New York (Excerpt)纽约（节选）

【导读】安东尼·特罗洛普（1815—1882），英国作家，生、卒于伦敦。他因家境贫寒而未能接受大学教育，19岁便进入邮局工作，英国的邮筒是他在职期间发明设立的。特罗洛普一生勤勉，边工作边写作，共写了47部长篇小说，以及大量短篇小说、游记和传记，其中“巴塞特郡小说”和政治题材的“派利赛小说”（均为6部一组的小说系列）最为出名。

1861年8月，特罗洛普赴美游历，次年3月返英，并于当年完成《北美游记》（North America）。本文选自该游记第14章。有别于大多数英国作家，特罗洛普总是对经济现象给予关注，他的纽约印象亦如此。在他笔下，毫不掩饰的拜金成了显著的纽约符号。不过，他并非全然否定金钱的力量，承认正是拜金推动了纽约乃至美国的进步。

Speaking of New York as a traveler， I have two faults to find with it. In the first place， there is nothing to see; and， in the second place， there is no mode of getting about to see anything. Nevertheless， New York is a most interesting city. In no other city is there a population so mixed and cosmopolitan in their modes of life. And yet in no other city that I have seen are there such strong and ever visible characteristics of the social and political bearings of the nation to which it belongs. New York appears to me as infinitely more American than Boston， Chicago， or Washington. It has no peculiar attribute of its own， as have those three cities—Boston in its literature and accomplished intelligence， Chicago in its internal trade， and Washington in its Congressional and State politics. New York has its literary aspir-ations， its commercial grandeur， and， heaven knows， it has its politics also. But these do not strike the visitor as being specially characteristic of the city. That it is pre-eminently American is its glory or its disgrace， as men of different ways of thinking may decide upon it. Free institutions， general education， and the ascendency of dollars are the words written on every paving-stone along Fifth Avenue， down Broadway， and up Wall Street. Every man1 can vote， and values the privilege. Every man can read， and uses the privilege. Every man worships the dollar， and is down before his shrine from morning to night.

作为旅行客来谈纽约，我要说说它的两点不好：首先，没什么好看的；其次，没法子让人四处看看。不过，纽约是个极有意思的城市。没有其他哪个城市的人口在生活方式上如此多样和国际化。然而，在我所见过的其他城市中，也没有哪个具有如此强烈而始终显见的属国社会和政治特征。在我看来，纽约远比波士顿、芝加哥或华盛顿更美国。它不似那三个城市有属于自己的特征——波士顿在于其文学和智力成果，芝加哥在于其国内贸易，华盛顿则在于其国会和国家政治。纽约亦有其文学理想与商业宏图，当然它也有自己的政治。但这些并非纽约的独特性所在，不足以打动访客。纽约特别美国——此言是褒是贬，见仁见智。沿第五大道，顺着百老汇，直上华尔街，每块铺路砖上都写着福利机构、通识教育和美元优势。人人有选举权，并珍视这种特权。人人都能识字，且运用这种特权。人人崇拜美元，从早到晚在其神龛前跪拜。

As regards voting and reading， no American will be angry with me for saying so much of him; and no Englishman， whatever may be his ideas as to the franchise in his own country， will conceive that I have said aught to the dishonor of an American. But as to that dollar-worshiping， it will of course seem that I am abusing the New Yorkers. We all know what a wretchedly wicked thing money is—how it stands between us and heaven—how it hardens our hearts and makes vulgar our thoughts！ Dives has ever gone to the devil， while Lazarus has been laid up in heavenly lavender. 2

关于选举与识字，无论我谈论多少，都没有美国人为成为谈资而心生愠恼；也没有一个英国人——不管他对自己国家的选举权持何种想法——会认为我之所云是对任何美国人的诋毁。不过，谈及美元崇拜，当然显得我在侮辱纽约人。我们都知道，金钱是一种多么可恶的坏东西——它是怎样横亘于我们和天堂中间——怎样让我们心肠变硬、思想卑俗！财主戴夫斯去见了魔鬼，而穷人拉撒路被安放在天堂的薰衣草间。

That is the amount of the charge which I bring against New York; and now， having laid on my paint thickly， I shall proceed， like an unskillful artist， to scrape a great deal of it off again. New York has been a leading commercial city in the world for not more than fifty or sixty years. As far as I can learn， its population at the close of the last century did not exceed 60，000， and ten years later it had not reached 100，000. In 1860 it had reached nearly 800，000 in the City of New York itself. To this number must be added the numbers of Brooklyn， Williamsburg， and Jersey City， in order that a true conception may be had of the population of this American metropolis， seeing that those places are as much a part of New York as Southwark is of London. By this the total will be swelled to considerably above a million. It will no doubt be admitted that this growth has been very fast， and that New York may well be proud of it. Increase of population is， I take it， the only trustworthy sign of a nation’s success or of a city’s success. New York， beginning with 60，000 sixty years since， has now a million souls—a million mouths， all of which eat a sufficiency of bread， all of which speak ore rotundo， and almost all of which can read. And this has come of its love of dollars.

以上即我对纽约的微词；颜料涂得太厚了，现在我得像个技艺不精的画家，再狠狠刮掉许多。纽约成为世界领先的商业城市不过五六十年。就我所知，上世纪末其人口不到六万，十年后也未达十万。1860年，纽约城本城人口就将近八十万。这个数字还得加上布鲁克林、威廉斯堡和泽西城的人口数，这或许才是这个美国大都会人口的真正概念，因为那些地区也是纽约的一部分，正如萨瑟克区是伦敦的一部分。就此推算，纽约的人口总数将增加到远超百万。毋庸置疑，这种增长速度是非常快的，纽约或可引以为傲。我以为，人口的增加是一个民族或一个城市成功发展的唯一可靠的标志。纽约人口从六十年前的六万到如今的一百万——一百万张嘴，人人有足够的面包吃，人人说话字正腔圆，且几乎人人识字。这一切都是热爱美元的结果。

To eat his bread in the sweat of his brow was man’s curse in Adam’s day， but is certainly man’s blessing in our day. And what is eating one’s bread in the sweat of one’s brow but making money？ I will believe no man who tells me that he would not sooner earn two loaves than one—and if two， then two hundred. I will believe no man who tells me that he would sooner earn one dollar a day than two—and if two， then two hundred. … The New Yorker has been true to his dollar because his dollar has been true to him.

汗流满面才能吃上一口，这在亚当时代是人受的诅咒，但在我们这个时代无疑是人得的福佑。只要赚钱，汗流满面吃上一口又如何？我不相信有人会说，他在能挣两条面包时宁愿只挣一条——能有两条，就能有两百条。我不相信有人会说，他一天能赚两美元却宁愿只赚一美元——能赚两美元，就能赚两百美元。……纽约人忠实于他的美元，乃因他的美元也忠实于他。