第7章
第7段
In this cult of the pessimistic pleasure-seeker the Rubaiyat stands first in our time; but it does not stand alone. Many of the most brilliant intellects of our time have urged us to the same self-conscious snatching at a rare delight. Walter Pater said that we were all under sentence of death, and the only course was to enjoy exquisite moments simply for those moments' sake. The same lesson was taught by the very powerful and very desolate philosophy of Oscar Wilde. It is the carpe diem religion; but the carpe diem religion is not the religion of happy people, but of very unhappy people. Great joy does not gather the rosebuds while it may; its eyes are fixed on the immortal rose which Dante saw. Great joy has in it the sense of immortality; the very splendour of youth is the sense that it has all space to stretch its legs in. In all great comic literature, in "Tristram Shandy" or "Pickwick", there is this sense of space and incorruptibility; we feel the characters are deathless people in an endless tale.
在悲觀享樂主義這股狂熱風潮中，魯拜集是我們這時代裡的領航者，但絕非孤軍作戰。我們當中許多絕頂聰明的知識份子，都以少見的雀躍催促著我們進行這有意識的自我剝奪。華特佩特（Walter Pater，英國作家）說我們都被判了死刑，因此享受美麗瞬間的唯一方法，就是為那瞬間而活。奧斯卡王爾德（Oscar Wilde）那相當有威力、也相當孤寂滄涼的哲學，也提出同樣的說法。這就是那「把握當下」的宗教。但活在當下的宗教不是快樂人的宗教，而是非常不快樂的人的宗教。偉大的喜樂不是花開堪折直須折，而是雙眼凝望著但丁眼中那永恆不凋零的花朵。偉大的喜樂帶著永恆意識。青春的美好就在於還有奔跑跳躍、嘗試發展的空間。在所有喜劇作品中，例如項狄傳（Tristram Shandy）或皮克威克（Pickwick），都含有這種空間與不滅之感，讓我們覺得這些角色是活在永無止盡故事中永遠不死的人物。
8
It is true enough, of course, that a pungent happiness comes chiefly in certain passing moments; but it is not true that we should think of them as passing, or enjoy them simply "for those moments' sake." To do this is to rationalize the happiness, and therefore to destroy it. Happiness is a mystery like religion, and should never be rationalized. Suppose a man experiences a really splendid moment of pleasure. I do not mean something connected with a bit of enamel, I mean something with a violent happiness in it—an almost painful happiness. A man may have, for instance, a moment of ecstasy in first love, or a moment of victory in battle. The lover enjoys the moment, but precisely not for the moment's sake. He enjoys it for the woman's sake, or his own sake. The warrior enjoys the moment, but not for the sake of the moment; he enjoys it for the sake of the flag. The cause which the flag stands for may be foolish and fleeting; the love may be calf-love, and last a week. But the patriot thinks of the flag as eternal; the lover thinks of his love as something that cannot end. These moments are filled with eternity; these moments are joyful because they do not seem momentary. Once look at them as moments after Pater's manner, and they become as cold as Pater and his style. Man cannot love mortal things. He can only love immortal things for an instant.
當然，辛辣刻骨的快樂主要來自某些瞬間即逝的時刻，這點是真的。但認為這快樂隨風而逝，或是僅在當下享受，卻絕非真實。這樣想就等於把快樂理智化，因而摧毀了它。快樂就像宗教一樣神秘，因此永不該將其理智化。試想一個人經歷某個美好快樂的時刻。我不是指那種裹著糖衣的表面歡樂，我指的是充滿激情的喜悅，一種幾近痛楚的快樂。舉例來說，像是初戀時的狂喜，戰爭打勝時的興奮。墜入情網的人會享受那時刻，但絕不是為了把握當下而喜悅，墜入情網的人是為了戀人或為了自己而感到快樂。戰士享受那時刻，但也不是為了把握當下，他享受那時刻是因為揮舞勝利之旗。那把旗所代表的意涵或許愚蠢也短暫，戀人間的愛情或許幼稚，一週就凋零。但在愛國者眼裡，那旗幟就是永恆。在戀人眼裡，這愛情永不死。這些時刻被永恆填滿，這些時刻令他們雀躍歡喜，是因為他們不視其為轉瞬即逝。一旦依照佩特所言，將這些時刻視為瞬間，這些歡樂將立刻變得跟佩特與其文風一樣冰冷。人無法愛上必死之物，只能在零羽片時裡，愛上永恆不死之物。
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