第24章 The Three Warnings 三个警告

Hester Lynch Thrale, 1739—1821, owes her celebrity almost wholly to her long intimacy with Dr. Samuel Johnson. This continued for twenty years, during which Johnson spent much time in her family. She was born in Caernarvonshire, Wales; her first husband was a wealthy brewer, by whom she had several children. In 1784, she married an Italian teacher of music named Piozzi. Her writings are quite numerous; the best known of her books is the "Anecdotes of Dr. Johnson; " but nothing she ever wrote is so well known as the "Three Warnings."

The tree of deepest root is found

Least willing still to quit the ground;

'T was therefore said by ancient sages,

That love of life increased with years

So much, that in our latter stages,

When pains grow sharp, and sickness rages,

The greatest love of life appears.

This great affection to believe,

Which all confess, but few perceive,

If old assertions can't prevail,

Be pleased to hear a modern tale.When sports went round, and all were gay,

On neighbor Dodson's wedding day,

Death called aside the jocund groom

With him into another room;

And looking grave, "You must, " says he,

"Quit your sweet bride, and come with me."

"With you! and quit my Susan's side?

With you! " the hapless bridegroom cried:

"Young as I am, 't is monstrous hard!

Besides, in truth, I'm not prepared."

What more he urged, I have not heard;

His reasons could not well be stronger:

So Death the poor delinquent spared,

And left to live a little longer.

Yet, calling up a serious look,

His hourglass trembled while he spoke:

"Neighbor, " he said, "farewell! no more

Shall Death disturb your mirthful hour;

And further, to avoid all blame

Of cruelty upon my name,

To give you time for preparation,

And fit you for your future station,

Three several warnings you shall have

Before you're summoned to the grave;

Willing for once I'll quit my prey,

And grant a kind reprieve;

In hopes you'll have no more to say,

But, when I call again this way,

Well pleased the world will leave."

To these conditions both consented,

And parted perfectly contented.

What next the hero of our tale befell,

How long he lived, how wisely, and how well,

It boots not that the Muse should tell;

He plowed, he sowed, he bought, he sold,

Nor once perceived his growing old,

Nor thought of Death as near;

His friends not false, his wife no shrew,

Many his gains, his children few,

He passed his hours in peace.

But, while he viewed his wealth increase,

While thus along life's dusty road,

The beaten track, content he trod,

Old Time, whose haste no mortal spares,

Uncalled, unheeded, unawares,

Brought on his eightieth year.

And now, one night, in musing mood,

As all alone he sate,

The unwelcome messenger of Fate

Once more before him stood.

Half-killed with wonder and surprise,

"So soon returned! " old Dodson cries.

"So soon d'ye call it? "Death replies:

"Surely! my friend, you're but in jest;

Since I was here before,

'T is six and thirty years at least,

And you are now fourscore."

"So much the worse! " the clown rejoined;

"To spare the aged would be kind:

Besides, you promised me three warnings,

Which I have looked for nights and

mornings! "

"I know, " cries Death, "that at the best,

I seldom am a welcome guest;

But do n't be captious, friend; at least,

I little thought that you'd be able

To stump about your farm and stable;

Your years have run to a great length,

Yet still you seem to have your strength."

"Hold! " says the farmer, "not so fast!

I have been lame, these four years past."

"And no great wonder, " Death replies,

"However, you still keep your eyes;

And surely, sir, to see one's friends,

For legs and arms would make amends."

"Perhaps, " says Dodson, "so it might,

But latterly I've lost my sight."

"This is a shocking story, faith;

But there's some comfort still, " says Death;

"Each strives your sadness to amuse;

I warrant you hear all the news."

"There's none, " cries he, "and if there were,

I've grown so deaf, I could not hear."

"Nay, then, " the specter stern rejoined,

"These are unpardonable yearnings;

If you are lame, and deaf, and blind,

You've had your three sufficient warnings,

So, come along; no more we'll part."

He said, and touched him with his dart:

And now old Dodson, turning pale,

Yields to his fate—so ends my tale.

海斯特·林奇·史雷尔（1739～1821年），她之所以声名大噪，全要拜闺蜜塞缪尔·约翰逊博士所赐。她们这种亲密无间的关系一直持续了20多年，在这期间，约翰逊把自己的主要精力都投入到了她的家庭当中。她出生于威尔士的卡那封郡，她的第一任丈夫是一位富有的啤酒生产商，他们育有几个孩子。1784年，她嫁给一位名叫皮奥兹的意大利音乐教师。她创作了很多文学作品，其中家喻户晓的是《约翰逊博士轶事》，但她写过的最出色的作品是《三个警告》。

人们发现根最深的那棵树

最不愿离开大地；

于是，古代贤者说：

你对生命的热爱会与日俱增，

直到人生的尽头，

当疼痛加剧，疾病肆虐时，

对生命最真切的爱就会出现。

人们相信这种伟大的爱，

大家都承认，但是极少有人知道，

如果过去的断言并不能将人说服，

那就请倾听一个现代的故事吧！

观众来到体育场，所有人都露出喜悦，

在邻居多德结婚的那天，

死神突然来到新郎的房门前，

把他带到另一个房间；

“你必须，”他目光凝重地说，

“马上离开你的新娘，跟我走。”

“跟你走！我为什么要离开我的苏珊？

跟你走！”无助的新郎喊道，

“我这么年轻，你真是铁石心肠的怪物！

而且，说实话，我还没有准备好。”

他又说了些什么，我没有听见；

他辩驳的理由似乎不那么充分；

于是，死神饶过了这个可怜的罪人，

让他又多活了几天。

不过，他对那严肃的面孔记忆犹新，

他说话的时候，沙漏一直在颤抖：

“邻居，”他说，“再见！死神

再也不会打搅你的快乐时光；

而且，为了避免

把所有罪名都加在我头上，

也给你充分的时间做准备，

等你以后去天堂，

在你被召唤进坟墓之前，

你还要牢记三个警告；

我之所以答应暂缓，

再一次饶你性命，

是希望让你毫无怨言；

但是，当我再来叫你的时候，

你能高高兴兴地离开这个世界。”

当你对这些条件感到满意，

你就会快乐地离开。

接下来，我们故事中的英雄

活了很多年，快乐又健康，

这样的景象就连缪斯也无法描述；

他耕地，他收获，他买卖，

没有觉察自己在慢慢变老，

也不知道死神在步步逼近，

他的朋友完美无瑕，他的老婆关怀备至，

他的收入颇丰，他有几个孩子，

他祥和地度过了一天又一天。

但是，当他看到他的财富与日俱增，

虽然在沿着生活的坎坷之路

筋疲力尽地前行，但他对自己满怀信心，

时间老人，不再疲于奔命，

不再呼唤，不再注意，不再察觉，

他一下就到了八十岁。

就是今晚，他的心情大好，

他感到很满足，

不请自来的命运信使，

再一次站在他的面前，

他一脸惊恐，紧张得半死，

“来得这么快啊！”老多德说道。

“你这么快就不记得了？”死神重复道，

“噢，我的老朋友，你的说话略带幽默；

我之前来过这里，

至少有三十六年了，

算到现在，你刚好八十岁。”

“过得时间越长越糟糕！”这个小丑叫道；

“宽恕长者是件好事；

况且，你在我面前承诺过三个警告，

我无时无刻不希望得到答案。”

“我知道，”死神说，“我当然知道，

我从来都不是受欢迎的客人；

但是不要强词夺理，朋友；至少，

有一点我想不通，你竟然能够

逃离你的农场和马厩；

你已经活得够久了，

看来你还是很有活力！”

“闭嘴！”农夫说，“没那么快！

过去四年中，我的手脚已不再麻利。”

“果然不出我所料，”死神回答道，

“但是，你的眼神还挺不错，

竟然可以辨别出别人的朋友，

你的腿和胳膊也会好起来的。”

“或许，”多德说，“或许会，

但是，最近我的视力开始下降。”

“噢，这是个令人震撼的故事，信仰；

但是，还有让人欣慰的事情，”死神说。

“你的故事像是引人发笑的谈资；

我保证你听到所有的消息了。”

“并不是全部，”他叫道，“如果还有的话，

我情愿当聋子，我再也不想听了。”

“不，那么，”幽灵坚定地反驳说，

“这些都是无法原谅的渴求；

如果你手脚不麻利、听不见、看不见，

你就会明白那三个警告了，

跟我来吧！我们不要天各一方了。”

他说，然后用飞镖碰了碰他；

再看老多德，他的脸色变得苍白，

终于向命运屈服——我的故事也讲完了。