有人会觉得在人生这块大地上，前人的足迹业已上至高山下达峡谷，万事万物都已经被安排停当。伊夫林1写道：“睿智的所罗门王2规定了每棵树之间的距离；罗马的执政官们决定了你多久可以合法进入邻居的领地收集一次橡子，以及那位邻居应分得多少份数。”希波克拉底3甚至为我们留下了修剪指甲的指南：指甲应与手指边缘平齐，既不过长也不过短。“生活的多样和乐趣已被穷尽”这种单调乏味的假设早在亚当的年代无疑就已存在。可是人的能力从未被测量，我们也就不应该凭借任何先例去判断何事可为，毕竟已有的尝试是那么的少。不管你们此前因何受挫，“莫苦恼，我的孩子，谁会把你未做完的事认作你的失败呢？”4
The whole ground of human life seems to some to have been gone over by their predecessors, both the heights and the valleys, and all things to have been cared for. According to Evelyn, “the wise Solomon prescribed ordinances for the very distances of trees; and the Roman præors have decided how often you may go into your neighbor’s land to gather the acorns which fall on it without trespass, and what share belongs to that neighbor.” Hippocrates has even left directions how we should cut our nails; that is, even with the ends of the fingers, neither shorter nor longer. Undoubtedly the very tedium and ennui which presume to have exhausted the variety and the joys of life are as old as Adam. But man’s capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedents, so little has been tried. Whatever have been thy failures hitherto, “be not afflicted, my child, for who shall assign to thee what thou hast left undone?”
Footnotes
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约翰·伊夫林（1620-1706），英格兰作家、园艺家、日记作家。 ↩
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伊夫林的原文中写的的是梭伦（Solon）即古雅典政治家、立法者、诗人；而所罗门王则是古以色列的国王。通常梭罗会用下划线标注出他对引文的改动，但这里并没有下划线，所以不清楚他是有意写为所罗门王还是把这两个名字搞错了。 ↩
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希波克拉底是古希腊医师，被称为医学之父。西方医生传统上行医前宣誓的誓词就是著名的希波克拉底誓言。希波克拉底规定剪指甲的方法还真不是梭罗瞎说，希波克拉底有部文集叫作“On the Surgery”，剪指甲的事儿就是出自这里。 ↩
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文章的最后一句引言出自印度经文《毗湿奴往事书》，是印度十八部往事书（Puranas）之一。这句话真是不太好理解。原文其实有上下两句，参照原文或许能揣测出梭罗的意思。原文是：“Be not afflicted, my child, for who shall efface what thou hast formerly done, or shall assign to thee what thou has left undone?”直译为“别苦恼，我的孩子，谁会抹去你曾经做过的；谁会分配给你曾经未做完的？”前半句是说你做过的事情（你的成就）不会被人随意抹去，下半句是说你曾经的失败（未竟之事），也不会有人强加于你。在梭罗的语境中，我认为这句话是想凸显出梭罗对“尝试”的鼓励，此前未做完的/未成的事情，并不算你的失败，你要多尝试，不要被挫折磨灭了对生活的热情。 ↩