《瓦尔登湖·第十五章·冬天的禽兽·Winter Animals》第3节
Sometimes I heard the foxes as they ranged over the snow crust, in moonlight nights, in search of a partridge or other game, barking raggedly and demoniacally like forest dogs, as if laboring with some anxiety, or seeking expression, struggling for light and to be dogs outright and run freely in the streets; for if we take the ages into our account, may there not be a civilization going on among brutes as well as men? They seemed to me to be rudimental, burrowing men, still standing on their defence, awaiting their transformation. Sometimes one came near to my window, attracted by my light, barked a vulpine curse at me, and then retreated.
注释摘要
梭罗在这一段里做了一件事不寻常的事：他不只是描写狐狸的叫声，而是把狐狸放进一套进化与文明化的叙事里去。狐狸在月光下踏着雪壳巡行，叫声被他形容成“粗糙而近乎魔鬼般的”，又像林中的狗在吠。这个“像狗”的比方是关键——它一下子把野生狐狸和人类家门口的驯化动物连在一条看不见的线上。梭罗接着做了一个跳跃：如果我们将漫长的时间尺度考虑进来，兽类之中是否也存在一种文明进…