盡管我年輕無辯
整首詩是一種‘虛擬’理念的對比思考,沒有具體的情景。比喻的事物也以抽象概念和事物的一般類別居多,比如熱,冷,生,死,人心,箭頭,感覺(TOUCH),斷壁殘垣,閃電浪潮,墳墓等。這種思辯性的理念詩歌,在中文中是幾乎不見的。湯顯祖《牡丹亭題詞》中有:“情不知所起,一往而深,生者可以死,死可以生。生而不可死,死而不可變生者,皆非情之至也。”似乎比較類似生死的思考。但這仍舊是一種模糊性的感性思維,而不是理性的思辯。
本·瓊生(1573 - 1637)英國抒情詩人與劇作家。他的詩純樸,富有旋律般的美。抒情詩《致西麗婭》被譜成歌曲,為廣大群眾所喜愛。瓊生也是文藝復興時期最有成就的劇作家之一。他的劇本《伏爾蓬》、《煉金術士》,將諷刺喜劇發展到很高的水平,對莎士比亞以及后來王政復辟時期的劇作家均有教大影響。
Though I am Young and Cannot Tell
Ben Jonson
Though I am young, and cannot tell
Either what death or love is well,
Yet I have heard they both bear darts,
And both do aim at human hearts.
And then again, I have been told
Love wounds with heat, as Death with cold;
So that I fear they do but bring
Extremes to touch, and mean one thing.
As in a ruin we it call
One thing to be blown up, or fall;
Or to our end like way may have
By a flash of lightning, or a wave;
So love’s inflamed shaft or brand
May kill as soon as Death’s cold hand;
Except Love’s fires the virtue have
To fright the frost out of the grave.
如我之年青,無法細辨,
死亡的本意和愛的真諦,
嘗聞二者皆帶箭頭,
雙雙的目標是人的心臟。
復又聽說,各有德性,
愛傷于火,死傷于冰;
我似恍然有所覺悟,
感受的極端結果卻一途。
恰如斷壁殘垣,
或灰飛或塌坍;
又好比我之消亡,
似潮退又似閃電;
因知愛之燃燒的箭桿,
亡我之速有如死神冰冷的魔手;
惟有愛火的熾熱尚存,
驚散墳墓中寒氣逼人的霜霧。