时值山雨欲来风满楼的关头，人们佯装的岁月静好实则脆弱到不堪一击，每个人都会被迫卷入时代的潮起潮落之中。
这周的文学专栏带大家阅读一部非常动人的英国散文：战前星期天。作者是英国散文家阿瑟·克拉顿-布洛克（Arthur Clutton-Brock）。
文章描写的是一战前夕的时局，但作者独具只眼，并未着眼于身处战争漩涡中心的大都市，而将视线落在一个宁静美丽的边远山谷，一个近乎世外桃源的天地。文章并未直接书写战争，没有任何浓墨重彩，而是从侧面着笔，不知不觉间一个从和平走向了战争，发生了天翻地覆的变迁，让读者的内心一点一点揪紧。
文章的译者是复旦大学外文系教授、著名翻译家陆谷孙先生。很多同学可能听说过他的名字，翻阅过他主编的《英汉大词典》，却还没有读过他的译作。而这篇是他的代表作之一，质量极佳，大家可借此机会仔细对照研读，体会陆老神仙的深厚功力。
01
On Sunday, in a remote valley in the West of England, where the people are few and scattered and placid, there was no more sign among them than the quiet hills of the anxiety that holds the world. They had no news and seemed to want none. The postmaster was ordered to stay all day in his little post-office, and that was something unusual that interested them, just only because it affected the postmaster.
scattered ['skætəd] adj. covering a wide area 分散的，稀稀拉拉的
placid ['plæsɪd] adj. having a calm appearance or characteristics 温和的
postmaster ['pəʊstmɑːstə] n.[C] 邮政局长
02
It rained in the morning, but the afternoon was clear and glorious and shining, with all distances revealed far into the heart of Wales and to the high ridges of the Welsh mountains. The cottages of that valley are not gathered into villages, but two or three together or lonely among their fruit-trees on the hillside; and the cottagers, who are always courteous and friendly, said a word or two as one went by, but just what they would have said on any other day and without any question about the war.
glorious ['glɔːrɪəs] adj. very beautiful 辉煌的，壮丽的
ridge [rɪdʒ] n. a long, narrow raised part of a surface, especially a high edge along a mountain 脊，山脊
cottage ['kɒtɪdʒ] n.[C] a small house, usually in the countryside 村舍，小屋
gather ['gæðə] v. When people or animals gather, they come together in a group. 聚集
cottager ['kɒtɪdʒə] n.[C] a person who lives in a cottage 住在乡村小屋的人，村民
courteous ['kɜːtjəs] adj. polite and showing respect 彬彬有礼的，客气的
Indeed, they seemed to know, or to wish to know, as little about that as the earth itself, which beautiful there at any time, seemed that afternoon to wear an extreme and pathetic beauty. The country, more than any other in the England, has the secret of peace.
看来，对于战争，他们知之甚少，也不想了解更多，漠然宛若他们脚下的大地。这儿的土地常年秀美，而在这天下午更是披上了一种极度凄婉动人的美。这片乡野，比起英格兰的任何乡野，更得和平的奥秘。
It is not wild, though it looks into the wildness of Wales; but all its cultivation, its orchards and hopyards and fields of golden wheat, seem to have the beauty of time upon them, as if men there had long lived happily upon the earth with no desire for change nor fear of decay. It is not a sad beauty of a past cut off from the present, but a mellowness that the present inherits from the past; and in the mellowness all the hillside seems a garden to the spacious farmhouses and the little cottages; each led up to by its own narrow, flowery lane.
虽说面对威尔士的荒原，这片乡野并非蛮荒，倒是以其耕作的成绩，以其果园、啤酒花藤栽培场和金黄色的麦田，显示出日月流逝留下的美，仿佛这儿的人长年以来一直在土地上幸福度日，既不期盼变更，也不畏惧衰亡。这不是一种与现今隔绝的往昔的悲凉美，而是现今继承自往昔的一种醇美。就在这一片醇美之中，四周的山坡似乎成了宽敞的农舍和玲珑家舍的家园，每座都由各自花色烂漫的小径引至门前。
cultivation [kʌltɪ'veɪʃn] n. 耕作，耕种
orchard ['ɔːtʃəd] n.[C] an area of land where fruit trees (but not orange trees or other citrus trees) are grown 果园；果树林
decay [dɪ'keɪ] n.[U] the process of decaying 腐烂，腐朽
mellowness n. 成熟，芳醇
inherit [ɪn'herɪt] v. to receive money, a house, etc. from someone after they have died 继承
spacious ['speɪʃəs] adj. large and with a lot of space 宽敞的，广阔的
lane [leɪn] n. 小道
There the meadows are all lawns with the lustrous green of spring even in August, and often over-shadowed by old fruit-trees – cherry, or apple, or pear; and on Sunday after the rain there was an April glory and freshness added to the quiet of the later summer.
这儿的牧场全是精心整理的草地，即使在八月仍是一片春日的葱郁；不少地方更有栽培经年的樱桃、苹果和梨树等果树掩映。在这雨后的星期天，除了残夏特有的恬静。田乡还透出一种四月的辉耀和新生气息。
meadow ['medəʊ] n.[C] a field with wild grass and flowers 草地；牧场
lawn [lɔːn] n.[C,U] an area of grass, especially near to a house or in a park, that is cut regularly to keep it short 草坪；草地
lustrous ['lʌstrəs] adj. very shiny 光亮的，有光泽的
overshadow [əʊvə'ʃædəʊ] v. if a tall building, mountain etc overshadows a place, it is very close to it and much taller than it 〔高楼、高山等〕遮蔽，遮挡〔周围某处〕
03
Nowhere and never in the world can there have been a deeper peace; and the bells from the little red church down by the river seemed to be the music of it, as the song of birds is the music of spring. There one saw how beautiful the life of man can be, and how men by the innocent labours of many generations can give to the earth a beauty it has never known in its wildness. And all this peace, one knew, was threatened; and the threat came into one’s mind as if it were a soundless message from over the great eastward plain; and with it the beauty seemed unsubstantial and strange, as if it were sinking away into the past, as if it were only the memory of childhood.
世间任何地方在任何时候都不可能领略比这儿更为深沉的和平。从山下河畔那座红砖小教堂传出的钟声，像是和平的主题音乐，正如啁啾的鸟语是春天的音乐一样。在这儿，你看到了人类生活可有多么美好，人类又如何以迭代的诚实劳动给土地带来一种土地在蛮荒时代从未领略到的美。然而，你也意识到，这儿的和平景象正遭到威胁。这威胁如同穿越向东延伸的大平原传来的无声讯息，随之，田野之美顿时变得虚空而诡奇，似乎正融入往昔而渐渐消失，渺远宛若童年的回忆。
sb's labours / labours of sb a period of hard work 某人的辛勤劳动
eastward ['iːstwəd] adj. 向东方的，朝东的
plain [pleɪn] n.[C] a large area of flat land 平原
unsubstantial [ʌnsəbˈstanʃəl] adj. 薄弱的；不坚固的；无实质的
04
So it is always when the mind is troubled among happy things, and then one almost wishes they could share one’s troubles and become more real with it. It seemed on that Sunday that a golden age had lasted till yesterday, and that the earth had still to learn the news of its ending. And this change has come, not by the will of God, not even by the will of man, but because some few men far away were afraid to be open and generous with each other. There was a power in their hands so great that it frightened them. There was a spring that they knew they must not touch, and, like mischievous and nervous children, they had touched it at last, and now all the world was to suffer for their mischief.
置身幸福环境的人，在思想受到困扰的时候，总有这种体验。接着，他几乎会奢望幸福环境能分担他的困扰并在分担过程中变得更为真实。在那个星期天，人们感到，一个黄金时代已在昨日宣告结束，而大地对这消息犹浑然不觉。这场变化之所以发生，不是上帝的旨意使然，甚至也不是人类的意志使然，而是因为远在别处的少数人怯于开诚布公地善待同类。他们手中握有足以令他们战栗的大权。有一条他们知道不可去触动的弹簧发条，可是如同喜欢捣蛋又战战兢兢的孩子，他们毕竟去触动了，为了他们的淘气，如今全世界的人要受罪了。
be generous with 对...大方
mischievous ['mɪstʃɪvəs] adj. behaving in a way, or describing behaviour, that is slightly bad but is not intended to cause serious harm or damage 淘气的，顽皮的
mischief ['mɪstʃɪf] n.[U] behaviour, especially a child's, that is slightly bad but is not intended to cause serious harm or damage 胡闹，调皮捣蛋，恶作剧
05
So the next morning one saw a reservist in his uniform saying goodbye to his wife and children at his cottage-gate and then walking up the hill that leads out of the valley with a cheerful smile still on his face. There was the first open sign of trouble, a very little one, and he made the least of it; and, after all, this valley is very far from any possible war, and its harvest and its vintages of perry and cider will surely be gathered in peace.
于是，翌日早晨，人们看见一名预备役士兵穿上制服，在农舍门口告别妻孥，爬山出谷去了，脸上仍挂着欣喜的笑容。那是出现麻烦的第一个朕兆，一点蛛丝马迹而已，当事人更是尽量不事声张。归根到底，这片谷地远在可能燃起的战火之外，这儿的一应作物以及用于今年酿造的梨子和苹果都将在和平环境中收摘归仓。
reservist [rɪ'zɜːvɪst] n.[C] a person who is trained as a soldier and is ready to fight in the army if needed 后备役军人；预备役军人
cheerful ['tʃɪəfʊl] adj. 高兴的，快乐的，愉快的
vintage ['vɪntɪdʒ] n.[C] a particular year or place in which a wine is made, or the wine itself〔特定年份或地区〕酿制的酒
perry ['perɪ] n. an alcoholic drink made from pears 梨酒
cider ['saɪdə] n. an alcoholic drink made from apples 苹果酒
06
But what happiness can there be in that peace, or what security in the mind of man, when the madness of war is let loose in so many other valleys? Here there is a beauty inherited from the past, and added to the earth by man’s will; but the men here are of the same nature and subject to the same madness as those who are gathering to fight on the frontiers. We are all men with the same power of making and destroying, with the same divine foresight mocked by the same animal blindness.
但是，在这么一种和平中，有什么幸福可言？当战争的疯狂在其他许多山谷中自由逡巡之际，人的心态又怎能平安释然？这儿存在一种往昔传下又被人的意志赋予大地的美，可是这儿的居民跟那些聚集在国境线上厮杀的士兵有同样的人性，又为同样的疯狂所驱遣。我们都是人，具有同样的创造力量和毁灭力量，又都有神一般的远见卓识，只是这种识见时被共同的盲目兽性所嘲弄。
let loose to do sth or to happen in a way that is not controlled 不受控制；自在发生 nature ['neɪtʃə] n. a person's character 性格，本性 be subject to sth 容易受...影响 frontier ['frʌntɪə] n.[C] a border between two countries 边界，边境 divine [dɪ'vaɪn] adj. connected with a god, or like a god 神的；像神一样的 foresight ['fɔːsaɪt] n. the ability to judge correctly what is going to happen in the future and plan your actions based on this knowledge 预见，先见之明 mock [mɒk] v. to laugh at sb/sth in an unkind way, especially by copying what they say or do 愚弄，嘲弄 blindness [ˈblaɪndnɪs] n. 无知，愚昧
be in fault 有过错 abhor [əb'hɔː] v. to hate sth, for example a way of behaving or thinking, especially for moral reasons 憎恶，厌恶，讨厌 fate [feɪt] n.[C] 命运 beast [biːst] n. an animal, especially a large or wild one 野兽 malignity [mə'lɪɡnɪtɪ] n. Intense ill will or hatred; great malice. 极度的恶意，恶毒
indifferent [ɪn'dɪfərənt] adj. not thinking about or interested in someone or something 不关心的，冷淡的，中立的 humanity [hjʊ'mænɪtɪ] n. 人类，人道，仁慈 take over sth 接收，接管 sacred ['seɪkrɪd] adj. connected with God or a god; considered to be holy 神圣的；庄严的 hatred ['heɪtrɪd] n. an angry feeling of extreme dislike for someone or something 憎恨；怨恨 wage war 宣战 lasting ['lɑːstɪŋ] adj. 持久的，永恒的 stimulant ['stɪmjʊlənt] n. something that makes or causes something else to grow or develop 兴奋剂，刺激物