雙語詩歌·駛向拜占廷

駛向拜占廷

Sailing to Byzantium

葉　芝

William B. Yeats

一

1

這是不宜于老人的鄉(xiāng)鄰，年輕人

That is no country for old men. The young

相互倚在懷抱里，鳥兒在樹上

In one another's arms, birds in the trees

（這些走向死亡的世代）唱歌兒，

—Those dying generations—at their song,

鮭魚的湍流，鯖魚密集的海洋，

The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,

魚類，走獸，飛禽，在整個長夏，

Fish, flesh , or fowl , commend all summer long

把生生死死的蕓蕓眾生贊揚。

Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.

他們沉湎于聲色，全都不理會

Caught in that sensual music all neglect

永世常新的靈智豎起的豐碑。

Monuments of unageing intellect.

二

2

一個老年人是微不足道的廢物，

An aged man is but a paltry thing,

只是一件破外套披在手杖上，

A tattered coat upon a stick, unless

除非靈魂擊掌并歌唱，在速朽的

Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing

皮囊里高聲歌唱襤褸的衣裳；

For every tatter in its mortal dress,

世上沒哪所歌唱學校不研讀

Nor is there singing school but studying

靈魂自身輝煌的不朽篇章；

Monuments of its own magnificence;

所以我終于漂洋過海，親自

And therefore I have sailed the seas and come

來到拜占廷這座神圣的城市。

To the holy city of Byzantium.

三

3

啊，在上帝圣火中站著的哲人們，

O sages standing in God's holy fire

像墻上鑲嵌壁畫中金色的圖像，

As in the gold mosaic of a wall,

請走出圣火，在旋錐體中旋轉吧，

Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,

請你們當老師教我的靈魂歌唱。

And be the singing-masters of my soul.

把我的心靈耗盡吧；它耽于物欲，

Consume my heart away; sick with desire

跟垂死動物的肉身緊緊地捆挷

And fastened to a dying animal

而不知自己的本真；請把我採集，

It knows not what it is; and gather me

收進那屬于永恒的神工絕藝。

Into the artifice of eternity.

四

4

我一旦超脫自然，便決不依據

Once out of nature I shall never take

任何自然物來造就我的身形，

My bodily form from any natural thing,

我只要像古代希臘的金匠那樣

But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make

用鍛金或鎦金工藝鑄造的體型，

Of hammered gold and gold enamelling

能使那昏昏欲睡的皇帝清醒；

To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;

或讓我棲在黃金的樹枝上歌吟，

Or set upon a golden bough to sing

唱過去、正在過去或未來的事情，

To lords and ladies of Byzantium

給拜占廷的貴族和命婦們傾聽。

Of what is past, or passing, or to come.