導讀ScienceandArt科學和藝術Ibegleavetothankyoufortheextremelykindandappreciativemanneri....

Science and Art

科學和藝術

I beg leave to thank you for the extremely kind and appreciative manner in which you have received the toast of Science. It is the more grateful to me to hear that toast proposed in an assembly of this kind, because I have noticed of late years a great and growing tendency among those who were once jestingly said to have been born in a pre-scientific age to look upon science as an invading and aggressive force, which if it had its own way would oust from the universe all other pursuits. I think there are many persons who look upon this new birth of our times as a sort of monster rising out of the sea of modern thought with the purpose of devouring the Andromeda of art. And now and then a Perseus, equipped with the shoes of swiftness of the ready writer, with the cap of invisibility of the editorial article, and it may be with the Medusahead of vituperation, shows himself ready to try conclusions with the scientific dragon. Sir, I hope that Perseus will think better of it; first, for his own sake, because the creature is hard of head, strong of jaw, and for some time past has shown a great capacity for going over and through whatever comes in his way; and secondly, for the sake of justice, for I assure you, of my own personal knowledge that if left alone, the creature is a very debonair and gentle monster. As for the Andromeda of art, he has the tenderest respect for that lady, and desires nothing more than to see her happily settled and annually producing a flock of such charming children as those we see about us.

請允許我感謝各位以極其友好與欣賞的態(tài)度，聽取了為科學 1而作的祝酒詞。今天能在這樣的會上聽到這個祝酒辭，更 使我激動不已。因為近些年來我注意到，一種曰益強大的、將科 學視為一股侵略勢力的傾向，已經出現(xiàn)在那些被戲稱為生于前 科學時代的人們中間。他們以為，如果任由科學隨心所欲的話， 就必會把其他行業(yè)從宇宙中清除出去。我想，現(xiàn)在有許多人都 認為這個當代的新生事物出自現(xiàn)代思潮的洪水猛獸，它想要吞 噬藝術之神安德洛墨達。于是，一位珀修斯就會時不時出現(xiàn)。 他腳蹬令人文思泉涌的“追風靴”，頭戴重量級社評的“隱形 盔”，也許還長著裝滿謾罵之辭的“美杜莎之腦“，擺出了欲與科 學猛獸一決勝負的陣勢。諸位，我希望這位珀修斯三思而后行。 首先，是要為自己著想。因為怪獸頭堅頜硬，而且一段日子以 來，它在沖破任何障礙方面已經大顯神威。其次，是要為公正著 想。因為我向諸位保證，據我看來，如果不去惹這頭怪獸的話， 它是非常溫文爾雅的。至于藝術之神安德洛墨達，它對那位女 士非常恭敬，而且別無他求，只盼望她幸福地安家落戶，年年生育一大群惹人軎愛的兒女，就像我們在自己周圍所看到的孩子們一般。

But putting parables aside, I am unable to understand how any one with a knowledge of mankind can imagine that the growth of science can threaten the development of art in any of its forms. If I understand the matter at all, science and art are the obverse and reverse of Natures medal; the one expressing the external order of things, in terms of feeling, the other in terms of thought. When men no longer love nor hate; when suffering causes no pity, and the tale of great deeds ceases to thrill, when the lily of the field shall seem no longer more beautifully arrayed than Solomon in all his glory, and the awe has vanished from the snow-capped peak and deep ravine, then indeed science may have the world to itself, but it will not be because the monster has devoured the art, but because one side of human nature is dead, and because men have lost the half of their ancient and present attributes.

但是，如果撇開上述比喻不談，我實在難以理解，一個具有 人類知識的人,怎么能夠認為科學的進步竟會威脅到任何藝術 形式的發(fā)展。如果我理解不錯的話,那么科學和藝術代表了自 然這枚圣牌的正反兩面。一個是以感情來表達事物的永恒的秩 序，另一個則是以思想來表述。當人們心中不再有愛恨存在；當 苦難不再引起人們同情，英雄們的豐功偉績不再激動人心；當田 野里的野百合不能再與至尊榮耀的所羅門相媲美，白雪皚皚的 山峰和深不可測的幽谷不再使人驚嘆敬畏，到那時,科學確實有 可能獨占整個世界,但這并不是因為科學怪獸吞噬了藝術,而應 歸咎于人類天性的一個方面已經死去，人類喪失了古往今來所 擁有的天性的那一半。