我之于书
Books and I
二十年来,我的生活费中至少十分之一二是消耗在书上的.我的房子里比较贵重的东西就是书.
For
twenty years past, books have eaten into at least 10-20 percent of my
pocket. Now the only things of some value under my roof, if any, are my
books.
我一向没有对任何问题作高深研究的野心,因之所买的书范围较广,宗教、艺术、文学、社会、哲学、历史、生物,各方面差不多都有一点.最多的是各国文学名著的译本与本国古来的诗文集,别的门类只是些概论等类的入门书而已.
Since
I have never entertained ambition for making a profound study of any
subject, the books I have acquired cover almost everything - religion,
art, literature, sociology, philosophy, history, biology, etc. Most of
them are Chinese translations of literary works by famous foreign
writers and anthologies of Chinese poetry and prose through the ages.
The rest, often called an outline or introduction, are merely on
rudiments of various subjects.
我不喜欢向别人或图书馆借书,借来的书,在我好像过不来瘾似的,必要是自己买的才满足.这也可谓是一种占有的欲望.买到了几册新书,一册一册地加盖藏书印记,我最感到快悦的是这时候.
I
never care to borrow books from other people or a library. It seems
that books bought can better satisfy my bibliomania than books borrowed.
You may also attribute this to some sort of desire for personal
possession. Whenever I have some new acquisitions, it always gives me
great pleasure and satisfaction to stamp my ex-libris on them one by
one.
书籍到了我的手里,我的习惯是先看序文,次看目录.页数不多的往往立刻通读,篇幅大的,只把正文任择一二章节略加翻阅,就插在书架上.除
小说外,我少有全体读完的大部的书,只凭了购入当时的记忆,知道某册书是何种性质,其中大概有些什么可取的材料而已.什么书在什么时候再去读再去翻,连我
自己也无把握,完全要看一个时期一个时期的兴趣.关于这些,我常自比为古时的皇帝,而把插在架上的书譬诸列屋而居的宫女.
As soon as a
new book comes to hand, I always read the preface first and then the
table of contents. If it happens to be a thin one, I often finish
reading it at one sitting. Otherwise, I often browse through one or two
chapters or sections before putting it onto my bookshelf. I seldom read a
thick book from cover to cover unless it is a novel. By dint of the
first impression it made on me at the time of buying, I have a rough
idea of what a book is about and what useful materials in it are
available to me. But I have little idea which book is to be read or
looked over again at what time. It is completely subject to the whims of
the moment. This often prompts me to liken myself and the books on my
shelves respectively to an ancient emperor and his concubines housed
separately in a row of adjoining rooms.
我虽爱买书,而对于书却不甚爱惜.读书的时候,常在书上把我所认为要紧的处所标出.线装书大概用笔加圈,洋装书竟用红铅笔划粗粗的线.经我看过的书,统体干净的很少.
Much
as I love books, I take little care of them. In doing my reading, I
often mark out what I regard as important in a book. If it is a
thread-bound Chinese book, I use a writing brush to draw small circles
as markings. Otherwise, I use a red pencil to draw heavy underlines.
Consequently, the books I have read are rarely clean.
据说,任何爱吃糖果的人,只要叫他到糖果铺中去做事,见了糖果就会生厌.自我入书店以后,对于书的贪念也已消除了不少了.可不免要故态复萌,想买这种,想买那种.这大概因为糖果要用嘴去吃,摆存似乎毫无意义,而书则可以买了不看,任其只管插在书架上的缘故吧.
It
is said that those who have a great liking for candies will sicken to
see them when later they happen to work in a candy store. Likewise, ever
since I began to work in a bookstore, my obsession with books has been
very much on the decline. Nevertheless, I still cannot help slipping
back into the same old rut, eager to buy this and that book. This is
probably because candies are to be eaten with the mouth and not worth
keeping as knick-knacks while books can be bought without being read and
just left on a shelf.
①“我之于书”译为 Books and I ,比 I and Books 符合英语习惯,读音也较顺口.
②
“我的生活费中至少十分之一二是消耗在书上的”译为 books have eaten into at least 10-20 percent of
my pocket ,其中成语 to eat into 作“耗尽”或“花费”解,意同 to use up 或 to spend
gradually ；pocket 作“腰包”解.
③“我的房子里”译为 under my roof ,意同 in my house.
④“好像过不来瘾似的”中的“瘾”指“藏书癖”,故译为 biliomania ,意即 desire or passion for collecting books.
⑤“藏书印”译为 ex-libris ,为专用语.
⑥“往往立刻通读”译为 I often finish reading it at one sitting ,其中 at one sitting （亦作 at a sitting）为成语,作“坐着一口气”或“一下子”解.
⑦“宫女”本可译为 court ladies 或 palace maids ,但原文实际上指的是“妃子”,故译为concubines.
⑧“故态复萌”译为 slipping back into the same old rut 或 relapsing into my old habit
