论快乐On Happiness

在旧书铺里买回来维尼（Vigny）的《诗人日记》（Journal d’un poéte），信手翻开，就看见有趣的一条。他说，在法语里，喜乐（bonheur）一个名词是“好”和“钟点”两字拼成，可见好事多磨，只是个把钟头的玩意儿（Si le bonheur n’était qu’une bonne dénie！）。我们联想到我们本国话的说法，也同样的意味深永，譬如快活或快乐的快字，就把人生一切乐事的飘瞥难留，极清楚地指示出来。所以我们又概［慨］叹说：“欢娱嫌夜短！”因为人在高兴的时候，活得太快，一到困苦无聊，愈觉得1日脚像跛了似的，走得特别慢。德语的沉闷（langweile）一词，据字面上直译，就是“长时间”的意思。《西游记》里小猴子对孙行者说：“天上一日，下界一年。”这种神话，确反映着人类的心理。

When I casually opened Journal d’un poéte （The Diary of a Poet） by French poet Vigny， which I had bought from a secondhand bookstore， I found one entry particularly interesting. In that entry， he wrote that the French noun “bonheur” consists of “bon-，” meaning “fine，” and “-heur，” meaning “hour.” This etymological clue reminds me of the proverbial saying “Good things never come easy，” or in the French way of putting it， “Si le bonheur n’était qu’une bonne heur！ （=Wasn’t happiness just one good hour spent？）” Some expressions in our own language， too， carry equally profound implications. The character快as in快活or快乐， for example， clearly reveals the transiency of all pleasant things in life. Thus we say with a sigh： “The dawning of the day is the very killer of happiness.” This is quite true， for when a person is happy， time passes very swiftly for him， and when in distress or boredom， he will feel as if his days have become “lame，” trudging on very slowly. The German word “langweile，” if literally translated into English， means “a long time.” In Journeying West， a novel by Ming-dynasty author Wu Cheng’en， a little monkey exclaims to the Monkey King： “A single day in paradise equals a whole year on earth！” This myth really shows humans’ psychological aptitude.

天上比人间舒服欢乐，所以神仙活得快，人间一年在天上只当一日过。从此类推，地狱里比人间更痛苦，日子一定愈加难度；段成式《酉阳杂俎》就说：“鬼言三年，人间三日。”嫌人生短促的人，真是最快活的人；反过来说，真快活的人，不管活到多少岁死，只能算是短命夭折。所以，做神仙也并不值得，在凡间已经三十年做了一世的人，在天上还是个未满月的小孩。但是这种“天算”，也有占便宜的地方：譬如戴君孚《广异记》载崔参军捉狐妖，“以桃枝决五下”，长孙无忌说罚得太轻，崔答：“五下是人间五百下，殊非小刑。”可见卖老祝寿等等，在地上最为相宜2，而刑罚呢，应该到天上去受。

Paradise is cozy and joyful， so the gods pass their time much faster there. A whole year spent on earth is equivalent to one day in paradise. Hell， by contrast， is painful and unbearable. In A Jumbled Collection of Ghost Tales from Youyang， a Tang-dynasty literary publication， Duan Chengshi wrote： “What ghosts refer to as three years is in fact only three days in secular terms.” Those who abhor the brevity of human life are really the happiest lot. On the other hand， any person is short-lived if he is truly happy. Thus， being immortal is not so worthwhile. A human who has already lived thirty years on earth is not yet one month old if he dwells in paradise. But such a “divine” calculation does have its merits. Take Tang-dynasty writer Dai Fu’s work， A Wide-ranging Record of Strange Happenings， for example. When the military advisor surnamed Cui catches the womanizing fox-spirit and decides to give it five lashes with a peach branch， Zhangsun Wuji， whose beloved wife has been repeatedly seduced by the fox， complains that the punishment is too lenient. Cui’s reply is： “These five lashes are equal to five hundred in a world of humans. Not too soft at all.” From this story， it can be seen that an elderly person bragging about his seniority or friends and family celebrating his birthday is an agreeable thing to do only on earth. As for the matter of punishment， that can be left to heaven’s devices.

“永远快乐”这句话，不但渺茫得不能实现，并且荒谬得不能成立。快过的决不会永久；我们说永远快乐，正好像说四方的圆形，静止的动作同样地自相矛盾。在高兴的时候，我们空对瞬息即逝的时间喊着说：“逗留一会儿罢！你太美了！”那有什么用？你要永久，你该向痛苦里去找。不讲别的，只要一个失眠的晚上，或者有约不来的下午，或者一课沉闷的听讲——这许多，比一切宗教信仰更有效力，能使你尝到什么叫做“永生”的滋味。人生的刺，就在这里，留恋着不肯快走的，偏是你所不留恋的东西。

Hard as we pray for eternal bliss， that state of being is so remote as to be unattainable and so absurd as to be simply nonexistent. What is transient cannot last long. Saying “happy forever” is as paradoxical as mentioning a “square circle” or a “motionless movement.” Some people love begging a happy fleeting moment： “Stay awhile， please！ You’re so beautiful！” But what good is that？ If you crave eternity， look for it amidst pain—a sleepless night， a friend’s failure to fulfill an afternoon appointment with you， or having to sit out a boring lecture. All this is more potent even than religious faith， allowing you to actually experience the taste of “eternity.” The thorny part about life is： what refuses to go away is usually what you hate to have.

快乐在人生里，好比引诱小孩子吃药的方糖，更像跑狗场里引诱狗赛跑的电兔子。几分钟或者几天的快乐赚我们活了一世，忍受着许多痛苦。我们希望它来，希望它留，希望它再来——这三句话概括了整个人类努力的历史。在我们追求和等候的时候，生命又不知不觉地偷度过去。也许我们只是时间消费的筹码，活了一世不过是为那一世的岁月充当殉葬品，根本不会想到快乐。但是我们到死也不明白是上了当，我们还理想死后有个天堂，在那里——谢上帝，也有这一天！我们终于享受到永远的快乐。你看，快乐的引诱，不仅像电兔子和方糖，使我们忍受了人生，而且仿佛钓钩上的鱼饵，竟使我们甘心去死。这样说来，人生虽痛苦，却不悲观，因为它终抱着快乐的希望；现在的账，我们预支了将来去付。为了快活，我们甚至于愿意慢死。

Happiness can be compared to the sugar cube used to lure children into taking some medicine， or more aptly to the electrical rabbit used on a dog-track to make greyhounds join a race. Either of these uses a few happy moments or days to get us to live a whole long life and to endure many hardships. We all hope that happiness will come， stay for long and come back again. This best outlines the entire history of human effort. During our quest and waiting， life keeps wearing on3 in spite of itself. Perhaps we are but chips bought by time for its own consumption. In spending a lifetime only to serve as its sacrificial objects， we hardly ever think of happiness. However， we will not be able to see， even when we are dying， that we have been fooled. We even fancy that there is then a paradise where， thanks to God， we can at last share the joy of being immortal！ Happiness as a lure is not only like an electrical rabbit or a sugar cube， enabling us to put up with our respective lives， but like bait on a fishing line as well， for which we are willing to die. Thus， despite life’s painfulness， we never become pessimistic because we still cherish a hope. We overdraw our future to pay off today’s debts. To be happy， we’d rather risk dying slowly.