On the Feeling of Immortality in Youth

　　On the Feeling of Immortality² in youth    有感于青春常在                                             William Hazlitt/威廉.赫兹里特         

 

No young man believes he shall ever die.It was a saying of my brother's,and a fine one.   There is a feeling of Eternity³ in youth,which makes us amend⁴ for everything.To be young is to be as one of the Immortal¹ Gods.One half of time indeed is flown-the other half remains⁵ in    store for us with all its countless⁶ treasures;for there is no line drawn,and we see no limit    to our hopes and wishes.We make the coming age our own- 年轻人不相信自已会死。这是我哥哥的话，可算得一句妙语。青春有一种永生之感——它能弥补一切。   人在青年时代好像一尊永生的神明。诚然，生命的一半已以消逝，但蕴藏着不尽财富的另一半还有所保留，   我们对它也抱着无穷的希望和幻想。未来的时代完全属于我们——   The vast,the unbounded prospect⁷ lies before us.    无限辽阔的远景在我们面前展现    

Death.old age.are words without a meaning.that pass by us like the idea air which we regard    not.Others may have undergone,or may still be liable to them-we "bear a charmed life",which    laughs to scorn all such sickly fancies.As in setting out on delightful⁸ journey,we strain ou   r eager gaze forward-    死亡，老年，不过是空话，毫无意义；我们听了，只耳边风，全不放在心上。这些事，别人也许经历过，   或者可能要承受，但是我们自己，“在灵符护佑下度日”，对于诸如此类脆弱的念头，统统付之轻蔑的一   笑。像是刚刚走上愉快的旅程，极目远眺——    Bidding the lovely scenes at distance hail!   向远方的美景欢呼！   -and   see  no  end  to  the  landscape,new  objects  presenting  themselves  as  we  advance;so,in  the   commencement   of   life,we   set   no   bounds   to   our   inclinations⁹.nor   to   the   unrestricted   opportunities   of   grastifying them.we have as yet found no obstacle,no disposition¹⁰ to flag;and it seems that we can go on   so   forever.We   look   round   in   a   new   world,full   of   life,and   motion,and   ceaseless   progress;and   feel   in   ourselves all the vigour¹¹ and spirit to keep pace with it,and do not foresee from any present symptoms how   we shall be left behind in the natural course of things,decline into old age,and drop into the grave.It is the   simplicity,and   as   it   were   abstractedness   of   our   feelings   in   youth,that(so   to   speak)identifies   us   with   nature ,and(our experience being slight and our passions strong)deludes us into a belief of being immortal   like it.Our short-lives connexion with existence we fondly flatter ourselves,is an indissoluble and lasting   union-a honeymoon¹² that knows neither coldness,jar,nor separation.As infants smile and sleep,we are   rocked in the cradle of our wayward fancies,and lulled¹³ into security by the roar of the universe around   us0we quaff¹⁴ the cup of life with eager haste without draining it,instead of which it only overflows¹⁵ the   more-objects press around us,filling the mind with their magnitude and with the strong of desires that   wait upon them,so that we have no room for the thoughts of death.   此时，但觉好风光应接不暇，而且，前程更有美不胜收的新鲜景致。在这生活的开端，我们听任自己的志   趣驰骋，放手给它们一切满足的机会。到此为止，我们还没有碰上过什么障碍，也没有感觉到什么疲惫，   因此觉得还可以一直这样向前走去，直到永远。我们看到四周一派新天地——生机盎然，变动不居，日新   月异；我们觉得自己活力充盈，精神饱满，可与宇宙并驾齐驱。而且，眼前也无任何迹象可以证明，在大   自然的发展过程中，我们自己也会落伍，衰老，进入坟墓。由于年轻人天真单纯，可以说是茫然无知，因   而将自己跟大自然划上等号；并且，由于经验少而感情盛，误以为自己也能和大自然一样永世长存。我们   一厢情愿，痴心妄想，竟把自己在世上的暂时栖身，当作千古不变、万事长存的结合，好像没有冷淡、争   执、离别的密月。像婴儿带着微笑入睡，我们躺在用自己编织成的摇篮里，让大千世界的万籁之声催哄我   们安然入梦；我们急切切，兴冲冲地畅饮生命之杯，怎么也不会饮干，反而好像永远是满满欲溢；森罗万象纷至沓来，各种欲望随之而生，使我们腾不出工夫想死亡。

1 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

2 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

3 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

4 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

7 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

8 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

9 inclinations   

倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡

参考例句：

• She has artistic inclinations. 她有艺术爱好。
• I've no inclinations towards life as a doctor. 我的志趣不是行医。

10 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

11 vigour   

（=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力

参考例句：

• She is full of vigour and enthusiasm.她有热情，有朝气。
• At 40,he was in his prime and full of vigour.他40岁时正年富力强。

12 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

13 lulled   

vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• They lulled her into a false sense of security. 他们哄骗她，使她产生一种虚假的安全感。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The movement of the train lulled me to sleep. 火车轻微的震动催我进入梦乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 quaff   

v.一饮而尽；痛饮

参考例句：

• We quaffed wine last night.我们昨晚畅饮了一次酒。
• He's quaffed many a glass of champagne in his time.他年轻时曾经开怀畅饮过不少香槟美酒。

15 overflows   

v.溢出，淹没( overflow的第三人称单数 )；充满；挤满了人；扩展出界，过度延伸

参考例句：

• He always fills his glass till it overflows. 他总是把杯子斟得很满。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A distributary overflows its banks. 分流水溢出河岸。 来自辞典例句