Of Autumn论秋

格兰特·肖尔曼 张菊

【導读】格兰特·肖尔曼（1870—1935），生于美国威斯康星州布鲁克菲尔德市，拉丁文与希腊文研究者，大学通识教育的发起者和倡导者之一。他从威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校获得博士学位，并在该校执教三十余年，学校有一栋楼以他的姓命名。格兰特·肖尔曼著述颇丰，著有With the Professor （1910）、Horace and His Influence （1922）、Eternal Rome （1924）、Rome and the Romans： A Survey and Interpretation （1931）及Monuments and Men of Ancient Rome （1935）等。

秋是什么？她是欢乐，是悲伤;她是朋友，是母亲，是女神;她是和谐统一。走吧，去看看秋叶，吹吹秋风，沐沐秋雨，捧她在手，揽她入心，你便懂了她。

Autumn in our zone is unique among the seasons. It is at once the happiest and the saddest time of the year—the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”1， and the season of “the melancholy days”. It is a dual season， and yet a unity.

The days of promise fulfilled are at hand. Under skies turbulent no more with the impetuous2 moods of spring， nor glowing with the heat of summer， the apple-bearing autumn of Horace3 lifts from the fields her head beautiful with mellow fruits. In the lands of the vine， she sets off with bright color the dark-green cluster looking out from among the leaves. At her persuasion the grape pours forth its liquor.

With the vintage and such light labor come gladness and merriment. The joy of autumn， however， is not the intoxication of mirth. It is the deeper satisfaction of peace and plenty. Granary and bin are filled. Basket and crate are warm with the color and rich with the perfume of ripened fruits.

Like summer， autumn is feminine. She is the summer grown to full perfection. She is not a lover; she is a friend， a benefactress， a mother， a deity. Her embrace is infinitely calm and pure. She is of all the seasons the one most at peace with herself.

Autumn is a dual season. She has another aspect. The garnered stores， the bare fields， the leafless trees， all declare the season of decay， to be followed by the season of death.

Yet autumn is not of two separate and diverse characters. It is a unity. The suggestion4 of melancholy is always at hand in autumn. When the fruits are still mellowing on the trees， when the tents of corn are still pitched in the fields， before the russet-yellows and scarlets and red-browns have spread their carpet in the wood， before “November chill blaws loud wi’ angry sugh”5， autumn is already the season of sadness and solemnity. From the first linkèd-long-drawn-out chant of the locust in the soft nights of summer， melancholy enters upon her reign. She waxes as the weeks go by. In the midst of the year’s abundance， in the midst of calm and repose in field and forest， there is felt on every hand the presence of the Great Enemy—or the Great Friend. Fulfillment is always solemn; fruition is less joyous than promise. The journey’s end finds the pilgrim more sober than its progress. The ending of growth is the beginning of decay. The ways of autumn suggest death， as those of spring suggest life. Autumn is melancholy.

But autumn is none the less the happiest season， the season of melancholy indeed， but of divinest melancholy.

The essence of the matter is that autumn is a harmony， a blending in perfection of happiness and sadness. Her gayety is tempered to soberness by the solemn witness everywhere of work completed and death at hand. Her sadness is tempered to acquiescence by the suggestion on every hand of fulfillment accomplished and repose assured. At no other time is nature’s invitation to rest so gentle and so consoling. Autumn is the season neither of joy nor of sadness： she is the season of blessedness.

All the seasons are rich. Autumn only， so deeply of the spirit is her harmony， is most golden.

四季中，秋在我們这儿是独一无二的。它是一年中最快乐也最悲伤的时候——是“雾气洋溢、果实圆熟的秋”，也是“忧伤日子”的秋。这个季节具有双重性，但是一个统一体。

允诺兑现的日子即将来到。激荡的天地间，春的躁动不再，夏的炎热全无，苹果累累的贺拉斯之秋从田野里抬起她美丽的头，头上饰满甘醇的果实。葡萄地里，她用鲜亮色彩衬托从叶间探出的串串深绿。她的劝说令葡萄汁液欲滴。

葡萄收获期和如此轻快的劳动带来了喜悦和欢庆。但秋之乐并非陶醉于欢乐中，而是对和平与富足更深的满足。谷仓粮库装得满满。果篮果箱满眼暖色，熟果醇香扑鼻。

与夏一样，秋也是阴柔的。她是至臻完美的夏。她不是情人，是朋友、恩人、母亲、女神。她的拥抱极其平静而纯洁。她是所有季节中内心最为宁和的。

秋是一个双重的季节。她还有另一面。储满的仓、赤裸的地、光秃的树，都宣示着衰败之季的来临，紧随其后的是死亡之季。

但秋并非两个多样的独立体，她是一个统一体。悲伤似乎一直萦绕着秋。果子仍在树上成熟的时候，玉米仍在地里拔穗的时候，黄红棕的树叶为林子铺上地毯之前，“十一月冷风猛吹，声如呜咽”之前，秋已然是悲伤肃穆之季了。从温柔夏夜第一声悠长的蝉鸣始，秋便笼罩在悲伤中。随着时间推移，她走向盛期。在一年的丰裕之中，在田野和森林的平静与安宁中，从各方面都能感受到死或生的存在。成就总是庄严的;取得成果不如满怀希冀愉悦。在旅程的终点，朝圣者比在旅程中更清醒。成长的终结即衰败之始。秋实暗示死亡，正如春华预示生命。秋即悲伤。

尽管如此，秋仍是最幸福的季节，悲伤无疑，但却是最神圣的悲伤。

秋即和谐，此乃秋之精髓，她是幸福与悲伤的完美结合。她的欢乐被磨练为清醒，因为庄严见证了处处工作的完成及死亡的将临。她的悲伤被磨练为顺从，因为感受到各方面达成的圆满，可以安歇。没有其他任何时候，大自然安歇之邀如此温柔、如此抚慰人心。秋既非欢乐之季，也非悲伤之季：她是幸福的季节。

所有的季节都丰富多彩。只有金秋最为特别，她的和谐深入灵魂。

（译者单位：北京化工大学）