瓦尔登湖:Higher Laws3

　　It is hard to provide and cook so simple and clean a diet as will not offend the imagination； but this， I think， is to be fed when we feed the body； they should both sit down at the same table. Yet perhaps this may be done.  The fruits eaten temperately need not make us ashamed of our appetites， nor interrupt the worthiest pursuits.  But put an extra condiment into your dish， and it will poison you.  It is not worth the while to live by rich cookery. Most men would feel shame if caught preparing with their own hands precisely such a dinner， whether of animal or vegetable food， as is every day prepared for them by others.  Yet till this is otherwise we are not civilized， and， if gentlemen and ladies， are not true men and women.  This certainly suggests what change is to be made.  It may be vain to ask why the imagination will not be reconciled to flesh and fat.  I am satisfied that it is not.  Is it not a reproach that man is a carnivorous animal？  True， he can and does live， in a great measure， by preying on other animals； but this is a miserable way ―― as any one who will go to snaring rabbits， or slaughtering lambs， may learn ―― and he will be regarded as a benefactor of his race who shall teach man to confine himself to a more innocent and wholesome diet.  Whatever my own practice may be， I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race， in its gradual improvement， to leave off eating animals， as surely as the savage tribes have left off eating each other when they came in contact with the more civilized.

　　If one listens to the faintest but constant suggestions of his genius， which are certainly true， he sees not to what extremes， or even insanity， it may lead him； and yet that way， as he grows more resolute and faithful， his road lies.  The faintest assured objection which one healthy man feels will at length prevail over the arguments and customs of mankind.  No man ever followed his genius till it misled him.  Though the result were bodily weakness，yet perhaps no one can say that the consequences were to be regretted， for these were a life in conformity to higher principles. If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy， and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs， is more elastic， more starry， more immortal ―― that is your success.  All nature is your congratulation， and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself.  The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated.  We easily come to doubt if they exist.  We soon forget them.  They are the highest reality.  Perhaps the facts most astounding and most real are never communicated by man to man.  The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning or evening.  It is a little star-dust caught， a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched.

　　Yet， for my part， I was never unusually squeamish； I could sometimes eat a fried rat with a good relish， if it were necessary. I am glad to have drunk water so long， for the same reason that I prefer the natural sky to an opium-eater's heaven.  I would fain keep sober always； and there are infinite degrees of drunkenness.  I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man； wine is not so noble a liquor； and think of dashing the hopes of a morning with a cup of warm coffee， or of an evening with a dish of tea！  Ah， how low I fall when I am tempted by them！  Even music may be intoxicating.  Such apparently slight causes destroyed Greece and Rome， and will destroy England and America.  Of all ebriosity， who does not prefer to be intoxicated by the air he breathes？  I have found it to be the most serious objection to coarse labors long continued， that they compelled me to eat and drink coarsely also. But to tell the truth， I find myself at present somewhat less particular in these respects.  I carry less religion to the table，ask no blessing； not because I am wiser than I was， but， I am obliged to confess， because， however much it is to be regretted，with years I have grown more coarse and indifferent.  Perhaps these questions are entertained only in youth， as most believe of poetry. My practice is "nowhere，" my opinion is here.  Nevertheless I am far from regarding myself as one of those privileged ones to whom the Ved refers when it says， that "he who has true faith in the Omnipresent Supreme Being may eat all that exists，" that is， is not bound to inquire what is his food， or who prepares it； and even in their case it is to be observed， as a Hindoo commentator has remarked， that the Vedant limits this privilege to "the time of distress."

　　要准备，并烹调这样简单、这样清洁，而不至于触犯了你的想象力的饮食是难办的事；我想，身体固然需要营养，想象力同样需要营养，二者应该同时得到满足，这也许是可以做到的。有限度地吃些水果，不必因此而替胃囊感到羞耻，决不会阻碍我们最有价值的事业。但要是你在盘中再加上一点儿的作料，这就要毒害你了。靠珍羞美味来生活是不值得的。有许多人，要是给人看到在亲手煮一顿美食，不论是荤的或素的，都难免羞形于色，其实每天都有人在替他煮这样的美食。要是这种情形不改变，我们就无文明可言，即使是绅士淑女，也不是真正的男人女人。这方面当然已提供了应当怎样改变的内容。不必问想象力为什么不喜好兽肉和脂肪。知道它不喜好就够了。说人是一种食肉动物，不是一种责备吗？是的，把别的动物当作牺牲品，在很大一个程度里，可以使他活下来，事实上的确也活下来了；可是，这是一个悲惨的方式，――任何捉过兔子，杀过羊羔的人都知道，――如果有人能教育人类只吃更无罪过、更有营养的食物，那他就是人类的恩人。不管我自己实践的结果如何，我一点也不怀疑，这是人类命运的一部分，人类的发展必然会逐渐地进步到把吃肉的习惯淘汰为止，必然如此，就像野蛮人和较文明的人接触多了之后，把人吃人的习惯淘汰掉一样。

　　如果一个人听从了他的天性的虽然最微弱，却又最持久的建议――那建议当然是正确的――那他也不会知道这建议将要把他引导到什么极端去，甚至也会引导到疯狂中去；可是当他变得更坚决更有信心时，前面就是他的一条正路。一个健康的人内心最微弱的肯定的反对，都能战胜人间的种种雄辩和习俗。人们却很少听从自己的天性，偏偏在它带他走入歧途时，却又听从起来。结果不免是肉体的衰退，然而也许没有人会引以为憾。

　　因为这些生活是遵循了更高的规律的。如果你欢快地迎来了白天和黑夜，生活像鲜花和香草一样芳香，而且更有弹性，更如繁星，更加不朽，――那就是你的成功。整个自然界都庆贺你，你暂时也有理由祝福你自己。最大的益处和价值往往都受不到人们的赞赏。

　　我们很容易怀疑它们是否存在。我们很快把它们忘记了。它们是最高的现实。也许那些最惊人、最真实的事实从没有在人与人之间交流。我每天生命的最真实收获，也仿佛朝霞暮霭那样地不可捉摸，不可言传。我得到的只是一点儿尘埃，我抓住的只是一段彩虹而已。

　　然而我这个人绝不苛求；一只油煎老鼠，如果非吃不可，我也可以津津有味地吃下去。我只喝白开水已有这么久了，其原因同我爱好大自然的天空远胜过吸食鸦片烟的人的吞云吐雾一样。我欢喜经常保持清醒，而陶醉的程度是无穷的。我相信一个聪明人的唯一饮料是白开水，酒并不是怎样高贵的液体，试想一杯热咖啡足以捣毁一个早晨的希望，一杯热茶又可以把晚上的美梦破坏掉！啊，受到它们的诱惑之后，我曾经如何地堕落过！甚至音乐也可以使人醉倒。就是这一些微小的原因竟毁灭过希腊和罗马，将来还要毁灭英国和美国。一切醉人的事物之中，谁不愿意因为呼吸了新鲜空气而陶醉呢？我反对长时间的拼命做苦工的理由是它强迫我也拼命地吃和喝。可是说实话，在这些方面，近来我似乎也不那么挑剔了。我很少把宗教带上食桌，我也不寻求祝福，这却不是因为我更加聪明了，我不能不从实供认，而是因为，不管多么遗憾，我也一年年地更加粗俗了，更加冷漠了。也许这一些问题只有年轻人关心，就像他们关心诗歌一样。“哪儿”

　　也看不见我的实践，我的意见却写在这里了。然而，我并不觉得我是吠陀经典上说的那种特权阶级，它说过：“于万物主宰有大信心者，可以吃一切存在之事物，”这是说他可以不用问吃的是什么，是谁给他预备的，然而，就是在他们那种情形下，也有这一点不能不提起，正如一个印度的注释家说过的，吠陀经典是把这一个特权限制在“患难时间”里的。

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