威廉·赫兹里特William Hazlitt1778—1830。英国19世纪著名散文家、文学评论家。出生于牧师家庭。在爱尔兰和美国度过童年时代。曾就读于哈克尼神学院。去过巴黎学习绘画。早期以作画为主当过记者以后转向文学和戏剧评论。1805年后，潜心研究过哲学结识。著名诗人柯勒律治和华兹华斯与兰姆的友谊则持续终生。他同情法国大革命，积极主张民主共和，崇尚个人主义反对权威和习俗以观点鲜明、思想激进和喜好论争而闻名于文坛。他著述范围较广包括文学、历史、哲学和政论等主要成就在于文艺批评和小品随笔。他从少年到青年时期广泛阅读过各种书籍“渊深如海”才气横溢。他以文笔犀利、风趣语言准确流畅文章既充满生活气息又富于哲理多机智的警句和通俗的类比爱广征博引寓精炼于浩瀚之中。

On the Fear of Death 谈怕死
by William Hazlitt

PERHAPS the best cure for the fear of death is to reflect that life has a beginning as well as an end. There was a time when we were not: this gives me no concern- why then should it trouble us that a time will come when we shall cease to be? I have no wish to have been alive a hundred years ago, or in the reign of Queen Anne? Why should I regret and lay it so much to heart that I shall not be alive a hundred years hence, in the reign of I cannot tell whom?
克服怕死心理的最好办法，也许是要想到人生不仅有终结，也有开端。本来我们并未生存于世间，这个事实并不使我们忧虑，那么，我们为什么要为了将来有一天自己会停止生存而烦恼呢？我既然不希望自己在一百年前，或在安女王的朝代活在世上，为什么就要为了自己在一百年后不知哪位皇帝在位的朝代，不能仍然活在世上而抱憾，而耿耿于怀呢？

To die is only to be as we were born; yet no one feels any remorse, or regret, or repugnance, in contemplating this last idea. It is rather a relief and disburdening of the mind: it seems to have been a holiday time with us then: we were not called to appear upon the stage of life, to wear robes or tatters, to laugh or cry, be hooted or applauded; we had lain perdus all this while, snug out of harm’s way; and had slept out our thousands of centuries without wanting to be waked up; at peace and free from care, in a long nonage, in a sleep deeper and calmer than that of infancy, wrapped in the softest and finest dust. And the worst that we dread is, after a short fretful , feverish being, after vain hopes, and idle fears, to sink to final repose again, and forget the trouble dream of life!
死亡只是恢复诞生前的原状而已；在想到诞生前的情形时，我们都毫无悔恨、遗憾、或厌恶之感，反而觉得轻松解脱，那个时候彷佛是我们所度过的一段假期，我们还没有被召出现在人生舞台之上，或身着华服，或衣衫褴褛，或笑，或哭，或遭叫嚣反对，或受喝采赞扬；在那个时候，我们一直高卧在虚无之境，无人闻问，舒适而又安全；我们在长眠中度过了千百世纪，不希望被人唤醒，一直逍遥于一个漫长的浑浑噩噩的时期之中，享受着一场比婴儿时代的更为深沉而平静的睡眠，覆蔽在最轻柔最微小的尘之中，安安静静，无忧无虑。然后，我们在人世度过了一段短暂、烦躁、而狂热的生活，曾经抱着种种虚空的希望，怀着种种无意的恐惧，现在所最怕的事情，却是再度沉入那种最后的安息，和忘记人生的烦恼的梦境！