How should one read a book 双语 Virginia WoolfWord文件下载.docx

How should one read a book 双语 Virginia WoolfWord文件下载.docx

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ThebattleofWaterloowascertainlyfoughtonacertainday;

butisHamletabetterplaythanLear?

Nobodycansay、Eachmustdecidethatquestionforhimself、Toadmitauthorities,howeverheavilyfurredandgowned,intoourlibrariesandletthemtellushowtoread,whattoread,whatvaluetoplaceuponwhatweread,istodestroythespiritoffreedomwhichisthebreathofthosesanctuaries、Everywhereelsewemaybeboundbylawsandconventions--therewehavenone、

Buttoenjoyfreedom,iftheplatitudeispardonable,wehaveofcoursetocontrolourselves、Wemustnotsquanderourpowers,helplesslyandignorantly,squirtinghalfthehouseinordertowaterasinglerose-bush;

wemusttrainthem,exactlyandpowerfully,hereontheveryspot、This,itmaybe,isoneofthefirstdifficultiesthatfacesusinalibrary、Whatis"

theveryspot"

?

Theremaywellseemtobenothingbutaconglomerationandhuddleofconfusion、Poemsandnovels,historiesandmemoirs,dictionariesandblue-books;

bookswritteninalllanguagesbymenandwomenofalltempers,races,andagesjostleeachotherontheshelf、Andoutsidethedonkeybrays,thewomengossipatthepump,thecoltsgallopacrossthefields、Wherearewetobegin?

Howarewetobringorderintothismultitudinouschaosandsogetthedeepestandwidestpleasurefromwhatweread?

Itissimpleenoughtosaythatsincebookshaveclasses--fiction,biography,poetry--weshouldseparatethemandtakefromeachwhatitisrightthateachshouldgiveus、Yetfewpeopleaskfrombookswhatbookscangiveus、Mostmonlyweetobookswithblurredanddividedminds,askingoffictionthatitshallbetrue,ofpoetrythatitshallbefalse,ofbiographythatitshallbeflattering,ofhistorythatitshallenforceourownprejudices、Ifwecouldbanishallsuchpreconceptionswhenweread,thatwouldbeanadmirablebeginning、Donotdictatetoyourauthor;

trytobeehim、Behisfellow-workerandacplice、Ifyouhangback,andreserveandcriticiseatfirst,youarepreventingyourselffromgettingthefullestpossiblevaluefromwhatyouread、Butifyouopenyourmindaswidelyaspossible,thensignsandhintsofalmostimperceptiblefineness,fromthetwistandturnofthefirstsentences,willbringyouintothepresenceofahumanbeingunlikeanyother、Steepyourselfinthis,acquaintyourselfwiththis,andsoonyouwillfindthatyourauthorisgivingyou,orattemptingtogiveyou,somethingfarmoredefinite、Thethirty-twochaptersofanovel--ifweconsiderhowtoreadanovelfirst--areanattempttomakesomethingasformedandcontrolledasabuilding:

butwordsaremoreimpalpablethanbricks;

readingisalongerandmoreplicatedprocessthanseeing、Perhapsthequickestwaytounderstandtheelementsofwhatanovelistisdoingisnottoread,buttowrite;

tomakeyourownexperimentwiththedangersanddifficultiesofwords、Recall,then,someeventthathasleftadistinctimpressiononyou--howatthecornerofthestreet,perhaps,youpassedtwopeopletalking、Atreeshook;

anelectriclightdanced;

thetoneofthetalkwasic,butalsotragic;

awholevision,anentireconception,seemedcontainedinthatmoment、

Butwhenyouattempttoreconstructitinwords,youwillfindthatitbreaksintoathousandconflictingimpressions、Somemustbesubdued;

othersemphasized;

intheprocessyouwilllose,probably,allgraspupontheemotionitself、Thenturnfromyourblurredandlitteredpagestotheopeningpagesofsomegreatnovelist--Defoe,JaneAusten,Hardy、Nowyouwillbebetterabletoappreciatetheirmastery、Itisnotmerelythatweareinthepresenceofadifferentperson--Defoe,JaneAusten,orThomasHardy--butthatwearelivinginadifferentworld、Here,inRobinsonCrusoe,wearetrudgingaplainhighroad;

onethinghappensafteranother;

thefactandtheorderofthefactisenough、ButiftheopenairandadventuremeaneverythingtoDefoetheymeannothingtoJaneAusten、Hersisthedrawing-room,andpeopletalking,andbythemanymirrorsoftheirtalkrevealingtheircharacters、Andif,whenwehaveaccustomedourselvestothedrawing-roomanditsreflections,weturntoHardy,weareoncemorespunround、Themoorsareroundusandthestarsareaboveourheads、Theothersideofthemindisnowexposed--thedarksidethatesuppermostinsolitude,notthelightsidethatshowsinpany、Ourrelationsarenottowardspeople,buttowardsNatureanddestiny、Yetdifferentastheseworldsare,eachisconsistentwithitself、Themakerofeachiscarefultoobservethelawsofhisownperspective,andhowevergreatastraintheymayputuponustheywillneverconfuseus,aslesserwriterssofrequentlydo,byintroducingtwodifferentkindsofrealityintothesamebook、Thustogofromonegreatnovelisttoanother--fromJaneAustentoHardy,fromPeacocktoTrollope,fromScotttoMeredith--istobewrenchedanduprooted;

tobethrownthiswayandthenthat、Toreadanovelisadifficultandplexart、Youmustbecapablenotonlyofgreatfinenessofperception,butofgreatboldnessofimaginationifyouaregoingtomakeuseofallthatthenovelist--thegreatartist--givesyou、

Butaglanceattheheterogeneouspanyontheshelfwillshowyouthatwritersareveryseldom"

greatartists"

;

farmoreoftenabookmakesnoclaimtobeaworkofartatall、Thesebiographiesandautobiographies,forexample,livesofgreatmen,ofmenlongdeadandforgotten,thatstandcheekbyjowlwiththenovelsandpoems,arewetorefusetoreadthembecausetheyarenot"

art"

Orshallwereadthem,butreadtheminadifferentway,withadifferentaim?

Shallwereadtheminthefirstplacetosatisfythatcuriositywhichpossessesussometimeswhenintheeveningwelingerinfrontofahousewherethelightsarelitandtheblindsnotyetdrawn,andeachfloorofthehouseshowsusadifferentsectionofhumanlifeinbeing?

Thenweareconsumedwithcuriosityaboutthelivesofthesepeople--theservantsgossiping,thegentlemendining,thegirldressingforaparty,theoldwomanatthewindowwithherknitting、Whoarethey,whatarethey,whataretheirnames,theiroccupations,theirthoughts,andadventures?

Biographiesandmemoirsanswersuchquestions,lightupinnumerablesuchhouses;

theyshowuspeoplegoingabouttheirdailyaffairs,toiling,failing,succeeding,eating,hating,loving,untiltheydie、Andsometimesaswewatch,thehousefadesandtheironrailingsvanishandweareoutatsea;

wearehunting,sailing,fighting;

weareamongsavagesandsoldiers;

wearetakingpartingreatcampaigns、OrifweliketostayhereinEngland,inLondon,stillthescenechanges;

thestreetnarrows;

thehousebeessmall,cramped,diamond-paned,andmalodorous、Weseeapoet,Donne,drivenfromsuchahousebecausethewallsweresothinthatwhenthechildrencriedtheirvoicescutthroughthem、Wecanfollowhim,throughthepathsthatlieinthepagesofbooks,toTwickenham;

toLadyBedford'

sPark,afamousmeeting-groundfornoblesandpoets;

andthenturnourstepstoWilton,thegreathouseunderthedowns,andhearSidneyreadtheArcadiatohissister;

andrambleamongtheverymarshesandseetheveryheronsthatfigureinthatfamousromance;

andthenagaintravelnorthwiththatotherLadyPembroke,AnneClifford,toherwildmoors,orplungeintothecityandcontrolourmerrimentatthesightofGabrielHarveyinhisblackvelvetsuitarguingaboutpoetrywithSpenser、NothingismorefascinatingthantogropeandstumbleinthealternatedarknessandsplendourofElizabethanLondon、Butthereisnostayingthere、TheTemplesandtheSwifts,theHarleysandtheSt、Johnsbeckonuson;

houruponhourcanbespentdisentanglingtheirquarrelsanddecipheringtheircharacters;

andwhenwetireofthemwecanstrollon,pastaladyinblackwearingdiamonds,toSamuelJohnsonandGoldsmithandGarrick;

orcrossthechannel,ifwelike,andmeetVoltaireandDiderot,MadameduDeffand;

andsobacktoEnglandandTwickenham--howcertainplacesrepeatthemselvesandcertainnames!

--whereLadyBedfordhadherParkonceandPopelivedlater,toWalpole'

shomeatStrawberryHill、ButWalpoleintroducesustosuchaswarmofnewacquaintances,therearesomanyhousestovisitandbellstoringthatwemaywellhesitateforamoment,ontheMissBerrys'

doorstep,forexample,whenbehold,upesThackeray;

heisthefriendofthewomanwhomWalpoleloved;

sothatmerelybygoingfromfriendtofriend,fromgardentogarden,fromhousetohouse,wehavepassedfromoneendofEnglishliteraturetoanotherandwaketofindourselveshereagaininthepresent,ifwecansodifferentiatethismomentfromallthathavegonebefore、This,then,isoneofthewaysinwhichwecanreadtheselivesandletters;

wecanmakethemlightupthemanywindowsofthepast;

wecanwatchthefamousdeadintheirfamiliarhabitsandfancysometimesthatweareverycloseandcansurprisetheirsecrets,andsometimeswemaypulloutaplayorapoemthattheyhavewrittenandseewhetherit