原文: 许知远:他们的海德堡岁月

一

在《泰晤士报》的网站上，我看到了尼古拉斯·桑巴特的照片。

他身穿黑色大衣斜靠在长椅上，黄丝围巾松散却夸张的结在胸前，像是一朵绽开的绚丽花朵。

即使宽宽的额头上已是深深皱纹，眼角已随岁月下坠，头顶上的白发如风吹过的乱草，你还是可以一眼看出他曾是个多么英俊、倜傥的青年。昔日海德堡的朋友圈中的不成文规定——他“必须找最漂亮的女孩当女友”。

照片刊登于2008年8月6日，出现在讣告页上，尼古拉斯·桑巴特已于7月14日去世。不过，他终身的学识和风流，已透过书籍留下来。

我手边的这一本是《海德堡岁月》，关于他一段青春的回忆录。两年前发现它时，纯粹是被书名与朴素的封面设计所吸引。我不知道这位桑巴特先生是谁，也从未想过是否与德国那位著名的经济学家韦纳·桑巴特有关系？

不过，它唤起我久违的阅读乐趣。

回忆开始于1945年，德国战败投降，从北部的汉堡到南方的慕尼黑，整个德国四处是残垣断瓦、缺衣少食、屠杀的记忆、失败情绪、苏联和美国士兵……一等兵尼古拉斯·桑巴特幸运的躲避了被杀或被遣往西伯利亚战俘集中营的命运，以一名退役老兵的身份来到海德堡——静谧而灿烂的大学城，或许也是唯一幸免于被轰炸城市——开始他的学生生涯。

一开始，是尼古拉斯的轻快典雅和轻快的笔调吸引着我。它是教养、思索、雄心、青春活力和稚气、享乐主义和一点点玩世不恭的混合体。

那些片段让我着迷。尼古拉斯和他的朋友们，整夜的畅谈书籍与思想，一心要创办表达自己这一代声音的杂志，进入大师们的书房聆听教诲，在小酒馆里大吵大嚷，还在深夜翻过窗户去和女友偷偷幽会，享受扼杀在枕头下的低低呻吟……

对他们来说，整个世界与人类的历史，都是一个探索之物。他们试图通过各种道路抵达终点——思想、酒精、爱情、友谊，争辩、旅行……

倘若，不是几天前对海德堡短暂的一瞥，我对于尼古拉斯·桑巴特的理解就到此而止了。

二

我在一个冬日清冷的午后到达。“这里是俾斯麦广场，这里是大教堂，老城，古堡，哲学家小径”，在火车站门口游客中心，那位热情的中年妇人从柜台取出海德堡的游览图，不等我继续追问，就用原子笔熟练在上面画出地标——她已见过太多我这样的陌生人，重复过千百次同样的动作，海德堡已是著名的旅游城市，游客打破了往日的宁静，当然他们很少在这样的寒冷时节到来。

在小小的被密集的电车轨道划过的广场，我看到了俾斯麦的白色半身胸像。他在严寒中秃着头，表情过分严肃，上唇的两撇浓密的胡须，胸前礼服夸张的折摆，这十九世纪容克们的威严与自满，像他身后枯枝上的树叶，早已随风飘去了。

从俾斯麦广场向北，就是跨越内卡河的西奥多-休斯桥了，而哲学家小径就在河对岸的山上。像过分规矩的德国人一样，我耐心的等待红灯变绿。身旁那个或许只有一米四零的老妇人，却径自走过，那头蓬松、干净的白发随着步伐微微颤动。仿佛年龄从未让她变老，而只是赋予她足够的资历来藐视规则。谁知道呢，或许她已在这小镇上走了八十年，不管是雅斯贝尔斯，还是阿尔弗雷德·韦伯，她曾对他们视若无睹。

寒冷让人更容易饥饿，跨过静静流淌的黄色内卡河后，我钻进街角一对上海夫妇经营的中餐厅，它有红皮沙发和大学食堂里的味道。

在这里，我碰到了小赵。他穿着条纹帽衫、蓝色牛仔裤，消瘦的脸上流露着国内大学男生的稚气，端着一份肉丸子配白饭，正在找座位。

我示意他坐在对面，饭菜不闲不淡，我们的闲聊也不闲不淡。一开始他的声音很低，我要问上两遍才听清楚。1978年，他出生于的贵州省的凯里市，这个黔东南的小城，以香炉山、清水江和数不清的苗族村寨著称。20岁时考取了贵州大学的物理系，从本科读到了硕士，毕业后三年里，他在贵阳市的一所律师事务所工作，但是那座西南城市的生活太过平庸了，他决定前来海德堡大学继续学习物理。

我听到他描述中的厌倦和孤独，也看得到在这背后的一种深深渴望，他想抓住些让他兴奋、感到温暖的东西。我提议一起去哲学家小径走走，他毫无迟疑的就答应了。

“来海德堡的第一天，我哪都没去，就直接来到这儿。”当我们走到一条上坡小路时，他说，“就是这里，真看到时，还挺失望的。”

哲学家小径以一段窄窄的、不平整的柏油路开始，新旧沥青的颜色交替在一起，路两旁是红色的石墙，墙旁是几辆四人座的汽车，墙内是一栋栋两层的小楼，不知什么人住在其中。红色的干石墙，是海德堡的标志。小径的坡度很陡，要花上些力气才上得去，如果哲学家徒步而上，可分不出心思来思考。

“这是我们的物理研究所”，这是一幢被漆成乳白色的小楼。我们相遇前，他正在这里写写算算。再往上走，坡势平缓了，房屋也消失了，只有红色的干石还在，四处是绿树、野草和葡萄藤都，空气愈加清新，四周一切安静，可以听得到自己的呼吸声，我们已到了Heiligenberg山的山腰了，转头看过去，整个海德堡小城正静静躺在内卡河谷里，内卡河水正浑浊而悄然的流过，教堂尖顶从巴洛克风格的老城建筑群里凌厉的挺出，Schloss古城堡巍然而力的耸立在小城一角，残破的红色砖墙，城堡内的勾心斗角、风流韵事，都已岁历史淹没……

哲学与思索的气氛，似乎也悄然而至了。小路旁，我看到约瑟夫·艾兴多尔夫的纪念碑，上面是年轻诗人英俊画像和一行我不懂的诗句。二百年前，他和另一位年轻诗人荷尔德林常在此结伴散步，他们或许同样的苍白和敏感，同样热衷于探索世界的秘密，同样坚持某种抽象的精神。

我们没有走到山顶。小赵的情绪随着时间热烈起来。他主动和我谈起，他曾多么喜欢尼采、博尔赫斯和屠格涅夫，在凯里县的一所中学里，这算得上惊世骇俗了。进入大学后，他仍是个“怪僻分子”。他疯狂的爱上物理学，并自认是班级里最优秀的学生，但他的考试成绩却总是最差的，老师接受不了他的不上课，和自创的解题方案。四年学业结束时，他差点没有拿到毕业证。不过，在研究生阶段，他凭着自学还是在英文期刊Physics Review Letters发表了两篇文章，并凭借这两篇文章，他申请到了马克斯·普朗克基金会提供的研究津贴，他俏皮的把基金会简称作“马普基金”。

“真是堕落了”，我们沿一条迷宫般陡峭石阶下山时，他不断重复着这句话。他说起了大学时的一位挚友，迷恋上诗歌，每天都拿着新写的诗作来找他。“尽管，不断被我打击，他还是写，他后来退了学，现在可能在北京打工吧”，他几乎喃喃自语，“可是，我在网上碰到他时，他还会发来新诗。”

我明白他的意思，他的朋友还在坚持，而他呢？他不再在物理学中寄托自己的热忱，再不相信“物理公式中蕴涵的简洁的美”这样的套话。对他来说，来到海德堡，与其说探索科学的热忱，不过只是对贵阳那单调生活的逃避。但他真的逃离了，却又发现仍是空空荡荡的。三个月里，研究所的学习工作像是一桩习惯性的动作，而他似乎也作好准备去探索别的，他没准备学习这里的语言，没去过其他城市，甚至连小城里那座辉煌而残破的古堡也没去过，他来到尼采的故乡，却连一本他的书再不想翻起。

我们在老城里游荡了一个下午，走过了旧大桥，摸了卡尔门旁的黄铜猴子，他请我喝了咖啡，陪我在一家英文二手书店里东翻西检。看着我买的一袋子书，他突然说“我好久没看书了”。

他的房间里的确没有一本“书”。这个强行将厨房、卫生间塞进去的公寓房间，是个再典型不过的单身学生宿舍。一张床，一个写字桌，一个书架，两把椅子，再没有更多的空间了。平躺在床人，脚就正好抵在厨房的水池边。不过，平心而论，这仍是不错的居住条件，每月400欧元的房租一点也不便宜。书桌上一台笔记本电脑，很多份Physics Review、吃剩的桔子皮摊在上面，而书架上只有两本物理教材。

他执意请我这里坐坐，好让我登上离去的火车前尝尝他的手艺，他觉得自己水平可比那对上海夫妇高多了。这也他表现自己善意的方法，大概很久没人和他提起尼采、博尔赫斯这样的名字了。

他切西红柿时，我在用他电脑里看《我的野蛮女友》，全智贤是他最喜欢的明星，不管是她的样子和身材，都是他的理想情人。看到全智贤的美丽蛮横的样子，他似乎自然的说起他从前的恋情。那时，他正在读屠格涅夫的《初恋》，开始用羞涩和纯情的方式向那个同系不同班的女生表达。古典的方式，迎来了现代的溃败，令他至今耿耿于怀……

三

和小赵散步、谈话时，我把尼古拉斯·桑巴特忘得一干二净。当我再一次翻开《海德堡岁月》时，读到了约瑟夫·艾兴多尔夫的诗，不知它是否就是刻在纪念碑上的那一句。

在这三行诗中，尼古拉斯·桑巴特看到了真正的“海德堡精神”——它是“非海德堡人的东西，是一代代人不断更新、确认的思想经历的产物，他们符合边缘人的特质，并神奇地在这个地方相遇。他们孑然一身，以旅人和外人的身份来到这里，在这里找到一个新的超越感性的寄托之处”。

重读这本迷人的小书，是一次再度发现之旅。插页里那些安静的黑白照片，老桥门、赫拉克勒斯的喷泉、圣灵堂前的市集，我都已到过，我呼吸到海德堡冬日的宁静与清澈，这些半个世纪前的生活，会带给我哪些的新感受？

除去两年前的青春浪漫，我更多的读到了每一代人的精神世界是如何延续传统，如何被新的时代特征所塑造的，当然，我也通过Google了解到，原来这位尼古拉斯正是那位更为著名的经济学家桑巴特之子。

“我们属于的这一代人，大概是最后一代人，一出生便理所当然地要求把这个世界当作整体来理解。”尼古拉斯·桑巴特在《三个朋友》这一章中写下的第一句话，他接着解释说，“他们要求在他们的意识与自觉中，能在精神上达到他们那个时代的高度民主。这断然包括了对人类发展的看法，阶段性的继续发展，朝更高层次的发展——进步的观念。”

这或许解释尼古拉斯·桑巴特迷人的所有原因。他是一个身处新旧两个时代中的人物。当他降生时，他的家庭给予他一个辉煌的传统。这个传统从文艺复兴发端，经由启蒙运动、地理大发现、现代科学革命，到了20世纪初达到了成熟的巅峰。在他的上一代人身上，不管是他的父亲，历史学家克罗齐、文化学者阿尔弗雷德·韦伯、哲学家雅斯贝尔斯，还是从未谋面的巨人马克斯·韦伯，尼古拉斯·桑巴特必定感受到一种恢宏的气魄，整个人类的历史与命运都存在于他们的案头上与笔记本里。但是，溃败的种子也同时埋藏于这辉煌中。

他在马克斯·韦伯身上看到了一种深深的异化。他充满了“一个资产阶级知识分子的挫折”，目睹着这一阶层的创造力与财富，被俾斯麦所代表的强大官僚阶层所压制与摧毁，而他只能用道德上的愤怒，来掩饰政治上的无能。

当尼古拉斯·桑巴特来到海德堡时，俾斯麦的遗产已给德国、或许整个西方世界，带来了两次深刻的摧毁，而那个伟大的传统，也在过程中开始断裂了。于是，他这一代人面临着多重的挑战。

他一方面试图继承那个光荣的智力与文化传统，就像他对于“知识公民”定义，一方面要继续追问与清除那个糟糕的政治与官僚传统，更重要的是，他们在这个残破的现实面前，寻找自己的声音。所以，他喜欢那份志趣高雅的《蜕变》，却仍执着要创办《失落的一代》，因为前者是“以过去的标准来判断当代的‘思想的状况’”，而他追求的如何表达出年轻一代的“恐惧和希望，界定他们的政治概念，勇敢揭示他们的特异体质，让他们不再沉默，而能发声”。他在自由主义中寻求到支持，因为它标榜的是以演进的方式来看待世界，而不依赖于特定的结论。

从1945年—1951年的6年时光里，尼古拉斯·桑巴特在海德堡找到了充分的宁静和思想上的激荡。古老的“知识公民”的传统，和德国重建的现实，给予他一个巨大的思想实验场，以塑造自己或许更广泛的一代人的精神世界。当他在2008年6月离去时，他已是战后德国最重要的名字，他影响了一个世代。

在重读《海德堡岁月》的过程中，小赵的形象在我眼前若隐若现。我记得他陪我狂奔到火车站，透过合上的车门玻璃，我看到孤独的身影。

像200年前的约瑟夫·艾兴多尔夫一样，他以一个边缘人的身份到来。他的心中曾经带有那么多炽热又感伤的梦想，这些梦想被他曾生长的社会所深深伤害，以至于不得不主动遗忘它。而在这陌生的海德堡，语言、文化、还有种族，都树立了天然的屏障，边缘人的身份会解放他、激励它，还是会加剧他的挫败和封闭？那间零乱小小的公寓，似乎是不妙的征兆，它贫乏而缺乏内在秩序，我可以想象，有多少个夜晚，他是盯着那台15寸的显示器，打发掉青春的光阴。 平庸的社会习俗却有着强大的吞噬一切的惯性。自大成长以来，周围就是无时不在加强的惯性。他曾奋力的拼搏过，却没有得到足够的鼓励与响应，然后自然的衰竭与自怜，生活被缩减成简单的需求。我也知道，很多在德国留学的中国青年正遭遇着同样的尴尬——他们的世界不是更宽阔，而是更封闭了，他们自嘲是“驼鸟人”——一种夹在双重文化中的变形人种。

但我也记得，临行前他对我说，是该认真的读书与生活了，停止这“堕落”了。是的，他的海德堡岁月刚刚开始，而我希望再次相逢时，他能背起这诗句“而这魔力并未欺骗他们”。

译文: Time in Heidelberg

Ⅰ

I saw the photo of Nicolas Sombart on the website of Times.

He leans on the davenport with wearing black overcoat, and the yellow silk scarf is in his chest, loosely and exaggeratedly, looks like a blooming gorgeous flower.

You can imagine how handsome he was by glimpsing at his face, even though so much deep wrinkle in his forehead, canthus hangs down as time passed and his white hair seems to be the littery grass blew by wind. There was an unwritten regulation in the herd of his friends in Heidelberg--it must be the most beautiful girl to be his girl friend.

The photo was published on the page of obituary notice on 6th August 2008, announcing Nicolas Sombart has passed away on 14th July. However, his wisdom and grace stay behind through his works.

Beside my hands, it is Time in Heidelberg, recording his memory about a portion of his youth. It was the book's title and plain cover that attracted me so much when I found it two years ago. I didn't know who this Mr. Sombart was, and never thought whether there was a connection between him and that German famous economist Werner Sombart.

But, it evoked me of the reading pleasure I hadn't experienced for a long time.

The memory dates back to 1945, when Germany surrendered due to failure in the war. From North hamburger to South Munich, there were wreckage, lack of food and cloth, the memory of slaughter, defeated mood and soldiers of Russia and America all around in Germany......Lance Corporal, Nicolas Sombart luckily escaped from the fate of being killed or being sent to prisoner camp in Siberia, but as a retired soldier, he came to Heidelberg -- which was a peaceful and brilliant university city, or may be the only city not-bombed--to start his study.

At the beginning, it was Nicolas' writing style of elegance and springiness that arrested me. It was the mixture of cultivation, thinking, ambition, young blood, childishness, gastronomy and a little cynicism.

Those snatches charmed me. Nicolas and his friends, they spent the whole night in talking about books and thoughts, wholeheartedly wanted to establish a magazine can express the voice of their own generation, went to the master's study to listen to their edification, spoke loudly in bistro, crossed over the window to tryst with girl friend sneakily, enjoyed the low moan under the pillow......

The whole history of the world and human being is something to discover for them. They always tried to reach the end by all kinds of way--thought, alcohol, love, friendship, debating and trip......

If without the momentary glimpse of Heidelberg several days before, it should be the end of my understanding to Nicolas Sombart.

Ⅱ

I arrived in Heidelberg at a winter's cold afternoon. "Here is Bismarck Square, and here is Big Cathedral, Old City Zone, Ancient Castle, Path of Philosopher", without my asking, that enthusiastic middle-aged woman took Heidelberg's traveling map from the counter at the train station's visitor center, and then drew the landmark proficiently on the map with ballpoint--she had seen so many strangers like me, repeated the same action over thousand times. Heidelberg has become a famous city for traveling, and the visitors break the former peace, most of who seldom come here in such cold season. 

I saw the white bust of Bismarck in a small square, where so many rails of tramcar are traversing. His bald head is naked in such severe cold weather, his expression is excessively serious, two dense beards are on his upper lip and the dress's frill in his vest is exaggerated. These Junker's dignity and pride in 19th century had been blown away by the wind, just like the leaves on the decayed tree behind him.

Northward from Bismarck Square, Theodor Hughes Bridge which spans over Neckar River will be in your sight, and Path of Philosopher is just on the mountain which is on the other side of the river.  I was patient to wait the traffic light turn to green, like the excessively mannered German. But that old lady beside me who may be 1.4 meter tall crossed the road without no hesitation, with her shaggy, clean and white hair quivering slightly along with her steps. It seemed that time never made her older, but just qualified her to defy the regulations. Maybe she had lived in this small town for eighty years, and she was indifferent to Jaspers, even to Alfred Weber, who knows?

It was easier for people to be hungry in cold weather, after crossing over the yellow Neckar River flowing quietly, I entered a Chinese restaurant run by a couple from Shanghai in the corner of the street, where there were red-skinned sofa and the flavor of eatery of university.

I met Xiao Zhao there. He was seeking seat with a meatball and a bowl of rice in his hands, wearing striped jumper, blue jeans, and childishness of schoolboy of domestic university was in his fleshless face.

I hint at him to have a seat opposite, the meal was just ok, and our chat was simple and plain. His voice was too low to be heard clearly at the beginning, so I had to ask him one question twice. He was born in a small city of Kaili in 1978, which locates the Southeast of Guizhou province and is famous for Xianglu Mountain, Qingshui River and countless villages of Miao nationality. He entered the Physics Department of Guizhou University when he was 20 years old, and got the diploma of bachelor and master. He worked for a law office in Guiyang for three years after his graduation, and then decided to keep learning Physics in Heidelberg University because the living of that Southwest city was too common.

I could feel the boredom and loneliness in his description, behind which I could see one kind of deep aspiration--he wants to seize something make him excited and warm. Then I suggested we take a walk in Philosopher Path, he agreed without any hesitation.

"The first day in Heidelberg, I didn't go anywhere but straight to this place." he said when we came to an uprising alley, "it was just here, I was disappointed at the first sight."

Philosopher Path began with a section of narrow uneven blacktop, of which the color of new bitumen was mixed with the old ones'. Two sides of the path stood red wall, there were several four-seated cars beside the wall and many small two-layered buildings inside the wall, and I had no idea about who were living in these buildings. The red stonewalling is the symbol of Heidelberg. It will take time to go up the path due to its steep gradient; philosophers had no time to think if they walked along the path on foot.

"It is our physics institution", which is a small white-painted building, where he calculated and learned before we met each other. Upwards along the path, you would find the gradient became level, houses disappeared and only red stonewalling was still there. There were trees, weeds, grapevines all around, the air got fresh increasingly, and it was so peaceful that you could even hear your breath. We looked backwards when we arrived at the mountainside of Heiligenberg Mountain, the whole city of Heidelberg was quietly lying in the Neckar River which was silently flowing away, the spire of cathedral was standing out from the Baroque buildings of old city, Schloss Castle was majestically standing in a corner of the small city. Red broken bricked wall, intrigue against each other in the castle and romance were submerged as time went by......

The atmosphere of philosophy and thinking was around the corner. Beside the path, I saw the Joseph von Eichendorff's monument, in which there were his handsome portrait and a row of poem I couldn't understand. He always took a walk with another young poet Holderlin here 200 years ago, maybe they all were pale and sensitive, longed for discovering the world's secrets and insisted on one kind of abstract spirit.

We didn't reach the peak, and Xiao Zhao's mood became active as time passed by. Initiatively, he told me how much he ever liked Nietzsche, Borges and Turgenev, which was really shocking in a middle school of Kaili county. He was still a "freak" after he entered university. He was crazy for Physics and confessed himself as the most excellent student, but his examination score was the worst because all the teachers couldn't accept his absence or his original solution to the question. Even he almost didn't get his diploma when the four-year school work came to the end. But during the period of being a graduate student, he delivered two articles in the English magazine of Physics Review Letters by teaching himself, due to which, he got the study allowance offered by Max Planck Fund Foundation. He niftily called it as "MP Fund".

"I am degenerated really", he repeated this words when climbed down the mountain along a maze-like steep stone-step. He mentioned a bosom friend of university, who was indulged in poem and came to him with his new poem everyday. "He kept to writing poem even though he was beaten by me, later then he left school, he maybe is working at Beijing now", he muttered, "however, he still would send new poem to me when he met me in internet."  

I understood what he said, his friend still persisted, but he did not. Never again he put his aspiration to Physics, never again he believed such saying of it contains simple beauty in formula of Physics. It would be rather to escape from that boring life in Guiyang than to long for discovering science for him to come to Heidelberg. But once again he found he was empty when he did. The study and work of institution looked like some habitual actions during 3 months; moreover, it seemed that he didn't prepare for discovering something else. He didn't want to learn local language, hadn't went to other cities, even the broken resplendent ancient castle in that small city. He did come to the homeland of Nietzsche, but he didn't want to read any book of him.

We wandered around in the old city for a whole afternoon, crossed the ancient bridge, felt the brass monkey beside the Karl Gate. He bought me a cup of coffee, and searched for books randomly with me in a bookstore of secondhand English book. "It had been a long time since I read a book last time", he said suddenly when he saw so many books I bought.

There was no one "book" in deed in his room. This house with kitchen and bathroom is a typical dormitory for single student. One bed, one writing table, one bookshelf, two chairs, and no more room left. Your feet could touch the side of cistern of the kitchen if you lay your back on the bed. But then frankly speaking, it is still a good condition for living, and it is not cheap at all to pay 400 Euro for the rent. There were one notebook, many Physics Reviews and the skin of orange on the table, but only two physical teaching materials on the bookshelf.

He insisted on inviting me to his dormitory to let me enjoy his cooking before I left by train, he thought his level was much better than that couple from Shanghai. This was a way to show his goodwill, after all it had been a long time since he talked about Nietzsche and Borges with others.

He was cutting the tomato when I watched the movie of My Wild Girl Friend in his computer. His most favorite movie star is Chang Qi San, who is his ideal lover including her look and figure. When he saw her beautiful overbearing appearance, he seemed to naturally talk about his former love story. At that time, he read The First Love written by Turgenev, and then he began to express his sentiment to the girl who was not in the same class but department with him in a bashful and unalloyed manner. Classical manner ended in modern failure, which so far made him disappointed.....

Ⅲ

In dream they might meet each other,

Just like looking at their home country.

Even not been cheated by its fascination.

----Joseph von Eichendorff

I did forget Nicolas Sombart thoroughly when I talked with Xiao Zhao. Once again I turned over Time in Heidelberg, I saw the poem of Joseph von Eichendorff and I didn't know whether it was that one on the monument.

From this poem, Nicolas Sombart got the real "Heidelberg Spirit" --"it belonged to non-Heidelberg man, was the outcome of thinking which was renewed and confirmed generation by generation. They had characters of marginal men, magically encountered each other in this place. They were alone, and found it was a new place to transcend emotion as a visitor and stranger".

It is a discovering trip for me to reread this charming work. I have been to Ancient Bridge Gate, fountain in Heracles and the market in front of Holy Spirit Hall, all of which are in those quiet black-and-white photographs in the interleaves, and I have taken the breath of peace and clarity of Heidelberg's winter. What new feelings will these lives half-century before bring me?

Besides the romance of youth two years ago, more I have understood are that how the spirit world of every generation to hand down tradition and how they are shaped by the new characters of times. Moreover, by searching in Google, I have found out this man of Nicolas is just the son of that Sombart who are more famous as a economist.

"This generation we belong to maybe is the last generation to naturally understand the world as a whole since we were born." Nicolas Sombart began the chapter of Three Friends with this sentence, then he kept explaining, "Their consciousness are required to reach the high democracy of era they belong to in the layer of mentality, of course, including the opinion about the development of human, step-by-step and towards to development--progressive conception."

This perhaps can explain all the reasons why Nicolas Sombart so attractive. He is a man who lived in two eras. When he was born, he was endowed by his family with a brilliant tradition, which began from Revival of Learning, went through Enlightenment, Great Discovery of Geography, Modern Science Revolution, and then reached the zenith of maturity at the beginning of 20th century. Nicolas must feel a strong and magnificent verve from the people of last generation, including his father, historian Croce, culture scholar Alfred Weber, philosopher Jaspers, even Max Weber who he never met, because the whole history and fate of human were contained in their desks and notebooks. However, at the same time, the seed of decay was buried in this resplendence.

He saw a deep dissimilation from Max Weber. Max Weber was filled with "frustration of intellectual of bourgeoisie", and he had nothing to do but to cover up his inability in politics by using his moral outrage when he witnessed the creativity and wealth of bourgeoisie were suppressed and destroyed by the powerful bureaucracy stratum of which Bismarck was the representative.

When Nicolas Sombart came to Heidelberg, Bismarck's heritage had profoundly destroyed Germany even maybe the whole western world twice, during which that great tradition began to part to pieces. So, the generation of him faced so many multiple challenges.

On the one hand, he attempted to inherit the glorious tradition of intelligence and culture, taking his definition to "intellectual citizen" for example, on the other hand, he continued to question and clean away the awful tradition of politics and bureaucracy, most importantly, he wanted to seek for his own voice in face of this wrecked reality. He liked Metamorphosis full of interest and elegance, and at the same time he was persisting in publish Lost Generation, because the former "judged contemporary situation of thought according to old criteria, but what he pursued was how to "express the fear and hope of the young generation, to define their political conception, reveal bravely their unusual characters, let them not keep silence but say loudly their proposal". Then he found out the support from liberalism, because of which the assertion is to look on the world in an evolutionary way, but not lie on given conclusions.

Nicolas Sombart enjoyed adequate peace and surge of thought in Heidelberg for six years from 1945 to 1951. He figured the spirit world of himself even the generation of him in a huge experiment thought field, which was provided by the ancient tradition of "intellectual citizen" and the reality of restructuring Germany. He had become the most important person in Germany after World War Ⅱ and impacted the whole generation of him when he passed away at June 2008.

When I reread Time in Heidelberg, Xiao Zhao's image peered in my mind. I remember we rushed to train station, and I saw his lonely figure through the closed window of the door.

He came to Heidelberg as a marginal man just like Joseph von Eichendorff 200 years ago. He had so many blazing but sad dreams, which he had to forget on his own initiative because they were deeply harmed by the society where he lived. A nature barrier is built up by language, culture and race in the strange Heidelberg; will the identity as a marginal man liberate and stimulate him, or sharpen his frustration and autism? It seems the small littery apartment is a bad premonition, because it is indigent and short of internal content. I even can imagine many a night he stares at the 15-inched display to kill time of youth. However, trite social custom have a powerful inertia to devour everything. And we have been surrounded with increasing inertia at all times since we grew up. He tried his best to struggle, got little encouragement and response, and then naturally decayed and sympathized himself, and nothing but simple demand left in life. Also I know that a lot of Chinese youth studying in Germany are encountering the same embarrassment--their world are not becoming wider but narrower, so they call themselves as Ostrich Man--a sort of distortion race in dual culture.

But still I remember what he said to me when I left, it was time to read and live with full heart, and to stop this "degeneration". Truly, his time in Heidelberg just begins, I hope he could recite "Even not been cheated by its fascination" when we meet each other once again.