Solitude
独处

Solitude is an essay from Henry David Thoreau's masterpiece Walden . In it, Thoreau reflects on the feeling of solitude. He explains how loneliness can occur even amid companions if one's heart is not open to them. Thoreau meditates on the pleasures of escaping society and the petty things that society entails (gossip, fights, etc.). He also reflects on his new companion, an old settler who arrives nearby and an old woman with great memory. Thoreau repeatedly reflects on the benefits of nature and of his deep communion with it and states that the only “medicine he needs is a draught of morning air”. He is deeply convinced by his transcendentalism when he writes:
《独处》是亨利·戴维·梭罗的名作《瓦尔登湖》里的名篇。在这篇随笔小品文中，梭罗品味着独处的滋味。他认为，如果人们不敞开心扉，即使处在人群之中，孤独感还是会侵袭而来。他思考了远离社交场合的愉悦，那样能避免各种闲言碎语和无谓争执。梭罗还想到了附近新来的一位林间住民和一位记忆力超群的老妇人。文中随处可见梭罗对自然益处的思考和他与自然的对话，他说世间他唯一需要的药物只是“清晨的空气”。文章体现了他对超验主义的信仰和追求：

“I have a great deal of company in my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls. Let me suggest a few comparisons, that someone may convey an idea of my situation. I am no more lonely than the loon in the pond that laughs so loud, or than Walden Pond itself. What company has that lonely lake, I pray？ And yet it has not the blue devils, but the blue angels in it, in the azure tint of its waters. The sun is alone, except in thick weather, when there sometimes appear to be two, but one is a mock sun. God is alone — but the devil, he is far from being alone; he sees a great deal of company; he is legion.
“我的房子里有很多伙伴，尤其在无人造访的清晨。我把自己和周围的事物对比一下，你或许就能窥见我生活的一个侧面。比起那湖中长笑的潜鸟，还有瓦登湖本身，我并不比它们孤独多少。你看：这孤单的湖又何以为伴呢？然而它那一湾天蓝的湖水里有的却是天使的纯净，而非魔鬼的忧郁。太阳是孤独的，虽然时而在阴郁的天空里会出现两个太阳，但其中之一为幻日；上帝是孤独的——魔鬼才从不孤独，他永远不乏伙伴，因为从他者甚众。