第2章 前言 给自己一次旅行
PREFACE On Going a Journey
◎ William Hazlitt
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes,but in having new eyes.
～Marcel Proust
One of the pleasantest things in the world is going a journey,but I like to go by myself.I can enjoy society in a room;but out of doors,nature is company enough for me.I am then never less alone than when alone.
“The fields was his study,nature was his book.”
I cannot see the wit of walking and talking at the same time.When I am in the country,I wish to vegetate like the country.I am not for criticizing hedgerows and black cattle.I go out of town in order to forget the town and all that it is in it.There are those who for this purpose go to watering-places,and carry the metropolis with them.I like more elbow-room,and fewer encumbrances.I like solitude,when I give myself up to it,for the sake of solitude;nor do I ask for.
“—a friend in my retreat,whom I may whisper solitude is sweet.”
The soul of a journey is liberty,perfect liberty,to think,feel,do just as one pleases.We go a journey chiefly to be free of all impediments and of all inconveniences;to leave ourselves behind,much more to get rid of others.It is because I want a little breathing-space to muse on indifferent matters,where contemplation “May plume her feathers and let grow her wings,that in the various bustle of resort.Were all too ruffled,and sometimes impaired,” that I absent myself from the town for a while,without feeling at a loss the moment I am left by myself.Instead of a friend in a post-chaise or in a Tilbury,to exchange good things with and vary the same stale topics over again,for once let me have a truce with impertinence.Give me the clear blue sky over my head,and the green turf beneath my feet,a winding road before me,and a three hours’ march to dinner—and then to thinking!It is hard if I cannot start some game on these lone heaths.I laugh,I run,I leap,I sing for joy.
真正的探索之旅并不在于寻找新的风景，而是要有新的眼光。
——马赛尔·普鲁斯特
旅行是世上最惬意的事情之一，不过我喜欢独自旅行。居于室内，我尚喜欢与人交往；然而身处户外，大自然这个同伴对我已是足够。那时，我虽然孤独，但不寂寞。
“田野是书房，自然是书籍。”
我不清楚一边散步一边说话的妙处在哪里。身处乡村时，我就希望过着单调悠闲的生活，正如乡村给人的感觉一样。我不会对那一排排的树篱和黑色牛群进行过多的评论。我离开城镇就是为了忘掉城镇以及城镇里的一切。然而，还有一些人，他们也是为了这个目的而去，却把大堆大堆的行李（整个城市）一同带去。对于我，我要的是更多的宽裕，更少的累赘。我性喜孤僻，当我委身这样做时，我别无他求；我也并不强求。
“隐居之中得一友，与之窃语孤独之事，悦哉。”
旅行的真谛是自由，完全的自由，让思考、感受和行动合为一体。我们之所以出游，主要在于摆脱一切障碍和一切不便之处；在于放飞自己，更在于摆脱别人。因为我想要一点自由呼吸的余地，冥想无关紧要的事，那时，思想的羽翼势将丰满，从前因常出没于喧闹之地而产生的想法会备受冲击，甚至是动摇。我辞别城镇一段时期，但当孑然一身时，我也毫无失落感。这时，无须坐在马车上与朋友交谈美食——这一陈旧的话题往往变着样地被讨论，这样也避免了我的冒失之举。我愿头顶清澈蓝天，脚踏清新绿草，前方蜿蜒小路，行走三个小时前去进餐——然后驰骋遐想！那里的生活始终享受，因为我会在寂静的草地上尽情玩乐。我大笑着奔跑，跳跃着欢歌，为这一切满心欢喜。