经济学人78:英国乡绅 一路顺风

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;The English gentry¹;Happy landings;

　　文艺；书评；英国乡绅；一路顺风；

　　The gentry: story of the English. By Adam Nicolson.

　　《乡绅：英国的故事》，亚当·尼克森著。

　　Adam Nicolson has written many books on history and the countryside, including two about his family's properties at opposite ends of the British Isles², Sissinghurst Castle in Kent and the Shiant Isles in the Outer Hebrides. Now he has turned his attention to the class to which his family can be said to belong. His grandmother, Vita Sackville-West, was unashamedly a member of the aristocracy but Mr Nicolson states that the gentry has always been composed of “Gentle Ungentles”, younger sons and daughters of old families who have declined into the gentry, and “Ungentle Gentles”, people of more humble³ origin who through their ability and achievements have advanced up the social ladder.

　　亚当·尼克森写过很多以历史和农村为题材的著作，其中包括介绍他家位于不列颠群岛两端的两处房产：肯特州的悉心赫斯特城堡和外赫布里斯群岛的西恩特群岛。现在他已经将注意力转向他家族所在的阶层。他的祖母，维塔·萨克维尔·维斯特，是一位生活无所顾忌贵族。 但是尼克森指出乡绅阶层是由两种人组成的：“出身绅士的平民”，他们出身于已退变为乡绅阶层的旧式家族的年轻一代；“出身平民的绅士”，也就是那些出身卑微，但是凭借自己的能力和成就挤入上层社会的人。

　　Today the term “gentry” in Britain evokes⁴ “the introductory chat at an upper-middle-class dinner party—how did you get here, who do you know, how is Aletheia?” It suggests a cosy⁵, genteel, exclusive and somewhat smug world in which background and family are deemed more important than individual qualities. It is also often preceded by the word “landed”. The launch of “Burke's Landed Gentry”, an encyclopedic tome first published in 1826, is partly responsible for this (though the ownership of land ceased to be a requirement for a family to appear in the book as long ago as the 1920s). But the principal reason is that the story of the gentry is all “about Land”.

　　如今在英国“乡绅”这个词让人想到的就是“在一个上流社会的晚宴上开始闲聊的前奏——你怎么过来的啊？你认识谁呢？阿莱西娅最近可好呀？”这表明在这个亲切、高雅、排外，甚至几分自鸣得意的阶层里，一个人的背景和出身比他的品性更为重要。"乡绅"的前面也经常会加上“有土地的”这个词。这个词(即 landed gentry)的普及有一部份原因归功于1826年初版的百科全书式大本书《伯克乡绅名录》。（尽管早在上世纪二十年代，拥有土地便不再是一个家庭载入史册的必要条件）。但其主要原因在于所有关于乡绅的故事都和“土地”密不可分。

　　Mr Nicolson has taken 12 families who are scattered⁶ all over England (strictly speaking, one is in Wales), and, using letters, diaries and legal documents, told their stories at a particular date and crisis in their existence. He has produced a wonderful portrait of England and the families that were its bedrock. The tale begins 600 years ago with the Plumptons, caught up in the Wars of the Roses, and concludes with the Cliffords, who have owned and farmed the same corner of Gloucestershire for almost 1,000 years. Whereas the core values of grace, enterprise and chivalry⁷ were crucial to the gentry's idea of themselves, Mr Nicolson makes it clear that money and conflict were as important as blood and family. The gentry were a flexible class and lived a life of struggle and competition. There was no certainty. Survival was what mattered and there was much hedging of bets.

　　尼克森从分布在英格兰各个地方（严格说，有一个在威尔士）的十二个家族着手，并利用相关的信件、日记、和法律文书，讲述他们某段时间里的故事和生活中的危机。他描绘英国壮丽的景象，而这些家庭则构成了英国的牢固基础。故事从在600年前玫瑰战争中没落的Plumpton家族说起，到在格洛斯特郡拥有同一处土地并耕作1000年之久的Clifford家族结束。虽然乡绅阶级自认一些例如优雅，进取和骑士风度这样的核心价值是他们的重要特点，尼克森明确指出钱、斗争同血缘、家庭一样重要。乡绅阶层善于适应新的环境，他们的生活中无处不乏竞争和奋斗。生活没有确定性。生存下来才是关键，他们擅于骑墙，确保自己不吃亏。

　　At its best the gentry's idea of goodness and civilisation⁸ was attached to a particular place and an “interfolding of people, land, animals, food, housing and hospitality”. A sense of order, sociability⁹ and well-being¹⁰ was expressed through landscape. Everything depended on an underpinning¹¹ of money and a connection with London and Westminster was generally essential to prosperity. Many of the gentry were members of the House of Commons. Survival was often contingent¹² on being on the “right” side during the Wars of the Roses, at the time of the Reformation, through the upheavals¹³ of the 17th century. In the 1940s Sir Richard Acland, a Christian¹⁴ socialist¹⁵, made over the bulk of his large estate in Devon to the National Trust, but he was an exception. Not everyone was as ruthless as Henry Lascelles, who in the 1700s amassed¹⁶ a fortune through sugar plantations¹⁷ in Barbados and the exploitation of African slaves; but in general the story is of “the political and economic dominance of a…cannily self-renewing class”.

　　只有依托于某个特定的氛围中，在土地，房屋，客人，动物，食物，宴会交相辉映的背景下，才能看到绅士文明高贵的一面。绅士阶层的秩序感、社会感和幸福感也是通过对自然景观的描述来表现。一切以钱为基础，同伦敦、威斯敏斯特（伦敦议会所在地）有关的事情通常对繁荣发展都至关重要。许多乡绅都是下议院的议员。在玫瑰战争、宗教改革、以及十七世纪动荡期，生存往往取决于站对立场。上世纪四十年代，基督教社会主义党人Richard Acland将自己大部分土地转让给国民信托组织，这在当时独一无二。十八世纪，Henry Lascelles靠在巴巴多斯的蔗糖种植园和剥削非奴积累大量财富，但并不是每个人都像他一样冷酷无情。但总体来说，这是关于这样一个精明谨慎、自我革新的阶层如何影响政治和经济的故事。

　　In tracing the rise and fall of this ruling class, Mr Nicolson has some fascinating stories to tell, and he tells them well, not least that of the Capels, who were forced by penury¹⁸ to live abroad and found themselves in Brussels on the eve of the battle of Waterloo. He concludes that competition, unkindness and dominance always underlay¹⁹ the beautiful sense of community which the gentry world embodied²⁰. But that is life: it is “a struggle and community is political”.

　　随着统治阶层的兴亡更迭，尼克森讲述了一些引人入胜的故事，而且他说得恰到好处，尤其是说到Capel家族因为贫穷被迫流亡海外，最终在滑铁卢战争前夕到达布鲁塞尔。乡绅所象征的优雅阶级表面之下是由激烈竞争、不近人情、恃强凌弱这些特质所支撑的。但这就是人生，是一次努力奋斗，人聚集在一起就是政治。

1 gentry   

n.绅士阶级，上层阶级

参考例句：

• Landed income was the true measure of the gentry.来自土地的收入是衡量是否士绅阶层的真正标准。
• Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.宁做自由民之首，不居贵族之末。

2 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。

3 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

4 evokes   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Each type evokes antibodies which protect against the homologous. 每一种类型都能产生抗同种病毒的抗体。

5 cosy   

adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的

参考例句：

• We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
• It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适，西蒙简直不想下床了。

6 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

7 chivalry   

n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤

参考例句：

• The Middle Ages were also the great age of chivalry.中世纪也是骑士制度盛行的时代。
• He looked up at them with great chivalry.他非常有礼貌地抬头瞧她们。

8 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

9 sociability   

n.好交际，社交性，善于交际

参考例句：

• A fire of withered pine boughs added sociability to the gathering. 枯松枝生起的篝火给这次聚合增添了随和、友善的气氛。 来自辞典例句
• A certain sociability degree is a specific character of most plants. 特定的群集度是多数植物特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

10 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

11 underpinning   

n.基础材料；基础结构；（学说、理论等的）基础；（人的）腿v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）( underpin的现在分词 )；加固（墙等）的基础；为（论据、主张等）打下基础；加强

参考例句：

• Underpinning this success has been an exemplary record of innovation. 具有典范性的创新确保了这次成功。 来自辞典例句
• But underpinning Mr Armstrong's technology changes is a human touch. 但阿姆斯特朗技术变革的支柱是人情味。 来自互联网

12 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

13 upheavals   

突然的巨变( upheaval的名词复数 )； 大动荡； 大变动； 胀起

参考例句：

• the latest upheavals in the education system 最近教育制度上的种种变更
• These political upheavals might well destroy the whole framework of society. 这些政治动乱很可能会破坏整个社会结构。

14 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

15 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

16 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

18 penury   

n.贫穷，拮据

参考例句：

• Hardship and penury wore him out before his time.受穷受苦使他未老先衰。
• A succession of bad harvest had reduced the small farmer to penury.连续歉收使得这个小农场主陷入了贫困境地。

19 underlay   

v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的过去式 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起n.衬垫物

参考例句：

• That would depend upon whether the germs of staunch comradeship underlay the temporary emotion. 这得看这番暂时的情感里，是否含有生死不渝友谊的萌芽。 来自辞典例句
• Sticking and stitching tongue overlay and tongue underlay Sticking 3㎜ reinforcement. 贴车舌上片与舌下片：贴3㎜补强带。 来自互联网

20 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》