名篇背诵：Kant the Man 康德其人其事

Kant the Man 康德其人其事

威廉·S. 毛姆(William S. Maugham)

Kant was fond of talking, but preferred to talk alone, and if interrupted or contradicted was apt to show displeasure; his conversation, however, was so agreeable that none minded if he monopolized it. He would also tell humorous stories, of which he had a rich supply and which he told uncommonly well, so, he said, “that the repast may end with laughter, which is calculated to promote digestion.”

He liked to linger over dinner and the guests did not rise from table till late. He would not sit down after they had left in case he fell asleep, and this he would not permit himself to do since he was of opinion that sleep should be enjoyed sparingly , for thus time was saved and so life lengthened.

He was a little man, barely five feet tall, with a narrow chest and one shoulder higher than the other, and he was thin almost to emaciation . He had a crooked nose, but a fine brow and his colour was fresh. His eyes, though small, were blue, lively and penetrating. He was natty in his dress. He wore a small blond wig, a black tie, and a shirt with ruffles round the throat and wrists; a coat breeches and waistcoat of fine cloth, gray silk stockings and shoes with silver buckles. He carried his three-cornered hat under his arm and in his hand a gold-headed cane. He walked every day, rain or fine, for exactly one hour, but if the weather was threatening, his servant walked behind him with a big umbrella.

The only occasion on which he is known to have omitted his walk is when he received Rousseau's Emile , and then, unable to tear himself away from it, he remained indoors for three days. He walked very slowly because he thought it was bad for him to sweat, and alone because he had formed the habit of breathing through his nostrils, since thus he thought to avoid catching cold and, had he had a companion with whom courtesy would oblige him to speak, he would have been constrained to breathe through his mouth.

He invariously took the same walk, along the Linden Allee, and this, according to Heine, he strolled up and down eight times. He issued from his house at precisely the same hour so that the people of the town could set their clocks by it. When he came home he returned to his study and read and wrote letters till the light failed. Then as was his habit, fixing his eyes on the tower of a neighbouring church, he pondered over the problems that just then occupied him. At a quarter to ten he suspended his arduous labour and by ten was safely tucked up in bed.

Though he lived to be eighty, he never went more than sixty miles away from the town in which he was born. He suffered from frequent indispositions and was seldom free from pain, but he was able by the exertion of his will to turn his attention away from his feelings just as though they did not concern him.

He was neither impulsive nor demonstrative , but he was kindly, within his scanty means generous, and obliging . His intelligence was great, his power of reasoning impressive, but his emotional nature was meagre. Twice he thought seriously of marrying, but he took so long to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the step he had in mind that in the interval one of the young women he had his eye on married somebody else and the other left Konigsberg before he reached a decision.

- monopolize [məˈnɒpəlaɪz] v. 垄断，独占

- repast [rɪˈpɑːst] n. 餐，饮食

- sparingly [ˈspeərɪŋlɪ] ad. 节约地，爱惜地

- emaciation [ɪˌmeɪsɪˈeɪʃn] n. 衰弱，消瘦

- natty [ˈnætɪ] a. 整洁的；敏捷的

- arduous [ˈɑːdjʊəs] a. 努力的，费力的

- indisposition [ˌɪndɪspəˈzɪʃn] n. 不舒服，小病

- impulsive [ɪmˈpʌlsɪv] a. 冲动的

- demonstrative [dɪˈmɒnstrətɪv] a. 感情外露的

- scanty [ˈskæntɪ] a. 缺乏的；稀疏的

- obliging [əˈblɪdʒɪŋ] a. 乐于助人的，恳切的

康德喜欢交谈，但是偏好自言自语，而且如果被人打断或是顶撞，很容易表现出不乐意；然而，他的谈话是如此惬意，如果他垄断了谈话，也没有人介意。他也讲幽默故事，这些故事多得很，而且讲得非同寻常地好，所以，如他所说：“就餐可以畅怀大笑结束，这能促进消化。”

他喜欢慢慢地用餐，客人们要待很长时间才能起身离开餐桌。他们离开之后，他并不坐下，以免会睡着，他不允许自己这么做，因为他认为，应当省着点享受睡眠，这么做可以省下时间，延长寿命。

他五短身材，还不到五英尺高，胸围狭窄，一肩高一肩低，瘦得快到憔悴的程度。他歪鼻梁，不过眉毛还不错，肤色也鲜亮。他的双目虽小，却是蓝的，充满生气，富有洞察力。他衣着整洁，戴着淡黄色的假发，打着黑色领带，衬衫的领口袖口有褶皱；上衣短裤和西装背心都是上等布料，穿着灰色的真丝长袜，鞋子上有银制搭扣。他臂下夹着三角礼帽，手中拿着一根头上镶金的手杖。他每天步行刚好一小时，风雨无阻，不过遇有恶劣天气，他的奴仆跟在后面给他撑着一把大伞。

据知，他唯一忽略散步的时候是他收到了卢梭的《爱弥儿》，他爱不释手，在室内待了整整三天。他步行得非常慢，因为他认为出汗对身体不好，而且独自散步，因为他已经养成了从鼻孔里呼吸的习惯，他认为这么做可以避免患感冒，如果有那么个伙伴和他一起散步，礼貌又迫使他说话的时候，他就会被迫从嘴里呼吸。

他一成不变地走同一条路，沿着林登林荫大道，而这条路，按照海涅的说法，他来回走八次。他从屋子出来准时正点，镇上的人都可以按照这来调整自己的时钟了。回家后，他就到书房里读书写信，直到光线暗淡下来。接着，他习惯性地会把眼睛盯着邻近教堂的钟塔，思考刚刚占据他头脑的问题。在十点差一刻的时候，他停下艰苦的劳作，到十点钟，就安然入眠了。

虽然他活到了80岁，但从来没有离开出生的小镇到过60英里之外的地方。他经常患有各种小毛病，很少有不挨疼痛的时候，但是他能够用自己的意志把他的注意力从感受上转移开，就好像这些疼痛不关他的事似的。

他既不冲动，也不感情外露，但他是和善的，以他微薄的收入而言，他是慷慨的，热心助人。他智力超群，推理能力极强，但他在情感上很贫乏。他两次认真考虑要结婚，但是他长时间在揣摩着走这一步的利和弊，结果他看中的一位年轻女子在此期间嫁给了别人，另外一位在他作出决定之前就离开了哥尼斯堡镇。

威廉·萨默塞特·毛姆（William Somerset Maugham，1874年1月25日－1965年12月16日）是一位英国小说家、剧作家和短篇小说家，他的作品以描写人性和生活的复杂性而著称。毛姆生于法国巴黎，成长于英国，并在牛津大学接受教育。他游历世界各地，担任过红十字会的志愿医生，并在第一次世界大战期间在法国服务。

毛姆的作品通常以对人性的深刻洞察力和对社会问题的关注而闻名。他最著名的作品包括《月亮与六便士》、《人间喜剧》和《人生的道路》，这些作品都反映了他对人类行为和情感的深刻理解。毛姆的文风清晰简洁，以及对情感和人际关系的细腻描写，使得他的作品备受读者喜爱。