-
Unit 19
The Essayist
The
essayist
is
a
self-liberated
man,
sustained
by
the
childish
belief
that
everything he thinks
about, everything that happens to him, is of
general interest. He
is a fellow who
thoroughly enjoys his work, just as people who
take bird walks enjoy
theirs. Each new
excursion of the essayist, each new
“
attempt
”
, differs
from the last
and takes him into new
country. This delights him. Only a person who
is
congenitally
self-centered has the
effrontery
and the
stamina
to write essays.
散文家是一位自我解脱的人，
靠一种幼稚的信念支撑着，
他总认为自己想到
的一切，
自己遭遇的一切，
是大家都感兴趣的。
他是一个充分欣赏自己工作的人，
就像遛鸟的人欣赏他们的工作那样。
散文家的每一次新的游览，
每一次新的
“尝
试”
，都和前
一次不同，而且总把他带进新的国度里去。这使他很快慰。只有生
来以自我为中心的人才
会厚颜无耻、持之以恒地去写散文。
There are
as many kinds of essays as there are human
attitudes or poses, as many
essay
flavors
as
there
are
Howard
Johnson
ice
creams.
The
essayist
arises
in
the
morning
and,
if
he
has
work
to
do,
selects
his
garb
from
an
unusually
extensive
wardrobe
:
he can
pull
on any sort of shirt,
be
any
sort of
person, according to
his
mood or his subject matter--
philosopher,
scold
,
jester
,
raconteur
,
confidant
,
pundit
,
devil
’
s advocate,
enthusiast. I like the essay, have always liked
it, and even as a child
was at work,
attempting to
inflict
my
young thoughts and experiences on
others by
putting them on paper. I
early broke into print in the pages of as. I tend
still
to fall back on the essay form (
or lack of form) when an idea strikes me, but I am
not
fooled about the place of the essay
in twentieth-century American letters--it stands a
short
distance
down
the
line.
The
essayist,
unlike
the
novelist,
the
poet,
and
the
playwright, must be content in his
self-imposed role of second-class citizen. A
writer
who has his sights trained on
the Nobel Prize or other earthly triumphs had best
write
a novel, a poem, or a play, and
leave the essay to
ramble
about, content with living a
free
life
and
enjoying
the
satisfactions
of
a
somewhat
undisciplined
existence.
(Dr.
Johnson called the
essay
“
an irregular,
undigested piece
”
; this
happy practitioner has
no wish to
quarrel with the good
doctor
’
s characterization. <
/p>
散文种类很多，犹如人的姿态，而散文风格韵味之多则犹如霍华德?约翰逊
的冰淇淋。
散文家清晨起来，
倘若有工作得做，
总从一批特别多样化的服装中挑
选出他的外衣来：
且不论他是哪一类人，
他可以根据自己的心境或是题材披上任
何种类的衬衫
——
哲学家、爱骂人的人、诙谐的人、讲故事的
人、知己朋友、学
术权威、爱唱反调的人、热心人士。我爱好散文，一向爱好，孩提时就
动手写文
章，
试图把我年轻的思想与经历写在纸上，
强加给别人。
我写的散文最早刊登在
《圣尼古拉杂
志》
上。
当我突然有了一个想法时，
我
还是倾向于采用散文这种形
式（或者可以说是，缺乏任何形式）
，不过我对于散文在二十世纪美国文坛上的
地位并没有上当受骗。
——
总的说来，散文地位偏低。散文家不像小说家、诗人
和剧
作家，
他必须满足于自己强加上身的二等公民的角色。
一个目光
瞄准诺贝尔
奖或是世上其他荣誉的作家，
最好写一篇小说、
一首诗或一部戏剧，
撇下散文家
四下漫游，
满足于一种自由自在的生活，
享受着一种或多或少散漫生活的种
种快
事。
（约翰逊博士把散文称为“一篇不合常规的、未经整理
的文字”
；我这个快乐
的散文作者无意就那位好博士关于散文特
性的描述进行指责。
）