For The Fallen 这首诗是Laurence Binyon(1869–1943)于1914年9月在英国全国发行的日报《泰晤士报》(The Times)上发表的。诗中所描述的对阵亡将士的缅怀之情，几乎成为千古绝唱。在欧美澳的一些阵亡将士纪念场地，每天都有诵读这首诗的仪式。第三段和第四段（尤其是第四段）已经跨越了国界，成为缅怀阵亡将士的著名的挽词。

 

一、原诗与译稿

For The Fallen by Laurence Binyon   With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free.   Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres, There is music in the midst of desolation And a glory that shines upon our tears.   They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted; They fell with their faces to the foe.   They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.   They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond England's foam.   But where our desires are and our hopes profound, Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight, To the innermost heart of their own land they are known As the stars are known to the Night;   As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain; As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end, they remain.

谨献给阵亡将士 ——劳伦斯·宾雍（宾尼恩）   心怀自豪的感恩之情，身如恸失儿女的母亲， 英格兰谨为全体阵亡将士致哀， 他们都是母亲的骨肉，具有母亲的神魂， 他们为自由的事业献出了生命。   鼓声低沉而令人战栗；死神威严且不可抗拒， 它呜咽着把哀悼送至不朽的苍穹， 在那哀乐中有我们献上的挽歌， 还有我们泪花上闪烁的光荣。   他们曾伴着歌声走向战场，他们当时都年轻， 四肢灵活，眼神清澈，步伐坚定，神采飞扬， 他们亲历了前所未闻的战斗，个个视死如归， 他们倒下时全都面对着敌人。   他们永远不会老去，不像我们留下来的日渐衰老： 他们永远不为耄耋所难，永远不为残年所累。 每当太阳落下，每当清晨来临， 我们就会想起他们。   他们不再与欢笑的战友们聚首； 他们不再坐在自家熟悉的餐桌旁； 他们不再参与我们每日的工作； 他们已然长眠在英格兰海疆之外。   我们的祈求和虔诚愿望无所不在， 就像看不见却感受得到的涓涓涌泉， 他们在家乡的土地上从此英名永驻， 就像群星在夜空中耀眼夺目；   犹如永放光辉的群星，在我们化作尘土时， 他们在九天之上列队前行； 犹如闪烁发亮的群星，在我们置身冥界后， 他们星光不灭，与日月同在。

 

二、原诗词汇与句型难点解析以及翻译理据

1、第一段第二行her dead across the sea 以及第五段最后一行They sleep beyond England’s foam都是描写在欧洲战场阵亡的英国将士。英国是岛国，将士到欧洲大陆参战，阵亡后就等于死在海外。

2、对Age以及years这两个词，American Heritage Dictionary给出的释义分别有: Age, The state of being old; old age: hair white with age. 以及Years，Age, especially old age: I'm feeling my years.笔者认为第四段第二行“Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.”中的age以及years应该取这两个释义。

3、倒数第二段的从句似为where our desires are and our hopes profound，主句似为they are known to the innermost heart of their own land. 与之类似的句型是：“Where there is a will, we pave the way.”

4、关于remain一词，American Heritage Dictionary 给出的释义有To be left after the removal, loss, passage, or destruction of others: Only a few trees remain. 诗中最后一行的remain一词似应取此义。

 

三、其他译者译文选录

来自http://article.yeeyan.org/view/239462/222211

 

献给倒下的……

 

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,

这是个足以自豪的感恩节，母亲给孩子们过的，

England mourns for her dead across the sea.

母亲英格兰为海那边逝去的孩子们哀悼着。

Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,

她血肉中的血肉，她灵魂中的灵魂，

Fallen in the cause of the free.

她的孩子们为自由倒下了。

Solemn the drums thrill;

庄重而高亢地，鼓声敲打着；

Death august and royal

威严而高贵的，死亡吟唱着

Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,

悲伤穿透了永生的领地，

There is music in the midst of desolation

音乐在漫漫荒凉中奏响，

And a glory that shines upon our tears.

荣誉在莹莹泪光里闪耀。

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

他们奔向战场时哼着歌，年少力强，斗志昂扬，

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

修长的四肢稳步挺进，真诚的眼睛闪闪发光。

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;

没有计算过生死的几率，只有一腔奋战到底的信心和勇气；

They fell with their faces to the foe.

他们倒下了，面朝着敌人，倒下了。

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

留下的会迎来垂暮，倒下的将青春永驻：

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

年龄不能令他们疲惫，岁月无法给他们判刑。

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

无论太阳落下还是升起，

We will remember them.

我们都会把他们记起。

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;

玩笑着的同伴再等不到他们的融入；

They sit no more at familiar tables of home;

熟悉的餐桌上再见不到他们的身影；

They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;

日常劳作再没有他们贡献的一份儿。

They sleep beyond England's foam.

他们安眠了，在英格兰的泡沫上，安眠了。

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,

在渴望热切的地方，在希望深远的地方，

Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,

他们就像泉源藏在了视野之下，

To the innermost heart of their own land they are known

如同黑夜熟悉了星辰

As the stars are known to the Night;

他们印记在了故土的内心深处。

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,

当我们归于尘埃时，他们像明亮的星星

Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;

在天国的平原上列队行军；

As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,

当我们陷入黑暗时，他们像闪耀的星星

To the end, to the end, they remain.

永存到最后，最后。

 

四、关于原诗及其作者

Laurence Binyon (1869-1943), the poet and art critic, was born in Lancaster in 1869.  He worked at the British Museum before going to war, having studied at Trinity College, Oxford where he won the Newdigate poetry prize.  Whilst on the staff of the British Museum he developed an expertise in Chinese and Japanese art.

以下资料来自：http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_of_Remembrance

 

{This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010) }

 

The "Ode of Remembrance" is an ode taken from Laurence Binyon's poem, "For the Fallen", which was first published in The Times in September 1914.

 

The poet wrote For the Fallen, which has seven stanzas, while sitting on the cliffs between Pentire Point and The Rumps in north Cornwall, UK. A stone plaque was erected at the spot in 2001 to commemorate the fact. The plaque bears the inscription:  

For the Fallen

Composed on these cliffs 1914

There is also a plaque on the beehive monument on the East Cliff above Portreath in central North Cornwall which cites that as the place where Binyon composed the poem.

 

The poem honoured the World War I British war dead of that time, and in particular the British Expeditionary Force, which by then already had high casualty rates on the developing Western Front. The poem was published when the Battle of the Marne was foremost in people's minds.

 

Over time, the third and fourth stanzas of the poem (although often just the fourth) were claimed as a tribute to all casualties of war, regardless of state.

 

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.

Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

 

The phrase Lest we forget is often added as a final line at the end of the ode and repeated in response by those listening, especially in Australia. In the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Singapore, the final line of the ode, "We will remember them", is repeated in response. In Canada, the last stanza of the above extract has become known as the Act of Remembrance, and the final line is also repeated.

 

The "Ode of Remembrance" is regularly recited at memorial services held on days commemorating World War I, such as ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day, and Remembrance Sunday. In Australia's Returned and Services Leagues, it is read out nightly at 6 p.m., followed by a minute's silence. In New Zealand it is part of the Dawn service at 6 a.m. Recitations of the "Ode of Remembrance" are often followed by a playing of the Last Post. In Canadian remembrance services, a French translation is often used along with or instead of the English ode.