Frost at Midnight
《午夜寒霜》
—— by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Frost performs its secret ministry,
寒霜施展著神秘功能，沒有風
Unhelped by any wind. The owlet's cry
給它鼓勁。貓頭鷹尖厲地叫了；
Came loud—and hark, again! loud as before.
聽呵，又叫了一聲，還那樣尖厲。
The inmates of my cottage, all at rest,
我住的小屋里，人們都已歇息了，
Have left me to that solitude, which suits
留下我一個，孤單清凈，正好
Abstruser musings: save that at my side
專注于默想冥思；身邊就只有
My cradled infant slumbers peacefully.
搖籃里的嬰兒，睡得安安穩(wěn)穩(wěn)。
'Tis calm indeed! so calm, that it disturbs
多么幽靜呵！幽靜得這樣出奇，
And vexes meditation with its strange
這樣古怪，連沉思也受到牽掣，
And extreme silentness. Sea, hill, and wood,
也為之忐忑不安了。大海，山林，
This populous village! Sea, and hill, and wood,
這人煙密集的村落！大海，山林，
With all the numberless goings-on of life,
蕓蕓眾生數(shù)不盡的營營擾擾，
Inaudible as dreams! the thin blue flame
都悄然如入夢鄉(xiāng)。爐火不旺了，
Lies on my low-burnt fire, and quivers not;
細弱的藍色火苗已不再抖動；
Only that film, which fluttered on the grate,
只有爐子上那一縷輕煙，還照舊
Still flutters there, the sole unquiet thing.
在那兒裊繞——只有它靜不下來。
Methinks, its motion in this hush of nature
萬籟俱寂中，它獨自活動著，我想
Gives it dim sympathies with me who live,
它對我這個活人，會隱約萌生
Making it a companionable form,
幾分親切感，會樂于和我作伴吧。
Whose puny flaps and freaks the idling Spirit
閑蕩的精靈（它到處尋覓自己的
By its own moods interprets, every where
回聲或影像），憑著自己的心境
Echo or mirror seeking of itself,
來解釋輕煙的裊繞和怪態(tài)奇姿，
And makes a toy of Thought.
借幽思遐想來消遣。
But O! how oft,
哦！多少次，
How oft, at school, with most believing mind,
我在學校里，懷著真誠信念
Presageful, have I gazed upon the bars,
和殷切預期，凝望著爐子，守候著
To watch that fluttering stranger ! and as oft
那翩然浮現(xiàn)的“遠客”！還有多少次，
With unclosed lids, already had I dreamt
我睜著兩眼，居然分明夢見了
Of my sweet birth-place, and the old church-tower,
心愛的家鄉(xiāng)，古老的教堂鐘樓，
Whose bells, the poor man's only music, rang
清脆的鐘聲——窮人僅有的音樂，
From morn to evening, all the hot Fair-day,
在熱鬧集日，從清晨響到黃昏，
So sweetly, that they stirred and haunted me
悠揚悅耳，以酣暢淋漓的歡樂
With a wild pleasure, falling on mine ear
撩撥我，糾纏我，在我聽來，這音響
Most like articulate sounds of things to come!
真像是對未來事物的分明預告！
So gazed I, till the soothing things, I dreamt,
我睜眼望著，直到夢中的佳境
Lulled me to sleep, and sleep prolonged my dreams!
誘我入眠，而睡眠又延長了美夢！
And so I brooded all the following morn,
第二天，一上午我都悶悶沉沉，
Awed by the stern preceptor's face, mine eye
害怕老師的嘴臉，便假裝用功，
Fixed with mock study on my swimming book:
緊盯著叫我頭昏眼花的課本；
Save if the door half opened, and I snatched
而只要門兒半開，我便鉆空子
A hasty glance, and still my heart leaped up,
趕忙偷覷一兩眼，心兒急跳著，
For still I hoped to see the stranger's face,
巴望著門外真會有遠客來臨：
Townsman, or aunt, or sister more beloved,
鄉(xiāng)親，嬸子，或是親愛的姐姐——
My play-mate when we both were clothed alike!
早幾年和我穿相似童裝的玩伴！
Dear Babe, that sleepest cradled by my side,
身邊，搖籃里嬰兒正在安睡，
Whose gentle breathings, heard in this deep calm,
寂靜中，聽得見他那輕柔的呼吸：
Fill up the intersperséd vacancies
這聲息仿佛填補了我的思緒里
And momentary pauses of the thought!
那些零散空隙和短暫間歇！
My babe so beautiful! it thrills my heart
玲瓏姣好的嬰兒！當我看著你，
With tender gladness, thus to look at thee,
心魂便因愉悅的柔情而震顫，
And think that thou shalt learn far other lore,
想到：你會在截然不同的場景中，
And in far other scenes! For I was reared
學到截然不同的知識！因為我
In the great city, pent 'mid cloisters dim,
在都城長大，被關進幽暗庵堂，
And saw nought lovely but the sky and stars.
除了天空和星星，沒什么可看的。
But thou, my babe! shalt wander like a breeze
而你呢，孩子！你會像清風一般
By lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags
遨游在湖濱、沙岸和山嶺高崖下，
Of ancient mountain, and beneath the clouds,
仰望浩瀚的云?！坪Ｒ不没?/span>
Which image in their bulk both lakes and shores
湖澤、沙岸和山嶺的圖形；那么，
And mountain crags: so shalt thou see and hear
你就會看到各種瑰麗的景象，
The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible
你就會聽到各種明晰的音響，
Of that eternal language, which thy God
這些，都屬于上帝永久的語言，
Utters, who from eternity doth teach
他在永恒中取法于萬物，而又
Himself in all, and all things in himself.
讓萬物取法于他。宇宙的恩師！
Great universal Teacher! he shall mould
他會塑造好你的心靈，既然
Thy spirit, and by giving make it ask.
向心靈頒賜，也就讓心靈索取。
Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
那么，對于你，所有季節(jié)都美妙：
Whether the summer clothe the general earth
要么是盛夏，大地一片綠茸茸；
With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing
要么是早春，積雪的叢林灌莽里，
Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch
知更鳥歌唱在蒼苔斑駁的蘋果樹
Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch
光禿的枝頭，旁邊的茅屋頂上，
Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall
晴雪初融，蒸發(fā)著水汽；檐溜
Heard only in the trances of the blast,
要么滴瀝著，在風勢暫息的時候
Or if the secret ministry of frost
聲聲入耳，要么，憑借著寒霜的
Shall hang them up in silent icicles,
神秘功能而凝成無聲的冰柱，
Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.
靜靜閃耀著，迎著靜靜的月光。
楊德豫 譯
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