YES, IT WAS THE MOUNTAIN ECHO

YES, IT WAS THE MOUNTAIN ECHO
山的回音

William Wordsworth 威廉·华兹华斯

谢耀文 译

YES, it was the mountain Echo,
Solitary, clear, profound,
Answering to the shouting Cuckoo,
Giving to her sound for sound!
对了，这是山的回音，
孤独、清晰、深沉；
回答杜鹃的歌吟，
声对声，韵对韵。

Unsolicited reply
To a babbling wanderer sent;
Like her ordinary cry,
Like--but oh, how different!
是不索自来的答复，
掷给喋喋的漂泊者，
仿佛她寻常的啼呼，
同耶？异耶？——同中有大别！

Hears not also mortal Life?
Hear not we, unthinking Creatures!
Slaves of folly, love, or strife--
Voices of two different natures?
是否世间凡耳已细听分明？
浑浑噩噩的我们依然混沌。
溺于愚行、欲海以及纷争，
两种声音我们相杂不分？

Have not 'we' too?--yes, we have
Answers, and we know not whence;
Echoes from beyond the grave,
Recognised intelligence!
我们没得到回答？——不，
得到了，但不知来自何地；
啊是回声，来自远处的墓，
已得到确认的智慧信息！

Such rebounds our inward ear
Catches sometimes from afar--
Listen, ponder, hold them dear;
For of God,--of God they are.
从很遥远的地方，有时历历
回音落入我们心灵的耳朵，
谛听吧、沉思吧，永远珍惜；
那是天籁，天籁云间为我落。

Notes

Written at Town-end, Grasmere. The echo came from Nab-scar, when I was walking on the opposite side of Rydal Mere. I will here mention, for my dear Sister's sake, that, while she was sitting alone one day high up on this part of Loughrigg Fell, she was so affected by the voice of the Cuckoo heard from the crags at some distance that she could not suppress a wish to have a stone inscribed with her name among the rocks from which the sound proceeded. On my return from my walk I recited these verses to Mrs. Wordsworth.