《瓦尔登湖·第十六章·冬天的湖·The Pond in Winter》第11节
While yet it is cold January, and snow and ice are thick and solid, the prudent landlord comes from the village to get ice to cool his summer drink; impressively, even pathetically wise, to foresee the heat and thirst of July now in January,—wearing a thick coat and mittens! when so many things are not provided for. It may be that he lays up no treasures in this world which will cool his summer drink in the next. He cuts and saws the solid pond, unroofs the house of fishes, and carts off their very element and air, held fast by chains and stakes like corded wood, through the favoring winter air, to wintry cellars, to underlie the summer there. It looks like solidified azure, as, far off, it is drawn through the streets. These ice-cutters are a merry race, full of jest and sport, and when I went among them they were wont to invite me to saw pit-fashion with them, I standing underneath.
注释摘要
这一段表面上写的是冬日采冰这桩寻常的体力劳动，梭罗却从中展开了一组关于远虑、积累与自然商品化的反讽。那个穿着厚大衣、戴着手套、在一月就为七月干渴而奔忙的“审慎的庄园主”（prudent landlord），被梭罗形容为“令人印象深刻地、甚至可悲地明智”。这话不是夸奖，而是对人的盘算范围与盘算终点的双重怀疑：一个人可以为夏日饮料储存冰块，却未必“为下一世界储…