FATHER AND SONS 父與子| Chapter 5
2017年12月8日, 星期五
indulge
It would have been slightly embarrassing if the baby had been born a year earlier, for it would have meant that the young poet had indulged himself during the first year of mourning for his mother.
indulge在劍橋中的釋義是：
- to allow yourself or another person to have something enjoyable, especially more than is good for you （使）沉溺于棍郎；（尤指）放縱
釋義中的“more than is good for you”就是is bad for you的意思谆扎。但是indulge在字典中并沒有disapproving的標(biāo)簽，可以看出這里作者對這件事情可能在當(dāng)時引發(fā)的議論持中立態(tài)度磺浙。
indulge例句如：
I indulged myself with a long hot bath. 我盡情享受了一次長時間的熱水浴。
I'm really going to indulge myself tonight with a bottle of champagne.今天晚上我可真要放縱一下自己徒坡，喝他一瓶香檳撕氧。
For a special treat indulge yourself with one of these luxury flavours of ice cream. 作為特別的享受，你可以在各種美味的冰淇淋中挑一種來品嚐喇完。
You can indulge yourself without spending a fortune. 你不必花大把錢就可以好好犒勞一下自己伦泥。
例句里盡是些聲色犬馬（/斜眼笑）
phenomenon
They were friends of the most famous writers of the land, their poems and essays were greatly admired, and the family was already known as a literary phenomenon.
phenomenon一詞，在wiki上有更“哲學(xué)”的闡釋：
The term phenomenon refers to any incident deserving of inquiry and investigation, especially events that are particularly unusual or of distinctive importance.
詞條的附錄中也提及“現(xiàn)象學(xué)”：
Kant theorizes that the human mind is restricted to the logical world and thus can only interpret and understand occurrences according to their physical appearances.
關(guān)于文學(xué)現(xiàn)象literary phenomenon锦溪，正好手邊有一本《二十世紀(jì)末中國文學(xué)現(xiàn)象研究》不脯，曹文軒圍繞這部著作的名稱展開討論，其中拆解出“（文學(xué)）現(xiàn)象”這一話題海洼，做了文章：
進(jìn)入八十年代跨新，中國文學(xué)一直處在不安定的狀態(tài)之中。它在馬不停蹄地制造著種種現(xiàn)象坏逢。這或許是它開始成熟的標(biāo)志域帐，也或許是它不成熟的標(biāo)志赘被。
西方歷時性的曠日持久的文學(xué)實(shí)驗，中國人共時性地相識了肖揣。中國還缺什么主義民假？一一對應(yīng)，品種齊全龙优。這樣羊异，我們就只能目不暇接地去迎接一個又一個現(xiàn)象的迅速產(chǎn)生與迅速寂滅。
……
現(xiàn)象是由眾多作家的某一共同意向與相似性的實(shí)踐形成的彤断。
往往不同的現(xiàn)象野舶，涉及的文本卻可能是相同的，因為這些文本參與了眾多文學(xué)現(xiàn)象的營造宰衙。
不論是康德的哲學(xué)命題還是學(xué)者的文學(xué)研究平道，從學(xué)術(shù)的角度看原文 “the family was already known as a literary phenomenon”，似乎有點(diǎn)“小題大做”供炼。搜索這個詞一屋，我點(diǎn)開一個Youtube上的視頻：
在這個時候，literary phenomenon用于暢銷書籍所引發(fā)的熱烈討論及爭相閱讀的文學(xué)現(xiàn)象袋哼。
現(xiàn)在再來理解蘇氏一門父子三詞客在當(dāng)時成為話題焦點(diǎn)冀墨，受到文人和百姓的追捧敬仰，一時成為潮流的literary phenomenon涛贯，就很明白啦诽嘉。
check
But he had a silent partner, Tseyu, and an old father, deep in intellectual penetration, uncompromising in spirit, and socially aloof in character, who held the pair of thoroughbreds in check.
check來源于國際象棋中向?qū)Ψ降膰酢皩⒁卉姟保谂＝蛩闹袑?strong>in check的釋義是：
-
[sing] (in chess) situation in which a player must move his king in order to prevent its capture by his opponent （國際象棋中）將軍
- You're in check! 將你一軍疫蔓！
- Your king is in check from my knight. 你的王被我的馬將死了含懊。
“When the king is in check a player's choices are limited.”而后check逐漸有了“to limit something”的意思，即：
to stop yourself from saying or doing sth or from showing a particular emotion 克制衅胀，抑制（做某事或表露感情）
to check your anger/ laughter/ tears 忍住怒火/笑/眼淚
在原文語境中是an old father who held the pair of thoroughbreds in check岔乔，字典中有hold/keep sth in check，意思是：
-
keep/hold somebody/something in check：
prevent sth from advancing or increasing; control sth 抑止滚躯；約束雏门；制止- keep one's temper in check 控制自己不發(fā)脾氣
- The epidemic was held in check by widespread vaccination. 這種傳染病靠廣泛的預(yù)防注射已受到控制。
- We must find ways of keeping our expenditure in check. 我們必須想辦法限制我們的開銷掸掏。
另外茁影，常見的check in的意思是飛機(jī)的登機(jī)手續(xù)、旅館的登記入住丧凤、托運(yùn)行李募闲、存取衣物等意思。
-
check in (at...) ：
to go to a desk in a hotel, an airport, etc. and tell an official there that you have arrived （在旅館愿待、機(jī)場等）登記浩螺，報到- Please check in at least an hour before departure. 請至少在飛機(jī)起飛前一小時辦理登機(jī)手續(xù)靴患。
- We've checked in at the hotel. 我們已經(jīng)在旅館登記入住。
- check-in = the place at an airport (or hotel) where you check in
check sth in：
-
leave or accept sth to be transported by train or by air 托運(yùn)要出，收運(yùn)（經(jīng)火車或飛機(jī)運(yùn)送之物）
- check in one's luggage 托運(yùn)行李
-
(esp US) leave or accept sth for safe keeping in a cloakroom or left-luggage office （在衣帽間或行李寄存處）存取某物
- Is there a place we can check in our coats? 有暫存大衣的地方嗎鸳君？
本章有點(diǎn)兒“游記”的意味。
在On Writing Well中提到了環(huán)境描繪與細(xì)節(jié)刻畫的重要性：
“More often you’ll need to evoke the mood of a whole neighborhood or town to give texture to the story you’re telling. And in certain cases, such as the travel piece itself, descriptive detail will be the main substance.”
——Chapter 13 Writing About Places: The Travel Article
林語堂在蘇氏父子三人的游歷記敘中患蹂，有意識地滲入了蘇東坡的個人成長和精神領(lǐng)悟：
and he wondered whether the honors and emoluments of office were worth the fetters of a civilized life.
People are only little children. They like to talk about spirits and ghosts.
Perhaps one can become a fairy after all. The difficulty lies in forgetting human desires.
包括多次引用詩作或颊，也透露出蘇東坡的性情與思索，其中多次運(yùn)用“孤獨(dú)”與“冷”的意象：
Bamboo groves stood over rocks, dripping with cold verdure,
And rhododendrons dotted the mountainside.
冷翠多崖竹传于，孤生有石楠囱挑。
Lying huddled in the night, I slept like a frozen turtle,
But I was the first to know that it was snowing outside.
縮頭多寒如凍龜，雪來惟有客先知格了。
To what avail do I distress myself?
The bream are hard to catch in this deep cold.
我悲亦何苦看铆，江水冬更深，鳊魚冷難捕盛末。
蘇的才氣，詞境的美與深邃否淤，由此可以略窺一斑悄但。我覺得林語堂精細(xì)地描摹精致，正是為了烘托出蘇東坡思想的流動和心境的闊大石抡，以及由此而誕生的流芳千古的佳作檐嚣。
以上。
