《瓦尔登湖·第十四章·旧居民、冬天的访客·Former Inhabitants and Winter Visitors》第12节
There was one other with whom I had “solid seasons,” long to be remembered, at his house in the village, and who looked in upon me from time to time; but I had no more for society there. There too, as every where, I sometimes expected the Visitor who never comes. The Vishnu Purana says, “The house-holder is to remain at eventide in his court-yard as long as it takes to milk a cow, or longer if he pleases, to await the arrival of a guest.” I often performed this duty of hospitality, waited long enough to milk a whole herd of cows, but did not see the man approaching from the town.
注释摘要
梭罗将这一段安放在整章的最末尾，它其实既是收束，也是最深的一处留白。他先提到“另一个人”，说与此人有过“solid seasons”——也就是踏实、有分量的时光——这些交往发生在镇上那人的家中，那人偶尔也到林中看他。这类表达在梭罗笔下极少见，他通常不愿把人情说得太浓。但紧跟着他就转折：在湖畔的木屋里，他再也没有什么社交可言了。这不只是说冬天访客稀少，而是在…