Seven books I keep close because I love them
Seven books I keep close because I love them
我珍藏在手边的七本书
The bookshelf by my elbow, the one that I can reach without getting up, has seven books on it, not necessarily the ones I look in the most, but the ones whose emanations I most hope will infuse me as I write. 我手肘旁的书架——那个我无需起身就能触及的地方——放着七本书。它们未必是我查阅频率最高的，但却是那些我最希望在写作时能汲取其灵感的书籍。
Roget’s Thesaurus (4th edition)
《罗格同义词词典》（第四版）
The one I actually refer to most often is the Harper and Row Roget’s Thesaurus. I thought I had acquired this in my teens, but the note on the flyleaf says 1989. This is the fourth edition. I was very excited to get the eighth edition, which I thought I might like better, and for some time I kept them next to each other so that I could look up the same things in both, and compare. My conclusion was that while the eighth edition had more stuff in it, it wasn’t stuff I needed. And it is really fat. So I have retired it to a farther shelf and will eventually get rid of it. 我实际查阅频率最高的是 Harper and Row 出版的《罗格同义词词典》。我原以为这是我十几岁时买的，但扉页上的笔记显示是 1989 年。这是第四版。我曾满怀期待地买了第八版，以为自己会更喜欢它，有一段时间我把两本书放在一起，以便查阅相同词条并进行对比。我的结论是：虽然第八版内容更多，但那些并不是我需要的。而且它实在太厚了。所以我把它放到了更远的书架上，最终打算处理掉它。
The thesaurus is a book that is widely misunderstood. It is not, as many people mockingly imagine, just a compendium of synonyms, and its correct and intended use is not to replace common words with more impressive-sounding ones. Just as the correct use of a screwdriver is not to scrape the veneer off of an expensive cabinet. “Thesaurus” means “storehouse” or “treasure room”. 同义词词典是一本被广泛误解的书。正如许多人嘲讽的那样，它不仅仅是同义词的汇编，其正确且预期的用途也不是用听起来更高级的词汇来替换常用词。就像螺丝刀的正确用途不是用来刮掉昂贵橱柜上的饰面一样。“Thesaurus”一词的原意是“仓库”或“宝库”。
Roget’s idea, similar to that of John Wilkins before him, was to classify everything in the world into a hierarchy, in this case a hierarchy with a thousand divisions. At the top level the divisions are grouped into “Abstract concepts”, “Space”, “Physics”, “Matter”, “Sensation” and so on. Then under “abstract concepts” there are subclasses, of which subclass VI is “Time”, subdivided into five smaller sections: A. Absolute time B. Relative time C. Time with reference to age D. Time with reference to season E. Recurrent time. 罗格的构想与他之前的约翰·威尔金斯（John Wilkins）类似，旨在将世间万物归入一个层级体系，在这个案例中，是一个包含一千个类别的层级。在顶层，这些类别被分为“抽象概念”、“空间”、“物理”、“物质”、“感觉”等等。在“抽象概念”之下又有子类，其中子类 VI 是“时间”，又细分为五个小节：A. 绝对时间 B. 相对时间 C. 关于年龄的时间 D. 关于季节的时间 E. 循环时间。
At the next level down, section (1)(VI)(B) is divided into: §116. Priority §117. Posteriority §118. Simultaneity §119. The Past §120. The Present §121. The Future. 再下一层，(1)(VI)(B) 节被分为：§116. 先后（优先） §117. 后续（滞后） §118. 同时性 §119. 过去 §120. 现在 §121. 未来。
Roget’s idea is that if you are thinking or writing about time, and specifically about how it goes by, you will leaf through those sections for inspiration, not to find a more pompous way of expressing something you have already written, but to refine your own idea of what it is you wanted to express. 罗格的初衷是，如果你正在思考或撰写关于时间的内容，特别是关于时间如何流逝的内容，你可以翻阅这些章节来寻找灵感。这并非为了给已经写好的内容找一个更浮夸的表达方式，而是为了提炼你真正想要表达的思想。
Perhaps you are trying to say that one event followed immediately after another. You might look at “§117 posteriority (later time)” which mentions “ensue”, “consequence”, “aftermath”, and “subsequent” — not synonyms, but related aspects of similar concepts, worth more or less consideration depending on what you are trying to emphasize. §117 will also suggest common phrases like “step into the shoes of” — not a synonym by any means, but a related idea. This is probably not what you wanted in this case, but it in another it might be just the thing, and in any case it might give you a bright idea. 也许你想表达一个事件紧随另一个事件之后。你可以查看“§117 后续（较晚的时间）”，其中提到了“ensue（随之发生）”、“consequence（结果）”、“aftermath（余波）”和“subsequent（随后的）”——这些不是同义词，而是相似概念的相关侧面，根据你想强调的重点，它们值得不同程度的考量。§117 还会建议一些常用短语，比如“step into the shoes of（接替某人的位置）”——这绝不是同义词，但却是一个相关的概念。这可能不是你当前想要的，但在另一种情况下它可能恰到好处，无论如何，它都可能给你带来灵感。
If nothing in section 117 seems suitable, it is right next to “§116 priority”, and you might discover that instead of saying that the second event followed immediately after the first, you would rather say that the first immediately preceded the second. Or perhaps you realize, looking at “§118 Simultaneity”, that what you really want to say is that the two event were not quite simultaneous. Or perhaps, finding your way to “§131 Earliness” and “§132 Lateness” you realize that your meaning would be more clearly expressed if you said that the second event was a little tardy, or that the first event was premature. 如果 117 节中没有合适的词，它旁边就是“§116 优先”，你可能会发现，与其说第二个事件紧随第一个事件之后，不如说第一个事件紧接在第二个事件之前。或者，当你查看“§118 同时性”时，你可能会意识到你真正想说的是这两个事件并非完全同时发生。又或者，当你找到“§131 早”和“§132 晚”时，你意识到如果说第二个事件稍微迟了一些，或者第一个事件发生得太早，你的意思会表达得更清晰。
Looking through the index for “immediately” you will see that the index distinguishes several senses of “immediate”: are you trying to suggest instantaneity, or continuity, or haste, or promptness, or punctuality? And in this way the book helps you refine your understanding of what you were trying to say. 在索引中查找“immediately（立即）”时，你会发现索引区分了“immediate”的几种含义：你是想表达瞬间性、连续性、匆忙、敏捷还是准时？通过这种方式，这本书帮助你提炼了对自己所要表达内容的理解。
One can use the thesaurus for more concrete tasks. Perhaps I am trying to remember a word, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I know it is not “coexisting”, but is something like it. I can look up “coexisting” in the index, and it will take me to “§118 Simultaneity” where I find “contemporaneous”… aha, that’s what I was looking for! 人们也可以将同义词词典用于更具体的任务。也许我正试图想起一个词，但一时想不起来。我知道它不是“coexisting（共存）”，但意思相近。我可以在索引中查找“coexisting”，它会带我到“§118 同时性”，在那里我找到了“contemporaneous（同时代的）”……啊哈，这就是我在找的词！
The really important thing about the thesaurus is this large-scale organizing principle, which puts related ideas near one another. Note that none of this works for someone who doesn’t know what the words actually mean. All that person can do with the thesaurus is to replace one wrong word with another one, more or less at random. Effective tool use requires skill and training, and careful thought. 同义词词典真正重要的地方在于这种大规模的组织原则，它将相关的概念放在一起。请注意，对于那些不知道词汇实际含义的人来说，这一切都行不通。这样的人使用同义词词典，只能是随机地用一个错误的词替换另一个错误的词。有效使用工具需要技巧、训练和深思熟虑。
An online version would be more convenient, but again, it wouldn’t have the same stuff and I am very attached to the one I have. My banishment of the 8th edition left a lot of space on the shelf, some of which I have filled with an anthology of the prose of Sir Thomas Browne. I think this will be healthful and inspiring for me, especially if I remember to take it up and thumb through it from time to time. 在线版本会更方便，但它不会有同样的内容，而且我对现在这本非常有感情。我将第八版移走后，书架上空出了很多空间，我用托马斯·布朗爵士（Sir Thomas Browne）的散文选集填补了其中一部分。我认为这对我有益且富有启发，特别是如果我记得时不时拿起来翻阅的话。
The Prose of Sir Thomas Browne
托马斯·布朗爵士的散文
One recurring theme on this blog since the very earliest days has been the writers of the English Baroque period. In 2008 I wrote: [Browne] is witty, and learned, and wise, and humane, and to read his books is to feel that you are in the company of this witty, learned, wise, humane man, one of the best men that the English Renaissance has to offer, and that you are profiting thereby. His work was also a favorite of Jorge Luis Borges’, in case you consider that a recommendation. 自本博客开办之初，一个反复出现的主题就是英国巴洛克时期的作家。2008 年我写道：[布朗] 睿智、博学、明智且仁慈。阅读他的书，就像是与这位睿智、博学、明智、仁慈的人为伴——他是英国文艺复兴时期最杰出的人物之一——并从中获益匪浅。他的作品也是豪尔赫·路易斯·博尔赫斯（Jorge Luis Borges）的最爱，如果你认为这算是一种推荐的话。
Browne has shown up here a number of times, although not so much as he should have, because I started the blog the year after I was on my big Thomas Browne kick. One reason I have put this book next to my elbow is that I hope it will spark a new Browne kick. (I wrote in 2006 “I’m sure I will return someday”, and it is long past time for that return.) My favorite book by Browne is his Pseudodoxia Epidemica, which is a compilation of stuff that people in 1646 believed that Browne thought was probably wrong. 布朗在这里出现过多次，尽管次数还不够多，因为我是在我痴迷托马斯·布朗的那一年之后才开始写这个博客的。我把这本书放在手肘旁的原因之一，是希望它能再次激发我对布朗的热情。（我在 2006 年写道：“我相信总有一天我会回归”，现在距离那个回归的时间已经过去太久了。）我最喜欢的布朗著作是他的《伪经通考》（Pseudodoxia Epidemica），这是一部汇编，记录了 1646 年人们相信但布朗认为可能是错误的事物。