《詩歌外編》
XI
第十一首
上帝的土地
God’s Acre
英國 A. E. 豪斯曼原著
Alfred Edward Housman (1859 – 1936)
徐家禎翻譯
Morning up the eastern stair
Marches, azuring the air,
And the foot of twilight still
Is stolen toward the western sill.
Blithe the maids go milking, blithe
Men in hayfields stone the scythe,
All the land’s alive around
Except the churchyard’s idle ground.
— There’s empty acres west and east
But aye ’tis God’s that bears the least:
This hopeless garden that they sow
With the seeds that never grow.
— They shall have breath that never were,
But he that was shall have it ne’er;
The unconceived and unbegot
Shall look on heaven, but he shall not.
— The heart with many wildfires lit,
Ice is not so cold as it.
The thirst that rivers could not lay
A little dust has quenched for aye;
And in a fathom’s compass lie
Thoughts much wider than the sky.
早晨往東方的階梯上行進，
天空蔚藍而明淨，
晨曦的餘光偷偷地
朝著西方的岩脊消隱。
活潑的姑娘去擠牛奶，
愉快的男子在草場上將鐮刀磨整，
四周的田野生氣蓬勃，
隻有教堂的院子死氣沉沉。
—— 四麵八方都能找到荒蕪之地，
但永遠都是上帝的土地最少收獲:
他們在無望的園子裏
播撒的種子永不成活。
—— 那些應該呼吸的從來沒有呼吸過，
他以前呼吸過，卻再也不會呼吸;
那些沒有懷胎的，沒有出生的，
會觀望天堂，而他卻不會如此。
—— 曾經燃燒過無數野火的心，
現在已經冷得比冰雪更可怕。
以前連河流都無法平息的幹渴，
現在一粒灰塵就能永遠打垮;
囿於六呎深地域中的思想，
曾經比天空更遼闊廣大。
二 0 二二年六月二日
譯於澳大利亞刻來佛寺愛閑堂
* 這首詩，是《詩歌外編》中的第 11 首。
這首詩的題目直譯是“上帝的土地”，實際上指的是“教堂的墓地”。這首詩有幾 個不同的版本，內容一樣，但分行不一致:有的是全詩僅一節;有的分成前後兩部分， 以第二個破折號為分界線;有的不但分成兩部分，而且還把後麵一部分當成獨立的一 首詩，編號為“11A”;有的有題目，有的則無題。我覺得還是把沒有破折號的八句當作 第一節，後麵每個破折號作為一節，從內容上說更加整齊劃一。
這首詩的內容可能與《聖經》中的一個關於播種的比喻有關:
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop— a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:1-23)
當那一天，耶穌從房子裏出來，坐在海邊。有許多人到 他那裏聚集，他隻得上船坐下，眾人都站在岸上。他用比喻對他 們講許多道理，說:“有一個撒種的出去撒種;撒的時候，有落 在路旁的，飛鳥來吃盡了;有落在土淺石頭地上的，土既不深， 發苗最快，日頭出來一曬，因為沒有根，就枯幹了;有落在荊棘 裏的，荊棘長起來，把他擠住了;又有落在好土裏的，就結實， 有一百倍的，有六十倍的，有三十倍的。有耳可聽的，就應當 聽!”
門徒進前來，問耶穌說:“對眾人講話，為什麽用比喻 呢?”
耶穌回答說:“因為天國的奧秘隻叫你們知道，不叫他們 知道。凡有的，還要加給他，叫他有餘;凡沒有的，連他所有的， 也要奪去。所以我用比喻對他們講，是因他們看也看不見，聽也聽不見，也不明白。在他們身上，正應了以賽亞的預言，說:你 們聽是要聽見，卻不明白;看是要看見，卻不曉得;因為這百姓 油蒙了心，耳朵發沉，眼睛閉著，恐怕眼睛看見，耳朵聽見，心 裏明白，回轉過來，我就醫治他們。
“但你們的眼睛是有福的，因為看見了;你們的耳朵也是 有福的，因為聽見了。我實在告訴你們，從前有許多先知和義人 要看你們所看的，卻沒有看見，要聽你們所聽的，卻沒有聽見。
“所以，你們當聽這撒種的比喻。凡聽見天國道理不明白 的，那惡者就來，把所撒在他心裏的奪了去;這就是撒在路旁的 了。撒在石頭地上的，就是人聽了道，當下歡喜領受，隻因心裏 沒有根，不過是暫時的，及至為道遭了患難，或是受了逼迫，立 刻就跌倒了。撒在荊棘裏的，就是人聽了道，後來有世上的思慮、 錢財的迷惑把道擠住了，不能結實。撒在好地上的，就是人聽道 明白了，後來結實，有一百倍的，有六十倍的，有三十倍的。” (馬太福音 13:1-23)
但是，諷刺的是，《聖經》裏說的播種，雖然有的種子因為掉在不易生長的地 裏，種子無法成活，但是，至少還有一部分掉在沃土裏的種子仍能成長壯大。而在上 帝自己的土地裏的種子，卻“永不成活”。這是因為在墓園裏，“種”下去的是“死人”!
詩的一開頭，描寫了一個晴朗高爽的早晨。詩人用擬人手法寫了早晨的到來和 晨曦的離去。人世間的生活正在生氣勃勃地開始，而教堂裏，卻死氣沉沉。這是因為 “在無望的園子裏，播撒的種子永不成活”。教堂裏埋的是死人，當然，對他們來說是 “無望”的，所以詩人把墓園叫作“無望的園子”。
詩人不相信有天堂，所以，在詩的第三節，他說:“那些沒有懷胎的，沒有出生 的，會觀望天堂，而他不會如此。” “他”，指的是死者。
最後一段六個詩句，每兩句是一組對比，比較人生前和死後的不同:生前“曾經 燃燒過無數野火的心，現在已經冷得比冰雪更可怕”;“以前連河流都無法平息的幹渴， 現在一粒灰塵就能永遠打垮”(這裏的“幹渴”可能指對知識的渴望);以前曾有過“比 天空更遼闊廣大”的思想，現在卻局限在“六呎深的地域中”了。在英國，墓穴一般就挖 六英尺深，所以“六呎深的地域”就是指一個墓穴。。
原詩共 22 句，譯詩分成四節，每節雙句押一韻。
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