《四季随笔》是吉辛的散文代表作。其中对隐士赖克罗夫特醉心于书籍、自然景色与回忆过去生活的描述，其实是吉辛的自述，作者以此来抒发自己的情感，因而本书是一部富有自传色彩的小品文集。
吉辛穷困的一生，对文学名著的爱好与追求，以及对大自然恬静生活的向往，在书中均有充分的反映。本书分为春、夏、秋、冬四个部分，文笔优美，行文流畅，是英国文学中小品文的珍品之一。
以下是由网友分享的《四季随笔》节选 - 夏 08的内容，让我们一起来感受吉辛的四季吧!
In this hot weather I like to walk at times amid the full glow of the sun. Our island sun is never hot beyond endurance, and there is a magnificence in the triumph of high summer which exalts one's mind. Among streets it is hard to bear, yet even there, for those who have eyes to see it, the splendour of the sky lends beauty to things in themselves mean or hideous. I remember an August bank-holiday, when, having for some reason to walk all across London, I unexpectedly found myself enjoying the strange desertion of great streets, and from that passed to surprise in the sense of something beautiful, a charm in the vulgar vista, in the dull architecture, which I had never known. Deep and clear-marked shadows, such as one only sees on a few days of summer, are in themselves very impressive, and become more so when they fall upon highways devoid of folk. I remember observing, as something new, the shape of familiar edifices, of spires, monuments. And when at length I sat down, somewhere on the Embankment, it was rather to gaze at leisure than to rest, for I felt no weariness, and the sun, still pouring upon me its noontide radiance, seemed to fill my veins with life.
在炎热的天气里，我有时喜欢在灼热的阳光下散步。我们这个岛屿的阳光，从来不会热得让人无法忍受；而盛夏的炎炎烈日，自有一种让人心情振奋的胜利般的辉煌。走在街上会很难受，但即便如此，有心的人会注意到，天空的光辉给那些本来破旧丑陋的事物平添了一层美感。我记得，在八月的一个法定假日，我有事要步行穿越伦敦城，却意外地发现大街上空无一人，而我惊奇地欣赏着一种从粗俗街景和单调建筑中透出来的我从未了解的美丽和魅力。深邃而清晰的阴影，是只有在夏日里才能看到的那种，它们给人印象非常深刻，尤其是投影在空无一人的公路上时。我记得自己带着新鲜的眼光，观察那些熟悉的建筑物轮廓，还有尖塔和博物馆。最后，我坐在泰晤士河河堤上休息，不，应该说悠闲地眺望更恰当，因为我没有一丝疲倦，太阳正午的光辉倾泻在我的身上，似乎让我的血脉充满了生命力。
That sense I shall never know again. For me Nature has comforts, raptures, but no more invigoration. The sun keeps me alive, but cannot, as in the old days, renew my being. I would fain learn to enjoy without reflecting.
这种感觉我再不会有了。大自然可以给我安慰，让我狂喜，但不会再赐予我活力。太阳能维持我的生命，但再不会像从前那样，让我整个焕然一新。我很愿意学会心无挂碍地享受阳光。
My walk in the golden hours leads me to a great horse-chestnut, whose root offers a convenient seat in the shadow of its foliage. At that resting-place I have no wide view before me, but what I see is enough—a corner of waste land, over-flowered with poppies and charlock, on the edge of a field of corn. The brilliant red and yellow harmonize with the glory of the day. Near by, too, is a hedge covered with great white blooms of the bindweed. My eyes do not soon grow weary.
在太阳底下，我散步到了一棵巨大的七叶树前，树阴下，它的根为我提供了舒适的座椅。在这里休息，视野并不开阔，但是眼前的景色就足够我欣赏了—荒地的一角，开满了罂粟和田芥菜花，紧挨着的是一块玉米田。鲜艳的红色和黄色，与天空的壮丽交相辉映。近旁还有一个树篱，覆满了硕大洁白的旋花。我的眼睛久久都没有感到疲倦。
A little plant of which I am very fond is the rest-harrow. When the sun is hot upon it, the f lower gives forth a strangely aromatic scent, very delightful to me. I know the cause of this peculiar pleasure. The rest-harrow sometimes grows in sandy ground above the seashore. In my childhood I have many a time lain in such a spot under the glowing sky, and, though I scarce thought of it, perceived the odour of the little rose-pink flower when it touched my face. Now I have but to smell it, and those hours come back again. I see the shore of Cumberland, running north to St. Bee's Head; on the sea horizon a faint shape which is the Isle of Man; inland, the mountains, which for me at that time guarded a region of unknown wonder. Ah, how long ago!
有一小株植物我非常喜欢，那就是芒柄花。火辣的阳光照耀时，它会散发出一种奇异的芳香，让我心神愉悦。我知道这种奇妙快感的缘由。芒柄花有时会生长在海岸的沙地里。儿时的我常常在明朗的天空下躺在那样的地方，尽管我几乎没注意过它，但当那小小的淡粉色花朵触到我的脸庞，我就会嗅到它的香味。现在只要闻到这花香，我就会忆起那些年少时光。我似乎看到坎伯兰郡的海滩，向北一直延伸到圣比头；海平线上有一个模糊的影子，那是人岛；当时，在我的眼里，内地的群山环抱中，藏着一块神秘的领地。啊，那是多少年以前的事了！
