研究瓦尔登湖的超验主义论文综述

What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.Self-emancipation even in the West Indian provinces of the fancy and imagination, -- whatWilberforce is there to bring that about? Think, also, of the ladies of the land weaving toiletcushions against the last day, not to betray too green an interest in their fates! As if you couldkill time without injuring eternity.The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmeddesperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to consoleyourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair isconcealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is noplay in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperatethings.When we consider what, to use the words of the catechism, is the chief end of man, and whatare the true necessaries and means of life, it appears as if men had deliberately chosen thecommon mode of living because they preferred it to any other. Yet they honestly think there isno choice left. But alert and healthy natures remember that the sun rose clear. It is never toolate to give up our prejudices. No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trustedwithout proof. What every body echoes or in silence passes by as true to-day may turn out tobe falsehood to-morrow, mere smoke of opinion, which some had trusted for a cloud that wouldsprinkle fertilizing rain on their fields. What old people say you cannot do you try and find thatyou can. Old deeds for old people, and new deeds for new. Old people did not know enoughonce, perchance, to fetch fresh fuel to keep the fire a-going; new people put a little dry woodunder a pot, and are whirled round the globe with the speed of birds, in a way to kill old people,as the phrase is. Age is no better, hardly so well, qualified for an instructor as youth, for it hasnot profited so much as it has lost. One may almost doubt if the wisest man has learned anything of absolute value by living. Practically, the old have no very important advice to give theyoung, their own experience has been so partial, and their lives have been such miserablefailures, for private reasons, as they must believe; and it may-330-be that they have some faith left which belies that experience, and they are only less youngthan they were. I have lived some thirty years on this planet, and I have yet to hear the firstsyllable of valuable or even earnest advice from my seniors. They have told me nothing, andprobably cannot tell me any thing, to the purpose. Here is life, an experiment to a great extentuntried by me; but it does not avail me that they have tried it. If I have any experience which Ithink valuable, I am sure to reflect that this my Mentors said nothing about.One farmer says to me, "You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing tomake bones with;" and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying his system withthe raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, withvegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plough along in spite of every obstacle.Some things are really necessaries of life in some circles, the most helpless and diseased,which in others are luxuries merely, and in others still are entirely unknown.The whole ground of human life seems to some to have been gone over by theirpredecessors, both the heights and the valleys, and all things to have been cared for.According to Evelyn, "the wise Solomon prescribed ordinances for the very distances of trees;and the Roman praetors have decided how often you may go into your neighbor's land togather the acorns which fall on it without trespass, and what share belongs to that neighbor."Hippocrates has even left directions how we should cut our nails; that is, even with the ends ofthe fingers, neither shorter nor longer. Undoubtedly the very tedium and ennui which presumeto have exhausted the variety and the joys of life are as old as Adam. But man's capacitieshave never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedents, so littlehas been tried. Whatever have been thy failures hitherto, "be not afflicted, my child, for whoshall assign to thee what thou hast left undone?"We might try our lives by a thousand simple tests; as, for instance, that the same sun whichripens my beans illumines at once a system of earths like ours. If I had remembered this itwould have prevented some mistakes. This was not the-331-light in which I hoed them. The stars are the apexes of what wonderful triangles! What distantand different beings in the various mansions of the universe are contemplating the same one atthe same moment! Nature and human life are as various as our several constitutions. Who shallsay what prospect life offers to another? Could a greater miracle take place than for us to lookthrough each other's eyes for an instant? We should live in all the ages of the world in an hour;ay, in all the worlds of the ages. History, Poetry, Mythology! -- I know of no reading of another'sexperience so startling and informing as this would be.The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repentof any thing, it is very likely to be my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behavedso well? You may say the wisest thing you can old man, -- you who have lived seventy years,not without honor of a kind, -- I hear an irresistible voice which invites me away from all that.One generation abandons the enterprises of another like stranded vessels.I think that we may safely trust a good deal more than we do. We may waive just so muchcare of ourselves as we honestly bestow elsewhere. Nature is as well adapted to our weaknessas to our strength. The incessant anxiety and strain of some is a well nigh incurable form ofdisease. We are made to exaggerate the importance of what work we do; and yet how much isnot done by us! or, what if we had been taken sick? How vigilant we are! determined not to liveby faith if we can avoid it; all the day long on the alert, at night we unwillingly say our prayersand commit ourselves to uncertainties. So thoroughly and sincerely are we compelled to live,reverencing our life, and denying the possibility of change. This is the only way, we say; butthere are as many ways as there can be drawn radii from one centre. All change is a miracle tocontemplate; but it is a miracle which is taking place every instant. Confucius said, "To knowthat we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is trueknowledge." When one man has reduced a fact of the imagination to be a fact to hisunderstanding, I foresee that all men will at length establish their lives on that basis.

《瓦尔登湖》是美国作家梭罗独居瓦尔登湖畔的记录，描绘了他两年多时间里的所见、所闻和所思。人文感情：崇尚简朴生活，热爱大自然的风光。

《瓦尔登湖》是美国作家亨利·戴维·梭罗创作的散文集。亨利·戴维·梭罗（1817-1862），美国作家、思想家、自然主义者，19世纪超验主义运动的重要代表人物。

《瓦尔登湖》共由18篇散文组成，在四季循环更替的过程中，详细记录了梭罗内心的渴望、冲突、失望和自我调整，以及调整过后再次渴望的复杂的心路历程，几经循环，直到最终实现为止。

表明了作者用它来挑战他个人的、甚至是整个人类的界限。但这种挑战不是对实现自我价值的无限希望，而是伤后复原的无限力量。

19世纪上半叶的美国正处于由农业时代向工业时代转型的初始阶段。伴随着资本主义社会工业化的脚步，美国经济迅猛发展，社会不断进步，蓬勃发展的工业和商业造成了社会大众当时普遍流行的拜金主义思想和享乐主义思想占绝对主导地位。

人们疯狂、贪婪、过度的拉取、霸占有限的自然资源，开垦荒地的同时，大面积的森林也随之消失，大机器的轰鸣声随处可闻，而鸟儿的歌声却很难寻觅。人们无限制的向大自然索取，最后也遭到了大自然的严厉惩罚。

导致森林覆盖率急逸下降，水土流失日益严重，生物的多样性不断减少等等一系列的环境问题，使得整个自然生态受到了前所未有的破坏与污染，而且人类自身的生存环境也变得岌岌可危。

从1845年7月到1847年9月，梭罗独自生活在瓦尔登湖边，差不多正好两年零两个月。瓦尔登湖不仅为梭罗提供了一个栖身之所，也为他提供了一种独特的精神氛围，之后他推出了自己的作品《瓦尔登湖》。

参考资料来源：百度百科——瓦尔登湖

1845年7月4日，梭罗毅然离开了喧嚣的城市，搬进了离波士顿不远的马萨诸塞州东部的康科德城的一个小湖——瓦尔登湖湖畔一座他亲手盖起来的小木屋。小木屋里只有几件简单的家具。这并不是一种消极遁世的隐士生活，而是在这里进行简化生活、回归自然的实验。

梭罗在瓦尔登湖畔生活了两年半的时间后，重新回到了城市。此后他花了几年的时间整理那些笔记。1854年，《瓦尔登湖》问世。梭罗生前的名气不是很大，但其后声誉与日俱增，被誉为“美国环境运动的思想先驱”。而瓦尔登湖这个平凡的林中小湖，也越来越显示出它的魅力，慕名而来的朝拜者络绎不绝。近年，美国又开始了新一轮评读梭罗的热潮。本书的中文译本颇多，我们推荐的是林志豪的译本。

《瓦尔登湖》是梭罗人生哲学和文学才华的集中体现，情理并茂，引人入胜。书中详尽地记录了梭罗独自一人在瓦尔登湖畔一片再生林中自食其力，与鸟兽为邻，和大自然为伍，以一种原始简朴但又诗意盎然的生活方式度过两年零两个月，他在那里种豆、捕鱼、打猎、劈柴、读书，也在那里观察、体验、沉思，并把他的所作所为和所思所感写成笔记，从中研究分析大自然所给予他的启示。其中，对工业文明的反省常常令人拍案叫绝。该书完整地发挥了他的回归自然、简朴主义、抗拒奢靡等一整套的生活主张和道德原则。

瓦尔登湖风光本书是梭罗细致观察、发现和感知的结晶。梭罗反对通过人为活动改变大自然的物性，整个《瓦尔登湖》记录着自我在微观宇宙历程中的经历。本书以春天开始，历经了夏天、秋天和冬天，又以春天结束——这正是一个生命的轮回，终点又是起点，生命开始复苏。全书思想清新、健康、引人积极向上，对于春天，对于黎明，都有极其动人的描写。作者主张人们应当过一种自然宁静的生活，而只有在人与自然接近的基础上才能实现。书中分析生活、批判习俗之处，观点精辟，见解独特，耐人寻味。

梭罗是一个勇于坚守自己理想，并且敢于付诸行动的人。他的光辉思想和热爱大自然的行为至今仍然为身处现代社会里的人们所钦羡和赞叹。

《瓦尔登湖》中所阐发的许多爱护大自然的观点近年在西方世界获得极度的重视，严重的污染使人们又开始向往瓦尔登湖和山林的清新空气。这部著作激励了无数自然主义者和倡导返归大地的人。细读过《瓦尔登湖》的人都有这种体会：梭罗是在探求怎样实实在在的生活，怎样体验与经历有意义的生活。他记录了人与自然的关系，人在社会中的困境和人希望提高自然的关系，这种提高是为自己，是为当时的人，也是为后来的人。

《瓦尔登湖》是美国大自然文学散文的名著，1985年曾被《美国遗产》杂志列为“十本构成美国人性的书”之一，与《圣经》等书被美国国会图书馆评为“塑造读者的25本书”。在当代美国，本书是拥有最多读者的散文经典。

在印第安人的符号里，房屋象征着一天的进程。树皮上画下的或刻下的一排房屋代表着他们安营的次数。人类没有那么强劲发达的肢体，所以得设法缩小自己的领域，用墙圈出一个适合自己的安身之所。

最初人们赤身生活在户外，白天在平静温和的天气里，这不失为一种舒适的生活。可遇到雨季、冬季，且不说炎炎烈日，若还不赶紧穿件衣服、躲进房屋，人类或许早在抽芽吐蕊阶段就被摧残致死了。传说，亚当和夏娃在没有衣服穿之前，以枝叶蔽体。人类想有一个家，一个温暖的、舒适的地方，首先是肉体的温暖，其次才是精神的慰藉。

…………

然而，一个人要想建造一座房屋，他得有北方佬的精明，否则事后会发现自己住在囚犯厂房里、没有出路的迷宫里、监狱里或辉煌的墓穴里。首先考虑把住所做得很灵便是完全有必要的。

我见过潘诺勃斯各特河上的印第安人，他们就在这个镇上，住在很薄的棉布帐篷里，周围的积雪堆了近一尺深，我想他们会很高兴让雪再深一些，好给他们挡风。

如何真诚地生活，自由地获得正当的追求？这个曾困扰过我的问题不像原来那样令我苦恼了，不幸的是，我变得有些麻木不仁了。我经常在路边看到一个大箱子，六尺长，三尺宽。晚上，工人们把工具锁在里面。这让我想到，每个生活艰难的人可以花一美元买个这样的箱子，在上面打几个孔，至少要让里面进一些空气。夜晚或雨天钻进去，盖上盖子，这样就能“让自由在爱中成长，让灵魂在自由中释放”。

这似乎不坏，也并没有什么可鄙夷的。你可以随便熬夜，想多晚睡都可以。每次外出时，也不会有什么房主、房东逼着你讨房租。多少人被那更大更豪华的箱子的租金烦得要死，而住在这样的箱子里也不至于冻死啊！

我绝不是在开玩笑。经济问题，你可以忽视，但无法这样去解决它。一个野蛮而勇猛的民族，几乎一直生活在户外，他们曾在这儿建造了一座舒适的房子，用的都是天然材料。

马萨诸塞州的印第安殖民区的领事戈金，曾在1674年写道：“他们最好的房子是用树皮覆顶的，建造得整洁、牢固而温暖。这些树皮是在树液干枯的季节从树身脱落的，趁着还绿时，人们用重木把它们挤压成巨大的薄片……

稍差一些的房子是用灯芯草编成的席子做顶的，同样也温暖、牢固，但不像前一种那样好……

我看到有些房子60或100英尺长，30英尺宽……我经常借宿在他们的棚屋里，发现它们的温暖丝毫不亚于英国最好的房屋。”

他又补充说，房内经常铺设着编有精美花样的垫子，各种器皿，一应俱全。印第安人已经进步到把席垫覆盖在屋顶的洞口，用绳子拉拽席垫来调节通风。

首先应该看到，建一所这样的房子最多只需一两天，且几个小时就可以拆掉。每家都有这样一座房子或一个小房间。

在未开化的阶段，每一家都有个这么好的栖身之处，足以满足他们粗陋而简单的需求。但是，我想我这样说还是很有分寸的：鸟有巢，狐有穴，野蛮人有棚窝，而现代文明社会中却有一半的家庭没有居所。

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可为什么常常会是这样：享受着这么多东西的人被称为可怜的文明人，而野蛮人没有这些，却被说成是何其富有？

如果说文明真的改善了人类的状况——我想是这样的，尽管只有智者能改善他们的不利条件——这必定说明，不用提高造价，就能建造更好的住所。所谓物价，是指用以交换物品所需的那部分人生，可即刻或以后支付。

梭罗是一位性格迥异的天才，对于一般的农民来说，他是一位技艺娴熟的勘测者，甚至比他们更了解森林、草地和树木，但他更是一位了不起的作家，因为他写出了本国最好的书。

——美国作家、思想家爱默生《瓦尔登湖》激励了无数自然主义者和倡导返回大地的人们。

——（美）《环境主义者书架》《瓦尔登湖》一书有五种读法：①作为一部自然与人的心灵探索之书；②作为一部自力更生过简单生活的指南；③作为批评现代生活的一部讽刺作品；④作为一部纯文学名著；⑤作为一本神圣的书。

——美国梭罗研究专家哈丁