在疾馳如飛的錠子聲中,說(shuō)話是聽(tīng)不到的;可是這種說(shuō)話,卻教墻外的人聽(tīng)得一清二楚,因?yàn)樗虺ㄩ_(kāi)的窗子里沖了出去。因此,丑惡的事情難免要被發(fā)覺(jué)。人呀!要小心謹(jǐn)慎呀;因?yàn)?,你們那些最微妙的思想,在這個(gè)大千世界的紡織機(jī)的喧鬧聲中,也許會(huì)在老遠(yuǎn)就給人們偷聽(tīng)去。
Now, amid the green, life-restless loom of that Arsacidean wood, the great, white, worshipped skeleton lay lounging—a gigantic idler! Yet, as the ever-woven verdant warp and woof intermixed and hummed around him, the mighty idler seemed the cunning weaver; himself all woven over with the vines; every month assuming greener, fresher verdure; but himself a skeleton. Life folded Death; Death trellised Life; the grim god wived with youthful Life, and begat him curly-headed glories.
且說(shuō)這只受人崇拜的、巨大的白骷髏——這個(gè)巨大的懶漢!就悠閑地躺在阿薩西提的樹(shù)林里那架碧綠而從不停止活動(dòng)的紡織機(jī)中。而且,由于在它周圍始終是交錯(cuò)地嗡響著那些織個(gè)不停的翠綠的經(jīng)緯線,弄得這個(gè)大懶漢就象個(gè)巧妙的織工;它全身都織滿著葡萄藤;每時(shí)每刻都顯得更旺盛,更青翠,可它自己卻是架骨胳。生命籠罩著死亡;死亡支撐著生命;嚴(yán)酷的神配上朝氣蓬勃的生命,賦予它以鬈發(fā)的美容。
Now, when with royal Tranquo I visited this wondrous whale, and saw the skull an altar, and the artificial smoke ascending from where the real jet had issued, I marvelled that the king should regard a chapel as an object of vertu. He laughed.
這時(shí),我跟王族的托朗郭一起去拜謁這條奇妙的大鯨,看到那祭壇似的腦袋,和那人工的煙霧正從那曾經(jīng)發(fā)出真正的噴水的地方高高冒起,我不禁驚嘆這位國(guó)王竟把個(gè)教堂當(dāng)作件骨董了。他笑了笑。
But more I marvelled that the priests should swear that smoky jet of his was genuine. To and fro I paced before this skeleton— brushed the vines aside—broke through the ribs—and with a ball of Arsacidean twine, wandered, eddied long amid its many winding, shaded colonnades and arbors.
可是,更叫我詫異的是,那些僧人竟賭神發(fā)咒地說(shuō),它那煙噴嘴的噴水是真的。我在這個(gè)骷髏前面踱來(lái)踱去——撩開(kāi)葡萄藤——朝肋骨里擠了進(jìn)去——手里拿著一只阿薩西提的麻線球,在它那曲折蜿蜒陰涼的柱廊和喬木叢中旋來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)去地徜徉了好久。