雙語詩歌|葉芝：在學童中間 Among School Children

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2018年07月27日

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Among School Children	在學童中間
Ⅰ	一
I walk through the long schoolroom questioning;	我邊走邊問，從長長的教室走過，
A kind old nun in a white hood replies;	一位和藹的老修女回答著問題；
The children learn to cipher and to sing,	孩子們做算術、唱歌，
To study reading-books and history,	學習各樣的讀本和歷史，
To cut and sew, be neat in everything	還要做精巧的手工，
In the best modern way—the children's eyes	時髦樣子的那些——而孩子們
In momentary wonder stare upon	時不時地出于好奇，偷眼來看
A sixty-year-old smiling public man.	這位花甲之年的微笑著的名人。
Ⅱ	二
I dream of a Ledaean body, bent	我夢一個麗達般的身影，
Above a sinking fire, a tale that she	俯向奄奄的爐火，講起
Told of a harsh reproof, or trivial event	一次童年所受的苛責，一件小事
That changed some childish day to tragedy—	給童心埋下陰影的一天——
Told, and it seemed that our two natures blent	待她講完，我們兩人的天性仿佛
Into a sphere from youthful sympathy,	出于年輕的同情心而合成一個球體，
Or else, to alter Plato's parable,	或者說——不妨篡改一下柏拉圖的妙喻——
Into the yolk and white of the one shell.	成為同一蛋殼里的蛋黃與蛋白。
Ⅲ	三
And thinking of that fit of grief or rage	心想著那時的悲與怒，
I look upon one child or other there	我看看這個孩子，又看看那個，
And wonder if she stood so at that age—	想到她在這個年紀是否也是這般樣子——
For even daughters of the swan can share	因為天鵝的女兒也會遺傳
Something of every paddler's heritage—	所有鳴禽的共性——
And had that colour upon cheek or hair,	是否也有這樣顏色的臉孔或發(fā)辮。
And thereupon my heart is driven wild：	心念及此，直要讓我瘋狂：
She stands before me as a living child.	她仿佛一個活生生的孩子在我面前。
IV	四
Her present image floats into the mind—	她現在的形象在我腦海，
Did Quattrocento finger fashion it	可是出自十五世紀大師的指端？
Hollow of cheek as though it drank the wind	那凹陷的臉頰，莫不是終日里
And took a mess of shadows for its meat?	以風影為飲食的結果？
And I though never of Ledaean kind	而我，雖非麗達般的人物，
Had pretty plumage once—enough of that,	卻也有過漂亮的羽翎——夠了，
Better to smile on all that smile, and show	何不以微笑面對所有微笑的人，
There is a comfortable kind of old scarecrow.	顯示著老去的稻草人正過著舒心的日子。
V	五
What youthful mother, a shape upon her lap	年輕的母親，膝上有個人形。
Honey of generation had betrayed,	受生殖蜜的捉弄，
And that must sleep, shriek, struggle to escape	必將睡眠、哭喊、掙扎著逃走，
As recollection or the drug decide,	是受制于回憶或藥物的力量。
Would think her son, did she but see that shape	她會怎樣看她的孩子？假如她只把那人形——
With sixty or more winters on its head,	把那頭上披著六十多年寒冬的人形——
A compensation for the pang of his birth,	當作對生他時的劇痛的補償，
Or the uncertainty of his setting forth?	或當作曾對他前程的憂慮的補償？
VI	六
Plato thought nature but a spume that plays	柏拉圖認為自然只是泡沫，
Upon a ghostly paradigm of things;	戲弄著萬物幽靈般的萬變；
Solider Aristotle played the taws	亞里士多德揮動著樺木條，
Upon the bottom of a king of kings;	抽打著那萬王之王的屁股；
World-famous golden-thighed Pythagoras	而聲名顯赫的畢達哥拉斯
Fingered upon a fiddle-stick or strings	從琴弦和琴弓上洞悉：
What a star sang and careless Muses heard：	那星星所唱的、無心的繆斯所聽的樂曲：
Old clothes upon old sticks to scare a bird.	嚇唬鳥兒的舊竹竿上的破衣。
VII	七
Both nuns and mothers worship images,	修女和母親們都崇拜偶像，
But those the candles light are not as those	但那些燭光里的尊容
That animate a mother's reveries,	并不能激起哪位母親的幻想，
But keep a marble or a bronze repose.	只是使石像或銅像沉靜。
And yet they too break hearts—O Presences	但他們也叫人心碎——諸般形象，
That passion, piety or affection knows,	諸般激情、虔敬、愛念所熟知的形象，
And that all heavenly glory symbolise—	這些榮耀的神靈，
O self-born mockers of man's enterprise;	這些自生的人類理想的嘲弄者。
VIII	八
Labour is blossoming or dancing where	辛勞本身就是開花，就是舞蹈，
The body is not bruised to pleasure soul,	只要軀體不為取悅靈魂而傷殘，
Nor beauty born out of its own despair,	只要美并非產生于絕望的念頭，
Nor blear-eyed wisdom out of midnight oil.	只要模糊的智慧并非出于熬夜到通宵。
O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer,	栗樹啊，虬根的花樹，
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole?	你是葉子、是花朵、還是株干？
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,	踏著節(jié)拍的身體，發(fā)光的眼神，
How can we know the dancer from the dance?	我們怎樣區(qū)分舞蹈與跳舞的人？