Since Bishop Brooks died I have read the Bible through; also some philosophical works on religion, among them Swedenborg's "Heaven and Hell" and Drummond's "Ascent of Man," and I have found no creed or system more soul-satisfying than Bishop Brooks's creed of love. I knew Mr. Henry Drummond, and the memory of his strong, warm hand-clasp is like a benediction. He was the most sympathetic of companions. He knew so much and was so genial that it was impossible to feel dull in his presence.
自从布鲁克斯主教去世后,我通读了整部《圣经》,还有其他的一些宗教哲学著作。这其中就包括斯韦登伯格的《天堂与地狱》和遮蒙德的《人类的阶梯》,可是我发现,同布鲁克斯主教“爱的信念”相比,这些人所持的信条或教理都无法令人获得心灵上的满足。我认识亨利·遮蒙德先生,印象中,他那双有力、温暖的手如同一句热情的祝福语。他是最富有同情心的良友,他是如此地和蔼可亲,只要有他在身边,你就不会感到枯燥乏味。
I remember well the first time I saw Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. He had invited Miss Sullivan and me to call on him one Sunday afternoon. It was early in the spring, just after I had learned to speak. We were shown at once to his library where we found him seated in a big armchair by an open fire which glowed and crackled on the hearth, thinking, he said, of other days.
我很清楚地记得第一次见到奥利佛·温代尔·霍尔姆斯博士时的情景。那是在一个星期天的下午,他邀请我和苏立文小姐去他家做客。当时正值初春季节,那时我刚刚学会了开口讲话。我们立刻被人带到了他的图书馆,他坐在一张大扶手椅里,壁炉里的炭火噼噼啪啪地烧得正旺,他说他在想着往日的时光。
And listening to the murmur of the River Charles, I suggested.
“还在倾听查尔斯河的潺潺流水。”我试探着说道。
Yes, he replied, "the Charles has many dear associations for me." There was an odour of print and leather in the room which told me that it was full of books, and I stretched out my hand instinctively to find them. My fingers lighted upon a beautiful volume of Tennyson's poems, and when Miss Sullivan told me what it was I began to recite:
“不错,”他回答道,“我同查尔斯河的关系可是亲密无间呢。”房子里面有一股油墨和皮革的味道,这里显然到处都是书,于是我不由自主地伸手摸索起来。我的指尖无意中落在了丁尼生的一部诗集上,当苏立文小姐把诗集的名字告诉我以后,我就开始背诵:
Break, break, break On thy cold gray stones, O sea!
断裂,断裂,彻底断裂吧,在你那冰冷的灰石头上,哦,浪涛!
But I stopped suddenly. I felt tears on my hand. I had made my beloved poet weep, and I was greatly distressed.
突然间,我停止了背诵。我感觉到我的手上浸满了泪水,我已经令我所钟爱的诗人落泪。为此,我也感到了巨大的忧伤。