John Donne　多恩 Death, Be Not Proud, Though Some Have Called Thee

(Holy Sonnet 10)

John Donne

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery .

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison , war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

* * *

-mighty

[ˈmaiti] adj.

强大的，有势力的

-delivery

[diˈlivəri] n.

递送，交付

-desperate

[ˈdespərit] adj.

不顾一切的，亡命的

-poison

[ˈpɔizn] n.

毒药

-sickness

[ˈsiknis] n.

疾病

-poppy

[ˈpɔpi] n.

罂粟，鸦片

-eternally

[iˈtəːnəli] adv.

永恒地

* * *

John Donne　多恩 “死神，别骄傲，虽有人把你称作”

（《敬神十四行诗》第十首）

多　恩

死神，别骄傲，虽有人把你称作

可怕的巨灵，其实你并非如此，

那些你以为击倒的人们，并没有死，

可怜的死神，你也不可能杀死我。

说休息和睡眠是你的写照，那么，

你一定会给人付出更多的欣喜，

所以精英们急急忙忙跟你去，

让尸骨安息，让灵魂得到解脱。

你是命运、帝王、强徒的奴仆，

你又跟鸩毒、战争、疫病为伍，

可鸦片、巫术也能使我们睡眠，

还睡得更好，你何必如此傲慢？

我们匆匆睡一觉，但醒于永恒，

不再有死亡，死的该是你，死神！