Isaiah Berlin 最的一本书是Personal Impressions。Personal Impressions 最的一篇文章是Meetings with Russian Writers in 1945 and 1946。昨晚我翻箱找书，找不找的那一本，却邂逅了一本十几年前版的老书。我二十几年前就喜欢读Berlin，一本是一九八一年我重伦敦的候买的。旅行途中断断续续读完全书，回不但经常重读，文章引了书中一些资料。余英先生熟读Berlin的着，一眼认处，信提位英国着名文化者、着名教授的椽笔。Berlin篇长文从一九四五年他在华盛顿英国使馆短期工写。那年夏，使馆临调派他英国驻莫斯科使馆工几月，理由是那边人手不足，他又谙俄文，在国参加一些国际问题议，了解国苏的各不同法。使馆认他暂补一补缺，直新年专人任止。二次战已经结束了。Berlin的英文乾净利落，平实中俱见养文采，读舒服：
In the summer of 1945，while I was w as a temporary official in the British Embassy in Washington，I was informed that I was to be seded to our Mosbassy for a few months:the reason given was that it was short-handed,and since I knew Russian,and had, at the San Francisco ference （and long before it）, learnt something of official and unofficial Ameri attitudes to the soviet Union, I might be of some use in filling a gap until the New Year when Someone less amateur would be free to e. The war was over...
Berlin在苏联所见的两位是Anna AkhmatovaBoris Pasternak。那期，苏联人民刚刚遭受希特勒的蹂躏，史林代的极权专政方兴未艾，是，苏联的文艺术繁花似锦，不论创不论理论果实纍纍，继承二十世纪初的盛况展延续。物质贫乏，思蓬勃，文艺工者在莫斯科的寒夜维护人的尊严创的由求索。政治的冷风吹乱了人的绪。Berlin於是在篇长文的文首引了女诗人Anna Akhmatova日记的几句话：“记忆求连贯，每每弄真反假。人的记忆不顺序逐一重温旧。书信日记其实经常是无补於的”（“Every attempt to produce Coherent memories amounts to falsification. No human memory is sed as to recollect everything in tinuous sequence. Letters and diaries often turn out to be bad assistants”）。
Berlin候在俄国，一九一九年十岁跟人国有回故居。次他在莫斯科、在列宁格勒跟两位面长谈，亲眼他生活写的境遇，彼此由浅变深，深深改变了他的人生观。他说：年，他的名字，听人说他，清楚记他脸的表情，他的手势、他说的话。今，一读他写的东西，竟彷彿又听他的声音（“When I see their names in print, or hear them mentioned, I remember vividly the expressions oheir faces, their gestures and their words. When I read their writingsI , to this day, hear the sound of their voices”）。