《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 21的内容，让我们一起来感受吉辛的四季吧!

At an inn in the north I once heard three men talking at their breakfast on the question of diet. They agreed that most people ate too much meat, and one of them went so far as to declare that, for his part, he rather preferred vegetables and fruit. "Why," he said, "will you believe me that I sometimes make a breakfast of apples?" This announcement was received in silence; evidently the two listeners didn't quite know what to think of it. Thereupon the speaker, in rather a blustering tone, cried out, "Yes, I can make a very good breakfast on TWO OR THREE POUNDS OF APPLES."

在北边一家小客栈里，我曾听到三个人在早餐桌上谈论饮食。他们一致认为大多数人肉吃得太多，其中一个干脆就宣称，他本人更喜欢蔬菜和水果。“嗨”，他说，“你们相信吗，我早餐有时候只吃苹果？”其他两个人听后默不作声，显然他们不知道该作何感想。那个人随即以夸张的语调大声说道，“是真的，我早餐饱食一顿要两三磅苹果”。

Wasn't it amusing? And wasn't it characteristic? This honest Briton had gone too far in frankness. 'This all very well to like vegetables and fruits up to a certain point; but to breakfast on apples! His companions' silence proved that they were just a little ashamed of him; his confession savoured of poverty or meanness; to right himself in their opinion, nothing better occurred to the man than to protest that he ate apples, yes, but not merely one or two; he ate them largely, BY THE POUND! I laughed at the fellow, but I thoroughly understood him; so would every Englishman; for at the root of our being is a hatred of parsimony.

这难道不是很好笑吗？这不是也很典型吗？这位诚实的英国人有些过于坦率了。在一定限度内喜欢蔬菜水果是不错的；但是拿苹果当早餐就过头了！同伴的沉默，正表明他们为他感到有点害臊，他的话听来有穷酸或吝啬的意味。为了向同伴纠正自己的观点，他最佳的辩护就是承认自己吃苹果，不是一两个，而是多到可以用磅来计量！我虽然觉得这个家伙很可笑，但是也完全理解他，每一个英国人也都会理解他，因为我们骨子里有种对吝啬的憎恶。这一点通过各种可笑或可鄙的形式表现出来，但它无愧是我们最好品质的源泉。

This manifests itself in all sorts of ludicrous or contemptible forms, but no less is it the source of our finest qualities. An Englishman desires, above all, to live largely; on that account he not only dreads, but hates and despises, poverty. His virtues are those of the free-handed and warm-hearted opulent man; his weaknesses come of the sense of inferiority (intensely painful and humiliating) which attaches in his mind to one who cannot spend and give; his vices, for the most part, originate in loss of self-respect due to loss of secure position.

一个英国人所希望的，首先是生活优裕，所以他不仅害怕贫穷，而且憎恨和鄙视贫穷。他的美德，属于那些花钱慷慨、心肠热情的富人；他的弱点，来自一种附着在无力花费和给予的人身上的自卑感（让人感觉极为痛苦和耻辱）；他的恶习，从很大程度上说，源于自尊随着安稳地位的不保而丧失。