传统这个名字是 T.S.艾略特先生时常拿来在我们头上挥舞的,但是有时候我们却希望他能够用得更加确切些。一个人把自己形容为传统主义者,就意味着只有那些已经站在这个传统之外的人才能享受选择的自由,而当一个作家弄得赞成抽象的传统时,我们很可能感到他的马已经溜了韁,所以他最好还是说说清楚自己打算辩护或者恢复的究竟是哪些历史因素。艾略特先生并不是一个系统的思想 The traditional name is Mr. T.S. Eliot who is often waving on our heads, but sometimes we want him to be able to use it more precisely. By describing ourselves as a traditionalist, one means that only those who are already outside this tradition can enjoy the freedom of choice, and when a writer makes a pro-abstract tradition we may well feel that his horse has been Slipped the reins, so he’d better talk about clearly what he intends to defend or restore historical factors. Mr. Eliot is not a systematic idea