《少年维特的烦恼·第二部·1771 年 10 月至 1772 年 12 月》第16节
JUNE 11. Say what you will, I can remain here no longer. Why should I remain? Time hangs heavy upon my hands. The prince is as gracious to me as any one could be, and yet I am not at my ease. There is, indeed, nothing in common between us. He is a man of understanding, but quite of the ordinary kind. His conversation affords me no more amusement than I should derive from the perusal of a well-written book. I shall remain here a week longer, and then start again on my travels. My drawings are the best things I have done since I came here. The prince has a taste for the arts, and would improve if his mind were not fettered by cold rules and mere technical ideas. I often lose patience, when, with a glowing imagination, I am giving expression to art and nature, he interferes with learned suggestions, and uses at random the technical phraseology of artists.
注释摘要
在这封六月十一日的信里，维特做了一个干脆的决断：他不能再待下去了。亲王待他无可挑剔，礼遇周全，换作旁人也许会心满意足地留下来。但维特感到的是难以忍受的厌倦——他把亲王的谈话比作一本“写得好的书”，这个比喻用得极为锋利。一本写得好的书当然是有益的、体面的，甚至值得赞赏，但一个人不会与书建立起活生生的心灵交流。要命的就是这个：亲王是“有理解力的人，但完全是那种…