400 年前的「人生七幕」，今天还准吗？
Today, I want to do something a little different.
I want to start with one of the most famous lines William Shakespeare ever wrote: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
You’ve probably heard that line before. But what comes after it is actually much more interesting.
More than 400 years ago, Shakespeare tried to describe an entire human life — from the moment we’re born to the moment we die — in just seven stages.
A crying baby. A schoolboy who doesn’t want to go to school. A hopeless lover. An ambitious young man trying to prove himself. A successful, respected middle-aged man. An aging old man. And finally, someone who slowly becomes dependent on others again.
Together, these are often called Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages of Man.”
So today, I want to read you the entire passage first.
And if you don’t understand everything, don’t worry. That’s ok! This was written more than 400 years ago, and some of the English is very different from what we use today.
After I read it, we’ll go through the seven stages together, talk about what Shakespeare was actually saying, and then ask one more question: Does his description of life still make sense today?
� 本期的知识卡片我们整理在下面啦：
一、莎士比亚的「人生七幕」
这段独白出自莎士比亚的喜剧《皆大欢喜》（As You Like It），由剧中人物 Jaques 说出。
他将整个世界比作一座舞台，而每个人都是演员。我们登场，扮演不同的角色，最终退场。一生之中，我们会经历七个阶段。
二、英文原文与中文翻译
ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE 世界就是一座舞台
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
整个世界就是一座舞台，
所有的男人和女人不过是演员；
他们有登场的时候，也有退场的时候，
一个人在一生中会扮演许多不同的角色，
他的一生分为七个阶段。
STAGE ONE: THE INFANT 第一幕：婴儿
At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
首先登场的是婴儿，
在乳母的怀里啼哭、呕吐。
STAGE TWO: THE SCHOOLBOY 第二幕：学童
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
接着是抱怨连连的学童，背着书包，
顶着一张清晨般明亮的脸，
像蜗牛一样慢吞吞地爬向学校，满心不情愿。
STAGE THREE: THE LOVER 第三幕：恋人
And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow.
然后是恋人，
热烈得仿佛炉火一般，不停地叹息，
为心上人写下哀婉的情歌，哪怕只是为了她的眉梢。
STAGE FOUR: THE SOLDIER 第四幕：战士
Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth.
接下来是战士，
满口奇特的誓言，留着豹子般的胡须，
极其看重荣誉，一言不合便迅速卷入争斗，
甚至不惜冲进炮火之中，
只为追逐那如泡沫般脆弱的名声。
STAGE FIVE: THE JUSTICE 第五幕：成熟的中年人
And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part.
然后是成熟稳重的人，
腹部圆润，享用着丰盛的佳肴，
目光严肃，胡须修剪得一丝不苟，
满口格言警句，也善于引经据典、举出现实中的例子。
就这样，他扮演着自己的角色。
STAGE SIX: THE PANTALOON 第六幕：衰老
The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound.
到了第六幕，
他变成了一个瘦削、穿着拖鞋的老头，
鼻梁上架着眼镜，腰侧挂着钱袋；
年轻时珍藏的长袜，如今穿在日渐萎缩的腿上，
显得宽大得不合身。
曾经浑厚有力的男性嗓音，
也重新变得像孩子般尖细，
说起话来，声音里带着颤抖与哨音。
STAGE SEVEN: SECOND CHILDISHNESS 第七幕：再度回到童年
Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
最后一幕，
为这段曲折而奇异的人生故事画上句号。
那便是再度回到孩童般的状态，逐渐失去记忆，
没有牙齿，没有视力，没有味觉，最终失去一切。
注：以上中文为结合上下文的意译，旨在帮助理解诗歌含义，并非逐字直译。
三、三个值得记住的表达
1. Creeping like snail — 像蜗牛一样慢吞吞地前进
莎士比亚用一个生动的比喻，描绘了孩子不情愿上学的样子。400 多年过去，孩子们不想上学的理由或许变了，但磨磨蹭蹭的身影依然熟悉。
2. Bubble reputation — 泡沫般的名声
这是整段独白中尤其值得玩味的表达。
泡沫看起来真实而美丽，却很容易破碎。莎士比亚借此讽刺人们为了荣誉与名声，不惜承担巨大的风险。
放到今天，我们追逐的可能是职位、收入、社会地位、粉丝数量，或简历上那些令人羡慕的标签。我们愿意为它们付出多少？而这些东西，又有多少真正值得我们追求？
3. Second childishness — 再度回到孩童般的状态
人生以依赖他人开始，在成长中逐渐获得独立，却可能在衰老时再次走向依赖。
莎士比亚笔下的人生因此不仅是一条不断向上的直线，也有着某种循环的意味：我们最终可能回到起点，只是已经走过了一段漫长的旅程。
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