LESSON 18 THE FESTAL BOARD 節日聚會

1.Come to the festal^[1] board tonight,

For bright-eyed beauty will be there,

Her coral lips in nectar steeped,

And garlanded^[2] her hair.

2.Come to the festal board tonight,

For there the joyous laugh of youth

Will ring those silvery peals, which speak

Of bosom pure and stainless truth.

3.Come to the festal board tonight,

For friendship, there, with stronger chain,

Devoted^[3] hearts already bound

For good or ill, will bind again.

I went.

4.Nature and art their stores outpoured;

Joy beamed in every kindling glance;

Love, friendship, youth, and beauty smiled;

What could that evening’s bliss enhance^[4]?

We parted.

5.And years have fl own; but where are now

The guests who round that table met?

Rises their sun as gloriously

As on the banquet’s eve it set?

6.How holds the chain which friendship wove?

It broke; and soon the hearts it bound

Were widely sundered^[5]; and for peace,

Envy and strife and blood were found.

7.The merriest laugh which then was heard

Has changed its tones to maniac screams,

As half-quenched memory kindles up

Glimmerings^[6] of guilt in feverish dreams.

8.And where is she whose diamond eyes

Golconda’s^[7] purest gems outshone?

Whose roseate^[8] lips of Eden breathed?

Say, where is she, the beauteous one?

9.Beneath yon willow’s drooping shade,

With eyes now dim, and lips all pale,

She sleeps in peace.Read on her urn,

“A broken heart.” This tells her tale.

10.And where is he, that tower of strength,

Whose fate with hers for life was joined?

How beats his heart, once honor’s throne?

How high has soared his daring mind?

11.Go to the dungeon’s gloom tonight;

His wasted form, his aching head,

And all that now remains of him,

Lies, shuddering, on a felon’s^[9] bed.

12.Ask you of all these woes the cause?

The festal board, the enticing^[10] bowl,

More often came, and reason fl ed,

And maddened passions spurned^[11] control.

13.Learn wisdom, then.The frequent feast

Avoid; for there, with stealthy tread

Temptation walks, to lure^[12] you on,

Till death, at last, the banquet spread.

14.And shun, oh shun, the enchanted^[13] cup!

Though now its draught like joy appears, Ere long it will be fanned by sighs,

And sadly mixed with blood and tears.

【中文閱讀】

1.快來，快來參加今晚歡樂的聚會！

那個明眸善睞的美麗姑娘要來，

她珊瑚色的嘴唇像浸泡過花蜜一樣甘甜，

秀發上裝點著嬌嫩的花環。

2.快來，快來參加今晚歡樂的聚會！

在那里，年輕人歡快的笑聲，

應和著銀鈴般的樂曲，訴說著

他們純凈無邪的內心。

3.快來，快來參加今晚歡樂的聚會！

舞會讓友誼變得更加牢固，

無論未來怎樣，心意相連的朋友們，

相約以后同甘苦，共患難。

于是，我去了。

4.到處都彌漫著美與自然，

歡樂寫在每個人熱情洋溢的笑臉上。

愛情、友誼、年輕與美貌競相綻放，

還有什么，能讓這個夜晚更幸福美滿？

舞會結束，我離開了。

5.歲月如梭，那些在舞會上

觥籌交錯的人兒啊，身在何方？

他們生命中的陽光，

可曾像宴會那天一樣燦爛？

6.該如何握緊曾經的友誼紐帶？

它斷開了。曾經相連的心，

也漸行漸遠。漸漸地，

嫉妒、紛爭和沖突接踵而來。

7.曾經甜美的歡笑聲，

變成無可遏止的瘋狂尖叫。

漸漸模糊的回憶，重新燃起

對往日狂熱夢想的自責感。

8.那個目若秋水的少女，身在何方？

她的眼眸，曾勝過寶山最純凈的鉆石；

她的芳唇，曾比伊甸園里的玫瑰更鮮嫩。

她在哪兒，這個美麗的姑娘？

9.她在遠處那株低垂的柳樹蔭下，

眼神黯淡，嘴唇無光，

靜靜地安息著。她的碑文上寫著，

“這里，埋藏著一顆破碎的心。”

10.他又去了哪里，那個像鐵塔般壯實的男子，

那個曾與她命運相連的男人？

他的心，曾在榮耀的寶座上棲息，

他能爬得多高，帶著他的勃勃野心？

11.去吧，去地牢里看看。

看他枯瘦的身形，低垂的頭，

看他簌簌發抖地，

躺在屬于囚犯的床上。

12.你問，他們為什么陷入這悲哀境況？

哦，正是那些歡樂的聚會，杯盞盡歡，

放縱的欲望，失控的理智，

無法遏制的激情讓一切變得瘋狂。

13.傾聽智慧吧，朋友。用堅定的步伐，

避開那些頻繁的盛宴。

誘惑會向你走來，引誘你，

夜夜笙歌，直到你的死亡。

14.放下，放下那些帶著魔法的酒杯！

盡管現在，喝干它令你無比歡暢，

但是，嘆息很快便會隨它而來，

夾雜著悲哀的鮮血和淚水。

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【注釋】

[1] Festal, mirthful, joyous.

[2] Garlanded, adorned with wreaths of f lowers.

[3] Devoted, solemnly set apart.

[4] Enhance, increase.

[5] Sundered, separated.

[6] Glimmerings, faint views, glimpses.

[7] Golconda, is an ancient city and fortress of India, formerly renowned for its diamonds.They were merely cut and polished there, however, being generally brought from Parteall, a city farther south.

[8] Roseate, blooming, rosy.

[9] Felon, a public criminal.

[10] Enticing, attracting to evil.

[11] Spurned, rejected with disdain.

[12] Lure, to attract, to entice.

[13] Enchanted, af fected with enchantment, bewitched.