第9章 Spell of the Rising Moon——Peter Steinhart

内容导读

彼得·斯坦哈特，美国博物学家。他的散文清新恬淡，给人以美的享受。在《月亮升起来》中，斯坦哈特讲述了自己经历的一件小事：在一个夜晚，由于车熄了火，他被困山中。这时正赶上月亮升起，于是他忘却烦恼，全心全意地欣赏美丽的月亮。

英文正文

There is a hill near my home that I often climb at night. The noise of the city is a far-off murmur. In the hush of dark I share the cheerfulness of crickets and the confidence of owls.But it is the drama of the moonrise that I come to see, for that restores in me a quiet and clarity that the city spends too freely.

From this hill I have watched many moons rise. Each one had its own mood. There have been broad, confident harvest moons in autumn; shy, misty moons in spring; lonely, winter moons rising into the utter silence of an ink-black sky and smoke-smudged orange moons over the dry fields of summer.Each, like fine music, excited my heart and then calmed my soul.

Moon gazing is an ancient art. To prehistoric hunters the moon overhead was asunerringas heartbeat. They knew that every 29 days[2] it became full-bellied and brilliant, then sickened and died, and then was reborn. They knew thewaxingmoon appeared larger and higher overhead after each succeeding sunset. They knew the waning moon rose later each night until it vanished in the sunrise. To have understood the moon's patterns from experience must have been a profound thing.

But we, who live indoors, have lost contact with the moon. The glare of street lights and the dust of pollution veil the night sky. Though men have walked on the moon, it grows less familiar. Few of us can say when the moon will rise tonight.

Still, it tugs at our minds. If we unexpectedly encounter the full moon, huge and yellow over the horizon, we are helpless but to stare back at its commanding presence. And the moon has gifts to bestow upon those who watch.

I learned about its gifts one July evening in the mountains. My car had mysteriously stalled, and I was stranded and alone. The sun had set, and I was watching what seemed to be the bright-orange glow of a forest fire beyond a ridge to the east.

Suddenly, the ridge itself seemed to burst into flame. Then, the rising moon, huge and red and grotesquely misshapen by the dust and sweat of the summer atmosphere, loomed up out of the woods.

But as the moon lifted off the ridge it gathered firmness and authority. Itscomplexionchanged from red, to orange, to gold, toimpassiveyellow. It seemed to draw light out of the darkening earth, for as it rose, the hills and valleys below grew dimmer. By the time the moon stood clear of the horizon, full chested and round and the color of ivory, the valleys were deep shadows in the landscape. The dogs,reassuredthat this was the familiar moon, stopped barking. And all at once I felt a confidence and joy close to laughter

The drama took an hour. Moonrise is slow and serried with subtleties. To watch it, we must slip into an older, more patient sense of time. To watch the moon moveinexorablyhigher is to find an unusual stillness within ourselves. Our imaginations become aware of the vast distances of space, theimmensityof the earth and huge improbability of our own existence. We feel small but privileged.

Moonlight shows us none of life's harder edges. Hillsides seem silken and silvery, the oceans still and blue in its light. In moonlight we become less calculating, more drawn to our feelings.

中文译文

月亮升起来

彼得·斯坦哈特

有一座小山就坐落在我家附近，我常常会在夜里去爬山。到了山上，城市里的嘈杂就会变成远方的低语。在安静的黑夜里，我能够感觉到蟋蟀的欢乐和猫头鹰的自信。不过，看月出才是我爬山的目的，重新找回在城市中轻易就迷失的那种宁静与纯真。

在小山上，我看过很多次月出。每次月出都是各有风情，不尽相同。秋日里，圆圆的月亮露出丰收的自信；春风中，月亮灰蒙蒙地表达着羞涩；冬日里，冰轮般的月亮孤独地悬在漆黑的空中；夏日中，橘黄色的月亮朦朦胧胧地俯瞰着干燥的田野。每一种月亮都似精美的音乐，感动我的心灵，抚慰我的灵魂。

赏月是一种古老的艺术。远古时代的猎人，对空中月亮的了解如同知晓自己的心跳一样，丝毫不差。他们熟悉29天中的每个月亮，月亮会由明亮饱满变得萎缩，直至消失，然后再次复活；他们知道，月盈期间，每当日落，头顶的月亮就会显得更高更大；他们还知道，月亏期间，月出一日更比一日迟，直到有一天，太阳升起时仍不见月亮的踪迹。古人能根据经验知道月亮的行踪变化，真是造诣颇深的事情。

但生活在室内的我们，已经失去了和月亮的联系。城市耀眼的街灯、玷污的烟尘遮蔽了原本晴朗的夜空。人类虽已在月亮上迈出了第一步，反而对月亮变得更加陌生。没有几人能说得出今晚月亮何时升起。

无论如何，月亮仍然牵挂着我们的心。如果不经意间看到刚刚升起的、大大的、黄橙橙的满月，我都会情不自禁地停下来，一睹她高贵的姿容。而月亮也会赐予观看她的人礼物。

在七月山间的一个夜晚，我得到了她的礼物。车子莫名其妙地熄了火，我一个人束手无策地困在山中。太阳已经落山了，我看到东边山头闪出一团橘红色的光线，好像森林着火一样。刹那间，山头也被火焰吞噬。过了一会儿，月亮突然从密林中探出涨红的大大的脸，夏日空气中弥漫的晨雾与水气，使月亮显得有些荒谬的变形。

然而，随着月亮慢慢爬上山头，她聚合了全身的坚定与威严；她的面孔也从红变成了橘黄，又变成金色，最后成为淡淡的黄。月亮不断地上升，下面的丘陵山谷逐渐暗淡朦胧，好像大地的光亮让月亮渐渐吸走了似的。待到皓月当空，圆圆的月亮洒下象牙般乳白的清辉，下面的山谷在这样的风景里，形成了一片片幽深的阴影。这时，那些乱叫的狗才打消了疑虑——原来那团光是它们熟悉的月亮——停止了吠叫。在那一刻，我忽然觉得信心十足，心情欢畅，禁不住笑了起来。

整整一个小时，我都沉浸在这奇美的景观里。月出是缓缓而又微妙的。要想欣赏月出，我们得退回到过去的时代，带着一种对时间有耐心的心态去欣赏。看着月亮毫无顾忌地不断攀升，我们能找到内心少有的宁静。我们的想象力能让我们感到宇宙的广阔和大地的无垠，忘却自己的存在，感觉自我的渺小，却又深感自己的独特。

月光从不向我们展示生活的艰辛。山坡好像在银色月光下披上了柔和的轻纱。在月光的照耀下，海水显得碧蓝而静谧。沉浸在月光中，我们不再像白天那般精于算计，而是沉浸在自我内心的情感之中。

词汇速记

unerring adj. 无过失的，不犯错误的

wax v. 月亮渐满

complexion n. 肤色，面色

impassive adj. 冷漠的，无感觉的

reassure v. 使消除疑虑

inexorably adj.无情地，冷酷地

immensity n. 巨大

美句欣赏

From this hill I have watched many moons rise. Each one had its own mood. There have been broad, confident harvest moons in autumn; shy, misty moons in spring; lonely, winter moons rising into the utter silence of an ink-black sky and smokesmudged orange moons over the dry fields of summer. Each, like fine music, excited my heart and then calmed my soul.在小山上，我看过很多次月出。每次月出都是各有风情，不尽相同。秋日里，圆圆的月亮露出丰收的自信；春风中，月亮灰蒙蒙地表达着羞涩；冬日里，冰轮般的月亮孤独地悬在漆黑的空中；夏日中，橘黄色的月亮朦朦胧胧地俯瞰着干燥的田野。每一种月亮都似精美的音乐，感动我的心灵，抚慰我的灵魂。