A Year of Serious Reading

是非《武训传》

2008-11-10T22:33:00.000-08:00

武训，清末山东人，幼时因家贫行乞。恨自己不识字，二十一岁开始以行乞的方式兴办义学，其后终身致力于兴学事业，颇有成就。但一生劳苦，未娶妻室。光绪帝封其为“义学正”，赐黄袍马褂。民国时期从蒋介石到各界名流如张学良、杨虎城、冯玉祥、于右任、郁达夫、陶行知、何思源、季羡林等纷纷以各种方式加以纪念。其身后更有千古义丐之名。至上世纪三十年代，全国有三十多所学校以武训名字命名。《清史稿》亦在列传二百八十六孝义第三篇中记述武训之身平。

电影《武训传》，1948年由中国电影制片厂投拍，1950年底正式公映。一部拍摄于旧中国，放映于新中国，歌颂旧时义丐致力兴学的影片，会有如何的命运呢？公映之初，观众好评如潮，各界纷纷撰写影评并大力推荐。《武训传》就这样风光了大约半年。

第二年五月二十日，毛泽东在《人民日报》上发表一篇社论，题为《应当重视电影〈武训传〉的讨论》。其论开宗明义地指出“《武训传》所提出的问题带有根本的性质”：

“像武训那样的人，处在清朝末年中国人民反对外国侵略者和反对国内的反动封建者的伟大斗争的时代，根本不去触动封建经济基础及其上层建筑的一根毫毛，反而狂热地宣传封建文化，并为了取得自己所没有的宣传封建文化的地位，就对反动的封建统治者竭尽奴颜婢膝的能事，这种丑恶的行为，难道是我们所应当歌颂的吗？”

“电影《武训传》的出现，特别是对于武训和电影《武训传》的歌颂竟至如此之多，说明了我国文化界的思想混乱达到了何等的程度！”

“特别值得注意的，是一些号称学得了马克思主义的共产党员。他们学得了社会发展史——历史唯物论，但是一遇到具体的历史事件，具体的历史人物（如像武训），具体的反历史的思想（如像电影《武训传》及其他关于武训的著作），就丧失了批判的能力，有些人则竟至向这种反动思想投向。资产阶级的反动思想侵入了战斗的共产党，这难道不是事实吗？”

“为了上述种种缘故，应当展开关于电影《武训传》及其他有关武训的著作和论文的讨论，求得彻底地澄清在这个问题上的混乱思想。”

此文一出，激起千层浪，众多好评来了个大刹车。显然这半年中看过电影的知识分子、文化人士都白看了，还以为这是一部歌颂人性力量的作品，殊不察其中暗藏的封建主义、资本主义毒瘤，正悄悄潜入我广大共产党员和人民群众的心中。好在，明察秋毫的主席看出来了。接着，各界人士便也都看出来了。

主席既已为其定罪，各界只需继续这个有罪推定而已。于是毛泽东檄文一出，文化界及政治界人士如何其芳、夏衍、艾青、胡绳、黄炎培、周扬等纷纷领头撰文批斗《武训传》。一场声势浩大的“深入揭批《武训传》”的运动从此展开，三个月间，全国各主要报纸上的批判文章多达800篇。为将深入揭批进行到底，人民日报和文化部联合组织了武训历史调查组，由时任宣传部副部长的周扬负责。小组深入山东武训老家，进行了两个多月的调查。其结果是由江青等三人主笔的《武训历史调查记》，用九天时间在人民日报上连载刊出。

《武训历史调查记》的调查结果是：武训是一个以“兴学”为手段，被当时反动政府赋予特权而为整个地主阶级和反动政府服务的大流氓、大债主和大地主。此调查报告一出，全国各单位立即组织员工学习《武训历史调查记》，力求保证思想上的先进。同一时期各种学习心得和继续揭批的文章更是占满各打报纸版面。

七月，华北局宣传部将对于纪念武训的学校、碑文和建筑等处理方法的报告呈请毛泽东批示。报告中建议：（一）凡私立武训学校，在对武训及电影《武训传》讨论渐趋成熟时由他们自己提出更名和改组。凡公立武训学校，在教职员学生思想澄清后，更改校名。（二）关于纪念武训的碑文、建筑等，教育群众认清武训以后，由群众自觉地拆除。石刻、塑像、柱、碑要拔除，画像要涂抹，武训纪念林要改名，但武训墓和墓碑，我们认为应当保留。

毛作出批示：可予同意。但应着手教育解释，其余可以从容处理。（《建国以来毛泽东文稿》第二册第388页）

八月初，人民日报再发周扬评论，其中周为《武训传》下了最后定论：政治上反人民，思想上反历史，文学上反现实主义。

其后的大规模批斗渐渐淡了下来。此事造成的直接影响是周恩来在中央做了检查，夏衍等电影界领导在报上公开检讨，提倡武训精神的李士钊六年后被打成右派，武训从千古义丐摇身一变成千古罪人。此片被禁播自不待言，其后一年半间没有一个剧本通过审批，国营电影厂被迫停产，私营影业彻底消亡。

文革期间，山东红卫兵砸开武训墓，掘其尸骨抬去游街，当众批判后烧成灰。

1985年，胡乔木在一次讲话中为《武训传》平反。

附：

《清史稿》列传二百八十六孝义三

武训，山东堂邑人。乞者也，初无名，以其第曰武七。七孤贫，从母乞於市，得钱必市甘旨奉母。母既丧，稍长，且佣且乞。自恨不识字，誓积赀设义学，以所得钱寄富家权子母，积三十人，得田二百三十亩有奇，乞如故。蓝缕蔽骭，昼乞而夜织。或劝其娶，七谢之。又数年，设义塾柳林庄，筑塾费钱四千馀缗，尽出所积田以资塾。塾为二级，曰蒙学，曰经学。开塾日，七先拜塾师，次遍拜诸生，具盛馔飨师，七屏立门外，俟宴罢，啜其馀。曰：“我乞者，不敢与师抗礼也！”常往来塾中，值师昼寝，默跪榻前，师觉惊起；遇学生游戏，亦如之：师生相戒勉。於学有不谨者，七闻之，泣且劝。有司旌其勤，名之曰训。尝至馆陶，僧了证设塾鸦庄，赀不足，出钱数百缗助其成。复积金千馀，建义塾临清，皆以其姓名名焉。县有嫠张陈氏，家贫，刲肉以奉姑，训予田十亩助其养。遇孤寒，辄假以钱，终身不取，亦不以告人。光绪二十二年，殁临清义塾庑下，年五十九。病革，闻诸生诵读声，犹张目而笑。县人感其义，镌像於石，归田四十亩，以其从子奉祀。山东巡抚张曜、袁树勋先后疏请旌，祀孝义祠。

霍布斯笔记10.24

2008-10-24T01:33:00.000-07:00

第三章论想象的序列或系列

霍布斯是个机械唯物主义、经验主义者。他对想象（imaginations）的理解是：人的感官所形成的幻想。这种幻想可以是单纯的画面重现，比如回忆，也可以是有意为之的心理虚构，比如在脑海中构想一次从未发生过的事件。

在霍布斯看来，想象是构筑在感官和经验之上的。换言之，没有全部或者至少部分经历过的事物，是不可能想象得出来的。

“由于我们所能想象的一切都莫不是曾经全部或部分地经过感官感知，所以我们便不可能具有代表未曾经过感官感知的事物的思想。”

回到罗素那篇著名的短文：Why Am I Not A Christian？从纯理性的角度来看，文章论证得头头是道，完全可以自圆其说。但换从信徒的角度来看，其论证则显得隔靴搔痒。霍布斯上述的观点，或者可以解释这样的不同感觉。

因为信仰不是完全建立在感官、经验、推理之上，所以任何在这个范畴内的辩驳，对于动摇信仰来说，难免有无的放矢之嫌。罗素的驳斥，是对一个可以想象得出的神的驳斥。在可以想象得出的这个大前提下，罗素认为这个神的存在，不合常理。

而神是否能想象得出，或许才是两派最根本的分歧。霍布斯还哾：

“因此，称上帝之名并不是为了让我们去想象上帝，因为上帝是不可思量的，其伟大与力量是无法想象的；称上帝之名只是为了使我们尊敬上帝。”

Words: Episode 3

2008-10-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

People have generally three epochs in their confidence in man. In the first they believe him to be everything that is good, and they are lavish with their friendship and confidence. In the next, they have had experience, which has smitten down their confidence, and they then have to be careful not to mistrust every one, and to put the worst construction upon everything. Later in life, they learn that the greater number of men have much more good in them than bad, and that even when there is cause to blame, there is more reason to pity than condemn; and then a spirit of confidence again awakens within them. --FREDRIKA BREMER.

Trust him little who praises all, him less who censures all, and him least who is indifferent about all.--LAVATER.

He that loses his conscience has nothing left that is worth keeping. Therefore be sure you look to that, and in the next place look to your health; and if you have it praise God and value it next to a good conscience.--IZAAK WALTON.

In matters of conscience first thoughts are best; in matters of prudence last thoughts are best--REV. ROBERT HALL.

A man's first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart; his next, to escape the censures of the world. If the last interferes with the former, it ought to be entirely neglected; but otherwise there cannot be a greater satisfaction to an honest mind, than to see those approbations which it gives itself seconded by the applause of the public.--ADDISON.

Conscience raises its voice in the breast of every man, a witness for his Creator.

I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, self.--LUTHER.

To be content with little is difficult; to be content with much, impossible.--MARIE EBNER-ESCHENBACH.

My God, give me neither poverty nor riches; but whatsoever it may be Thy will to give, give me with it a heart which knows humbly to acquiesce in what is Thy will.--GOTTHOLD.

One who is contented with what he has done will never become famous for what he will do. He has lain down to die. The grass is already growing over him.--BOVEE.

Contentment is a pearl of great price, and whoever procures it at the expense of ten thousand desires makes a wise and a happy purchase.--BALGUY.

If men knew what felicity dwells in the cottage of a godly man, how sound he sleeps, how quiet his rest, how composed his mind, how free from care, how easy his position, how moist his mouth, how joyful his heart, they would never admire the noises, the diseases, the throngs of passions, and the violence of unnatural appetites that fill the house of the luxurious and the heart of the ambitious.--JEREMY TAYLOR.

Poor and content, is rich and rich enough; But riches, fineless, is as poor as winter, To him that ever fears he shall be poor. --SHAKESPEARE.

Learn to be pleased with everything, with wealth so far as it makes us beneficial to others; with poverty, for not having much to care for; and with obscurity, for being unenvied.--PLUTARCH.

It is right to be contented with what we have, but never with what we are.--SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH.

True contentment depends not upon what we have; a tub was large enough for Diogenes, but a world was too little for Alexander.--COLTON.

Unless we find repose within ourselves, it is vain to seek it elsewhere.--HOSEA BALLOU.

The pith of conversation does not consist in exhibiting your own superior knowledge on matters of small consequence, but in enlarging, improving and correcting the information you possess by the authority of others.--SIR WALTER SCOTT.

There are three things in speech that ought to be considered before some things are spoken--the manner, the place and the time.--SOUTHEY

Speak little and well if you wish to be considered as possessing merit.--FROM THE FRENCH.

The less men think, the more they talk.--MONTESQUIEU.

He who sedulously attends, pointedly asks, calmly speaks, coolly answers, and ceases when he has no more to say, is in possession of some of the best requisites of man.--LAVATER.

Not only to say the right thing in the right place, but, far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.--G.A. SALA.

When we are in the company of sensible men, we ought to be doubly cautious of talking too much, lest we lose two good things, their good opinion and our own improvement; for what we have to say we know, but what they have to say we know not.--COLTON.

Egotists cannot converse, they talk to themselves only.--A. BRONSON ALCOTT.

Many can argue, not many converse.--A. BRONSON ALCOTT.

One thing which makes us find so few people who appear reasonable and agreeable in conversation is, that there is scarcely any one who does not think more of what he is about to say than of answering precisely what is said to him.--LA ROCHEFOUCAULD.

It is a secret known but to few, yet of no small use in the conduct of life, that when you fall into a man's conversation, the first thing you should consider is, whether he has a greater inclination to hear you, or that you should hear him.--STEELE.

In my whole life I have only known ten or twelve persons with whom it was pleasant to speak--_i.e._, who keep to the subject, do not repeat themselves, and do not talk of themselves; men who do not listen to their own voice, who are cultivated enough not to lose themselves in commonplaces, and, lastly, who possess tact and good taste enough not to elevate their own persons above their subjects.--METTERNICH.

True courage is cool and calm. The bravest of men have the least of a brutal bullying insolence, and in the very time of danger are found the most serene and free. Rage, we know, can make a coward forget himself and fight. But what is done in fury or anger can never be placed to the account of courage.--SHAFTESBURY.

Words: Episode 2

2008-10-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

Young authors give their brains much exercise and little food.--JOUBERT.

Who has not experienced how, on near acquaintance, plainness becomes beautified, and beauty loses its charm, exactly according to the quality of the heart and mind? And from this cause am I of opinion that the want of outward beauty never disquiets a noble nature or will be regarded as a misfortune. It never can prevent people from being amiable and beloved in the highest degree.--FREDERIKA BREMER.

If you would be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams--the more they are condensed the deeper they burn.--SOUTHEY

When a man has no design but to speak plain truth, he may say a great deal in a very narrow compass.--STEELE.

That which is everybody's business is nobody's business. --IZAAK WALTON.

Formerly when great fortunes were only made in war, war was a business; but now, when great fortunes are only made by business, business is war.--BOVEE.

Call on a business man at business times only, and on business, transact your business and go about your business, in order to give him time to finish his business.--DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
The great secret both of health and successful industry is the absolute yielding up of one's consciousness to the business and diversion of the hour--never permitting the one to infringe in the least degree upon the other.--SISMONDI.

There are beauties of character which, like the night-blooming cereus, are closed against the glare and turbulence of every-day life, and bloom only in shade and solitude, and beneath the quiet stars.--TUCKERMAN.

We go and fancy that everybody is thinking of us. But he is not; he is like us--he is thinking of himself.--CHARLES READE.

Notes on Nationalism - George Orwell

2008-10-08T01:53:00.000-07:00

A nationalist is one who thinks solely, or mainly, in terms of competitive prestige.

Nationalism is power-hunger tempered by self-deception. Every nationalist is capable of the most flagrant dishonesty, but he is also—since he is conscious of serving something bigger than himself—unshakeably certain of being in the right.

As nearly as possible, no nationalist ever thinks, talks, or writes about anything except the superiority of his own power unit. It is difficult if not impossible for any nationalist to conceal his allegiance. The smallest slur upon his own unit, or any implied praise of a rival organization, fills him with uneasiness which he can relieve only by making some sharp retort.

But for an intellectual, transference has an important function which I have already mentioned shortly in connection with Chesterton. It makes it possible for him to be much more nationalistic—more vulgar, more silly, more malignant, more dishonest—that he could ever be on behalf of his native country, or any unit of which he had real knowledge.

In societies such as ours, it is unusual for anyone describable as an intellectual to feel a very deep attachment to his own country.

Transferred nationalism, like the use of scapegoats, is a way of attaining salvation without altering one’s conduct.

All nationalists have the power of not seeing resemblances between similar sets of facts. A British Tory will defend self-determination in Europe and oppose it in India with no feeling of inconsistency. Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them, and there is almost no kind of outrage—torture, the use of hostages, forced labour, mass deportations, imprisonment without trial, forgery, assassination, the bombing of civilians—which does not change its moral colour when it is committed by ‘our’ side.

The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.

In nationalist thought there are facts which are both true and untrue, known and unknown. A known fact may be so unbearable that it is habitually pushed aside and not allowed to enter into logical processes, or on the other hand it may enter into every calculation and yet never be admitted as a fact, even in one’s own mind.

Moreover, although endlessly brooding on power, victory, defeat, revenge, the nationalist is often somewhat uninterested in what happens in the real world. What he wants is to feel that his own unit is getting the better of some other unit, and he can more easily do this by scoring off an adversary than by examining the facts to see whether they support him. All nationalist controversy is at the debating-society level. It is always entirely inconclusive, since each contestant invariably believes himself to have won the victory. Some nationalists are not far from schizophrenia, living quite happily amid dreams of power and conquest which have no connection with the physical world.

Why I Write - George Orwell

2008-10-08T01:12:00.000-07:00

They exist in different degrees in every writer, and in any one writer the proportions will vary from time to time, according to the atmosphere in which he is living. They are:

Sheer egoism. Desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, to get your own back on the grown-ups who snubbed you in childhood, etc., etc. It is humbug to pretend this is not a motive, and a strong one. Writers share this characteristic with scientists, artists, politicians, lawyers, soldiers, successful businessmen—in short, with the whole top crust of humanity. The great mass of human beings are not acutely selfish. After the age of about thirty they almost abandon the sense of being individuals at all—and live chiefly for others, or are simply smothered under drudgery. But there is also the minority of gifted, willful people who are determined to live their own lives to the end, and writers belong in this class. Serious writers, I should say, are on the whole more vain and self-centered than journalists, though less interested in money.

Æsthetic enthusiasm. Perception of beauty in the external world, or, on the other hand, in words and their right arrangement. Pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in the firmness of good prose or the rhythm of a good story. Desire to share an experience which one feels is valuable and ought not to be missed. The aesthetic motive is very feeble in a lot of writers, but even a pamphleteer or writer of textbooks will have pet words and phrases which appeal to him for non-utilitarian reasons; or he may feel strongly about typography, width of margins, etc. Above the level of a railway guide, no book is quite free from aesthetic considerations.

Historical impulse. Desire to see things as they are, to find out true facts and store them up for the use of posterity.

Political purpose.—Using the word ‘political’ in the widest possible sense. Desire to push the world in a certain direction, to alter other peoples’ idea of the kind of society that they should strive after. Once again, no book is genuinely free from political bias. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude.

《中国新史》去势记 - dictatorship

2008-09-07T06:20:00.001-07:00

另一段翻译之后消失的话：

"While provincial and local assemblies had a second vogue in the 1920s, mobilizing popular participation in China's political modernization would soon become the prerogative of a new central power, to be know as party dictatorship. The job could be done from the top down but not from the bottom up."

马上就要进入民国时期以及新中国了，我预感到费正清在接下来的几天内会被阉割得很严重。

《中国新史》去势记 - best graduates

2008-09-07T06:19:00.000-07:00

最近都在看费正清的China: A New History，昨天在网上发现了中文版《中国新史》，于是就对照着看。中文翻译得很不错，而且还原了不少专有名词，才知道原来Triads Society就是天地会，Review of the Times就是《万国公报》，Matteo Ricci‎就是利玛窦。

今天看到第十二章：共和革命。然后突然发现，有一段完全没有翻译。中文版里面没有，删掉了。

这部分是第一个小标“团练平乱”之下的最后一段，原文是这样的：

"Meanwhile, the regional armies becaome regular provincial forces, and new naval and military academies began to train officers who had the new prestige of being scholar-soldiers. They became professional officers in the specialities of modern militarism. Their best graduates would lead the warlord generation of 1916-1927 under the Republic."

前面两句都是单纯的称述，我想来想去应该还是最后一句话不妥。从1916年袁世凯去世到1927年北伐之间，这个warlord generation应该就是指的北洋军阀。或许不妥在那个best graduate的评价？

这也不过是费正清的看法，读者看到了也还不一定同意，但显然我们的有关审核部门认为这话传到中国读者耳朵里不好，干脆不让你们知道。Typical.

我实在是无法理解，和谐一部学术著作的意义。而显然我们引进西人历史观根本不是为了换个角度看事情。我们不过是引进了西人跟我们一致的观点，以证明我们的想法并非孤立无援。然后对那些不一致的观点大加鞭笞，或者干脆视而不见。

或者是担心民众普遍有智力缺陷，无法明辩是非，于是为广大读者把好文字关？虽然用心良苦，却也是个失误的判断：智力的缺陷往往不是阅读造成的，而是不阅读造成的。

史记笔记叁：五帝本纪

2008-08-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

一

司马迁的《史记》从传说中的黄帝开始。他在文末说，对于黄帝等五帝是否存在，确有争议。与他同时代的学者说有，但那时的权威经典《尚书》里面却不见黄帝、颛顼、喾，只从尧、舜说起。孔子做《宰予问五帝德》，没能获得普遍认可。诸子百家讲到黄帝更是各执一说，难辩真伪。司马迁曾游历九州，听过不少有关黄帝、尧、舜的传说。他将那些与古文所传比较接近的整理出来，列在《史记》之首。

费正清（J.K. Fairbank）的《中国新史》（China: A New History）从中国第一个有文字记录的朝代，周朝开始。对于周以前的夏和商，只谈周朝文字记录中提到的部分，以及龙骨等考古发现。对于夏以前的五帝，则只字未提。

二

尧渐渐老了，想着要把帝位传下去，自己的儿子丹朱又不争气，于是他把帝位禅让给舜。尧知道丹朱肯定不高兴，但他的想法是：授舜，则天下得其利而丹朱病；授丹朱，则天下病而丹朱得其利。他权衡之后的结论是：终不以天下之病而利一人。

三

舜的生母过世了。父亲是瞎子，对舜十分严厉，又宠继母生的儿子象。一家三口都想把舜杀了。舜在自我保护的同时，对三人始终孝悌以待——欲杀，不可得；即求，尝在侧。

关于读书

2008-08-25T22:17:00.001-07:00

书有有字的，有无字的。读无字书也是读书。读书说白了就是一种求知的心态，是不拘形式也没有终点的事。我鄙视的是无知，和无知的四个儿子：不学无术，数典忘祖，固步自封，夜郎自大。这是一个彻头彻尾的非观点问题。

Words: Episode 1

2008-08-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.--LONGFELLOW.

Every person is responsible for all the good within the scope of his abilities, and for no more.--GAIL HAMILTON.

The possession of great powers no doubt carries with it a contempt for mere external show.--JAMES A. GARFIELD.

The thing done avails, and not what is said about it.--EMERSON.

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.--BEACONSFIELD.

Active natures are rarely melancholy. Activity and melancholy are incompatible.--BOVEE.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Finds us farther than to-day.

* * * * *
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, act, in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead! --LONGFELLOW.

Every man feels instinctively that all the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action.--LOWELL.

Deliberate with caution, but act with decision; and yield with graciousness, or oppose with firmness.--COLTON.

Times of great calamity and confusion have ever been productive of the greatest minds. The purest ore is produced from the hottest furnace, and the brightest thunderbolt is elicited from the darkest storm.--COLTON.

Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant.--HORACE.

Affectation is the wisdom of fools, and the folly of many a comparatively wise man.

God sometimes washes the eyes of his children with tears in order that they may read aright His providence and His commandments. --T.L. CUYLER.

The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best energy, that he may be able to bear the burden.--PHILLIPS BROOKS

Every man deems that he has precisely the trials and temptations which are the hardest of all for him to bear; but they are so, because they are the very ones he needs.--RICHTER.

Affliction appears to be the guide to reflection; the teacher of humility; the parent of repentance; the nurse of faith; the strengthener of patience, and the promoter of charity.

Learn to live well, or fairly make your will; You've play'd, and lov'd, and ate, and drank your fill; Walk sober off, before a sprightlier age Comes titt'ring on, and shoves you from the stage. --POPE.

Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions.--LONGFELLOW.

They that stand high, have many blasts to shake them; And if they fall, they dash themselves to pieces. --SHAKESPEARE.

He is a fool who cannot be angry; but he is a wise man who will not.--SENECA.

Men often make up in wrath what they want in reason.--W.R. ALGER.

If men wish to be held in esteem, they must associate with those only who are estimable.--LA BRUYERE.

Be very circumspect in the choice of thy company. In the society of thine equals thou shalt enjoy more pleasure; in the society of thy superiors thou shalt find more profit. To be the best in the company is the way to grow worse; the best means to grow better is to be the worst there.--QUARLES.

Choose the company of your superiors whenever you can have it.--LORD CHESTERFIELD.

It is best to be with those in time that we hope to be with in eternity.--FULLER.

The contemplation of celestial things will make a man both speak and think more sublimely and magnificently when he descends to human affairs.--CICERO.

I should like to see a man sober in his habits, moderate, chaste, just in his dealings, assert that there is no God; he would speak at least without interested motives; but such a man is not to be found.--LA BRUYERE.

Kircher, the astronomer, having an acquaintance who denied the existence of a Supreme Being, took the following method to convince him of his error. Expecting him on a visit, he placed a handsome celestial globe in a part of the room where it could not escape the notice of his friend, who, on observing it, inquired whence it came, and who was the maker."It was not made by any person," said the astronomer."That is impossible," replied the sceptic; "you surely jest."Kircher then took occasion to reason with his friend upon his own atheistical principles, explaining to him that he had adopted this plan with a design to show him the fallacy of his scepticism."You will not," said he, "admit that this small body originated in mere chance, and yet you contend that those heavenly bodies, to which it bears only a faint and diminutive resemblance, came into existence without author or design."He pursued this chain of reasoning till his friend was totally confounded, and cordially acknowledged the absurdity of his notions.

By night an atheist half believes a God.--YOUNG.

To write well is to think well, to feel well, and to render well; it is to possess at once intellect, soul and taste.--BUFFON.

史记笔记贰：货殖列传

2008-08-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

一

故物贱之征贵（找地方高价售出），贵之征贱（找地方低价进货），各劝其业，乐其事，若水之趋下，日夜无休时，不召而自来，不求而民出之。岂非道之所符，而自然之验邪？
当我们开始学习尊重市场经济中的价值规律的时候，古人早在古时候就懂这个道理了。

二

贵上极则反贱，贱下极则反贵。贵出（抛出）如粪土，贱取（买入）如珠玉。

亘古不变的规律，投资者的宝典。读《史记》也能炒股，所谓书中自有黄金屋。

三

范蠡辅佐越王勾践雪会稽之耻后，决定将治国的经验搬回家，治家试试看。经商十九年，三次积累千金之财，两次将财产尽数分散给亲朋好友。有钱人似乎总是不在乎钱，或者这才是他们成为有钱人的原因。

四

孔子教出了不少学生，他们的遭遇却很不一样。子贡去卫国做了官，端木赐成了暴发户，原宪穷得连饭都吃不起。子贡可以在浩浩荡荡的车队簇拥下，带着厚礼进献诸侯，诸侯国君谁也不敢怠慢，个个与他分庭亢礼。孔子能够名扬天下，子贡功不可没。

所以说，有小乘佛教度一个比丘尼，就要有大乘佛教度芸芸众生；有修女，就要有传教士。有人修身齐家，就得有人治国平天下。

五

周人白圭富甲一方，说到经商之道，一言以蔽之：人弃我取，人取我与。

可见“人”作为一个整体，总是碌碌无为，无名无姓；而“我”作为一个个体，总是出人头地，青史留名。前提是，“我”和“人”，从言行举止思维模式上，都得有分别。

六

楚、越富饶，地广人稀，少灾害，那里的人不需经商就很富足。所以人民得过且过，虽然不至于穷困潦倒，却普遍没什么积蓄。而沂水、泗水以北，地少人多，自然灾害频繁，民众养成了丰年积蓄的习惯，再加上努力经商，反而多富人。

可见恶劣的外部条件只是条件而已，并且往往是个好条件。

七

赵人卓氏靠炼铁发家致富，秦灭赵，财产被掠尽，夫妻二人推着一个小车，随着逃难的赵人迁去外地。同行的难民里稍微还有两个钱的，就拿出来贿赂押送的官吏，请求把他们安排在离赵国比较近的葭萌。唯独卓氏没有，他说葭萌这地方狭小不说，土地还贫瘠。他说有一个叫汶山的地方，听说田野肥沃，那里的人从来不饿，又擅长经商。于是请求去汶山。官吏答应了。卓氏去了汶山，重拾冶铁铸造业，再次发家，盛极的时候，童仆就有千人。

郑渊洁说，铁饭碗的意思，不是指在一个地方吃一辈子的饭，是说一辈子走到哪里都有饭吃。

史记笔记壹：酷吏列传

2008-08-14T03:17:00.000-07:00

一

司马迁获罪遭宫刑之后，写了《报任安书》，费了不少笔墨解释他为什么选择受刑而不是死。

这篇列传里有句话说：九卿罪死即死，少被刑。原来那个时候的大臣一旦有罪，多选择自杀而不就刑，表示国家重臣，不受侮辱。文中提到景帝时期的内史宁成受陷害，被判了当时的重刑——剪头发。对于一个古人来说，很显然，割哪里都是侮辱。但宁成忍辱负重，没有选择死，而是归田经商，他放出毫言：仕不至二千石，贾不至千万，安可比人乎！后来治家产千金，善终。司马迁显然持肯定的态度。我也是。

二

王温舒年轻的时候游手好闲，擅长在夜间用锤子把人敲死然后埋起来。曾在地方当亭长，没有特别能干。后来进了衙门当小吏，投靠了当时的红人张汤，之后节节攀升，做了广平都尉。到任后，王温舒找了几个土霸王做助手。你想，在一方称王称霸，谁能没点杀人放火的事呢？王温舒调查到每个人的罪行，并以此为把柄，让他们戴罪立功。这些人拼力治盗就算了，不尽力的，王温舒就把他那些破事儿拿出来治个罪，灭他宗族。

这样一来，土霸王们自当效力，广平很快就有路不拾遗的美称。

后来皇帝看他不错，就把他调到河内当太守。九月到任，用同样的方法，搜捕盗贼，奏请陛下核准后，大罪诛宗族，小罪死。陛下准许之后，河内坐罪送命的多达千馀家，流血十馀里。也有部分漏网之鱼跑到了临县，王温舒追捕不提。转眼到了十二月，余党并没有全部赶尽杀绝，根据汉朝律例，秋冬可以杀人，春夏不可以。就算这时候逮到了犯人，也只能秋后问斩。

王温舒仰天叹息，曰：嗟乎，令冬月益展一月，足吾事矣！

这个故事告诉我们，以暴制暴往往是非常有效率的，好比饮鸩止渴，确实可以起到立竿见影的止渴作用。只是上帝赋予毒药的职责是，使人中毒，解渴只是副作用。我们不能因为他的副作用而改变他的根本性质。毒药就是毒药，不是兰蔻。

三

武帝为了督促地方官员戮力捕盗，颁布《沈命法》。根据该法，如果群盗出现，地方官员未发觉，或是发觉之后不能将之全数捉拿归案的，郡守以下至小吏统统处死。

《沈命法》是十分英明的一项法令，起到的作用几乎是立竿见影。自法令颁布以后，再也没有任何郡守上报过任何一起群盗事件。

四

杜周做廷尉，在皇上左右很会见机行事。皇上露出想排挤某人的意思，杜周就想个法子把他给陷害了。皇上想赦免某个人的罪，杜周就让那个人的案子出现冤情。杜周的门客看不下去了，说：你为天子裁决断案，不遵循三尺之法，专搞这些见人说人话的名堂，法官是你这么当的吗？没想到杜周比他的门客还大声：三尺之法怎么来的？前面的皇帝觉得什么是对的，就写下来当法，后面的皇帝觉得什么是对的，就写下来当令，一朝有一朝的是非，哪来什么三尺之法！

你不能不说这老头子有点道理。

《万历十五年》：人事

2008-07-29T22:25:00.000-07:00

以中央集权的方式，治理这么大个国家，要保证上上下下至清至廉，不仅不可能，也未见得是好事。连佛前的伽叶、阿难尚且向唐僧伸手要人事。可见人事不通，人也难成事。

黄仁宇在万历十五年里提到，文官分三种。第一种从头到脚只见清风。第二种从头到脚淌着民脂民膏。而第三种人数最多，“在似合法又似非法之间取得一部分额外收入，补助官俸的不足，以保持他们士大夫阶级的生活水准，（自觉）于清操无损。”

百分百的清廉正直只能说是一种过于理想的状态。理想毕竟不能当饭吃。更何况治国是一个团体参与的大项目，过于清廉必有人至察则无徒之忧。清官也许流芳千古，在当朝却可能一事无成。既然是做这一朝的官，就该殚精竭虑谋这一朝的事，哪怕这意味着作出名节上的妥协。

毕竟，鹤立鸡群的清高自负，于治国却无补。

书之一

2008-07-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

一向以为对书事还算了解。市面上除了什么新书，哪里有家书店，哪里买书比较便宜，都可以如数家珍，就像哈雷迷跟你聊摩托一样。

一般不买畅销书。可以一夜间成名的书，也可能在一夜间无人问津。James Frey的A Millison Little Pieces就是个例子。我正好在Oprah上看到对他的采访，当天就买书回来看。不时看到心情激动热泪盈眶。看完书那个晚上，下楼看电视，又是Oprah，还是James。Oprah大骂James的自传不真实，不仅骗了她还骗了全国观众。原来这个时候James把小说当自传的事已经败露，我最近忙着看他的书所以不知道。当时James坐在Tom Cruise曾经上蹿下跳的那张沙发上，面对Oprah在亿万观众面前对他的指责，十分傻眼，而我坐在电视机前的地毯上，想到过去几天被这个自称真实的故事感动得一塌糊涂，实在是万分傻眼。要晚那么几天来关注这本书，我就又节约下了生命中十分宝贵的一段读书时间。

尽管不太买畅销书，有什么书开始热卖的时候，还是会关注的。前段时间Obama的Audacity of Hope摆在畅销书一栏十分显眼的位置。其实这本书早就出过了，也小畅销过一回，现在是为了助选又摆出来而已。也并非Obama为了选举而写的书。

当然，关注这些有的没的，并不能让我从此就长了见识。但这也是一个读书人小小的乐趣。就好像一个哈雷迷一样，也许一辈子也买不了几台哈累，能够细数哈雷从往至今的各种经典型号，也自有一番乐趣。

有一年有本书特别畅销。不仅在Chapters放在最显眼的地方，更是Amazon的销售冠军。这本书叫The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. 是某个人的自传，我却忘记了他的名字。显然大家都对他很熟，不然书不会一出来就大卖。这让我感觉惶恐。好比一个自认的哈雷迷，不认识一款倍受推崇的哈雷车一样。

一开始注意到Bill Bryson是在书店看到了他的A Short History of Nearly Everything。我并不知道这个人是谁，可是这本书的书名吸引了我。那时候刚看万时间简史，作为延伸阅读，万物简史似乎是非常合理的选择。

这本书并没有看完，讲科学的东西，一看两看三看，很快就晕乎乎的了。六月归来的时候，我把它带了回来。这时候注意到这个作者，Bill Bryson。

后来我看到一本他的短文集。Bryson在美国出生，很小就去了英国，娶了英国妻，生了两个小孩。离开美国二十年后，又携妻带子回去居住，从前虽是流着美国的血，吃的却是英国的饭，突然回来，难免感受到不少文化反震惊。这本书就叫做Notes from a Big Country。

这次回来，没带Iliad，没带Republic，没带Symposium，却带了Notes from a Big Country。喜欢他幽默生动的文笔。把那种情怀称作文笔实在是太片面。文笔给人的感觉是很技术性的，似乎你只要多多练习，文笔就会很好。我从来不这么认为。我想他是个对生活很宽容的人，才会有那样的胸襟和情怀，从最乏味的事件中，咀嚼出幽默。

再后来我知道他是位很多产的作家，除了写出那本A Brief History of Nearly Everything，他还有不少关于旅行和英语语言的书。这正是我所向往的，作为一个作家的生活状态。另有一位作家出书之后，在扉页上写说，还好还好，我赶在Bryson之前先写了这个话题。可见Bryson有多多产。

我打算尽量多地把Bryson的书找来看，也想对他的生活多了解一些。我在Wikipedia上找到关于他的介绍，原来他写过自传，叫做The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid。

云南行行销课

2008-07-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

沿途被导游拉去购物的时候，观察着导游和商家与同车人之间的互动，以及同车人最终作出的各种购买决定，不得不说，行销真是一件十分神奇的事，可以在光天化日之下颠覆一切理性。我相信每一个掏了腰包的客人，心里都觉得很值。所以行销最神奇的地方还是在于，让你作出盲目购买决定的同时，还觉得很满足。这才叫真正的双赢。

去年看了一本书：All Marketers Are Liars, by Seth Godin 尽管我对行销几乎毫无兴趣，看完却受益匪浅。你可以对一件事情没有兴趣，但还是要了解嘛。里面几个基本的观点，读的时候就觉得十分在理，这回出行，“参观”五个特产店，书中的种种观点一一应证。这六天可以说是上了一堂接一堂活生生的行销课。

1. Needs vs. Wants

平时在家除了翻译，就是喝喝茶，看看书，写写blog，跟狗狗玩耍，下午举家去山口接妈妈。过着这样的日子，不觉得特别需要什么。去了趟云南才从好心的导游口中得知，原来我是多么迫切的需要吃螺旋藻、戴翡翠镯子、用植物精油、买昆明的花、喝庆沣祥出的普洱茶！

"Marketers profit because consumers buy what they want, not what they need. Needs are practical and objective, wants are irrational and subjective."

2. Marketers sell products by telling stories that matches your belief

以前出门旅行，都爱带点当地的土特产，一来当地买比较便宜，二来从前交通往来不如现在频繁，边陲省份有的东西，内地未必有。现在却不一样了，一个地方产，全国各地都买得到，千里迢迢去产地买，又便宜不了多少，现在人都不爱干这事了。那么土特产就没有市场了吗？当然不是的。

从前游客相信，土特产在当地买比较便宜。后来形势有变，又转而相信，土特产在当地容易买到真货。精明的商家们，怎么可能错过这个以其人之belief，还治其人之身的大好机会呢？于是这次出行，亲眼目睹产地的云烟卖得比全国所有地方都贵不说，游客更是忙不迭的掏腰包这等咄咄怪事！

事实上，云烟在内地买本来就比在云南买便宜，因为烟草市场的地方保护主义严重，云烟要打入内地市场，只有适当降低价格。也就是说，放着自家楼下正规市场如假包赔的便宜云烟不买，却千里迢迢远赴云烟产地的风景区，以昂贵于内地价甚至云南市价许多的价格买下，再千里迢迢地背回来，并且喜出望外。这实在是让人叹为观止。

不过呢，正如Godin在书中所说：Nobody buys pure product. They buy the way the process makes them feel. 虽然这么折腾，人家就觉得值，多花的钱权当买了个放心，这也无可厚非（但不代表这就不叹为观止了）。商家深谙这种消费心理，更深知放心无价烟有价，所以就开始卖起了神奇的“放心”。

产地兜售土特产，先打着便宜的旗号，后打着真货的旗号，不是本身策略的方向改变，而是应着消费者的心态改变而改变。是你先信有鬼的，人家才拿鬼神来吓你。

"The best stories don't teach people anything new. Instead, the best stories agree with what the audience already believes and makes the members of the audience feel smart and secure when reminded how right they were in the first place."

3. People want different things

商家的主打说客往往十分清楚，他要卖的产品只有一个，三十位听众想要的却不是同样的东西。听君一席长达二十分钟的推销演说，处处有文章。以七彩云南购物中心（此行最大的屠宰场）中的庆沣祥茶庄为例。推销小姐把大家领进一间雅致的茶房，有专业的女茶道师为大家服务，请大家品茶。与此同时，开始了推销。

我个人的体会是，普洱茶之所以能在短短几年间被炒成天价，除了商家的恶意炒作以外，全赖一群关键的消费者：明明不胖却自以为自己很胖的女生，或者说，市面上大部分女生。去年在杂志社研究这种茶的时候，公司有一个sales就说，她刚花100多块加币（折合700多人民币）买了一饼普洱茶，连说喝了有用。那时我还没喝到这传说中的普洱茶。后来有幸一尝生普……我的妈呀，这不就是外公曾经最爱、重庆人用口盅装大口牛饮、与老荫茶和苦丁茶同等级的平民茶叶吗？曾经一斤不到20块，现在700多块买不到一斤还争着买，我实在是百思千思万思，思思不得其解。

于是庆沣祥的小姐自然一来就大赞特赞茶的减肥功效，说饭后半小时喝一盅，坚持下去必有功效。讲完还有更妙的。小姐深知不是每个人都想要减肥，例如我就没兴趣。于是说，饭前半小时喝一盅，反其道而行之，可以增胖。于是女性消费者的需要基本上都顾到了。

既然讲到茶，当然最主要还是就茶论茶。而普洱茶却是非常特殊的一种茶。普洱分生茶和熟茶两种，生茶未经发酵，性同绿茶，具有绿茶的一切功效。而熟茶经人工渥堆发酵，里面的茶碱已经全部转换，喝上去完全没有普通茶叶的味道。医学证明熟茶由于经发酵转换后含多种微量元素，确实具有消脂的作用。由于普洱熟茶没有茶味，却可以减肥，所以一般商家都把他定位成一种功效茶、减肥茶来卖，主要推销给不计口感只计效果的广大自以为超重的女性朋友们。

那么喝起来乡土味厚，苦涩味浓烈的普洱生茶又怎么办呢？爱茶的人，爱绿茶和乌龙的最多，在喜欢一个香气。普洱生茶是没有香气这种东西的。至少不是传统意义上，绿茶或是乌龙茶的那种通透香气。于是推销小姐捧出了一饼，庆沣祥独创的，只此一家别无分店的，茉莉青饼。所谓青饼，即普洱生茶之意。这饼茶，标准的357克，要价350RMB。

这款茶以茉莉花撒面，目的是十分明确的，就是要让茶喝起来香气四溢，吸引那些爱茶之香气的喝茶人。可是。前文已经说过，普洱生茶，就是用云南大叶种茶叶做的未经发酵的绿茶。所以茉莉青饼，换言之，就是茉莉花茶！未几，茶道师端来样茶品尝，喝起来，就是地地道道的茉莉花茶，只闻茉莉香，已经品不出生茶的涩。于是乎，在内地平均30块一斤的茉莉花茶，在这里做成茶饼的样子，就能卖出350块不到一斤的价格。同车人争相买了说要回去送人。

综上，购物是一件非理性的事。或者说，人是可以很没理性的，特别是在购物这件事上。而行销之道，不可不察。你大可花350块买包茉莉花茶，只要你愿意。可是你也要知道，其中只有30块是茶叶的价值，剩下300多块买的是个感觉。至于花300块买个感觉划不划算，那就见仁见智了。

《中国农民调查》

2008-06-20T03:15:00.000-07:00

用三天时间看完《中国农民调查》，感触良多，都不知道该从哪里说起。

深感中国的很多问题都是环环紧扣。许多看上去不合理，甚至不合宪的规定，假如真的更改，反而可能带来更大的问题。

例如说计划生育和迁徙自由。中国的人口问题很严峻，计划生育与其说是基本国策，不如说是紧急应对国策。而假如开放人口迁徙自由（取消户籍制、暂住证，外地人可享受当地社保等），那么农村就没人种田啦，农民负担那么重，当然愿意跑到城里当民工。这样中国13亿人，要靠谁来养活？

而为了减轻农民负担提出的费改税，初衷绝对是好的，施行起来才发现困难重重。农民担子小了，地方财政也空了，教育事业都难以为继。看上去是个税费征收办法的改革，其实却触及了城乡分治体制上的矛盾，那又岂是一朝一夕可以解决的事情呢？

说到解决事情，中国有两种权威：官员和学者。官员讲官话，学者讲实话。官员看政绩，学者看问题。最了解情况的学者，往往又不掌握实权，而真正掌握实权的官员，又不具备处理事情的能力。这也说明，哲人王这种事是不会发生的。哲人不会想当王，王却不是哲人。

至于城乡分治的体制，想必当初也是计划经济体制下为保障城市发展而制定的策略之一。可现在都什么年代了，计划经济都快成为历史名词了，还要城乡分治把农民当二等公民？当然这种话说着容易，做起来难。策略与策略彼此牵制，一环更改往往会突显一连串的社会问题。毛泽东说，中国的事，急不得，慢慢来。当然，从主席口里说出这样的话，听着有点讽刺。

又说到上级下达的种种任务，有关教育的，农业的，工业的，计划生育的，方方面面的任务不一而足。完成任务需要的钱，谁给？上级部门象征性地给一点，甚至不给，最终还是要地方政府掏腰包。地方政府有钱就还好，没钱就还要往下掏腰包。最后遭殃的是农民，受益的是达标积极政绩卓越的地方官员们。这也让我想到地震中垮塌的学校，有没有可能，也是在这种财政紧缺的状况下，不得已削减资金建起的劣质教学楼呢？如果是这样，那整件事情的性质，就是比黑心奸商或是官商勾结更深层的社会体制不合理的问题。

而正是这样的上行下效，让浮夸之风难以杜绝。竟然连贵为总理的朱镕基，也曾被安徽老家的粮仓骗的团团转，还被央视拍下来，放给全国人看。不过话又说回来，欺骗总理这么大的事情，又岂是一个县里的九品芝麻官可以做得了主的？这一事件的背后主谋究竟官至何职，当然是查不清楚，却耐人寻味。

官员已经习惯了只对上级负责，而且是拼了名的负责。上级规定亩产要达一万斤，下面就算吹牛皮也要吹出一万斤。到时候按照这个数字去纳税，倒霉的又是农民。这也说明，在基层实现民主的重要性。官选官的时代，为民负责并不是升官的直接前提。只有民选官了，他们才会意识到民心的重要性。

而这种自欺欺人的心态，也不过就在中国行得通；不表示你把东方明珠印出来，放大十倍做成宣传看板展示给外国人，再把那些广场有多大，水坝有多好的话说上一百遍，人家就会对你心存敬畏，刮目相看。在这些“政绩”的背后，是怎样的心酸呢？

占中国人口绝大多数的农民，竟然是弱势群体。也就是说，中国绝大多数人口是弱势群体。而“中国公民”四个字，又最常与那些概念联系在一起呢？是法制、护照、火炬传递、西方媒体、游行示威，还是日出而作日落而息、面朝黄土背朝天的农民？大部分人有一种根深蒂固的城市本位心理，民工是二等公民，农民更是远在视线以外。

看完《中国农民调查》，有一点愧疚。如果不是中国的农民勤奋又单纯，不到走投无路不思上访，中国早就不知道乱成什么样子。昨天问外公，三年“自然灾害”的时候，家里都吃什么？他说那时候每人每月的口粮23斤，一点点盐油，就没别的了。我说23斤也不少，怎么又会饿死人？外公拍着柴灶说，那是城里面才有的，农村又没有！

我听到当然很诧异，田是农民种的，国家的储备粮怎么会不分配给农民呢？为什么又有城乡分治，一国两策？在改革开放“成就有目共睹”的背后，中国的9亿农民付出了怎样的代价？

要回答这些问题呢，就要好好看一下这本书。中国是个农业大国，农村的问题，往往也是整个社会的缩影。强烈推荐。

Word Usage

2008-02-09T23:04:00.000-08:00

I'm reading On Writing Well by William Zinsser. There's a whole chapter on word usage.

I do feel it's a useless effort to debate on the usage of words. Zinsser refered to a panel in the 60s where 104 men and women, mostly teachers, writers, poets, and editors, formed a "Usage Panel" at the request of a dictionary committee to vote whether or not they thought a certain word should be accepted into common usage.

Usages that were accepted included: dropout, esclate, rambunctious, tycoon, trek, rile, etc.
Usages that were rejected included: to author, senior citizen (considered to be a sociological euphemism), -wise (as in healthwise), to contact (based on the firm believe that contact should always be a noun), etc.

That was back in the 60s. Now look around. We use to author a great deal and we cannot write any business letter without to contact.

And it begs an important question: what is the correct usage? And who decides? Or the word "decide" is rather absurd in this question, in that usages are not decided once and for all, but first attempted and later agreed upon.

Language is organic. It follows Darwin's evolutionary theory: the fittest survives. Why bother the usages? They will figure themselves out.

Nothing evolving is supposed to be any particular way except evolving.

On what rational ground is "aint" vulgarer than "isn't"? By which guide of taste is a preposition at the end of a sentence a bad thing? Why do you have to use "it is" instead of "it's"? How about spell out Mr. and Mrs, every single time?

Language is such an arbituary thing that every claim to the correct usage is meaningless, if not pretentious. It's like claiming red wine tastes better than white wine, or "dog" is a more legitimate word to designate that friendly canie than "perro".

On Freedom of Speech

2008-01-03T23:51:00.000-08:00

Make no mistake, I think Freedom of Speech is definitely a good thing.
But in the process of praising it, we are kind of running the risk of abusing it a little.

I mean, have you ever heard someone saying something totally stupid, and to avoid value judgement from his audience, he deliberately shrugs and emphasizes "well, this is my opnion." And then you just feel kind of itchy?

Well, here's the point: to exercise a right to practice an art doesn't make you a master in the art. The formal is a fact, the latter a value.

In another word: your right and your intelligence aren't the same thing.

So the proper response is kind of like this:

Bravo! you just exercised your right to speech!... but damn that's one stupid comment.

Lady Windermere's Fan

2007-12-05T13:59:00.001-08:00

"In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. " - Wilde

想到阿來在《塵埃落定》裡面講過一句類似的話:

「同得到了東西時的悲傷相比，得不到東西時的悲傷根本算不上是悲傷。」

按照王爾德的說法，there's really only one tragedy in this world: we want things.

Woman of No Importance - Quotes

2007-12-02T23:57:00.000-08:00

Nothing should be out of the reach of hope. Life is a hope.

The intellect is not a serious thing, and never has been. It is an instrument on which one plays, that is all.

I don't think there is a woman in the world who would not be a little flattered if one made love to her. It is that which makes women so irresistibly adorable.

When a man is old enough to do wrong he should be old enough to do right also.

Intellectual generalities are always interesting, but generalities in morals mean absolutely nothing.

Duty is what one expects from others, it is not what one does oneself.

Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation.

Children begin by loving their parents. After a time they judge them. Rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.

A mother's love is very touching, of course, but it is often curiously selfish. I mean, there is a good deal of selfishness in it.

A man who can dominate a London dinner-table can dominate the world. The future belongs to the dandy. It is the exquisites who are going to rule.

Talk to every woman as if you loved her, and to every man as if he bored you, and at the end of your first season you will have the reputation of possessing the most perfect social tact.

To get into the best society, nowadays, one has either to feed people, amuse people, or shock people - that is all!

Women are pictures. Men are problems. If you want to know what a woman really means - which, by the way, is always a dangerous thing to do - look at her, don't listen to her.

Men marry because they are tired; women because they are curious. Both are disappointed.

The happiness of a married man, my dear Gerald, depends on the people he has not married.

One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.

When one is in love one begins by deceiving oneself. And one ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.

The world has always laughed at its own tragedies, that being the only way in which it has been able to bear them. And that, consequently, whatever the world has treated seriously belongs to the comedy side of things.

The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

Hearts live by being wounded.

Who, being loved, is poor?

All love is terrible. All love is a tragedy.

Walden - Quotes and Notes

2007-11-30T16:40:00.000-08:00

Walden看到第五天，終於要發火了。雖然你是本很重要的書，可是我真的不知道你想說什麼。留著以後在看吧。以下是看的時候copy and paste的一些片段，跟筆記。既然現在沒有打算要看完，也就懶得整理清楚了。

All we ever need is food and shelter.

Food, shelter, clothing, and fuel.

Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have ever lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor. The ancient philosophers, Chinese, Hindoo, Persian, and Greek, were a class than which none has been poorer in outward riches, none so rich in inward.None can be an impartial or wise observer of human life but from the vantage ground of what we should call voluntary poverty.

To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically.

Fuel cooks food, food generate heat in the body, with clothing and shelter, the body preserves the heat.

When a man is warmed by the several modes which I have described, what does he want next? Surely not more warmth of the same kind, as more and richer food, larger and more splendid houses, finer and more abundant clothing, more numerous, incessant, and hotter fires, and the like. When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to adventure on life now, his vacation from humbler toil having commenced.

從來沒有從這樣的角度來看待「奢侈」的問題。Thoreau認為，人賴以生存的元素無非一樣：熱量。由此，四種物品不可少：食物，住宿，衣物，燃料。這四種生活必需品，到頭來都不過是為了保存身體熱量，讓人得以生存而已。

既然如此，當食物、衣物、燃料已經充足，住宿也舒適的時候，是不是該把金錢和精力轉移到這些生活必需品以外的事物上去呢？Well, you would think.

事實是，餘下的金錢花在了更好的食物，更漂亮的衣服，更大的住宅上。硬是要把生活必需品變成奢侈品。There's better places for money. And life is more than just accquiring necessities.

The life which men praise and regard as successful is but one kind. Why should we exaggerate any one kind at the expense of the others?

On Youth

2007-11-30T10:42:00.000-08:00

"It is in youth that we plant our chief habits and prejudices; it is in youth that we take our party as to profession, pursuits and matrimony. In youth, therefore, the turn is given; in youth the education even of the next generation is given; in youth the private and public character is determined; and the term of life extending but from youth to age, life ought to begin well from youth, and more especially before we take our party as to our principal objects. "

- Benjamin Vaughan, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

"LORD ILLINGWORTH: Don't be afraid, Gerald. Remember that you've got on your side the most wonderful thing in the world - youth! There is nothing like youth. The middle-aged are mortgaged to Life. The old are in life's lumber-room. But youth is the Lord of Life. Youth has a kingdom waiting for it. Every one is born a king, and most people die in exile, like most kings. To win back my youth, Gerald, there is nothing I wouldn't do - except take exercise, get up early, or be a useful member of the community. "

- Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance

Benjamin Franklin on Reason

2007-11-28T16:44:00.000-08:00

有一段時間富蘭克林是素食者。有一次乘船從波士頓去費城的途中遇到狂風暴雨，雨停後船上的人都飢腸轆轆，就靠岸捕魚。大家運氣很不錯，那天捕到很多鱈魚。這個時候富蘭克林就開始矛盾了，他的老師說，這樣把魚吃掉無疑是謀殺。他想一想，是沒錯。可是富蘭克林從前一直很喜歡吃魚，這個時候鍋裡熱騰騰的鱈魚無疑是個巨大的誘惑。魚煮好了，同船的人把魚肚子切開，富蘭克林看到裡面有小魚，顯然是被這條大魚吃掉的，於是告訴自己說：如果你們互相之間都可以吃來吃去的話，我為甚麼不能吃你們？言畢，拿起叉子，從此拋棄素食主義。

這個故事讓他得出如下結論：

"So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do."

The Importance of Being Ernest

2007-11-26T22:04:00.000-08:00

喜歡王爾德是因為，他的作品很好笑，又很好哭。好笑的如Importance of Being Ernest，好哭的如童話快樂王子。純粹好笑的作者很多，純粹好哭的作者也是，可是又好笑又好哭的卻很少。喜歡這樣的作者：他的內心是嚴肅的，作品是幽默的。如他自己所說：

One must be serious about something, if one wants any amusement in life.

對王爾德的印象可以歸結為這三個字：witty, cynical, and hilarious. 以下quotation來自他的話劇: The Importance of Being Ernest.

In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing.

I don't play accurately-any one can play accurately-but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for life.

The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means.

The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility!"

It is awfully hard work doing nothing.

It would hardly have been a really serious engagement if it hadn't been broken off at least once.

If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being always immensely over-educated.

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his.

The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to some one else, if she is plain.

A Study in Scarlet

2007-11-25T18:28:00.000-08:00

在Daily Lit上看完福爾摩斯系列的第一本，血字的研究(A STUDY IN SCARLET)。難怪福爾摩斯這麼Popular，柯南道爾還蠻有天分的。一開始看覺得，這不就是十九世紀的CSI嗎？看到一半的時候壞人就抓到了，想說那剩下半本要幹嘛？第二部分開頭的地方看了五分鐘還以為作者已經在講第二個故事了，因為乍一看跟上文完全沒有關係，因此有些驚慌：這個案子已經破了嗎？為什麼我沒有看出來？

原來第二部是要介紹整個案件主角之間恩怨的來龍去脈，場景整個從都市化的倫敦跑回二十年前還沒開化的美國大西北的荒漠，感覺好像是同一本書卻有兩個GENRE。前半部是CSI似的懸疑偵探片，後半部是基督山恩仇錄/美國西部片。

還不錯啦。

About Oxford University Press...

2007-11-22T15:54:00.000-08:00

想買叔本華的散文集，找到牛津大學出版的這個版本，封面很喜歡，一看價格，六十塊大洋。這不是搶錢嗎？這本書714頁，而且還是Paperback。我的伊利亞德跟它差不多厚，還是Penguin的「豪華紀念版」，摸來愛不釋手，也才十五塊。

我現在發現牛津出版的書都不便宜，上次在chapter看到一本大約三百來頁藍色封面的柏拉圖，很喜歡，可是怎麼都找不到價格。想說沒差，去check out好了，再貴也不過二十幾塊。走一走覺得不踏實，還是請一位店員幫我查價格。一查，四十五塊大洋。這不是搶錢嗎？

最讓人糾結的是這一系列的書（似乎是同一系列）確實長得賞心悅目，賣像我都很喜歡。好啦，十塊的柏拉圖也是柏拉圖，四十塊的柏拉圖也是柏拉圖，我已經找到更好更便宜的版本。可是牛津出版叔本華的這本"Parerga and Paralipomena"(Essay and Aphorism)，似乎是市面上最完整最權威的版本。這不是搶錢嗎？

Iliad retold 5: The One Before the Duel

2007-11-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

話說宙斯託夢給Agamemnon要他全面進攻特洛伊，轉身又告訴特洛伊王子兼最高統帥Hector說希臘人來了。不一會兒功夫，特洛伊軍隊迎出城外，兩軍對壘在城下。

特洛伊王子、Hector的弟弟、愛芙羅黛蒂神最寵愛的小心肝、當初擄走Menelaus的老婆Helen的、長著一張俊美臉蛋的Paris此時在陣前一跃而出，手持兩隻青銅長矛跑來跑去，向希臘軍隊挑釁。

遠遠的，Menelaus看到了他，頓時熱血沸騰，心想報仇的時候到了。他跳下戰車，向Paris逼近。Paris認出Menelaus，心中暗叫oops。本來只是想激起一個小嘍囉來鬥一番，不想Menelaus竟然親自出馬。當初擄走人家老婆確實是自己不對，有諺語云：吃人嘴短，拿人手短。當下，Paris便覺腿軟，心臟更是漏跳了一拍。他一回頭，毫不猶豫的跑回了特洛伊軍隊中。

Hector看見這般情形，氣得七竅生煙，脫口就罵：Paris啊，駭人的Paris，你這個中看不中用的王子，只會為了女人瘋狂，我希望神從未讓你出生，或是讓你死而無妻，怎樣都比現在這麼俗辣強！希臘人已經笑翻天了，他們還以為你是特洛伊最勇猛的鬥士！空有一張漂亮臉蛋，胸中沒有半點男子氣概，什麼？這就是當初從希臘把Helen載回來的Paris嗎?

Hector喘口氣，繼續罵：我詛咒你爸爸（其實也是Hector的爸爸），詛咒你的國土和你的城民，你這個讓親者恨，仇者快的傢伙！愛芙羅黛蒂神對你的眷顧有什麼用？你擅長的七弦豎琴，你飄逸的長髮，令人艷羨的容貌，神給你的一切天賦，在戰場上根本就是一無是處！

Hector罵完了，該Paris說話了：Hector啊，你罵的句句屬實，你的話語永遠都像鐵斧頭劈進木頭一樣乾淨俐落。可是呢，不要藐視愛芙羅黛蒂神賜給我的漂亮臉蛋，神給人的永遠都是好的，我們有什麼選擇呢？（這句話說白了就是：我長這麼漂亮是我的錯嗎？）好吧，如果你那麼想要我作戰，可，你讓所有希臘軍隊跟特洛伊軍隊坐下來，看我跟Menelaus決鬥，為了Helen和她的所有財富而戰。贏的人帶Helen回去，剩下的軍隊飲血為盟，各回各的家，不可再戰。

Hector一聽，心下大快。他立即驅車到陣前，向雙方軍隊喊話，把Paris的意思傳達給所有人聽。希臘人和特洛伊人聽了都說好，特別是小兵小卒們，因為講真的，這場戰爭本來就不關他們的事情，兩個男人搶女人，自己解決就好，為什麼要動用軍隊呢？有詩云：文王一怒安天下，衝冠一怒為紅顏。

至此，兩軍都鬆了一口氣，特別是希臘人，心想無論兩人谁生谁死，打完就可以回家了。離家九年了，今天終於有個結果。有詩云：

少小離家老大回，鄉音未改鬢毛衰。
兒童相見不相識，笑問客從何處來？

既然大家都同意了，Agamemnon跟Hector各自出陣，在兩軍中間的無人地帶殺了一頭羊，請宙斯見證他們的誓言，並約定，食言的一方就要像這頭羊一樣，死無葬身之地。

一個休戰協議就這樣達成了，究竟谁贏了這場決鬥呢？有人贏了的話，伊利亞德還剩下二十一卷荷馬要怎麼寫呢？且聽下回分解。

Iliad retold 4: The One with Agamemnon's Test

2007-11-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

上一回提及宙斯答應了Achilles的媽媽Thetis，要懲罰希臘人。當晚，宙斯化身希臘軍隊的參謀Nestor托夢給Agamemnon說，九年戰爭就要結束了！就在明天，讓你的軍隊向特洛伊的城牆發起全面進攻吧，希臘人的戰車即將馳騁特洛伊的平坦大道！

Agamemnon一覺醒來，心花怒放，認為這是神的旨意，要讓希臘人得榮耀了。他馬上召集所有統帥開會，告訴大家神昨晚托夢，要讓希臘人贏。眾人都熱血沸騰。

而Agamemnon這個人呢，想法真的很奇怪。這個時候本來應該要讓統帥們傳令下去，激發士兵的鬥志，然後沖進城門把特洛伊人打個落花流水。可是Agamemnon對與會的統帥們說，先不要急，我要考驗一下士兵們賣命的決心。

然後Agamemnon把全部軍隊召集起來，一副沉重的樣子說：辛苦了大家九年多，這一仗真是打得沒完沒了。如今我們連一點勝利的希望都沒有，卻已經背井離鄉這麼多年了，算了算了，不要再打了，再不回去，老婆跟兒子都認不出我們來了。大家各回各的船，我們開回希臘去吧。

這番話就像油鍋裡的一滴水，整個軍隊就炸開了鍋。為甚麼炸開了鍋呢？因為大統帥都開了口，大家一窩蜂的要脫盔甲回船上起錨拉帆回家看老婆兒子了。Agamemnon默默看著，有點尷尬。

這個時候天上的Hera跟雅典那看到了，趕快叫Odyssey去把大家hold住，不然全部都回家了仗還打不打。伊利亞德裡面沒有交代，但是其他希臘神話以及後來的希臘悲劇有解釋為什麼有的神仙要幫希臘，有的卻要幫特洛伊。總之Hera跟雅典那是希望看到特洛伊滅亡的。Odyssey認出這是雅典那在跟他講話，於是毫不遲疑的衝到軍隊中，每見到一個領隊的將軍，就講一番激勵的話，特別強調說，我們並不知道Agamemnon真正的想法。

Odyssey跑了幾圈之後，大部分士兵都暫時冷靜了下來，只有一個叫Thersites的士兵還在遠遠的衝著Agamemnon破口大罵：你現在想回家了？仗都打了這麼多年了，還不是因為你希臘人才捲入這場戰爭。結果你除了拿走最好的戰利品跟最漂亮的女人睡覺，還做了些什麼？這次還把Achilles也氣走了！我告訴你，要不是Achilles不和你計較，你現在早就躺在地上餵野狗了！

Odyssey看到Agamemnon的臉有點黑掉，就趕快一個箭步衝過來劈頭就給Thersites一棍子，說，叫你百花齊放，你還真就百花齊放，你是豬嗎？Thersites被打得很痛，哭了起來，旁邊的士兵雖然士氣低落，還是忍不住笑起來。

士兵們的騷動告一段落，Odyssey站起來，對著Agamemnon跟全軍演講了一番，講到從前宙斯對希臘人的應許，以及後來的種種跡象，都預示著希臘人必將得勝，這樣半途而廢，無譽而歸，要怎麼回去見江東父老？士兵們聽他這麼一說，也有些動搖。畢竟對希臘人來說，沒有什麼是比面子跟榮耀更重要的。而Agamemnon本來無心撤軍，Odyssey的話正中下懷。

這個時候參謀Nestor建議，把軍隊按部族分，每個分隊由自己的族人帶領。Agamemnon採納了。這個時候是伊利亞德第二卷，餘下部分就是逐一介紹每支軍隊的統帥和士兵，就像奧運開幕儀式上每個國家的運動員拿著國旗進入會場一樣。所以可以想像這段介紹有多麼的壯觀和無聊。

而宙斯的計畫，也正按部就班的進行著。他派一個使者去告訴特洛伊人：希臘人來了。於是特洛伊人在最短的時間內集合軍隊迎出城外。這會不會是決定勝負的一場戰爭呢？宙斯怎樣為Achilles報仇呢？欲知後事如何，且聽下回分解。

Iliad retold 3: The One with Thetis Begging Zeus

2007-11-20T11:20:00.001-08:00

Agamemnon派大將Odysseus（就是荷馬另一首詩《奧德賽》的主角）把牧師的女兒送回去，再殺牛宰羊給太陽神賠不是（最後還不是自己吃光光）。這樣一來，太陽神就不生氣了。現在換成Achilles在自己的大營裡生氣。希臘人自尊受到傷害的時候，真的什麼都不顧。相比之下現代人就忍氣吞聲多了，老闆罵你的時候，你會用剪刀戳他然後拒絕上班嗎？

那現在該怎麼辦呢？就算是Achilles這麼man的希臘王子，受到委屈的時候也只想到一件事：告給媽媽聽。不過呢，這也是有原因的，因為Achilles的媽媽可不是一般菜市場的媽媽，他媽媽是海洋女神Thetis。所以Achilles算是在神仙那邊有親戚。而Thetis曾經救過宙斯。宇宙之神、萬王之王、奧林巴斯山的山寨大王宙斯呢，欠Achilles的媽媽一個大人情。

Thetis於是來到奧林巴斯山找宙斯，一手抱著他的腿，另一只手托著宙斯的下巴。這個姿勢在現代人看來真的很好笑，但是在當時希臘神仙當中，這樣是表示尊敬的意思，托著對方的下巴這樣才可以直視對方的眼睛。西方人那麼愛eye contact，搞不好就是這麼來的。Thetis在宙斯面前聲淚俱下的講述兒子受到的委屈，懇求宙斯懲罰忘恩負義的希臘人。本來這對宙斯來說，根本就是小酸菜一碟，但是現在宙斯陷入兩難的境界。為甚麼？因為宙斯的老婆和姐姐Hera（Hera又是老婆又是姐姐，神仙是沒有taboo的）還有女兒雅典那都是幫希臘人這邊的。要懲罰希臘人的話，老婆和女兒都會生氣。怎麼辦呢？

這個時候，人情就派上用場了。Thetis聲情並茂的講述自己當初如何救了宙斯。希臘神仙是有恩必報的，宙斯在這件事情上點了頭。神仙點頭的意思就是說他答應了，而且這件事情真的會成。Thetis就離開了奧林匹斯山。

那天晚上，宙斯輾轉反側，他要想個辦法來替Achilles報仇。那他究竟想到什麼辦法呢？欲知後事如何，且聽下回分解。

Iliad retold 2: The One with Briseis

2007-11-15T10:22:00.000-08:00

這下子，希臘人也慌了，不知道太陽神為甚麼發這麼大脾氣。國王Agamemnon召集大家殺牛宰羊給神獻祭。之後大家又開了個會，討論該怎麼辦。會上有個先知直言不諱的告訴Agamemnon說，都是因為你不把女兒還給太陽神的牧師，打狗還要看主人呢，不看佛面也要看僧面吧，這樣太陽神能不生氣嗎？

這個時候腳踝有缺陷的Achilles就站起來說，要不然這樣好了，Agamemnon你把牧師的女兒還給他，希臘人這樣一直遭受瘟疫也不是辦法。

Agamemnon就說，我吧牧師的女兒還回去，那你們呢？你們就守著你們的戰利品嗎？

Achilles有點不開心，但還是耐著性子說：這也不是我們可以決定的事情。但我保證，下一次勝利，一定把最好的戰利品送到你的帳前。

聽上去是個合情合理的建議，本來大家相互通融一下，這件事情就過去了。如果那樣，荷馬也就不會寫伊利亞德了。

Agamemnon聽到Achilles的建議，大怒，說，豈有此理！你們聽好，既然太陽神生氣了，我自會用我的船，讓我的手下把牧師的女兒送回去。但是，Achilles，我也要去你的帳前，把你的戰利品Briseis帶回去。

Achilles跳了起來，按耐不住怒火，說，不要臉啊Agamemnon，你整個人就是不要臉。希臘軍隊怎麼會聽你擺布這對我簡直是個謎。每次打仗我們在前線拼死拼活，你在陣後動口不動手。每次打勝戰利品拿最多的就是你！

Agamemnon也跳了起來要拿矛去刺Achilles，Achilles求之不得，拔起長矛就要殺Agamemnon，他是希臘軍隊一等一的大將呢，區區一個動口不動手的國王怎麼會是他的對手。

就在這樣千鈞一髮的時刻，希臘神仙登場了。這裡上場的是希臘人的守護神雅典娜。她從神仙的老巢奧林匹斯山沖下來，一把抓住Achilles的頭髮，讓他動彈不得，然後附耳對他說，冷靜點，不要把事情鬧大了。我向你保證，有一天Agamemnon會用三倍於此的寶貝請求你回去，你現在不要和他計較。

那時候的希臘人都是很聽話的，Achilles說，我聽你的。然後收起長矛。他默默的回去了自己的營帳。

Agamemnon也是一不做二不休，馬上就派人去Achilles的帳前要帶走Briseis。這次Achilles完全沒有掙扎，叫他的好朋友Patroclus把Briseis交給他們。Patroclus很聽話的照做了。

所以Briseis是個很重要的角色，沒有她，Achilles不會退出戰場生悶氣。而Patroclus也是個很重要的角色，因為他後來的死，Achilles才重回沙場，以致戰死。據說Patroclus是Achilles的Lover。是柏拉圖說的。

（未完待續）

Iliad retold 1: The One with the Priest

2007-11-14T16:29:00.000-08:00

希臘人與特洛伊人打仗，起因是特洛伊人Paris從希臘把「一張臉可以發動一千艘船」的美女Helen擄走了。而Helen呢，好死不死，也是斯巴達王子Menelaus的老婆。所以後者就真的發動了一千艘船追去了特洛伊，要把Helen討回來（其實Paris因為受愛芙羅黛蒂神[另外一個愛神]的眷顧，長得一表人才，Helen根本也不是被迫的）。這就是著名的「特洛伊戰爭」。這場戰爭最終打了十年，伊利亞德就是講述雙方僵持到第九年時發生的故事。

先是希臘這邊的大將Achilles（就是腳踝不好的那個），跟國王Agamemnon（就是Menelaus的哥哥）吵架，為了戰利品的事情。事情是這樣的，希臘人勝了一場小仗，就帶了一些戰利品回船上，其中包括一個太陽神牧師的女兒。這個女兒大概很漂亮吧，所以分給了統帥Agamemnon。有一天牧師親自帶著贖金到希臘軍隊大營，想把女兒贖回來。士兵們看到了，就大叫，把女兒還給他吧，我們把贖金留下！你知道，小兵小卒都最愛起鬨。可是Agamemnon很生氣，對他來說，那並不是別人的女兒，是他做為最高統帥應得的戰利品，這是一個象徵，哪裡是一點贖金可以換的。對了，這個叫做金不換。Agamemnon就威脅那個牧師說你再靠近我的船就把你仍進海裡去，之類的。

那個牧師就很傷心的回去了。沒別的辦法只好跟太陽神(Apollo)告狀，太陽神一聽有人膽敢這樣對待他的牧師，就怒了（對了，這本書裡面希臘的人和神都很容易生氣）。太陽神給希臘人降下一波又一波的瘟疫。

（待續）

Amazon.com Wish List

2007-11-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

我在Amazon上的wish list：Books I Want to Own
這個List已經至少三年了，今天又重新整理了一次。原來很多時候買書都不過是一時衝動。現在List上幾乎只剩下最近新加入的書目，三年前想讀，現在仍然想讀的只有一本：蒙田散文集。

November & December to-buy list

2007-11-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

接下來要買的書:

Plato Complete Works
Published by Hackett Publishing Company, 1808 pages

Complete Works of Oscar Wilde
Published by HaperCollins UK, 1216 pages

希羅多德的《歷史》跟修昔底德的《伯羅奔尼撒戰爭》都先緩緩吧，伊利亞德節奏太慢讓我有些吃不消。我現在要改掉這種「這本沒看完就不看下一本」的線性閱讀心態。這個樣子是會毀掉閱讀的樂趣的。

前年拿課的時候買了Allan Bloom翻譯的《理想國》，到現在還沒看完1/3。Bloom的翻譯有時候很難懂，一旦跟不上蘇格拉底的邏輯遊戲，就很難看下去。希望現在已經有些長進。

然後呢，隨著loonie高漲，Chapters的書終於，終於，終於比Amazon便宜了!!

閱讀時間表

2007-11-13T11:41:00.001-08:00

我覺得，我也應該有一個閱讀時間表。至少要清楚的知道，我有多少時間是可以用來閱讀的。上個周末已經把客廳和廚房之間的書桌／餐桌清理出來了，之前上面覆蓋著文件箱、教科書、水果、花瓶、水壺、電池、鋁條、CD等物。所以現在可以舒舒服服的坐在桌前看書了。

沒有閱讀環境是之前繼「沒有時間」之後的第二大阻礙閱讀的因素。在書桌／餐桌清理出來以前，我們都只能在沙發上看書，手邊是熱茶，面前的茶几上是鹵雞爪，電視在播CSI......這種狀況下，要怎麼看得進伊里亞德呢？

暫定日程表如下：

8:00 起床
8:15 看當天的National Post
8:30 出門上班

18:45 下班到家
19:00 - 20:00 晚餐
20:30 - 10:00 閱讀
10:00 - 12:00 隨意
12:00 睡覺

這樣的話每天就會有至少一個半小時的時間閱讀。

Reading schedule for a lawyer-to-be

2007-11-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

Jefferson給他想當律師的侄子去信，告知應該念哪些書，按什麼順序念，每日時間該如何安排：

"I will arrange the books to be read into three columns, and propose that you should read those in the first column till 12 o'clock every day: those in the 2nd from 12 to 2, those in the 3rd after candlelight, leaving all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading: I will rather say more necessary, because health is worth more than learning. "

我很好奇的是，那時候的人都不用上學或上班的嗎？每個人都有城堡可以繼承還是怎樣？前幾天看到這一段之後，奢望著可以在周末試用一下，才發現它完全不具備可行性。

首先，周末起床之後已經12點過後，所以文中第一階段的閱讀就沒有了；吃過午餐，2點以後，第二階段的閱讀時間也過去了。現在是exercise and recreation的時間，看看電視，上上網，然後買菜，整理房間，清理storage room，回收報紙……不知不覺，華燈初上，似乎該進入第三階段的閱讀了。那讓我們來吃個飯先……飯吃到一半發現探索頻道有個紀錄片還不錯看……然後，到了該睡覺的時間了。

一整天連書的影子都沒看到過。

愛迪生當初發明電燈的時候，一定以為，這下人們有更多的時間可以看書了。

Man, that guy was wrong.

"the grand recipe for felicity"

2007-11-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

Thomas Jefferson寫給女兒Martha Jefferson的信：

"...guard you at all times against ennui, the most dangerous poison of life. A mind always employed is always happy. This is the true secret, the grand recipe for felicity. The idle are the only wretched."

Jefferson似乎認為，人的不快樂源於懶惰。而帕斯卡則相信，忙碌只是為了拒絕思考人生無可避免的問題而分散自己的注意力(diversion)。對於帕斯卡來說，這充分證明人的可憐。

"...take away their diversion and you will see them bored to extinction. Then they feel their nullity without recognizing it, for nothing could be more wretched than to be intolerably depressed as soon as one is reduced to introspection with no means of diversion.” - Pensées, Pascal

快樂的豬，還是痛苦的蘇格拉底？會不會，在帕斯卡看來，這位全心投入政治的美國奠基人，也不過是快樂的豬呢?

“...Being unable to cure death, wretchedness and ignorance, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things.”

Original Text: The Grand Recipe for Felicity

Education of a future son-in-law

2007-11-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

原來Thomas Jefferson除了當美國總統和Founding father之外，對Liberal Arts Education也是頗有影響的。在網路上找到一些他不同時期的信件，這是其中一封，寫給他未來女婿的。

全信1600字左右，卻只分了兩段，第一段就有足1000字。Jefferson大部分的信件都是這樣。如果一個段落就代表一個思維單元，那「古人」真是一次可以想好多東西。可見這兩百多年來，現代人A.D.D.的傾向有多嚴重，Attention span已經越來越短。

"The foundations which you have laid in languages and mathematics are proper for every superstructure. The former exercises our memory...The latter gives exercise to our reason..."

怪不得學校最先教的兩門課就是語文和數學。大學拿過兩堂邏輯課，主要都在用數學符號和法則來證明邏輯推斷是否正確，幾乎是純粹數學。以前做過sample IQ test，更是純粹的邏輯。我決定要開始繼續玩Sudoku了。

除了語言和數學以外，接下來Jefferson的建議如下:

"At this moment then a second order of preparation is to commence. I shall propose to you that it be extensive, comprehending Astronomy, Natural Philosophy (or Physics), Natural History, Anatomy, Botany & Chemistry... All these branches of science will be better attained by attending courses of lectures in them."

Liberal Arts Education背後的理念，應該跟孔子所謂的「君子不器」類似吧，並沒有在某個領域最專業的知識，但是在很多領域都有一些知識。亞里斯多德相信，所有知識只是一種。所以那時候的「知識分子」懂得每個領域的知識。正是因為這樣的信念，亞里斯多德的著作涵蓋物理學、形上學、生物學、邏輯學、政治學、倫理學及戲劇等。所以才會有類似帕斯卡這樣的學者，既是哲學家，又是提出「帕斯卡定律」的物理學家，還是數學家。

只是我現在開始懷疑Liberal Arts Education在現代社會的角色。行業越來越專門化，重點是你會做什麼，而不是你知道些什麼。然後隔行如隔山，又是物理學家又是生物學家的情形，幾乎是不可能發生的。所以你在大學學了什麼，基本上這輩子都會做相關的事。這似乎才是社會對你的要求。

我第一次對Liberal Arts Education產生概念是源於教授的一句話。當我還是大一新生，每個禮拜兩次要上IDIS 102 (Interdisciplinary Study)的時候，某一天，教授說，"If you are here in order to get a job, " 一段很長的沉默，懸念如他所願的蔓延，"you are in the wrong place. "

這到現在也是我對Liberal Arts Education的印象: an education that's not likely to land you a job. 可是它對於我還是有無窮的吸引力的，是一種復古的吸引力，nostalgic，就像膠卷相機對我的吸引力一樣。

回到Jefferson的信:

"While you are attending these courses you can proceed by yourself in a regular series of historical reading. It would be a waste of time to attend a professor of this. It is to be acquired from books and if you pursue it by yourself you can accommodate it to your other reading so as to fill up those chasms of time not otherwise appropriated. "

這是我看過最有同感的一段話吧。上文提及自然科學的課目最好是聽講座，無可厚非。但在人文科目上，自學加導師(Mentor)才是最好的教育。公共教育只是在浪費時間。導師制就好像手工生產，量少(一對一)，但品質高，而且每個都獨一無二；公共教育制就好像機械生產，量大，品質還好，重點是每個都一樣。公共教育應該只是用來掃盲，在師資有限的情況下，那當然一個老師能教越多學生越好。可是如果真的要把教育繼續下去，還是自學加導師比較合理。

"History need not be hurried but may give way to the other sciences because history can be pursued after you shall have left your present situation as well as while you remain in it. "

這也是說，對於人文學科來說，學校教育只是起點而已。所以畢業那天，你的學習才剛剛開始。

"When you shall have got thro this second order of preparation the study of the law is to be begun. This like history is to be acquired from books. All the aid you will want will be a catalogue of the books to be read & the order in which they are to be read. "

法律也是可以這樣學的。不知道自學可不可以考律師和法官，我很懷疑。北美有很多Home-schooled學生，大學以前都沒有進過學校。我覺得這是只有在一個完全自由的國家才可能存在的事情。可以想像北韓也有Home-school嗎？第一個反對的就會是政府。如果你不接受公共教育，政府要怎麼將他的意識形態灌輸給你？如果你不接受公共教育，政府要怎麼讓你知道金正日是好人？所以教育絕對是一個國家威力最為強大的宣傳工具，正如蘇格拉底所信：you are shaped by your regime.

*Original text : Education of a future som-in-law

關於閱讀

2007-11-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

有時候會覺得，我對擬定閱讀計畫的熱愛，似乎已經超過閱讀本身。

這是一個關於閱讀，生活，對話，思考的部落格。
這也是一個開放給朋友和陌生讀者瀏覽的部落格。

"We need to know we are not alone. " - C.S. Lewis

Peace vs. War

2007-11-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

A passage from the introduction of Iliad:

The Iliad accepts violence as a permanent factor in human life and accepts it without sentimentality, for it is just as sentimental to pretend that war does not have its monstrous ugliness as it is to deny that it has its own strange and fatal beauty, a power, which can call out in men resources of endurance, courage and self-sacrifice that peacetime, to our sorrow and loss, can rarely command. Three thuosand years have not changed the human condition in this respect; we are still lovers and victims of the will to violence, and so long as we are, Homer will be read as its truest interpreter. - Bernard Knox

It's interesting how we long for peace in a time of war, only to have our senses dulled by it when it finally comes. I start to doubt that I'm a pacifist. Peace is boring. Where should we direct our passion in a time / state of peace? How are we supposed to defend justice in a total peaceful way? Those magnificent characteristics of human being - endurance, courage, and self-sacrifice - emerge themselves in a time of war, not peace.