Conversations full of wits
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784),英国人,政治思想保守,文学崇尚古典主义,注重伦理。乍看之下,似乎是个迂腐老头的形象,可是偶然翻开这本书,就被他充满机锋、措辞优雅的语言吸引。虽然这本书是用18世纪的英语写成的,读起来有点困难,还是决定把它啃完。这里先引几段文字:
"I hope you will believe my delay in answering your letter could proceed only from my unwillingness to destroy any hope that you had formed..." - 一位Johnson素不相识的女士请求他把自己的儿子推荐给一位名师,这是Johnson在回信开篇的话。看起来简单,也容易理解,可是这么委婉、得当的拒绝之语,在快餐文化当道的今天,无论在英语还是中文中都很少见。
"His mind resembled a fertile, but thin soil. There was a quick, but not a strong vegetation, of whatever chanced to be thrown upon it. No deep root could be struck" - 如此形象生动,也可算得上是损人高手了!
"Nonsense can be only defened by nonsense" - 这么一句绝妙的话,就把争论给结束了
"If you are idle, be not solitary; if you are solitary, be not idle" - 很有哲学意味的一句话,也适用于今天
可能我有些本末倒置,在阅读的过程中更关注的是语言的运用,而非Johnson的思想。可是阅读本来就是各取所需,随心所欲的!
"I hope you will believe my delay in answering your letter could proceed only from my unwillingness to destroy any hope that you had formed..." - 一位Johnson素不相识的女士请求他把自己的儿子推荐给一位名师,这是Johnson在回信开篇的话。看起来简单,也容易理解,可是这么委婉、得当的拒绝之语,在快餐文化当道的今天,无论在英语还是中文中都很少见。
"His mind resembled a fertile, but thin soil. There was a quick, but not a strong vegetation, of whatever chanced to be thrown upon it. No deep root could be struck" - 如此形象生动,也可算得上是损人高手了!
"Nonsense can be only defened by nonsense" - 这么一句绝妙的话,就把争论给结束了
"If you are idle, be not solitary; if you are solitary, be not idle" - 很有哲学意味的一句话,也适用于今天
可能我有些本末倒置,在阅读的过程中更关注的是语言的运用,而非Johnson的思想。可是阅读本来就是各取所需,随心所欲的!
有关键情节透露