四个四重奏:第15期 东科克(7)
O dark dark dark. They all go into the dark
啊 黑暗 黑暗 黑暗。他们都走进了黑暗，
The vast interstellar spaces, the vacant into the vacant,
空虚的星际之间的空间，空虚进入空虚，
The captains, merchant bankers, eminent men of letters,
上校们，银行家们，知名的文学家们，
The generous patrons of art, the statesmen and the rulers,
慷慨大度的艺术赞助人、政治家和统治者，
Distinguished civil servants, chairmen of many committees,
显要的文官们，形形色色的委员主席们，
Industrial lords and petty contractors, all go into the dark,
工业巨子和卑微的承包商们都走进了黑暗，
And dark the Sun and Moon, and the Almanach de Gotha
太阳和月亮也暗淡无光了，哥达年鉴
And the Stock Exchange Gazette, the Directory of Directors,
证券市场报和董事姓名录都黯然失色了，
And cold the sense and lost the motive of action.
感觉冷却，行动的动机也已经消失。
And we all go with them, into the silent funeral,
于是我们大家和他们同行，走进肃穆的葬礼，
Nobody’s funeral, for there is no one to bury.
不是谁的葬礼，因为没有谁要埋葬。
I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you which shall be the darkness of God. As, in a theatre,
我对我的灵魂说，别作声，让黑暗降临在你的身上，这准是上帝的黑暗。正如在剧场里
The lights are extinguished, for the scene to be changed with a hollow rumble of wings, with a movement of darkness on darkness,
为了变换场景，灯光熄灭了，舞台两厢一阵沉重的辘辘声，在黑暗里，随着一番黑暗的动作，我们知道
And we know that the hills and the trees, the distant panorama and the bold imposing facade are all being rolled away –
群山，树林，远处的活动画景，还有那显目而堂皇的正面装设都在移走——
Or as, when an underground train, in the tube, stops too long between stations
或者象一列地铁火车，在地道里，在车站与车站之间停得太久
And the conversation rises and slowly fades into silence
旅客们交谈之声纷起，又逐渐消寂于静默，
And you see behind every face the mental emptiness deepen
而你在每张脸孔后面看到内心的空虚正在加深
Leaving only the growing terror of nothing to think about;
只留下没有什么可想的恐惧在心头升起；
Or when, under ether, the mind is conscious but conscious of nothing –
或者像上了麻醉以后，头脑清醒却无所感觉——