【英译汉欣赏】The Fall of the Leaf
Mary Russell Mitford (1787-1855)
November 6th. ——The weather is as peaceful today, as calm, and as mild, as in early April; and, perhaps, an autumn afternoon and a spring morning do resemble each other more in feeling, and even in appearance, than any two periods of the year. There is in both the same freshness and dewiness of the herbage; the same balmy softness in the air; and the same pure and lovely blue sky, with white fleecy clouds floating across it. The chief difference lies in the absence of flowers, and the presence of leaves. But then the foliage of November is so rich, and glowing, and varied, that it may well supply the place of the gay blossoms of the spring; whilst all the flowers of the field or the garden could never make amends for the want of leaves, -- that beautiful and graceful attire in which nature has clothed the rugged forms of trees -- the verdant drapery to which the landscape owes its loveliness, and the forests their glory.
If choice must be between two seasons, each so full of charm, it is at least no bad philosophy to prefer the present good, even whilst looking gratefully back, and
hopefully forward, to the past and the future. And of a surety, no fairer specimen of a November day could well be found than this, -- a day made to wander
'By yellow commons and birch-shaded hollows,
And hedgerows bordering unfrequented lanes;'
nor could a prettier country be found for our walk than this shady and yet sunny
Berkshire, where the scenery, without rising into grandeur or breaking into wildness, is so peaceful, so cheerful, so varied, and so thoroughly English.
落叶之秋
玛丽·拉塞尔·米特福德（1787-1855）
时值深秋，天气却似早春四月——安详、平静、和煦。秋日午后与春日清晨可能是一年中最相近的两个时段，近在感觉，更近在风景：芳草鲜美，清露滴滴；空气温和馥
郁：蓝天纯净迷人，白云如絮，飘浮其间。两者亦有相异之处：秋天没有春天的繁花锦
簇，春天也缺少秋天的落叶缤纷。不过，深秋之叶，数量之多、色彩之艳、种类之盛，足以婢美春天的百花齐放之态：而在春季盛开于田野、园地上的花朵却难偿不见落叶之憾。那些点缀迷人风光，森林引以为傲的青翠树木，在秋天枯萎，但大自然却用落叶给它们编织出美丽优雅的服装。
两个季节各具魅力，非要二选一的话，我会选择秋季，毕竟珍惜眼前、感激过去、憧憬未来不是个坏主意。深秋时节，最惬意的事莫过于散步：
“篱墙阡陌行人罕，
秋叶满园桦满山。”
最佳的散步地点莫过于伯克郡，那里绿树成荫，阳光明媚，称不上壮丽，也不至荒凉。它是如此宁静怡人，变换万千，处处显露出英格兰的风情。
——段颖杰 译
