“死神,別驕傲,雖有人把你稱作”
Death, Be Not Proud, Though Some Have Called Thee
(《敬神十四行詩》第十首)
(Holy Sonnet 10)
多 恩
John Donne
死神,別驕傲,雖有人把你稱作
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
可怕的巨靈,其實你并非如此,
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
那些你以為擊倒的人們,并沒有死,
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
可憐的死神,你也不可能殺死我。
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
說休息和睡眠是你的寫照,那么,
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
你一定會給人付出更多的欣喜,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
所以精英們急急忙忙跟你去,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
讓尸骨安息,讓靈魂得到解脫。
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery .
你是命運、帝王、強徒的奴仆,
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
你又跟鴆毒、戰(zhàn)爭、疫病為伍,
And dost with poison , war, and sickness dwell,
可鴉片、巫術(shù)也能使我們睡眠,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
還睡得更好,你何必如此傲慢?
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
我們匆匆睡一覺,但醒于永恒,
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
不再有死亡,死的該是你,死神!
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.