英语名篇诵读 人与自然（在线收听）

Man and Nature

人与自然

Hamilton Wright Mabie(汉密尔顿·赖特·梅比)

The intimacy between man and Nature begins with the birth of man on the earth, and

becomes each century more intelligent and far-reaching. To Nature, therefore, we turn as to the

oldest and most influential teacher of our race; from one point of view once our task-master, now

our servant; from another point of view, our constant friend, instructor and inspirer.

The very intimacy of this relation robs it of a certain mystery and richness, which it would

have for all minds if it were the reward of the few instead of being the privilege of the many.

To the few it is, in every age, full of wonder and beauty; to the many it is a matter of course.

The heavens shine for all, but they have a changing splendor to those only who see in every

midnight sky a majesty of creative energy and resource, which no repetition of the spectacle can

dim.

If the stars shone but once in a thousand years, men would gaze, awe-struck and worshipful,

on a vision which is not less but more wonderful because it shines nightly above the whole earth.

In like manner, and for the same reason, we become indifferent to that delicately beautiful or

sublimely impressive sky scenery, which the clouds form and reform, compose and dissipate

, a thousand times on a summer day. The mystery, the terror, and the music of the sea; the secret

and subduing charm of the woods, so full of healing for the spent mind or the restless spirit;

the majesty of the hills, holding in their recesses the secrets of light and atmosphere; the infinite

variety of landscape, never imitative or repetitious , but always appealing to the imagination

with some fresh and unsuspected loveliness — who feels the full power of these marvelous

resources for the enrichment of life, or takes from them all the health, delight, and enrichment

they have to bestow ?

自人类在地球上出现，人与自然的亲密关系也就随之诞生了，而且这种关系一个世纪

比一个世纪更加睿智，影响更加深远。因此，我们把自然当作我们人类最年长、最有影响

力的老师看待；从一种观点看，自然曾经是我们的监工，现在成了我们的奴仆；从另一种

观点看，自然是我们永恒的朋友、导师和启发者。

这种亲密关系，如果仅仅是少数人的奖赏，而不是大多数人享有的权利，那对于众人

来说，就会失去神秘的丰饶。

在每个时代，对于少数人，自然充满了奇妙和美好的东西；对于多数人，自然只是普

通的存在，平平常常。天空照耀着所有的人，但只有少数人能看到其气象万千的壮丽，他

们在每一个午夜的天空都能看出一种蕴含着创造性能量的庄严肃穆之美，无论那种景象重

复多少次，都不会使美黯淡失色。

如果星辰每一千年才照耀一次大地，人们将怀着敬畏崇敬的心情凝视那种美景，而美

景夜夜出现在人间大地，其实非但不会有所减损，反而会更添奇妙。

夏日的天空，浮云千百次地聚散飘忽，变幻着柔美壮丽的动人画卷，而我们，同样

地，也因为相同的原因，都无动于衷，熟视无睹。神秘、恐怖而富有乐感的海洋；森林摄

人魂魄的魅力与神秘，蕴含抚慰疲惫与焦躁之心的灵丹妙药；肃穆静美的山峦，在其幽深

之处，饱含光与大气之奥秘；变幻无穷的风景，永远以出人意料的新鲜美丽唤起人们的想

象力——谁感受到了这些奇妙资源的全部力量，让生活更加充盈富足？或者，谁从那里领

受了自然所赐予的所有健康、快乐和丰美？