LESSON 26 ABOU BEN ADHEM 阿博·本·艾德漢

James Henry Leigh Hunt (b.1784, d.1859) was the son of a West Indian, who married an American lady, and practiced law in Philadelphia until the Revolution; being a Tory, he then returned to England, where Leigh Hunt was born.The latter wrote many verses while yet a boy, and in 1801 his father published a collection of them, entitled “Juvenilia.” For many years he was connected with various newspapers, and, while editor of the “Examiner,” was imprisoned for two years for writing disrespectfully of the prince regent.While in prison he was visited frequently by the poets Byron, Moore, Lamb, Shelley, and Keats; and there wrote “The Feast of the Poets,” “The Descent of Liberty, a Mask,” and “The Story of Rimini,” which immediately gave him a reputation as a poet.His writings include various translations, dramas, novels, collections of essays, and poems.

1.ABOU BEN ADHEM (may his tribe increase!)

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,

And saw within the moonlight in his room,

Making it rich and like a lily in bloom,

An angel writing in a book of gold.

2.Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold;

And to the presence in the room he said,

“What writest thou?” The vision raised its head,

And, with a look made of all sweet accord,

Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.”

3.“And is mine one?” said Abou.“Nay, not so,”

Replied the angel.Abou spoke more low,

But cheerly still; and said, “I pray thee, then,

Write me as one that loves his fellow-men.”

4.The angel wrote, and vanished.The next night

It came again, with a great wakening light,

And showed the names whom love of God had blessed;

And, lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.

NOTE.—The above selection is written in imitation of an oriental fable.

【中文閱讀】

詹姆斯·亨利·李·亨特（1784—1859）是一個西部印第安人的兒子。他的父親娶了一名美國女子，并在費城以律師身份執業，直到美國獨立戰爭爆發。由于父親是一名保皇派，因此他返回英國，不久，兒子李·亨特便呱呱墜地。孩童時期，李·亨特就已經寫有大量散文。1801，他父親出版了一本題為《少年讀物》的父子合集。多年來，李·亨特與許多報紙的編輯交往密切。在擔任《檢查者》編輯期間，亨特曾因發表了對攝政王不敬的文章而入獄兩年。關押期間，詩人拜倫、摩爾、蘭姆、雪萊和濟慈經常到監獄里拜訪他。在監獄里，他完成了《詩人的盛宴》、《自由的墮落——面具》和《利米尼的故事》，這些作品迅速奠定了他的詩壇地位。李·亨特寫作題材廣泛，包括各種翻譯、戲劇、小說、散文集以及詩歌。

1.阿博·本·艾德漢（祝愿他的部落壯大！）

深夜，從深沉香甜的夢中醒來。

屋里，月光如水，

皎潔如銀，宛若百合盛開，

有位天使，在金燦燦的書上撰寫。

2.祥云環繞，四周靜寂無聲，

他不免打消怯意，上前問道，

“你在寫什么？”幻影抬頭，

聲音柔和，巧笑嫣然：

“我在抄寫，信奉上帝者的名字。”

3.“這里面有我嗎？”阿博問。“不，沒有。”

天使回答道。阿博語調有些凄然，

但仍舊欣然說道：“那，請求你，

把我記成，熱愛同胞的人吧。”

4.天使寫畢隱去。翌日夜晚，

再次降臨，帶來恢弘光明，

照亮那些上帝賜予愛意的名字：

瞧，本·艾德漢的名字熠熠生輝！