雙語(yǔ) ● The Thread of Permanence　永恒之脈

The Thread of Permanence　永恒之脈

◎ William Zorach

It is strange how certain things make a great impression on us in childhood. I remember these verses by Longfellow:

奇怪的是，童年的某些事情總會(huì)給我們留下深刻的印象。我記得朗費(fèi)羅的一首詩(shī)：

“Life is real! Life is earnest!

“真實(shí)又真誠(chéng)的生活?。?

And the grave is not its goal;

最終的歸宿絕不會(huì)是墳?zāi)梗?

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

你本是塵土，必將回歸塵土，

Was not spoken of the soul.”

這并非指你的靈魂?！?

And again:

詩(shī)中還說(shuō)：

“Lives of great men all remind us

“偉人的一生提醒我們

We can make our lives sublime,

我們能讓生活變得高尚，

And departing, leave behind us

并在逝去的時(shí)候

Footprints on the sands of time.”

在時(shí)間的沙灘上留下腳印?！?

Of course, my generation was much more sentimental than today’s youth but whether this was great poetry, it communicated in simple language a message, and made a lasting impression on a small boy.

當(dāng)然，我們這代人遠(yuǎn)比現(xiàn)在的年輕一代來(lái)得多愁善感。但不管這首詩(shī)是不是上乘之作，它都用簡(jiǎn)樸的語(yǔ)言傳遞一個(gè)道理，在一個(gè)小男孩的腦海中留下不可磨滅的印象。

When I was fifteen I had an imaginary guardian angel and when I went to the country to sketch on Sundays, I asked for guidance, praying that someday I would be a fine artist and paint nature as beautiful as she really is. What this little ceremony brought me was faith in the world and a belief in myself.

我15歲時(shí)，心中住著一位守護(hù)天使。每當(dāng)周日去鄉(xiāng)間寫生時(shí)，她就成了我的向?qū)?。我祈禱自己有朝一日能成為一個(gè)偉大的藝術(shù)家，畫出真正的自然美景。這些祈禱讓我更加堅(jiān)信世界、堅(jiān)信自己。

My faiths and beliefs have been badly strained. The Atomic Age has caught us in a web of fear. Our lives seem so impermanent and uncertain. There is such a waste of human potential, of things worth while in people which never find expression. I sometimes think it’s a miracle that anything survives. Yet I believe that a thread of permanence runs through everything from the beginning of time, and the most valuable residue will survive.

我的信仰和信心正面臨著挑戰(zhàn)。原子時(shí)代讓我們陷入一陣恐慌。我們的生活變得無(wú)常、多變。人類的潛力、人性的閃光點(diǎn)找不到施展的舞臺(tái)，只能白白浪費(fèi)。我有時(shí)想，世間萬(wàn)物能夠存在簡(jiǎn)直就是一種奇跡。然而，我堅(jiān)信永恒之脈貫穿世間萬(wàn)物，最寶貴的遺產(chǎn)將會(huì)永存。

I believe everybody has an urge to somehow spin his own life into a thread of permanence. It is the impulse of life. Some would call it the drive to immortality. Whatever it is, I think it is good because it gives purpose to existence. But purpose is not enough. Artists are supposed to be notoriously impractical, but for myself, I found I had to make decisions and plans if I were to try to create anything. I realized that I must approach life not only with a sensitivity, a perception of beauty, but with a feeling of humility and reverence.

我相信，每個(gè)人都渴望匯入這個(gè)永恒之脈。這是生活的沖動(dòng)。有些人稱之為生命的動(dòng)力。不管它是什么，我相信它是一種積極向上的東西，它讓我們有了生存的目的。可只有目的是不夠的。藝術(shù)家總被認(rèn)為是不切實(shí)際的。但是對(duì)我而言，任何藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作都是誕生在我的決定和安排之后。我意識(shí)到，在生活面前，光有敏感和對(duì)美好事物的感知是遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠的，還需要一顆謙卑的心。

My creed as an artist is to love life and liberty and the world of people. A man who works and loves his work is often a man dreaming, and the spirit of his dreams will find forms and symbols to express that dream. It is a wonderful feeling to create something. But today, I think there is a lack of power of communication. If people, not just artists, but all kinds of people, could only open their hearts and express their sorrow, their happiness, their fears and hopes, they would discover they had an identity with the main stream of life which they never saw before.

作為一名藝術(shù)家，我的宗旨是：愛生活、愛自由、愛世人。一個(gè)懂得干一行愛一行的人通常都是有夢(mèng)想的人，而他的夢(mèng)想也會(huì)通過(guò)一種形式和符號(hào)表達(dá)出來(lái)。創(chuàng)作是一種美妙絕倫的經(jīng)歷。可我認(rèn)為，如今缺少的是一種溝通的能力。如果所有人，而不僅僅是藝術(shù)家，都愿意敞開心扉訴說(shuō)各自的傷悲、幸福、眼淚和希望，就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己已然匯入生活這條大河，這是他們以前從未見過(guò)的。

Sometimes fear and cynicism so grip our minds that we lose heart. Then I try to remember how the great artists of the ages had the power of expressiveness. Theirs was the power to communicate, to exalt, to move the observer to joy or tears, to strike terror and awe in the hearts of men; not just to decorate or merely entertain.

偶爾的恐懼和嘲諷也會(huì)讓人失去信心。那么，我會(huì)拼命回想古往今來(lái)那些偉大的藝術(shù)家是如何擁有非凡的表現(xiàn)力。他們的表現(xiàn)力能與人溝通，催人奮進(jìn)，是一股讓旁聽者或喜或悲、或怕或敬的力量，而不只是一種擺設(shè)和消遣。

If we can expand the boundaries of men’s thoughts and beliefs, we will discover we all have creative possibilities—talents to make ourselves real identities as individuals, with a hold on the thread of immortality. If we can awaken ourselves to it, I am convinced we shall find that this is an alive and exciting age of adventure and experimentation from which a new beauty and a finer world will emerge.

如果我們能擴(kuò)大視野、拓寬思路，我們會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)每個(gè)人都有創(chuàng)作的天分。它賦予了每個(gè)生命不同的個(gè)性。它讓每個(gè)人在永恒之脈上占有一席之地。如果我們喚醒心中的它，我敢肯定我們將生活在一個(gè)活力四射、驚險(xiǎn)刺激而又充滿革新精神的時(shí)代里。它將引領(lǐng)我們走向更美好的世界。

超多雙語(yǔ)閱讀，盡在聽力課堂