從藝術(shù)的角度看西方文明的進(jìn)程，閃爍著先生的真知灼見和翩翩風(fēng)度，老爵士學(xué)富五車，謙遜有禮。講解詞有驚人的音樂感，內(nèi)容極佳，配樂極好聽，翻譯水品相當(dāng)高，（不亞于看一本西方藝術(shù)史的專著，還有富有社會(huì)責(zé)任感的解說。）陪伴了我一個(gè)多月啊，一集集認(rèn)真地啃下來的。

Ep6結(jié)尾的哈姆雷特是點(diǎn)睛之筆，“Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd into clay, might stop a hole to keep the wind away.”誰料過去的繁華，化作今朝的泥土！

50年過去了，現(xiàn)在看看最后一集的personal view令人感慨萬千啊。最后有一個(gè)在二戰(zhàn)廢墟的大火里手握十字架的戰(zhàn)士，竟有一種驚人的美感。還看到半個(gè)多世紀(jì)前的歐洲城市和鄉(xiāng)村的田園牧歌的生活。全系列結(jié)束在60年代末曼哈頓的夕陽里，意味深長啊。喜歡的解說詞太多，最后幾集做筆記做到停不下來。Ep12中由貝多芬對(duì)自由的謳歌的一段剪輯：從1830年法國七月革命到1968年蘇聯(lián)的坦克開進(jìn)布拉格，實(shí)在太令人感慨！

列舉幾段Ep13的：

“我認(rèn)為我們應(yīng)該記得我們是整體的一部分，此一整體就是自然，所有生物都是我們的兄弟姐妹。最重要的是，我相信某些人擁有了天賦才華，我也珍視讓他們得以存在、發(fā)揮的社會(huì)?！?/p>

還有最末的葉芝的詩，令人思緒萬千?。骸耙磺卸计扑榱? 中心把持不住/ 無政府泛濫于世界/ 血紅的潮水失控/ 無邪純真不復(fù)存在/ 智者悲觀/ 而愚人則滿懷激蕩熱情”

最后，先生在表示自己保守派的立場后，說道，“I believe that order is better than chaos, creation better than destruction. I prefer gentleness to violence, forgiveness to vendetta. On the whole, I think that knowledge is preferrable than ignorance. And I'm sure that human sympathy is more valuable than ideology. I believe that in spite of recent truimphs in science, men haven't changed much in the last two thousand years. And in consequence, we should still try to learn from history- history is ourselves.”令我十分感動(dòng)。

另外，最具啟發(fā)意義的話就是文明的自信了?！癐t is the lack of confidence ,more than anything else, that kills a civilisation. We can destory ourselves by cynicism and disillusion just as effective as by bombs.”（全程手打聽寫，可能有出入，但真的很愛里面的每一句話。）

套用之前劇評(píng)中的話，很少再能看到一個(gè)歷經(jīng)滄桑的老頭坐在樹下跟你淺吟低唱一曲文明的贊歌了。

（截圖太多，已做成word筆記，就不放了）

well , naturally , these bright-minded, young people think poorly of existing institutions and want to abolish them. one doesn’t need to be young to dislike institutions. But the dreary fact remains that, even in the darkest ages is was institutions which made society work. And if civilization is to survive, society must ,somehow, be made to work. At this point ,I reveal myself in my true colors as a stick-in-the-mud. I hold a number of beliefs that have been repudiated by the liveliest intellects of our time.

I believe that order is better than chaos,

creation better than destruction,

I prefer gentleness to violence,

forgiveness to vendetta,

On the whole ,

I think that knowledge is preferable to ignorance,

and I am sure that human sympathy is more valuable than ideology.

I believe that , in spite of recent triumphs of science men haven’t changed much in the last 2,000 years. And , in consequence, we must still try to learn from history.

History is ourselves.

I also hold one or two beliefs that are more difficult to put shortly .

For example , I believe in courtesy, the ritual by which we avoid hurting other people’s feelings by satisfying our own egos and I think we should remember that we are part of a great whole,

which , for convenience , we call Nature.

All living things are our brothers and sisters.

Above all , I believe in the God-given genius of certain individuals, and I value a society that makes their existence possible .

These programs have been filled with great works of genius . In architecture ,sculpture and painting.

In philosophy ,poetry and music.In science and engineering. There they are. You can’t dismiss them. And they’re only a fraction of what Western Man has achieved in the last 1,000 years, often after setbacks and deviations, at least as destructive as those of our own time.

Western civilization has been a series of rebirths.

Surely ,this should give us confidence in ourselves. I said , at the beginning of the series, that it’s lack of confidence, more than anything else, that kills a civilisation. We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusion, just as effectively as by bombs.

50 years ago ,WB Yeats, who was more like a man of genius that anyone I’ve ever known, wrote a prophetic poem and in it he said “ Things fall apart ; the centre cannot hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood - dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere. The ceremony of innocence is drowned . The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” Well , that was certainly true between the wars and it damn nearly destroyed us.

Is it true today?

Not quite, because good people have convictions ,rather too many of them. The trouble is that there is still no centre. The moral and intellectual failure of Marxism has left us with no alternative to heroic materialism, and that isn’t enough. One may be optimistic , but one can’t exactly be joyful at the prospect before us .

 7 ) 隨想