塞缪尔·约翰逊（Samuel Johnson），英国作家、文学评论家和诗人。1728年进入牛津大学学习。因家贫而中途辍学。1737年开始为《绅士杂志》撰写文章。以后自编周刊《漫步者》（1750～1752）。经九年的奋斗，终于编成《英语大辞典》（1755）。约翰逊从此扬名。1764年协助雷诺兹成立文学俱乐部，参加者有鲍斯韦尔、哥尔德斯密斯、伯克等人，对当时的文化发展起了推动作用。一生重要作品有长诗《伦敦》（1738）、《人类欲望的虚幻》（1749）、《阿比西尼亚王子》（1759）等。还编注了《莎士比亚集》（1765）。
An Encomium on Sleep
睡之颂
If every day did not produce fresh instances of the ingratitude of mankind, we might, perhaps, be at a loss, why so liberal and impartial a benefactor as sleep, should meet with so few historians or panegyrists. Writers are so totally absorbed by the business of the day, as never to turn their attention to that power whose officious hand so seasonably suspends the burden of life; and without whose interposition, man would not be able to endure the fatigue of labour, however rewarded, or the struggle with opposition, however successful.
倘若每天不再有人类忘恩负义的新鲜例证，我们或许对此茫然不解：睡眠作为人类的施主，是如此的慷慨无私，却为何鲜有历史学家或歌功颂德者与之相会？写作的人全然沉浸在日间事物之中，恰如对睡眠的力量视而不见一样；睡眠张开她那好事之手，及时缓解生活的负担；倘若没有她的介入，人类将无法承受劳作的疲惫，无论其劳作得到何种回报，或与敌手的斗争中，有多成功。
Night, though she divides to many the longest part of life, and to almost all the most innocent and happy, is yet unthankfully neglected, except by those who pervert her gifts.
夜间睡眠，对于许多人，虽然占据了生活的大部分，且几乎所有的睡眠都那么纯洁和愉悦，然而除了某些行为变态者，暴殄天物，我们对此却不存感激，将之忽略。
The astronomers, indeed, expect her with impatience, and felicitate themselves upon her arrival: Fontenelle has not failed to celebrate her praises; and to chide the sun for hiding from his view the worlds, which he imagines to appear in every constellation. Nor have the poets been always deficient in her praises: Milton has observed of the night, that it is
--The pleasant time, the cool, the silent.
(Paradise Lost, V. 438)
真的，天文学家焦躁地等待着夜晚的来临，以便庆贺一番：冯特内尔就从未停止过对她的赞美；并责骂太阳光遮住了他观察“世界”的视线，他想象每个星群里，都有一个那样的“世界”。并不是所有的诗人都缺乏对她的赞誉：米尔顿曾经观察过夜晚，认为是：
-- 快意之时、凉爽之意、寂静无声。
《失乐园》第438卷
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