内容简介

　　本书共收入作者从1929到1982年发表于诸种报刊或单行本的18篇随笔。这些文章长短不一,风格多变,所涉主题和文化背景亦极为繁杂,从不同角度体现出作者古今相鉴、东西融贯的关怀与哲思，以及执着的人文主义情怀。另外，“时间”也可以看作一条暗线，贯穿全书——在某种意义上说，本书也可以视作一部时间的变奏曲。

　　这部涉猎广泛的随笔集将强有力的思考融入充满诗意的语句。《尊者比德的几行文字》引人入胜地描绘出基督教抵达英格兰北部的时刻。《西斯廷》透过米开朗基罗及其弟子沉思生命与美。随后是一篇对于《历史小说中的语调与语言》的考察，文后附录1600年康帕内拉修士遭受酷刑的罕见笔录。《时间，这伟大的雕刻家》一文则漫议悠长岁月给纵然坚固的古代雕像带去的变迁和磨蚀。

　　在余下的文章里，作者就《丢勒一梦》展开沉思，延续伊凡·莫里斯对《失败的高贵》的讨论，研究伊丽莎白·巴托里这一女性残暴的个案，并为动物保护进行激烈的辩护。本书所涉主题还有：追溯《流转的年节》，思考自焚的年轻人，记叙古老的狩猎诗文，解读怛特罗心法和印度古代艳情诗歌。

　　作者简介

　　（法）玛格丽特•尤瑟纳尔（Marguerite Yourcenar,1903-1987），法语小说家、诗人、翻译家、文学批评家。作为现当代法语文学重要的代表人物，与玛格丽特·杜拉斯被并称为法国文坛上的两朵“雏菊”。尤瑟纳尔16岁即以长诗《幻想园》崭露头角，1951年发表的历史小说《哈德良回忆录》同时得到费米纳奖和法兰西学院大奖，并获法美两国批评界一致高度评价。1968年出版的另一部代表作的《苦炼》则获费米纳文学奖。

　　此后，尤瑟纳尔奖项不断加身——1970年当选比利时皇家文学院院士，1980年法兰西学院（非常保守的掌管法兰西语文纯正的权威学术机构）首位女院士，1986年被授予法国第三级荣誉勋位和美国艺术家俱乐部的文学奖章，1987年当选美国文理科学院院士；另获法兰西学院大奖、荷兰伊拉斯谟奖、摩纳哥皮埃尔亲王奖等多个文学、文化奖项。尤其值得强调的是，她是入选法兰西学院的第一位女性——这个由红衣主教黎塞留创立的学院是法国学术界的最高权威，院士包括孟德斯鸠、伏尔泰、孔多塞、维克多·雨果、托克维尔、小仲马等一众彪炳史册的人物。

　　尤瑟纳尔的独特性引人注目——作为一位没有界限的作家，玛格丽特·尤瑟纳尔关注大写的人类和历史，写作风格严谨而隽永，知识积累与储备也极为庞大。她的作品特色在于对古代文明和历史变迁的丰富知识，以及尝试理解人类行为的动机。一句话，她是那种能够有效思索世界和人类的作家。因此也有学者认为，读尤瑟纳尔的作品，就像读普鲁斯特或者托尔斯泰一样，感觉到的是时代、是生活的整体在流动。

Content introduction

The book consists of 18 essays published by the author from 1929 to 1982 in various newspapers and independent books. These articles vary in length, style, subject matter and cultural background, and reflect the author's concern and philosophy of ancient and modern, eastern and western integration, and persistent humanistic feelings from different perspectives. In addition, "time" can also be seen as a dark line throughout the book - in a sense, this book can also be seen as a variation on time.

This wide-ranging collection of essays blends powerful reflections with poetic statements. A Few Lines of His Holiness Bede is a fascinating picture of the arrival of Christianity in the north of England. The Sistine meditates on life and beauty through Michelangelo and his disciples. This is followed by an examination of Tone and Language in Historical Fiction, with an appendix to a rare account of the torture of the Campanella friar in 1600. "Time, the Great Sculptor," discusses the changes and wear that long time brings to even solid ancient statues.

In the rest of the essay, the author mused on Durer's A Dream, continued Ivan Morris's discussion of The Nobility of Failure, examined the case of female brutality of Elizabeth Batori, and made a passionate defense of animal protection. Other topics covered in this book include tracing the Festival of Circulation, thinking about young men who burned themselves, recounting ancient hunting poems, and interpreting the Tantra mind and ancient Indian erotic poetry.

About the author

Marguerite Yourcenar (1903-1987) was a French-language novelist, poet, translator, and literary critic. As an important representative of modern and contemporary French literature, he and Marguerite Duras are called the two "daisies" in the French literary world. At the age of 16, Youssenard made his debut with the long poem "Fantasy Garden", and his historical novel "Memoirs of Hadrian" published in 1951 won both the Fermina Prize and the French Academy Prize, and was highly praised by French and American critics. Another masterpiece, The Suffering, published in 1968, won the Fermina Prize for Literature.

Since then, she has been awarded more and more awards - in 1970 she was elected a member of the Royal Belgian Academy of Letters, in 1980 she was the first female member of the Academie Francaise (the very conservative academic institution in charge of the integrity of the French language), in 1986 she was awarded the French Third Order of Merit and the Literary Medal of the American Artists Club. He was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1987. He has also won many literary and cultural awards, such as the Grand Prix de France, the Erasmus Prize of the Netherlands, and the Prince Pierre Prize of Monaco. In particular, she was the first woman elected to the Academie Francaise, the academy founded by Cardinal Richelieu, which is the highest authority in French academia and includes Montesquieu, Voltaire, Condorcet, Victor Hugo, Tocqueville, Dumas Jr., and many other historical figures.

Yusenal's uniqueness is remarkable - as a writer without boundaries, Margaret Yusenal is concerned with human and historical capitals, writing in a rigorous and meaningful style, and accumulating knowledge and reserves. Her work is characterized by a rich knowledge of ancient civilizations and historical changes, as well as an attempt to understand the motivations of human behavior. In short, she is the kind of writer who can think effectively about the world and humanity. Therefore, some scholars believe that when reading Eucenal's works, like reading Proust or Tolstoy, one feels that The Times and the whole of life are flowing.