Unit-9-What-is-happiness课文翻译综合教程二

Unit9WhatIsHappiness?JohnCiardi(abridged)TherighttopursuehappinessisissuedtoAmericanswiththeirbirthcertificates,butnooneseemsquitesurewhichwayitruns.Itmaybeweareissuedahuntinglicensebutofferednogame.JonathanSwiftseemedtothinksowhenheattackedtheideaofhappinessas“thepossessionofbeingwell-deceived,”thefelicityofbeing“afoolamongknaves.”ForSwiftsawsocietyasVanityFair,thelandoffalsegoals.Itis,ofcourse,un-Americantothinkintermsoffoolsandknaves.Wedo,however,seemtobededicatedtotheideaofbuyingourwaytohappiness.WeshallallhavemadeittoHeavenwhenwepossessenough.AndatthesametimetheforcesofAmericancommercialismarehugelydedicatedtomakingusdeliberatelyunhappy.Advertisingisoneofourmajorindustries,andadvertisingexistsnottosatisfydesiresbuttocreatethem—andtocreatethemfasterthananyman’sbudgetcansatisfythem.Forthatmatter,ourwholeeconomyisbasedonadedicatedinsatiability.Wearetaughtthattopossessistobehappy,andthenwearemadetowant.Weareeventolditisourdutytowant.Itwasonlyafewyearsago,tociteasingleexample,thatcardealersacrossthecountrywereflyingbannersthatreadYouAutoBuyNow.TheywerecallinguponAmericans,asanactapproachingpatriotism,tobuyatonce,withmoneytheydidnothave,automobilestheydidnotreallyneed,andwhichtheywouldberequiredtogrowtiredofbythetimethenextyear’smodelswerereleased.Orlookatanyofthewomen’smagazines.There,asBernardDeVotooncepointedout,advertisingbeginsaspoetryinthefrontpagesandendsaspharmacopoeiaandtherapyinthebackpages.Thepoetryofthefrontmatteristhedreamofperfectbeauty.Thisisthebabyskinthatmustbehers.These,theflawlessteeth.This,theperfumedbreathshemustexhale.This,thesixteen-year-oldfigureshemustdisplayatforty,atfifty,atsixty,andforever.Oncepastthevaguelyupliftingfictionandfeaturearticles,thereaderfindstheotherfaceofthedreaminthebackmatter.ThisistheharnessintowhichMothermuststrapherselfinordertodisplaythatperfectfigure.These,thechinstrapsshemustsleepin.Thisisthesalvethatrestoresall,thisisherlaxative,thesearethetabletsthatmeltawayfat,thesearethehormonesofperpetualyouth,thesearethestockingsthathidevaricoseveins.Obviouslynohalf-sanepersoncanbecompletelypersuadedeitherbysuchpoetryorbysuchpharmacopoeiaandorthopedics.Yetsomeoneisobviouslytryingtobuythedreamasofferedandspendingbillionseveryyearintheattempt.Clearlythehappiness-marketisnotrunningoutofcustomers,butwhataretheytryingtobuy?Theideahappiness,tobesure,willnotsitstillforeasydefinitions:thebestonecandoistotrytosetsomeextremestotheideaandthenworkintowardthemiddle.Tothinkofhappinessasacquisitiveandcompetitivewilldotosetthematerialisticextreme.Tothinkofitastheideaonesensesin,say,aholymanofIndiawilldotosetthespiritualextreme.Thatholyman’sidealofhappinessisinneedingnothingfromoutsidehimself.Inwantingnothing,helacksnothing.Hesitsimmobile,raptincontemplation,freeevenofhisownbody.7Ornearlyfreeofit.Ifdevoutadmirersbringhimfood,heeatsit;ifnot,hestarvesindifferently.Whybeconcerned?Whatisphysicalisanillusiontohim.Contemplationishisjoyandheachievesitthroughafantasticallydemandingdiscipline,theaccomplishmentofwhichisitselfajoywithinhim.But,perhapsbecauseIamWestern,Idoubtsuchcatatonichappiness,asIdoubtthedreamsofthehappiness-market.WhatiscertainisthathiswayofhappinesswouldbetorturetoalmostanyWesternman.Yettheseextremeswillstillservetoframetheareawithinwhichallofusmustfindsomesortofbalance.Thoreau—acreatureofbothEasternandWesternthought—hadhisownfirmsenseofthatbalance.Hisaimwastosaveonthelowlevelsinordertospendonthehigh.PossessionforitsownsakeorincompetitionwiththerestoftheneighborhoodwouldhavebeenThoreau’sideaofthelowlevels.Theactivedisciplineofheighteningone’sperceptionofwhatisenduringinnaturewouldhavebeenhisideaofthehigh.10Whathesavedfromthelowwastimeandefforthecouldspendonthehigh.Thoreaucertainlydisapprovedofstarvation,buthewouldputintofeedinghimselfonlyasmucheffortaswouldkeephimfunctioningformoreimportantefforts.Happinessisnevermorethanpartial.Therearenopurestatesofmankind.Whateverelsehappinessmaybe,itisneitherinhavingnorinbeing,butinbecoming.WhattheFoundingFathersdeclaredforusasaninherentright,weshoulddowelltoremember,wasnothappinessbutthepursuitofhappiness.Whattheymighthaveunderlined,couldtheyhaveforeseenthehappiness-market,isthecardinalfactthathappinessisinthepursuititself,inthemeaningfulpursuitofwhatislife-engagingandlife-revealing,whichistosay,intheideaofbecoming.Anationisnotmeasuredbywhatitpossessesorwantstopossess,butbywhatitwantstobecome.什么是幸福追求幸福是美国人与生俱来被赋予的权利，但是似乎没有人确切地知道怎样到达幸福。这就像是我们有猎物执照却无猎可捕一样。当乔纳森·斯威夫特抨击这种“着迷于被欺骗的状态”，这种成为“白痴中的傻瓜”的快乐感觉时，他也是这样想的。斯威夫特把整个社会看做一个名利场，一片充满虚幻目标的土地。当然，站在傻瓜和白痴的角度看问题是非美国式思维，然而，我们似乎已经现身于用金钱购买幸福的想法中了，（我们以为）当我们拥有的足够多时，我们便一定可以去往天堂。与此同时，美国实利主义正在很大程度上致使我们不幸福。广告业是我们的主要商业之一，然而它的存在绝不是满足欲望，而是在刺激欲望的产生——而且它让欲望产生的速度远超出我们挣钱满足欲望的速度，正因如此，我们的整个经济都建立在奋不顾身的贪婪之上。我们被告知幸福就是拥有，然后再让我们产生欲望。我们甚至被告知需求就是我们的责任。举个例子，仅几年前，全国上下的汽车销售行就全都挂满飘扬的横幅，上面写着“你该买辆车了。”它们在号召美国人这种爱国行为，让他们用还未到手的钱来购买本不需要的车，并在第二年新款车发布时厌恶它。或者说，再来看看女性杂志吧。这里，像伯纳德·德沃托曾经提出的，开始的前几页是首诗，结束的几页变成了处方书和治疗方法。开始时的诗歌是绝世佳人的美梦。她拥有婴儿般的皮肤，洁白如玉的牙齿，芳香的气息。不管她40,50,60岁都有着16岁的身材。一旦看过这些模糊的却令人振奋的虚构及特写，读者马上就看到结尾她美梦的另一面。为了保持完美身材，这些母亲不得不用带子把自己束缚住，