【導(dǎo)讀】威廉·惠特曼·貝利（1843—1914）曾任布朗大學(xué)、麻省理工學(xué)院植物學(xué)教授。其父雅各布·惠特曼·貝利（1811—1857）是一個(gè)自然主義者，也是美國(guó)微觀研究的先驅(qū)，曾任西點(diǎn)軍?；瘜W(xué)教授。家學(xué)淵源一定程度上折射出美國(guó)歷史上一個(gè)人文與自然科學(xué)相得益彰的時(shí)期。

這篇優(yōu)美的散文發(fā)表在1878年的美國(guó)《全國(guó)教育學(xué)刊》（National Journal of Education）上。文章以冬日林中漫步時(shí)的冰雪美景為主要聚焦對(duì)象，抒發(fā)了對(duì)神奇大自然的謳歌和對(duì)美好事物易逝的感嘆。在結(jié)構(gòu)上，由遠(yuǎn)及近（森林到后院）、由物及人、由景及情。語(yǔ)言上兼具美感和詩(shī)意，運(yùn)用了比喻、擬人、夸張、用典、互文等多種修辭，最突出的是將大自然及其生靈、樹(shù)木、溪流人格化。風(fēng)格和主題上，隱約可見(jiàn)自然主義者愛(ài)默生、梭羅、布萊恩特和浪漫主義者朗費(fèi)羅等人的印跡?！懊乐琳?，其衰也忽”的主題亦與中國(guó)文藝美學(xué)頗有共通。

A walk in the wild woods is never without its charm. Even in the winter we find it profitable to keep up our acquaintance with Nature， and to pay her an occasional visit. She never pleads the shallow and fallacious excuse of domestic engagements， but we have a suspicion that about this time she is not the least busy lady in the land. Think of all the multitudinous plans she is maturing， to delight and surprise us in the spring！ Under the snow-beds are myriads of slumbering blossoms， not to speak of forms of higher life， which await but a word from the gentle goddess to come forth in vernal beauty.

We love to follow the paths made by some rabbit or other wild creature， and which lead into mysterious depths of forest. The silence would be appalling， were it not for that instinctive faith in the latent life about us. In places the snow is positively blue，—where， for instance， the “sombrous pines”1 cast their long shadows westward and mark the progress of the sun. Wonderful palaces have been built above the little brook， which bubbles， and whispers， and laughs as it plays sweet music on the tinkling ice. We gaze down colonnades of stately pillars， ornate as those of Thebes. Let Schlieman2 delve in the ruins of Mycenae： he can not unearth more wonderful remains than these. It requires good courage， and something of enthusiasm besides， to travel a foot over frozen snow; but there are days when it is quite out of the question for one to stay at home. Blue skies， jingling sleigh-bells， and crisp air all summon him out of doors. If he can skate， he has reached the triumph of locomotion， the poetry of earthly movement. A perfect skater suggests those exquisite statues of the Greeks， where a god is represented poised as if for flight. The anatomical absurdity of wings is dispensed with， and he seems to glide along by the very force of genius. There may be reason， perhaps， why we can not skate. At such times we wrap up well， and start off like some Alpine or Arctic explorer， with a convenience at hand of which these venturesome spirits are deprived，—viz.， the ready access to a returning horse-car.

Sometimes kind Nature undertakes a little dramatic performance in our back-yard， when we keep a reserved seat in the house and witness the spectacle in comfort. Where is the artist that can paint such a scene？ Does a childs imagination even， create anything so dazzling and bewildering？ Here is a pear-tree， whose withered fruit is transformed into sugared confections. For what fairy beauty are prepared these necklaces of pearl？ Who ground the iridescent facets of yonder diamonds that spangle in the sunlight， and， catching the subtle colors of the spectrum， gleam like shattered rainbows？ The oak has sheathed himself in mail， and even the tiny twigs are gauntleted. A light breeze causes the armor to creak and the joints to rattle， but the fabric is well-wrought and can endure the strain.

Beautiful beyond all description is the view adown the garden path， where the over-arching shrubs have formed a fret-work of crystal. Here are hung strings of orient pearls; tapestry and lace-work of superb patterns recall the splendors of medieval times; and here is a film or veil of frost so delicate that a breath would endanger it. The most homely objects are fringed with opaline icicles. A cluster of barberries， which has escaped the birds， is now an ear-drop of costly coral. What could the island-home of Edmund Dantes3 show that was in any way comparable to this splendor！

“Loveliest of lovely things are they

On earth， that soonest pass away.”4

Even as we look， the enchantment is broken. The rare decorations are dashed upon the ground， for with a shudder and a sigh， each branch seems to bow itself slightly and then cast off its armor. The jewels are dissolved in rain.

野外林中漫步總不乏妙趣。即使冬天，我們也會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，與自然保持親近，偶爾拜訪一次，大有裨益。她從不以內(nèi)事繁忙的淺薄托詞欺人，但我們不免猶疑，在這個(gè)時(shí)候，她絕不會(huì)是這片國(guó)度最清閑的主人。想想她正在醞釀的那些數(shù)不勝數(shù)的計(jì)劃吧，只為在春天里讓我們愉悅和驚艷！白雪的被褥下，是千千萬(wàn)萬(wàn)沉睡的花，更不用說(shuō)一些更高形式的生命，只待這位慈愛(ài)的女神一聲令下，他們就要迸放出春之美麗。

我們喜歡循著兔子或其他某種野生動(dòng)物的蹤跡，走向森林深處的秘境。那里的寂靜會(huì)讓人膽顫心驚，好在我們對(duì)四周蟄伏的生命有著本能的信任。可以看見(jiàn)，在雪泛出純藍(lán)的地方，“陰沉的松樹(shù)”向西投下長(zhǎng)影，標(biāo)記太陽(yáng)的移動(dòng)。小溪的上方建造了一座座美妙的宮殿，溪水汩汩地冒著泡，低語(yǔ)著，歡笑著，在叮當(dāng)作響的融冰上演奏著甜美的音樂(lè)。我們注視著排成一列列的冰柱，莊嚴(yán)華美，不輸?shù)妆人股駨R和宮殿的廊柱。讓施里曼鉆研他的邁錫尼遺址吧：他不可能找出比這些還美妙的遺跡。在凍雪上邁步需要不小的勇氣，也需要某種熱情;但是，總有些時(shí)日，你完全沒(méi)法待在家里。蔚藍(lán)的天空、清脆的雪橇鈴、清冽的空氣，都在召喚人們走出家門(mén)。如果會(huì)滑冰，還將體驗(yàn)到運(yùn)動(dòng)的喜悅，這也是世間運(yùn)動(dòng)的詩(shī)意所在。一個(gè)完美的滑手會(huì)讓人想起希臘人那些精美的雕像，呈現(xiàn)的神作勢(shì)欲飛。無(wú)需研究匪夷所思的鳥(niǎo)翼結(jié)構(gòu)，仿佛僅憑天賦之力就能一路滑翔?；蛟S，我們不會(huì)滑冰也屬情有可原。在這樣的時(shí)節(jié)，我們往往把自己裹得嚴(yán)嚴(yán)實(shí)實(shí)，出門(mén)時(shí)就像阿爾卑斯山或北極的某個(gè)探險(xiǎn)者，而我們還享有這些頗具冒險(xiǎn)精神之人所不具備的一項(xiàng)便利——那便是，隨時(shí)乘坐馬車回家。

有時(shí)候，善良的大自然會(huì)在我們的后院上演沒(méi)那么盛大的戲劇的一幕，我們?cè)诩抑蓄A(yù)留一個(gè)席位，便可安逸地觀賞。能描繪出這般景致的畫(huà)家在哪兒呢？即便孩童的想象力也難創(chuàng)造出如此炫目迷人的作品吧？這里有棵梨樹(shù)，干癟的果實(shí)化作了覆滿糖霜的蜜餞。這些珍珠項(xiàng)鏈又是做給什么樣的美艷仙子？那邊，一顆顆鉆石在陽(yáng)光下熠熠生輝，它們捕捉住光譜中微妙的色彩，折射出破碎彩虹般的光芒——是誰(shuí)為它們打磨出色彩斑斕的切面？那棵橡樹(shù)已經(jīng)為自己套上鎧甲，就連細(xì)枝也戴上了金屬手套。一陣微風(fēng)吹過(guò)，甲胄嘎吱作響，連接處也發(fā)出咔咔聲，但這層甲胄做工精良，足以承受這樣的張力。

沿著花園小徑望去，景色美不勝收，無(wú)可比擬。鱗次櫛比的灌木叢組成了水晶的回紋。這兒有一串串懸掛枝頭的東方珍珠;圖案華美的織錦和花邊令人懷想中世紀(jì)的輝煌;這兒還有一層薄薄的霜紗，吹彈可破。最不起眼的東西的邊緣也鑲上了乳白的冰凌。一簇伏牛子躲過(guò)了鳥(niǎo)兒的采食，現(xiàn)在已是一串價(jià)值不菲的珊瑚耳墜。愛(ài)德蒙·唐泰斯的島上家園何美之有，可以媲美如此勝景！

“美之至者，

其衰也忽?！?/p>

就在我們觀注之際，幻境破碎。珍奇的飾物簌然掉落，哪怕只一個(gè)寒顫、一聲嘆息，條條樹(shù)枝似乎也會(huì)微微點(diǎn)頭，卸落甲胄。飛花碎玉，零落成雨。

（譯者單位：北京語(yǔ)言大學(xué)）