培根散文隨筆美文：Of Death論死亡

培根散文隨筆集中英對照，通過閱讀文學名著學語言，是掌握英語的絕佳方法。既可接觸原汁原味的英語，又能享受文學之美，一舉兩得，何樂不為?

　　2 Of Death 論死亡

　　Men fear death, as children fear to go in the dark: and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other. Certainly, the contemplation of death, as the wages of sin, and passage to another world, is holy and religious; but the fear of it, as a tribute due unto nature, is weak. Yet in religious meditations, there is sometimes mixture of vanity, and of superstition.

　　成人之怕死猶如兒童之怕入暗處;兒童底天然的恐懼因故事而增加，成人對于死的恐懼亦復如此。當然，靜觀死亡，以之為罪孽底工資，通往另一世界的去路者，是虔誠而且合乎宗教的;但是恐懼死亡，以之為我們對自然應納的貢獻，則是愚弱的。然而在宗教的沉思中有時亦雜有虛妄和迷信

　　You shall read, in some of the friars\' books of mortifications, that a man should think with himself, what the pain is, if he have but his finger\'s end pressed, or tortured; and thereby imagine, what the pains of death are, when the whole body is corrupted and dissolved; when many times, death passeth with less pain, then the torture of a limb: for the most vital parts are not the quickest of sense. And by him, that spoke only as a philosopher and natural man, it was well said; pompa mortis magis terret, quam mars ipsa. Groans and convulsions, and a discoloured face, and friends weeping, and blacks, and obsequies, and the like, show death terrible. It is worthy the observing, that there is no passion in the mind of man so weak, but it mates, and masters, the fear of death: and therefore death is no such terrible enemy, when a man hath so many attendants about him that can win the combat of him. Revenge triumphs over death; love slights it; honour aspireth to it; grief flieth to it; fear preoccupieth it; nay we read, after Otho the Emperor had slain himself, pity (which is the tenderest of affections) provoked many to die, out of mere compassion to their sovereign, and as the truest sort of followers. Nay, Seneca adds niceness and satiety; cogita quarn diu. eadem feceris; mori velle, non tantun fortis, out miser, sed etiam fastidiosus potest.

　　在某種苦行僧底自戒書中你可以看到一種言辭，說是一個人應當自己思量，假如他有一指底末端被壓或被刑，其痛苦是如何;由此再想那使人全身腐敗潰滅的死亡其痛苦更當如何。實則有多次死亡底經(jīng)過比一肢之受刑其痛苦尚輕：因為人體最生死攸關(guān)的器官并不是最敏于感受的器官也。那位僅以人間哲學家及世人之一的資格說話的古人說得很好：“與死亡俱來的一切，比死亡更駭人”。呻吟與痙攣，變色的面目，朋友哭泣，墨绖及葬儀，諸如此類都顯得死底可怕。值得注意者，是人心內(nèi)的各種感情，無論多么薄弱，沒有一種是不能克服對死亡的恐怖的;既然一個人身旁有這樣多的侍從，都能打敗死亡，可見死亡不算是那樣可怕的敵人了。復仇之心勝過死亡;愛戀之心蔑視之;榮譽之心希冀之;憂傷之心奔赴之;恐怖之心先期之;不特如此，我們在書中還讀到奧陶大帝自殺之后哀憐之心(感情中之最柔者)使得許多人也死了，他們之死是為了對他們底君上的同情并且要做最忠心的臣子的原故。此外塞奈喀還加上了苛求和厭倦兩事。他說：“試想你做同樣的事已有多久!不止勇者和貧困者想死，即厭倦無聊者亦想死亡”

　　A man would die, though he were neither valiant, nor miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thing, so oft over and over. It is no less worthy to observe, how little alteration, in good spirits, die approaches of death make; for they appear to be the same men, till the last instant Augustus Caesar died in a compliment; Livia, coniugii nostri memor, vive et vale. Tiberius in dissimulation; as Tacitus saith of him; mm Tiberium vires, et corpus, non dissimulatio, deserebant. Vespasian in a jest; sitting upon the stool, ut puto deus fio. Galba with a sentence;feri\', si ex re sit populi Romani, holding forth his neck. Septimius Severus in dispatch; adeste,si quid mihi restat agendum. And the like. Certainly, the Stoics bestowed too much cost upon death, and by their great preparations, made it appear more fearful. Better saith he, qui finem vitae extremism inter munera ponat naturae. It is as natural to die, as to be born; and to a little infant, perhaps, the one is as painful as the other. He that dies in an earnest pursuit, is like one that is wounded in hot blood; who, for the time, scarce feels the hurt;and therefore, a mind fixed, and bent upon somewhat that is good, doth avert me dolours of death: but above all, believe it, the sweetest canticle is, minc difmittis; when a man hath obtained worthy ends, and expectations.

　　一個人雖然既不勇敢，也不困窮，然而為了倦于屢次作同一的事，也會尋死的。同樣值得注意者，是死底來臨在豪杰之士底心上所引起的改變是如何地小，因為這些人好象到了最后的一剎那仍然是依然故我似的。奧古斯塔斯大帝死時還在贊頌他底皇后：“永別了，里維亞，請你終身不要忘記我們婚后生活底時光”。泰比瑞亞斯至死仍然作偽，如史家泰西塔斯所謂：“泰比瑞亞斯底體力日漸衰退，但他底作偽如故”。外斯帕顯死時還說笑話;他坐在一個凳子上說：“我想我正在變神哪”。加爾巴臨死作壯語說：“砍罷!假如這是有益于羅馬人民的”。一邊說著一邊伸頸就死。塞普諦米猶斯·塞外拉斯死得爽快。他說：“假如還有什么我應該做的事，快點來吧”。諸如此類。那些畫廊派的哲學家把死底價值抬得太高了，并且因為他們對于死準備過甚，遂使死在人看起來更為可怕。“他把生命底終結(jié)算做自然底恩惠之一”。說這句話的那人比較說得對的多了。死與生同其自然;也許在一個嬰兒方面生與死是一般痛苦的。在某種熱烈的行為中死了的人有如在血液正熱的時候受傷的人一樣，當時是不覺得痛楚的;所以一個堅定的，一心向善的心智是能免死底痛苦的。但是，尤要者，請你相信，最甜美的歌就是在一個人已經(jīng)達到了某種有價值的目的和希望后所唱的“如今請你讓你底仆人離去”。

　　Death hath this also; that it openeth the gate to good fame, and extinguisheth envy. - exstinctus amabitur idem.

　　死還有這一點;就是它打開名譽之門，熄滅妒忌之心。“生時受人妒羨的人死后將受人愛”。培根散文隨筆集中英對照，通過閱讀文學名著學語言，是掌握英語的絕佳方法。既可

　　接觸原汁原味的英語，又能享受文學之美，一舉兩得，何樂不為?