Of Beauty — 論美 （美文欣賞）

Francis Bacon 培根

註： 用現代英語重寫+中文翻譯+解釋 （培根的英文原文附在最後面）

Virtue is like a precious gemstone — it looks best when simply set.

美德就像一顆珍貴的寶石，至善於樸素之中。

（意指：真正的德行不需裝飾；樸實能顯其真光。）

And indeed, virtue appears at its best in a body that is attractive — not necessarily with delicate or perfect features, but with dignity and presence rather than mere prettiness.

確實，美德若寄於一個儀態端莊、容貌秀雅的身體之中，尤能相得益彰。但這種“美”並非細膩柔弱的容貌，而是尊嚴和端正氣度。

（培根強調“風度之美”勝於“相貌之美”。）

It is also often observed that very beautiful people are not usually very virtuous — as if Nature, in creating such beauty, worked carefully not to make mistakes, but without striving for greatness.

人們常發現，那些天生麗質之人，往往並不具備高尚的德行；似乎大自然在造就他們時，只是謹慎地不出差錯，卻未曾用心追求卓越。

Hence, beautiful people often turn out polished and well-mannered, but not of strong spirit — they care more about appearance and behavior than true virtue.

因此，美貌者往往舉止得體、修養優雅，卻缺乏堅強的精神，他們更在意外表與禮儀，而非真正的道德修養。

Yet this is not always the case; for Augustus Caesar, Titus Vespasian, Philip the Fair of France, Edward IV of England, Alcibiades of Athens, and Ismael the Sophy of Persia — all were great and high-spirited men, and also the most beautiful of their times.

但此規律並非絕對。譬如：羅馬的奧古斯都·凱撒與提圖斯·韋斯帕西安、法蘭西的腓力美王、英格蘭的愛德華四世、雅典的阿爾西比亞德斯、波斯的伊斯梅爾·薩菲，他們皆為雄才大略之士，同時又是當代最俊美的人。

（這些歷史人物是“美貌與雄心並存”的例外。）

In beauty, the beauty of expression and features (favor) is more important than that of color; and graceful movement and manner are even more important than expression.

論美，不在膚色，而在神采；而論神采，又不及舉止的優雅。

（真正的美在於“神韻”與“儀態”，非膚淺的容顏。）

The finest part of beauty is that which cannot be captured by a painting, nor even by one’s first glance in real life.

最動人的美，既無法被畫筆描摹，亦難以在初見時盡覽。

（此指內在氣質與靈動的神情。）

There is no perfect beauty without some strangeness in the proportion.

凡真正動人的美，必帶有幾分不尋常的比例。

（意為：完美中若無“奇”，則少生氣韻；小小的不對稱反添魅力。）

It is hard to decide whether Apelles or Albrecht Dürer was the greater fool: Apelles tried to make ideal beauty through geometric proportions; Dürer tried to combine the best features from many faces into one “perfect” face.

若論愚笨，究竟是希臘畫師阿佩列斯，還是德國畫家丟勒更甚？前者試以幾何比例求理想之美；後者則取眾人最美之處拼成一張“完美”的臉。

（培根諷刺以“規則”或“拼接”方式造美的荒謬。）

Such faces, I think, would please no one but the painters who made them.

這種“完美”的臉，恐怕只有畫家本人會喜歡。

Not that a painter cannot make a face more beautiful than any that exists — but he must do it by a kind of inspiration or happy accident, as a musician composes a beautiful melody, not by rigid rule.

並非畫家不能畫出超越現實的美貌，但那須憑靈感與天機，如同音樂家妙手生出一支美妙的曲調，而非依賴生硬的公式與法則。

You may see faces that, if examined feature by feature, have nothing especially good — yet taken as a whole, are beautiful.

你常見到這樣的面容：若逐一審視其五官，毫無出色之處，但合而觀之，卻和諧美麗。

（美是“整體的和諧”，非局部的完美。）

If it is true that the main part of beauty lies in graceful movement, then it is no wonder that older people often appear more charming.

若美的精髓在於儀態之優雅，那年長之人更顯可親也不足為奇。

For, as the Latin proverb says, “Pulchrorum autumnus pulcher” — the autumn of the beautiful is itself beautiful.

正如拉丁諺語所言：“美者之秋，亦美矣。”

（意即：成熟的美，如秋之熟果，帶着從容與溫潤之光。）

No youth can be truly comely except by indulgence — that is, we forgive their immaturity and consider their youth itself part of their charm.

年輕人的美多半需要“寬容”地欣賞，因其未脫稚氣，我們以青春本身為其魅力的一部分。

Beauty is like summer fruit — easily spoiled and short-lived.

美貌如夏果，易腐而不久。

Usually, it leads to a reckless youth and, in old age, leaves the person a bit embarrassed or “out of countenance.”

它常使人少年輕佻，而至暮年則略感失色與羞怯。

Yet, certainly again, if beauty happens to accompany virtue, it makes virtues shine brighter and vices blush.

然而，若美貌能與美德相伴，則德行更光輝，罪惡更羞愧。

（培根在此總結：美若與善結合，能使人性更高貴。）

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總 結

培根認為：真正的美不在外表，而在神態、氣度與德性。美中若無一絲“奇異”，則無生氣。美貌短暫，若與德行結合，方能恆久而高貴。美與德的關係，正如形式與靈魂——外在之光可照亮內在之善。

summary

Would you like me to next make a short commentary (about one paragraph) summarizing how Bacon’s view of beauty reflects his Renaissance humanism and how it connects to modern values?

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/56463/56463-h/56463-h.htm#Page_237

OF BEAUTY (original texts)

Virtue is like a rich stone, best plain set; and surely virtue is best in a body that is comely, though not of delicate features, and that hath rather dignity of presence than beauty of aspect; neither is it always most seen, that very beautiful persons are otherwise of great virtue; as if nature were rather busy not to err, than in labor to produce excellency; and therefore they prove accomplished, but not of great spirit, and study rather behavior than virtue. But this holds not always; for Augustus C?sar, Titus Vespasianus, Philip le Bel of France, Edward the Fourth of England, Alcibiades of Athens, Ismael the Sophy of Persia, were all high and great spirits, and yet the most beautiful men of their times. In beauty, that of favor is more than that of color; and that of decent and gracious motion, more than that of favor.That is the best part of beauty, which a picture cannot express; no, nor the first sight of the life. There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. A man cannot tell whether Apelles, or Albert Durer, were the more trifler; whereof the one would make a personage by geometrical proportions; the other, by taking the best parts out of divers faces to make one excellent. Such personages, I think, would please nobody but the painter that made them: not but I think a painter may make a better face than ever was; but he must do it by a kind of felicity (as a musician that maketh an excellent air in music), and not by rule. A man shall see faces, that, if you examine them part by part, you shall find never a good, and yet altogether do well. If it be true that the principal part of beauty is in decent motion, certainly it is no marvel, though persons in years seem many times more amiable; “Pulchrorum autumnus pulcher;”for no youth can be comely but by pardon, and considering the youth as to make up the comeliness. Beauty is as summer fruits, which are easy to corrupt, and cannot last; and, for the most part, it makes a dissolute youth, and an age a little out of countenance; but yet certainly again, if it light well, it maketh virtues shine, and vices blush.