Autumnal Tints秋色

亨利·戴维·梭罗 宁一中

【導读】亨利·戴维·梭罗，美国著名作家，受爱默生影响很大。为了寻找“生活的要义”，自1845年开始，在美国的瓦尔登湖边自造了一个小房子，隐居其中，与自然山水、花鸟虫鱼为伴;在那里，他“常常步行八至十英里，穿过积雪，去与桦树或者松树中的老相识见面”;由此经历而写成的《瓦尔登湖》成了英语文学的名作。

时令一到十月，便进入了“金秋”。秋色迷人，令人沉醉。秋高气爽，云淡风轻;万木霜天，层林尽染;瓜果飘香，秋实丰盈。这一切都大可浓墨重彩地描写。然而，梭罗却只着墨于秋叶。因为叶至秋天，由浅变深，最能表现秋天的斑斓绚丽。梭罗认为，“花为增色的叶，果为成熟的叶”，都是叶的一部分。叶的美，令作者不禁想到要尽多采集，永久保存。兴之所至，便可拿出欣赏，一如漫步在秋日的旷野森林。作者观察之细致、笔触之细腻，让“十月/秋色”成了秋色之绝唱。

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.

旅美的欧洲人往往会对美国秋叶之绚丽惊讶不已。英国诗歌里对秋景鲜有如此叙述，盖因英国的树木少有如此鲜丽的色彩。关于这个话题，汤普森《秋》诗里顶多也就下面几行描写：

层林尽染色欲褪，

树荫更向树荫浓。

极目暮色苍茫处，

翠叠色杂玄影重。

借问景色何处是，

地处边陲荫布隆。

还有一行是这么说的：

秋色熠熠映黄林。

我国树林在秋天的变化尚未在我们的文学中留下深痕，诗歌中几乎没有染上过十月的色彩。

很多人在城市里度过一生，也一直没有机会在秋季来到乡下，因此他们从未见过一年中此時的花朵，更准确地说是此时成熟的果实。我记得曾经与这样一个人信马观光，尽管最为灿烂的时候已经过去两个星期，但他仍对此美景大为吃惊，更不相信竟然还会有更为姹紫嫣红的时候。这样的美景他以前连听都没听说过。不仅很多城里人未曾亲眼目睹如此美景，年复一年，大多数见过的也未必能记住。

大多数人分不清变了色的叶子和枯萎了的叶子，就如他们同样分不清熟苹果和烂苹果一样。我认为叶子颜色变深只是证明它到达了生命后期完全成熟的阶段，就像果实的成熟一样。一般来说，处于最低处最老的叶子首先起变化。正如昆虫翅膀长齐了，颜色变鲜艳了，生命也就不会长了一样，叶子成熟之后也就凋落有日了。

一般来说，每种果实在其成熟而未坠落之时便开始以一种更独立而个性化的方式存在，无论哪方面的养料都需要得少了，而且养料与其说通过枝干取自土壤，不如说来自阳光和空气——这时的果实颜色鲜亮。叶子的情形也是如此。

生理学家会说，这是“由于多吸收了氧气”。这只是对此事的科学解释，仅仅是对事实的重申。但我对美人的花容月貌更感兴趣，而不在意是什么特殊食物让她变得这样。大地表面的花草树木，必定会色彩绚烂，以证明自己的成熟，大地本身也仿佛是其茎干上的一颗果实，脸庞永远迎着太阳。

花为增色的叶，果为成熟的叶。诚如生理学家所说，绝大多数果实的可食部分是“叶子的软组织，或叫果肉”，果实由叶子形成。

我们的食欲总是将我们关于成熟及其现象、颜色、醇厚和完美的看法局限于所吃的果实，却往往忘了还有大量既不食也不用的丰收之物，每年由大自然推向成熟。在每年一次的牛展和园艺展上，我们自以为是为佳果做盛大展示，然而结果却注定令人不齿，评判那些果实主要不看其美丑。好在我们城镇周围和镇内每年都有另一次果展，规模大得多，仅以我们对美的品味來评判果实的好坏。

十月是叶子着色的季节，其绚丽的光泽在整个世界闪烁。诚如果熟落地、叶老凋零及长日将尽前都有一段色彩艳丽的时候一样，一年将尽之时，也会琳琅满目。十月是一年的落霞满天，十一月则是暮色黄昏。

我曾以为，从每株正在变化的乔木、灌木或草本植物上采下一片叶子做标本，是大有必要之举——采集当在其颜色最为鲜艳、最具特征且由绿转褐之时，然后描其轮廓，将其颜色分毫不差地复绘在一本画册中，题为“十月/秋色”——就从最早变红的忍冬属植物和成片的根茎叶开始，一直到枫叶、山核桃叶和漆树，以及很多鲜为人知、有着漂亮斑点的树叶，再到最后才变色的橡树和山杨树叶子。将它们一一收入画册，那该是怎样一本了不起的万叶集萃纪念册啊！

高兴时，你只需翻开片片书页，便随时可在秋日的林中漫步。若能设法让叶子永不褪色，更是好上加好。可惜这本叶谱至今无甚进展，不过我已努力以叶子变红的时间为序，来描述所有的灿烂色彩。      □