11 · 如何安度晚年
How to Grow Old
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Some old people are oppressed by the fear of death. In the young there is a justification for this feeling. Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that they have been cheated of the best things that life has to offer. But in an old man who has known human joys and sorrows, and has achieved whatever work it was in him to do, the fear of death is somewhat abject and ignoble. The best way to overcome it—so at least it seems to me—is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a river—small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. The man who, in old age, can see his life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the things he cares for will continue. And if, with the decay of vitality, weariness increases, the thought of rest will be not unwelcome. I should wish to die while still at work, knowing that others will carry on what I can no longer do, and content in the thought that what was possible has been done.
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整篇课文
Some old people are oppressed by the fear of death. In the young there is a justification for this feeling. Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that they have been cheated of the best things that life has to offer. But in an old man who has known human joys and sorrows, and has achieved whatever work it was in him to do, the fear of death is somewhat abject and ignoble. The best way to overcome it—so at least it seems to me—is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a river—small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. The man who, in old age, can see his life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the things he cares for will continue. And if, with the decay of vitality, weariness increases, the thought of rest will be not unwelcome. I should wish to die while still at work, knowing that others will carry on what I can no longer do, and content in the thought that what was possible has been done.
有些老年人因害怕死亡而深感压抑。年轻人有这种恐惧，倒是可以理解的。一个年轻人若有理由担心自己会战死沙场，想到生命中最美好的一切还没来得及享受就可能被夺走，心中悲愤，自然情有可原。但一个已经历过人生悲欢、完成了自己力所能及的工作的老人，若还这样惧怕死亡，就显得有些卑怯、不够坦然了。克服这种恐惧的最好办法——至少在我看来如此——是逐渐拓宽自己的兴趣，少一些只关乎个人得失的牵挂，让自我的围墙一点点退去，让自己的生命越来越融入更广阔的生命整体。一个人的生命应当像一条河：最初细小，拘束在狭窄的河岸之间，满怀激情地冲过巨石、飞下瀑布；随后河面渐宽，两岸渐远，水流也更平静，最终自然而然地汇入大海，不再独立存在，却不感到痛苦。人在老年若能这样看待生命，就不会再害怕死亡，因为他关心的事物还会延续。随着精力衰退，倦意渐浓，想到可以休息，也未必不是一种安慰。我希望离世时仍在工作，知道别人会继续我已无力完成的事业，也满足于自己已经做完能够做到的事。
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译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第47—49页，2022年2月第2版。