"A la recherche du temps perdu" (In search of Lost Time).

《追憶似水年華》

which has 1.2 million words in it, double those in "War and Peace" .

共一百二十萬字，是《戰爭與和平》的兩倍

The book was published in French in 7 volumes over 14 years,

這本書在法國經十四年共出版了七冊

and was immediately recognized to be a masterpiece, ranked by many as the greatest novel of the century,

並且馬上被視為大師之作，許多人稱之為二十世紀最偉大的小說

or, simply, of all time.

或是，有史以來最偉大的小說

What makes it so special is that it isn't just a novel in the straight narrative sense.

這本小說的獨特之處在於，它不僅只是平鋪直敘地敘述

it's a work that intersperses genius level descriptions of people and places

這部作品到處都點綴著天才般對人、地的敘述

with the whole philosophy of life. The clue is in the title:

和生命的哲理。線索就在標題中：

"In search of lost time". The book tells the story of one man

《追憶似水年華》。這本書講述一名男子

a thinly disguised version of Proust himself, in his ongoing search for the meaning and purpose of life

稍微偽裝過的普魯斯特本人，他不間斷地追尋生命的意義及目的

it recounts his quest to stop wasting time

這部作品詳細敘述普魯斯特追求不再浪費時間

and to start to appreciate existence

並開始感謝自己的存在

Marcel Proust wanted his book to help us above all

馬賽爾·普魯斯特希望他的書能幫助我們得到以上這些

His father, Adrien Proust, had been one of the great doctors of his age

他的父親阿德里安·普路斯特(暫譯)是那個時代偉大的醫生之一

responsible for wiping out cholera in France

負責消滅法國的霍亂

towards the end of his life, his frail, indolent son Marcel, who had lived on his inheritance

在他生命的最後，他那體弱又懶惰的兒子馬賽爾，一直以來靠著繼承的財產度日

and had disappointed his family by never taking up a regular job

從未做一個正常的工作讓家人失望

told his housekeeper Celeste

這樣的馬賽爾告訴他的管家賽萊斯特

if only I could to humanity as much good with my books

如果我可以用我的書造福人類

as my father did with his work

就像我父親用他的工作造福人類那樣就好了

the good news is that he amply succeeded

好消息是，他完全成功了

Proust's novel charts the narrator's systematic exploration of three possible sources of the meaning of life.

普魯斯特的小說詳細地紀錄敘事者對三種可能的人生意義進行系統性地探索

the first is social success

第一個是社會的成功

Proust was born into a comparable bourgeois household,

普魯斯特是出生於一個相當於中產階級的家庭

but from his teens, he began to think that the meaning of life

然而自他青年時期起，他便開始思考人生的意義

might lie in joining high society, which in his day meant, the world of aristocrats, of dukes, duchesses and princes.

可能是在融入上流社會，在他的時代這代表融入貴族、公爵、公爵夫人及王子們的世界

but if you convert this to the present day, that would mean celebrities.

但如果你轉換成現代，那些人就是現在的名人

For years, the narrator devotes his energies to working his way up the social hierarchy

好多年來，故事的敘事者耗費精力努力想提升他在社會階級的地位

and because he's charming and erudite, he eventually becomes friends with lynchpins of Parisian high society

由於他的魅力及博學，他最終成為蓋爾芒特公爵及公爵夫人的朋友

the Duke and Duchesse de Guermantes

也是巴黎上流社會的核心人物

But a troubling realisation soon dawns on him

然而，他很快地認知到一個沮喪的事實

These people are not the extraordinary paragons he imagined they would be

那就是，這些人根本不是他所想像的那種完美典範

The Duc's conversation is boring and crass

那名公爵的談話既無聊又粗魯

The Duchesse, though well mannered, is cruel and vain

公爵夫人雖然非常有禮節，卻殘酷又愛慕虛榮

Marcel tires of them and their circle

馬賽爾對他們及那個社交圈感到厭煩

He realises that virtues and vices are scattered throughout the population without regard to income or renown

他了解到美德與邪惡散佈在人群中，與收入及地位無關

He grows free to devote himself to a wider range of people

他漸漸接觸到更廣的人群

Though Proust spends many pages lampooning social snobbery

雖然普魯斯特花許多篇幅在諷刺社會上勢力的小人

it's in a spirit of understanding and underlying sympathy

其實他真正的目的是想要了解並構成同情心的基礎

it's a highly natural error, especially when one is young.

這是個非常自然的錯誤，尤其是在你年輕的時候

to suspect that there might be a class of superior people somewhere out there in the world

你會推測這世界上也許在某處有一個凌駕於一般大眾的階層

and that our lives might be dull principally

我們的生活可能大部分都很無趣

because we don't have the right contacts.

因為我們沒有接觸到那群更高階的人們

But Proust's novel offers us definitive reassurance: life is not going on elsewhere

但普魯斯特給我們最終再度的保證：我們的人生不會有什麼大改變

there is no party where the perfect people are

世界上沒有那完美的人們所參加的派對

The second thing that Proust's narrator investigates in his quest for the meaning of life

普魯斯特在追尋生命意義所調查的第二個項目

is love

是愛

In the second volume of the novel

在第二冊小說中

the narrator goes off to the seaside with his grandmother

敘事者跟他的奶奶到海邊

to the voguish resort of Cabourg (the Barbados of the times)

位於時髦的卡伯格度假 (相當於現今的巴貝多)

There he develops an overwhelming crush on a beautiful teenage girl called Albertine

在那裡，他瘋狂地暗戀上一個美麗的少女名為艾貝蒂

She has short hair, a boyish smile and a charming, casual way of speaking

她有著一頭短髮、男孩般的笑容和一種充滿魅力又漫不經心的說話方式

For about 300 pages, all the narrator can think about is Albertine

大約有三百頁左右敘事者都只能想到艾貝蒂

The meaning of life surely must lie in loving her

人生的意義想當然爾的就是愛她

But with time, here too, there's disappointment

然而隨著時間推移，這裡也是，失望出現了

The moment comes when the narrator is finally allowed to kiss Albertine

這個時刻是在敘事者終於被准予親吻艾貝蒂了

Man, a creature clearly less rudimentary than the sea-urchin or even the whale

男人，明顯是一種比海膽或甚至鯨魚要來得不那麼原始的生物

nevertheless lacks a certain number of essential organs

卻缺少某些種要器官

and particularly possesses none that will serve for kissing

特別是缺少親吻所需要的器官

For this absent organ, he substitutes his lips

這缺少的器官，他用嘴唇來替代

and perhaps he thereby achieves a result slightly more satisfying

而或許他因此得到一個比起用堅硬的長角親吻她心愛女人來說

than caressing his beloved with a horny tusk

稍微更令人滿意的結果

The ultimate promise of love, in Proust's eyes

在普魯斯特的眼裡，愛最終極的承諾

is that we can stop being alone and properly fuse our life with that of another person

是讓我們不再獨自一人，並適當地將我們與另一半的生活融合在一起

who will understand every part of us

那位能理解我們全部的人

But the novel comes to darker conclusions

但是小說的結論更加地黑暗

no one can fully understand anyone

沒有人能全然地了解另一個人

Loneliness is endemic

孤獨是普遍的

We're awkwardly, lonely pilgrims trying to give each other tusk-kisses in the dark

我們是笨拙而孤獨的旅人，試著去用長牙在黑暗中親吻彼此

This brings us to the third and only successful candidate for the meaning of life:

這也將我們帶到人生意義的第三項也使唯一成功的候選者：

ART

藝術

For Proust, the great artists deserve acclaim

對普魯斯特來說，偉大的藝術家值得歡呼

because they show us the world in a way that is fresh, appreciative, and alive

因為他們給我們看到一個鮮活、直得欣賞並活著的世界

The opposite of art for Proust is something he calls habit

而與藝術相反的，他則稱之為習慣

For Proust, much of life is ruined for us by a blanket or shroud of familiarity

對普魯斯特來說，許多的人生都被我們用「熟悉」的毯子或遮布給毀了

that descends between us and everything that matters

降於我們與所有重要的東西之間

habit dulls our senses and stops us appreciating everything

習慣使我們的感官愚鈍並讓我們不再感謝任何東西

from the beauty of a sunset to our work and our friends

從夕陽之美到我們的工作和朋友

Children don't suffer from habit

孩子不會為習慣而苦

which is why they get excited by some very key but simple things

這也是為什麼他們對一些非常關鍵卻簡單的東西感到興奮

like puddles, jumping on the bed, sand or fresh bread

像是水窪、在床上跳、沙子和新鮮的麵包

But we adults get spoilt about everthing

但我們大人被所有東西給寵壞了

which is why we seek ever more powerful stimulants (like fame and love)

這也是為什麼我們尋找更強力的刺激 (像名聲和愛)

The trick, in Proust's eyes

在普魯斯特的眼中，這個把戲

is to recover the powers of appreciation of a child in adulthood

是為了要讓大人恢復孩子般欣賞世界的能力

to strip the veil of habit and therefore

退去「習慣」的面紗，因而

to start to appreciate daily life with a new sensitivity

開始去用心的感官欣賞每天的生活

This for Proust is what one group in the population does all the time

對普魯斯特來說，有一群人一直都是這樣做的

artists

那就是藝術家

Artists are people who know how to strip habit away

藝術家們是一群知道如何擺脫習慣的人

and return life to its true deserved glory

並歸還生活他們應得的光榮

for example, when they show us water lilies or service stations or buildings in a new light

例如，他們以新的眼光給我們看睡蓮、加油站或建築物的時候

Proust's goal isn't that we should necessarily make art

普魯斯特的目標不是要我們去做出藝術

or be someone who hangs out in museums all the time

或當個經常去參觀博物館的人

the idea is to get us to look at the world, our world

他是想要我們去看看這個世界，我們的世界

with some of the same generosity as an artist

用和藝術家們同樣慷慨的眼光

which would mean taking pleasure in simple things

也就是對簡單的小事感到喜悅

like water, the sky or a shaft of light on a piece of paper

像水、天空或一道照在紙上的光

It's no coincidence that Proust's favourite painter was Vermeer

普魯斯特最喜愛的畫家是維梅爾並非巧合

a painter who knew how to bring out the charm and the value of the everyday

一位懂得帶出日常生活魅力與價值的畫家

the spirit of Vermeer hangs over his novel

維梅爾的精神就在他的小說中

it too is committed to the project of reconciling us to the ordinary circumstances of life

他的小說也致力於那項調和我們和一般日常生活的計畫

and some of Proust's most compelling pieces of writing

而普魯斯特一些最引人入勝的篇章

describe the charm with the everyday like reading in a train

就是在描述日常生活的魅力，像是在火車上閱讀

driving at night, smelling the flowers in spring time

晚上開車、聞春天的花香

and looking at the changing light of the sun on the sea

和看著太陽在海上的光線變化

Proust is famous for having written about the dainty little cakes the French call 'madeleines'

普魯斯特聞名於曾寫過有關那精緻小巧的蛋糕，法文叫「瑪德蓮」

The reason has to do with his thesis about art and habit

這原因和他對藝術和習慣的論點有關

Early on in the novel, the narrator tells us

在這部小說較前面的部分，敘事者告訴我們

that he'd been feeling depressed and sad for a long while

他已經感到沮喪和難過好一段時間了

when one day he had a cup of herbal tea and a madeleine

有一天，他享用了一杯草本茶和一塊瑪德蓮

and suddenly the taste carried him powerfully back

突然這個口感將他強烈地帶回過去

(in the way that flavours sometimes can)

(用一種味道有時可以代人回憶過去的方式)

to years in his childhood when as a small boy

回到他的童年，當他還是個小男孩時

he spent his summers in his aunt's house in french countryside

他在他阿姨法國鄉下的家渡過夏天

A stream of memories comes back to him, and fills him with hope and gratitude

一連串的回憶湧入心頭，並讓他充滿希望與感激

Thanks to the madeleine

由於瑪德蓮的作用

Proust's narrator has what has since become known as

普魯斯特的敘事者經歷了從那時起便被稱為

A PROUSTIAN MOMENT

普魯斯特時刻的瞬間

a moment of sudden involuntary and intense remembering

這個時刻是指突然非自願性地憶起過去，並強烈地記得當時的一切

when the past promptly emerges unbidden from a smell, a taste or a texture

當「過去」迅速而未經邀請地，因氣味、口感或觸感而到來

Through its rich evocative power

經過這豐富而引發回憶的力量

what the Proustian moment teaches us is that life isn't necessarily dull and without excitement

普魯斯特時刻教導我們，生活並不一定是無趣而缺少激動

it's just one forgets to look at it in the right way

只是我們忘了用正確的方式來看待生活

we forget what being alive

我們忘了，活著

fully alive, actually feels like.

完全地活著，到底是什麼感覺

The moment with the tea is pivotal in the novel

那個喝茶的時刻在小說中是至關重要的

because it demonstrates everything Proust wants to teach us

因為它證明了一切普魯斯特想教導我們的

about appreciating life with greater intensity

有關更強力地欣賞生活

it helps as narrator to realize that it isn't his life which has been mediocre

敘事者了解到，真正平庸的並不是他的人生

so much as the image of it he possessed in normal, that is voluntary memory

而是他常態下所擁有的對人生的想像，也就是有意識的回憶

Proust writes

普魯斯特寫道

The reason why life may be judged to be trivial

人生之所以會被評斷為沒有價值

although at certain moments it seems to us so beautiful

雖然在某些特定時刻，我們似乎覺得人生非常美好

is that we form our judgment ordinarily not on the evidence of life itself

是因為我們通常並不是用我們的生活本身來下判斷

but in its quite different images

而是其他一些非常不同的象徵

which preserve nothing of life

那些並不保有任何人生

and therefore we judge it disparagingly

因此，我們輕蔑地判定人生的價值

that's why artists are so important

這也是為什麼藝術家如此重要

Their work is like one long Proustian moment

他們的作品就像一個長的普魯斯特時刻

they remind us that life truly is beautiful, fascinating and complex

他們提醒我們人生真的是美好的、迷人的和複雜的

and thereby they dispel our boredom and our ingratitude.

因而他們驅散了我們的厭倦和不知感恩

Proust's philosophy of art is delivered in a book

普魯斯特的藝術哲學經由一本書傳遞

which is itself exemplary of what he's saying

而那本書本身便是他所想傳達的理念的模範

It's a work of art that brings the beauty and interest of the world back to life

那本書是一個將世界的美麗與趣味帶回生活的藝術品

Reading it, your senses are reawakened

閱讀它後，你的感官被重新喚起

a thousand things you normally forget to notice are brought to your attention

一千件你通常會忘了注意到的事被你看見

he makes you for a time, as clever and as sensitive as he was

他讓你暫時和他一般地聰明與敏感

and for this reason alone, we should be sure to read him

而僅只是因為這個原因，我們就應該去讀他

and 1.2 million words he assembled for us

和他為我們召集起來的那一百二十萬字

thereby learn to appreciate existence before it's too late.

因而在太遲之前，學會感謝我們存在