书城外语那些年那些诗
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第49章 Convergence of the Twain

(Lines on the loss of the“Titanic”)

Thomas Hardy

In a solitude of the sea

Deep from human vanity,

And the Pride of Life that planned her,stilly couches she.

Steel chambers,late the pyres

Of her salamandrine fires,

Cold currents thrid,and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres.

Over the mirrors meant

To glass the opulent

The sea-worm crawls—grotesque,slimed,dumb,indifferent.

Jewels in joy designed

To ravish the sensuous mind

Lie lightless,all their sparkles bleared and black and blind.

Dim moon-eyed fishes near

Gaze at the gilded gear

And query:“What does this vaingloriousness down here?”...

Well:while was fashioning

This creature of cleaving wing,

The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything

Prepared a sinister mate

For her-so gaily great—

A Shape of Ice,for the time fat and dissociate.

And as the smart ship grew

In stature,grace,and hue

In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too.

Alien they seemed to be:

No mortal eye could see

The intimate welding of their later history.

Or sign that they were bent

By paths coincident

On being anon twin halves of one August event,

Till the Spinner of the Years

Said “Now!” And each one hears,

And consummation comes,and jars two hemispheres.

合二为一

(“泰坦尼克”号失事所感)

托马斯·哈代

远离人间的虚荣

抛开生命的全盛,

她静静的躺在大海的孤独之中。

钢铁的房屋,新近的火堆,

她的火如同火舌,

穿透股股冷流,变成富有节奏的琴声般的潮水。

在镜子上方

(它用来映照辽阔景象),

海虫蠕行——怪诞、粘滑、无言、冷淡。

为了陶醉敏感的心灵

而在喜悦中设计的珍品

无光的躺着,迷糊、黑暗、迟钝。

眼睛朦胧的鱼停在附近,

凝视涂上金色的齿轮,

发出“这个豪华巨物在干什么?”的询问……

好吧:当正在研制

这破浪而行的物体,

激动的、催促万物的上帝意志

为她——如此快乐的巨体——

准备了一个阴险的伴侣——

冰的形象,为了遥远的、分离的时期。

随着潇洒的船的形象

优雅地茁壮成长,

冰山也成长在幽暗的寂静的远方。

他们似乎显得相异:

没有世间的视力

能看见他们后期历史熔成内在的整体,

或表示他们被系于

一致的道路,

形成以后的威严事件的两个分部,

十一

直至“岁月编织者”发出命令:

“好了!”,于是人人听清,

于是终结降临,使两个半球震惊。

背景知识

托马斯·哈代(Thomas Hardy),英国诗人、小说家。他是横跨两个世纪的作家,早期和中期的创作以小说为主,继承和发扬了维多利亚时代的文学传统;晚年以其出色的诗歌开拓了英国20世纪的文学。哈代作为诗人,也颇有声誉。哈代的诗冷峻、深刻、细腻、优美,言简意赅,自成一格,较他的小说更具有现代意识。

《合二为一》是诗人哈代为“泰坦尼克”号失事而作,诗歌表现了诗人关注人类命运的一片真诚,十分富有哲理,反映出哈代诗歌的独特魅力。

单词注解

solitude [5sClitju:d] 孤独;隐居

pyre [5paiE] 火葬用的柴堆

opulent [5CpjulEnt] 富裕的;丰裕的

gaily [5^eili] 快乐地;兴高采烈地

anon [E5nCn] 立刻

名句诵读

In a solitude of the sea Deep from human vanity,And the Pride of Life that planned her,stilly couches she.

And as the smart ship grew In stature,grace,and hue In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too.

Till the Spinner of the Years Said “Now!” And each one hears,And consummation comes,and jars two hemispheres.

If

Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or,being lied about,don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good,nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to,broken,

And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose,and start again at your beginnings,

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them,“Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you,but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man,my son!

假 如

拉迪亚德·吉卜林

假如你能保持冷静,即使众人

都失去理智并且归咎于你,

假如你能保持自信,即使众人

都怀疑你,让所有的怀疑动摇;

假如你能等待而不因此厌烦,

别人骗你,不要因此骗人,

别人憎恨你,也不去憎恨别人,

不要太乐观,不要自以为是;

假如你能寻梦——而不为梦想主宰;

假如你能思考——而不以思索为目标;

假如你能面对成败祸福

而同样视之如骗徒;

假如你听到你的老实话被小人歪曲

去蒙骗愚蠢之辈而尚能心平气和,

或者见到你毕生的事业被毁,

而尚能执起破旧的工具去着手重建;

如果你在赢得无数桂冠之后,

然后孤注一掷再搏一次,

失败过后,东山再起,

不要抱怨你的失败;

假如你能驱使你的心力和精神

在别人走后,长久地坚守阵地,

让你抓牢,尽管你里面己掏空了

只有意志告诉它们:“坚持!”

假如你能与市井之徒交谈而不失于礼,

出入于贵胄之家而不忘苍生黎民,

假如你能尊重人人而不膜拜何人,

既不受制于仇敌亦不受制于亲朋;

假如你能以六十秒长跑去填满

那不可饶恕的一分钟

这个世界的一切都是你的,

更重要的是——孩子——你是个顶天立地的人!

背景知识

拉迪亚德·吉卜林(Rudyard Kipling),英国小说家、诗人。吉卜林一生共创作了8部诗集,4部长篇小说,21部短篇小说集和历史故事集,以及大量散文、随笔、游记等。他的作品简洁凝炼,充满异国情调,尤其在短篇小说方面,是无与伦比的。

这是吉卜林写给他12岁的儿子的一首诗,是告诫儿子如何才能经受住人生旅途中可能遇到的种种精神上考验的勉励诗,表达了一位父亲对儿子的深爱和期望。这首诗对当今社会的广大青少年也同样具有指导和激励作用,尤其是在受到种种心理压力时,如果能够去细细体会和认真领悟这首诗的深刻内涵,这种激励作用甚至会成为提高广大青少年心理调控能力而始终保持心理健康的巨大动力。

单词注解

impostor [im5pCstE] 骗子;冒充者

sinew [5sinju:] 体力,活力,精力

virtue [5vE:tju:] 美德,德行

foe [fEu] 敌人,仇敌

名句诵读

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings