很久以前,他是一位快活的老先生,個(gè)子高高又纖瘦,臉色蠟黃又干枯;
His form was bent, and his gait was slow, And his long, thin hair was white as snow, But a wonderful twinkle shone in his eye:
彎腰弓背,步履蹣跚,稀疏的長發(fā)白如雪,可他眼睛閃耀奇異的光芒:
And he sang every night as he went to bed,
唱歌到很晚才上床,
"Let us be happy down here below; The living should live, though the dead be dead," Said the jolly old pedagogue, long ago.
“我們就在高高興興安眠吧;活著的終究要活著,該死的終究要死,”很久以前,這個(gè)歡快的老先生說。
He taught the scholars the Rule of Three, Reading, and writing, and history too;
他教給學(xué)生三條法則,讀書,寫東西和歷史;
He took the little ones on his knee, For a kind old heart in his breast had he, And the wants of the littlest child he knew.
他把最小的孩子抱在膝上,他的胸膛里有一顆善良的心,他知道最小的孩子需要什么。
"Learn while you're young," he often said, "There is much to enjoy down here below; Life for the living, and rest for the dead!"
“少壯要讀書,”他常說,“死了倒是能享受更多的快樂;生活是給活著人的,其余的才留給死人!”
Said the jolly old pedagogue, long ago.
很久以前,這個(gè)歡快的老先生說。
With the stupidest boys, he was kind and cool, Speaking only in gentlest tones;
對(duì)最懶惰的孩子,他既和善又嚴(yán)肅,連說話都那么溫柔;
The rod was scarcely known in his school— Whipping to him was a barbarous rule, And too hard work for his poor old bones;
在他的學(xué)堂沒人曉得棍棒——對(duì)他來說鞭笞是野蠻人的規(guī)則,他那把老骨頭也打不了人;
Besides it was painful, he sometimes said:
況且這是痛苦的,他有時(shí)說:
"We should make life pleasant down here below— The living need charity more than the dead,"
“我們應(yīng)該讓那里的生活充滿歡樂——活人對(duì)仁慈的需要更甚于死人,”
Said the jolly old pedagogue, long ago.
很久以前,這個(gè)歡快的老先生說。