergreen gardens, suggests the idea of a ship sailing away through an ocean of verdure. Dun walls, flat roofs, domes and minarets, the stillness of death and the verdure of paradise, make up the elements of this most charming oriental scene. Tradition tells that Moham'med refused to enter the city, saying, “As there is only one paradise allotted to man, I shall reserve mine for the future world.”

London and most large western cities are very often surmounted by clouds of smoke, owing to the coldness of the climate and the great consumption of coal. The sky over Damascus appears as bright and serene as elsewhere. For the greater part of the year the climate renders little or no fire necessary; and the little that is used is not from coal, but from wood or charcoal. The rooms have neither chimneys nor fire-places, and, except for the preparation of the supper, fire is rarely required during the course of the day. Hence the oriental city is not encircled with a graceful wreath of smoke, to remind you either of an ungenial clime or of the progress of mechanical genius.

But approach the city. All seems very still and quiet. Is it an enchanted capital, whose inhabitants have been turned into stone or brass? No; but the streets are not paved; there are no wheel-carriages of any kind; the shoes, more like foot-gloves than shoes, have no nails; no cotton-mills lift up their voice in the streets; —all those noisy triumphs of mechanical genius, in the way of forging, spinning, weaving, beetling, which are so frequent among us, are unknown in Damascus. The Easterns hold on their old course steadily, and yield to no seductions of novelty: the water-pump was invented in Alexandria, but the Alexandrians still prefer the ancient well and bucket.

But if the ear is not saluted with the roar and turbulence of mills, forges, and mechanical operations, Damascus has its own peculiar sounds, not less various and interesting in their way. The streets are filled with innumerable dogs, lean, lazy, and hungry-like; mules, donkeys, camels, dromedaries, meet and mingle in those narrow streets, and impress both the eye and the ear of the traveller with a pure and perfect idea of Orientalism.

British cities spread out, as it were indefinitely, into the country, in the way of parks, gardens, summer-houses, gentlemen's seats, and smiling villages. It is not so in the East. The city is within the walls, and all without is garden as at Damascus, or desert as at Jerusalem. Single houses are, in any country, the proof of the supremacy of law as well as of the respectability and independence of labour. Life and property have not attained perfect security in the East: a pistol, or rather a musket, was presented at my breast, within half a mile of Damascus, in broad daylight!

These noble gardens have no inhabitants; nor do any fine cottages, tasteful houses, or princely palaces, adorn this fertile region. Within the city you are safe; —without are dogs, insecurity of property, and the liability of being shot. The whole population, therefore, live either in cities or in villages, except in such regions as Beirout, where European influence and power prevail. There, you have gardens and single houses, much after the English fashion.

But place a Damascene at Charing Cross, or at Cheapside, and what do you think would amaze him most? The number of vehicles, undoubtedly. He would say, “When will this stream of cars, cabs, coaches, carriages, omnibuses of every shape and size, have an end? Are the people mad? Can they not take their time?”

But had the oriental nations of antiquity no wheel-carriages? They had; the Jews and the Egyptians had them, the Greeks and the Romans had them, and perhaps they may exist in some parts of the East to the present time. Here in Damascus there are none. The streets are not formed for them. The horses are trained only for riding. There are no common, levelled, and well-ordered public roads. Our fathers used no coaches; they preferred the more manly exercise of horsemanship, and yielded the soft, effeminate luxury of the coach to the ladies. But in London there are now about nine hundred omnibuses, each of which takes about £1000 annually. Such is the present state of coaching with us. How different is Damascus! and how different must the aspect of the streets appear!

With us, the city is laid out in streets, squares, crescents, royal circuses, and similar devices of beauty and regularity. This is the case particularly in the “west-ends” and newer parts of our cities and towns. There is nothing of this in Damascus, or in any of the eastern cities that I have seen: squares, crescents, and circuses are unknown. The streets are extremely irregular, crooked, winding, and narrow; which seems to arise out of the anxiety to find a protection from the sun.

In the narrower streets, where the houses are high, the sun's rays are effectually excluded; and in the wider ones, where this is not attainable, the numerous windings and angles afford salient points where the passenger may for a moment of two enjoy the shade. This may appear trifling, but I have often found the heat of the solar rays so intense and unendurable that even the sun-burnt Bedouins, the children of the desert,were glad of the least passing shade, the least momentary shelter, from the intolerable heat.

In the bazaars of Damascus, on the contrary, the streets or avenues are laid out with the greatest regularity, and are as straight as possible. In the heat of the day these are nearly deserted; business is at a stand; the merchant is reclining with pipe in mouth, in a state of semi-somnolence, in which the influence of opium or the odour of the redolent weed has carried the fertile imagination into the regions of celestial ease.

In an eastern city you have no prospect. With us you can see a considerable way along the streets. In Damascus you feel absolutely isolated; the streets are so narrow and crooked that at the most you can rarely see a perch before you, and nothing that does meet the eye in the way of buildings has the least attraction. Irregularity in style and clumsiness of execution, combined with the absence of fine doors, all windows, everything in the shape of fronts, railings, ornaments, &c., make the impression in that respect very disagreeable.

In our streets, we are pleased with large houses, fine rows of large windows, tastefully arranged doors and entrances; —everything seems to convey the idea of order, attention, cleanliness combined with the possession of wealth and the consciousness that it is our own. We conceal nothing, for we have no motive for concealment. Our house is our palace, and though the winds may thistle whorugh our dilapidated halls, the Queen herself dare not enter without our permission. Freedom has increased our property, and our wealth has enhanced the value of our freedom. Our temptation is not to concealment, but to ostentation and unnecessary display.

This tendency or temptation among us stands in connection with our character as a highly civilized and commercial nation. Great transactions cannot be carried on without credit, and credit is necessarily based on the belief of wealth; so that very often, where there may be little real property, it may be most desirable that there should be the appearance of it……

The mean, low door in Damascus, tells you of tyranny, concealment, and the want of confidence in public justice. Misery without and splendour within, is a principle which befits a land where paper is just paper, whatever name it bears; where gold is the only circulating medium; where a man's own house is his bank; and where the suspicion of being rich may make him a prey to the rapacity of the government.

On the contrary, the noble streets, squares, crescents, &c., of our modem cities, are clear indications, not only of great wealth and power, but also of something far dearer and nobler—namely,that confidence in one another,formed by myriads of concurring circumstances, of which Christianity is one of the mightiest, and out of which flow most of the blessings of European civilization and free political institutions.

But what is the use of that stone by the door-post? These stones are the steps from which ladies mount their donkeys, mules, and horses. Nor should you think this strange. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Paris presented these mounting-stones at all the angles of the streets, and at other convenient places. At Frankfort on the Main, there was a certain gate at which these conveniences were prepared for the emperor and the magnates of the German Diet; and I have no doubt that, in the days of feudalism and knightly glory, London was not behind its neighbours in this respect.

—Rev. Dr. Graham

Words

absolutely,wholly.

allotted,assigned.

attainable,procurable.

celebrated,renowned.

celestial,heavenly.

circumstances,events.

concealment;secrecy.

concurring,agreeing.

confidence,trust.

consciousness,knowledge.

consumption,employment.

disagreeable,unpleasant.

effectually,successfully.

effeminate,womanish.

enchanted,bewitched.

encircled,encompassed.

enhanced,increased.

external,outward.

extremely,very.

indefinitely,without bounds.

intolerable,insufferable.

isolated,alone.

levelled,smoothed.

liability,danger.

momentary,temporary.

myriads,hosts.

oriental,eastern.

preparation,cooking.

protection,covering.

reclining,resting.

redolent,fragrant.

relieved,gratified.

respectability,estimation.

seductions,allurement.

semi-somnolence,being half-asleep.

supremacy,authority.

suspicion,surmise.

tendency,inclination.

turbulence,tumult.

vehicles,carriages.

verdure,greenness.

Questions

What contrast to London does Damascus present, in respect of its buildings? What, in respect of its atmosphere? What is the cause of the great stillness in the eastern city? Why are there no country-houses around Damascus? What are these the proof of in any country? What would most strike a Damascene in the streets of London? Why are the streets in eastern cities made narrow and crooked? What effect has this upon the prospect? What are fine houses and streets proof of in a commercial nation? What do the mean low doors in Damascus indicate? For what purpose are stones set up at the door-posts?

大馬士革是世界上最偉大和最真實的東方城市之一。因此,為了自我娛樂和學習,我們可以將其一般性的外部特征與倫敦進行比較。這樣我們也許能得到一個東方城市的清晰的概念。

從圣保羅大教堂的圓頂上,你可以俯瞰倫敦橫亙于此,就像一片廣闊、飄動、無盡的石板、瓷磚、房屋、教堂、尖頂和各種紀念碑的海洋。眼前會布滿各種建筑,高聳的和凹陷的,偉大的與渺小的,卑微的小巷和指向天際的尖頂。

在大馬士革,人們看到的場面則十分不同:建筑的多樣性不像倫敦;這里沒有尖頂,而是眾多清真寺的圓頂,和占據整個城市的小尖塔。這些房子都是平頂的,而整體的色調是暗淡的灰色。這樣死亡一般的寂靜統治著整個場景,周圍布滿著名的常青花園的城市,讓人想到一艘輪船漂洋過翠綠海洋的場面。盾墻、平頂、圓頂和尖塔、死亡的寂靜和天堂的翠綠,構成了這最迷人的東方場景的各種元素。傳說中講道,穆罕默德拒絕進入這座城市,他說:“由于人間只能有一個這樣屬于人類的天堂,我將保留我的天堂,直到未來世界。”

由于氣候的寒冷和對煤炭的巨大消耗,倫敦和大多數西方大都市都經常籠罩在煙霧中。大馬士革的上空則呈現出如其他地方一樣的明亮而寧靜的天際。一年中的大部分時間,這里都很少或根本沒有煙火;而那很少的煙火也不是由燃煤引起的,而是源自木材或木炭。這里的房子既沒有煙囪也沒有火爐,并且除了準備晚餐,火在一天的生活中都很少需要。所以,東方的城市從未環繞著煙霧的曼妙暈圈——這些會提醒你惡劣的氣候或者工業的進步。

但接近城市之后,你會發現一切似乎都很寧靜安詳。這里難道是一座被施了魔法的都城,這里的居民已經變成了石頭或黃銅嗎?當然不是,但街道沒有鋪砌;這里也沒有任何帶車輪的車輛;鞋子,更像腳套而不是鞋子,沒有任何鞋跟;沒有棉廠在街道上喧囂它們的聲音——所有這些屬于機械的靈光的那些嘈雜的勝利,比如鍛造、紡紗、織布、錘木,這些在我們的城市中如此頻繁活動,在大馬士革都似乎是未知的。東方人保持穩步推進他們的進步,從不屈服于新穎的誘惑。水泵是在亞歷山大發明的,但亞歷山大的人們還是喜歡古井和水桶。

但耳朵即使沒有充斥著這種磨坊、熔爐和機械操作的吼聲和湍流,大馬士革也有其自身特有的聲音,而其自身特有的方式也同樣多樣、有趣。街道上到處都是瘦弱懶惰、饑腸轆轆的狗;騾子、驢、駱駝、干草,在那些狹窄的街道上交匯、嘈雜,給旅行者的耳朵和眼睛留下深刻印象,讓你清楚地明白這就是東方。

英國的城市向外擴散,正如它無限地延伸到鄉村之中。公園、花園、避暑的涼亭、紳士的座椅和微笑的村莊,則是城市的模樣。但在東方,卻不是這般狀況。城市都是在圍墻之內,其外部都是像大馬士革的花園,或是耶路撒冷的沙漠一樣的地帶。在任何國家,單獨一座房子都是法律至高無上的證明,和對勞動的尊重和獨立。生命和財富,在東方世界從未擁有過完全的安全。一支手槍或是滑膛槍,在大馬士革之外的半英里內,在光天化日之下,就能穿透我的胸膛!

這些尊貴的花園里沒有人居住,也沒有美好的別墅、雅致的房子或王族的宮殿來裝飾這片肥沃的土地。在城市之內你是安全的——在城市外面,會有狗,財產沒有安全,而且可能會被擊斃。因此,所有人都生活在城市或村鎮中,除了貝魯特——歐洲的影響和權力在這里盛行。在那里,你有花園和獨棟的房子,這與英國的風景是一致的。

但如果把一個大馬士革人放在十字廣場,或在齊普賽,你覺得什么最容易讓他感到驚奇?毫無疑問,是車輛的數目。他會說:“如此大流量的汽車、出租車、大馬車、貨車、巴士,什么時候是個盡頭啊?人們瘋了嗎?他們不可以放松心情,慢慢來嗎?”

但古代的東方國家就沒有四輪馬車嗎?他們有;猶太人和埃及人有四輪馬車,希臘人和羅馬人也有,或許如今,它們仍可能存在于東方世界的某些地方。在這里,在大馬士革,卻沒有。街道并不是為四輪馬車而鋪就的。馬匹只被訓練來騎行。這里也沒有共用的、平坦而秩序井然的公共道路。我們的父輩沒有用大馬車,他們更喜歡更有男人味的馬術練習,并將柔軟、柔弱的馬車的奢侈賦予了女士們。但如今在倫敦,有大約九百輛公共機車,每輛車大約每年會花費一千英鎊。這就是我們現在使用的大馬車。但大馬士革卻是如此不同!街道呈現出來的不同也是如此明顯!

這座城市給我們展現出來的是街道、廣場、新月形建筑、王室馬戲團、美容院和常規性的類似設施。這種情況特別出現在“最西方的世界”和我們嶄新的城市和城鎮之中。但這在大馬士革是不存在的,或者在任何我見過的東方的城市也是一樣,廣場、新月形建筑和馬戲在這些地方是不存在的。街道都極不規則、彎曲、卷繞而狹窄。這似乎讓人產生了焦慮感,想要趕快找尋太陽的保護。

在更為較窄的街道上,那里的房子都很高,太陽的光芒被有效地遮擋在外;而在更廣闊的街道上,如果太陽不是被高聳的房屋擋住,眾多的拐角和角度也能使走過這里的路人享受到片刻的陰涼。這有時可能會顯得微不足道,但我經常會覺得太陽光線的熱量如此炙熱和讓人難以忍受,即使是習慣于太陽灼烤的游牧民族,沙漠中的子民,也會從酷暑難耐的內心深處因為哪怕一點點的陰影和片刻的遮蔽而感到歡愉。

相反,在大馬士革的集市上,街道的布局則呈現出最大的規律性,并極端筆直。在熱天,這些地方幾近冷清,所有店鋪都處于待業狀態,商販們都斜倚在某處,嘴里吹著口哨,打著瞌睡,這時鴉片或香草散發出來的氣味,已經影響人們產生豐富的想象力,仿佛有了天國的安逸。

在一個東方的城市,你找不到前方的路。在我們的城市,你可以沿著街道看到一條大路。在大馬士革,你會感覺到徹底的隔離。街道是如此的狹窄、彎曲,即使你看到最遠處,你也看不到一個休息的地方,也沒有什么樣式的建筑物能夠吸引人們的一點點關注。風格的不規則和制作的笨拙難看,加上沒有漂亮的大門,所有的窗口看著像前門,欄桿、裝飾物等東西,都使得這里的建筑給人留下極其不好的印象。

在我們的街道,我們很高興能見到大房子,精妙排列的大窗戶,布置高雅的大門和入口——似乎這一切事物都在傳達著這些理念的互相結合。秩序、關注、清潔的理念,對財富的占有,這些都屬于我們自己的意識。我們什么也不隱瞞,因為我們沒有隱瞞的動機。我們的房子是我們的宮殿,雖然風可以吹拂我們破舊的廳堂,但就連女王陛下本人也不敢未經我們許可就進入我們的房間。自由增加了我們的財產,我們的財富增強了我們自由的價值。誘惑我們的并不是不隱瞞,而是排場和不必要的炫耀。

我們中間的傾向或誘惑在于將我們的性格和一個高度文明和商業化的國家相連接。偉大的交易無法在無信用的前提下進行,信用一定是基于財富的信念而建立起來的,所以很多時候,在那些可能不會有什么真正財富的地方,可能最需要財富的外觀呈現……

大馬士革的破敗、低矮的大門,顯示出這里統治的暴虐性和隱蔽性以及公共司法信念的意圖。外在的苦難和內在的輝煌,是這里的一個原則,而此原則恰可以使這個任何事物的本質都不會隨意改變的地方受益。在這里,黃金是唯一的循環介質;在這里,一個人的房子就是他的財產儲存地;而他富有的任何顯露都可能使他成為貪婪政府的獵物。

相反,我們的現代城市里高貴的街道、廣場、新月形建筑,等等,不僅是巨大的財富和權力的明顯的標志,同時也彰顯了一些更美好和更高貴的事物——也就是,在無數相同的情況下,人與人之間的相互信任;其中,基督教就是最強大的一種情況。除此之外,充滿對歐洲文明和自由的政治制度的祝福。

但是,門柱旁邊那塊石頭是做什么用的?某個叫朱利的人為他的驢、騾子和馬裝上鞍子的時候,這些石頭是他站著的墊腳石。你不要覺得這很奇怪。在14和15世紀,巴黎提出在所有街道的拐角處,或者在其他方便的地方,安裝這樣的墊腳石。在法蘭克福,某種這樣的大門也為皇帝和德國國會的富豪們準備了這種便利。我對此毫不懷疑,在封建社會和騎士榮耀的日子里,在這方面,倫敦也一定與它的這些鄰居一樣。

——雷夫·格雷厄姆

主站蜘蛛池模板: 化州市| 谢通门县| 木兰县| 阿拉善右旗| 集安市| 塔城市| 营口市| 九江市| 静宁县| 临湘市| 温泉县| 乐安县| 桐庐县| 拜泉县| 大化| 博客| 思南县| 万州区| 白朗县| 福贡县| 万安县| 越西县| 舟曲县| 兖州市| 云安县| 辛集市| 九龙坡区| 承德县| 西林县| 泌阳县| 阳朔县| 渭源县| 衡水市| 醴陵市| 夏河县| 嘉禾县| 左贡县| 成安县| 雅安市| 盐边县| 正阳县|