第16章 Vanity of Life 生命之虚妄

Johann Gottfried von Herder, 1744-1803, an eminent German poet, preacher, and philosopher, was born in Mohrungen, and died in Weimar. His published works comprise sixty volumes. This selection is from his "Hebrew Poetry."

Man, born of woman,

Is of a few days,

And full of trouble;

He cometh forth as a flower, and is cut down;

He fleeth also as a shadow,

And continueth not.

Upon such dost thou open thine eye,

And bring me unto judgment with thee?

Among the impure is there none pure?

Not one.

Are his days so determined?

Hast thou numbered his months,

And set fast his bounds for him

Which he can never pass?

Turn then from him that he may rest,

And enjoy, as an hireling, his day.

The tree hath hope, if it be cut down,

It becometh green again,

And new shoots are put forth.

If even the root is old in the earth,

And its stock die in the ground,

From vapor of water it will bud,

And bring forth boughs as a young plant.

But man dieth, and his power is gone;

He is taken away, and where is he?

Till the waters waste from the sea,

Till the river faileth and is dry land,

Man lieth low, and riseth not again.

Till the heavens are old, he shall not awake,

Nor be aroused from his sleep.

Oh, that thou wouldest conceal me

In the realm of departed souls!

Hide me in secret, till thy wrath be past;

Appoint me then a new term,

And remember me again.

But alas! if a man die

Shall he live again?

So long, then, as my toil endureth,

Will I wait till a change come to me.

Thou wilt call me, and I shall answer;

Thou wilt pity the work of thy hands.

Though now thou numberest my steps,

Thou shalt then not watch for my sin.

My transgression will be sealed in a bag,

Thou wilt bind up and remove my iniquity.

Yet alas! the mountain falleth and is

swallowed up,

The rock is removed out of its place,

The waters hollow out the stones,

The floods overflow the dust of the earth,

And thus, thou destroyest the hope of man.

Thou contendest with him, till he faileth,

Thou changest his countenance,

and sendeth him away.

Though his sons become great and happy,

Yet he knoweth it not;

If they come to shame and dishonor,

He perceiveth it not.

约翰·戈特弗里德·冯·赫尔德（1744～1803年），德国著名诗人、牧师、哲学家。出生于莫伦根，在魏玛逝世。他出版的作品多达60卷。下面的文章节选自他的作品《希伯来诗歌》。

人来到这个世界，

只有短短的几天时间，

却烦恼不断；

他像鲜花一样初见人间，

又像影子一样稍纵即逝，

从此了无音信。

就在此刻，你睁开双眼，

恳求我对你的人生做出评判，

在不完美之中是否存在完美？

不，没有。

他的命运本该这样吗？

你数过他来到这个世界多少日夜，

给他划定的界限，

他从不会逾越吗？

在他要休息的时候叫起他，

像受雇者一样享受美妙人生。

参天大树也怀揣希望，如果你把它砍倒，

它还会长出嫩芽，

和崭新的枝叶。

即使老树根深陷在土壤里，

它的血液被截断，

在汲取了水汽之后，

它仍然能够长出树枝。

但是，人死了，他的力量就会消失；

他将不复存在，他会到哪里去呢？

直到大海的水干涸，

直到小河变得干涸，

人卑微地低下头，不再昂首。

直到时间的尽头，他也不再醒来，

他也不会受到别人的惊扰。

噢，你把我隐藏在

彼此分离的灵魂的王国里！

你让我隐姓埋名，直到你的怒气退去；

你给我制定新的条例，

让我再次黯然神伤。

哎！人死了，

还能复生吗？

真是漫长，我忍受痛苦，

我在等待改变的降临，

你召唤我，我就会回应；

你怜悯双手的日夜操劳，

虽然，你现在在计算我的脚步，

但是，你却算不出我的错误。

我把罪恶都装在了袋子里，

你会把它夺过来，拿走我的罪行。

哎！群山开始下沉，

它们正在被吞噬，

坚固的岩石被移走，

水流在石头间游荡，

洪水漫过大地的尘土，

彻底摧毁了人类的美好寄托。

你同他进行殊死搏斗，直到他倒下，

你改变了他的面容，

将他驱逐到很远的地方。

尽管他的子孙后代过得很快乐，

但你知道时光荏苒；

即使他们会为自己感到羞耻，

他也无法再感受到。