英国散文选读

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1、1 OF STUDIESFrancis BaconStudies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.Their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business; for expert and execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one

2、 by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs, come best form those that are learned.To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humour of a scholar.They perfect nature, an

3、d are perfected by experience: for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need proyning (pruning) by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience.Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; f

4、or they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation.Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few

5、to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important

6、 arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books are, like common distilled waters, flashy things.Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a

7、present wit; and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not.Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtile; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend.Abeunt studia in morse. Nay there is no stand or impediment in t

8、he wit, but may be wrought out by fit studies: like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises. Bowling is good for the stone and reins; shooting for the lungs and breast; gentle walking for the stomach ; riding for the head; and the like.So if a mans wit be wandering, let him study the

9、mathematics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again.If his wit be not apt to distinguish or find differences, let him study the schoolmen; for they are Cumini sectors.If he be not apt to beat over matters, and to call up one thing to prove and illustrat

10、e another, let him study the lawyers cases.So every defect of the mind may have a special receipt.2 Sunday in the CountrySunday in the CountryJoseph AddisonI am always well pleased with a country Sunday, and think, if keeping holy the seventh day were only a human institution, it would be the best m

11、ethod that could have been thought of for the polishing and civilizing of mankind . It is certain the country people would soon degenerate into a kind of savages and barbarians , were there not such frequent returns of a stated time, in which the whole village meet together with their best faces, an

12、d in their cleanliest subjects , to converse with one another upon different subjects , hear their duties explained to them , and join together in adoration of the Supreme Being . Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week, not only as it refreshes in their minds the notions of religion, but as i

13、t puts both the sexes upon appearing in their most agreeable forms, and exerting all such qualities as are apt to give them a figure in the eye of the village . A country fellow distinguishes himself as much in the churchyard, as a citizen does upon the change, the whole parish-politics being genera

14、lly discussed in that place either after sermon or before the bell rings . My friend Sir Roger, being a good churchman, has beautified the inside of his church with several texts of his own choosing . He has likewise given a handsome pulpit-cloth, and railed in the communion table at his own expense

15、 . He has often told me, that at his coming to his estate he found his parishioners very irregular, and that in order to make them kneel and join in the responses , he gave every one of them a hassock and a common-prayer book ; and at the same time employed an itinerant singing2 master , who goes ab

16、out the country for that purpose, to instruct them rightly in the tunes of the Psalms ; upon which they now very much value themselves, and indeed outdo most of the country churches that I have ever heard . As Sir Roger is landlord to the whole congregation, he keeps them in very good order and will

17、 suffer nobody to sleep in it beside himself ; for if by chance he has been surprised into a short nap at sermon, upon recovering out of it he stands up and looks about him , and if he sees anybody else nodding, either wakes them himself or sends his servants to them . Several other of the old knigh

18、t s particularities break out upon these occasions . Sometimes he will be lengthening out a verse in the singing Psalms half a minute after the rest of the congregation have done with it ; sometimes , when he is pleased with the matter of his devotion, he pronounces Amen three or four times to the s

19、ame prayer ; and sometimes stands up when everybody else is upon their knees , to count the congregation, or see if any of his tenants are missing . I was yesterday very much surprised to hear my old friend, in the midst of the service, calling out to one John Matthews to mind what he was about and

20、not disturb the congregation . This John Matthews it seems is remarkable for being an idle fellow , and at that time was kicking his heels for his diversion . This authority of the knight, though exerted in that odd manner which accompanies him in all the circumstances of life, has a very good effec

21、t upon the parish, who are not polite enough to see anything ridiculous in his behaviour; besides that the general good sense and worthiness of his character make his friends observe these little singularities as foils that rather set off than blemish his good qualities . As soon as the sermon is fi

22、nished , nobody presumes to stir till Sir Roger is gone out of the church . The knight walks down from his seat in the chancel between a double row of his tenants , that stand bowing to him on each side, and every now and 3then inquires how such a one s wife, or mother , or son, or father do, whom h

23、e dose not see at church; which is understood as secret reprimand to the person that is absent . The chaplain has often told me that, upon a catechizing day , when Sir Roger has been pleased with a boy that answers well , he has ordered a Bible to be given to him next day for his encouragement; and

24、sometimes accompanies it with a flitch of bacon to his mother . Sir Roger has likewise added five pounds a year to the clerk s place, and that he may encourage the young fellows to make themselves perfect in the church service, has promised upon the death of the present incumbent , who is 4 very old

25、, to bestow it according to merit . The fair understanding between Sir Roger and his chaplain, and their mutual concurrence in doing good, is the more remarkable because the very next village is famous for the differences and contentions that arise between the parson and the squire, who live in a pe

26、rpetual state of war . The parson is always preaching at the squire; and the squire, to be revenged on the parson, never comes to church . The squire has made all his tenants atheists and tithe-stealers ; while the parson instructs them every Sunday in the dignity of his order , and insinuates to th

27、em, in almost every sermon, that he is a better man than his patron . In short, matters have come to such an extremity , that the squire has not said his prayers either in public or private this half year; and the parson threatens him, if he does not mend his manners , to pray for him in the face of

28、 the whole congregation . Feuds of this nature, though too frequent in the country , are very fatal to the ordinary people, who are so used to be dazzled with riches , that they pay as much deference to the understanding of a man of an estate, as of a man of learning; and are very hardly brought to

29、regard any truth, how important so ever it may be, that is preached to them, when they know there are several men of five hundred a year who do not believe it .3 Letter to Lord ChesterfieldFebruary 7th ,1755My Lord，I have been lately informed, by the proprietor of the Word, that two papers, in which

30、 mydictionary is recommended to the publick were written by your Lordship. To be so distinguished, is an honour, which being very little accustomed to favours from the great, I know not well how to receive, or in what terms to acknowledge.When, upon some slight encouragement, I first visited your Lo

31、rdship, I was overpowered, like the rest of mankind, by the enchantment of you address, and could not forbear to wish that I might boast myself Le vainqueur du vainqueur di la terre. That I might obtain that regard for which I saw the world contending; but I found my attendance so little encouraged,

32、 that neither pride nor modesty would suffer me to continue it . When I had once addressed your Lordship in publick I had exhausted all the art of pleasing which a retired and uncourtly scholar can possess. I had done all that I could; and no man is well pleased to have his all neglected, be it ever

33、 so litter.Seven years, my Lord, have now past, since I waited in your oout ward rooms, or was repulsed from your door, through difficulties, of which it is useless to complain, and without one act of assistance, one word of encouragement, or one smile of favour. Such treatment I did not expect, for

34、 I never had a Patron before.The shepherd in Virgil grew at last acquainted with Love, and found him a native of the rocks.Is not a Patron, my Lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life on the water, and, when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help? The notice which you

35、have been pleased to take of my labors, had it been early, had been kind; but it has been delayed till I am indifferent, and cannot enjoy it; till I am solitary, and cannot impart it ; till I am known, and do not want it. I hope it is no very cynical asperity, not confess obligations where no benefi

36、t has been receied or to be unwilling that the Publick should consider me as owing that to a Patron, which Provi-dence has enabled me to do for myself.Having carride on my work thus far with so little obligation to any favourer of learning, I shall not be disappointed though I shoud conclude it, les

37、s be possible, with less, for I have been ling wakened from that dream of hope, in which I once boasted myself with so much exultation, my Lord.Your Lordships most humble,Most obedient servant,Sam.Johnson.4 On National Prejudicesby Oliver GoldsmithAs I am one of that sauntering tribe of mortals, who

38、 spend the greatest part of their time in taverns, coffee houses, and other places of public resort, I have thereby an opportunity of observing an infinite variety of characters, which, to a person of a contemplative turn, is a much higher entertainment than a view of all the curiosities of art or n

39、ature. In one of these, my late rambles, I accidentally fell into the company of half a dozen gentlemen, who were engaged in a warm dispute about some political affair; the decision of which, as they were equally divided in their sentiments, they thought proper to refer to me, which naturally drew m

40、e in for a share of the conversation.Amongst a multiplicity of other topics, we took occasion to talk of a different characters of the several nations of Europe; when one of the gentlemen, cocking his hat, and assuming such an air of importance as if he had possessed all the merit of the English nat

41、ion in his own person, declared that the Dutch were a parcel of avaricious wretches; the French a set of flattering sycophants; that the Germans were drunken sots, and beastly gluttons; and the Spaniards proud, haughty, and surly tyrants; but that in bravery, generosity, clemency, and in every other

42、 virtue, the English excelled all the world.This very learned and judicious remark was received with a general smile of approbation by all the company-all, I mean, but your humble servant; who, endeavoring to keep my gravity as well as I could, I reclined my head upon my arm, continued for some time

43、s in a posture of affected thoughtfulness, as if I had been musing on something else, and did not seem to attend to the subject of conversation; hoping by these means to avoid the disagreeable necessity of explaining myself, and thereby depriving the gentlemen of his imaginary happiness.But my pseud

44、o-patriot had no mind to let me escape so easily. Not satisfied that his opinion should pass without contradiction, he was determined to have it ratified by the suffrage of every one in the company; for which purpose addressing himself to me with an air of inexpressible confidence, he asked me if I

45、was not in the same way of thinking. As I am never forward in giving my opinion, especially when I have reason to believe that it will not be agreeable; so, when I am obliged to give it, I always hold it for a maxim to speak my real sentiments. I therefore told him that, for my own part, I should no

46、t have ventured to talk in such a peremptory strain, unless I had made the tour of Europe, and examined the manners of these several nations with great care and accuracy: that, perhaps, a more impartial judge would not scruple to affirm that the Dutch were more frugal and industrious, the French mor

47、e temperate and polite, the Germans more hardy and patient of labour and fatigue, and the Spaniards more staid and sedate, than the English; who, though undoubtedly brave and generous, were at the same time rash, headstrong, and impetuous; too apt to be elated with prosperity, and to despond in adve

48、rsity.I could easily perceive that all of the company began to regard me with a jealous eye before I had finished my answer, which I had no sooner done, than the patriotic gentleman observed, with a contemptuous sneer, that he was greatly surprised how some people could have the conscience to live i

49、n a country which they did not love, and to enjoy the protection of a government, to which in their hearts they were inveterate enemies. Finding that by this modest declaration of my sentiments, I had forfeited the good opinion of my companions, and given them occasion to call my political principle

50、s in question, and well knowing that it was in vain to argue with men who were so very full of themselves, I threw down my reckoning and retired to my own lodgings, reflecting on the absurd and ridiculous nature of national prejudice and prepossession.Among all the famous sayings of antiquity, there

51、 is none that does greater honour to the author, or affords greater pleasure to the reader (at least if he be a person of a generous and benevolent heart) than that the philosopher, who, being asked what countryman he was, replied that he was a citizen of the world. How few there are to be found in

52、modern times who can say the same, or whose conduct is consistent with such a profession! We are now become so much Englishmen, Frenchmen, Dutchmen, Spaniards, or Germans, that we are no longer citizens of the world; so much the natives of one particular spot, or members of one petty society, that w

53、e no longer consider ourselves as the general inhabitants of the globe, or members of that grand society which comprehends the whole human kind.Did these prejudices prevail only among the meanest and lowest of the people, perhaps they might be excused, as they have few, if any, opportunities of corr

54、ecting them by reading, traveling, or conversing with foreigners; but the misfortune is, that they infect the minds, and influence the conduct even of our gentlemen; of those, I mean, who have every title to this appellation but an exemption from prejudice, which, however, in my opinion, ought to be

55、 regarded as the characteristical mark of a gentleman: for let a mans birth be ever so high, his station ever so exalted, or his fortune ever so large, yet if he is not free from national and other prejudices, I should make bold to tell him, that he had a low and vulgar mind, and had no just claim t

56、o the character of a gentleman. And in fact, you will always find that those are most apt to boast of national merit, who have little or no merit of their own to depend on, than which, to be sure, nothing is more natural: the slender vine twists around the sturdy oak for no other reason in the world

57、 but because it has not strength sufficient to support itself.Should it be alleged in defense of national prejudice, that it is the natural and necessary growth of love to our country, and that therefore the former cannot be destroyed without hurting the latter; I answer, that this is a gross fallac

58、y and delusion. That it is the growth and love to our country, I will allow; but that it is the natural and necessary growth of it, I absolutely deny. Superstition and enthusiasm too are the growth of religion; but who ever took it in his head to affirm that they are the necessary growth of this nob

59、le principle? They are, if you will, the bastard sprouts of this heavenly plant; but not its natural and genuine branches, and may safely enough be lopped off, without doing any harm to the parent stock; nay, perhaps, till once they are lopped off, this goodly tree can never flourish in perfect heal

60、th and vigour.Is it not very possible that I may love my own country, without hating the natives of other countries? that I may exert the most heroic bravery, the most undaunted resolution, in defending its laws and liberty, without despising all the rest of the world as cowards and poltroons? Most

61、certainly it is: and if it were not-But why need I suppose what is absolutely impossible?-but if it were not, I must own, I should prefer the title of the ancient philosopher, namely, a citizen of the world, to that of an Englishman, a Frenchman, a European, or to any other appellation whatever.(176

62、3)5 A ShooterThursday,Wednesday, 26 Oct. 1825I was once acquainted with a famous shooter whose name was William Ewing. He was a barrister of Philadelphia, but became far more renowned by his gun than by his law cases. We spent scores of days together a shooting and were extremely well matched, I hav

63、ing excellent dogs and caring little about my reputation as a shot, his dogs being good for nothing, and he caring more about his reputation as a shot htan as a lawyer. The fact which I am going to relate respecting this gentleman, ought to be a warning to young men, how they become enamoured of thi

64、s species of vanity. We had gone about ten miles from our home, to shoot where partridges were said to be very plentiful. We found them so. In the course of a November day, he said, just before dark, shot, and sent to the farm-house, or kept in his bag, ninety-nine partridges. He made some few doubl

65、t shots, and he migh have a miss or two, for he sometimes shot when out of my sight, on account of the woods. However, he said that he killed at every shot, and, as he had counted the birds, when we went to dinner at the farm-house and when he cleaned his gun, he just before sun-set, knew that he had killed ninety-nine partridges, every one upon the wing, and a great part of them in woods very thickly set with largish trees. It was a grand achievement; but, unfortunately, he wanted to make it a hundred. The sun was setting, and, in that co