As darkness is a passing shadow, and light is substance that remains, so sorrow is fleeting, but joy abides for ever. No true thing can pass away and become lost; no false thing can remain and be preserved. Sorrow is false, and it cannot live; joy is true, and

　　                                           ——许钧《翻译论》读后


　　前些年，我曾发过一个愿：不翻译十部名著，绝不谈翻译理论。记得有一次在南大外院讲学，谈到自己译洪堡特的体会，我就那样说过。我想许钧先

         在欣赏艺术作品或艺术形式的过程中，观赏者的因素从未带给人什么收获。谈论什么公众或其代表人物在此只能使人误入歧途，甚至连“理想的”接受者这个概念在探讨艺术时也有害无益，因为它无非是设定了自身的本质和在场性。艺术以同样的方式设定了人的肉体和精神的存在，然而艺术作品却从未关注过人对它的回应。从来没有哪一首诗是为它的读者而作的，从来没有哪一幅画是为观赏家而画的，也从没有哪首交响乐是为听众而谱写的。

By the time the two of them finished with their pitch:

    As though their lives depended on it,
they had talked Hsi-men Ch'ing into giving his assent.

Before long, a table was set up and their host invited them to share the remainder of his breakfast pastry with him. When they had finished eating, soon thereafter, Hsi-men Ch'ing sent Tai-an to fetch his outdoor clothes.

Yüeh-niang, who was sitting with Meng Yü-lou when he came in, asked Tai-an,

"Right now you and I must contrive some way to prevent her from hogging all the credit. As soon as you've done with your hair, go tell Li P'ing-erh about it. If the two of us each come up with five mace of silver, we ought to be able to get Li P'ing-erh to contribute a tael, since she was the occasion of the whole to-do in the first place. Then we can throw a party today. On the one hand, it will give us a chance to offer a toast to the couple, and on the other hand, it will p