愛華網(wǎng)一首非常值得一讀的英語經(jīng)典詩歌：《鄉(xiāng)村墓園挽歌》
Elegy
----Written in a Country Churchyard
Thomas Gray (1716-1771)
Thecurfew tolls the knell of parting day,
Thelowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea,
Theplowman homeward plods his weary way,
Andleaves the world to darkness and to me.
Nowfades the glimmering landscape on the sight,
Andall the air a solemn stillness holds,
Save where the beetle wheels his droningflight,
Anddrowsy tinklings lull the distant folds1;
Save that from yonder ivy-mantledtower
Themoping owl does to the moon complain
Ofsuch, as wandering near her secret bower,
Molest her ancient solitary reign.
Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree'sshade,
Where heaves the turf in many a moulderingheap,
Each in his narrow cell forever laid,
Therude2forefathers of the hamletsleep.
Thebreezy call of incense-breathing Morn,
Theswallow twittering from the straw-built shed,
Thecock's shrill clarion, or the echoing horn3,
Nomore shall rouse them from their lowly bed.
Forthem no more the blazing hearth shall burn,
Orbusy housewife ply her evening care;
Nochildren run to lisp their sire's return,
Orclimb his knees the envied kiss to share.
Oft4 did the harvest to their sickleyield,
Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe hasbroke5;
Howjocund did they drive their team afield!
Howbowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!
Letnot Ambition mock their useful toil,
Their homely joys, and destinyobscure;
NorGrandeur hear with a disdainful smile
Theshort and simple annals of the poor.
Theboast of heraldry6,the pomp of power,
Andall that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour.
Thepaths of glory lead but to the grave.
Noryou, ye proud, impute to these the fault,
IfMemory o'er their tomb no trophies raise,
Where through the long-drawn and frettedvault
Thepealing anthem swells the note of praise.
Canstoried urn or animated bust7
Back to its mansion call the fleetingbreath?
CanHonor's voice provoke8 the silentdust,
OrFlatt'ry soothe the dull cold ear of Death?
Perhaps in this neglected spot islaid
Some heart once pregnant with celestialfire;
Hands that the rod of empire might haveswayed,
Orwaked to ecstasy the living lyre.
ButKnowledge to their eyes her ample page
Rich with the spoils of time did ne'erunroll;9
Chill Penury repressed their noblerage,
Andfroze the genial current of the soul.
Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
Thedark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blushunseen,
Andwaste its sweetness on the desert air.
Some village Hampden10,that with dauntless breast
Thelittle tyrant of his fields withstood;
Some mute inglorious Milton here mayrest,
Some Cromwell guiltless of his country'sblood.
Th'applause of list'ning senates to command,
Thethreats of pain and ruin to despise,
Toscatter plenty o'er a smiling land,
Andread their hist'ry in a nation's eyes,
Their lot forbade11:nor circumscribed alone
Their growing virtues, but their crimesconfined;
Forbade to wade through slaughter to athrone,
Andshut the gates of mercy on mankind,
Thestruggling pangs of conscious truth to hide,
Toquench the blushes of ingenuous shame,
Orheap the shrine of Luxury and Pride
With incense kindled at the Muse'sflame.
Farfrom the madding crowd's ignoble strife,
Their sober wishes never learned tostray;
Along the sequestered vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor12 of theirway.
Yeteven these bones from insult to protect
Some frail memorial still erectednigh,
With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpturedecked,
Implores the passing tribute of asigh.
Their name, their years, spelt by the unletteredmuse,
Theplace of fame and elegy supply:
Andmany a holy text around she strews,
That teach the rustic moralist todie.
Forwho to dumb Forgetfulness a prey,
This pleasing anxious being e’erresigned,
Left the warm precincts of the cheerfulday,
Norcast one longing lingering look behind?
Onsome fond breast the parting soul relies,
Some pious drops the closing eyerequires;
Ev’n from the tomb the voice of Naturecries,
Ev’n in our ashes live their wontedfires.
Forthee13,who mindful of the unhonored dead
Dost in these lines their artless talerelate,
Ifchance14,by lonely contemplation led,
Some kindred spirit shall inquire thyfate,
Haply some hoary-headed swaim maysay,
“Oft have we seen him at the peep ofdawn
Brushing with hasty steps the dewaway
Tomeet the sun upon the upland lawn.
“There at the foot of yonder noddingbeech
That wreathes its old fantastic roots sohigh,
Hislistless length at noontide would he stretch,
Andpore upon15 the brook that babblesby.
“Hard by yon wood, now smiling as inscorn,
Muttering his wayward fancies he wouldrove,
Nowdrooping, woeful wan, like one forlorn,
Orcrazed with care, or crossed in hopeless love.
“One morn I missed him on the customedhill,
Along the heath and near his favoritetree;
Another came16;nor yet beside the rill,
Norup the lawn, nor at the wood was he;
“The next17 with dirges due in sadarray
Slow through the church-way path we saw himborne.
Approach and read (for thou can’st read) thelay18,
Graved on the stone beneath yon agedthron.”
TheEpitaph
Here rests his head upon the lap ofearth
Ayouth to fortune and to fame unknown.
Fair Science19 frowned not on his humblebirth,
AndMelancholy marked him for her own.
Large was his bounty, and his soulsincere,
Heaven did a recompense as largelysend:
Hegave to Misery all he had, a tear,
Hegained from Heaven ('twas all he wished) afriend.
Nofarther seek his merits to disclose,
Ordraw his frailties from their dread abode,
(There they alike in tremblinghope repose) 20
Thebosom of his Father and his God.
鄉(xiāng)村墓園挽歌
托馬斯·格雷
晚鐘為告別的白晝敲起喪鐘，
咩咩羊群在草地上慢慢盤桓，
農(nóng)夫疲憊地蹣跚在回家途中，
把整個(gè)世界留給了我與黑暗
此刻的大地閃著微光慢慢消退，
四周彌漫著一片寂靜和莊嚴(yán)，
只聽見甲殼蟲在空中嗡嗡亂飛，
沉沉鈴聲為遠(yuǎn)處的羊圈催眠。
只聽見那邊披著常春藤的塔樓上
有只憂郁的貓頭鷹對(duì)月抱怨，
怨有人在她秘密的深閨附近游逛，
打擾了她古老而幽靜的庭院。
老蒼的榆樹下，紫杉的蔭影里，
許多荒冢在爛草堆中高高隆起，
一個(gè)個(gè)在小窖里永遠(yuǎn)躺下軀體，
村里的先輩大老粗們?cè)诖税蚕ⅰ?/p>
芬芳四溢的晨風(fēng)輕輕的呼喚，
茅草棚上面燕子的細(xì)語呢喃，
回蕩的號(hào)角，或公雞的高聲鳴啼
再也不能把他們從床上喚起。
熊熊爐火再也不會(huì)為他們?nèi)紵?/p>
主婦們夜里再也不會(huì)為他們操勞，
孩子不再喊著跑去迎接爸爸回家，
不再趴到膝上去搶著親吻撒嬌。
昔日，他們用鐮刀去奪取豐收，
板結(jié)的土塊被犁成一條條壟溝；
趕著牲口下地，他們何等歡欣！
有力的砍伐使一根根樹木低頭！
別讓“雄心”嘲笑他們有用的辛勞，
家常的歡樂，和默默無聞的命運(yùn)；
也別讓“華貴”帶著蔑視的冷笑
來傾聽窮人們簡(jiǎn)樸而短暫的生平。
炫耀的門第，顯赫的權(quán)勢(shì)，
美和財(cái)富賦予的一切事物,
都同樣等待著不可避免之時(shí)：
光輝的道路終將導(dǎo)致墳?zāi)埂?/p>
傲慢者，你們別把過錯(cuò)歸于他們，
假如“懷念”未在他們墓前立碑，
也沒有讓那悠揚(yáng)洪亮的贊美歌聲
響徹長廊和雕飾拱頂把他們贊美。
銘刻生平的骨灰甕或栩栩的塑像
豈能把瞬逝的氣息喚回到它的宅邸？
“榮譽(yù)”之聲豈能喚醒沉默的塵灰？
“諂媚”豈能把死神的冷耳安慰？
或許在這個(gè)被人疏忽的地方
埋著某顆曾經(jīng)懷有圣火的心，
或有可能執(zhí)掌帝國王笏的手一雙
或撥響令人心醉神迷的七弦琴。
但是“知識(shí)”從不在他們眼前展開
充滿著時(shí)間戰(zhàn)利品的豐厚書卷，
“貧寒”壓制了他們的高尚情懷，
凍結(jié)了從靈俯流出的天才流泉。
世上有多少純凈明媚的玉石，
淹沒在深不可測(cè)的幽幽海底；
有多少花兒顯艷吐芳無人得知，
只讓清香在沙漠中白白浪費(fèi)。
村里或許有某個(gè)無畏的漢普敦，
他曾經(jīng)抵御過當(dāng)?shù)氐男”┚?/p>
有個(gè)彌爾頓在此安息，沉默寡聞，
有個(gè)克倫威爾，但無辜于國人。
贏得議員們陣陣掌聲和喝彩，
無視痛苦和毀滅的各種威逼，
濟(jì)貧救苦讓祖國大地開懷，
在國人眼里讀他們的史績(jī)——
他們命運(yùn)不濟(jì)：不讓他們發(fā)揮
美德，但也不讓他們作惡犯罪；
還禁止他們通過屠殺涉登王位，
然后把仁慈的大門關(guān)向人類。
命運(yùn)不讓他們?yōu)檠陲椓贾獟暝y過，
不讓他們?yōu)橐种普媲槎呃㈦y堪,
不讓他們?cè)诳娝沟幕鹧嫔宵c(diǎn)燃香火
供奉“奢侈”和“驕傲”的神龕。
遠(yuǎn)離塵囂中可恥的爭(zhēng)權(quán)奪利，
他們清醒的欲望從不會(huì)迷途；
沿著那與世隔絕的人生谷地，
堅(jiān)持不聲不響地走常規(guī)正路。
為了保護(hù)他們的尸骨不受污辱，
有脆弱的紀(jì)念碑在附近豎起，
碑上刻著拙劣詩文和凌亂雕塑，
懇求過往行人獻(xiàn)出一聲嘆息。
沒有署名的繆斯為他們提供的
姓名和年齡代替了誄詞和挽詩；
繆斯還在四周灑下了許多經(jīng)文，
教鄉(xiāng)里的道德家懂得死的價(jià)值。
因?yàn)椋l愿舍棄這憂喜交織的肉體
成為啞巴“遺忘”口里的犧牲品，
誰愿離開這片時(shí)光融融的溫暖領(lǐng)地
而不留戀難舍，不回頭顧盼頻頻？
離別的心靈依賴某個(gè)多情的懷抱，
閉上的眼睛要求幾滴虔誠的眼淚；
甚至自然之聲也會(huì)在墳?zāi)估锖籼?hào)，
甚至他們的舊火還燃著我們的新灰。
至于你，對(duì)這些無名逝者有心關(guān)注，
在這些拙劣詩行里講述他們的故事；
假如偶然有孤思冥想為某個(gè)人引路，
某個(gè)與你同類的人問起你的身世，
或許有某個(gè)白發(fā)鄉(xiāng)親會(huì)對(duì)你敘述，
“過去常常見他出現(xiàn)在黎明時(shí)光，
邁著匆匆步伐，碰落途中露珠，
到那高地的草坪上去會(huì)見太陽。
“就在那棵搖曳的山毛櫸下方，
奇形怪狀的老樹根高高地盤起，
中午時(shí)他倦怠的身軀躺在地上，
全神貫注著那潺潺流淌的小溪。
“在那附近林中，他時(shí)兒像在嘲笑，
喃喃自言自語，一味胡思亂想；
時(shí)兒臉色慘白，垂頭喪氣像無依無靠，
或憂心忡忡，像戀人失意情場(chǎng)。
“一天早上我沒見他上他常去的山崗，
也沒見他來到他喜歡的樹下草地。
又過了一天，也沒見他來到小溪旁；
草坪上，樹林里都絕了他的蹤跡。
“第三天，我們看見有人穿著喪服，
抬著他一路唱著哀歌緩緩穿過教堂。
請(qǐng)走近讀一讀（因?yàn)槟阕R(shí)字）他的詩行，
就刻在那邊古老叢林下的石頭上?！?/p>
墓志名
在這大地的冷膝上枕著他的頭，
一位青年，命運(yùn)不濟(jì)也無名氣；
“知識(shí)”沒對(duì)他的寒微皺過眉頭，
“憂郁”把他標(biāo)出，認(rèn)作知己。
他慷慨大方，一顆真心赤誠無偽，
蒼天給了他同樣慷慨的報(bào)酬；
他給了“悲慘”一切所有，一滴淚，
從蒼天他得到了所求，一位朋友。
無須深入去探明他有什么功績(jī)，
或從他們?cè)⑺袑ふ宜倪^錯(cuò)，
（他們都在恐怖的希望中憩息），
天父上帝的懷抱就是他們住所。
1 羊欄。這里指關(guān)進(jìn)羊欄的羊群。
2 untaught，沒有受過教育的。
3 hunter's horn，獵人的號(hào)角。
4 = often
5 stubborn glebe: solid land 堅(jiān)硬的泥土。broke =broken
6 noble birth，高貴的出身。
7 storied urn : 銘刻有生平事略的骨灰甕。animatedbust：栩栩如生的半身塑像。
8 call back to life，喚起，喚醒。
9 這兩行的正常詞序是：But Knowledge did n'er unroll her ample pagerich with the spoils of time to their eyes.
10 John Hampden(1594-1643)是查理一世國王統(tǒng)治時(shí)期的國會(huì)議員，他曾為捍衛(wèi)人民權(quán)利而反對(duì)過國王不合理的納稅制度。這里是指村里或許有像Hampden那樣無畏的英雄人物。下面的Milton(John Milton 1608-74) 和 Cromwell (JohnCromwell,1642-49)均指村里或許有像彌爾頓那樣的大詩人，像克倫威爾那樣的大革命家。
11 這里動(dòng)詞forbade的賓語實(shí)際上在上節(jié)中的to command the applause…, Todespise the threats…, and (to) read their history…。
12 tenor: course (as of a person’s life)
13 For thee: As for thee.這里的thee指的是詩人自己。
14 If chance: If by chance
15: : pore upon: concentrate his attention to
16 = Another day came
17 = The next day
18 lay: 這里指下面的墓志銘
19 = learning，knowledge 知識(shí)
20 這一行中的they 和上行中的their 都指merits 和 frailties。In tremblinghope：人死以后要等待最后的審判，所以說他們都“在顫抖的希望中”。
