这本小说是我读的Oscar Wilde写的第一本书,也是他的唯一一本长篇小说。作者是19世纪英国最伟大的作家之一,曾因同性恋被判两年苦役,下面这个就是他因之入狱的同性恋人:
这位才华横溢的作家(剧作《莎乐美》是法语写成的)因为牢狱之灾后一蹶不振,只活了46岁。他留下了大量的剧作、童话、散文、诗作,我感兴趣的是他狱中所写的书:《瑞丁监狱之歌》和《自深深处》,因为经历磨难的人对人生的感受可能更为深刻,可惜前面那本买不到。
这篇小说讲的是19世纪的上流社会里一个高富帅美男子的故事,通过他的画像和他的生活经历和结局,揭示了艺术不朽、灵魂永生的主题。王尔德是英国唯美主义的发起人,因此本书故事情节的安排极其戏剧化(王尔德写了一些剧作品),不少章节结束时让人欲罢不能,悬念丛生(这本书我花了一天半看完了),故事走向出人意料,结尾处嘎然而止,让人回味无穷。这个精彩绝伦的故事后来被多次翻拍成电影。
王尔德的语言也是非常赞的,属于英语中的阳春白雪,推荐阅读原版,很多思想通过书中的Lord Henry之口说出来,虽然大部分玩世不恭,提倡及时行乐的思想,但有一些还是值得深思和借鉴的。王尔德的智慧名句还有很多,在其他作品中多有提及,网上有人搜集整理出来,冠名“秒杀所有段子手”。
推荐所有画画的朋友都看看这书。
Puntuality is the thief of time.
准时是时间的盗贼。
Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious; both are disapponited.
男人结婚是因为疲惫,女人是因为好奇,结果双方都会失望。
It is always women who propose to us, and not we who propose to the women.
总是女人向我们求婚,而并非我们向女人求婚。
Women represent the triumph of amtter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals.
女人代表物质对精神的胜利,就像男人代表精神对道德的胜利 一样。
When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving oneself, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.
但一个人陷入爱情时,总是以欺骗自己开始,又以欺骗别人结束。这便是世人所谓的浪漫。
Women inspire us with the desire to do masterpieces, and always prevent us from carrying them out.
女人激发了我们去完成杰作的欲望,但又总是阻止我们付诸行动。
The only way a woman can ever reform a man is by boring him so completely that he loses all possible interest in life.
女人能够改造男人的唯一方法就是让他彻底感到厌倦,对生活丧失任何兴趣。
Those who are faithful know only the trivial side of love: it is the faithless who know love’s tragedies.
那些忠实守信的人仅了解爱的微小一面,而背信弃义的人才明白爱的悲剧之处。
The only difference between a caprice and a lifelong passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer.
朝三暮四与永生的激情的不同之处在于,朝三暮四会持久一点。
The reason we all like to think so well of others is that we are all afraid for ourselves. The basis of optimism is sheer terror.
我们所有人将别人想得非常好的原因在于,我们都在为自己担心。乐观主义的基础绝对是恐怖。
One can always be kind to people about whom one cares nothing.
人总能好好对待那些自己并不在意的人。
The aim of life is self-development. To realize one’s nature perfectly – that is what each of us is here for.
生命的目标是自我发展。完美地实现一个人的本性是我们每个人生下来的天职。
There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
世界上只有一件事比被人谈论更糟糕,那就是根本不被谈论。
The commonest thing is delightful if one only hides it.
遮遮掩掩让最平凡的事也变得神秘。
Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.
每一件赏心悦目的东西背后,都存在着一些悲剧性的东西。
I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.
我根据好看的相貌选择朋友,依据随和的性格选择熟人,凭借高超的才智选择敌人。一个人在选择他的敌人时怎么仔细都不过分。
There is no doubt that genius lasts longer than beauty.
毋庸置疑,天赋比美貌更持久。
To test reality we must see it on the tight-rope. When the Verities become acrobats we can judge them.
要检验事实就必须把它们放在钢丝绳上。当真相开始像杂技演员一般走钢丝时我们就可以判断它们了。
The real tragedy of the poor is that they can afford nothing but self-denial. Beautiful sins, like beautiful things, are the privilege of the rich.
穷人的真正悲剧就是他们无法负担任何东西,除了自我牺牲(穷人最好不要犯错误)。美丽的罪孽,就仿佛美丽的东西一样,是富人的特权。
When we blame ourselves we feel no one else has a right to blame us. It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.
我们责备了自己,就以为别人没有权利再责备我们了。忏悔者得到赦免,而不是来自牧师。
Emotions: I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.
我想要利用情绪,享受情绪,掌控情绪。
We are all in the gutter,but some of us are looking at the stars.
我们都在阴沟里,但仍有人仰望星空。