一把刀的鋒刃很不容易越過；因此智者說得救之道是困難的?；蛟S是因為這句話讓喜愛毛姆的村上也寫出類似的話“刀鋒也有自己的哲學(xué)。” 初讀此書時年紀很小，很迷戀看似殘忍卻又好似有力量的文字，比如陽光代表著安穩(wěn)，也有著不安，那是秩序。比如陰影處的自在也意味著潛藏處的危險，從刀鋒的一面翻越到另一面需要極大的勇氣等等等等，具體的內(nèi)容已記不大清楚。而這樣的句子隨著日子的累積不時自己也能隨時來上兩句，灌灌雞湯吸引吸引流量，但我這人素來又有不討喜的臭毛病，相對深刻的內(nèi)容來自自己的人生不想對別人說，而有所感悟的東西又太淺不屑也不覺得值得講。所以更喜歡純粹的故事，不去講那些沉得壓的人喘不過氣的人性和生活。 這本書再次讀完只覺得悵然若失，有一絲惆悵。斷斷續(xù)續(xù)29天伴隨著原版書重新翻了一遍，讀得很慢，也很細。也是目前四本毛姆書中最喜歡的一本。女性的角色依舊不那么討喜，但他多了太多的寬容和思考，每一段不同人的人生最終都不過浮光掠影，如同一條清涼的河不管你是否踏上第二次，它依舊緩緩流著，沁人心脾。 最喜歡文中最后的章節(jié)，也是作者所敘說的“沒有這一章，這本書也沒有寫作的必要”一章，對于人生追求的討論上升到了唯心靈修或者哲學(xué)的思考，但毛姆很壞，他總是設(shè)計極端的對立來激發(fā)人內(nèi)心的震動與思考。經(jīng)歷了人生中的一些事之后，我只覺得物質(zhì)和追求是可以融洽的，不必將它們徹底剝離，那是愚蠢的，也是有害的。 就此打住吧，就以兩個英文段落結(jié)尾，一篇出自本書，一篇出自《面紗》，是因為它們在討論人生深奧的內(nèi)容時都讓我想起了道，雖然前者來自《奧義書》后者的確來自毛姆本人對道的闡述，這兩段讓我覺得無比精彩的同時又覺得文化或者說思考到了一定程度是有相通的地方。

"Reality. You can't say what it is; you can only say what it isn't. It's inexpressible. The Indians call it Brahman. It's nowhere and everywhere. All things imply and depend upon it. It's not a person, it's not a thing, it's not a cause. It has no qualities. It transcends permanence and change; whole and part, finite and infinite.It is eternal because its completeness and perfection are unrelated to time.It is truth and freedom." 本書關(guān)于大梵天的描述，與“大道無形，生育天地；大道無情，運行日月；大道無名，長養(yǎng)萬物?！焙芙咏?

"It is the Way and the Waygoer. It is the eternal road along which walk all beings, but no being made it, for itself is being. It is everything and nothing. From it all things spring, all things conform to it, and to it at last all things return. It is a square without angles, a sound which ears cannot hear, and an image without form. It is a vast net and though its meshes are as wide as the sea it lets nothing through. It is the sanctuary where all things find refuge. It is nowhere, but without looking out of the window you may see it. Desire not to desire, it teaches, and leave all things to take their course. He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. Failure is the foundation of success and success is the lurking-place of failure; but who can tell when the turning point will come? He who strives after tenderness can become even as a little child. Gentleness brings victory to him who attacks and safety to him who defends. Mighty is he who conquers himself. 出自《面紗》第66章 讓人不禁想起“大白若辱，大方無隅，大器免成，大音希聲，大象無形。道隱無名。”

本書內(nèi)容不是很難，但出現(xiàn)太多地名人名以及文化評論。周煦良的中文版本還挺好，除了有一處章節(jié)刪減(影響不太大)以及一兩處翻譯的小錯誤外，整體平實不失準確，讀起來很有厚重的感覺。但有些讀者可能不大適應(yīng)比較早的風格，這就仁者見仁了。英文版可以一讀，也出現(xiàn)了不少有趣的俚語，分段非常舒適，比中文版要翻閱清爽一些。 總而言之，愿你我在人生路上均求仁得仁，求義得義，求個錘子至少有把斧頭能劈荊斬棘向前而行。

截圖以及拍攝均推書所用，侵刪。