旅行的藝術(shù):Ⅳ 好奇心-5

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不過在馬德里，一切都已經(jīng)知曉，所有的事物都已經(jīng)測量好。大廣場的北側(cè)長約101.52米。它是在1619年，由德莫拉建成的。這里的溫度是攝氏18.5度，風(fēng)向朝西。大廣場中央的菲利普三世騎馬的雕像高5.43米，是由詹博洛尼亞 [11] 和皮耶羅·塔卡 [12] 合力鑄造而成。旅游指南介紹這些詳情時，偶爾顯得有些急切。接著，它又指引我來到圣米格爾教堂。這是一座灰色的建筑物，為了不被游客一眼帶過，它建得與眾不同。書上這么寫道：

But in Madrid everything was already known, everything had already been measured. The northern side of the Plaza Mayor was 101 metres and 52 centimetres long. It was built by Juan Gómez de Mora in 1619. The temperature was 18.5 centigrade, the wind was from the west. The equestrian statue of Philip III in the middle of the Plaza Mayor was 5 metres and 43 centimetres high and had been crafted by Giambologua and Pietro Tacca. The guidebook occasionally seemed impatient in presenting its facts. It sent me to the Pontificia de San Miguel, a grey building designed to repel the casual glances of passers-by, and declared:

這座由波納維亞設(shè)計的長方形教堂，是少數(shù)從18世紀(jì)意大利巴羅克建筑風(fēng)格獲得靈感的西班牙教堂。它弧形的外觀以精致的塑像點綴，展現(xiàn)了內(nèi)外線條之美。拾階而上，可以看見圣尤斯圖斯和圣帕斯托爾的浮雕。這座教堂正是為紀(jì)念這兩位圣者而建。教堂的橢圓形屋頂與拱形的屋檐交叉著，而且灰泥粉飾濃重，使教堂內(nèi)部顯得優(yōu)雅高貴。

The basilica by Bonavia is one of the rare Spanish churches to have been inspired by 18C Italian Baroque. Its convex fa?ade designed as an interplay of inward and outward curves, is adorned with fine statues. Above the doorway is a low relief of saints Justus and Pastor to whom the basilica was previously dedicated. The interior is graceful and elegant with an oval cupola, intersecting ribbed vaulting, flowing cornices and abundant stuccowork.

如果說我的好奇心遠(yuǎn)不如洪堡（而回床睡覺的沖動卻是那么強(qiáng)烈），那么其中部分原因在于我們旅行的目的有別。對于任何旅人來說，一個為求得真知而進(jìn)行的旅程，遠(yuǎn)比一個四處觀光之旅得到更多好處。

If my level of curiosity was so far removed from Humboldt's (and my impulse to return to bed so strong), it was in part because of the range of advantages with which any traveller on a factual, as opposed to touristic, mission is blessed.

知識是有其用途的。對于測繪師和研究德·莫拉作品的學(xué)生來說，測量大廣場北側(cè)的尺寸是有用的。對氣象學(xué)家來說，獲知馬德里中部四月天的氣壓也是有用的。庫馬納仙人掌的圓周為1.54米。全歐洲的生物學(xué)家對洪堡的這個發(fā)現(xiàn)，也感到特別有興趣，因為他們從來沒有想過仙人掌可以長得這么粗大。

Facts have utility. Measuring the dimensions of the north face of the Plaza Mayor will prove useful to architects and students of the work of Juan Gómez de Mora. Knowledge of the barometric pressure on an April day in central Madrid will be useful to meteorologists. Humboldt's discovery that the circumference of the Cumanán cactus (Tuna macho ) was 1.54 metres was of interest to biologists throughout Europe, who had not suspected that cacti could grow so large.

實用的知識能夠引起群眾的共鳴。當(dāng)洪堡于1804年8月把自己有關(guān)南美洲的研究結(jié)果帶回歐洲時，他受到許多興致勃勃的人的包圍和熱情款待。抵達(dá)巴黎的6個星期后，他在座無虛席的皇家學(xué)院宣讀了他的第一份旅行記錄。他指出了南美洲海岸太平洋和大洋洲海水的溫度差異，也描述了森林里不同種類的15種猴子。他打開20個箱子，展示了各種化石和礦物樣本，吸引與會者紛紛擠到前臺圍觀。經(jīng)度研究局向他索取天文觀測的資料，天文臺則要了他有關(guān)氣壓的數(shù)據(jù)。他受到夏多布里昂和施特爾夫人的宴請，也受邀加入只有名流（如拉普拉斯、貝托萊和蓋呂薩克等）才有資格參加的阿奎爾學(xué)會。在英國，賴爾和胡克熟讀他的作品，而達(dá)爾文也對他的大部分發(fā)現(xiàn)爛熟于胸。

And with utility comes an (approving) audience. When Humboldt returned to Europe with his South American facts in August 1804, he was besieged and fêted by interested parties. Six weeks after arriving in Paris, he read his first travel report before a packed audience at the Institut National. He informed them of the sea temperature on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of South America and of the fifteen different species of monkey in the jungles. He opened twenty cases of fossil and mineral specimens and many pressed around the podium to see them. The Bureau of Longitude Studies asked for a copy of his astronomic facts, the Observatory for his barometric measurements. He was invited to dinner by Chateaubriand and Madame de Sta?l and admitted to the élite Society of Arcueil, a scientific salon whose members included Laplace, Berthollet and Gay-Lussac. In Britain, his work was read by Charles Lyell and Joseph Hooker. Charles Darwin learnt large parts of his findings by heart.

當(dāng)洪堡繞著一株仙人掌打轉(zhuǎn)，或在亞馬孫測量溫度時，其好奇背后的驅(qū)動力，肯定源于一種服務(wù)他人的意識，因此就算他受到疲勞和疾病的威脅，這種意識也能夠支撐他。洪堡發(fā)現(xiàn)，幾乎所有關(guān)于南美洲的現(xiàn)有資料都與事實不符，或疑問重重，他因此有機(jī)會對它們一一修正。1800年他航海到哈瓦那，他甚至發(fā)現(xiàn)這個西班牙海軍最重要的戰(zhàn)略基地在地圖上的位置也是錯誤的。于是，他取出自己的測量儀器，重新確定了正確的緯度。一名西班牙元帥為此還請他吃了一頓晚餐，以示感激。

As Humboldt walked around a cactus or stuck his thermometer in the Amazon, his own curiosity must have been guided by a sense of others' interestsand bolstered by it in the inevitable moments when lethargy or sickness threatened. It was fortunate for him that almost every existing fact about South America was wrong or questionable. When he sailed into Havana in November 1800, he discovered that even this most important strategic base for the Spanish navy had not been placed correctly on the map. He unpacked his measuring instruments and worked out the correct geographical latitude. A grateful Spanish admiral invited him to dinner.