散文翻译语文学

1、柳苏先生在乡愁的理念如是说： 下等译匠是“人在屋檐下，不得不低头”，给原文压得扁扁的，只好忍气吞声；高等译手是“月上柳梢头，人约黄昏后”，跟原文平起平坐，谈情说爱，毫无顾忌。译匠中英文太过寒伧，一旦登入文字堂奥，手脚都不听使唤，说话更结结巴巴；译手中英文富可敌国，进出衣香鬓影之间应对得体，十足外交官风度 这后一种境界，真令人悠然神往。现已夏济安先生的两册名家散文选读(A Collection of American Essays)中英对照本。先看脱口成诵的华盛顿·欧文的西敏大寺开头一段： On one of those sober and rather melancho1y days

2、，in the latter part of Autumn，When the shadows of morning and evening almost mingle together，and throw a g1oom over the decline of the year，I passed several hours in rambling about West Minster Abbey. There was something congenial to the season in the mournful magnificence of the old pile；and，as I p

3、assed its thresho1d，seemed like stepping back into the regions of antiquity，and losing myself among the shades of former ages. 时方晚秋，气象肃穆，略带忧伤，早晨的阴影和黄昏的阴影，几乎连接在一起，不可分别，岁将云暮，终日昏暗，我就在这么一天，到西敏大寺去散步了几个钟头。古寺巍巍，森森然似有鬼气，和阴沉沉的季候正好调和；我跨进大门，觉得自己已经置身远古，相忘于古人的鬼影之中了。 中英两种文字，在这里的确是铢两悉称，宾主尽欢，而且，接下去的十五页，难得译者总是如此，如影随

4、形而不离谱，如鱼得水而不局促辕下。那典雅又地道的中文，可圈可点，且复可诵。 然而超出了一般的“意译”的界限，译者常据己意加以一番增益或减损，使中英文之间距离突然拉大，宾主若再度相会，恐怕要“问姓惊初见，称名忆旧容”了。聊揭数端如下。 * The pond-lily grows abundantly a1ongthe margin-that delicious flower，which，as Thoreau te11s me，opens its virgin bosom to the firs sunlight and perfects its being through the magic o

5、f that genia1 kiss. He has beheld beds of them unfolding in due succession as the sunrise sto1e gradually from flower to flower 溪边荷花盛开，据梭罗告诉我，荷花须经清晨的阳光照射后方始开放，阳光轻轻的吻着它，娇嫩的荷花也像少女似的成熟了。他曾经看见这样一个奇景：天色刚刚发亮，清晨的太阳渐渐的东升，阳光所及之处，荷花一朵一朵的依次开放，好几处的荷花，无不皆然 这段文字要是亦步亦趋译出来，不外乎这个样子： 溪边睡莲花盛开这娇嫩的花儿，梭罗曾对我说，把它处女的乳房敞向第一缕

6、阳光，且因受了那轻吻的魔法而完成了自己的存在。他曾看见，当旭日初升，悄悄地，渐渐地，从一朵花移到另一朵花，它们便次第开放 * Throughout the summer there were cherries and currants；and then came autumn，with his immense burden of apples，dropping them continually fromhisover laden shoulders as he trudged along .In the stillest afternoon，if I listened，the thump of

7、 a great apple was audible，falling without a breath of wind，from the mere necessity of perfect ripeness. 夏天有吃不完的樱桃和酸果，一到秋天，苹果就熟，秋天一天一天的过去，苹果就不断的从秋天的背上掉下来。秋天的下午，即使一丝风都不吹，只要我凝神谛听，在四围静寂之中，总可听得见一颗肥大的苹果落地的声音它长得太熟了，非自然落下不可。 * I have met with no other such pleasant trouble in the world as that of finding m

8、yself，with only the two or three mouths which it was my privilege to feed，the so1e inheritor of the old clergymans wealth of fruits. 老牧师遗留下来这么多果子树，现在由我一人来承受，能够同我来分而食之的，只有两三个人，粥多僧少，虽然是件乐事，可也是一件烦恼，我生平还没有过这一类的经验。Moreexamples:From the window of my room, I could see a tall cotton-rose hibiscus. In spring

9、, when green foliage was half hidden by mist, the tree looked very enchanting dotted with red blossom. This inspiring neighbor of mine often set my mind working. I gradually regarded it as my best friend.从我的房间的窗子向外望去,可以看到一株高大的芙蓉树.秋日里,芙蓉树在薄雾中若隐若现,红花点点,样子实在迷人.它总是赋予我灵感,让我思如泉涌.时间久了,我竟把这菱蓉视为知已了.Neverthel

10、ess, when I opened the window one morning, to my amazement, the tree was almost bare beyond recognition as a result of the storm ravages the night before. Struck by the plight, I was seized with a sadness at the thought “all the blossom is doomed to fall”. I could not help sighing with emotion: the

11、course of life never runs smooth, for there are so many ups and downs, twists and turns. The vicissitudes of my life saw my beloved friends parting one after another. Isnt it similar to the tree shedding its flowers in the wind?然而,一天清晨,当我推开窗子时,愕然发现前夜的一场风雨已将它摧残得落红满地.刹那间,我有一种"花开终有落"的悲凉感觉.这使我

12、不由得发出一声慨叹:人生的旅途中,总是少不了种种羁绊,那些曲折的经历总会伴随着我们.曾经失去过的挚爱的朋友,生命的脆弱不正是像这随风而逝的花吗?This event faded from my memory as time went by. One day after I came home from the countryside, I found the room stuffy and casually opened the window. Something outside caught my eye and dazzled me. It was a plum tree all scar

13、let with blossom set off beautifully by the sunset. The surprise discovery overwhelmed me with pleasure. I wondered why I had no idea of some unyielding life sprouting over the fallen petals when I was grieving for the hibiscus.随着时间的流逝,我渐渐地把那天的感触淡忘了,一次出差回来,感到屋内的空气有些沉闷,于是我不经意的打开了窗,可就在那一瞬,我被眼前的景象惊呆了.窗

14、外,一株李子树开花了,火红火红的花朵,满树都是.在夕阳的映衬下,分外美丽.这意外让我惊喜不已.没想到当初自己只顾悲伤,却没发现那凄凉的背后,竟存在着如此坚强的灵魂.When the last withered petal dropped, all the joyful admiration for the hibiscus sank into oblivion as if nothing was left, until the landscape was again ablaze with the red plum blossom to remind people of lifes alter

15、nation and continuance. Cant it be said that life is actually a symphony, a harmonious composition of loss and gain.是啊,当芙蓉的最后一片花瓣凋落之时,人们以往对它的赞许都已成为过眼去烟.可如今,李子树却成长起来了,那火红的花儿正向人们昭示着生命的更迭与繁衍.谁能否认生命原本就是一场得失共存的交响音呢?Standing by the window lost in thought for a long time, I realized that no scenery in the

16、world remains unchanged. As long as you keep your heart basking in the sun, every dawn will present a fine prospect for you to unfold and the world will always be about new hopes.我久久地伫立在窗前,深深感悟到,生命之中本没有一成不变的风景,只要你的心永远向着阳光,那么每一个清晨就会向你展现出一个等待着由你来开启的美景.不管你正经历着怎样的风雨,请相信,这个世界总会带给你新的希望.Loving with an Open

17、 Hand（放爱一条生路）The other day as I talked with a friend I recalled a story that I heard this summer. "A compassionate person, seeing a butterfly struggling to free itself from its cocoon, and wanting to help, very gently loosened the filaments to form an opening. 前几天和一位朋友闲聊时，我想起今年夏天听到的一个故事：“有个人很富有

18、同情心，看到一只蝴蝶拼命挣扎想冲破茧的束缚，就帮了个忙，轻轻地解开茧丝使其露出一个缺口。The butterfly was freed, emerged from the cocoon, and fluttered about but could not fly. What the compassionate person did not know was that only through the birth struggle can the wings grow strong enough for flight. Its shortened life was spent on the gr

19、ound; it never knew freedom, never really lived." 蝴蝶得到解放，从茧中出来振翅欲飞，然而却飞不起来。这位富有同情心的人所不知道的是，只有经过挣扎破茧而出，翅膀才能变得强壮，可以飞翔。这只蝴蝶短暂的生命只能在地上度过了，它从未尝过自由的滋味，没有真正享受过生活。”I call it learning to love with an open hand. It is a learning which has come slowly to me and has been wrought in the fires of pain a

20、nd in the waters of patience. I am learning that I must free the one I love, for if I clutch or cling, try to control, I lose what I try to hold. 我把它叫做学会放爱一条生路。这个教训经历了痛苦的锻造和耐心的洗礼，我才逐渐认识到。我学会了必须给所爱的人自由，如果我抓得太紧、紧握不放、设法控制，结果可能会失去他们。 If I try to change someone I love because I feel I know how that perso

21、n should be, I rob him or her of a precious right, the right to take responsibility for one's own life and choices and way of being. Whenever I impose my wish or want or try to exert power over another, I rob him or her of the full realization of growth and maturation. I limit and prevent by my

22、act of possession, no matter how kind my intention.如果我试图改变所爱的人，仅仅因为我觉得他/她应该这样，就等于是掠夺了他/她的一项珍贵的权利，即他/她对自己生命的责任权和生活方式的选择权。无论何时我把自己的意志和权力强加给别人，都会导致他/她无法完全成长和成熟。无论我的意图多么善良，我的控制行为还是限制和阻碍了他们。I can limit and injure by the kindest acts of protection or concern. Over extended it can say to the other person m

23、ore eloquently than words, "You are unable to care for yourself; I must take care of you because you are mine. I am responsible for you."即使保护或关心这种最善意的行为也会限制和伤害别人。“你无法照顾自己，我必须照顾你，因为你是我的，我要对你负责。”对别人说这么动人的语言远远超越了你的权力。 As I learn and practice more and more, I can say to the one I love: "I

24、 love you, I value you, I respect you and I trust that you have the strength to become all that it is possible for you to become if I don't get in your way. I love you so much that I can set you free to walk beside me in joy and in sadness. 随着我学习和锻炼的增多，现在我会这样告诉我爱的人：“我爱你、珍惜你、尊重你，我相信你有足够的实力发展成为你想要

25、成为的人如果我不阻碍你的话。我是那么爱你，所以我给你自由，和我共享欢乐与悲伤。I will share your tears but I will not ask you not to cry. I will respond to your needs. I will care and comfort you, but I will not hold you up when you can walk alone. I will stand ready to be with you in your grief and loneliness but I will not take it away

26、from you. I will strive to listen to your meaning as well as your word, but I shall not always agree. 我会和你一起流泪，但我不会要求你停止哭泣。我会满足你的需要，关心你、安慰你，但在你能够独立行走时我不会阻挡你。我会时刻准备好，在你悲伤和孤独时站到你身边，但我不会把你的悲伤和孤独带走。我会尽力理解你的话语及其中涵义，但不会总是赞同。Sometimes I will be angry and when I am, I will try to tell you openly so that I n

27、eed not hate our differences or feel estranged. I can not always be with you or hear what you say for there are times when I must listen to myself and care for myself, and when that happens I will be as honest with you as I can be."有时我会生气，当我生气时，我会尽量坦率地告诉你，这样我就不会对我们之间的分歧怀恨于心，产生疏远的感觉。我无法时刻与你在一起，或

28、者听你诉说，因为有时我需要倾听自己，关心自己，当这些发生时，我会尽量告诉你。” I am learning to say this, whether it be in words or in my way of being with others and myself, to those I love and for whom I care. And this I call loving with an open hand. 对于那些我所爱和所关心的人，我正在学习这样表达，无论是用语言，还是用我对待他人及自己的方式，我把这种方式叫做放爱一条生路。I cannot always keep my

29、hands off the cocoon, but I am getting better at it!我不会总把双手从茧的身旁移开，但我正在逐渐进步YOUTH-Samuel UllmanYouth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the

30、 freshness of the deep springs of life.Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20.Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.We grow old by deserting our ideals.Years

31、 may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm to wrinkle the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spring back to dust.Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human beings heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of whats next and the joy of the game of livin

32、g.In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimis

33、m, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.青春塞缪尔·厄尔曼青春不是年华，而是心境；青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，而是深沉的意志，恢宏的想象，炙热的恋情；青春是生命的深泉在涌流。青春气贯长虹，勇锐盖过怯弱，进取压倒苟安。如此锐气，二十后生而有之，六旬男子则更多见。年岁有加，并非垂老，理想丢弃，方堕暮年。岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤；热忱抛却，颓废必致灵魂。忧

34、烦，惶恐，丧失自信，定使心灵扭曲，意气如灰。无论年届花甲，拟或二八芳龄，心中皆有生命之欢乐，奇迹之诱惑，孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人心中皆有一台天线，只要你从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号，你就青春永驻，风华常存。一旦天线下降，锐气便被冰雪覆盖，玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而生，即使年方二十，实已垂垂老矣；然则只要树起天线，捕捉乐观信号，你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉年轻。 爱的颂歌-BellyIf I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a

35、clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain not

36、hing.Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.L

37、ove never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I thought like a child

38、; when I became and adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.就算我能说万人的

39、方言和天使的话语，但如果没有爱，我不过就如鸣锣一般；就算我有预知未来的能力，就算我精通各种知识和奥秘，就算我有坚定的信念，但如果没有爱，我就什么都算不上；就算我拿所有的财物周济穷人，就算我能做出舍己为人的壮举，但如果没有爱，我仍将一无所有。爱是一种忍耐，爱是一种友善；爱不是嫉妒，不是自大，不是鲁莽，不是固执己见，不是轻易发怒。爱意味着憎恶不义，赞赏真理；爱意味着包容一切，相信一切，对生活充满希望，并能忍受生活中的一切。爱是永无止境的，但又是有尽头的；就像知识一样，必将归于乌有。我们现在搜掌握的知识很有限，当我们掌握了完整的知识时，有限的知识必将归于乌有。当我还是一个孩子的时候，我像孩子一样说话

40、，像孩子一样思考问题，像孩子一样推理；但我一旦成年，就不再像孩子一样了。现阶段，我们很多时候好像是从镜子里观看事物，对很多事物都看不清，但有朝一日我们会直面这些事物。现阶段，我知道的东西很有限，但有朝一日我会懂得一切。如今，常存在人们心中的东西有三样：信念、希望和爱，而其中爱是最重要的！美丽人生BeautyThere were a sensitivity and a beauty to her that have nothing to do with looks. She was one to be listened to, whose words were so easy to take t

41、o heart.It is said that the true nature of being is veiled. The labor of words, the expression of art, the seemingly ceaseless buzz that is human thought all have in common the need to get at what really is so. The hope to draw close to and possess the truth of being can be a feverish one. In some c

42、ases it can even be fatal, if pleasure is one's truth and its attainment more important than life itself. In other lives, though, the search for what is truthful gives life.I used to find notes left in the collection basket, beautiful notes about my homilies and about the writer's thoughts o

43、n the daily scriptural readings. The person who penned the notes would add reflections to my thoughts and would always include some quotes from poets and mystics he or she had read and remembered and loved. The notes fascinated me. Here was someone immersed in a search for truth and beauty. Words ha

44、d been treasured, words that were beautiful. And I felt as if the words somehow delighted in being discovered, for they were obviously very generous to the as yet anonymous writer of the notes. And now this person was in turn learning the secret of sharing them. Beauty so shines when given away. The

45、 only truth that exists is, in that sense, free.It was a long time before I met the author of the notes.One Sunday morning, I was told that someone was waiting for me in the office. The young person who answered the rectory door said that it was "the woman who said she left all the notes."

46、 When I saw her I was shocked, since I immediately recognized her from church but had no idea that it was she who wrote the notes. She was sitting in a chair in the office with her hands folded in her lap. Her head was bowed and when she raised it to look at me, she could barely smile without pain.

47、Her face was disfigured, and the skin so tight from surgical procedures that smiling or laughing was very difficult for her. She had suffered terribly from treatment to remove the growths that had so marred her face.We chatted for a while that Sunday morning and agreed to meet for lunch later that w

48、eek.As it turned out we went to lunch several times, and she always wore a hat during the meal. I think that treatments of some sort had caused a lot of her hair to fall out. We shared things about our lives. I told her about my schooling and growing up. She told me that she had worked for years for

49、 an insurance company. She never mentioned family, and I did not ask.We spoke of authors we both had read, and it was easy to tell that books are a great love of hers.I have thought about her often over the years and how she struggled in a society that places an incredible premium on looks, class, w

50、ealth and all the other fineries of life. She suffered from a disfigurement that cannot be made to look attractive. I know that her condition hurt her deeply.Would her life have been different had she been pretty? Chances are it would have. And yet there were a sensitivity and a beauty to her that h

51、ad nothing to do with looks. She was one to be listened to, whose words were so easy to take to heart. Her words came from a wounded but loving heart, very much like all hearts, but she had more of a need to be aware of it, to live with it and learn from it. She possessed a fine-tuned sense of beaut

52、y. Her only fear in life was the loss of a friend.How long does it take most of us to reach that level of human growth, if we ever get there? We get so consumed and diminished, worrying about all the things that need improving, we can easily forget to cherish those things that last. Friendship, so r

53、are and so good, just needs our care-maybe even the simple gesture of writing a little note now and then, or the dropping of some beautiful words in a basket, in the hope that such beauty will be shared and taken to heart.The truth of her life was a desire to see beyond the surface for a glimpse of

54、what it is that matters. She found beauty and grace and they befriended her, and showed her what is real. 美丽人生她有着一种与外表无关的灵气和美丽。她的话语轻而易举地征服了人心，她正是我们要聆听的声音。很多人都说人生的真谛是个未知的概念。言词的费力诠释、艺术的着力表现还有人类那似乎永无休止的纷繁思考，三者都苦苦追寻人生的真谛。希望走近以至完全把握存在的真意可以令人十分狂热。有时候，有些人以自己笃信的真理为志趣，追寻真理甚于保全生命，于是就有舍生取义之举。然而，也有另外的一种人生，他们在寻求

55、真谛的过程中灌溉生命。过去，我常常在教堂的心意篮里面发现一些优美的小短文，有些是关于我的布道，有些是作者日常读圣经的感想。写这些短文的人不仅对我的一些观点加以反思，同时还会引用一些他/她曾经读过的，令他/她难忘又喜爱的诗人或者神秘主义者的话。我给这些短文迷住了。我看到了一个执着于追寻真与美的人。其珍而重之的字句，优美动人。我还感觉到好像那些字句也乐于让我们发现，它们是那么毫无保留地，慷慨地为这无名氏作者借用，而现在轮到这位无名氏来学习与人分享这些美文的奥秘。分享令美愈加闪耀生辉，在这个意义上说，其实世上唯一的真理是分毫不费的。过了很久我才见到这些短文的作者。一个星期天早上，我被告知有人正在办公

56、室等我。帮我应门的年轻人说“是个女人，说留言是她放的。”看见她的时候我大吃一惊，因为我马上就认出她是我的教区信徒，只是我一直不知道那些短文是她写的。她坐在办公室的一张椅子上，两手相扣搁在大腿上，低垂着头。在抬头看我的时候，她微笑起来却十分费劲。那是一张破了相的脸，外科手术使她的脸皮绷得紧紧的，笑对她来说也是很困难的。为了去除脸上碍眼的肉瘤她接受了手术治疗，这令她吃尽苦头。那个星期天早上我们聊了一会儿，并决定那个星期再找个时间一起吃顿午饭。后来我们不止吃了一顿午饭，而是好几顿。每次一起吃饭的时候她都戴着帽子。我想可能是她接受的某种治疗使她掉了不少头发。我们分享了各自生活中的点点滴滴。我跟她讲我读

57、书和成长的故事。她告诉我她在一家保险公司里已经工作多年了。她从来没有提过自己的家庭，我也没有问。我们还谈到大家都读过的作家作品，不难发现她非常喜欢看书。这些年我经常想起她，在这个以外表、地位和财富等虚名浮利挂帅的社会中她是怎样一路挺过来的呢？毁掉的容颜使她怎么也无法变得耀眼迷人。我知道这深深地刺痛着她。如果她长得漂亮，她的生命轨迹会不会有所不同呢？有可能。不过她有种独特的灵气和美，与外表完全无关。她的话轻而易举地征服了人心，她正是我们要聆听的声音。她的隽语出于一颗受过伤却充满爱的心，就像所有人的心一样，只不过她比别人更注重对自己心灵的关注、用心去体会生活并从中学习。她拥有一种细腻的美感。她生命

58、里唯一的恐惧就是失去朋友。我们究竟要花多长时间才能达到如此高度的成熟？能否最终达到还是个未知数呢。我们老觉得身心疲惫，怀才不遇，只顾为眼前的不足忧心忡忡，却忘了珍视一些历久常新的东西。友谊珍贵而美好，只需我们用心呵护，有时候简简单单的表示就已经足够了，譬如偶尔写几句话给朋友，或者在篮子里投入一些优美动人的字条，以期大家都能分享，记住美妙的时刻、美好的感觉。她生命的真谛就是要透过事物的表面一睹其真正的本质。她发现了美和上帝的慈爱，而美和慈爱也待她如友，把生命的真谛呈现给她。论爱情培根Of LoveThe stage is more beholding to love, than the life

59、 of man. For as to the stage, love is ever matter of comedies, and now and then of tragedies; but in life it does much mischief; sometimes like a siren, sometimes like a fury. You may observe, that amongst all the great and worthy persons (whereof the memory remaineth, either ancient or recent) there is not one, that hath been transported to the mad degree of love: which shows that gre