英语名篇诵读 人生之暮年

The Man in Old Age

人生之暮年

Bertrand Russell(伯特兰·罗素)

Some old people are oppressed by the fear of death. In the young there is a justification¹ for

this feeling. Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably²

feel bitter in the thought that they have been cheated of the best things that life has to offer. But in

an old man who has known human joys and sorrows, and has achieved whatever work it was in

him to do, the fear of death is somewhat abject³ and ignoble⁴ . The best way to overcome it —

so at least it seems to me — is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal⁵ ,

until bit by bit the walls of the ego⁶ recede⁷ , and your life becomes increasingly merged⁸ in

the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a river small at first, narrowly

contained within its banks, and rushing passionately⁹ past boulders¹⁰ and over waterfalls. Gradually

the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any

visible break, they become merged in the sea, and can painlessly lose their individual being. The

man who, in old age, can see his life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the

things he cares for will continue. And if, with the decay of vitality¹¹ , weariness increases, the

thought of rest will be not unwelcome. I should wish to die while still at work, knowing that others

will carry on what I can no longer do, and content in the thought that what was possible has been

done.

有些老人对死亡深感恐惧。年轻时有此感受情有可原。年轻人有理由害怕在战场上被

杀死，一想到被剥夺了生命赋予的最好的东西，感到痛苦，倒也在理。但是老年人尝遍了

人生的酸甜苦辣，对死亡尚有恐惧，这多少有点低贱，不那么光彩。最好的解决办法——

至少在我看来是这样——是使你的兴趣越来越广，越来越不受个人感情影响，直到自我的

壁垒一点点消失，你的生命渐渐融入宇宙万物中。人生就像一条河，开头河面狭小，夹于

两岸之间，河水奔腾咆哮，流过巨石，飞下悬崖。后来，河面渐渐开阔起来，两岸相隔越

来越远，河水也流得较为平缓，最后汇入大海，与海水浑然一体，结束了其单独存在的那

一段历程，融入自然的大美之中。人到晚年，能这样看待生命，就不会为死亡而恐惧，因

为他所关爱的东西将继续留存于世。精力已衰，日见倦怠，安然入眠，回归自然，与天地

同在，福莫大焉。我愿意自己尚在工作时离开人世，因为我知道别人会继续我已做不了的

事情，想到责任已尽，才华已展，便心满意足了。

1 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

2 justifiably   

adv.无可非议地

参考例句：

• There General Walters would come aboard to greet me, justifiably beaming with pride at his arrangement. 在那儿沃尔特斯将军会登上飞机来接我，理所当然为他们的安排感到洋洋得意。 来自辞典例句
• The Chinese seemed justifiably proud of their economic achievements. 中国人似乎为他们的经济成就感到自豪，这是无可非议的。 来自互联网

3 abject   

adj.极可怜的，卑屈的

参考例句：

• This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.这一政策最后以惨败而告终。
• He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr.Alleyne for his impertinence.他不得不低声下气，为他的无礼举动向艾莱恩先生请罪。

4 ignoble   

adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的

参考例句：

• There's something cowardly and ignoble about such an attitude.这种态度有点怯懦可鄙。
• Some very great men have come from ignoble families.有些伟人出身低微。

5 impersonal   

adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的

参考例句：

• Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远，没有人情味。
• His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。

6 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

7 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

8 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

9 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

10 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。