Cultural Kaleidoscope

Where I Lived，and What I Lived For（Excerpt）

This small lake was of most value as a neighbor in the intervals of a gentle rain-storm in August，when，both air and water being perfectly still，but the sky overcast，mid-afternoon had all the serenity of evening，and the wood thrush sang around，and was heard from shore to shore．A lake like this is never smoother than at such a time；and the clear portion of the air above it being shallow and darkened by clouds，the water，full of light and reflections，becomes a lower heaven itself so much the more important．From a hill-top near by，where the wood had been recently cut off，there was a pleasing vista southward across the pond，through a wide indentation in the hills which form the shore there，where their opposite sides sloping toward each other suggested a stream flowing out in that direction through a wooded valley，but stream there was none．That way I looked between and over the near green hills to some distant and higher ones in the horizon，tinged with blue．Indeed，by standing on tiptoe I could catch a glimpse of some of the peaks of the still bluer and more distant mountain ranges in the northwest，those true-blue coins from heaven’s own mint，and also of some portion of the village．But in other directions，even from this point，I could not see over or beyond the woods which surrounded me．It is well to have some water in your neighborhood，to give buoyancy to and float the earth．One value even of the smallest well is，that when you look into it you see that earth is not continent but insular．This is as important as that it keeps butter cool．When I looked across the pond from this peak toward the Sudbury meadows，which in time of flood I distinguished elevated perhaps by a mirage in their seething valley，like a coin in a basin，all the earth beyond the pond appeared like a thin crust insulated and floated even by this small sheet of intervening water，and I was reminded that this on which I dwelt was but dry land．

Though the view from my door was still more contracted，I did not feel crowded or confined in the least．There was pasture enough for my imagination．The low shrub oak plateau to which the opposite shore arose stretched away toward the prairies of the West and the steppes of Tartary，affording ample room for all the roving families of men．“There are none happy in the world but beings who enjoy freely a vast horizon，”—said Damodara，when his herds required new and larger pastures．(https://www.daowen.com)

我在哪里生活；我为什么生活（节选）

八月里，温和的暴风雨时断时续，这个小湖变成了最难能可贵的邻居，这时候，空气和湖水非常安静，但是天空却乌云密布，下午过半便是一派黄昏的宁静气氛，画眉此起彼伏地啼叫，此岸彼岸遥相呼应。这样的一汪湖水只有在这个时候才异常平静；湖上空气清亮的部分浅薄透亮，在云团的笼罩下幽暗起来，湖水则明光闪闪，倒影重重，成了一个二重天，倒比天空显得更举足轻重了。附近一个山头，新近砍伐掉了树木，隔湖向南望去是一幅令人心旷神怡的图景，形成湖岸的重山间是一个开阔的缺口，重山对面的山坡彼此错落着向下延伸，表明一条溪流从那个方向涓涓而下，穿过一条长满树木的峡谷，然而那里并没有溪水流淌。我的视角就介于此山与彼山之间，跳过附近绿色山峦向远处眺望，地平线上出现了更高的山峰，染上淡蓝的颜色。一点没错，踮起脚尖我能看见西北方向更蓝更远的闪烁多变的山脉，那些纯蓝的硬币是蓝天自己的模子锻压出来的；我这样瞭望还看得见村镇的一部分。但是向别的方向看去，即使从这个地点，我也看不见包围着我的树林上方或远处是什么。你的住所附近有水可谓得天独厚，给你悬浮的感受，让地球漂浮起来。水的价值，哪怕是最小的井，你向下面看去，也能看出地球不是毗连的大陆，而是间隔的岛屿。这可不能熟视无睹，如同井水可以冷却黄油一样重要。从这个山巅隔湖望去，看见了萨得伯里草原，在洪水到来的时候我看得出草原高出一块，也许是烟雾翻腾的峡谷形成的海市蜃楼的作用吧，如同一枚盆底上的硬币，湖那边所有的土地看上去宛如一层薄薄的浮皮，由于这层小小的横亘的水面而隔绝起来，漂浮起来，而我猛然醒过神儿来，我就居住在这上面，不过是一片干燥的土地。

尽管从我的门边一眼望去，视野更为狭窄，但是我并没有感到拥挤或者局限，一点都没有。牧场有的是，由我去想象好了。低矮的橡树丛生的高地，从湖对岸升起，一直向西方的草原延伸，向鞑靼式的大草原延伸，为所有流浪的人家提供了广阔的存身之地。“人世间只有自由自在地欣赏广阔的地平线的人，才能感受到什么是幸福。”——达摩达拉说，因他看到自己的牛羊要求新的更大的牧场。（苏福忠　译）