第9章 Schemes of Life often Illusory 人生的规划
Samuel Johnson, 1700-1784. This truly remarkable man was the son of a bookseller and stationer; he was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. He entered Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1728; but, at the end of three years, his poverty compelled him to leave without taking his degree. In 1736, he married Mrs. Porter, a widow of little culture, much older than himself, but possessed of some property. The marriage seems to have been a happy one, nevertheless; and, on the death of his wife, in 1752, Johnson mourned for her, most sincerely. Soon after his marriage, he opened a private school, but, obtained only three pupils, one of whom was David Garrick, afterward the celebrated actor. In 1737, he removed to London, where he lived for most of the remainder of his life. Here he entered upon literary work, in which he continued, and from which he derived his chief support, although at times it was but a meager one, His "Vanity of Human Wishes" was sold for ten guineas. His great Dictionary, the first one of the English language worthy of mention, brought him 1575 Pounds, and occupied his time for seven years. Most of the money he received for the work went to pay his six amanuenses. The other most famous of his numerous literary works are "The Rambler, " "Rasselas, " "The Lives of the English Poets, " and his edition of Shakespeare. In person, Johnson was heavy and awkward; he was the victim of scrofula in his youth, and of dropsy in his old age. In manner, he was boorish and overbearing; but his great powers and his wisdom caused his company to be sought by many eminent men of his time.
Omar, the son of Hassan, had passed seventy-five years in honor and prosperity. The favor of three successive caliphs had filled his house with gold and silver; and whenever he appeared, the benedictions of the people proclaimed his passage.
Terrestrial happiness is of short continuance, The brightness of the flame is wasting its fuel; the fragrant flower is passing away in its own odors. The vigor of Omar began to fail;the curls of beauty fell from his head; strength departed from his hands, and agility from his feet. He gave back to the caliph the keys of trust, and the seals of secrecy; and sought no other pleasure for the remainder of life than the converse of the wise and the gratitude of the good.
The powers of his mind were yet unimpaired. His chamber was filled by visitants, eager to catch the dictates of experience, and officious to pay the tribute of admiration. Caleb, the son of the viceroy of Egypt, entered every day early, and retired late. He was beautiful and eloquent; Omar admired his wit, and loved his docility.
" Tell me, " said Caleb, "thou to whose voice nations have listened, and whose wisdom is known to the extremities of Asia, tell me, how I may resemble Omar the prudent? The arts by which thou hast gained power and preserved it, are to thee no longer necessary or useful; impart to me the secret of thy conduct, and teach me the plan upon which thy wisdom has built thy fortune."
" Young man, " said Omar, "it is of little use to form plans of life. When I took my first survey of the world, in my twentieth year, having considered the various conditions of mankind, in the hour of solitude I said thus to myself, leaning against a cedar which spread its branches over my head: 'Seventy years are allowed to man; I have yet fifty remaining. '
" Ten years I will allot to the attainment of knowledge, and ten I will pass in foreign countries; I shall be learned, and therefore I shall be honored; every city will shout at my arrival, and every student will solicit my friendship. Twenty years thus passed will store my mind with images which I shall be busy through the rest of my life in combining and comparing. I shall revel in inexhaustible accumulations of intellectual riches; I shall find new pleasures for every moment, and shall never more be weary of myself.
" I will not, however, deviate too far from the beaten track of life; but will try what can be found in female delicacy. I will marry a wife as beautiful as the houries, and wise as Zobeide; and with her I will live twenty years within the suburbs of Bagdad, in every pleasure that wealth can purchase, and fancy can invent.
" I will then retire to a rural dwelling, pass my days in obscurity and contemplation; and lie silently down on the bed of death. Through my life it shall be my settled resolution, that I will never depend on the smile of princes; that I will never stand exposed to the artifices of courts; I will never pant for public honors, nor disturb my quiet with the affairs of state. Such was my scheme of life, which I impressed indelibly upon my memory.
" The first part of my ensuing time was to be spent in search of knowledge, and I know not how I was diverted from my design. I had no visible impediments without, nor any ungovernable passion within. I regarded knowledge as the highest honor, and the most engaging pleasure; yet day stole upon day, and month glided after month, till I found that seven years of the first ten had vanished, and left nothing behind them.
" I now postponed my purpose of traveling; for why should I go abroad, while so much remained to be learned at home? I immured myself for four years, and studied the laws of the empire. The fame of my skill reached the judges: I was found able to speak upon doubtful questions, and I was commanded to stand at the footstool of the caliph. I was heard with attention; I was consulted with confidence, and the love of praise fastened on my heart.
" I still wished to see distant countries; listened with rapture to the relations of travelers, and resolved some time to ask my dismission, that I might feast my soul with novelty;but my presence was always necessary, and the stream of business hurried me along. Sometimes, I was afraid lest I should be charged with ingratitude; but I still proposed to travel, and therefore would not confine myself by marriage.
" In my fiftieth year, I began to suspect that the time of my traveling was past; and thought it best to lay hold on the felicity yet in my power, and indulge myself in domestic pleasures. But, at fifty, no man easily finds a woman beautiful as the houries, and wise as Zobeide. I inquired and rejected, consulted and deliberated, till the sixty-second year made me ashamed of wishing to marry. I had now nothing left but retirement; and for retirement I never found a time, till disease forced me from public employment.
" Such was my scheme, and such has been its consequence. With an insatiable thirst for knowledge, I trifled away the years of improvement; with a restless desire of seeing different countries, I have always resided in the same city; with the highest expectation of connubial felicity, I have lived unmarried; and with an unalterable resolution of contemplative retirement, I am going to die within the walls of Bagdad."
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萨缪尔·约翰逊（1709 ～1784年），出生于英国斯坦福德郡的里兹福德，他父亲是一位书商和文具商。1728年，他考入牛津的派姆布瑞克学院，但是由于贫穷，第三年就被迫辍学。1736年，他娶了波特太太，她是一个有点文化的寡妇，虽然年纪比约翰逊要大，可是她拥有一大笔财富。这场婚姻似乎很幸福，然而1752年波特太太就去世了，约翰逊真诚地为妻子哀悼。在婚后不久，他创建了一家私人学校，但仅仅收到三个学生，其中一个叫大卫·盖瑞克，后来成为著名演员。1737年，他搬到伦敦，并在那儿度过了余生的大部分时间。在那儿他开始进行文学创作，有了微薄的收入。他的著作《人类愿望的空虚》卖了十基尼，而花费他7年时间完成的第一部真正用英文写的字典给他带来了1575英镑。他所得到的这一大笔钱，有大部分拿去支付6台打印机的钱了。约翰逊其他著名的作品，如《漫游者》、《英国诗人的生活》以及他编写的莎士比亚著作，也很有名。年轻时他得过淋巴结核，等年老时则出现浮肿的情况。从行为举止上看，他为人粗鲁、傲慢，但是他的学识和能力让与他同时期的很多达官显贵都想和他交往。
奥尔马是哈桑的儿子，他在人们的爱戴和尊敬中度过了七十五年的岁月。接受三界哈里发的恩典，让他变得异常富有，无论何时，无论他走到哪里，总有人欢呼喝彩，向他祝福。
幸福终究只是暂时的，火焰也需要燃料的维持；繁花也不可能百日红艳——它们终有一天会枯萎凋谢。现在的奥尔马已步入老年，精力不像当年那么旺盛。一缕白发从他的头上掉落，曾经强有力的手已不再有力，曾经敏捷的双脚也已步履蹒跚。他将信任的钥匙和保密的印信交给哈里发，权力和欲望已经不再是他所追求的事物，他现在只渴求理智与宽怀。
但奥尔马的才智并没有因为他的年老体迈而减弱。在他的客厅里，总是高朋满座，他们都希望老奥尔马能够面授机宜，传授给他们一些经验和知识。他们对奥尔马充满了崇敬之情。埃及总督的儿子卡勒卜每天早早来到大厅，很晚才离开。他年轻英俊，善于雄辩。奥尔马欣赏他的才智，喜欢他的温和与机敏。
“请您告诉我，”卡勒卜说，“许多国家都能听到您的声音，您的智慧为亚洲最远的国家所熟知。请您告诉我，我如何才能像您那样充满智慧，像您那样稳健、博学，而且为世人所敬仰呢？您获得并保持影响力的方法，对您来说已不再有用，那么您可不可以把这些秘密都告诉我，把您用聪明才智获得大量财富的计划都教给我？”
“年轻人，”奥尔马说，“制定生活计划是没有用的。当我二十几岁，第一次审视这个世界时，我是用孤独的眼光来观察人类的各种变化的。我靠着一株枝繁叶茂的柏树，自言自语道：‘一个人活七十岁就算是高龄，我还剩下五十年的人生。’
“于是，我打算用十年时间来获得知识，丰富自己的头脑，另外再用十年时间到国外旅行。这样，我就能明白一个道理，而且我将以此为豪。每个城市都会因为我的到来而欢呼，每个学生都将寻求我的友谊。这二十年的时间，也让我产生这样的体会：我的余生将会忙于对各种事情的联合和比较。我将迷醉于无穷无尽的知识财富的积累，生活中的每一刻我都会找到乐趣，我永远不会感到厌倦、疲劳。
“当然，我也不会偏离生活的轨迹，我会去品味女性的雅致所包含的真谛。我将娶一位像佐贝德那样美丽如仙、聪明伶俐的姑娘。她陪伴我在巴格达的郊区度过快乐的二十年时光，享受所有能够用财富买来的快乐，尝试所有能够想出来的奇妙的想法。
“然后，我将隐居山林，过着低调的日子，一直到自己安静地离开人世。这会是我最后的归宿，我将不再依赖王子的微笑生存，我也不会在宫廷的虚伪中颤抖，我不再渴望公众对我的尊崇，也不会为了国家的事情扰乱平静的内心。这就是我的生活目标和规划，我将它们镌刻在我的记忆之中。
“首先要做的就是掌握知识，我不知道自己是如何偏离了当初的设计。我既没有可以看得见的障碍，也没有难以控制的热情。我把寻求知识看成是最崇高的事业，也是最开心的事情。然而随着时间的流逝，我发现，我最开始的十年中，有七个年头全都被荒废了。
“现在，我只好推迟旅游计划，因为国内就有很多东西需要学习，我为什么还要去国外呢？我将自己禁闭了四年，在这四年间，我研究了帝国的法律。我拥有的知识已经比得上法官了，我发现自己能解决许多疑难问题了，于是，我被派去为哈里发服务。我开始用内心倾听，自信地说出自己的想法，获得称赞的喜悦之情很快占满了我的内心。
“我仍然希望远游他国，高兴地聆听旅行归来的人们谈论他们的所见所闻。我多次请求解除我的职务，这样我就可以享受新鲜事物了。但是公务让我始终难以脱身，繁忙的事务总是源源不断地向我涌来。有时我害怕被人指责忘恩负义，缺乏感恩之情。但我还是希望能够出国旅游，因此，我不会让自己被婚姻束缚住。
“等到我五十岁的时候，我开始意识到自己旅行的期望终将无法实现。虽然我将自己一生的岁月都用来追逐由影响力所产生的幸福，却未能享受到家庭的快乐。不过，五十岁的人已经很难找到貌美如仙、聪明如佐贝德那样的姑娘了。我四处寻找，可每次都遭到拒绝，直到六十二岁时，我为自己这么一大把年纪还想结婚而感到羞愧。到这个时候，我一事无成，只能隐居。然而，我一直没有时间隐居，直到疾病迫使我辞去公职。
“这就是我的人生规划，这就是我的人生规划所产生的结果：对知识抱有永不满足的渴求，却浪费了自我提高和完善的时间。总是难以抑制地想周游列国，但是始终孑然一身一直生活在同一座城市。对幸福美满的婚姻怀有最高的愿望，但是一辈子没娶妻。坚定信念想隐居山林过宁静的生活，可是现在我却只能在巴格达的高墙里遗憾终老。”