Autumnal Tints秋色

亨利·戴維·梭羅 寧一中

【導讀】亨利·戴維·梭羅，美國著名作家，受愛默生影響很大。為了尋找“生活的要義”，自1845年開始，在美國的瓦爾登湖邊自造了一個小房子，隱居其中，與自然山水、花鳥蟲魚為伴;在那里，他“常常步行八至十英里，穿過積雪，去與樺樹或者松樹中的老相識見面”;由此經歷而寫成的《瓦爾登湖》成了英語文學的名作。

時令一到十月，便進入了“金秋”。秋色迷人，令人沉醉。秋高氣爽，云淡風輕;萬木霜天，層林盡染;瓜果飄香，秋實豐盈。這一切都大可濃墨重彩地描寫。然而，梭羅卻只著墨于秋葉。因為葉至秋天，由淺變深，最能表現秋天的斑斕絢麗。梭羅認為，“花為增色的葉，果為成熟的葉”，都是葉的一部分。葉的美，令作者不禁想到要盡多采集，永久保存。興之所至，便可拿出欣賞，一如漫步在秋日的曠野森林。作者觀察之細致、筆觸之細膩，讓“十月/秋色”成了秋色之絕唱。

Europeans coming to America are surprised by the brilliancy of our autumnal foliage. There is no account of such a phenomenon in English poetry， because the trees acquire but few bright colors there. The most that Thompson says on this subject in his “Autumn” is contained in the lines—

The autumnal change of our woods has not made a deep impression on our own literature yet. October has hardly tinged our poetry.

A great many， who have spent their lives in cities， and have never chanced to come into the country at this season， have never seen this the flower， or rather ripe fruit， of the year. I remember riding with one such citizen， who， though a fortnight too late for the most brilliant tints， was taken by surprise， and would not believe that there had been any brighter. He had never heard of this phenomenon before. Not only many in our towns have never witnessed it， but it is scarcely remembered by the majority from year to year.

Most appear to confound changed leaves with withered ones， as if they were to confound ripe apples with rotten ones. I think that the change to some higher color in a leaf is an evidence that it has arrived at a late and perfect maturity， answering to the maturity of fruits. It is generally the lowest and oldest leaves which change first. But as the perfect winged and usually bright-colored insect is short-lived， so the leaves ripen but to fall.

Generally， every fruit， on ripening， and just before it falls， when it commences a more independent and individual existence， requiring less nourishment from any source， and that not so much from the earth through its stem as from the sun and air， acquires a bright tint. So do leaves.

The physiologist says it is “due to an increased absorption of oxygen.” That is the scientific account of the matter， —only a reassertion of the fact. But I am more interested in the rosy cheek than I am to know what particular diet the maiden fed on. The very forest and herbage， the pellicle of the earth， must acquire a bright color， an evidence of its ripeness， —as if the globe itself were a fruit on its stem， with ever a cheek toward the sun.

Flowers are but colored leaves， fruits but ripe ones. The edible part of most fruits is， as the physiologist says， “the parenchyma or fleshy tissue of the leaf” of which they are formed.

Our appetites have commonly confined our views of ripeness and its phenomena， color， mellowness， and perfectness， to the fruits which we eat， and we are wont to forget that an immense harvest which we do not eat， hardly use at all， is annually ripened by Nature. At our annual Cattle Shows and Horticultural Exhibitions， we make， as we think， a great show of fair fruits， destined， however， to a rather ignoble end， fruits not valued for their beauty chiefly. But round about and within our towns there is annually another show of fruits， on an infinitely grander scale， fruits which address our taste for beauty alone.

October is the month of painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a bright tint， just before they fall， so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky; November the later twilight.

I formerly thought that it would be worth the while to get a specimen leaf from each changing tree， shrub and herbaceous plant， when it had acquired its brightest characteristic color， in its transition from the green to the brown state， outline it and copy its color exactly with paint in a book， which should be entitled， “October， or Autumnal Tints”; —beginning with the earliest reddening—woodbine and the lake of radical leaves， and coming down through the maples， hickories and sumacs， and many beautifully freckled leaves less generally known， to the latest oaks and aspens. What a memento such a book would be！

You would need only to turn over its leaves to take a ramble through the Autumn woods whenever you pleased. Or if I could preserve the leaves themselves unfaded， it would be better still. I have made but little progress toward such a book， but I have endeavored instead to describe all these bright tints in the order in which they present themselves.

旅美的歐洲人往往會對美國秋葉之絢麗驚訝不已。英國詩歌里對秋景鮮有如此敘述，蓋因英國的樹木少有如此鮮麗的色彩。關于這個話題，湯普森《秋》詩里頂多也就下面幾行描寫：

層林盡染色欲褪，

樹蔭更向樹蔭濃。

極目暮色蒼茫處，

翠疊色雜玄影重。

借問景色何處是，

地處邊陲蔭布隆。

還有一行是這么說的：

秋色熠熠映黃林。

我國樹林在秋天的變化尚未在我們的文學中留下深痕，詩歌中幾乎沒有染上過十月的色彩。

很多人在城市里度過一生，也一直沒有機會在秋季來到鄉下，因此他們從未見過一年中此時的花朵，更準確地說是此時成熟的果實。我記得曾經與這樣一個人信馬觀光，盡管最為燦爛的時候已經過去兩個星期，但他仍對此美景大為吃驚，更不相信竟然還會有更為姹紫嫣紅的時候。這樣的美景他以前連聽都沒聽說過。不僅很多城里人未曾親眼目睹如此美景，年復一年，大多數見過的也未必能記住。

大多數人分不清變了色的葉子和枯萎了的葉子，就如他們同樣分不清熟蘋果和爛蘋果一樣。我認為葉子顏色變深只是證明它到達了生命后期完全成熟的階段，就像果實的成熟一樣。一般來說，處于最低處最老的葉子首先起變化。正如昆蟲翅膀長齊了，顏色變鮮艷了，生命也就不會長了一樣，葉子成熟之后也就凋落有日了。

一般來說，每種果實在其成熟而未墜落之時便開始以一種更獨立而個性化的方式存在，無論哪方面的養料都需要得少了，而且養料與其說通過枝干取自土壤，不如說來自陽光和空氣——這時的果實顏色鮮亮。葉子的情形也是如此。

生理學家會說，這是“由于多吸收了氧氣”。這只是對此事的科學解釋，僅僅是對事實的重申。但我對美人的花容月貌更感興趣，而不在意是什么特殊食物讓她變得這樣。大地表面的花草樹木，必定會色彩絢爛，以證明自己的成熟，大地本身也仿佛是其莖干上的一顆果實，臉龐永遠迎著太陽。

花為增色的葉，果為成熟的葉。誠如生理學家所說，絕大多數果實的可食部分是“葉子的軟組織，或叫果肉”，果實由葉子形成。

我們的食欲總是將我們關于成熟及其現象、顏色、醇厚和完美的看法局限于所吃的果實，卻往往忘了還有大量既不食也不用的豐收之物，每年由大自然推向成熟。在每年一次的牛展和園藝展上，我們自以為是為佳果做盛大展示，然而結果卻注定令人不齒，評判那些果實主要不看其美丑。好在我們城鎮周圍和鎮內每年都有另一次果展，規模大得多，僅以我們對美的品味來評判果實的好壞。

十月是葉子著色的季節，其絢麗的光澤在整個世界閃爍。誠如果熟落地、葉老凋零及長日將盡前都有一段色彩艷麗的時候一樣，一年將盡之時，也會琳瑯滿目。十月是一年的落霞滿天，十一月則是暮色黃昏。

我曾以為，從每株正在變化的喬木、灌木或草本植物上采下一片葉子做標本，是大有必要之舉——采集當在其顏色最為鮮艷、最具特征且由綠轉褐之時，然后描其輪廓，將其顏色分毫不差地復繪在一本畫冊中，題為“十月/秋色”——就從最早變紅的忍冬屬植物和成片的根莖葉開始，一直到楓葉、山核桃葉和漆樹，以及很多鮮為人知、有著漂亮斑點的樹葉，再到最后才變色的橡樹和山楊樹葉子。將它們一一收入畫冊，那該是怎樣一本了不起的萬葉集萃紀念冊啊！

高興時，你只需翻開片片書頁，便隨時可在秋日的林中漫步。若能設法讓葉子永不褪色，更是好上加好。可惜這本葉譜至今無甚進展，不過我已努力以葉子變紅的時間為序，來描述所有的燦爛色彩。? ? ? □