《 CAPRI REVISITED 》

                    translated by Wu Ningkun

Capri is a small island in the Bay of Naples. In the eyes of the Italians, Capri is perhaps just like the legendary Land of Peach Blossoms in the eyes of the Chinese: natural, peaceful, and free of mundane pollution.

I have visited Capri twice, once in 1983, once in 1987. The purpose of the first visit in 1983 was simply sightseeing. The tour, as first planned, was to do Naples only. In the space of two days, we did nearly all the sights in Naples: from the palace and opera house of the time of the Kingdom of Naples to the monastery where Thomas Aquinas wrote his Summa Theologia, the ruins of Pompeii, etc. Most of the group who were well contented with what they had seen decided to end the tour and return to Rome. But the rest preferred to revisit Capri, I among them. At the time, the reason why I made this choice was perhaps that I had felt, subconsciously, the need for a mental balance. For, after seeing too many things which had a lot to do with ideologies, one could not but feel rather tense, even though they were only traces of ancient strifes. So, to seek relaxation after tension, we came again to Capri.

The atmosphere in Capri was indeed altogether different, although the passage from the port of Naples took only an hour and a half. Here there were no medi castles that were black like clotted blood, no crucifixes that were too large and too heavy, no frenzied dissipations of Pompeii, no statues of heroes who always looked down at you with swords unsheathed. Here there were only wind, water, and sunshine, only sunlit colorful sails gliding along placidly. All sounds receded, even tourists waxed silent as if forbearing to disturb the transparent atmosphere.Only the rhythmic beating of the waves responded to distant songs. Across the sea could be seen dimly blocks of red buildings and green trees marking Sorrento, the homeland of "Solo Mio" and "Santa Lucia".

In 1987 I came to Capri for the second time, but not to seek mental balance. Rather, for the sake of astronomy although it was also after having too much "sightseeing" of ideology, and modern ideology at that. Now there is a very small observatory on the island which is used for the study of the sun, as the sun is particularly bright over here and it is therefore easier to see clearly the black spots in its brightness. The observatory belongs to German astronomers. Due to inconvenience in administration, the Germans offered to close down the observatory and sell the estate. The Italian Ministry of Education, which was inclined to buy it, therefore asked the International Centre for Relativistic Astrophysics to make an evaluation first. As a member of the Centre, I took part in the evaluation.

卡普里风光（图片来自维基百科，版权归原作者所有）

The Capri Observatory, like the island itself, is small and exquisite, very fascinating. It does not boast an imposing telescope dome, neither is it built on the top of a hill. It is housed in a villa overlooking the sea. Like the other villas in the neighborhood, it has a large forest and extensive lawns, amid which stand small white buildings .There is a sun tower at the observatory, which also stands in the midst of trees, and is also white and so very tranquil that it seems to have the solemnity of a graveyard. It occurred to me that the German astronomers who worked here must have often recalled the epitaph of Immanuel Kant:

The starry heavens above me and the moral law within me fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and the more steadily we reflect on.

As it was vacation time, we did not meet the German astronomers. There was only a caretaker around, who knew nothing of astronomy, but who very obligingly showed us around the place. He told us as much as he knew about the observatory, including the facilities and the working and living conditions, and also a nearby country inn which he said was the finest in all Capri.

When we dined at the inn, the table was set under the shade of the trees, surrounded by tall grass with insects flying about. An Italian friend remarked casually, “Everything in Capri is so friendly. Look, there are many small animals and small winged insects here, but none of them does man any harm. There are varieties of trees and grasses here, but none is poisonous."My uation followed spontaneously: The Capri Observatory may have no special scientific value, but it may be an observatory that can best embody the spirit of astronomy. There are many areas of research in astronomy, but not a single one of them does any harm to mankind. Astronomy seeks neither worldly vanities, nor overbearing power and influence .It seeks only understanding of the heavens ,and accepts only direct revelation from the heavens .In the entire world of science ,astronomy is the Island of Capri, clean, noble, inspiring.

Of course, astronomy does not stand aloof from the world. On the contrary, more understanding and more revelation will lead to more firmness, a firmness of conviction that cannot be got any other way. Likewise ,the moral law within man will rise to a higher level,after one is cleansed by the wind and water of Capri.

When you stand on Monte Salero, the highest peak on Capri, you will find the waves looking smaller and the surface of the sea becoming more and more an ideal plane ,open and boundless. Yes, the whole world should be like this: ideal, open, and boundless. At this time, there grows in your mind not only disgust and disdain at the curses by totems, uncivilized barbarities ,the addiction to lies, and the worship of the non-existent ,but a feeling of pity, pity for ignorance. I came to understand how Galileo must have felt when murmured:"The earth is still rotating!"What he felt was a pity for the world which was still replete with ignorance. Being a man who knew clearly how the sun rotated and how the universe evolved, what else but pity could he feels for those ignoramuses who persisted in a primitive creed? The age of Galileo was long past, yet not quite past.

When night came, these thoughts of mine grew even stronger. For one thing ,as Capri at night was even more quiet and more natural, you could feel only your own thoughts when everything else receded. For another we stayed at a hotel at a distinctive location-----Via Mulo or the Alley of Mountain Mules----on a hillside. Next to the hotel stood a very elegant villa with a marble plaque beside the door, on which was inscribed:

Maxim Gorky lived here from February 1911 to November 1913.

What, Gorky had stayed next to us for nearly three long years! It seemed so inharmonious. For in my mind, the image of Gorky should always be among the waifs of Kazan, the boat trackers on the Volga, and the red flags of The Mother. How could he have also lingered among the hills and waters of Capri where there were neither flags nor warcries?

But actually, the two can be brought into harmony. What is it mainly that enables man to free himself from the sufferings of homeless waifs and trackers ?To be sure, the warcries of yesterday did help, but certainly not warcries of ignorance and benightedness, nor even less, threats of bloodshed against freedom. What brings man happiness and freedom is first of all wisdom, a wisdom that manifests reason in sobriety. What could more make a man feel the sober beauty of this wisdom than Capri? What could more inspire a man's yearning for a free heaven and a free earth than Capri? Gorky was right.

The night grew late and Capri was fast asleep. I felt I was already looking forward to another visit to Capri.

Next time I come I will certainly sing this song "Come Back to Sorrento" and enjoy once again the pursuit of freedom.