2014-05-24

【Aiden in English】

      Thomas Jefferson had a lot of great accomplishments throughout his lifetime, such as commissioning the Lewis and Clark Expedition after Louisiana Purchase, writing the Declaration of Independent and the Statue of Virginia for Religious Freedom, establishing of the Univ. of Virginia, serving as an ambassador to France, etc. One of his most grandiose and spectacular, as many visitors would appreciate, was Monticello or a little mount in Italian which Jefferson designed himself after his retirement from the political career. The acres upon acres were well splendid to create both Italian and French classical architectures designated as a UNESCO Heritage Site. The third US President's paradise-like mansion was so breathtaking, yet being organized at the same time was amazing.

      Mulberry Row near Monticello was home to about 600 slaves whom Jefferson possessed to work on his property, plantation, and fields. Even though he wasn't proud of slavery, it went against his famous quotation "All Men Are Created Equal" in the Declaration of Independence, which sounded a beginning of the end of slavery.

      As soon as you enter the mansion, you would probably notice the weird display of animal bones and Native American items in the entrance hall. Jefferson was very strict on receiving the furs and hides of any animals that Lewis and Clark collected when they cross the Mississippi River. You might also notice the octagon shaped rooms to receive more natural light, the seven-day Great Clock to indicate the accurate time by the position of iron weights, or even the Mars yellow walled dining room for his much celebrated ingenuity and taste in decoration. Every turn in the house looked like entering another wonderland.

      Jefferson had a heck of an imagination and made many great things in the daily life. One of the most famous would be the dumbwaiter. It was hidden inside the wood frame of a fireplace on both sides and suspended by ropes to carry wines in the dining hall. The world of busboys were changed (assuming there were busboys back then) because a bottle of wine could be delivered from the cellar downstairs much easier. Yet the real reason of inventing the dumbwaiter was that Jefferson tried to avoid the slaves coming inside as much as possible. In the 1800's, everyone had a problem with races.

      Jefferson's private library was one of a kind. There were thousands of volumes at his disposal and he used them wisely. At a time, the US Congress bought some books from him. But later, he thought was a huge mistake. I guess a genius without books feels like a plant without water.

      The veggie garden became another sightseeing place in Monticello. It had from squash to different kinds of kales. What was a real shocker was that the garden went on for 500-600 feet/152-183 meter in length. Beyond the massive patch laid a lush forest of nature. After strolling through all, I agreed that Monticello was a masterpiece of time.

【红霞译文】

      托马斯‧杰斐逊一生中立下了许多丰功伟绩，譬如﹕路易斯安那购地案之后差遣刘易斯和克拉克远征﹔起草《独立宣言》和制定《弗吉尼亚宗教自由法》﹔创建弗吉尼亚大学﹔出任驻法大使﹔等等。退出政治舞台之后，由其本人亲手设计的最雄伟壮观并深受民众称赞的“小山包”——蒙蒂塞洛庄园(意大利语)创造了又一部不朽作品，这座被联合国教科文组织列为《世界遗产名录》的意—法古典建筑傲然屹立在一碧万顷之中。美国第三任总统的豪宅酷似天堂，令人叹为观止﹔当然精心管理这栋别墅同样超乎寻常。

      杰斐逊拥有600名黑奴，他们住在蒙蒂塞洛附近的桑树街，为杰斐逊打理庄园、种植场以及林区。尽管杰斐逊并非以奴隶制为荣，但其行动却与《独立宣言》中所倡导的“人人平等”背道而驰。乍听起来，这句至理名言如同宣告奴隶制结束。

      当走进庄园，你可能会发现到门厅两侧悬挂的动物模型和印第安人土特产品，这些都是刘易斯和克拉克巡视密西西比河两岸时为杰斐逊特别收集来的实体皮毛标本。此外，你也许还注意到受光面大的八角形房间、靠铅锤位置指示一周七天的“大时钟”、或者时髦且不失高雅的火星黄餐厅。总而言之，无论从哪个角度来欣赏蒙蒂塞洛庄园，独具匠心的设计处处引人入胜。

      杰斐逊想像丰富，在日常生活里屡见不鲜，其中最著名的就是藏在餐厅壁炉木框两侧的升降机，用绳索吊挂酒瓶，跑堂的小工这下终于可以喘口气力了(假如当年有小工一说)，因为酒瓶可以直接从地窖传输上来。其实，杰斐逊最初发明升降机的真正用意却想尽量避免接触黑奴，追溯到十九世纪，人们或多或少都带有种族色彩。

      杰斐逊私人图书馆收藏了数以千计的书籍，博览群书使他学富五车才高八斗。据说有一次，美国国会曾从杰斐逊手中买下不少书，没想到事后他非常后悔。看来天才离开了书本就像植物被切断了水源供给，顿时生命失去了灵魂。

      菜地成为蒙蒂塞洛另一景点，从南瓜到各种羽衣甘蓝，品种繁多。然而，真正令人惊诧之处在于，整个自留田占地500－600英尺／152－183米长，其外围绿树成荫，环抱大片森林。参观完毕，我发自心底感叹，蒙蒂塞洛庄园不愧为时代的杰作。