57
Indignation of a High-minded Spaniard➀
We can endure that He should waste our lands,
Despoil our temples,and by sword and flame
Return us to the dust from which we came;
Such food a Tyrant’s appetite demands;
And we can brook the thought that by his hands
Spain may be overpowered,and he possess,
For his delight,a solemn wilderness
Where all the brave lie dead. But,when of bands
Which he will break for us he dares to speak,
Of benefits,and of a future day
When our enlightened minds shall bless his sway➁;
Then,the strained heart of fortitude proves weak;
Our groans,our blushes,our pale cheeks declare
That he has power to inflict what we lack strength to bear.
➀拿破仑于1808年大举进犯西班牙。本诗中的“他”都指拿破仑,“我们”是西班牙人自称。
➁像历史上许多侵略者一样,拿破仑每当侵略别国时,总要大吹大擂,把自己说成是该国人民的解放者和救星。
|