Sailing to Byzantium
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驶向拜占庭
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Ⅰ |
一 |
That is no country for old men. The young |
那并非老年人适宜的居所。 |
In one another's arms, birds in the trees, |
有青年的拥抱,有濒危的鸟类 |
—Those dying generations—at their song, |
在林间宛转,瀑布中鲑鱼溯游, |
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas, |
还有鲭鱼聚集在河面, |
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long |
一切的生灵,用整个夏天赞美 |
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies. |
出生、孕育、死亡的一切。 |
Caught in that sensual music all neglect |
在感性的乐声中沉迷, |
Monuments of unageing intellect. |
不在意不朽的理性的杰作。 |
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Ⅱ |
二 |
An aged man is but a paltry thing, |
老人只是件无用的东西, |
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless |
竿子上挂着的破衣, |
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing |
除非全部凡胎中的灵魂为之 |
For every tatter in its mortal dress, |
拍手歌唱,越发响亮; |
Nor is there singing school but studying |
而所有歌唱班都在研读 |
Monuments of its own magnificence; |
自家的杰作, |
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come |
于是我扬帆出海, |
To the holy city of Byzantium. |
驶向拜占庭。 |
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Ⅲ |
三 |
O sages standing in God's holy fire |
啊,圣徒们站立于上帝的圣火中, |
As in the gold mosaic of a wall, |
一如立于金色马赛克的墙壁, |
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre, |
走出圣火吧,在螺旋中转动, |
And be the singing-masters of my soul. |
来教我的灵魂如何歌咏。 |
Consume my heart away;sick with desire |
请耗损我心,耗损我那颗附着于 |
And fastened to a dying animal |
垂死肉身的迷失的心,请收纳我 |
It knows not what it is;and gather me |
到那不朽的技艺里。 |
Into the artifice of eternity. |
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IV |
四 |
Once out of nature I shall never take |
一旦出尘而去,我决不再用 |
My bodily form from any natural thing, |
任何天然之物构建我的身躯, |
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make |
而只要那种造型,一如古希腊的工匠 |
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling |
使睡意中的君王保持清醒的 |
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake; |
镏金的方法, |
Or set upon a golden bough to sing |
或安置我于一根金枝上歌唱, |
To lords and ladies of Byzantium |
把过去、现在、未来的事情 |
Of what is past, or passing, or to come. |
唱给拜占庭的诸侯与贵妇们听。 |