100年前流传至中国的第一首美国诗歌,力求当下活得精彩,现在亦不过时
100多年前,有一首美国诗歌完整地流传至中国,也是第一首漂洋过海、传颂至今的关于人生感叹之歌:《人生颂》;
A psalm of life
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Finds us farther than today.
Art is long, and time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no future, however pleasant!
Let the dead past bury its dead!
Act—act in the living present!
Heart within, and god o’er head!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
人生颂(自译)
勿需无病呻吟字字哀怨,感叹人生梦想,
灵魂麻木酣睡如同死亡,事实绝非表象;
生命如此真切鲜活热枕,不畏坟墓荒凉,
纵然身躯终将归于尘土,灵魂仍可存放;
消极享乐无法设定目标,规划人生航向,
披荆斩棘帮助日益成长,明天乘风破浪;
唯艺术长久才不畏时光,纵然心坚志强,
偶尔沉声闷响不失斗志,葬乐高鸣响亮;
人生苦短总会露宿风霜,世界不是温床,
不做牲畜任人驱逐宰割,英雄鏖战沙场,
不要空想未来编织美好,誓把过去埋葬,
即刻行动勇于活在当下,心意神灵保障;
先驱伟人时刻警醒启示,定要活得高尚;
直至生命终止转身离开,也有足迹留藏,
也许某天有个航海兄弟,同样热血辉煌,
却突遭险境而看到足迹,重燃心中希望;
即刻行动我们勇于向上,承载命运担当,
不断拼搏进取奋勇追求,劳动挺守胸膛。
作者简介:
亨利 沃兹沃思 朗费罗( Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,1807—1882)
被视为美国最伟大的诗人,生于美国缅因州波特兰,与《红字》作者、小说家霍桑是同学,与英国“诗赢桂冠,悼艺无双、极具乐感律动与震撼之美“的大诗人丁尼生齐名,也因此,在英国著名的威斯敏斯特教堂诗人角榜上有名,他是第一位获此殊荣的美国诗人;
朗费罗更是一位出色的语言学家,翻译过多本世界名著,并曾在哈佛大学任教;
主要代表作有:
《海华沙之歌》(The Song of Hiawatha)、《夜吟》(Voices of the Night)、《歌谣及其它》(Ballads and Other Poems)、《人生颂》(A Psalm of Life)等。