狄更斯《双城记》(1859)：“最好的时代，最坏的时代”

----狄更斯警告的不是底层的农民或平民，而是社会上的精英

Dickens's famous opening sentence introduces the universal approach of the book, the French Revolution, and the drama depicted within:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only".^[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities

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The ending sentence of “A Tale of Two Cities”:

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

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Fig.1. Charles Dickens（1812--1870）

Fig.2.                

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Fig.4.

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财新文化专栏作家米琴: 自1859年问世以来，《双城记》发行了两亿多册。这部文学名著，直到现在仍广泛用做课堂教材。其中的名言也至今常为人们所引用，特别是小说的开篇。小说这样开始：“那是最好的时代，那是最坏的时代；那是智慧的时代，那是愚蠢的时代；那是信任的时代，那是怀疑的时代；那是光明的季节，那是黑暗的季节；那是希望的春天，那是绝望的冬天；我们面前应有尽有，我们面前一无所有；我们都将直奔天堂，我们都将直奔地狱……”。接下来，作者告诉读者，那个时代其实跟现在非常相象，可一些权威坚持要用形容词的最高级来形容它。说其好，是用形容词的最高级；说其不好，也是用形容词的最高级。

最好的时代，最坏的时代——《双城记》的警句

http://culture.caixin.com/2014-02-14/100638902.html

2014年02月14日 16:30 来源于财新网 | 标签：名著的启示