英人之歌
(1893年)
【英】鲁迪亚德·吉卜林 著
威廉·熊良銋 译
命运真公平——啊,我们有优良传统!
(卑微的同胞们,欢乐时须怀敬畏之心!)
因为老天爷上帝至高无上,
他能使世界历尽沧桑,
他为我们劈开了通向海角天涯的途径!
虽然我们有罪,主子们伸张正义——
虽然我们丢尽脸玷污了衣襟。
啊,请不要沮丧,
虽然我们误入歧途,
我们被坏人牵引——天老爷会处分他们。
请坚守信条——天父为我们定下的信条;
不要意淫了——那是自作聪明过于陈旧。
除非报偿天老爷的恩典,
用孩子唯一的心和剑,
天老爷要求受奴役的孩子们三倍的付出。
遵守天道吧——要敏于绝对的服从——
要清扫大地的罪孽,疏通大道架设桥梁。
要坚信人人都有自我,
有耕播就有收获,
要以和平名义在子民中把侍奉天帝宣讲!
请来听歌——一支幕间插曲之歌——
一支小巧玲珑的歌,歌手默默无闻。
通过直白的言辞心意,
你能明白其中的真理,
那歌手知道并在海角天涯留下烙痕!
(注)地方佳美,见《旧约圣经·诗篇》第16章第7节:“用绳量给我的地界,坐落在佳美之处;我的产业实在美好。”
坚守信条,即坚信天帝,这信条是祖先给我们制定的。
三倍,如果你不这样全心全意侍奉上帝,你们的孩子就要受到三倍的惩罚。
遵守天道,遵守上帝的法律做好事,包括精神上的和物质上的。
敬畏上帝,尊敬国王,这个词语在《圣经》上多次出现,只是形式略有不同,尤其是在《新约圣经·彼得前书》第2章第17节里:“务要尊敬众人,亲爱教中的弟兄,敬畏神,尊敬君王。”
A Song of the English
1893
Written by Rudyard Kipling
Translated by William Xiong
Fair is our lot — O goodly is our heritage!
(Humble ye, my people, and be fearful in your mirth!)
For the Lord our God Most High
He hath made the deep as dry,
He hath smote for us a pathway to the ends of all the Earth!
Yea, though we sinned, and our rulers went from righteousness —
Deep in all dishonour though we stained our garments’ hem.
Oh, be ye not dismayed,
Though we stumbled and we strayed,
We were led by evil counsellors — the Lord shall deal with them.
Hold ye the Faith — the Faith our Fathers sealèd us;
Whoring not with visions — overwise and overstale.
Except ye pay the Lord
Single heart and single sword,
Of your children in their bondage shall He ask them treble-tale.
Keep ye the Law — be swift in all obedience —
Clear the land of evil, drive the road and bridge the ford.
Make ye sure to each his own
That he reap what he hath sown;
By the peace among Our peoples let men know we serve the Lord!
Hear now a song — a song of broken interludes —
A song of little cunning; of a singer nothing worth.
Through the naked words and mean
May ye see the truth between
As the singer knew and touched it in the ends of all the Earth!
Notes: Fair is our lot See Psalms 16,7: 'The Lot is fallen to me in a fair ground: yea I have a goodly heritage'.
Hold ye the Faith, hold on to your faith in the Lord, the faith that our forefathers bequeathed to us.
treble-tale, three fold. Unless you do so,serving the Lord single-mindedly, your children may suffer a triple punishment."
Keep ye the Law, Keep God’s Law: do good, both in spiritual and material things.
Fear God, Honour the King, which appears, in slightly differing forms, in a number of places in the Bible: in particular in 1 Peter 2, 17: 'Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the King.
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