The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 1
Before the gods that made the gods
在创造诸神的神灵之前
Had seen their sunrise pass,
曾目睹他们的旭日升落，
The White Horse of the White Horse Vale
白马谷的白马
Was cut out of the grass.
已从草地中被刻凿而出。
Before the gods that made the gods
在创造诸神的神灵之前
Had drunk at dawn their fill,
曾在黎明尽情饮啜之前，
The White Horse of the White Horse Vale
白马谷的白马
Was hoary on the hill.
已在山丘上苍然矗立。
Age beyond age on British land,
在不列颠大地上，岁月叠着岁月，
Aeons on aeons gone,
亿万年悠悠流逝，
Was peace and war in western hills,
西部山丘间和平与战争交替轮回，
And the White Horse looked on.
而白马默默凝视着这一切。
For the White Horse knew England
因为白马认识英格兰
When there was none to know;
在尚无人知晓它的年代；
He saw the first oar break or bend,
他见证了第一支桨的折断与弯曲，
He saw heaven fall and the world end,
他目睹了苍天崩塌、世界终结，
O God, how long ago.
啊，上帝，那是多么久远之前。
For the end of the world was long ago,
因为世界的终结已是久远之事，
And all we dwell to-day
而我们今日所居之处
As children of some second birth,
如同某种再生之子，
Like a strange people left on earth
如同一群遗留于世间的异族之人
After a judgment day.
在末日审判之后。
For the end of the world was long ago,
因为世界的终结已是久远之事，
When the ends of the world waxed free,
当世界的边疆日渐放任无羁，
When Rome was sunk in a waste of slaves,
当罗马沉沦于奴隶的荒芜之中，
And the sun drowned in the sea.
而太阳溺毙于大海之间。
When Caesar's sun fell out of the sky
当凯撒的太阳从天空陨落
And whoso hearkened right
而凡侧耳倾听者
Could only hear the plunging
只能听见那跌坠之声
Of the nations in the night.
是黑夜中万国的沉沦。
When the ends of the earth came marching in
当大地的边陲列队涌入
To torch and cresset gleam.
奔向火炬与灯架的光焰。
And the roads of the world that lead to Rome
而通向罗马的天下大道
Were filled with faces that moved like foam,
挤满了如泡沫般涌动的面孔，
Like faces in a dream.
如同梦中的面孔。
Vocabulary
- 在
- zài — at, in, on; indicates location or existence
- 创造
- chuàngzào — to create, to bring into existence
- 诸神
- zhū shén — the gods, all the deities
- 的
- de — structural particle indicating possession or modification
- 神灵
- shénlíng — spirits, divine beings, supernatural entities
- 之前
- zhīqián — before, prior to a certain time
- 曾
- céng — once, formerly; indicates past experience
- 目睹
- mùdǔ — to witness with one's own eyes
- 他们
- tāmen — they, them (third person plural)
- 旭日
- xùrì — the rising sun at dawn
- 升落
- shēng luò — rise and fall, as of the sun
- 白马
- báimǎ — white horse
- 谷
- gǔ — valley, a low area between hills
- 已
- yǐ — already; indicates completion of action
- 从
- cóng — from; indicates starting point or origin
- 草地
- cǎodì — grassland, meadow, grassy ground
- 中
- zhōng — middle, within, among
- 被
- bèi — passive marker; indicates action done to subject
- 刻凿
- kèzáo — to carve and chisel into a surface
- 黎明
- límíng — dawn, the break of day
- 尽情
- jìnqíng — to one's heart's content, without restraint
- 山丘
- shānqiū — hill, small mountain or mound
- 上
- shàng — on top of, above, upon
- 矗立
- chùlì — to stand tall and erect, tower upright
- 不列颠
- Bùlièdiān — Britain, the island of Great Britain
- 大地
- dàdì — the earth, the vast land
- 岁月
- suìyuè — years and months, the passage of time
- 叠着
- diézhe — stacking upon, layering one atop another
- 悠悠
- yōuyōu — leisurely, long and slow, stretching endlessly
- 流逝
- liúshì — to pass away, elapse, as time flows
- 西部
- xībù — the western part, the west region
- 间
- jiān — between, among, within a space or time
- 和平
- hépíng — peace, absence of war or conflict
- 与
- yǔ — and, with; connects nouns or phrases
- 战争
- zhànzhēng — war, armed conflict between groups
- 交替
- jiāotì — to alternate, take turns, succeed each other
- 轮回
- lúnhuí — cycle, reincarnation, recurring rotation
- 而
- ér — and yet, while; connects contrasting clauses
- 默默
- mòmò — silently, quietly, without speaking
- 凝视
- níngshì — to gaze fixedly, stare intently at something
- 着
- zhe — aspect particle indicating ongoing action or state
- 这
- zhè — this, referring to something nearby
- 一切
- yīqiè — everything, all things without exception
- 因为
- yīnwèi — because, for the reason that
- 认识
- rènshi — to know, recognize, be acquainted with
- 英格兰
- Yīnggélán — England, the country in southern Britain
- 尚无
- shàng wú — still without, not yet having
- 人
- rén — person, human being, people
- 知晓
- zhīxiǎo — to know, be aware of, understand clearly
- 它
- tā — it, third-person singular for objects/animals
- 年代
- niándài — era, age, period of time
- 他
- tā — he, him, third-person male singular
- 见证
- jiànzhèng — to witness, testify, bear witness to
- 了
- le — particle indicating completed action or change
- 桨
- jiǎng — oar, paddle used to row a boat
- 折断
- zhéduàn — to snap, break something apart forcefully
- 弯曲
- wānqū — bent, curved, crooked in shape
- 苍天
- cāngtiān — the vast heavens, the blue sky above
- 崩塌
- bēngtā — to collapse, crumble, cave in suddenly
- 世界
- shìjiè — the world, the entire earth and its people
- 终结
- zhōngjié — end, final conclusion, termination
- 啊
- a — ah, oh; exclamatory particle expressing emotion
- 上帝
- Shàngdì — God, the supreme deity in Christian belief
- 那
- nà — that, referring to something distant
- 是
- shì — to be, is, am, are
- 多么
- duōme — how, so very; intensifies adjectives/adverbs
- 久远
- jiǔyuǎn — long ago, ancient, remote in time
- 我们
- wǒmen — we, us, first-person plural pronoun
- 今日
- jīnrì — today, the present day
- 如同
- rútóng — just like, as if, similar to
- 某种
- mǒu zhǒng — a certain kind, some sort of
- 再生
- zàishēng — rebirth, regeneration, coming alive again
- 一群
- yī qún — a group of, a crowd of people
- 遗留
- yíliú — left behind, remaining from a previous time
- 于
- yú — in, at, from; classical preposition of location
- 世间
- shìjiān — in the world, among human society
- 异族
- yìzú — foreign people, another ethnic group
- 末日
- mòrì — doomsday, the last day, end of time
- 审判
- shěnpàn — judgment, trial, divine or legal verdict
- 之后
- zhīhòu — after, following a certain event or time
- 当
- dāng — when, at the time that; while
- 边疆
- biānjiāng — frontier, border region of a country
- 日渐
- rìjiàn — gradually, day by day, increasingly over time
- 放任
- fàngrèn — to let loose, allow without restraint
- 罗马
- Luómǎ — Rome, the ancient city and empire
- 沉沦
- chénlún — to sink, fall into ruin or degradation
- 奴隶
- núlì — slave, a person held in bondage
- 荒芜
- huāngwú — desolate, overgrown, barren and neglected
- 太阳
- tàiyáng — the sun, the star at center of solar system
- 大海
- dàhǎi — the sea, the ocean, vast body of water
- 之间
- zhījiān — between, among, in the space separating
- 凯撒
- Kǎisǎ — Caesar, title or name of Roman rulers
- 天空
- tiānkōng — the sky, the atmosphere above earth
- 陨落
- yǔnluò — to fall from the sky, to perish or collapse
- 凡
- fán — all who, whoever, any person that
- 倾听
- qīngtīng — to listen attentively, lend an ear
- 者
- zhě — one who, person that performs an action
- 只能
- zhǐ néng — can only, able to do nothing but
- 听见
- tīngjiàn — to hear, perceive sound with one's ears
- 黑夜
- hēiyè — dark night, the nighttime darkness
- 万国
- wànguó — all nations, every country in the world
- 列队
- lièduì — to line up in formation, queue in rows
- 涌入
- yǒng rù — to surge into, flood in all at once
- 奔向
- bēn xiàng — to rush toward, dash in a direction
- 火炬
- huǒjù — torch, a stick-like burning light source
- 通向
- tōng xiàng — leading to, connecting toward a destination
- 天下
- tiānxià — all under heaven, the entire world
- 大道
- dàdào — great road, main thoroughfare, broad path
- 挤满
- jǐmǎn — packed full, crammed with people or things
- 如
- rú — like, as, similar to
- 泡沫
- pàomò — foam, bubbles, froth on liquid surface
- 般
- bān — like, in the manner of (suffix)
- 涌动
- yǒngdòng — to surge and move, swell in motion
- 面孔
- miànkǒng — face, a person's facial appearance
- 梦中
- mèng zhōng — in a dream, within the dream state
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