CD11  以下務必閱讀藍字

可怜的梭罗——读《瓦尔登湖》翻译(144)

  Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails.  Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry,—determined to make a day of it. Why should we knock under and go with the stream? Let us not be upset and overwhelmed in that terrible rapid and whirlpool called a dinner, situated in the meridian shallows. Weather this danger and you are safe, for the rest of the way is down hill. With unrelaxed nerves, with morning vigor, sail by it, looking another way, tied to the mast like Ulysses. If the engine whistles, let it whistle till it is hoarse for its pains. If the bell rings, why should we run? We will consider what kind of music they are like. Let us settle ourselves, and work and wedge our feet downward through the mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance, that alluvion which covers the globe, through Paris and London, through New York and Boston and Concord, through church and state, through poetry and philosophy and religion, till we come to a hard bottom and rocks in place, which we can call reality, and say,This is, and no mistake; and then begin, having a point d’appui,  below freshet and frost and ?re, a place where you might found a wall or a state, or set a lamp-post safely, or perhaps a gauge, not a Nilometer,  but a Realometer, that future ages might know how deep a freshet of shams and appearances had gathered from time to time. If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact, you will see the sun glimmer on both its surfaces, as if it were a cimeter, and feel its sweet edge dividing you through the heart and marrow, and so you will happily conclude your mortal career. Be it life or death, we crave only reality. If we are really dying, let us hear the rattle in our throats and feel cold in the extremities; if we are alive, let us go about our business. 

(徐迟译)我们如大自然一般自然地过一天吧,不要因硬壳果或掉在轨道上的蚊虫的一只翅膀而出了轨。让我们黎明即起,不用或用早餐,平静而又无不安之感;任人去人来,让钟去敲,孩子去哭,——下个决心,好好地过一天。为什么我们要投降,甚至于随波逐流呢?让我们不要卷入在子午线浅滩上的所谓午宴之类的可怕急流与旋涡,而惊惶失措。熬过了这种危险,你就平安了,以后是下山的路了。神经不要松弛,利用那黎明似的魄力,向另一个方向航行,像尤利西斯那样拴在桅杆上过活。如果汽笛啸叫了,让它叫得沙哑吧。如果钟打响了,为什么我们要奔跑呢?我们还要研究它算什么音乐?让我们定下心来工作,并用我们的脚跋涉在那些污泥似的意见、偏见、传统、谬见与表面中间,这蒙蔽全地球的淤土啊,让我们越过巴黎、伦敦、纽约、波士顿、康科德,教会与国家,诗歌,哲学与宗教,直到我们达到一个坚硬的底层,在那里的岩盘上,我们称之为现实,然后说,这就是了,不错的了,然后你可以在这个point d'appui 之上,在洪水、冰霜和火焰下面,开始在这地方建立一道城墙或一个国土,也许能安全地立起一个灯柱,或一个测量仪器,不是尼罗河水测量器了,而是测量现实的仪器,让未来的时代能知道,谎骗与虚有其表曾洪水似的积了又积,积得多么深哪。如果你直立而面对着事实,你就会看到太阳闪耀在它的两面,它好像一柄东方的短弯刀,你能感到它的甘美的锋镝正剖开你的心和骨髓,你也欢乐地愿意结束你的人间事业了。生也好,死也好,我们仅仅追求现实。如果我们真要死了,让我们听到我们喉咙中的咯咯声,感到四肢上的寒冷好了;如果我们活着,让我们干我们的事务。

1、Let us rise early and fast, or break fast… 恐怕这里的“or break fast”又梭罗的一个双关谐语。把“breakfast”分开,使fast照应前面的rise fast,而break又有了打破斋戒,或day break的破晓之义。

徐译“不用或用早餐”——“用”与“不用”,先生是如何看出的呢?戴译“早餐与否别太在意”——大约在徐译的基础之上又引申一步,只是何以把“breakfast”拆成“break fast”就有了“早餐与否”以及“别太在意”的含义了呢?两译法都让人丈二和尚摸不着头。双关的翻译常常唤起对译者的同情之心。看不出坑的,径直“扑通”;看出来的,或束手无策,或举手投降;不投降的,挣扎突围,其状苦不堪言。

2、let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry有“听任事情发生而保持从容”之义。

徐译“让钟去敲,孩子去哭”,好像钟能发出敲的动作似的,改为“让钟去响”就好了。

戴译“任他人来来往往,让晨钟敲响,让孩子们娇啼吧”。成语“来来往往”有多次,或有人多而繁忙之义,而原文是说“来就来,走就走,不要过分关注”。“cry”有啼哭之义,可“娇”字何处来?

3、that terrible rapid and whirlpool called a dinner, situated in the meridian shallows. “meridian”是说“正午”的,与前面的“晨起”“早餐”一样,都是“好好过一天”里的时间,译“子午线”地理术语味浓,却没必要。“shallows”是“浅滩”“浅水”,相对于前面的“激流”“漩涡”而言。处激流或被冲倒,处浅滩就无此危险了。“in the meridian shallows”仍是在水中,不是在“水边”。

4、sail by it, looking another way是说船驶过危险时,脸转向相反方向,但并不是说“向另一个方向航行(徐译)”“向着另一个方向,乘风破浪前行(戴译)”,那样是遇险退却。上一句刚说过:渡过这个危险,你就安全了,因为其它的路都是轻松的下坡了。

为什么要“looking another way”,可能是避免诱惑。《奥德修斯航海记》上说驶过塞壬岛时,岛上女妖以美妙歌喉诱惑航海的人。若要驶过危险而不为女妖歌声诱惑,“当你经过塞壬女仙居住的海岛时,女仙们会用歌声引诱你们,你必须用蜡把朋友们的耳朵塞起来,不让他们听到歌声。如果你自己想听听她们的歌声,你就叫朋友们先把你的手脚捆住,绑在桅杆上。你越是请求他们放下,他们就得把你捆得越紧。”

5、If the engine whistles, let it whistle till it is hoarse for its pains. 是说“就让它叫,一直叫到它嘶哑吧”。徐译“如果汽笛啸叫了,让它叫得沙哑吧。”是让它如何叫,没有译出“till”来。 

6、If the bell rings, why should we run? We will consider what kind of music they are like. 上文里梭罗说,教堂的钟声敲响发出火警,人们就都放下手中的活,向教堂奔跑。这段谈到从容地生活,梭罗说,我们为什么要听到钟声就奔跑呢?我们可以听着钟声想想它是什么音乐。

7、Let us settle ourselves, and work and wedge our feet downward through the mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance, that alluvion which covers the globe… 

“settle ourselves”是让我们静下心来,全身心地做,不是“安顿好自己(戴译)”。

接下来的“work”也不是“工作”,而是“work our feet downward…”即努力地把脚向下楔入淤土,穿透土层,达到底层坚硬的“reality”。

“wedge our feet”译为“跋涉(徐译)”“涉足(戴译)”都没有译出“wedge(楔入)”的含义来。更何况后面紧跟着“through”一词,强调“穿透”,再向后还有“till we come to”。“work and wedge our feet downward through…, till…”把脚用力向下踏,穿过淤泥,一直踏到“真实”这块坚硬的岩石。

“that alluvion which covers the globe”是说“舆论、偏见、传统、迷惑、表象的泥泞污淖到处都是,覆盖了整个世界。”

8、or perhaps a gauge, not a Nilometer,  but a Realometer, that future ages might know how deep a freshet of shams and appearances had gathered from time to time.

“Nilometer”一词的双关如何译?Jeffrey Cramer的注释里说:Instrument used in ancient Egypt to record the rise of the Nile River so cities could bewarned of flooding, but with a pun on ‘‘nil’’ meaning ‘‘nothing.’’ 名虽为“尼罗(水位)测量仪”,却因“nil(零)”让梭罗想到“Realometer(真实测量仪)”。

戴译“而是以此来测量现实,那一次次陡涨的欺骗与假相的滔滔洪水,是多么深不可测啊!”没有译出“future ages might know”“had gathered”来,而“陡涨”“是多么深不可测啊”是增加上的。句子的大意是:有了这个真实测量仪,可以测量出人们的虚假程度,让后人看看,让他们知道虚假的洪水曾泛滥多深。

9、if we are alive, let us go about our business. 梭罗说,濒死之时听喉咙里的声音,感觉四肢的寒冷,也是说要从容地面对。如果活着,就让我们从容地去做自己该做的事吧。戴译“如果我们暂且活着,就让我们干自己的营生吧。”其中“干”“营生”用词显得庄重不足,不似梭罗口吻。

(戴欢译)让我们如大自然一样自然而然地过上一天吧,别因坚果壳和掉在铁轨上的蚊虫翅膀而脱离轨道。让我们天刚破晓即起身吧,早餐与否别太在意,但求身心从容无忧;任他人来来往往,让晨钟敲响,让孩子们娇啼吧——下定决心,我们要去过好每一天。我们为什么要屈从,而去随波逐流呢?当我们身处子午线的浅水边,所谓午餐的可怕的急流与漩涡要将我们倾覆之时,千万别惊慌失措。经受住了这种危难险境,你就一路平安,前面就是下山的路了。思想可别松懈,以那破晓的气魄,向着另一个方向,乘风破浪前行,像那被同伴紧绑在桅杆上的尤利西斯一样。假如汽笛长鸣了,让它尽情鸣叫,直到声音嘶哑吧!如果警钟敲响,我为何还要奔跑?我们倒要将它当作音乐倾听。

但我们安顿好自己,好好工作吧!让我们涉足于舆论、偏见、传统、迷惑与表象的淤泥之中,这淤积于全球的污泥啊,穿行过巴黎、伦敦、纽约、波士顿、康科德,穿行过教堂与国家,穿行过诗歌、哲学与宗教,直至我们抵达一个坚硬的岩层——我们称之为现实,便说,现实就在这里,准确无误的;然后,由于得到了这个支撑点,我们便在洪水、冰霜、烈火之下,开始在此地建造一道城墙或者一个国家,或是牢靠地树立一根灯杆,立起一架测量仪,不是用来测量尼罗河水,而是以此来测量现实,那一次次陡涨的欺骗与假相的滔滔洪水,是多么深不可测啊!如果你挺胸直立,面对着真相,你会注视到,阳光在它的两面熠熠闪耀,它仿佛一柄阿拉伯的弯刀,你能感受到他甘甜的利刃正划开你的心与骨髓,这样你可快乐地终结你的人间经历了。或生或死,我们渴望着的只是真实。假如我们真在渐渐死去,让我们去聆听自己喉咙发出的咕哝声,感到寒冷在四肢漫延好了;如果我们暂且活着,就让我们干自己的营生吧

資料來源: http://stph.com.cn/mybbs/Announce/Announce.asp?BoardID=10&ID=272504&q=3&r=133671

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