Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day,
Tomorrow will be dying.
The glorious Lamp of Heaven, the Sun,
The higher he's a-getting
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.
That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst,
Times, still succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time;
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.
此詩屬英文格律詩形式﹐即有METER﹐RHYME。當然﹐中文譯者可以把它譯成白話文
形式﹐就簡單多了﹐或者說是最容易的形式。如果要譯成較規則點的中文詩形式﹐
得多動些腦筋﹐難度就大點。要譯成某種古詩形式﹐當然更難。見下﹕
What's most gloomy to the soul is the parting experience only. Moreover,
Qin and Wu are the remotest states apart. And Yan and Song are a thousand
miles from each other. When spring moss begins to grow or autumn winds suddenly
arise, travelers, therefore, will be heartbroken with all sorts of miserable
emotions. Winds sough in weird sounds. Clouds spread wide with quaint colors.
The boat's at the waterside, as if frozen there. The coach's at the hillside,
as if hindered on the long journey. As the oar's deliberately rowed, how
can the boat go fast? The horses neigh in cold ceaselessly. Covering up
golden goblets; who cares for drink now? Put aside the zither; tears wet
the front bar on the coach. Households at home lie in sorrow as if at a
loss. Sunlight on the wall moves downward with its color sinking. Moonlight
on the pavilion moves up with its brilliance reflected. When seeing red
orchid bearing dews and perceiving green Chinese catalpa covered with frost,
when walking round the high house shutting up emptiness and touching silk
drapery feeling so cold, one can know the traveling person should be wandering
even in the dream and can guess his parting soul should be hovering afar.
Therefore, the feeling of parting is the same, but conditions are of thousands.
Having tall horses with silvery saddles and crimson coaches with carved
axis ready, the host and the guest drink for parting in the tent outside
east capital as if bidding the guest farewell in JinGu Garden(1), where
zithers are played in a gloomy tune, fifes and drums on display, and heartbreaking
songs of Yan and Zhao sadden beauties around, where pearls and jade gleam
colorfully in late autumn and gauze and brocade show splendor in early spring,
where horses alarmed by loud music raise their heads in chewing fodder
and fishes with ruddy scales jump high from deep creeks, and where tears
are shed when parting and hearts broken when thinking of solitary journey.
There are swordsmen ashamed of not repaying those for their kindness and
young knights intending to return favors as in events happening in Han Kingdom(
2), in the lavatory of Zhao Kingdom(3), in the palace of Wu Kingdom(4) and
in the marketplace of Yan Kingdom(5). They either deserted their loved ones,
or left their own countries, or shed tears in final farewell, or wiped bloody
eyes staring at each other. They rode away at full gallop without looking
back, only rising dusts seen in the wake. They wanted to repay favors using
swords without intention of going to the nether world for any price in exchange.
But when bells and drums boomed, the color on the face changed(6). The
heart stopped beating at the death of her own flesh and blood(7).
If there is no peace on the border, people join army bringing bows and arrows.
The Liao River is unlimited and Mount Yanmen towers into clouds. When the
wind into the bower feels warm and the grass in fields smells sweet, when
the sun rises in the sky so radiant and dews on the ground glitter with
multi-tinge, when scarlet dusts mirror a brilliant tint and green mists look
hazy and smoky, and just as hands are raised to hold branches of peach and
plum trees, parting is very much unbearable, especially with a beloved one,
tears wetting the gauze skirt.
As for departure for the remotest states, how can reunion be possible? Looking
at tall trees in homeland and saying the eternal goodbye on the northern
bridge, people around the parting person have their souls touched by distress,
and friends and relatives weep bitter tears. They can arrange boughs on
the ground to sit imparting their regret and show their sorrow by drinking
wine. Just on the day when wild geese in autumn fly south and when white
frost fall on earth, the parting person grieves and groans at zigzag spots
among distant hills and proceeds on and on alongside the long river.
If you live to the west of Ming River and my home is located in Heyang,
we bask in morning sun rays with jade on our dress and sit together round
an evening brass incense burner. When you go a thousand miles away with
a tied ribbon(8), it's pitiable for a fair herb to beget scent in vain(9).
I feel ashamed facing the zither in my quiet boudoir(10) and let the yellow
silk curtain darken the high tower(11). Spring palace shuts out green color
of moss; autumn canopy's steeped in moonlight; summer bamboo mat's so cool
and the day turns to dusk too slow; the flame in winter lamp is like staying
congealed(12) and the night is so long. Weaving my song into a silky letter
exhausts my tears in sobbing and writing a rondeau poem makes my lone self
miserable(13).
If there's a Taoist on Mount Hua, who takes the elixir of life, he becomes
an immortal. His talent is great, but he still studies. His art reaches
a great stage, but not yet to the utmost. He keeps busy in making divine
pills and ignores everything else. He's firm in determination to finish
them in a brass cauldron. Then he rides on a stork into clouds or astride
a phoenix to heaven. He can travel a myriad miles in a jiffy and has a brief
separation as if a thousand years elapsed in the human world. Since mortals
look upon parting seriously, he takes leave of the host(14) lingeringly.
Under heaven there's a poem of Chinese herbaceous peony(15) and a song of
a beauty(16). There are girls in Sangzhong of Wei State and damsels in Shanggong
of Chen State(17). When spring grass turns verdant and spring water ripples
green, what kind of anguish can be like this as seeing you off at Nanpu?
When autumn dew looks like pearl and autumn moon like a round jade, when
the moon is bright and dew is white, and when time comes and goes, I'm thinking
of you over and over again after separation from you.
Therefore, people involving in parting are of various sorts, and situations
and reasons for parting are greatly different. If there's separation, there
will be regret, full of regret, which makes people's will lost, spirit terrified,
heart agonized and bone tormented. Even if there are superior articles
of Yuan and Yun(18), and excellent writings of Yan and Le(19), or even if
there are men of letters in JinGui(20) and men of talent in Lantai(21),
and even if there is the best essay like Lingyun(22) or best repartee like
in Diaolong(23), who has the ability of describing the current conditions
of separation or depicting the feelings of eternal parting?
