名人與貓咪的逸聞軼事

Michel de Montaigne （1533～1592）

Being one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance1）， Montaigne is the first major skeptic of the modern age. He had been employing skepticism as an antidote2） to dogmatism3）. By saying \"when I play with my cat， who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her\"， the philosopher extended his skepticism even to cats.

Sir Isaac Newton （1643～1727）

Sir Isaac Newton， famous for his laws of motion and gravity， was a confirmed cat lover who was deeply concerned about the welfare of his feline4） friends. He invented the cat flap5）， so his research would go uninterrupted， and his cats should not feel restricted and be at liberty to wander freely in and out when the doors were closed.

Sir Walter Scott （1771～1832）

As author of Rob Roy and Ivanhoe， Sir Walter Scott was also an editor， critic and deputy sheriff6） of Selkirk in 1799. Absorbed in folklore and the supernatural， Scott was devoted to cats， and a portrait of him by John Watson Gordon7） shows the author at work at his desk with his tabby8）， Hinx， lying close by. On the subject that fascinated him most， Scott wrote： \"Cats are a mysterious kind of folk. There is more passing in their minds than we are aware of.\"

Mark Twain （1835～1910）

Mark Twain， one of America's greatest writers， had a passion for cats that can be found throughout his works and in documents about his life. Cat lovers are likely to be impressed by his wit and brilliance by his classic quote in 1894， \"If a man could be crossed with a cat， it would improve the man but deteriorate9） the cat.\"

Henry III （1551～1589）

The King of France must always appear to be bold and fearless， and Henry did his best to keep his image intact. But he had an Achilles heel10）： if a cat happened to wander into his presence， the king would faint dead away.

The same streak11） of ailurophobia12） affected the personalities of Napoleon Bonaparte， Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler.

Difficult as it is to believe， not everyone loves cats. Genghis Khan was a famous cat-hater and so were Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. It may be that men with dreams to dominate the world can't get used to the idea that cats won't submit to them.

米歇爾·德·蒙田（1533～1592）

蒙田是法國文藝復興時期最重要的哲學家之一，也是現代首位重要的懷疑論者。他一直用懷疑論作為對抗教條主義的一劑良藥。他曾說：“當我逗弄我的貓時，誰知道是不是它在逗我取樂而非我在逗它呢。”借此，這位哲學家將他的懷疑論甚至擴展到了貓咪身上。

艾薩克·牛頓爵士（1643～1727）

憑借運動定律和萬有引力定律聞名于世的艾薩克·牛頓爵士是一位堅定的愛貓人士，他非常關心自己那些貓咪朋友的幸福。因此，他發明了貓洞，這樣在門關上時他的研究就不會被打斷，而貓咪們應該也不會感到拘束，可以毫無束縛地自由出入了。

沃爾特·司各特爵士（1771～1832）

沃爾特·司各特爵士是《羅布·羅伊》和《艾凡赫》的作者，也是編輯、批評家，1799年還擔任過塞爾扣克郡的代理法官。沉迷于民間傳說和超自然現象的司各特也非常喜歡貓。約翰·沃森·戈登為其畫的一幅畫像就展現了他的斑貓欣克斯臥在一旁伴著他伏案工作的場景。貓是讓司各特最為著迷的主題，他曾這樣寫道：“貓是一個神秘的物種，它們頭腦中想的要比我們意識到的更多。”

馬克·吐溫（1835～1910）

馬克·吐溫是美國最偉大的作家之一，他對貓咪的那份熱愛在其著作和有關他一生的文獻中都有跡可循。他在1894年說過一句經典的話：“如果人類可以和貓咪結合，那將會令人類得到提升，而令貓咪退化。”馬克·吐溫在這句話中所展現的機智和才華可能會讓愛貓人士印象深刻。

亨利三世（1551～1589）

法國國王必須時常以勇敢無畏的形象示人，而亨利也極盡最大努力來保持自己的形象完好無損。不過，他有一個致命的弱點：如果一只貓恰好溜達到他的面前，這位國王就會昏死過去。

拿破侖·波拿巴、貝尼托·墨索里尼和阿道夫·希特勒也都生性有點怕貓。

雖然這點令人難以置信，但并不是每個人都喜愛貓咪。成吉思汗就是有名的厭貓人士，亞歷山大大帝和尤利烏斯·凱撒也是。這也許是因為夢想著統治世界的他們無法接受貓咪不順從自己吧。