钱钟书经典美文翻译详解（二）

世界上的屋子全有门，而不开窗的屋子我们还看得到。这指示出窗比门代表更高的人类进化阶段。门是住屋子者的需要，窗多少是一种奢侈。屋子的本意，只像鸟窠兽窟，准备人回来过夜的，把门关上，算是保护。但是墙上开了窗子，收入光明和空气，使我们白天不必到户外去，关了门也可生活。屋子在人生里因此增添了意义，不只是避风雨、过夜的地方，并且有了陈设，挂着书画，是我们从早到晚思想、工作、娱乐、演出人生悲喜剧的场子。

Despite the fact that every house in the world has a door, we still see houses that have no windows. This indicates that the window represents a more advanced stage of evolution than the door does. Doors are a necessity, whereas windows are more or less a luxury. Like birds' nests or beasts' dens, houses are essentially meant for man to dwell in, and doors are there for protection. Windows, however, take in light and air, enabling one to stay inside and live on--even if the doors are closed. So the house takes on a greater significance in man's life, for it is no longer just a shelter from winds and rains, nor is it just a place to spend the night. Furnished and decorated with pictures and scrolls of calligraphy, the house now serves as a place for man's thinking, working, and recreation, and also a stage on which the tragedies and comedies of life are performed.

门是人的进出口，窗可以说是天的进出口。门的开关是由不得你的。但是窗呢？你清早起来，只要把窗幕拉过一边，你就知道窗外有什么东西在招呼着你，是雪，是雾，是雨，还是好太阳，决定要不要开窗子。上面说过窗子算得奢侈品，奢侈品原是在人看情形斟酌增减的。

While doors are an entrance or exit for man, windows are an entrance or exit for the heavens. Whether a door stays open or closed is not a matter of choice. But a window is a different matter. When you get up in the morning and pull open the curtain, you know right away what it is that beckons to you from beyond--snow, fog, rain, or bright sunshine--and this determines whether or not you will open the window. A luxury, yes, but the existence of luxuries depends only on man's view of the circumstances he is in.

责任编辑:joyyy