好玩儿的字母（b）

很高兴昨天没人受Schwartz的Pernicious Influence而诅咒数学，看来个别人想抹黑数学的险恶用心是不会得逞的，正义的朋友们相信数学是美好和善良的。我怀疑S老师的数学已经被“缺心眼儿”计算机给洗脑了，已经失去了想象力，所以才会从那样可恶的角度去看数学，尽管有些话“事实上”是对的。

今天换一个心情来看数学的“美”——接着欣赏The Poetic Wreath里的好玩儿字母：Beauty恰好是B领导的伙伴之一：

Bashfulness, Beauty, Bee, Bells, Beneficence, Birds, Blindness,

Bliss, Books, Britain, Buccaneer, Byron

有数学家说，悟数学美如见美人，我们来看古人Samuel Pordage（1633-1691?）的几行写美人的诗句。他说，Her auburn hair in crisped curls doth dangle Upon her ivory shoulders，说Herivory-polished front with seemly cheer，说Her eyes, like suns,shoot rays more sharp than darts，说Her cheeks are damask roses blown in June，说Herlips are snips of scarlet……（“说”这些句子，都是每段的开头，不是连着的）——这些词儿有点儿俗，我们的“硕人”早就走那个套路了。不过，下面一段还是别有风味儿：

Those twinkling stars, those sparkling diamond stones.

Those glorious suns where dwells the eastern light.

Pierce with the rigour of their charms the bones

Of daring him who gains of them a sight:

Beholding kills; —yet he their loss bemoans,

And 'd rather die, than that they live shut in night.

Pierce一句是倒装的，谁敢看一眼那些如星光、钻石光和初日阳光的光辉，它们的魔力就会穿透你的骨髓。Beholding kills——“看”也会杀人的。最后一句有点儿悲哀，可怜那些光芒都要消失——宁愿发着光死，也不甘隐藏在黑夜里。相比之下，数学美是永恒的。