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午夜寒霜

Frost at Midnight

《午夜寒霜》

—— by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The Frost performs its secret ministry,

寒霜施展着神秘功能，没有风

Unhelped by any wind. The owlet's cry

给它鼓劲。猫头鹰尖厉地叫了；

Came loud—and hark, again! loud as before.

听呵，又叫了一声，还那样尖厉。

The inmates of my cottage, all at rest,

我住的小屋里，人们都已歇息了，

Have left me to that solitude, which suits

留下我一个，孤单清净，正好

Abstruser musings: save that at my side

专注于默想冥思；身边就只有

My cradled infant slumbers peacefully.

摇篮里的婴儿，睡得安安稳稳。

'Tis calm indeed! so calm, that it disturbs

多么幽静呵！幽静得这样出奇，

And vexes meditation with its strange

这样古怪，连沉思也受到牵掣，

And extreme silentness. Sea, hill, and wood,

也为之忐忑不安了。大海，山林，

This populous village! Sea, and hill, and wood,

这人烟密集的村落！大海，山林，

With all the numberless goings-on of life,

芸芸众生数不尽的营营扰扰，

Inaudible as dreams! the thin blue flame

都悄然如入梦乡。炉火不旺了，

Lies on my low-burnt fire, and quivers not;

细弱的蓝色火苗已不再抖动；

Only that film, which fluttered on the grate,

只有炉子上那一缕轻烟，还照旧

Still flutters there, the sole unquiet thing.

在那儿袅绕——只有它静不下来。

Methinks, its motion in this hush of nature

万籁俱寂中，它独自活动着，我想

Gives it dim sympathies with me who live,

它对我这个活人，会隐约萌生

Making it a companionable form,

几分亲切感，会乐于和我作伴吧。

Whose puny flaps and freaks the idling Spirit

闲荡的精灵（它到处寻觅自己的

By its own moods interprets, every where

回声或影像），凭着自己的心境

Echo or mirror seeking of itself,

来解释轻烟的袅绕和怪态奇姿，

And makes a toy of Thought.

借幽思遐想来消遣。

But O! how oft,

哦！多少次，

How oft, at school, with most believing mind,

我在学校里，怀着真诚信念

Presageful, have I gazed upon the bars,

和殷切预期，凝望着炉子，守候着

To watch that fluttering stranger ! and as oft

那翩然浮现的“远客”！还有多少次，

With unclosed lids, already had I dreamt

我睁着两眼，居然分明梦见了

Of my sweet birth-place, and the old church-tower,

心爱的家乡，古老的教堂钟楼，

Whose bells, the poor man's only music, rang

清脆的钟声——穷人仅有的音乐，

From morn to evening, all the hot Fair-day,

在热闹集日，从清晨响到黄昏，

So sweetly, that they stirred and haunted me

悠扬悦耳，以酣畅淋漓的欢乐

With a wild pleasure, falling on mine ear

撩拨我，纠缠我，在我听来，这音响

Most like articulate sounds of things to come!

真像是对未来事物的分明预告！

So gazed I, till the soothing things, I dreamt,

我睁眼望着，直到梦中的佳境

Lulled me to sleep, and sleep prolonged my dreams!

诱我入眠，而睡眠又延长了美梦！

And so I brooded all the following morn,

第二天，一上午我都闷闷沉沉，

Awed by the stern preceptor's face, mine eye

害怕老师的嘴脸，便假装用功，

Fixed with mock study on my swimming book:

紧盯着叫我头昏眼花的课本；

Save if the door half opened, and I snatched

而只要门儿半开，我便钻空子

A hasty glance, and still my heart leaped up,

赶忙偷觑一两眼，心儿急跳着，

For still I hoped to see the stranger's face,

巴望着门外真会有远客来临：

Townsman, or aunt, or sister more beloved,

乡亲，婶子，或是亲爱的姐姐——

My play-mate when we both were clothed alike!

早几年和我穿相似童装的玩伴！

Dear Babe, that sleepest cradled by my side,

身边，摇篮里婴儿正在安睡，

Whose gentle breathings, heard in this deep calm,

寂静中，听得见他那轻柔的呼吸：

Fill up the intersperséd vacancies

这声息仿佛填补了我的思绪里

And momentary pauses of the thought!

那些零散空隙和短暂间歇！

My babe so beautiful! it thrills my heart

玲珑姣好的婴儿！当我看着你，

With tender gladness, thus to look at thee,

心魂便因愉悦的柔情而震颤，

And think that thou shalt learn far other lore,

想到：你会在截然不同的场景中，

And in far other scenes! For I was reared

学到截然不同的知识！因为我

In the great city, pent 'mid cloisters dim,

在都城长大，被关进幽暗庵堂，

And saw nought lovely but the sky and stars.

除了天空和星星，没什么可看的。

But thou, my babe! shalt wander like a breeze

而你呢，孩子！你会像清风一般

By lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags

遨游在湖滨、沙岸和山岭高崖下，

Of ancient mountain, and beneath the clouds,

仰望浩瀚的云海——云海也幻化出

Which image in their bulk both lakes and shores

湖泽、沙岸和山岭的图形；那么，

And mountain crags: so shalt thou see and hear

你就会看到各种瑰丽的景象，

The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible

你就会听到各种明晰的音响，

Of that eternal language, which thy God

这些，都属于上帝永久的语言，

Utters, who from eternity doth teach

他在永恒中取法于万物，而又

Himself in all, and all things in himself.

让万物取法于他。宇宙的恩师！

Great universal Teacher! he shall mould

他会塑造好你的心灵，既然

Thy spirit, and by giving make it ask.

向心灵颁赐，也就让心灵索取。

Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,

那么，对于你，所有季节都美妙：

Whether the summer clothe the general earth

要么是盛夏，大地一片绿茸茸；

With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing

要么是早春，积雪的丛林灌莽里，

Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch

知更鸟歌唱在苍苔斑驳的苹果树

Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch

光秃的枝头，旁边的茅屋顶上，

Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall

晴雪初融，蒸发着水汽；檐溜

Heard only in the trances of the blast,

要么滴沥着，在风势暂息的时候

Or if the secret ministry of frost

声声入耳，要么，凭借着寒霜的

Shall hang them up in silent icicles,

神秘功能而凝成无声的冰柱，

Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.

静静闪耀着，迎着静静的月光。