英漢對(duì)照|王爾德詩(shī)選：致彌爾頓

To Milton

Milton! I think thy spirit hath passed away

From these white cliffs, and high-embattled towers;

This gorgeous fiery-coloured world of ours

Seems fallen into ashes dull and grey,

And the age changed unto a mimic play

Wherein we waste our else too-crowded hours:

For all our pomp and pageantry and powers

We are but fit to delve the common clay,

Seeing this little isle on which we stand,

This England, this sea-lion of the sea,

By ignorant demagogues is held in fee,

Who love her not: Dear God! is this the land

Which bare a triple empire in her hand

When Cromwell spake the word Democracy!

致彌爾頓

彌爾頓！我想你的精神已經(jīng)不在，

離開(kāi)了白色懸崖和森嚴(yán)的高塔；

我們火紅的華麗世界看來(lái)

已經(jīng)淪落成尸灰，蒼白而沉悶，

時(shí)代也演變成了模仿的鬧劇，

其中耗費(fèi)了我們過(guò)多的光陰：

為了所有的盛典、壯觀和強(qiáng)力，

我們只配去鉆研普通的黏土，

看到我們站立的這個(gè)小島，

英格蘭，這頭海洋的雄獅，

被愚昧的蠱惑家所占據(jù)，

他們并不愛(ài)她：親愛(ài)的上帝！

當(dāng)克倫威爾說(shuō)出“民主”一詞，

這片土地曾是三島聯(lián)盟的帝國(guó)！