海倫·凱勒自傳《我的生活》第57期

How easy it is to fly on paper wings! From "Greek Heroes" to the Iliad was no day's journey, nor was it altogether pleasant. One could have traveled round the world many times while I trudged my weary way through the labyrinthine mazes of grammars and dictionaries, or fell into those dreadful pitfalls called examinations, set by schools and colleges for the confusion of those who seek after knowledge. I suppose this sort of Pilgrim's Progress was justified by the end; but it seemed interminable to me, in spite of the pleasant surprises that met me now and then at a turn in the road.

在書卷之間展翅飛翔是多麼地愜意！從《希臘英雄傳》到《伊利亞特》的旅程並非一朝一夕之功，它也不會帶給你雙倍的快樂。當我在語法和字典的迷宮中上下求索，或者墜入考試的怪圈之中，你可能已經遊歷世界很多次了；而考試——我認爲這是大中小學爲懵懂的學子們所設置的一道檢驗標準。我覺得《天路歷程》的結局是比較合理的，儘管在“天路”的轉彎處，我偶爾也會遇到驚喜，但是在我看來，這部作品似乎過於冗長乏味了。

I began to read the Bible long before I could understand it. Now it seems strange to me that there should have been a time when my spirit was deaf to its wondrous harmonies; but I remember well a rainy Sunday morning when, having nothing else to do, I begged my cousin to read me a story out of the Bible. Although she did not think I should understand, she began to spell into my hand the story of Joseph and his brothers. Somehow it failed to interest me. The unusual language and repetition made the story seem unreal and far away in the land of Canaan, and I fell asleep and wandered off to the land of Nod, before the brothers came with the coat of many colours unto the tent of Jacob and told their wicked lie! I cannot understand why the stories of the Greeks should have been so full of charm for me, and those of the Bible so devoid of interest, unless it was that I had made the acquaintance of several Greeks in Boston and been inspired by their enthusiasm for the stories of their country; whereas I had notmet a single Hebrew or Egyptian, and therefore concluded that they were nothing more than barbarians, and the stories about them were probably all made up, which hypothesis explained the repetitions and the queer names. Curiously enough, it never occurred to me to call Greek patronymics "queer."

我的靈魂竟然一度對天國的奇妙和絃無知無覺。我清楚地記得，在一個細雨霏霏的主日清晨，因爲沒有其他事可做，於是我央求表姐爲我讀一段《聖經》故事。雖然她認爲我可能聽不懂，但她還是把約瑟和他的兄弟們的故事拼寫在我的手上。不知是什麼原因，這個故事並沒有引起我的興趣。不同尋常的語言和重複的敘述手法令這個故事顯得很不真實，似乎不是發生在“迦南地”。我昏昏欲睡，還沒等到約瑟的兄弟們拿着綵衣到雅各的帳篷裏編造謊言，我的心神就已經跑到了“瞌睡地”。我無法解釋爲什麼那些古希臘神話會令我陶醉其中，而《聖經》故事則令我興趣全無。我在波士頓求學期間曾結識了好幾個希臘人，他們對其祖國曆史傳說的熱愛確實令我感動。鑑於我並沒有遇到過一個希伯來人或埃及人，因此我也不能妄下斷言，說他們只不過是些野蠻人，或者說他們民族的故事可能都是編造的，我當然不能以這種假設來解釋故事的無趣。不過說來也怪，我從來不覺得希臘神話無趣。

But how shall I speak of the glories I have since discovered in the Bible? For years I have read it with an ever-broadening sense of joy and inspiration; and I love it as I love no other book. Still there is much in the Bible against which every instinct of my being rebels, so much that I regret the necessity which has compelled me to read it through from beginning to end. I do not think that the knowledge which I have gained of its history and sources compensates me for the unpleasant details it has forced upon my attention. For my part, I wish, with Mr. Howells, that the literature of the past might be purged of all that is ugly and barbarous in it, although I should object as much as any one to having these great works weakened or falsified.

但我又該如何言說《聖經》中的智慧與榮耀呢？很多年來，我一直懷着莫大的喜悅和感動閱讀《聖經》，我愛這本書勝過愛其他任何書；但是《聖經》中的很多地方都同我的本性相牴觸。因此，我是帶着愧疚的心情迫使自己把這本書從頭到尾讀完的。同它強加於我的種種不快相比，我並不認爲我從書中獲得的歷史知識對我是一種補償。就我本人而言，我希望能同豪厄爾斯先生一起，將古代文學中所有醜陋粗鄙的一面徹底肅清。當然，像任何人一樣，我也十分反對把這些偉大的著作進行曲解或篡改。

There is something impressive, awful, in the simplicity and terrible directness of the book of Esther. Could there be anything more dramatic than the scene in which Esther stands before her wicked lord? She knows her life is in his hands; there is no one to protect her from his wrath. Yet, conquering her woman's fear, she approaches him, animated by the noblest patriotism, having but one thought: "If I perish, I perish; but if I live, my people shall live."

在極其率真而樸素的《以斯帖記》中，你會發現某種令人震撼的情節。還有什麼比以斯帖面對邪惡的君王時更具戲劇性的場面呢？她知道她的生命就攥在王的手心裏。沒有人能保護她逃脫王的憤怒。然而，她還是克服了女人的恐懼心理，懷着視死如歸的愛國主義情懷。她接近王，她的心裏只有一個念頭：“如果我毀滅，僅只毀滅我一人而已；但是如果我活着，我的族人就將活着。”