- 世间所有相遇,都是久别重逢:纪伯伦散文诗选(汉英对照)
- (黎)纪伯伦
- 3667字
- 2024-11-03 00:13:42
泪与笑
Laughter and Tears
As the Sun withdrew his rays from the garden, and the moon threw cushioned beams upon the flowers, I sat under the trees pondering upon the phenomena1 of the atmosphere, looking through the branches at the strewn2 stars which glittered like chips of silver upon a blue carpet; and I could hear from a distance the agitated murmur of the rivulet singing its way briskly into the valley.
When the birds took shelter among the boughs, and the flowers folded their petals, and tremendous silence descended, I heard a rustle of feet through the grass. I took heed and saw a young couple approaching my arbor. They say under a tree where I could see them without being seen.
After he looked about in every direction, I heard the young man saying, "Sit by me, my beloved, and listen to my heart; smile, for your happiness is a symbol of our future; be merry, for the sparkling days rejoice with us.
"My soul is warning me of the doubt in your heart, for doubt in love is a sin." Soon you will be the owner of this vast land, lighted by this beautiful moon; soon you will be the mistress of my palace, and all the servants and maids will obey your commands.
"Smile, my beloved, like the gold smiles from my father's coffers3.
"My heart refuses to deny you its secret. Twelve months of comfort and travel await us; for a year we will spend my father's gold at the blue lakes of Switzerland, and viewing the edifices of Italy and Egypt, and resting under the Holy Cedars of Lebanon; you will meet the princesses who will envy you for your jewels and clothes.
"All these things I will do for you; will you be satisfied? "
In a little while I saw them walking and stepping on flowers as the rich step upon the hearts of the poor. As they disappeared from my sight, I commenced4 to make comparison between love and money, and to analyze their position in the heart.
Money! The source of insincere love; the spring of false light and fortune; the well of poisoned water; the desperation of old age!
I was still wandering in the vast desert of contemplation when a forlorn and specter-like couple passed by me and sat on the grass; a young man and a young woman who had left their farming shacks in the nearby fields for this cool and solitary place.
After a few moments of complete silence, I heard the following words uttered with sighs from weather-bitten lips, "Shed not tears, my beloved; love that opens our eyes and enslaves5 our hearts can give us the blessing of patience. Be consoled in our delay our delay, for we have taken an oath and entered Love's shrine; for our love will ever grow in adversity; for it is in Love's name that we are suffering the obstacles of poverty and the sharpness of misery and the emptiness of separation. I shall attack these hardships until I triumph and place in your hands a strength that will help over all things to complete the journey of life.
"Love—which is God—will consider our sighs and tears as incense6 burned at His altar and He will reward us with fortitude. Good-bye, my beloved; I must leave before the heartening moon vanishes."
A pure voice, combined of the consuming flame of love, and the hopeless bitterness of longing and the resolved sweetness of patience, said, "Good-bye, my beloved."
They separated, and the elegy to their union was smothered by the wails of my crying heart.
I looked upon slumbering Nature, and with deep reflection discovered the reality of a vast and infinite thing—something no power could demand, influence acquire, nor riches purchase. Nor could it be effaced by the tears of time or deadened by sorrow; a thing which cannot be discovered by the blue lakes of Switzerland or the beautiful edifices of Italy.
It is something that gathers strength with patience, grows despite obstacles, warms in winter, flourishes in spring, casts a breeze in summer, and bears fruit in autumn—I found Love.
热词天地
1.phenomena [fə'nɒmɪnə] n. 现象(phenomenon 的复数)
2.strewn[stru:n] adj. 撒满的;散播的
3.coffers ['kɒfəz] n. 金库(coffer的复数)
4.commence[kə'mens] vt. 开始;着手
5.enslave[ɪn'sleɪv] vt. 束缚;征服;使某人成为奴隶
6.incense['ɪnsens] vt. 向……焚香;使……发怒 n. 香;奉承 vi. 焚香
笑与泪
当太阳从花园渐渐收敛余晖,月光在花朵上洒下柔美银光时,我坐在树丛下,凝思着这瞬息万变的天空。透过枝叶,我仰望满天繁星,它们像撒落在蓝色地毯上的银币一样闪闪发亮;我侧耳静听,远处传来山涧的水声。
夜鸟归林,花瓣聚拢,周围一派宁静。我听到急切的脚步声穿过草坪。我留心一看,只见一对青年男女向我的凉棚走来。他们坐在一棵树下,看不见我,我却能看清他俩。
小伙子先四下望了望,然后才听见他说:“坐我身旁吧,我的爱,聆听我的心跳;微笑吧,你的快乐就是我们的未来;高兴起来吧,这些鲜亮的日子都为我们开心。
“我仿佛感觉你的心中仍有疑虑,而对于爱情,怀疑是一种罪责。不久,这片月光下的广阔之地都将属于你;不久,你将是我宫殿的女主人,所有的随从和女仆都将遵从你的旨意。
“微笑吧,亲爱的,像我父亲宝库中的金子般微笑吧。
“我的心执意要在你面前吐露真实秘密。在未来的一年中,我们将共享舒适,携手游玩;在这一年,我们将带上父亲的金钱,到瑞士的蔚蓝湖畔度假;到意大利的公园,到埃及的古老金字塔游览,在黎巴嫩的神圣雪松下小憩。你遇见的公主都会妒忌你周身的珠光和绫罗。
“这一切都是我要为你准备的,你可满意?”
过了一会儿,我看到他俩慢慢地走着,踩踏着鲜花,恍若富人之足践踏着穷人之心。当他们消失在我的视野,我开始比较爱情与金钱,并分析它们在心灵中所占的地位。
金钱!这虚假爱情的缘由;这伪造的光亮和财富的源泉;这口井满是毒水;这旧时代的绝望!
浮想联翩间,一对情侣如幽灵似的经过我面前,然后坐在不远的草地上;这又是一对青年男女,他们离开田间农舍,来到这个凉爽清寂的地方。
先是一阵彻底的沉默,接下来听到的话语伴随着深深叹息,这话语出自那位口唇干裂的青年:“拭去泪水,亲爱的,爱情使我们眼亮心明,让我们成为它的奴仆,也赋予我们坚毅的品性。虽然要推迟婚期,但不要悲伤,因为我们曾盟誓,踏入爱的神殿;我们的爱会在逆境中茁壮成长;因为我们是以爱之名承受着贫穷的羁绊,苦难的折磨和分离的空虚。我一定要击败这些艰辛,直到取得胜利,获得一笔财富献在你的手心,以帮助我们克服生命旅途中的种种艰辛。
爱也就是主,会将我们的悲叹和泪水视作他祭坛上的香火。他也会以坚忍不拔的精神奖赏我们。亲爱的,再见了,在月亮落下之前,我必须走了!”
随后,我听到一阵柔声细语,夹杂着炽烈爱火、无比苦涩的渴望和坚决甜蜜的耐心,那个女孩说:“再见吧,我亲爱的!”
之后,他们分了手,为他们奏起的重逢挽歌被我内心的哭喊重重覆盖。
我注视着沉睡的大自然,细细观察,之后发现了一些浩瀚而永恒的东西——一种权力无法强行使之改变、金钱无法买到的东西;一种时间不能抹除,悲伤无法冲淡的东西;一种不能为严冬的悲愁所扼杀的东西;一种在瑞士的蔚蓝湖畔、意大利的游览胜地所找不到的东西。
它集聚力量与耐心,突破障碍成长,在严冬释放暖意,在春天开花遍地,在夏天里送来清风,在秋天繁茂结果——我发现了爱情。
Before the Throne of Beauty
One heavy day I ran away from the grim face of society and the dizzying clamor1 of the city and directed my weary step to the spacious alley. I pursued the beckoning course of the rivulet and the musical sounds of the birds until I reached a lonely spot where the flowing branches of the trees prevented the sun from the touching the earth.
I stood there, and it was entertaining2 to my soul—my thirsty soul who had seen naught but the mirage of life instead of its sweetness.
I was engrossed deeply in thought and my spirits were sailing the firmament when a hour, wearing a sprig of grapevine that covered part of her naked body, and a wreath of poppies about her golden hair, suddenly appeared to me. As she realized my astonishment, she greeted me saying, "Fear me not; I am the Nymph of the Jungle."
"How can beauty like yours be committed to live in this place? Please tell me who your are, and whence you come? " I asked. She sat gracefully on the green grass and responded, "I am the symbol of Nature! I am the ever virgin your forefathers worshipped, and to my honor they erected shrines and temples at Baalbek and Jbeil." And I dared say, "But those temples and shrines were laid waste and the bones of my adoring ancestors became a part of the earth; nothing was left to commemorate3 their goddess save a pitiful few and the forgotten pages in the book of history."
She replied, "Some goddesses live in the lives of their worshippers and die in their deaths, while some live an eternal4 and infinite life. My life is sustained by the world of beauty which you will see where ever you rest your eyes, and this beauty is Nature itself; it is the beginning of the shepherds joy among the hills, and a villagers happiness in the fields, and the pleasure of the awe filled tribes between the mountains and the plains. This Beauty promotes the wise into the throne the truth."
Then I said, "Beauty is a terrible power! " And she retorted, "Human beings fear all things, even yourselves. You fear heaven, the source of spiritual peace; you fear Nature, the haven of rest and tranquility; you fear the God of goodness and accuse him of anger, while he is full of love and mercy."
After a deep silence, mingled with sweet dreams, I asked, "Speak to me of that beauty which the people interpret and define, each one according to his own conception; I have seen her honored and worshipped in different ways and manners."
She answered, "Beauty is that which attracts your soul, and that which loves to give and not to receive. When you meet Beauty, you feel that the hands deep within your inner self are stretched forth to bring her into the domain of your heart. It is the magnificence5 combined of sorrow and joy; it is the Unseen which you see, and the Vague which you understand, and the Mute which you hear—it is the Holy of Holies that begins in yourself and ends vastly beyond your earthly imagination."
Then the Nymph of the Jungle approached me and laid her scented hands upon my eyes. And as she withdrew, I found me alone in the valley. When I returned to the city, whose turbulence no longer vexed me, I repeated her words: "Beauty is that which attracts your soul, and that which loves to give and not to receive."
热词天地
1.clamor ['klæmə] n. 喧闹,叫嚷;大声的要求
2.entertaining[entə'teɪnɪŋ] adj. 令人愉快的
3.commemorate[kə'meməreɪt] vt. 庆祝,纪念;成为……的纪念
4.eternal[ɪ'tɜ:nl] adj. 永恒的;不朽的
5.magnificence [mæg'nɪfɪsns] n. 壮丽;宏伟;富丽堂皇
prevent … from 防止……;预防……
be committed to 致力于;委身于;以……为己任
在美神的宝座前
在繁忙的一天,我逃离了社会的冷脸、城镇的喧嚣,疲惫地走向那广阔的谷地。一时追逐小溪流水,一时聆听燕啭莺啼,直到一个僻静的地方,那里树木繁茂,遮天蔽日。
我在那儿站定,我的心灵被迷惑了——我那饥渴的心灵只看到生命的幻影而不是她的甜蜜。
我陷入沉思,在幻想的天地中自由翩跹。恍然时余,只见一位少女突然伫立在我面前。一根葡萄藤遮掩了她部分裸露的身体,金色的长发上戴着一顶罂粟花冠。她看出了我的愕然,招呼我说:“你别怕!我是丛林仙女。”
“像你这样的美女怎会委身于这个荒野?请告诉我你是谁,从哪里来?”我问道。她优雅地坐在绿草地上,答道:“我是大自然的象征。我就是你的祖先曾崇拜的那位神女,为了我的荣耀他们曾在巴勒贝克和朱拜勒为我建筑过祭坛和庙宇。”我鼓足勇气说:“但是那庙坛已是一片断壁残垣,我敬爱的祖先也已归于尘土,没有任何东西被留下来纪念他们的女神,在历史的断篇残简中也只能找到只言片语。”
她回答说:“有些女神因他们的崇拜者生而生,随着他们的死而死。然而有些却拥有永恒的生命。我的神性则来自于你随处可见的美丽世界。这种美就是大自然自身。这种美始自山坡之上牧人的愉快,田地中农人的幸福以及漂泊于山地间的部落的敬畏和满足。这种美促使智者登上真理的宝座。”
我又说道:“美是一种可怕的力量。”她即刻反驳道:“人类惧怕一切,甚至你们自己。你们惧怕天堂,那是你们精神安宁的家园;你们惧怕自然,那是平静和休憩的避风港;你们惧怕上帝的仁慈,指责他的愤怒,然而他却是充满了博爱与仁爱的主。”
一阵静默,夹杂着甜蜜的梦,然后我问道:“请给我讲讲究竟什么是美吧,人们对它的解说莫衷一是,各执己见;我也见到人们以各种方式来表达对它的尊敬与崇拜。”
她答道:“美是一种摄人心魄的东西,她甘愿给予,却不索取。当你遇见美,会感到内心深处向她伸出双手,想要揽她入怀,永存心间。她是悲喜交加的壮丽;她是见者无形,大音希声,心领神会的含糊——她是开启于你心灵深处的圣地,却终结于你世俗想象外的浩瀚之处……”
然后丛林仙女靠近我,将她芬芳的双手覆上我的眼帘。当她松开手时,我发现自己独自一人在山谷中。当我重返城市,它的喧嚣再也不能扰乱我心,我只是重复着她的话语:“美是一种摄人心魄的东西,她甘愿给予,却不索取。”