Death, Be Not Proud

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.

Thou’rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,

And better then thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die.

约翰·多恩（1572-1631）(圣14行诗第10首)

              死神，你休要得意

       死神，你休要得意，尽管有人说你，

       威力无比、可怕至极。都是放狗屁。

       因为可怜的你啊，自以为能把命夺，

       可他们没死。死神，你也杀不了我。

       你的样子不过是舒服的睡眠和休息，

       若你亲临，一定会带来更美的享赐；

       难怪越是人中豪杰，越跟你跑得快，

       灵魂能得到解脱，尸骨能有好安排。

       你听任机遇、君王和亡命徒的摆布，

       你整日地与毒药、战争、疾病为伍；

       罂粟和迷药同样能让我们入眠安息，

       好过你的突然袭击，你还有啥得意？

       小憩过后，我们将永远醒来不再睡,

       死将不复存在：死神，必死的是你。

(选自 Great Short Poems 《短诗精萃》  Edited by Paul Negri – A Dover Thrift Editions Book)

译注：

1）此诗首先出现在约翰·多恩的19首14行诗集中，在诗集中的标题是《圣十四行第十首》，但后来以《死神，你休要得意》为世人所熟悉。创作时间不详，大约是在1601至1610年间。

2）此诗是意大利彼特拉克体14行诗的体例。全诗分两节，前8行一节，呈现主题；后6行一节，为主题的展开。压韵格式为ABBA，ABBA，CDDC，EE。