讀點(diǎn)好英文:The Second Coming 基督再臨

The Second Coming 基督再臨

William Butler Yeats

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The faIcon cannot hear the falconer；

Things fall apart；the centre cannot hold；

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world，

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned；

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some reveIation is at hand；

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

The Second Coming！Hardly are those words out

When a vast image out of Spritus Mundi

Troubles my sight：somewhere in sands of the desert

A shape with lion body and the head of a man，

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun，

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again；but now I know

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle，

And what rough beast，

its hour come round at last，

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

基督再臨

威廉·巴特勒·葉芝

獵鷹繞著越來(lái)越大的圈子不停地盤旋

再也聽(tīng)不見(jiàn)放鷹人的呼喚；

萬(wàn)物分崩離析；中心難以為系；

世上只落下一盤散沙的無(wú)政府主義，

血色迷糊的潮流奔騰洶涌，

天真的儀典，亦已為滔天血浪所湮沒(méi)；

至善者毫無(wú)信心，而至惡者

卻躁動(dòng)不止。

一準(zhǔn)是某種啟示已近在眼前；

一準(zhǔn)是基督再臨就在眼前。

基督再臨！話未出口，

一個(gè)巨大的形象便出現(xiàn)在人們腦際

令我花了眼：在大漠沙海之中，

一個(gè)獅身人面的形體，

目光如烈日般茫然而無(wú)情。

正緩慢地挪動(dòng)腿腳，周圍環(huán)繞著

一群義憤的沙漠鳥(niǎo)的影子。

黑暗再度降臨；不過(guò)現(xiàn)在我知道

過(guò)去兩千年巖石般的沉睡

都被搖籃搖成了噩夢(mèng)般的煩惱，

何等粗野的畜牲，

它的時(shí)辰已至，

慵懶地朝伯利恒走去投生。

實(shí)戰(zhàn)提升

背景知識(shí)

威廉·巴特勒·葉芝（William Butler Yeats），曾于1923年獲得諾貝爾文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)，獲獎(jiǎng)的理由是“以其高度藝術(shù)化且洋溢著靈感的詩(shī)作表達(dá)了整個(gè)民族的靈魂”。

這首詩(shī)作于1921年。根據(jù)基督教傳說(shuō)，基督將在世界末日重臨人間主持審判。葉芝認(rèn)為古希臘羅馬傳下來(lái)的西方文明今天已接近毀滅時(shí)期，兩百年內(nèi)即將出現(xiàn)一種粗野狂暴的反文明，作為走向另一種貴族文明的過(guò)渡。

單詞注解

gyre['d?ai?]旋回

faIcon['f?lk?n]獵鷹

anarchy['?n?ki]無(wú)秩序；混亂

reveIation[，revi'lei??n]天啟，神示

vexed[vekst]動(dòng)蕩的

名句誦讀

Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer；Things fall apart；the centre cannot hold；Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned；The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand；Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?