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One of the major pleasures in life is appetite, and one of our major duties should be to preserve it. Appetite is the keenness of living; it is one of the senses that tells you that you are still curious to exist, that you still have an edge on your longings and want to bite into the world and taste its multitudinous flavours and juices.
人生的一大乐趣在于拥有渴求，而我们的一大职责便是好好呵护它。渴求是鲜活的生命力，它是一种感官，时刻提醒着你对生活充满好奇，对愿望保持敏锐，让你想要拥抱这个世界，品尝其中万千滋味。
By appetite, of course, I don't mean just the lust for food, but any condition of unsatisfied desire, any burning in the blood that proves you want more than you've got, and that you haven't yet used up your life. Wilde said he felt sorry for those who never got their heart's desire, but sorrier still for those who did. I got mine once only, and it nearly killed me, and I've always preferred wanting to having since.
当然，我所说的渴求，并不仅仅指对食物的欲望，而是指任何一种未被满足的渴望，是血液中涌动的激情，证明你想要的远不止于此，你的生命还未燃尽。王尔德说过，他为那些从未实现心中渴望的人感到遗憾，但对那些实现了的人则更为惋惜。我只有一次如愿以偿，却差点要了我的命，自那以后，我宁愿心怀期待，也不愿轻易拥有。
For appetite, to me, is this state of wanting, which keeps one's expectations alive. I remember learning this lesson long ago as a child, when treats and orgies were few, and when I discovered that the greatest pitch of happiness was not in actually eating a toffee but in gazing at it beforehand. True, the first bite was delicious, but once the toffee was gone one was left with nothing, neither toffee nor lust. Besides, the whole toffeeness of toffees was imperceptibly diminished by the gross act of having eaten it. No, the best was in wanting it, in sitting and looking at it, when one tasted an inexhaustible treasure-house of flavours.
对我而言，渴求是一种“想要”的状态，它让人的期望永不熄灭。我记得小时候就明白了这一道理，那时糖果和狂欢都很少见，我发现最极致的快乐并非来自真正吃到太妃糖的那一刻，而是吃之前的凝视与期待。诚然，第一口美味无比，可一旦糖果下肚，便只剩下空虚，既没有了糖果，也没有了渴望。此外，吃掉太妃糖这一粗俗的行为，会不知不觉地消磨掉太妃糖本身的美妙滋味。不，最美妙的在于“想要”它，在于静静地坐着、看着它，那时仿佛品尝到了一个拥有无穷无尽风味的宝藏。
So, for me, one of the keenest pleasures of appetite remains in the wanting, not the satisfaction. In wanting a peach, or a whisky, or a particular texture or sound, or to be with a particular friend. For in this condition, of course, I know that the object of desire is always at its most flawlessly perfect. Which is why I would carry the preservation of appetite to the extent of deliberate fasting, simply because I think that appetite is too good to lose, too precious to be bludgeoned into insensibility by satiation and over-doing it.
所以，于我而言，渴求最美妙的乐趣在于“想要”本身，而非满足。想要一颗桃子、一杯威士忌、一种特定的质感或声音，亦或是想要与某个朋友相伴。因为在这种状态下，我知道欲望的对象总是处于最完美无瑕的状态。这就是为什么我会刻意通过禁食来保持渴求，仅仅因为我认为渴求太过美好，不能失去，太过珍贵，不能因过度满足而变得麻木不仁。
For that matter, I don't really want three square meals a day—I want one huge, delicious, orgiastic, table-groaning blow-out, say every four days, and then not be too sure where the next one is coming from. A day of fasting is not for me just a puritanical device for denying oneself a pleasure, but rather a way of anticipating a rare moment of supreme indulgence.
说实话，我并不真的想要一日三餐的规律生活——我想要的是每隔四天左右，来一次盛大的、美味的、狂欢般的、让餐桌都颤抖的饕餮盛宴，然后又不确定下一次盛宴会在何时到来。对我来说，禁食一天不仅仅是一种清教徒式的苦修，更是一种对极致放纵的珍贵时刻的期待。
Fasting is an act of homage to the majesty of appetite. So I think we should arrange to give up our pleasures regularly—our food, our friends, our lovers—in order to preserve their intensity, and the moment of coming back to them. For this is the moment that renews and refreshes both oneself and the thing one loves. Sailors and travelers enjoyed this once, and so did hunters, I suppose. Part of the weariness of modern life may be that we live too much on top of each other, and are entertained and fed too regularly. Once we were separated by hunger both from our food and families, and then we learned to value both. The men went off hunting, and the dogs went with them; the women and children waved goodbye. The cave was empty of men for days on end; nobody ate, or knew what to do. The women crouched by the fire, the wet smoke in their eyes; the children wailed; everybody was hungry. Then one night there were shouts and the barking of dogs from the hills, and the men came back loaded with meat. This was the great reunion, and everybody gorged themselves silly, and appetite came into its own; the long-awaited meal became a feast to remember and an almost sacred celebration of life. Now we go off to the office and come home in the evenings to cheap chicken and frozen peas. Very nice, but too much of it, too easy and regular, served up without effort or wanting. We eat, we are lucky, our faces are shining with fat, but we don't know the pleasure of being hungry any more.
禁食是对渴求的崇高敬意。因此，我认为我们应该定期放弃一些乐趣——美食、朋友、爱人——以保持它们的热烈程度，以及重拾它们时的那份新鲜感。因为正是这一刻，让我们自身和所爱之物都焕然一新。水手和旅行者曾经享受过这种感觉，我想猎人也一样。现代生活之所以令人疲惫，部分原因可能是我们彼此之间过于紧密，娱乐和饮食都太过规律。曾经，饥饿将我们与食物和家人分开，那时我们才懂得珍惜两者。男人们外出打猎，猎狗们随行，女人和孩子们挥手告别。山洞里连续数日空无一人，没有人吃东西，也不知道该做什么。女人们蜷缩在火堆旁，湿润的烟雾熏疼了眼睛，孩子们哭闹着，每个人都饥肠辘辘。然后，在一个夜晚，山上传来呼喊声和狗吠声，男人们满载着猎物归来。这是一次盛大的团聚，每个人都狼吞虎咽，渴求得到了充分的满足，这顿期待已久的饭菜成为了一场值得铭记的盛宴，一场近乎神圣的生命庆典。而现在，我们每天下班回家，面对的是廉价的鸡肉和冷冻豌豆。这固然不错，但太过频繁、太过容易、太过规律，无需付出努力，也无需心怀期待。我们吃着，我们很幸运，我们的脸上泛着油光，但我们却再也体会不到饥饿的乐趣了。
Too much of anything—too much music, entertainment, happy snacks, or time spent with one's friends—creates a kind of impotence of living by which one can no longer hear, or taste, or see, or love, or remember. Life is short and precious, and appetite is one of its guardians, and loss of appetite is a sort of death. So if we are to enjoy this short life we should respect the divinity of appetite, and keep it eager and not too much blunted.
任何事情过多都会适得其反——过多的音乐、娱乐、零食，或者与朋友相处的时间过多——都会造成一种“生活阳痿”，让人无法再聆听、品尝、观看、爱或记忆。生命短暂而珍贵，渴求是生命的守护者之一，失去渴求就如同一种死亡。因此，如果我们想要享受这短暂的人生，就应该尊重渴求的神圣，让它保持敏锐，而不是过度麻木。
It is a long time now since I knew that acute moment of bliss that comes from putting parched lips to a cup of cold water. The springs are still there to be enjoyed—all one needs is the original thirst.
我已经很久没有体会过那种将干裂的嘴唇贴近一杯凉水时的极致幸福感了。清泉依旧在那里等待被享用——我们所需要的，只是最初的那份干渴。
Summary
The article celebrates the virtue of appetite, not merely as the desire for food but as a metaphor for the zest for life itself. It argues that maintaining a sense of longing and anticipation is crucial to experiencing the fullness of life. The author advocates for the deliberate cultivation of appetite through occasional abstinence, suggesting that it enhances the appreciation of pleasures when they are eventually enjoyed. The text draws a parallel between the modern, over-saturated lifestyle and the loss of genuine appetite, reminiscing about a time when scarcity and separation heightened the value of both food and human connection. Ultimately, the piece posits that appetite is a guardian of life's preciousness, and its preservation is essential for a truly fulfilling existence.
这篇文章赞美了“欲望”的美德，不仅仅是食欲，更是对生活热情的一种隐喻。文章认为，保持渴望和期待感对于体验生活的丰满至关重要。作者提倡通过偶尔的节制来有意识地培养欲望，认为这能增强最终享受快乐时的满足感。文章将现代过度饱和的生活方式与真正欲望的丧失相提并论，回忆起过去稀缺和分离增强了食物和人际关系价值的时代。最终，文章认为欲望是生活珍贵的守护者，保持欲望对于真正充实的生活至关重要。
Analysis
Appetite is the keenness of living';it is one of the senses that tells you that you are still curious to exist, that you still have an edge on your longings² and want to bite into the world and taste its multitudinous flavours and juices³ .
解析： 这句话将“appetite”提升到了“对生活的热情”这一哲学高度，并使用了一系列生动的隐喻来描绘这种热情。“keenness of living” 将欲望描述为生活的敏锐感知力，一种鲜活的生命力。“one of the senses” 将欲望比作一种感官，暗示它是一种与生俱来的、感知世界的方式。“curious to exist” 强调了欲望与探索生命、体验存在的内在联系。“have an edge on your longings” 是一个习语，意思是保持着渴望，没有被满足所钝化，始终对生活抱有期待。“bite into the world and taste its multitudinous flavours and juices” 运用了强烈的味觉和触觉意象，将生活比作一场盛宴，充满了各种各样的滋味和体验，而欲望正是驱使我们去品尝、去探索的原动力。这句话的复杂之处在于其抽象性和隐喻性，需要读者深入理解作者对“appetite”的独特诠释，才能体会到其深刻的含义。
By appetite, of course, I don't mean just the lust for food, but any condition of unsatisfied desire, any burning in the blood⁴ that proves you want more than you've got, and that you haven't yet used up your life.
解析： 这句话进一步阐释了“appetite”的广义内涵，将其定义为“任何未被满足的渴望”，并使用了“burning in the blood”这一充满激情的表达。“lust for food” 指的是狭义的食欲，而作者将其扩展到更广泛的层面。“any condition of unsatisfied desire” 强调了欲望的普遍性和多样性，它可以指向任何事物，只要是尚未得到满足的。“burning in the blood” 是一个习语，形象地描绘了欲望的强烈和内在驱动力，如同血液中燃烧的火焰，推动着人们去追求更多。“want more than you've got” 突出了欲望的本质，即对现状的不满足和对未来的期许。“haven't yet used up your life” 则将欲望与生命的活力联系起来，暗示欲望的存在证明了一个人仍然拥有未被消耗的生命力，仍然有追求和体验的动力。这句话的难点在于理解“appetite”的广义内涵，以及“burning in the blood”这一习语的象征意义。
No, the best was in wanting it, in sitting and looking at it, when one tasted an inexhaustible treasure-house of flavours.
解析： 这句话强调了“期待”的价值，认为它甚至超越了实际拥有。“the best was in wanting it” 直接点明了作者的观点，即最美好的时刻在于渴望，而不是满足。“sitting and looking at it” 描绘了一种静静欣赏、充满期待的状态，这种状态本身就是一种享受。“tasted an inexhaustible treasure-house of flavours” 使用了隐喻的手法，将“期待”比作一个蕴藏着无穷无尽滋味的宝库。即使还没有真正品尝，仅仅是想象和期待，就已经能够感受到其中的丰富和美好。“inexhaustible” 强调了这种期待所带来的精神享受是无限的，不会因为实际拥有而枯竭。这句话的难点在于理解“期待”的价值，以及“inexhaustible treasure-house of flavours”这一隐喻的含义。
Which is why I would carry the preservation of appetite to the extent of deliberate fasting¹°, simply because I think that appetite is too good to lose, too precious to be bludgeoned into insensibility by satiation and over-doing it".
解析： 这句话提出了作者的核心观点之一：为了保持欲望，甚至可以采取“刻意禁食”的极端做法。“carry...to the extent of” 意思是“把……做到……的程度”，这里指将保护欲望做到了“deliberate fasting”的程度，即有意识地让自己保持饥饿状态。“deliberate fasting” 指的是刻意禁食，这是一种主动的选择，而不是被迫的饥饿。“too good to lose, too precious to be bludgeoned into insensibility by satiation and over-doing it” 使用了排比和对比的手法，强调了欲望的珍贵。“too...to...” 结构表示“太……以至于不能……”，说明欲望是如此美好，以至于不能失去；是如此珍贵，以至于不能被“satiation and over-doing it”所钝化。“bludgeoned into insensibility” 是一个生动的表达，意思是“被……打击到麻木”，“bludgeoned” 原意是用棍棒猛击，“satiation” 指的是饱腹感，“over-doing it” 指的是过度放纵。这句话的难点在于理解“deliberate fasting”的意义，以及“bludgeoned into insensibility”这一形象表达的含义。
For that matter, I don't really want three square meals² a day—I want one huge, delicious, orgiastic, table-groaning blow-out'³, say every four days, and then not be too sure where the next one is coming from.
解析： 这句话进一步阐释了作者对饮食的态度，并使用了一系列夸张的形容词来描绘他所向往的盛宴。“For that matter” 是一个习语，意思是“此外；顺便说一句”，引出了作者的另一个观点。“three square meals” 指的是一日三餐，规律的饮食。“one huge, delicious, orgiastic, table-groaning blow-out” 使用了四个形容词来描绘作者所期待的盛宴：“huge” 指的是份量巨大，“delicious” 指的是美味可口，“orgiastic” 指的是狂欢般的，极度享受的，“table-groaning” 指的是丰盛到让桌子都发出呻吟声，形容食物的极度丰盛。“blow-out” 是一个俚语，意思是“大餐；盛宴”。“not be too sure where the next one is coming from” 强调了这种盛宴的不确定性和稀缺性，暗示了期待和渴望的重要性。这句话的难点在于理解一系列夸张形容词的含义，以及“blow-out”这个俚语的意思。
Too much of anything—too much music, entertainment, happy snacks, or time spent with one's friends—creates a kind of impotence of living²⁰ by which one can no longer hear, or taste, or see, or love, or remember.
解析： 这句话指出了过度满足的危害，认为它会导致一种“生活上的无能”。“Too much of anything” 强调了过度的普遍性，不仅仅是食物，任何事物的过度都会带来负面影响。“impotence of living” 是一个关键概念，指的“生活上的无能”，一种感官和情感上的麻木。“by which one can no longer hear, or taste, or see, or love, or remember” 列举了“impotence of living”的具体表现，即丧失了听觉、味觉、视觉、爱和记忆的能力，这些都是体验生活的重要感官和情感。这句话的难点在于理解“impotence of living”这个抽象概念，以及它所带来的严重后果。