《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 23的内容，让我们一起来感受吉辛的四季吧!

A visit from N-. He stayed with me two days, and I wish he could have stayed a third. (Beyond the third day, I am not sure that any man would be wholly welcome. My strength will bear but a certain amount of conversation, even the pleasantest, and before long I desire solitude, which is rest.)

N先生来做客。他在我这里住了两天，我希望他还能多呆一天（过了第三天，任何人我都不敢保证能受到十分的欢迎。即使对于最愉快的谈话，我身体的承受能力也有限，我不久就会想要独处，也就是休息）。

The mere sight of N-, to say nothing of his talk, did me good. If appearances can ever be trusted, there are few men who get more enjoyment out of life. His hardships were never excessive; they did not affect his health or touch his spirits; probably he is in every way a better man for having—as he says—"gone through the mill." His recollection of the time when he had to work hard for a five-pound note, and was not always sure of getting it, obviously lends gusto to his present state of ease. I persuaded him to talk about his successes, and to give me a glimpse of their meaning in solid cash. Last Midsummer day, his receipts for the twelvemonth were more than two thousand pounds. Nothing wonderful, of course, bearing in mind what some men are making by their pen; but very good for a writer who does not address the baser throng. Two thousand pounds in a year! I gazed at him with wonder and admiration.

光看到N先生就让我心情愉快，更不用说跟他聊天了。如果外表可以信任的话，那几乎没有谁比他更享受生活了。他受过的苦难从来算不上深重，不足以损害他的健康，或者影响他的精神；现在的他各方面都很优秀，可能是因为曾经—他的原话是—“历经沧桑”。他还记得为了赚五英镑而努力工作，并且还不确定能否拿到钱，显然这些记忆让他更加热爱现在的舒适生活。我让他谈谈自己的成功之路，让我大概了解一下成功的物质意义。去年仲夏日，他一年的收入是两千多英镑。想想有些人用笔杆子能挣到的钱，这当然没什么可大惊小怪的，但是对于一个不迎合下流趣味的作家来说，这已经很好了。一年两千英镑啊！我的眼光里充满了惊奇和艳羡。

I have known very few prosperous men of letters; N- represents for me the best and brightest side of literary success. Say what one will after a lifetime of disillusion, the author who earns largely by honest and capable work is among the few enviable mortals. Think of N-'s existence. No other man could do what he is doing, and he does it with ease. Two, or at most three, hours' work a day—and that by no means every day—suffices to him. Like all who write, he has his unfruitful times, his mental worries, his disappointments, but these bear no proportion to the hours of happy and effective labour. Every time I see him he looks in better health, for of late years he has taken much more exercise, and he is often travelling. He is happy in his wife and children; the thought of all the comforts and pleasures he is able to give them must be a constant joy to him; were he to die, his family is safe from want. He has friends and acquaintances as many as he desires; congenial folk gather at his table; he is welcome in pleasant houses near and far; his praise is upon the lips of all whose praise is worth having. With all this, he has the good sense to avoid manifest dangers; he has not abandoned his privacy, and he seems to be in no danger of being spoilt by good fortune. His work is more to him than a means of earning money; he talks about a book he has in hand almost as freshly and keenly as in the old days, when his annual income was barely a couple of hundred. I note, too, that his leisure is not swamped with the publications of the day; he reads as many old books as new, and keeps many of his early enthusiasms.

成功的作家我认识的不多。在我眼里，N先生就代表了成功文学家最美好和最光明的一面。一生失意的人说什么话都随他去，而一个靠诚实和专业文学创作取得不菲收入的作家，是为数不多的令人羡慕的人。想想N先生的生活吧。他做的事情无人能替代，在他却得心应手。一天工作两小时，最多三小时，对他就足够了，而且不是每天都要工作。如所有写作的人一样，他也有歉收期，有精神烦恼和失意的时候，但和那些愉快而高效工作的时间相比，是不值一提的。近年来他很注重锻炼，而且经常旅行，所以每次见到他，都会觉得他看起来身体状况更好了。他和妻儿一家人其乐融融，想到能给他们提供舒适愉悦的生活条件，他一定常常感到快乐；假如他去世了，家人的生活也不会陷入困顿。他随心所欲结交了很多朋友和熟人；意气相投的人在他家聚餐；在远近四邻友善的人家里，他都是受欢迎的人；所有评价值得一听的人都对他交口称赞。即使拥有这些，他还是能明智地避开显见的危险；他没有放弃自己的隐私，似乎也并没有任何被好运惯坏的迹象。工作对他来讲不只是一种挣钱的手段，他谈起手头的一本书时，带着和年收入不过几百磅的时候一样的热情和新鲜感。我还注意到，他没有将闲暇时间全部用来阅读时髦的出版物。他阅读很多的经典古籍，也保持着早年的很多兴趣。

He is one of the men I heartily like. That he greatly cares for me I do not suppose, but this has nothing to do with the matter; enough that he likes my society well enough to make a special journey down into Devon. I represent to him, of course, the days gone by, and for their sake he will always feel an interest in me. Being ten years my junior, he must naturally regard me as an old buffer; I notice, indeed, that he is just a little too deferential at moments. He feels a certain respect for some of my work, but thinks, I am sure, that I ceased writing none too soon—which is very true. If I had not been such a lucky fellow—if at this moment I were still toiling for bread—it is probable that he and I would see each other very seldom; for N- has delicacy, and would shrink from bringing his high-spirited affluence face to face with Grub Street squalor and gloom; whilst I, on the other hand, should hate to think that he kept up my acquaintance from a sense of decency. As it is we are very good friends, quite unembarrassed, and—for a couple of days—really enjoy the sight and hearing of each other. That I am able to give him a comfortable bedroom, and set before him an eatable dinner, flatters my pride. If I chose at any time to accept his hearty invitation, I can do so without moral twinges.

他是我打心眼里喜欢的人。他是否喜欢我就不得而知了，不过也无关紧要。他能专程跑到德文郡来探访我，说明他还是很喜欢与我相处，这就够了。当然，我对他而言代表的是过去的时光，因为这个原因，他会对我一直有种兴趣。他比我小十岁，他自然而然肯定会把我看做一个老古板；我确实注意到，他有时对我会有点过于恭敬。他尊重我的一些作品，但是认为我停笔太早—这是真的。如果我不是这么幸运—如果我至今还在为糊口而劳碌—那我和他很可能会很少见面。N先生是很照顾别人感受的，他不会把自己的欢乐富足，带到我居住的龌龊阴郁的文丐街；而另一方面，想到他与我结交只是出于礼貌，我也会觉得反感。现在，我们是很好的朋友，没什么尴尬之处，甚至一连几天都很愿意看到对方，乐意听对方谈话。我能为他提供一间舒适的卧房，在他面前摆上可口食物，这让我的虚荣心得到满足。如果他衷心邀请我去做客，我也可以坦然接受。

Two thousand pounds! If, at N-'s age, I had achieved that income, what would have been the result upon me? Nothing but good, I know; but what form would the good have taken? Should I have become a social man, a giver of dinners, a member of clubs? Or should I merely have begun, ten years sooner, the life I am living now? That is more likely.

两千磅！如果我在N先生的年纪能取得这样的收入，那对自己会有什么影响呢？我知道肯定只有好的影响，但是具体怎样好呢？我会变得喜欢交际，举办宴会，成为俱乐部会员？或者只是会早十年开始过现在的生活。后一种是比较可能的情形。

In my twenties I used to say to myself: what a splendid thing it will be WHEN I am the possessor of a thousand pounds! Well, I have never possessed that sum—never anything like it—and now never shall. Yet it was not an extravagant ambition, methinks, however primitive. As we sat in the garden dusk, the scent of our pipes mingling with that of roses, N- said to me in a laughing tone: "Come now, tell me how you felt when you first heard of your legacy?" And I could not tell him; I had nothing to say; no vivid recollection of the moment would come back to me. I am afraid N- thought he had been indiscreet, for he passed quickly to another subject. Thinking it over now, I see, of course, that it would be impossible to put into words the feeling of that supreme moment of life. It was not joy that possessed me; I did not exult; I did not lose control of myself in any way. But I remember drawing one or two deep sighs, as if all at once relieved of some distressing burden or constraint. Only some hours after did I begin to feel any kind of agitation. That night I did not close my eyes; the night after I slept longer and more soundly than I remember to have done for a score of years. Once or twice in the first week I had a hysterical feeling; I scarce kept myself from shedding tears. And the strange thing is that it seems to have happened so long ago; I seem to have been a free man for many a twelvemonth, instead of only for two. Indeed, that is what I have often thought about forms of true happiness; the brief are quite as satisfying as those that last long. I wanted, before my death, to enjoy liberty from care, and repose in a place I love. That was granted me; and, had I known it only for one whole year, the sum of my enjoyment would have been no whit less than if I live to savour it for a decade.

二十多岁的时候，我常对自己说：如果我能拥有一千英磅该多好！不过，我从来也没有过那么多钱—甚至连影子都没有—现在也永远不会有了。然而我想，这理想也许幼稚，但并非不切实际。我们坐在薄暮中的花园里，烟斗和玫瑰的香味混合在一起，N先生笑着对我说：“来吧，跟我讲讲你刚听到自己获赠那笔遗产时的感觉！”而我不能告诉他，我没什么可说的，对于那个时刻我没有什么鲜明的记忆。我想N先生一定觉得他有些冒昧，因为他很快就转移了话题。现在细想想，我知道自己当然还是不能用言语表达出那一个重要人生转折时刻的感受。当时我的心情不是快乐，也没有欣喜若狂，我一点儿也没有情不自禁。但是我记得深深地吸了一两口气，似乎一下子从某种令人压抑的重负和约束下解脱出来。几小时后，我开始感到一种兴奋。当晚我一夜没有合眼，而第二天晚上，是我记忆中二十年来睡得最长和最香的一夜。第一个星期里有一两次，我忽然异常兴奋，我几乎不能控制地掉眼泪。奇怪的是，现在我感觉好像事情已经发生了很久，似乎我已经做自由人好多年了，而不仅仅是两年。这确实就是我以前常想到过的真正幸福的表现形式；不管是短短一瞬，还是经年累月，幸福感会让人获得同样的满足。我曾希望能在有生之年摆脱烦恼，享受自由，在我热爱的地方平静生活。这个愿望实现了，即使这种日子我只过上一年，那我获得的所有快乐比十年幸福生活中享受的丝毫也不会少。