《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 11的内容，让我们一起来感受吉辛的四季吧!
I awoke a little after four o'clock. There was sunlight upon the blind, that pure gold of the earliest beam which always makes me think of Dante's angels. I had slept unusually well, without a dream, and felt the blessing of rest through all my frame; my head was clear, my pulse beat temperately. And, when I had lain thus for a few minutes, asking myself what book I should reach from the shelf that hangs near my pillow, there came upon me a desire to rise and go forth into the early morning. On the moment I bestirred myself. The drawing up of the blind, the opening of the window, only increased my zeal, and I was soon in the garden, then out in the road, walking light-heartedly I cared not whither.
我清晨四点多钟醒来，一缕阳光照在窗帘上，这最早的金色光线，总是让我想起但丁的天使。我睡得非常安稳，一夜没有做梦，整个身体都感受到充分休息的裨益；我的头脑清醒，脉搏跳动平稳。我就这样躺了几分钟，自问要从枕头边的架子上取下哪本书。这时，我忽然有了一种欲望，要起床出外享受清晨，于是便起身下床。卷起窗帘，打开窗子后，我热情更浓，于是很快便来到花园，接着走到外面的路上，开始心情轻松地散步，也不在意往哪儿走。
How long is it since I went forth at the hour of summer sunrise? It is one of the greatest pleasures, physical and mental, that any man in moderate health can grant himself; yet hardly once in a year do mood and circumstance combine to put it within one's reach. The habit of lying in bed hours after broad daylight is strange enough, if one thinks of it; a habit entirely evil; one of the most foolish changes made by modern system in the healthier life of the old time. But that my energies are not equal to such great innovation, I would begin going to bed at sunset and rising with the beam of day; ten to one, it would vastly improve my health, and undoubtedly it would add to the pleasures of my existence.
上次在夏天日出时分出外散步是多久以前的事了？这对每个身体状况良好的人来说，在身心上都是极大的享受；但是一年中难得有一次，情景会如此交融。请想一想吧，天光大亮后还在床上躺几个小时，这个习惯非常奇怪，完全是一个罪恶的习惯，是现代社会制度导致昔日健康生活发生的最愚蠢的变化之一。要不是现在我的精力不适合这种起居方式的革新，我会在日落时就上床睡觉，随着朝阳的第一缕光线起床。十之有九，这将大大地改善我的健康状况，并且无疑也会平添许多生活的乐趣。
When travelling, I have now and then watched the sunrise, and always with an exultation unlike anything produced in me by other aspects of nature. I remember daybreak on the Mediterranean; the shapes of islands growing in hue after hue of tenderest light, until they floated amid a sea of glory. And among the mountains—that crowning height, one moment a cold pallor, the next soft-glowing under the touch of the rosy-fingered goddess. These are the things I shall never see again; things, indeed, so perfect in memory that I should dread to blur them by a newer experience. My senses are so much duller; they do not show me what once they did.
旅行时，偶尔观看日出，心里总会有一种别样的欢欣，不同于自然带给我的任何一种感觉。我还记得地中海上的破晓，隐约的岛屿在最柔和的晨光中染上一层又一层色彩，直到它们在一片金光灿烂的海洋中漂浮起来。在群山中—那巍峨的高山，这一刻还是冰冷的苍白，下一刻便在女神玫瑰色手指的触碰下闪耀着柔和的晨曦。这些景象我再也见不到了，它们在回忆中那么完美，我害怕再次亲历其境会污损原有的印象。我的感官已经麻木了很多，它们不像以前那样敏锐了。
How far away is that school-boy time, when I found a pleasure in getting up and escaping from the dormitory whilst all the others were still asleep. My purpose was innocent enough; I got up early only to do my lessons. I can see the long school-room, lighted by the early sun; I can smell the school-room odour—a blend of books and slates and wall-maps and I know not what. It was a mental peculiarity of mine that at five o'clock in the morning I could apply myself with gusto to mathematics, a subject loathsome to me at any other time of the day. Opening the book at some section which was wont to scare me, I used to say to myself: "Come now, I'm going to tackle this this morning! If other boys can understand it, why shouldn't I?" And in a measure I succeeded. In a measure only; there was always a limit at which my powers failed me, strive as I would.
还记得在遥远的学生时代，常常在别人睡梦正酣时，我便起床离开宿舍，这在我是一桩乐事！我的目的非常单纯，早起就是为了做功课。我能看到清晨阳光下长长的教室，我能闻到教室的味道—是书本、石板、墙上的地图和其他东西混合在一起的味道。我有一个怪癖，只有在早晨五点钟，才能专心致志地学习数学，而在一天的其他时间，这个科目都是讨厌的。打开书里平常让我望而生畏的一章，我常常对自己说：“来吧，今天早晨我要搞定这一部分！如果其他人能理解，我为什么不能？”在一定程度上我成功了。但只是在一定程度上，不管怎样努力，我的能力总有一个限度。
In my garret-days it was seldom that I rose early: with the exception of one year—or the greater part of a twelvemonth—during which I was regularly up at half-past five for a special reason. I had undertaken to "coach" a man for the London matriculation; he was in business, and the only time he could conveniently give to his studies was before breakfast. I, just then, had my lodgings near Hampstead Road; my pupil lived at Knightsbridge; I engaged to be with him every morning at half-past six, and the walk, at a brisk pace, took me just about an hour. At that time I saw no severity in the arrangement, and I was delighted to earn the modest fee which enabled me to write all day long without fear of hunger; but one inconvenience attached to it. I had no watch, and my only means of knowing the time was to hear the striking of a clock in the neighbourhood. As a rule, I awoke just when I should have done; the clock struck five, and up I sprang. But occasionally—and this when the mornings had grown dark—my punctual habit failed me; I would hear the clock chime some fraction of the hour, and could not know whether I had awoke too soon or slept too long. The horror of unpunctuality, which has always been a craze with me, made it impossible to lie waiting; more than once I dressed and went out into the street to discover as best I could what time it was, and one such expedition, I well remember, took place between two and three o'clock on a morning of foggy rain.
住阁楼的那些年月，我很少早起，除了有一年—或者说大半年—那段时间，出于特殊的原因，我常常在五点半起床。我给一个准备通过伦敦大学考试的人“做家教”；他是个生意人，他唯一方便用来学习的时间是早饭前。当时我住在汉普斯特路，我的学生住在骑士桥；我答应每天早晨六点半开始给他辅导，而从我的住处到他家，步行速度快的话，需要大约一个小时。那时候，这样的安排对我根本不困难，我很乐意挣那点微薄的酬劳，起码可以让我一整天安心写作，而不必担心挨饿；但这也顺带有一种不便之处。我没有表，唯一知道时间的方法是听附近的钟声报时。通常，我会在应该起床的钟点醒来；钟敲了五下，我便一骨碌爬起来。但是偶尔—当早晨天光变暗的时候—我准时的习惯便不起作用了；听到钟敲一刻或半点钟，我不知道是自己醒得太早还是睡得太久。害怕迟到一向是我的怪癖，我不可能躺在床上等待起床时间，好几次我都穿上衣服跑到街上去尽力弄清到底几点。有一次，我记得很清楚，凌晨两三点钟我跑到了街上，那天大雾弥漫，还下着雨。
It happened now and then that, on reaching the house at Knightsbridge, I was informed that Mr.—felt too tired to rise. This concerned me little, for it meant no deduction of fee; I had the two hours' walk, and was all the better for it. Then the appetite with which I sat down to breakfast, whether I had done my coaching or not! Bread and butter and coffee—such coffee!—made the meal, and I ate like a navvy. I was in magnificent spirits. All the way home I had been thinking of my day's work, and the morning brain, clarified and whipped to vigour by that brisk exercise, by that wholesome hunger, wrought its best. The last mouthful swallowed, I was seated at my
有几次，我到了骑士桥的学生家里，却被告知某某先生感觉太累起不来床。这让我一点也不担忧，因为他不会扣减我的酬劳；我一来一回步行了两个小时，反而感觉很好。不管我是不是做了家教，我坐下来享用早餐时，胃口大开！面包、黄油和咖啡—多美味的咖啡！—这就是我的早餐，我像一个苦工一样狼吞虎咽。我感觉神清气爽，精神焕发。回家的一路上，我都在想着当天的工作。早晨健步的锻炼加上健康的饥饿感，让我的头脑异常清醒，思维活跃，处于最佳工作状态。吃完最后一口早餐，我便坐在书桌前。啊，我能在那里坐上七八个小时，除了
writing-table; aye, and there I sat for seven or eight hours, with a short munching interval, working as only few men worked in all London, with pleasure, zeal, hope. ...
短暂的午饭时间，整个伦敦像我这样带着乐趣、热情、希望等工作的人没有几个。
Yes, yes, those were the good days. They did not last long; before and after them were cares, miseries, endurance multiform. I have always felt grateful to Mr.—of Knightsbridge; he gave me a year of health, and almost of peace.
是的，是的，那真是美好的日子。这样的日子没有持续多久，在那之前和之后尽是各种各样的忧虑、痛苦和磨难。我总是对骑士桥的某某先生心怀感激，是他给了我健康的一年，几乎也是安宁的一年。
