瓦爾登湖:Higher Laws4

　　Who has not sometimes derived an inexpressible satisfaction from his food in which appetite had no share？  I have been thrilled to think that I owed a mental perception to the commonly gross sense of taste， that I have been inspired through the palate， that some berries which I had eaten on a hillside had fed my genius.  "The soul not being mistress of herself，" says Thseng-tseu， "one looks，and one does not see； one listens， and one does not hear； one eats，and one does not know the savor of food."  He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton； he who does not cannot be otherwise.  A puritan may go to his brown-bread crust with as gross an appetite as ever an alderman to his turtle.  Not that food which entereth into the mouth defileth a man， but the appetite with which it is eaten.  It is neither the quality nor the quantity，but the devotion to sensual savors； when that which is eaten is not a viand to sustain our animal， or inspire our spiritual life， but food for the worms that possess us.  If the hunter has a taste for mud-turtles， muskrats， and other such savage tidbits， the fine lady indulges a taste for jelly made of a calf's foot， or for sardines from over the sea， and they are even.  He goes to the mill-pond， she to her preserve-pot.  The wonder is how they， how you and I， can live this slimy， beastly life， eating and drinking.

　　Our whole life is startlingly moral.  There is never an instant's truce between virtue and vice.  Goodness is the only investment that never fails.  In the music of the harp which trembles round the world it is the insisting on this which thrills us.  The harp is the travelling patterer for the Universe's Insurance Company， recommending its laws， and our little goodness is all the assessment that we pay.  Though the youth at last grows indifferent， the laws of the universe are not indifferent， but are forever on the side of the most sensitive.  Listen to every zephyr for some reproof， for it is surely there， and he is unfortunate who does not hear it.  We cannot touch a string or move a stop but the charming moral transfixes us.  Many an irksome noise， go a long way off， is heard as music， a proud， sweet satire on the meanness of our lives.

　　We are conscious of an animal in us， which awakens in proportion as our higher nature slumbers.  It is reptile and sensual， and perhaps cannot be wholly expelled； like the worms which， even in life and health， occupy our bodies.  Possibly we may withdraw from it， but never change its nature.  I fear that it may enjoy a certain health of its own； that we may be well， yet not pure.  The other day I picked up the lower jaw of a hog， with white and sound teeth and tusks， which suggested that there was an animal health and vigor distinct from the spiritual.  This creature succeeded by other means than temperance and purity.  "That in which men differ from brute beasts，" says Mencius， "is a thing very inconsiderable； the common herd lose it very soon； superior men preserve it carefully."  Who knows what sort of life would result if we had attained to purity？

　　If I knew so wise a man as could teach me purity I would go to seek him forthwith.  "A command over our passions， and over the external senses of the body， and good acts， are declared by the Ved to be indispensable in the mind's approximation to God."  Yet the spirit can for the time pervade and control every member and function of the body， and transmute what in form is the grossest sensuality into purity and devotion.  The generative energy， which， when we are loose， dissipates and makes us unclean， when we are continent invigorates and inspires us.  Chastity is the flowering of man； and what are called Genius， Heroism， Holiness， and the like， are but various fruits which succeed it.  Man flows at once to God when the channel of purity is open.  By turns our purity inspires and our impurity casts us down.  He is blessed who is assured that the animal is dying out in him day by day， and the divine being established.  Perhaps there is none but has cause for shame on account of the inferior and brutish nature to which he is allied.  I fear that we are such gods or demigods only as fauns and satyrs， the divine allied to beasts， the creatures of appetite， and that， to some extent， our very life is our disgrace.――

　　"How happy's he who hath due place assigned To his beasts and disafforested his mind！。 . . . . . . Can use this horse， goat， wolf， and ev'ry beast，And is not ass himself to all the rest！

　　Else man not only is the herd of swine，But he's those devils too which did incline Them to a headlong rage， and made them worse."

　　All sensuality is one， though it takes many forms； all purity is one.  It is the same whether a man eat， or drink， or cohabit， or sleep sensually.  They are but one appetite， and we only need to see a person do any one of these things to know how great a sensualist he is.  The impure can neither stand nor sit with purity.  When the reptile is attacked at one mouth of his burrow， he shows himself at another.  If you would be chaste， you must be temperate.  What is chastity？  How shall a man know if he is chaste？  He shall not know it.  We have heard of this virtue， but we know not what it is.  We speak conformably to the rumor which we have heard.  From exertion come wisdom and purity； from sloth ignorance and sensuality.  In the student sensuality is a sluggish habit of mind.  An unclean person is universally a slothful one， one who sits by a stove， whom the sun shines on prostrate， who reposes without being fatigued.  If you would avoid uncleanness， and all the sins， work earnestly， though it be at cleaning a stable.  Nature is hard to be overcome， but she must be overcome.  What avails it that you are Christian， if you are not purer than the heathen， if you deny yourself no more， if you are not more religious？  I know of many systems of religion esteemed heathenish whose precepts fill the reader with shame， and provoke him to new endeavors， though it be to the performance of rites merely.

　　I hesitate to say these things， but it is not because of the subject ―― I care not how obscene my words are ―― but because I cannot speak of them without betraying my impurity.  We discourse freely without shame of one form of sensuality， and are silent about another.  We are so degraded that we cannot speak simply of the necessary functions of human nature.  In earlier ages， in some countries， every function was reverently spoken of and regulated by law.  Nothing was too trivial for the Hindoo lawgiver， however offensive it may be to modern taste.  He teaches how to eat， drink，cohabit， void excrement and urine， and the like， elevating what is mean， and does not falsely excuse himself by calling these things trifles.

　　Every man is the builder of a temple， called his body， to the god he worships， after a style purely his own， nor can he get off by hammering marble instead.  We are all sculptors and painters， and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones.  Any nobleness begins at once to refine a man's features， any meanness or sensuality to imbrute them.

　　John Farmer sat at his door one September evening， after a hard day's work， his mind still running on his labor more or less. Having bathed， he sat down to re-create his intellectual man.  It was a rather cool evening， and some of his neighbors were apprehending a frost.  He had not attended to the train of his thoughts long when he heard some one playing on a flute， and that sound harmonized with his mood.  Still he thought of his work； but the burden of his thought was， that though this kept running in his head， and he found himself planning and contriving it against his will， yet it concerned him very little.  It was no more than the scurf of his skin， which was constantly shuffled off.  But the notes of the flute came home to his ears out of a different sphere from that he worked in， and suggested work for certain faculties which slumbered in him.  They gently did away with the street， and the village， and the state in which he lived.  A voice said to him ――Why do you stay here and live this mean moiling life， when a glorious existence is possible for you？  Those same stars twinkle over other fields than these. ―― But how to come out of this condition and actually migrate thither？  All that he could think of was to practise some new austerity， to let his mind descend into his body and redeem it， and treat himself with ever increasing respect.

　　誰(shuí)個(gè)沒有吃得津津有味過(guò)，而胃囊卻一無(wú)所獲？我曾經(jīng)欣然想到，由于一般的所謂知味，我有了一種精神上的感悟，通過(guò)味覺受到后發(fā)。坐在小山上吃的漿果營(yíng)養(yǎng)了我的天性。“心不在焉，”曾子說(shuō)過(guò)，“視而不見，聽而不聞，食而不知其味。”能知道食份的真味的人決不可能成為饕餮，不這樣的人才是饕餮。一個(gè)清教徒可能狂吞他的面包皮屑，正如一個(gè)議員大嚼甲魚。食物入口并不足以玷辱一個(gè)人，但他吃這種食物的胃口卻足以玷辱他。問(wèn)題不在量，不在質(zhì)，而在口腹的貪嗜上，如果吃東西不是為了養(yǎng)活我們的生命，也不是為了激勵(lì)我們的精神生活，而是為了在肚皮里纏住我們的蛔蟲。一個(gè)獵者愛吃烏龜、麝鼠或其他野蠻的食物，一個(gè)漂亮太太愛吃小牛蹄做的凍肉，或海外的沙丁魚，他們是一樣的，他到他的湖邊去，她拿她的肉凍罐。使人驚奇的是他們，你，我，怎么能過(guò)如此卑劣的禽獸生活，只是吃吃喝喝。

　　我們的整個(gè)生命是驚人地精神性的。善惡之間，從無(wú)一瞬休戰(zhàn)。善是唯一的授予，永不失敗。在全世界為之振鳴的豎琴音樂中，善的主題給我們以欣喜。這豎琴好比宇宙保險(xiǎn)公司里的旅行推銷員，宣傳它的條例，我們的小小善行是我們所付的保險(xiǎn)費(fèi)。雖然年輕人最后總要冷淡下去，宇宙的規(guī)律卻是不會(huì)冷淡的，而是永遠(yuǎn)和敏感的人站在一邊。

　　從西風(fēng)中聽一聽譴責(zé)之辭吧，一定有的，聽不到的人是不幸的。我們每彈撥一根弦，每移動(dòng)一個(gè)音栓的時(shí)候，可愛的寓意滲透了我們的心靈。許多討厭的聲音，傳得很遠(yuǎn)，聽來(lái)卻像音樂，對(duì)于我們卑賤的生活，這真是一個(gè)傲然的可愛的諷刺。

　　我們知道我們身體里面，有一只野獸，當(dāng)我們的更高的天性沉沉欲睡時(shí)，它就醒過(guò)來(lái)了。這是官能的，像一條毒蛇一樣，也許難于整個(gè)驅(qū)除掉；也像一些蟲子，甚至在我們生活著并且活得很健康的時(shí)候，它們寄生在我們的體內(nèi)。我們也許能躲開它，卻永遠(yuǎn)改變不了它的天性。恐怕它自身也有一定的健壯，我們可以很健康，卻永遠(yuǎn)不能是純凈的。那一天我揀到了一只野豬的下腭骨，有雪白的完整的牙齒和長(zhǎng)牙，還有一種和精神上的不同的動(dòng)物性的康健和精力。這是用節(jié)欲和純潔以外的方法得到的。“人之所以異于禽獸者幾希，”孟子說(shuō)，“庶民去之，君子存之。”如果我們謹(jǐn)守著純潔，誰(shuí)知道將會(huì)得到何等樣的生命？如果我知道有這樣一個(gè)聰明人，他能教給我潔身自好的方法，我一定要去找他。“能夠控制我們的情欲和身體的外在官能，并做好事的話，照吠陀經(jīng)典的說(shuō)法，是在心靈上接近神的不可缺少的條件。”然而精神是能夠一時(shí)之間滲透并控制身體上的每一個(gè)官能和每一個(gè)部分，而把外表上最粗俗的淫蕩轉(zhuǎn)化為內(nèi)心的純潔與虔誠(chéng)的。放縱了生殖的精力將使我們荒淫而不潔；克制了它則使我們精力洋溢而得到鼓舞。

　　貞潔是人的花朵；創(chuàng)造力、英雄主義、神圣等等只不過(guò)是它的各種果實(shí)。當(dāng)純潔的海峽暢通了，人便立刻奔流到上帝那里。我們一忽兒為純潔所鼓舞，一忽兒因不潔而沮喪。

　　自知身體之內(nèi)的獸性在一天天地消失，而神性一天天地生長(zhǎng)的人是有福的，當(dāng)人和劣等的獸性結(jié)合時(shí)，便只有羞辱。我擔(dān)心我們只是農(nóng)牧之神和森林之神那樣的神或半神與獸結(jié)合的妖怪，饕餮好色的動(dòng)物。我擔(dān)心，在一定程度上，我們的一生就是我們的恥辱。

　　――“這人何等快樂，斬除了腦中的林莽，把內(nèi)心的群獸驅(qū)逐到適當(dāng)?shù)牡胤健?/p>

　　……

　　能利用他的馬、羊、狼和一切野獸，而自己和其他動(dòng)物相比，不算蠢驢。

　　否則，人不單單放牧一群豬玀，而且也是這樣那樣的鬼怪妖魔，使它們狂妄失性，使他們?cè)絹?lái)越壞。

　　一切的淫欲，雖然有許多形態(tài)，卻只是一個(gè)東西，純潔的一切也只是一個(gè)東西。一個(gè)人大吃大喝，男女同居，或淫蕩地睡覺，只是一回事。這屬于同一胃口，我們只要看到一個(gè)人在于其中的一件事，就能夠知道他是怎樣的一個(gè)好色之徒。不潔和純潔是不能一起站立，一起就座的。我們只要在穴洞的一頭打一下蛇，它就會(huì)在另一頭出現(xiàn)。如果你想要貞潔，你必須節(jié)制。什么是貞潔呢？一個(gè)人怎么知道他是貞潔的呢？他不能知道。

　　我們只聽說(shuō)過(guò)，但不知道它是怎樣的。我們依照我們聽到過(guò)的傳說(shuō)來(lái)說(shuō)明它。智慧和純潔來(lái)之于力行，從懶惰中卻出現(xiàn)了無(wú)知和淫欲。對(duì)一個(gè)學(xué)生來(lái)說(shuō)，淫欲是他心智懶惰的結(jié)果，一個(gè)不潔的人往往是一個(gè)懶惰的人：他坐在爐邊烤火，他在陽(yáng)光照耀下躺著，他沒有疲倦，就要休息。如果要避免不潔和一切罪惡，你就熱忱地工作吧，即使是打掃馬廄也行。天性難于克制，但必須克制。如果你不比異教徒純潔，如果你不比異教徒更能克制自己，如果你不比異教徒更虔敬，那你就算是基督徒又怎么樣呢？我知道有很多被認(rèn)為是異教的宗教制度，它們的教律使讀者感到羞愧，并且要他作新的努力，雖然要努力的只不過(guò)是奉行儀式而已。

　　我不愿意說(shuō)這些話，但并不是由于主題，一我也不管我的用字是何等褻猥，――而是因?yàn)檎f(shuō)這些話，就泄露出我自己的不潔。對(duì)于一種淫欲的形式，我們常常可以無(wú)所忌憚地暢談，對(duì)于另一種卻又閉口無(wú)言。我們已經(jīng)太墮落了。所以不能簡(jiǎn)單地談人類天性的必要活動(dòng)。在稍早一些的幾個(gè)時(shí)代，在某些國(guó)內(nèi)，每一樣活動(dòng)都可以正經(jīng)談?wù)摚⑶乙捕加煞煽刂啤Ｓ《鹊牧⒎ㄕ呤墙z毫不嫌其瑣碎的，盡管近代人不以為然。他教人如何飲，食，同居，如何解大小便等等，把卑賤的提高了，而不把它們作為瑣碎之事，避而不談。

　　每一個(gè)人都是一座圣廟的建筑師。他的身體是他的圣殿，在里面，他用完全是自己的方式來(lái)崇敬他的神，他即使另外去琢鑿大理石，他還是有自己的圣殿與尊神的。我們都是雕刻家與畫家，用我們的血，肉，骨骼做材料。任何崇高的品質(zhì)，一開始就使一個(gè)人的形態(tài)有所改善，任何卑俗或淫欲立刻使他變成禽獸。

　　在一個(gè)九月的黃昏，約翰。發(fā)爾末做完一天艱苦的工作之后，坐在他的門口，他的心事多少還奔馳在他的工作上。洗澡之后，他坐下來(lái)給他的理性一點(diǎn)兒休息。這是一個(gè)相當(dāng)寒冷的黃昏，他的一些鄰人擔(dān)心會(huì)降霜。他沉思不久，便聽到了笛聲，跟他的心情十分協(xié)調(diào)。他還在想他的工作，雖然他盡想盡想著，還在不由自主地計(jì)劃著、設(shè)計(jì)著，可是他對(duì)這些事已不大關(guān)心了。這大不了是皮屑，隨時(shí)可以去掉的。而笛子的樂音，是從不同于他那個(gè)工作的環(huán)境中吹出來(lái)的，催他沉睡著的官能起來(lái)工作。柔和的樂音吹走了街道、村子和他居住的國(guó)家。有一個(gè)聲音對(duì)他說(shuō)，――在可能過(guò)光榮的生活的時(shí)候，為什么你留在這里，過(guò)這種卑賤的苦役的生活呢？同樣的星星照耀著那邊的大地，而不是這邊的，――可是如何從這種境況中跳出來(lái)，真正遷移到那里去呢？他所能夠想到的只是實(shí)踐一種新的刻苦生活，讓他的心智降入他的肉體中去解救它，然后以日益增長(zhǎng)的敬意來(lái)對(duì)待他自己。

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