亨利·D. 梭罗(Henry D. Thoreau)
The clouds have gathered again, and a few straggling snowflakes are beginning to descend. Faster and faster they fall, shutting out the distant objects from sight. The snow falls on every wood and field, and no crevice is forgotten; by the river and the pond, on the hill and in the valley. Quadrupeds are confined to their coverts and the birds sit upon their perches this peaceful hour. There is not so much sound as in fair weather, but silently and gradually every slope, and the gray walls and fences, and the polished ice, and the sere leaves, which were not buried before, are concealed, and the tracks of men and beasts are lost. With so little effort does nature reassert her rule and blot out the traces of men.Hear how Homer has described the same:“The snowflakes fall thick and fast on a winter's day. The winds are lulled, and the snow fails incessant, covering the tops of the mountains, and the hills, and the plains where the lotus tree grows, and the cultivated fields, and they are falling by the inlets and shores of the foaming sea, but are silently dissolved by the waves.” The snow levels all things, and infolds them deeper in the bosom of nature, as, in the slow summer, vegetation creeps up to the entablature of the temple, and the turrets of the castle, and helps her to prevail over art.
- straggle [ˈstrægl] v. 蔓生，零乱地散布
- quadruped [ˈkwɒdrʊped] n. 四足动物
- reassert [ˌriːəˈsɜːt] v. 重申，再坚持
- entablature [enˈtæblətʃə] n. 古典柱式的顶部
- turret [ˈtʌrɪt] n. 角楼，塔楼
云再次密集起来，雪花开始纷纷飘落。雪落得越来越快，把远处的东西挡住看不见了。雪落在每一片树林里，每一块田野上，不放过每一个缝隙；雪落在河边，落在池塘边，落在小山上，落在山谷中。在这个宁静的时候，四足动物待在隐蔽的洞穴里，鸟儿停歇在枝头。没有晴天那么多声息,然而，地上的每一个坡面，所有灰色的墙壁和篱笆，光滑的冰面，以及还没有埋掉的枯树叶，都静悄悄地、渐渐地被雪隐藏起来了。人畜行走的足印也都消失不见了。大自然不费多少事就重申了它的主宰权，抹掉了一切人的踪迹。听听荷马怎样描写雪景的：“冬日，大雪纷纷扬扬。风平息了，雪不停地下着，封盖了山峦峰顶，封盖了长满莲属植物的平原，封盖了耕作过的田地，飘降在浪花飞溅的大海的小海湾和岸边，但却静悄悄地为波涛消融了。”大雪把一切夷平，把一切都深掩在大自然的怀抱之中，而在漫长的夏天，植物爬上庙宇的顶部，爬上城堡的塔楼，帮助大自然创作出比艺术更美的杰作。
亨利·D. 梭罗（Henry D. Thoreau）是19世纪美国的作家、思想家和自然主义者，他因其对简单生活和自然的热爱而闻名。他的代表作品包括《瓦尔登湖》（Walden）和《不服从的命令》（Civil Disobedience），这两部作品不仅在文学上具有重要影响力，也在后来的社会运动和环境主义中发挥了重要作用。梭罗的作品强调个体主义、自由意志和对社会不公的反抗，对后世的文学和社会思想产生了深远的影响。