PROMETHEUS.
普罗米修斯
Byron 拜伦
I.
Titan! to whose immortal eyes
巨人！在你不朽的眼睛看来
The sufferings of mortality,
人寰所受的苦痛
Seen in their sad reality,
是种种可悲的实情，
Were not as things that gods despise;
并不该为诸神蔑视、不睬
What was thy pity's recompense?
但你的悲悯得到什么报酬？
A silent suffering, and intense;
是默默的痛楚，凝聚心头；
The rock, the vulture, and the chain,
是面对着岩石，饿鹰和枷锁，
All that the proud can feel of pain,
是骄傲的人才感到的痛苦；
The agony they do not show,
还有他不愿透露的心酸，
The suffocating sense of woe,
那郁积胸中的苦情一段，
Which speaks but in its loneliness,
它只能在孤寂时吐露，
And then is jealous lest the sky
而就在吐露时，也得提防万一
Should have a listener, nor will sigh
天上有谁听见，更不能叹息，
Until its voice is echoless.
除非它没有回音答复。
II.
Titan! to thee the strife was given
巨人呵！你被注定了要辗转
Between the suffering and the will,
在痛苦和你的意志之间，
Which torture where they cannot kill;
不能致死，却要历尽磨难；
And the inexorable Heaven,
而那木然无情的上天，
And the deaf tyranny of Fate,
那“命运”的耳聋的王座，
The ruling principle of Hate,
那至高的“憎恨”的原则
Which for its pleasure doth create
它为了游戏创造出一切，
The things it may annihilate,
然后又把造物一一毁灭
Refused thee even the boon to die:
甚至不给你死的幸福；
The wretched gift Eternity
“永恒”——这最不幸的天赋
Was thine—and thou hast borne it well.
是你的：而你却善于忍受
All that the Thunderer wrung from thee
司雷的大神逼出了你什么？
Was but the menace which flung back
除了你给他的一句诅咒：
On him the torments of thy rack;
你要报复被系身的折磨
The fate thou didst so well foresee,
你能够推知未来的命运，
But would not to appease him tell;
但却不肯说出求得和解；
And in thy Silence was his Sentence,
你的沉默成了他的判决，
And in his Soul a vain repentance,
他的灵魂正枉然地悔恨：
And evil dread so ill dissembled,
呵，他怎能掩饰那邪恶的惊悸，
That in his hand the lightnings trembled.
他手中的电闪一直在颤栗。
III.
Thy Godlike crime was to be kind,
你神圣的罪恶是怀有仁心，
To render with thy precepts less
你要以你的教训
The sum of human wretchedness,
减轻人间的不幸
And strengthen Man with his own mind;
并且振奋起人自立的精神；
But baffled as thou wert from high,
尽管上天和你蓄意为敌，
Still in thy patient energy,
但你那抗拒强暴的毅力，
In the endurance, and repulse
你那百折不挠的灵魂——
Of thine impenetrable Spirit,
天上和人间的暴风雨
Which Earth and Heaven could not convulse,
怎能摧毁你的果敢和坚忍！
A mighty lesson we inherit:
你给了我们有力的教训：
Thou art a symbol and a sign
你是一个标记，一个征象，
To Mortals of their fate and force;
标志着人的命运和力量；
Like thee, Man is in part divine,
和你相同，人也有神的一半，
A troubled stream from a pure source;
是浊流来自圣洁的源泉；
And Man in portions can foresee
人也能够一半儿预见
His own funereal destiny;
他自己的阴惨的归宿；
His wretchedness, and his resistance,
他那不幸，他的不肯屈服，
And his sad unallied existence:
和他那生存的孤立无援：
To which his Spirit may oppose
但这一切反而使他振奋，
Itself—an equal to all woes
逆境会唤起顽抗的精神 使他与灾难力敌相持，
And a firm will, and a deep sense,
坚定的意志，深刻的认识；
Which even in torture can descry
即使在痛苦中，他能看到
Its own concentered recompense,
其中也有它凝聚的酬报；
Triumphant where it dares defy,
他骄傲他敢于反抗到底，
And making Death a Victory.
呵，他会把死亡变为胜利。
（诗人穆旦所译，不爱此译本，尤其第三部分，私以为译成了鸡汤，不过手上暂无其他，就不乱强奸诗人了~）
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