讀着讀着，看到其中一些段落，不僅妙語連珠，更讓筆者聯想起早前寫過的一篇文章，特別是當中《富人與漁夫》的故事。無獨有偶，該文的開篇正是以《瓦爾登湖》中的引言開篇的。
以下摘錄其中兩段，與讀者分享之餘，亦供筆者練習翻譯之用。
（重申：本人翻譯但求通順流暢，不求字字俱譯，請此博博主不要找我～）
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～
One says to me, "I wonder that you do not lay up money; you love to travel; you might take the cars and go to Fitchburg today and see the country." But I am wiser than that. I have learned that the swiftest traveller is he that goes afoot. I say to my friend, Suppose we try who will get there first. The distance is thirty miles; the fare ninety cents. That is almost a day's wages. I remember when wages were sixty cents a day for laborers on this very road. Well, I start now on foot, and get there before night; I have travelled at that rate by the week together. You will in the meanwhile have earned your fare, and arrive there some time tomorrow, or possibly this evening, if you are lucky enough to get a job in season. Instead of going to Fitchburg, you will be working here the greater part of the day. And so, if the railroad reached round the world, I think that I should keep ahead of you; and as for seeing the country and getting experience of that kind, I should have to cut your acquaintance altogether.
有人對我説：“我很好奇你為甚麼不貯點錢呢？你那麼喜歡旅遊，本應可以坐車到菲奇堡，看看當地的田園風光啊。”但我卻更明智一些。據我所知步行才是最快的出行方式。我對朋友説，假設我們來比拼一番，看看誰先抵達那裡。兩地相距30英哩，車資是90美分－－那差不多是一天的工資了。我記得，以前在這條馬路上工作的勞工們，每天工資才60美分。好了，現在我徒步出發，入夜前便可到達－－一星期以來，我都是以這個速度前進的。與此同時，你才剛剛攢足了車資，大概明天甚麼時候才會到達；要是你運氣好丶及時找到工作的話，沒準今晚就能抵達。那麼，你把一天大部份時間都用於工作上，而不是花在前往菲奇堡的路途中。依此類推，哪怕鐵路環繞地球一週，我想我依舊能走在你前面。至於觀賞田園風光丶增廣見聞云云，你的方法更是不屑一提！
Such is the universal law, which no man can ever outwit, and with regard to the railroad even we may say it is as broad as it is long. To make a railroad round the world available to all mankind is equivalent to grading the whole surface of the planet. Men have an indistinct notion that if they keep up this activity of joint stocks and spades long enough all will at length ride somewhere, in next to no time, and for nothing; but though a crowd rushes to the depot, and the conductor shouts "All aboard!" when the smoke is blown away and the vapor condensed, it will be perceived that a few are riding, but the rest are run over — and it will be called, and will be, "A melancholy accident." No doubt they can ride at last who shall have earned their fare, that is, if they survive so long, but they will probably have lost their elasticity and desire to travel by that time. This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it reminds me of the Englishman who went to India to make a fortune first, in order that he might return to England and live the life of a poet. He should have gone up garret at once. "What!" exclaim a million Irishmen starting up from all the shanties in the land, "is not this railroad which we have built a good thing?" Yes, I answer, comparatively good, that is, you might have done worse; but I wish, as you are brothers of mine, that you could have spent your time better than digging in this dirt.
這是普遍適用的法則，沒有人能置諸度外，就連修建鐵路也是同一回事。要修建一條環繞地球、任何人都搭得上的鐵路，相當於要把整個星球表面的土地都平整一番。人們有個糊塗的信念，認為他們只要堅持有錢出錢、有力出力，終有一天，所有人都將能夠乘着火車到達任何地方，旅途用不了多長時間、亦花不了多少錢。然而，當一大群人蜂擁來到火車站，當乘務員高呼“所有乘客上車！”，當黑煙白霧隆隆升起時，卻只見少數乘客順利登上了火車，其餘的人則被輾過去。這將被稱作－－也確實是－－“一場可悲的意外”。無疑那些攢足車資的人最終還是能登上火車的，要是他們能存活下來的話。可是，沒準到時候他們已身心俱疲、不想旅行了。人們把一生中最美好的時光都用來賺錢，只求在最無足輕重的日子享受到或有或無的自由，這不由讓我想起一則故事：有個英格蘭人不遠萬里來到印度創業，祈求他朝一日可以衣錦還鄉、過詩人般的生活。他應該立即跑到閣樓上生活！“甚麼？！”一百萬個愛爾蘭民工從全國的棚屋裡蹦出來喊道，“我們建成的這條鐵路，難道不是個好東西嗎？”沒錯，算是比較好的，我的意思是，你們或許會搞得更糟糕；可是，我的兄弟們，我希望你們把時間花在更好的事情上，而不要終日在土堆裡挖泥。
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