William Shakespeare　莎士比亚 The Phoenix and the Turtle

William Shakespeare

Let the bird of loudest lay,

On the sole Arabian tree,

Herald sad and trumpet be,

To whose sound chaste wings obey.

But thou shrieking harbinger ,

Foul precurrer of the fiend,

Augur of the fever's end,

To this troop come thou not near.

From this session interdict

Every fowl of tyrant wing,

Save the eagle, feather'd king:

Keep the obsequy so strict.

Let the priest in surplice white

That defunctive music can,

Be the death-divining swan,

Lest the requiem lack his right.

And thou treble-dated crow,

That thy sable gender mak'st

With the breath thou giv'st and tak'st,

Mongst our mourners shalt thou go.

Here the anthem doth commence:

Love and constancy is dead;

Phoenix and the turtle fled

In a mutual flame from hence.

So they lov'd, as love in twain

Had the essence but in one;

Two distincts , division none:

Number there in love was slain.

Hearts remote, yet not asunder ;

Distance, and no space was seen

Twixt the turtle and his queen:

But in them it were a wonder.

So between them love did shine,

That the turtle saw his right

Flaming in the phoenix' sight;

Either was the other's mine.

Property was thus appall'd,

That the self was not the same;

Single nature's double name

Neither two nor one was call'd.

Reason, in itself confounded,

Saw division grow together;

To themselves yet either neither,

Simple were so well compounded,

That it cried, 'How true a twain

Seemeth this concordant one!

Love hath reason, reason none,

If what parts can so remain.'

Whereupon it made this threne

To the phoenix and the dove,

Co-supremes and stars of love,

As chorus to their tragic scene.

* * *

-trumpet

[ˈtrʌmpit] n.

喇叭；小号；喇叭声；号音（宣扬）

-harbinger

[ˈhɑːbindʒə] n.

先驱，预兆

-interdict

[intəˈdikt] vt.

禁止，制止，限制

-tyrant

[ˈtaiərənt] n.

暴君，专制统治者

-surplice

[ˈsəːplis] n.

白色法衣，白袈裟

-requiem

[ˈrekwiəm] n.

安灵弥撒，安灵曲，挽歌，悲歌

-mourner

[ˈmɔːnɔ] n.

悲伤者，哀悼者

-phoenix

[ˈfiniks] n.

凤凰，长生鸟，完人，完美之人

-distinct

[disˈtiŋkt] adj.

各别的，独特的，这里用作n.指不同的东西

-asunder

[əˈsʌndə(r)] adv.

分离，分开的

-property

[ˈprɔpəti] n.

性质，特性

-division

[diˈviʒən] n.

分开，分割，区分

-concordant

[kənˈkɔːdənt] adj.

协调的

-whereupon

[ˌ(h)wɛərəˈpɔn] adv.

于是，因此

-tragic

[ˈtrædʒik] adj.

悲惨的，悲剧的

* * *

William Shakespeare　莎士比亚 凤凰和斑鸠

莎士比亚

让歌声最亮的鸟儿栖上

那株孤独的阿拉伯树梢，

放开嗓子，把丧事宣告，

纯洁的禽鸟都合拍飞翔。

但你这尖声鸣叫的信使，

魔鬼派遣的邪恶先驱者，

说狂热即将消亡的卜者，

可千万别走近这个群体。

哪一只禽鸟专横跋扈，

就禁止进入这个会场，

除了老鹰，那鸟中之王：

葬礼的肃穆一定要维护。

让身穿白色法衣的牧师——

能奏死亡之曲的司铎——

成为那预言死亡的天鹅，

丧仪必须由他来主持。

还有你这老朽的一族——

穿着黑色丧服的乌鸦，

张嘴呼吸像抽抽搭搭，

也来参加这哭丧的队伍。

哀悼的歌声现在开始：

爱情和坚贞都已经死亡；

凤凰和斑鸠在火中翱翔，

融为一体而飞离尘世。

他们相爱如双生合抱，

各有特质却出自一体；

两种品格又不分彼此：

爱中分你我确是徒劳。

两心远隔却不曾分离；

在斑鸠和他的女王之间

有距离却没有空间可见：

这是他俩创造的奇迹。

他们的爱情闪闪发光，

斑鸠从凤凰的眼中见到

自己的身体在熊熊燃烧：

二者同时又都是对方。

本性就这样受到了挑战，

自身可以不再是自身；

惟一的本源有双重名分，

是一还是二难以分辨。

理智已感到十分窘困，

看见两部分长在一起，

彼此分不清是我是你，

单一恰恰由复合组成。

它不禁喊道：“这可真是！

二者竟如此和谐一致。

要是这情形长期如此，

爱情就会把理智吞噬。”

于是它作了哀婉的歌曲，

为了给凤凰和斑鸠送行，

爱的双峰啊，恋的双星，

乐曲哀唱他们的悲剧。