愛默生散文選

　　愛默生是美國十九世紀(jì)杰出的思想家、散文家、詩人、演說家。作為超驗主義文學(xué)運動的領(lǐng)袖，愛默生鐘愛自然，崇尚自我與精神價值，鄙棄拜金主義。他的學(xué)說被譽為“美國最重要的世俗宗教”，對諸如梭羅、惠特曼、霍桑、亨利·米勒以及尼采、柏格森等人具有相當(dāng)?shù)挠绊?。本書選擇了愛默生散文中最為精神的篇章三十六節(jié)：《論自然》寄寓著他對人與自然和諧一體的最高理想；《論自信》、《正確的讀書方法》、《行動的意義》，均選自《論美國學(xué)者》這篇“思想上的獨立宣言”；《論藝術(shù)》、《論美》、《論愛情》、《論修養(yǎng)》、《論自助》、《論成功》……無不警句疊出、妙喻連篇。而在《哲學(xué)家柏拉圖》、《懷疑論者蒙田》、《詩人莎士比亞》，以及拿破侖、歌德、梭羅等“代表人物”的評傳中，處處都能感受到一個演說家的激情與哲學(xué)家的深邃。史家稱他為“新英格蘭的先知與探索者”。而更為可貴的是，他的思想與文章至今仍使人感到清新爽朗。

　　拉爾夫·沃爾多·愛默生拉爾夫·沃爾多·愛默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson，1803－1882）Emerson， Ralph Waldo （1803-82）， American poet and essayist， b. Boston. Through his essays， poems， and lectures， the "Sage of Concord" established himself as a leading spokesman of transcendentalism and as a major figure in American literature.LifeThe writers father， William Emerson， a descendant of New England clergymen， was minister of the First Unitarian Church in Boston. Emersons early years were filled with books and a daily routine of studious and frugal homelife. After his fathers death in 1811， his eccentric but brilliant aunt， Mary Moody Emerson， became his confidante and stimulated his independent thinking. At Harvard （1817-21） he began recording his thoughts in the famous Journal. Poor health hindered his studies at the Harvard divinity school in 1825， and in 1826， after being licensed to preach， he was forced to go south because of incipient tuberculosis. In 1829 he became pastor of the Old North Church in Boston （Second Unitarian）. In the same year he married Ellen Tucker， whose death from tuberculosis in 1831 caused him great sorrow.Emersons personal religious scruples and， in particular， his conviction that the Lords Supper was not intended by Jesus to be a permanent sacrament led him into conflict with his congregation. In 1832 he retired from his only pastorate. On a trip to Europe at this time he met Carlyle （who became a close friend）， Coleridge， and Wordsworth. Through these notable English writers， Emersons interest in transcendental thought began to blossom. Other strong influences on his philosophy， besides his own Unitarian background， were Plato and the Neoplatonists， the sacred books of the East， the mystical writings of Swedenborg， and the philosophy of Kant. He returned home in 1834， settled in Concord， Mass. and married （1835） his second wife， Lydia Jackson.WorkDuring the early 1830s Emerson began an active career as writer and lecturer. In 1836 he published anonymously his essay Nature， based on his early lectures. It is in that piece that he first set forth the main principles of transcendentalism， expressing a firm belief in the mystical unity of nature. He attracted wide attention with "The American Scholar，" his Phi Beta Kappa oration at Harvard in 1837， in which he called for independence from European cultural leadership. In his lecture at the Harvard divinity school in 1838， his admonition that one could find redemption only in ones own soul was taken to mean that he repudiated Christianity. This caused such indignation that he was not invited to Harvard again until 1866， when the college granted him an LL.D. degree.In 1840 Emerson joined with others in publishing The Dial， a magazine intended to promulgate transcendental thought. One of the younger contributors to The Dial was Henry David Thoreau， who lived in the Emerson household from 1841 to 1843 and became Emersons most famous disciple. The first collection of Emersons poems appeared in 1847. In spite of his difficulty in writing structurally correct verse， he always regarded himself essentially as a poet. Among his best-known poems are "Threnody，" "Brahma，" "The Problem，" "The Rhodora，" and "The Concord Hymn."It was his winter lecture tours， however， which first made Emerson famous among his contemporaries. These lectures received their final form in his series of Essays （1841; second series， 1844）. The most notable among them are "The Over-Soul，" "Compensation，" and "Self-Reliance." From 1845-47 he delivered a series of lectures published as Representative Men （1850）. After a second trip to England， in 1847， he gave another series of lectures later published as English Traits （1856）. During the 1850s he became strongly interested in abolitionism and was an active sympathizer with the North in the Civil War. His late lecture tours are contained in The Conduct of Life （1860） and Society and Solitude （1870）. Though his last years were marked by a decline in his mental powers， his literary reputation rapidly continued to spread. Probably no writer has so profoundly influenced American thought as Emerson.拉爾夫·沃爾多·愛默生，美國思想家，詩人。1836年出版處女作《論自然》。他文學(xué)上的貢獻(xiàn)主要在散文和詩歌上。他認(rèn)為美的藝術(shù)目的在于創(chuàng)造，詩人不能脫離自己的時代和國家，他號召美國作家寫美國題材，創(chuàng)造出明顯的美國風(fēng)格，對同時代的作家如梭羅、惠特曼、艾米莉·狄金森等產(chǎn)生過較大影響。他的哲學(xué)思想和著作對二十世紀(jì)的美國作家如德萊塞、弗羅斯特等人的影響也很明顯。他的詩簡潔、精辟，富有高度的哲理性。老牧師威廉·愛默生的兒子們也繼承了這樣的傳統(tǒng)。其中尤以12歲的拉爾夫·沃爾多·愛默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson，1803－1882）最有性格。小拉爾夫很早便顯出自己的個性，他平時上教堂總帶著帕斯卡爾（Pascal Blaise，1623－62）的著作在布道時閱讀。夜晚躺在冰涼的寢室內(nèi)，拉爾夫總習(xí)慣于把毛毯拉到頦下捧讀那本珍愛的柏拉圖的《對話集》。以致于久而久之形成條件反射，每每將毛毯的味道與哲人柏拉圖聯(lián)系在一起。與一般職業(yè)演說家演說的方式不同，愛默生專向那些富于思考的人們進(jìn)行演講，有時甚至專門為一個人演說。并試圖喚醒聽者的潛意識。他鼓動人們對未來充滿信心，人類創(chuàng)造了輝煌的過去，未來將會更加富于機遇，他認(rèn)為在未來世界面前思想家與作家一樣負(fù)有艱巨的使命。在康考德這個地方定居之前，愛默生并未急于將自己的思想整理發(fā)表，而是有意識地擴展自己的思維空間使其更加趨于深入、縝密、合理。他喜歡西門尼（Simonides）的名言：“假若給我兩次機會，我會更加深思熟慮?！痹诖霜毺幤陂g，愛默生經(jīng)常獨自一人在林間漫步沉思，他覺得自己的學(xué)識及思維能力如同這林中的樹木花草一樣得以滋長強壯起來。愛默生按他自己的方式理解生命，他具有這樣的天賦，即可以在眾人面前揭開帷幕將神的魅力展現(xiàn)給我們。他在瓦爾登湖邊買下一塊林地，一塊荒無人煙的巖架地帶，放眼望去是漫漫的湖景，夏目午后他在此游泳休閑，他喜歡漫步徘徊于林間湖畔，閱讀柏拉圖和歌德的著作，為刊物撰寫文章。他覺得自己仿佛是這林中的國王，摒棄了一切人間的牽連而成為這石灰?guī)r和花崗巖的同類。青蛙在歌唱、樹葉在低吟，他也從人類社會里死而后生來到這另一片天地。在這樣的境界里，愛深得其樂融融陶醉，他思維的視野早已超乎一般人類世界的現(xiàn)實水準(zhǔn)，如同當(dāng)年尼采在Sils－Maria所感覺到的一樣，今天愛默生亦得以親身體驗，這便是神與人合二為一的力量?？悼嫉率且粋€平靜、閑逸的地方。這里的鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)與外界相比并沒有任何差異，而那些善于經(jīng)營生意的美國佬很輕易地舍其而去，因為這里的山山水水并不能帶給他們?nèi)魏渭で椤？墒菑牧硪环矫婵矗瑢悼嫉聞t不失為一所研究人性的學(xué)校。在此你可以通過與鐵匠、雜貨店主和管道工們閑談并能獲得各種新鮮的知識。從印度和中國運來的各種貨物源源不斷地從輪船轉(zhuǎn)到卡車上，再由此駛往佛門特（Vermont）和新罕布夏州（New Hampshire）。如果你具有一定的想象力，就會發(fā)現(xiàn)原來這里人們一天的工作其實連接著東方和西方，過去與未來。