加载中…《扫帚把上的沉思》 [英]斯威夫特著 王佐良译
(2008-12-30 15:08:12)
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王佐良 |
分类： 文心雕龙 |
（《扫帚把上的沉思》A Meditation Upon a
Broom-Stick为贡布里希《木马沉思录》中“木马”概念文学联想的缘起，贴在这里供参考。大家顺便可以看看斯威夫特的英语，同时附上王佐良先生的译文。）
THIS single stick, which you now behold ingloriously lying in that neglected corner, I once knew in a flourishing state in a forest. It was full of sap, full of leaves, and full of boughs; but now in vain does the busy art of man pretend to vie with nature, by tying that withered bundle of twigs to its sapless trunk; it is now at best but the reverse of what it was, a tree turned upside-down, the branches on the earth, and the root in the air; it is now handled by every dirty wench, condemned to do her drudgery, and, by a capricious kind of fate, destined to make other things clean, and be nasty itself; at length, worn to the stumps in the service of the maids, it is either thrown out of doors or condemned to the last use - of kindling a fire.
When I behold this I sighed, and said within myself, "Surely mortal man is a broomstick!" Nature sent him into the world strong and lusty, in a thriving condition, wearing his own hair on his head, the proper branches of this reasoning vegetable, till the axe of intemperance has lopped off his green boughs, and left him a withered trunk; he then flies to art, and puts on a periwig, valuing himself upon an unnatural bundle of hairs, all covered with powder, that never grew on his head; but now should this our broomstick pretend to enter the scene, proud of those birchen spoils it never bore, and all covered with dust, through the sweepings of the finest lady's chamber, we should be apt to ridicule and despise its vanity. Partial judges that we are of our own excellencies, and other men's defaults!
But a broomstick, perhaps you will say, is an emblem of a tree standing on its head; and pray what is a man but a topsy-turvy creature, his animal faculties perpetually mounted on his rational, his head where his heels should be, grovelling on the earth? And yet, with all his faults, he sets up to be a universal reformer and corrector of abuses, a remover of grievances, rakes into every slut's corner of nature, bringing hidden corruptions to the light, and raises a mighty dust where there was none before, sharing deeply all the while in the very same pollutions he pretends to sweep away. His last days are spent in slavery to women, and generally the least deserving; till, worn to the stumps, like his brother besom, he is either kicked out of doors, or made use of to kindle flames for others to warm themselves by.
你看这根扫帚把，现在灰溜溜地躺在无人注意的角落，我曾在树林里碰见过，当时它风华正茂，树液充沛，枝叶繁茂。如今变了样，却还有人自作聪明，想靠手艺同大自然竞争，拿来一束枯枝捆在它那已无树液的身上，结果是枉费心机，不过颠倒了它原来的位置，使它枝干朝地，根梢向天，成为一株头冲下的树，归在任何干苦活的婆子的手里使用，从此受命运摆布，把别人打扫干净，自己却落得个又脏又臭，而在女仆们手里折腾多次之后，最后只剩下一支根株了，于是被扔出门外，或者作为引火的柴禾烧掉了。
我看到了这一切，不禁兴叹，自言自语一番：人不也是一根扫帚把吗？当大自然送他入世之初，他是强壮有力的，处于兴旺时期，满头的天生好发；如果比作一株有理性的植物，那就是枝叶齐全。但不久酗酒贪色就像一把斧子砍掉了他的青枝绿叶，只留给他一根枯株。他赶紧求助于人工，戴上了头套，以一束扑满香粉但非他头上所长的假发为荣。要是我们这把扫帚也这样登场，由于把一些别的树条收集到身上而得意洋洋，其实这些条上尽是尘土，即使是最高贵的夫人房里的尘土，我们一定会笑它是如何虚荣吧！我们就是这样偏心的审判官，偏于自己的优点，别人的毛病！
你也许会说，一根扫帚把不过标志着一棵头冲下的树而已，那么请问：人又是什么？不也是一个颠倒的动物，他的兽性老骑在理性背上，他的头去了该放他的脚的地方，老在土里趴着，可是尽管有这么多毛病，还自命为天下的改革家，除弊者，伸冤者，把手伸进人世间每个藏污纳垢的角落，扫出来一大堆从未暴露过的肮脏，把原来干净的地方弄得尘土满天，肮脏没扫走而扫的人自己倒浑身受到了污染；到晚年又变成女人的奴隶，而且是一些最不堪的女人，直到磨得只剩下一支根株，于是像他的扫帚老弟一样，不是给扔出门外，就是拿来生火，供别人取暖了。
THIS single stick, which you now behold ingloriously lying in that neglected corner, I once knew in a flourishing state in a forest. It was full of sap, full of leaves, and full of boughs; but now in vain does the busy art of man pretend to vie with nature, by tying that withered bundle of twigs to its sapless trunk; it is now at best but the reverse of what it was, a tree turned upside-down, the branches on the earth, and the root in the air; it is now handled by every dirty wench, condemned to do her drudgery, and, by a capricious kind of fate, destined to make other things clean, and be nasty itself; at length, worn to the stumps in the service of the maids, it is either thrown out of doors or condemned to the last use - of kindling a fire.
When I behold this I sighed, and said within myself, "Surely mortal man is a broomstick!" Nature sent him into the world strong and lusty, in a thriving condition, wearing his own hair on his head, the proper branches of this reasoning vegetable, till the axe of intemperance has lopped off his green boughs, and left him a withered trunk; he then flies to art, and puts on a periwig, valuing himself upon an unnatural bundle of hairs, all covered with powder, that never grew on his head; but now should this our broomstick pretend to enter the scene, proud of those birchen spoils it never bore, and all covered with dust, through the sweepings of the finest lady's chamber, we should be apt to ridicule and despise its vanity. Partial judges that we are of our own excellencies, and other men's defaults!
But a broomstick, perhaps you will say, is an emblem of a tree standing on its head; and pray what is a man but a topsy-turvy creature, his animal faculties perpetually mounted on his rational, his head where his heels should be, grovelling on the earth? And yet, with all his faults, he sets up to be a universal reformer and corrector of abuses, a remover of grievances, rakes into every slut's corner of nature, bringing hidden corruptions to the light, and raises a mighty dust where there was none before, sharing deeply all the while in the very same pollutions he pretends to sweep away. His last days are spent in slavery to women, and generally the least deserving; till, worn to the stumps, like his brother besom, he is either kicked out of doors, or made use of to kindle flames for others to warm themselves by.
你看这根扫帚把，现在灰溜溜地躺在无人注意的角落，我曾在树林里碰见过，当时它风华正茂，树液充沛，枝叶繁茂。如今变了样，却还有人自作聪明，想靠手艺同大自然竞争，拿来一束枯枝捆在它那已无树液的身上，结果是枉费心机，不过颠倒了它原来的位置，使它枝干朝地，根梢向天，成为一株头冲下的树，归在任何干苦活的婆子的手里使用，从此受命运摆布，把别人打扫干净，自己却落得个又脏又臭，而在女仆们手里折腾多次之后，最后只剩下一支根株了，于是被扔出门外，或者作为引火的柴禾烧掉了。
我看到了这一切，不禁兴叹，自言自语一番：人不也是一根扫帚把吗？当大自然送他入世之初，他是强壮有力的，处于兴旺时期，满头的天生好发；如果比作一株有理性的植物，那就是枝叶齐全。但不久酗酒贪色就像一把斧子砍掉了他的青枝绿叶，只留给他一根枯株。他赶紧求助于人工，戴上了头套，以一束扑满香粉但非他头上所长的假发为荣。要是我们这把扫帚也这样登场，由于把一些别的树条收集到身上而得意洋洋，其实这些条上尽是尘土，即使是最高贵的夫人房里的尘土，我们一定会笑它是如何虚荣吧！我们就是这样偏心的审判官，偏于自己的优点，别人的毛病！
你也许会说，一根扫帚把不过标志着一棵头冲下的树而已，那么请问：人又是什么？不也是一个颠倒的动物，他的兽性老骑在理性背上，他的头去了该放他的脚的地方，老在土里趴着，可是尽管有这么多毛病，还自命为天下的改革家，除弊者，伸冤者，把手伸进人世间每个藏污纳垢的角落，扫出来一大堆从未暴露过的肮脏，把原来干净的地方弄得尘土满天，肮脏没扫走而扫的人自己倒浑身受到了污染；到晚年又变成女人的奴隶，而且是一些最不堪的女人，直到磨得只剩下一支根株，于是像他的扫帚老弟一样，不是给扔出门外，就是拿来生火，供别人取暖了。
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