英语名篇诵读 自然与艺术

Nature and Art

自然与艺术

James McNeil Whistler(詹姆斯·麦克尼尔·惠斯勒)

Nature contains the elements, in colour and form, of all pictures, as the keyboard contains the

notes of all music.

But the artist is born to pick, and choose and group with science , these elements, that the

result may be beautiful — as the musician gathers his notes and forms his chords , until he

brings forth¹ from chaos² glorious harmony.

To say to the painter, that Nature is to be taken as she is, is to say to the player, that he may

sit on the piano.

The dignity of the snow-capped mountain is lost in distinctness, but the joy of the tourist is to

recognize the traveler on the top. The desire to see, for the sake of seeing, is, with the mass, alone

the one to be gratified, hence the delight in detail.

And when the evening mist clothes the riverside with poetry, as with a veil, and the poor

buildings lose themselves in the dim sky, and the tall chimneys become campanili , and the

warehouses³ are palaces in the night, and the whole city hangs in the heavens, and fairy-land is

before us — then the wayfarer⁴ hastens home; the working man and the cultured one, the wise man

and the one of pleasure, cease to understand, as they have ceased to see, and Nature, who, for

once, has sung in tune⁵, sings her exquisite⁶ song to the artist alone, her son and her master — her

son in that he loves her, her master in that he knows her.

To him her secrets are unfolded; to him her lessons have become gradually clear. He looks at

her flower, not with the enlarging lens, that he may gather facts for the botanist⁷ , but with the

light of the one who sees in her choice selection of brilliant tones and delicate tints⁸, suggestions of

future harmonies.

He does not confine himself to purposeless copying, without thought, each blade of grass, as

commended by the inconsequent , but, in the long curve of the narrow leaf, corrected by the

straight tall stem, he learns how grace is wedded⁹ to dignity, how strength enhances sweetness, that

elegance¹⁰ shall be the result.

In all that is dainty and lovable he finds hints for his own combinations, and thus is Nature

ever his resource and always at his service, and to him is naught¹¹ refused.

大自然在色彩和形式上包含了所有绘画的元素，正像琴键包含了所有音乐的音符一

样。

但是艺术家的天职是对这些元素选择加工，巧妙地进行组合，创造出优美的画卷——

正像音乐家把音乐组成和弦，从无序的声音中创作出华美和谐的乐曲。

要求画家依照大自然的原样来描绘，就像要求演奏家坐在钢琴上弹琴。

白雪皑皑的山峰因其清晰可见失去其尊严，而观光者因能够识别山顶上的游人而喜

悦。对于普通大众，仅仅是为了满足为看而看的愿望，因而喜悦来源于细节。

当富有诗意的薄雾像面纱一样笼罩在河上，破旧的房屋消失在朦胧的天空下，高耸的

烟囱宛如钟楼，仓库好似黑夜中的宫殿，整个城市悬在空中，神话中的仙境便展现在我们

面前——这时，旅行者加快了返家的脚步，做工的人、有文化的人、聪明人和寻欢作乐的

人已看不见什么，也就不再能领略什么；大自然曾奏过悠扬的乐音，这时又再一次单独为

艺术家唱起了优美的歌。艺术家是大自然的儿子和主人——说是她的儿子，因为他深深地

爱着她；说是她的主人，因为他真切地了解她。

大自然的奥秘为他一一展现，大自然的教诲对他渐渐明晰。艺术家观花，不是带着放

大镜，以便为植物学家收集事实细节，而是带着心灵之光，在优美的旋律和柔和的色调

中，看到未来和谐乐章的启示。

艺术家不把自己局限在盲目模仿上，不像不谙此道的人们所推崇的那样机械地描摹每

一片草叶，而是观察生长在又高又直的茎干上那些窄细叶片的长长的曲线，他认识到尊严

与风度联姻，力量使柔美彰显，典雅便应运而生。

从所有精致优雅、娇美可爱的事物中，他找到如何进行艺术组合的启示。因此，大自

然永远是他取之不尽的创造源泉，永远听他的使唤，永远有求必应。

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

3 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

4 wayfarer   

n.旅人

参考例句：

• You are the solitary wayfarer in this deserted street.在这冷寂的街上，你是孤独的行人。
• The thirsty wayfarer was glad to find a fresh spring near the road.口渴的徒步旅行者很高兴在路边找到新鲜的泉水。

5 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

6 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

7 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。

8 tints   

色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹

参考例句：

• leaves with red and gold autumn tints 金秋时节略呈红黄色的树叶
• The whole countryside glowed with autumn tints. 乡间处处呈现出灿烂的秋色。

9 wedded   

adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She's wedded to her job. 她专心致志于工作。
• I was invited over by the newly wedded couple for a meal. 我被那对新婚夫妇请去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

11 naught   

n.无，零 [=nought]

参考例句：

• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
• I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。