钱钟书的私人书信.doc

第一封信是钱钟书1938年留学巴黎时写给外国友人司徒亚的，后者是他在牛津大学的同院同学。 第二封信则是钱钟书先生写给自己的好朋友林书武的三封信当中的第二封。 My Dear Stuart, 亲爱的司徒亚： We are overjoyed at your generously long letter(1). We have been rather worried about you since your reticent Xmas card from Spain. We thought that your indignation(2)at the Fascist terrors might have made you join the Spanish Republican army on leaving Oxford. In that case, the world would certainly gain a hero, but we might (O horrible thought!) lose a friend. You can imagine our relief to hear from you again. 收到你这封慷慨的长信，我们真是喜出望外。上次你从西班牙寄来的圣诞贺卡语焉未详，害得我们心里一直忐忑不安。我们以为，由于你对法西斯的恐怖行径出离愤怒，或许会在牛津毕业后投入到西班牙共和军的队伍中。那样的话，世界会多一位英雄，而我们或许会（啊，多可怕的想法！）失去一位朋友。我们收到你的信时的宽慰你可想而知了。 We are very, very sorry indeed to hear about your viva. We do hope that it will not be prejudicial to your chances of getting a job. As your favorite Walter Raleigh used to say, Oxford final schools and the Last Judgement are two examinations, not one. You are quite right to take the whole thing lightly(3). 关于你大学口语入学口试的事，我们感到十分遗憾。真希望它不会影响你找工作。正如你的Walter Raleigh曾说的，牛津的毕业考试不等于末日审判，它们是两种考试。你不把这事放在心上是对的。 We shall be here for another four or five months yet(4). My scholarship expires this August, and we shall sail home in September. Not that we have homes to return to(5)! Our houses, spared by the shell-fire, have been looted and gutted of all their valuable contents. Our respective families have taken refuge in mountains honeycombed with bandits. My wife lost her mother, and I myself have no prospect whatsoever of getting decent jobs in China. Still, ones lot is with ones own people(6); I dont mind roughing it a bit. The revolution of the Fortunes wheel might bring us up(6), and, as Goethe was fond of saying, abwarten Sie. You see, I spare my own patriotic heroics. 我们在这还要待四五个月。我的奖学金在八月到期，九月份我们将坐船回家。可不是因为我们有家可归！我们的房子虽免于战火，但值钱的家当被洗劫一空。我们俩各自的家庭也都在满是土匪的山上寻求避难之处。我的妻子失去了她的母亲，我对自己在中国找到体面的工作也不抱任何希望。但个人的命运是和民族的命运连在一起的。我并不介意生活得艰苦一些。会时来运转的，像歌德常说的abwarten Sie(德语，等待吧)。你看，我就不说那些爱国主义豪言壮语了。 Yes, my clair