(Untitled)➀
Wordsworth
When Philoctetes in the Lemnian isle
Like a form sculptured on a monument➁
Lay couched;on him or his dread bow unbent
Some wild Bird oft might settle and beguile➂
The rigid features of a transient smile,
Disperse the tear,or to the sigh give vent,
Slackening the pains of ruthless banishment
From his loved home,and from heroic toil➃.
And trust that spiritual Creatures round us move,
Griefs to allay which Reason cannot heal;
Yea,veriest reptiles have sufficed to prove
To fettered wretchedness,that no Bastile➄
Is deep enough to exclude the light of love,
Though man for brother man has ceased to feel.
➀华兹华斯认为:宇宙本来是一个和谐的整体,人类和各种生物都是造化之子,本来可以和睦共居,互相亲近。这首十四行诗,以困处荒岛的菲洛克忒忒斯和狱中的囚徒作例证,说明飞鸟和爬虫都对人类怀有亲切的同情;相反,倒是在人类内部,人与人之间的同情心已丧失殆尽。第1—13行都是正面铺陈,并引出一个哲理性的结论;末行陡然一转,冷峭中含有殷忧。
➁据希腊神话和荷马史诗,菲洛克忒忒斯原为墨利玻亚国王。他参加希腊人征讨特洛伊的战争,但在途径克律塞岛时被毒蛇咬伤,伤口经久不愈,化脓发臭,希腊人担心他留在军中会引起疫病,便把他遗弃在愣诺斯荒岛上。他在岛上独自苦熬了十年之久,后来又被希腊人接去参加特洛伊战争。
➂菲洛克忒忒斯百发百中的神弓是赫拉克勒斯临死时遗赠给他的。后来他用这张弓射死了特洛伊战争的祸首帕里斯。
➃“英雄的事业”,当系指特洛伊战争。
➄巴士底监狱,14至18世纪法国的国家监狱,位于巴黎,16世纪以后主要用于囚禁政治犯,是法国封建专制制度的象征。1789年7月14日巴黎人民起义,攻破巴士底监狱,从此开始了震撼全欧的法国大革命。
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