标题：瓦尔登湖
作者简介
亨利·戴维·梭罗（Henry David Thoreau，1817-1862），美国作家、思想家、自然主义者。著名散文集《瓦尔登湖》和论文《论公民的不服从权利》（又译为《消极抵抗》、《论公民的不服从》）的作者。
1817年7月12日出生在波士顿附近超验主义思想运动中心康科德村（Concord,Massachusetts），父亲是小业主。20岁于哈佛大学毕业（1837年），曾任教师，从事过各种体力劳动。在学生时代与拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson）相识，在爱默生的影响下，阅读柯尔律治、卡莱尔等人的著作，研究东方的哲学思想，同时以爱默生倡导的“自助”精神进行思考，形成了一套独立见解。
梭罗的著作都是根据他在大自然中的体验写成。1839年他和哥哥在梅里马克河上划船漂游，写成《在康科德与梅里马克河上一周》（1849），发表了他对自然、人生和文艺问题的见解。他的代表作《瓦尔登湖，或林中生活》（1854）记录了他于1845至1847年在康科德附近的瓦尔登湖畔度过的一段隐居生活。在他笔下，自然、人以及超验主义理想交融汇合，浑然一体。他是19世纪超验主义运动的重要代表人物。
梭罗的文章简练有力，朴实自然，富有思想内容，在美国19世纪散文中独树一帜。他的思想对英国工党、印度的甘地与美国黑人领袖马丁·路德·金等人都有很大的影响。
在爱默生的支持下，梭罗在康科德住下并开始了他的超验主义实践。这时期，梭罗放弃诗歌创作而开始撰写随笔，起先给超验主义刊物《日晷》（Dial）写稿，其后各地的报纸杂志上都有他的文章问世。  亨利·戴维·梭罗梭罗除了被一些人尊称为第一个环境保护主义者外，还是一位关注人类生存状况的有影响的哲学家，他的著名论文《论公民的不服从权利》影响了托尔斯泰和圣雄甘地。
1845年7月4日梭罗开始了一项为期两年的试验，他移居到离家乡康科德城（Concord）不远，优美的瓦尔登湖畔的次生林里，尝试过一种简单的隐居生活。自耕自足两年有余。他于1847年9月6日离开瓦尔登湖，重新和住在康科德城的他的朋友兼导师爱默生一家生活在一起。出版于1854年的散文集《瓦尔登湖》（Walden）详细记载了他在瓦尔登湖畔两年又两个月的生活。他虽毕业于世界闻名的哈佛大学，却没有选择经商发财或者从政成为明星，而是平静地选择了瓦尔登湖，选择了心灵的自由和闲适。他搭起木屋，开荒种地，写作看书，过着非常简朴、原始的生活。
1862年5月6日梭罗因病去世，年仅45岁。
内容简介
这本书的思想是崇尚简朴生活，热爱大自然的风光，内容丰厚，意义深远，语言生动，意境深邃，就像是个智慧的老人，闪现哲理灵光，又有高山流水那样的境界。
书中记录了作者隐居瓦尔登湖畔，与大自然水乳交融，在田园生活中感知自然重塑自我的奇异历程。读本书，能引领人进入一个澄明、恬美、素雅的世界。 [1]
章节
* 经济篇（Economy)
* 我的生活所在；我的生活追求 / 我生活的地方；我为何生活（Where I Lived,and What I Lived For)
* 阅读（Reading)
* 声音 / 声（Sounds )
* 孤独 / 寂寞（Solitude)  《瓦尔登湖》* 访客（Visitors)
* 豆田 / 种豆（The Bean-Field)
* 村子（The Village)
* 湖（The Ponds)
* 贝克田庄（Baker Farm)
* 更高的法则 / 更高的规律（Higher Laws)
* 禽兽为邻（'Brute Neighbors)
* 室内取暖（House-warming)
* 昔日的居民 / 旧居民；冬天的访客（Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors)
* 冬天的禽兽（Winter Animals )
* 冬天的湖（The Pond in Winter)
* 春天（Spring )
* 结束语（Conclusion)
在中国
与徐迟《瓦尔登湖》最早是由徐迟翻译到中国的。那个版本于80年代中前期由上海译文出版社出版，绿颜色的封皮儿。徐迟是湖北省作协的著名作家，最有影响的作品是报告文学《哥德巴赫猜想》，写陈景润的；《地质之光》，写李四光的。在70年代末“科学的春天”的背景下，它们创造了极大的社会影响，后被选入人教版中学课本。上海译文的那个版本，在国内并没有取得特别大的影响，销量平平。但是1996年末，82岁的徐迟坠楼（跳楼？）身亡，再次引起人们对《瓦尔登湖》的注目。与海子通过海子的一首诗《梭罗这人有脑子》至少有8万人知道了梭罗。海子1989年3月26日卧轨自杀。自杀时身边带了4本书，其中就有一本《瓦尔登湖》。与苇岸真正让《瓦尔登湖》为国内出版界全面接受的，还有一个人，就是苇岸。
苇岸1987年从海子处知道《瓦尔登湖》，一连读了两遍，甚为喜爱。苇岸这样写道：“当我读到梭罗的《瓦尔登湖》，我的确感到我对它的喜爱超过了任何诗歌。这就是我在诗歌路上浅尝辄止，最终转向散文写作的原因。”《瓦尔登湖》促使了苇岸从诗歌写作转向散文写作，梭罗成为苇岸散文写作的一个重要的精神源头之一。
1995年4月，苇岸散文集《大地上的事情》由中国对外翻译出版公司出版，通过他的书和一些媒体朋友所做的工作，苇岸让《瓦尔登湖》的影响继续在文化界传播。1996年12月，国内重量级出版社三联书店终于出版了《梭罗集》，该书分上下两册，精装，黑色封皮儿，上面有一帧梭罗的小像。那是三联一套介绍美国文化的书中的一种，我手头上就有《梭罗集》、《爱默生集》、《林肯集》。《梭罗集》共收集了梭罗四本书：《在康科德和梅里马克河上一周》、《缅因森林》、《瓦尔登湖》、《科德角》。《瓦尔登湖》的译者为许崇信、林本春。我们在很多外国散文集中，都可以见到这两个人的影子。值得注意的是，该书封面上打出来的是《瓦尔登湖》，但在目录上却是《瓦尔登湖或林中生活》。这反映了作者或出版社的某种心态——即既知道《瓦尔登湖》的市场影响，想借这影响来做文章，又想在翻译上有点儿创新。他们的翻译借鉴了徐迟的很多地方，把翻译得不顺的地方做了些处理。　再生年2003年初，由戴欢翻译，今日世界出版社出版的《瓦尔登湖》面市。该书印制非常精美，每个页码都做了专业设计，至今销量达6万册。是所有版本中销得最好的。
译本一览
1978年，《瓦尔登湖》，吴明实译，今日世界出版社
1982年，《瓦尔登湖》，徐迟译，上海译文出版社、吉林人民出版社
1995年，《瓦尔登湖》，孟祥森译，书华出版事业有限公司
1999年，《瓦尔登湖》，张玲译，远方出版社
2003年，《瓦尔登湖》，曹仁雪译，上海科学技术文献出版社（与徐迟版本一字不差）
2003年，《瓦尔登湖》，张知遥译，哈尔滨出版社、天津教育出版社
2003年，《瓦尔登湖》，戴欢译，当代世界出版社、中国画报出版社
2004年，《瓦尔登湖》，苏福忠译，人民文学出版社
2004年，《瓦尔登湖》，杨家盛译，天津教育出版社
2005年，《瓦尔登湖》，曾光辉译，中国书籍出版社
2005年，《瓦尔登湖》，纵华政译，中国电影出版社
2005年，《瓦尔登湖》，田颖译，陕西人民出版社
2007年，《瓦尔登湖》，王家湘译，北京十月文艺出版社
2007年，《瓦尔登湖》，林志豪译，南海出版社
2007年，《瓦尔登湖》，王光林译，长江文艺出版社
2007年，《瓦尔登湖》，潘庆舲译，上海社会科学院出版社、长江文艺、中国国际广播、中国华侨、华夏、湖南文艺
2008年，《瓦尔登湖》，李暮译，上海三联书店、文汇出版社
2008年，《瓦尔登湖》，王义国译，北京燕山出版社
2008年，《瓦尔登湖》，王宝根译，中国国际广播出版社
2008年，《瓦尔登湖》，张悦译，北方文艺出版社
2009年，《瓦尔登湖》，仲泽译，四川文艺出版社
2009年，《瓦尔登湖》，田然译，吉林出版集团有限责任公司
2009年，《瓦尔登湖》，许崇信、林本椿译，译林出版社
2009年，《瓦尔登湖》，穆紫译，武汉出版社、北方妇女儿童出版社
2009年，《瓦尔登湖》，吕晓滨译，北方妇女儿童出版社
2009年，《瓦尔登湖》，成维安译，哈尔滨出版社
2010年，《瓦尔登湖》，孔繁云译，贵州人民出版社
2010年，《瓦尔登湖》，叶子译，辽宁教育出版社
2010年，《瓦尔登湖》，王金玲译，重庆出版社
2010年，《瓦尔登湖》，梁栋译，译林出版社
2010年，《瓦尔登湖》，田伟华译，中国三峡出版社
2010年，《瓦尔登湖》，刘永升译，大众文艺出版社
2011年，《瓦尔登湖》，盛世教育西方名著翻译委员会译，世界图书出版公司
2011年，《瓦尔登湖》，宋璐璐译，云南人民出版社
2011年，《瓦尔登湖》，周玮、彭萍译，中国宇航出版社
2012年，《瓦尔登湖》，田然译，时代出版传媒股份有限公司，安徽人民出版社
（搜集整理：踏破江北街）
英文大纲
Economy:This is the first chapter and also the longest by far. Thoreau begins by outlining his project: a two-year and two-month stay at a crude cabin in the woods near Walden Pond. He does this,he says,in order to illustrate the spiritual benefits of a simplified lifestyle. He easily supplies the four necessities of life (food,shelter,clothing,and fuel). He meticulously records his expenditures and earnings,demonstrating his understanding of "economy," as he builds his house and buys and grows food. For a home and freedom,he spends a mere $28.12.
Complementary Verses:This chapter consists entirely of a poem,"The Pretensions of Poverty," by seventeenth-century English poet Thomas Carew. The poem criticizes those who think that their poverty gives them some sort of unearned moral and intellectual superiority.
Where I Lived,and What I Lived For:After playing with the idea of buying a farm,Thoreau describes his cabin's location. Then he explains that he took up his abode at Walden Woods so as to "live deliberately,to front only the essential facts of life,and see if I could not learn what it had to teach,and not,when I came to die,discover that I had not lived."
Reading:Thoreau discourses on the benefits of reading classical literature (preferably in the original Greek or Latin) and bemoans the lack of sophistication in Concord,manifested in the popularity of popular literature. He yearns for a utopian time when each New England village will support "wise men" to educate and thereby ennoble the population.
Sounds:Thoreau opens this chapter by warning against relying too much on literature as a means of transcendence. Instead,one should experience life for oneself. Thus,after describing his cabin's beautiful natural surroundings and his casual housekeeping habits,Thoreau goes on to criticize the train whistle that interrupts his reverie. To him,the railroad symbolizes the destruction of the good old pastoral way of life. Following is a description of the sounds audible from his cabin: the church bells ringing,carriages rattling and rumbling,cows lowing,whip-poor-wills singing,owls hooting,frogs croaking,and cockerels crowing.
Solitude:Thoreau rhapsodizes about the beneficial effects of living solitary and close to nature. He loves to be alone,for "I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude," and he is never lonely as long as he is close to nature. He believes there is no great value to be had by rubbing shoulders with the mass of humanity.
Visitors:Thoreau writes about the visitors to his cabin. Among the 25 or 30 visitors is a young Canadian woodchopper,whom Thoreau idealizes as approaching the ideal man,and a runaway slave,whom Thoreau helps on his journey to freedom in Canada.
The Bean-Field:Thoreau relates his efforts to cultivate two and a half acres of beans. He plants in June and spends his summer mornings weeding the field with a hoe. He sells most of the crop,and his small profit of $8.71 covers his needs.
The Village:Thoreau visits the small town of Concord every day or two to hear the news,which he finds "as refreshing in its way as the rustle of the leaves." Nevertheless,he fondly but rather contemptuously compares Concord to a gopher colony. In late summer,he is arrested for refusing to pay federal taxes,but is released the next day. He explains that he refuses to pay taxes to a government that supports slavery.
The Ponds:In autumn,Thoreau rambles about the countryside and writes down his observations about the geography of Walden Pond and its neighbors: Flint's Pond (or Sandy Pond),White Pond,and Goose Pond. Although Flint's is the largest,Thoreau's favorites are Walden and White ponds. They are lovelier than diamonds,he says.
Baker Farm:While on an afternoon ramble in the woods,Thoreau gets caught in a rainstorm and takes shelter in the dirty,dismal hut of John Field,a penniless but hard-working Irish farmhand,and his wife and children. Thoreau urges Field to live a simple but independent and fulfilling life in the woods,thereby freeing himself of employers and creditors. But the Irishman won't give up his dreams of luxury,which is the American dream.
Higher Laws:Thoreau discusses whether hunting wild animals and eating meat is good. He concludes that the primitive,animal side of humans drives them to kill and eat animals,and that a person who transcends this propensity is superior to those who don't. (Thoreau eats fish.) In addition to vegetarianism,he lauds chastity,work,and teetotalism.
Brute Neighbors:Thoreau briefly discusses the many wild animals that are his neighbors at Walden. A description of the nesting habits of partridges is followed by a fascinating account of a massive battle between red and black ants. Three of the combatants he takes into his cabin and examines them under a microscope as the black ant kills the two smaller red ones. Later,Thoreau takes his boat and tries to follow a teasing loon about the pond.
House-Warming:After picking November berries in the woods,Thoreau bestirs himself to add a chimney and plaster the walls of his hut in order to stave off the cold of the oncoming winter. He also lays in a good supply of firewood,and expresses affection for wood and fire.
Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors:Thoreau relates the stories of people who formerly lived in the vicinity of Walden Pond. Then he talks about the few visitors he receives during the winter: a farmer,a woodchopper,and a poet (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Winter Animals:Thoreau amuses himself by watching wildlife during the winter. He relates his observations of owls,hares,red squirrels,mice,and various birds as they hunt,sing,and eat the scraps and corn he put out for them. He also describes a foxhunt that passes by.
The Pond in Winter:Thoreau describes Walden Pond as it appears during the winter. He claims to have sounded its depths and located an underground outlet. Then he recounts how 100 laborers came to cut great blocks of ice from the pond,the ice to be shipped to the Carolinas.
Spring:As spring arrives,Walden and the other ponds melt with stentorian thundering and rumbling. Thoreau enjoys watching the thaw,and grows ecstatic as he witnesses the green rebirth of nature. He watches the geese winging their way north,and a hawk playing by itself in the sky. As nature is reborn,the narrator implies,so is he. He departs Walden on September 8,1847.
Conclusion:This final chapter is more passionate and urgent than its predecessors. In it,Thoreau criticizes Americans' constant rush to succeed,to acquire superfluous wealth that does nothing to augment their happiness. He urges us to change our lives for the better,not by acquiring more wealth and material possessions,but instead to "sell your clothes and keep your thoughts," and to "say what you have to say,not what you ought." He criticizes conformity: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions,perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears,however measured or far away." By doing these things,men may find happiness and self-fulfillment.
"I do not say that John or Jonathan will realize all this; but such is the character of that morrow which mere lapse of time can never make to dawn. The light which puts out our eyes is darkness to us. Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star."
英文主题
Walden emphasizes the importance of self-reliance,solitude,contemplation,and closeness to nature in transcending the crass existence that is supposedly the lot of most humans. The book is neither a novel nor a true autobiography,but combines these genres with a social critique of contemporary Western culture's consumerist and materialist attitudes and its distance from and destruction of nature. That the book is not simply a criticism of society,but also an attempt to engage creatively with the better aspects of contemporary culture is suggested both by his proximity to Concord society and by his admiration for classical literature. There are signs of ambiguity,or an attempt to see an alternative side of something common -- the sound of a passing locomotive,for example,is compared to natural sounds.
（A reproduction of Thoreau's cabin with a statue of Thoreau）
Walden is believed to have been inspired by American Transcendentalism,a philosophy developed by Thoreau's friend and spiritual mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson owned the land on which Thoreau built his cabin at Walden Pond,and Thoreau used to walk over to Emerson's house for a meal and a conversation.
Thoreau regarded his sojourn at Walden as a noble experiment with a threefold purpose. First,he was escaping the dehumanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution by returning to a simpler,agrarian lifestyle. Second,he was simplifying his life and reducing his expenditures,increasing the amount of leisure time in which he could work on his writings (most of A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers was written at Walden). Third,and most important,Thoreau was putting into practice the Transcendentalist belief that one can best transcend normality and experience the Ideal,or the Divine,through nature.
It should come as no surprise that Walden is now an icon for environmentalists,and a touchstone for Americans seeking to "get in touch with nature."
英文影响
（The site of Thoreau's cabin marked by a cairn）
* Walden inspired the 1948 novel Walden Two by psychologist B.F. Skinner.
* Walden Three,a non-profit educational foundation that promotes sustainable societies,takes its name from the book.
* In the early years of the Doonesbury comic strip,the main characters lived in a commune they named Walden Puddle,a reference to Walden Pond and a note of Thoreau's influence on the student counterculture of the time.
* The meetings of the fictional Dead Poets Society in the 1989 film with the same name were all opened with a quote from Walden.
* A Wilhelm Scream has a song on their 2005 album Ruiner which refers to Thoreau,Walden,and nature. The title of the song is "When I Was Alive: Walden III." The lyrical excerpt is: "And like Thoreau,it's a quiet place for me. The sticks and the woods,it's all miles away from you."
* Walden started a movement for less pollution and preserving wildlife.
* Walden is one of the three books always carried by Phaedrus in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The excerpt is: "..which can be read a hundred times without exhaustion."
* In a Zits Comic,Jeremy is telling his mother that he's taking care of his summer reading by listening to books on Podcast while he plays video games. When his mother asks him what book he's listening to,he says it's Walden.
* In the episode "Live Deliberately" of the TV show Ed,Warren tries to impress a girl with his studious knowledge of Henry David Thoreau's simplified lifestyle by spending a weekend in a local mountain.
* Walden is mentioned throughout the Frasier episode Cranes Unplugged.
* Walden is mentioned and discussed in The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
* Walden is an influence on the American author Paul Auster and reference is made to it in many of his books.
* A residential community in Calgary,Alberta is named after the book.[1]
* In the South Park Episode 'Weight Gain 4000' Eric Cartman wins an essay competition by submitted a manuscript entitled Waldon with Thoreau's name scratched out and his own scrawled over it. Wendy then criticizes the town for not knowing what it is,insisting that they would know what it is if it was a sitcom. To which the crowd responds,"Who cares?"
子午书简
节目概述名 称：《瓦尔登湖》[2]
产 地：中国大陆
年 份：2011
来 源：子午书简
语 种：中文节目简介梭罗在远离喧嚣的瓦尔登湖悠然地生活、写作，品读人赵启光老师为大家讲述了自己亲身来到瓦尔登湖感受梭罗当年悠然岁月和心境的故事。
分集剧情
分集查询收起查询1集2集3集4集 第1集 　　美国19世纪的作家亨利·戴维·梭罗，坚持自己的理念，把自己的经历写成了一本书《瓦尔登湖》，这本书在美国家喻户晓，是一本最著名的散文经典。梭罗曾说过，你的财富越多，美德越少，心灵只有和自然结合才能产生想象力和智慧。第2集 　　本节目主要内容：梭罗在远离喧嚣的瓦尔登湖悠然地生活、写作，品读人赵启光老师为大家讲述了自己亲身来到瓦尔登湖感受梭罗当年悠然岁月和心境的故事。第3集 　　本节目主要内容：亨利·戴维·梭罗在《瓦尔登湖》书中提倡简化生活，不要成为财富的奴隶，同时更要亲近自然，修炼自我。中国人的老祖宗早有在自然中修身养性的传统，梭罗饱读中国古代经典，吸收了不少东方的智慧。第4集 　　本节目主要内容：19世纪美国最具有世界影响力的作家、哲学家梭罗其代表作《瓦尔登湖》中引中国的经典达十次之多。品读人赵启光老师为大家讲述了《瓦尔登湖》中关于中国经典古道的引用。