On the Feeling of Immortality in Youth

威廉·赫茲里特/William Hazlitt

沒有一個年輕人相信自己會死。這句話是我哥哥說的，它真算得上一句妙語。年輕人有一種永生之感——它似乎能彌補一切。擁有青春的人就好像是一尊不朽的神靈。一半的生命已經流走，而蘊藏著無盡寶藏的另一半生命還沒有明確的下限，因此我們對它也就抱著無窮的希望和幻想。我們把未來的時代完全據為己有——

無限遼闊的遠景在我們面前展現著。

年老、死亡只不過是空話，沒有任何意義。我們聽了，并沒有放在心上，如同拂過我們的一縷風。這些事，別人或許經歷過，或者可能就要經歷——但是我們自己“享受著令人著迷的生命”，對于諸如此類脆弱的念頭，統統會輕蔑地一笑了之。像是剛剛走上愉快的旅程，極目遠眺——

向遠方的美景歡呼！

這時我們會覺得好風景應接不暇，如果往前走的話，還會有更多美不勝收的新鮮景致。在這生活的開端，我們聽任自己的志趣馳騁，放手給它們一切滿足的機會。到此時為止，我們還沒有碰上過什么障礙，也沒有感覺到什么疲倦，因而覺得可以一直這樣向前走去，直到永遠。我們看到四周一派新天地——生機勃勃，變動不息，日新月異；我們覺得自己充滿活力，精神高漲，可與宇宙并駕齊驅。而且，眼前也沒有任何跡象可以表明，在大自然的發展過程中，我們自己也會落伍、衰老、掉進墳墓。年輕人天性單純，可以說是茫然無知，總有青春常在之感，因而將自己跟大自然畫上等號，并且由于缺少經驗，感情旺盛，總是以為自己也能像大自然一樣永生。我們在世界上只是暫時棲身，卻一廂情愿、癡心妄想地竟把它當作天長地久的結合，好像沒有冷漠、爭吵、離別的蜜月。就像嬰兒帶著微笑入睡一樣，我們躺在用自己天真的幻想所編織成的搖籃里，宇宙的萬籟之聲將我們催眠；我們高興而急切地暢飲生命之泉，怎么也不會飲干，它好像永遠是滿滿欲溢的：包羅萬象紛至沓來，各種欲望隨之而生，我們沒有時間去思考死亡！

No young man believes he shall ever die. It was a saying of my brother's， and a fine one.There is a feeling of Eternity in youth， which makes us amend for everything.To be young is to be as one of the Immortal Gods.One half of time indeed is flown—the other half remains in store for as with all its countless treasures；for there is no line drawn， and we see no limit to our hopes and wishes.We make the coming age our own—

The vast， the unbounded prospect lies before us.

Death， old age， are words without a meaning， that pass by us like the idle air which we regard not. Others may have undergone， or may still be liable to them—we"bear a charmed life"， which laughs to scorn all such sickly fancies.As in setting out on a delightful journey， we strain our eager gaze forward—

Bidding the lovely scenes at distance hail.

And see no end to the landscape， new objects presenting themselves as we advance；so， in the commencement of life， we set no bounds to our inclinations， nor to the unrestricted opportunities of gratifying them. We have as yet found no obstacle， no disposition to flag；and it seems that we can go on so forever.We look round in a new world， full of life， and motion， at ceaseless progress；and feel in ourselves all the vigour and spirit to keep pace with it， and do not foresee from any present symptoms how we shall be left behind in the natural course of things， decline into old age， and drop into the grave.It is the simplicity， and as it were abstractedness of our feelings in youth， that (so to speak) identifies us with nature， and (our experience being slight and our passions strong) deludes us into a belief of being immortal like it.Our short-lived connexion with existence we fondly flatter ourselves， is all indissoluble and lasting union—a honeymoon that knows neither coldness， jar， nor separation.As infants smile and sleep， we are rocked in the cradle of out wayward fancies， and lulled into security by the roar of the universe around us—we quaff the cup of life with eager haste without draining it， instead of which it only overflows the more-objects press around us， filling the mind with their magnitude and with the throng of desires that wait upon them， so that we have no room for the thoughts of death…