1、这个世界的启示在荒野 The introduction of ThoreauHenry David Thoreau-American essayist,philosopher,poet,pacifist,individualist Henry D.Thoreau is one of Americas most important 19th century literary figures.He is famous for the literary excellence of his nature and political writings and best known for his tim
2、e spent at Walden Pond and the work that came out of that experience-Walden,or,Life in the Woods.Thoreau was a man full of dreams and ideals,writing about nature and philosophy of life.He spoke out on many social issues such as peace,living simply,abolishing slavery,and was a vigorous advocate of ci
3、vil liberties.He is regarded as one of Americas most influential writers.Early life and education Thoreau studied at Harvard University between 1833 and 1837.Upon graduation Thoreau returned home to Concord,where he was introduced to a circle of local writers and thinkers.Thoreau was a philosopher o
4、f nature and its relation to the human condition.In his early years he followed TranscendentalismTranscendentalism a loose and eclectic idealist philosophy advocated by Emerson,They held that an ideal spiritual state transcends,or goes beyond,the physical and empirical,and that one achieves that ins
5、ight via personal intuition rather than religious doctrine.In their view,Nature is the outward sign of inward spirit,expressing the“radical correspondence of visible things and human thoughts”by Emerson Late years:1851-1862 In 1851,Thoreau became fascinated with natural history and travel/expedition
6、 narratives.He read avidly on botany and often wrote observations on this topic into his JournalThoreaus writings had far reaching influences on many public figures.Political leaders and reformers like Mahatma Gandhi,President John F.Kennedy,civil rights activist Martin Luther King,and feminist Emma
7、 Goldman also appreciated Thoreau,and referred to him as“the greatest American anarchist”.Walden Pond The work is part personal declaration of independence,social experiment,voyage of spiritual discovery,satire,and manual for self-reliance.2 Published in 1854,it details Thoreaus experiences over the
8、 course of two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond,amidst woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson,near Concord,Massachusetts.By immersing himself in nature,Thoreau hoped to gain a more objective understanding of society through personal introspection.Simple living and self
9、-sufficiency were Thoreaus other goals,and the whole project was inspired by transcendentalist philosophy,a central theme of the American Romantic Period.As Thoreau made clear in his book,his cabin was not in wilderness but at the edge of town,about two miles(3 km)from his family home.I went to the
10、woods because I wished to live deliberately,to front only the essential facts of life,and see if I could not learn what it had to teach,and not,when I came to die,discover that I had not lived.I did not wish to live what was not life,living is so dear;nor did I wish to practice resignation,unless it
11、 was quite necessary.I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life,to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life,to cut a broad swath and shave close,to drive life into a corner,and reduce it to its lowest terms,and,if it proved to be mean,why then to get t
12、he whole and genuine meanness of it,and publish its meanness to the world;or if it were sublime,to know it by experience,and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.Henry David Thoreau3 Thoreau opens this chapter by warning against relying too much on literature as a means of trans
13、cendence.Instead,one should experience life for oneself.Solitude:Thoreau rhapsodizes about the beneficial effects of living solitary and close to nature.He claims to love being alone,saying I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.His opinions I wish to speak a word for Natu
14、re,for absolute freedom and wildness,as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civilto regard man as an inhabitant,or a part and parcel of Nature,rather than a member of society.Here is this vast,savage,hovering mother of ours,Nature,lying all around,with such beauty,and such affection for her
15、 children,as the leopard;and yet we are so early weaned from her breast to society,to that culture which is exclusively an interaction of man on man.We are often made to feel that there is another youth and age than that which is measured from the year of our natural birth.Some thoughts always find
16、us young,and keep us so.Such a thought is the love of the universal and eternal beauty If the day and the night make one joyful,one is successful.If a man does not keep pace with his companions,perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.Let him step to the music which he hears,however measur
17、ed or far away.By doing so,men may find happiness and self-fulfillment.The news we hear,for the most part,is not news to our genius.It is the stalest repetition.Sustain yourself by the life you live,not by exchanging your life for money and living off that.Dont waste conversation and attention on th
18、e superficial trivialities and gossip of the daily news,but attend to things of more import:“Read not the Times.Read the Eternities.”Henry David Thoreau The standard of happiness I look down from my height on nations,And they become ashes before me;Calm is my dwelling in the clouds;Pleasant are the
19、great fields of my rest.我从自己的高度俯视众国 他们在我面前化为灰尘 平静是我云端的寓所 愉悦系我休憩的温床 Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!Live the life youve imagined.As you simplify your life,the laws of the universe will be simpler.In what concerns you much,do not think that you have companions:know that you are alone in
20、 the world.Be true to your work,your word,and your friend.Cultivate the habit of early rising.It is unwise to keep the head long on a level with the feet.Under a government which imprisons any unjustly,the true place for a just man is also a prison.If one advances confidently in the direction of his
21、 dreams,and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined,he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.If you have built castles in the air,your work need not be lost;that is where they should be.Now put the foundations under them.It is as hard to see ones self as to look backwards with
22、out turning around.Men have become the tools of their tools.我喜欢独处。我从没遇到过比孤独更好的伴侣。城市是一个几百万人一起孤独地生活的地方。我们的生活都被耗费在细节上简单，再简单。你必须活在当下，乘着每一个波浪前行，在每一刻找到你的永恒。傻瓜站在他们的机会之岛上寻找另一片陆地。没有别的陆地，除了这一生，没有别的生命。一本真正的好书教给我的远不止只是阅读它。我必须很快将它放在一边，然后按照它来生活。我始于阅读，终于行动。于身体有益的是劳作，与灵魂有益的是灵魂的工作，于两者都有益的是为他人工作。任何人都是自己幸福的工匠。4 He doe
23、s this,he says,to illustrate the spiritual benefits of a simplified lifestyle.Thoreaus intention during his time at Walden Pond was to conduct an experiment Walden Pond is a 102 foot-(31 metre)-deep lake in Concord,Massachusetts in the United States.2 It is 61 acres(250,000 m2)in area and 1.7 miles(2.7 km)around.A famous example of a kettle hole,it was formed by retreating glaciers 10,00012,000 years ago.docin/sanshengshiyuandoc88/sanshenglu 更多精品资源请访问更多精品资源请访问
