雙語散文:生命的急流 The Torrent of Life

The Torrent of Life

◎ Zhang Wentian

Friends, do you know what is meant by life? And what is meant by the "torrent of life"?

朋友，你知道什么叫生命嗎？你知道什么叫做“生命之流”嗎？

I bet you don't! Because you are a slave to your father at home, a slave to morality, law and economy in society, and a slave to various rules at school. Being such a slave, how could you possibly come to understand life and the torrent of life?

你一定不知道①！因為在家庭里，你是你的父親的奴隸，在社會上你是道德，法律與經(jīng)濟(jì)的奴隸，在學(xué)校里你是一切校規(guī)的奴隸。你既然到處是在做奴隸，那末你怎么會知道生命與生命之流呢？

Friends, now that you've become a slave to family, society and school, you are deprived of any opportunity to assert yourself. You are a walking corpse, even though you eat, work or study every day!

朋友，你做了家庭，社會與學(xué)校的奴隸，你失卻了一切表現(xiàn)你自己的機(jī)會②，你就是活尸③，雖是每天吃著飯，做著事或是讀著書，但是你還是一個活著的死人！

You are a walking corpse, friends. Are you aware of it?

你是一個活著的死人，朋友，你自己知道嗎？

Friends, aren't you eager to have a boyfriend or girlfriend? Don't you hope that the present society will allow free contacts between boys and girls? But, friends, without your consent, your parents have already engaged you to a girl you don't know at all or arranged your marriage to a petty politician, official or any man who is a complete stranger to you. And, whether you are willing or not, schools and society have imposed restrictions on your free activities in the name of law, rules or morality. Don't you want to go on a date? But they will call this "illicit sex" and take you to the police station. Don't you want to correspond with a schoolmate of the opposite sex? But they will call this an immoral act in violation of school discipline and kick you out.

朋友，你不是想有一個男朋友或是女朋友嗎？你不是希望現(xiàn)社會能夠社交公開④嗎？但是，朋友，你的家庭早不問你愿意不愿意，已經(jīng)替你訂了一個素不相識的女子或是已經(jīng)把你放給什么小政客、小官僚⑤或是什么其他不相識的男子了。學(xué)校社會也不問你愿意不愿意已經(jīng)把規(guī)則道德與法律來限制你的自由行動了。你們要想一同出去耍嗎⑥？他們說這是“野合⑦”，就要把你捉到警察局里去。你們要想互相通訊嗎？他們說這是有傷校風(fēng)，就要把你驅(qū)逐出校。

O friends, you are a walking corpse. Are you aware of it?

喲，朋友，你是一個活著的死人，你自己知道嗎？

Friends, don't you intend to have some fresh ideas expressed or put into practice? But your family will, just because of this, discontinue financing your schooling. Society will, just because of this, have you put into prison or even "beheaded" on a charge of being an "extremist" or "dangerous element". And your school will, just because of this, give you a demerit, discredit you in public or dismiss you — all on a charge of "damaging the school reputation" or "violating this or that school rule".

朋友，你不是想有一點新鮮的思想拿來發(fā)表或拿來實現(xiàn)嗎？但是，朋友，你的家庭，不就因為這一點要停止你的學(xué)費⑧嗎？你的社會，不就因為這一點要說你是“過激黨”或“危險分子”，把你關(guān)進(jìn)牢里或“推出斬之”嗎？你的學(xué)校不也因為這一點要說你“有損學(xué)校名譽”或“犯校規(guī)第幾十條”，把你記過或掛牌開除⑨嗎？

O friends, do you have any "civil rights" to speak of? Do you have any freedom of thought and behaviour, or the right of being a man?

喲，朋友，你的“人權(quán)”在哪里，你能有一點思想的自由與行動的自由，努力去做一個人的權(quán)利嗎？

No, none at all!

不能，不能！

O friends, you are a walking corpse. Are you aware of it?

喲，朋友，你是一個活著的死人，你自己知道嗎？

Friends, don't you find this big prison on earth agonizing and suffocating? Don't you ever, for one fleeting moment, think of smashing this big prison? Don't you ever, for one fleeting moment, feel like giving vent to your pent-up emotion by letting out a loud yell?

朋友，你在這人間大牢獄中間，你覺得痛苦與沉悶嗎？你曾有一分鐘想把這個大牢獄打得粉碎嗎？你曾有一分鐘想大喊一聲喊出你胸中的抑郁之氣嗎？

Yes, how repressive is the bondage of family, society and school! How horrible is the threat of morality, law and school rules! But, friends, don't you know what on earth is meant by morality, law and school rules?

是呵，家庭，社會與學(xué)校的束縛是何等的嚴(yán)緊呀！道德，法律與學(xué)校規(guī)則的威嚇是何等的可怕呀！但是，朋友，你知道什么叫做道德，什么叫做法律，什么叫做校規(guī)嗎？

O friends, morality, law and school rules encourage people to cheat and do evil, make them as good as dead or completely dead, and cause life to wither and fade.

喲，使人類作偽，作惡，使人類變?yōu)榛钍?，變?yōu)殛愃廊?，使生命萎縮、凋謝的道德，法律與校規(guī)呵！

O friends, why not pluck up enough courage to stage a counter attack against all devitalized remains of the past? Why not clean away, as if with a big sponge, all the stains left by them?

喲，朋友，你能鼓起勇氣來對于種種過去的骸骨，為努力的反攻嗎？你能做一塊大海綿來抹去一切被這些東西所傳染的污點嗎？

This beautiful world is meant for people alive and kicking, not for the dead. Now the dead are everywhere with their fishy eyes, vacant looks, well-regulated behaviour and slow-witted speech. The world has been totally messed up by them.

這個美麗的世界不是給死人住的，它是給活潑而有生趣的人住的⑩?，F(xiàn)在卻到處是死人，死人。滿坑滿谷的死人：死魚的眼?，癡呆的面，規(guī)行距步的行動，遲鈍的聲音。這個世界已經(jīng)被他們完全弄臟了，弄臟了。

O friends, speak up your mind, and do what you want to do! In short, hurry up to give full play to the life bestowed on you by Nature, and hold aloft a torch to offer a little light to the dark world, for, otherwise, your young limbs will begin to rot, your brilliant brain will be dulled and your enthusiasm will cool off. It will be too late to mend.

喲，朋友，喊出你心中所要喊出的聲音吧，做出你心中所要做出的事情吧！總之一句，趕快表現(xiàn)出造物所給你的生命，在這黑暗的世界上舉起一點光明的火花來；不然你的少年的肢體就要腐爛了，你的靈魂的頭腦就要呆笨了，你的熱情就要冷卻了，那時是什么也遲了，什么也來不及了。

Friends, bring your youthful vitality and life into full play right now and here! Turn your life into a hurricane to make a clean sweep of all filth on earth. To hell with all morality, law and school rules if they stand in your way and suppress your efforts. Much better to die a martyr than to be a 100-year-old walking corpse.

朋友，在現(xiàn)在這一刻這一個地方，把你的青春的力，你的生命赤裸裸地表現(xiàn)出來呵！你要把你的生命變做狂風(fēng)，變做暴雨，把世界上一切骯臟的東西掃蕩一個干凈。什么道德，什么法律，什么校規(guī)，如若他們不過是阻礙你的前進(jìn)，壓抑你的努力的東西，就可以一齊拋掉，一齊破壞！與其做一個活死人，在世上活上一百歲，還不如活上一剎那后，立刻就死的好。

Friends, to die a hero's death is to die an instant death — a most stirring moment in one's life. There is nothing to fear at all.

朋友，壯烈的死就是生命的最緊張的一剎那，有什么可怕的呢？

Friends, what is surging and turbulent within you is your very life. When this life is given full play, it succeeds in becoming the torrent of life!

朋友，在你胸中洶涌著的，澎湃著的，激蕩著的就是你的生命，把這種生命表現(xiàn)出來的時候，就成功了一種生命之流！

Friends, you must admire the great magnificence of the Niagara Falls in America. It is symbolic of the torrent of life. Friends, you must admire even more the swift rolling rapids of the Qutang Gorge in Sichuan Province. That, too, is symbolic of the torrent of life. No wonder you will be delighted to see your life displaying the same greatness, the same magnificence and the same swiftness and force.

朋友，你不是歡喜看偉大的，壯麗的美國尼加哥拉?的大瀑布嗎？那就是象征生命之流的。朋友，你也不是更喜歡看那急激的，奔放的，你們四川瞿塘峽的急流嗎？那也是象征生命之流的。你怎么能不歡喜看到你自己的生命也像他們一樣偉大，一樣壯麗，一樣的急激與奔放呢？

O, if I could reach the summit of the Himalayas, I would hold high both hands in praise of life given us by Heaven and pray for the advent of the time when the torrent of life would move from the hearts of the young to spread all over the world.

喲，我要登上希馬拉亞山?的極高峰，舉起兩手贊美上天所給予我們的生命，而且祈禱那生命的洪流從青年的心坎中泛濫到世界上來的時期的到臨！

Look, isn't the purplish light of early dawn heralding the rising sun? Friends, let's strive to forge ahead!

看呵，那前面紫色的曙光不就是報告太陽的快要到來嗎？朋友，努力前進(jìn)吧！

張聞天（1900—1976）是我國老一輩無產(chǎn)階級革命家，也是“五四”時期新文學(xué)運動的熱情戰(zhàn)士，但人們熟知他中年以后的政治活動，而很少知道他早年的文學(xué)創(chuàng)作。為此特選譯他的一篇散文《生命的激流》，以饗讀者。該文于1925年4月13日發(fā)表在重慶《南鴻》周刊第三期上，當(dāng)時他才25歲。文章反映了“五四”青年反帝反封建的革命氣概和沖決羅網(wǎng)、尋求光明的大無畏精神。