Nature              author:Ralph Waldo Emerson

   To be into solitude,a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society.I am not 

solitary whilst I read and write,though nobody is with me. Byt if a man would be alone,let him look at 

the stars.The rays that come from those beavenly worlds,will separate between him and what he 

touches.One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design,to give man,in the 

heavenly bodies,the perpetual presence of the sublime.Seen in the streets of cities,how great they 

are!If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years,how would men believe and adore;and 

preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown!But every 

night come out these envoys of beauty,and light the universe with their admonishing smile.

   The stars awaken a certain reverence,because though always present,they are inaccessible;but all 

natural objects make a kindred impression,when the mind is open to their influence.Nature never 

wears a mean appearance.Neither does the wisest man extort her secret,and lose his curiosity by 

finding out all her perfection.Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit.The flowers,the animals,the 

mountains,reflected the wisdom of his best hour,as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his 

childhood.When we speak of nature in this manner,we have a distinct but most poetical sense in the 

mind.We mean the integrity of impression made by manifold natural objects.It is this which dis-

tinguishes the stick of timber of the wood-cutter,from the tree of the poet.The charming landscape 

which I saw this morning,is indubitably made up of some twenty or thirty farms.Miller owns this field, 

Locke that,and Manning the woodland beyond.But none of them owns the landscape.There is a pro-

perty in the horizon which no man has but he whose eye can integrate all the parts,that is,the poet. 

This is the best part of these men's farms,yet to this their warranty-deeds give no title.To speak 

truly,few adult persons can see nature.Most persons do not see the sun.At least they have a very 

superficial seeing.The sun illuminates only the eye of the man,but shines into the eye and the heart of 

the child.The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each 

other;who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood.His intercourse with heaven 

and earth,becomes part of his daily food.In the presence of nature,a wild delight runs through the 

man,in apite of real sorrows.Nature says,he is my creature,and maugre all his impertinent griefs,he 

shall be glad with me.Not the sun or the summer alone,but every hour and season yields its tribute of 

delight;for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind,from 

breathless noon to grimmest midnight.Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning 

piece.

自然          作者：拉尔夫*沃尔多*爱默生

      如果想孤独得活着，一个人总是需要远离社会和他的卧室。当我写作或者读书的时候，不会觉得孤独，虽然

往往这时候并没有人陪伴着。如果你打算沉浸在孤独里面，那就去看看那些在夜空中的闪耀的星星吧。那些来自

天国的光线，可以把人们和他们所处的社会圈子分隔开来。星空之下，也许有人会这样想：天空是多么透彻，这

些天体散发着永恒而壮丽的光辉。如果是站着城里的街道边仰望这样的天穹，你会发现这是多么得壮观啊！假如

星子一千年仅仅闪耀一晚，世人该怎样去崇信这上苍啊，一定会把这份珍视的记忆好好得保存下去！不过，每一

个夜晚这些美丽的使节都会来到天幕之上，带着训诫意味的微笑点亮整个宇宙。

      星辰会唤醒人们的敬畏之心，不是因为它们常常出现在夜幕中，而是人们心里会觉得它们可望而不可即。其

实，自然中的万物都是平等的，没有贵贱之分。智者并不强求自己揭示它的奥密，但却会因为好奇心而去发现一

个完美的自然。但是，它不是智者们的玩具。花儿，动物，山岭展露智者们的最高智慧，同时也会展现出他们纯

真的童年。当我们用这个方式来谈论自然，心中会充满诗歌的意味。各种自然界的事物变成了我们心中的各种印

记。正如伐木工可以区分出各种枝桠可以用作什么木材，在诗人的笔下这些印记可以组成一棵大树。清晨时候我

所曾见到过的迷人的风景之中，毫无疑问，面前的这二十或者三十个的农场又是其中最美的。米勒拥有这一片土

地，洛克拥有那边的一片，曼宁拥有树林外边的那一片。但是没有人可以拥有这整片的风景。地平线上的这一整

片的风景是自然赐予的财产，属于可以把它尽收眼底的那个人，一个诗人。这也是农场主们最珍贵的产业，虽然

并没有被写入担保契约。说真的，并没有多少成年人会看到这样的自然。其中更多的人甚至看不到太阳之美。至

少，他们的视角肤浅庸俗。也许，他们只是不经意间被太阳光晃着了眼睛，惟有小孩子会感受到阳光照进心灵的

那种美好。热爱自然的人，他的内在和外在是真正彼此协调一致的，甚至成年后也依然保有着一颗童心。这样的

人觉得与天地自然的接触是生活中不可缺少的部分，身处其中会产生莫大的快乐，即使被各种悲伤忧愁所困扰。

自然会说：这样的人是我的杰作，不论他有多少没缘由的悲伤都将与我同乐。自然赋予人们的不仅仅是阳光、夏

日、四季的变换，还有快乐。因为在时间的转换中，人们的心底总是相应得产生种种的感受，不论是在那些压抑

的中午或者漆黑的午夜。自然会将悲喜剧一并上演，不会有任何偏颇。