a-Psalm-of-life

APsalmofLife人生颂HenryWadsworth--fromLongfellow’sfirstpoetrycollections“VoicesofNight”(夜吟)--theearliestEnglishpoemtranslatedintoChinese.ContentBackgroundofthepoemPoemappreciationThethemeConclusion中文翻译赏析（anotherversion）Backgroundofthepoem•Longfellow’sfirstwifedied,whenhewastravelingaroundtheworldaroundEuropeforstudying.Asaresult,hesufferedfromhypochondria(忧郁症).Whenhewrotethispoem,hewasstillstrugglingwiththeillness.•However,despiteallthefrustrationsLongfellowtriedtoencouragehimselfbywritingapieceofoptimisticwork—ofthisone.PoemappreciationTellmenotinmournfulnumbers,莫唱伤感调Lifeisbutanemptydream!梦幻是人生！Forthesoulisdeadthatslumbers,须知灵魂睡，Andthingsarenotwhattheyseem.所见本非真。Lifeisreal!Lifeisearnest!生命真而诚！Andthegraveisnotitsgoal;坟墓非止境；Dustthouart,todustreturnest,生死皆垢尘，Wasnotspokenofthesoul.岂是指灵魂。Notenjoyment,andnotsorrow,逸乐与忧伤，Isourdestinedendorway;均非天行健；Buttoact,thateachtomorrow君子当自强，Findusfartherthantoday.翌日胜今天。Artislong,andTimeisfleeting,光阴似白驹,学艺垂千秋；Andourhearts,thoughstoutandbrave,Still,likemuffleddrums,arebeating雄心如闷鼓，Funeralmarchestothegrave.葬曲伴荒丘。Intheworld'sbroadfieldofbattle,世界一战场，InthebivouacofLife,人生一军营；Benotlikedumb,drivencattle!莫效牛马走，Beaherointhestrife!奋发斯英雄！Thrustnofuture,howe'erpleasant!莫信未来好，LetthedeadPastburyitsdead!过去任埋葬。Act--actinthelivingPresent!努力有生时，Heartwithin,andGodo'erhead!心诚祈上苍！Livesofgreatmenallremindus伟人洵不朽，Wecanmakeourlivessublime,我亦能自强，And,departing,leavebehindus鸿爪留身后，Footprintsonthesandsoftime;遗泽印时光。Footprintsthatperhapsanother,或有飘零人，Sailingo'erlife'ssolemnmain,苦海中浮沉，Aforlornandshipwreckedbrother,睹我足印时，Seeing,shalltakeheartagain.衷心又振奋。Letus,then,beupanddoing,众生齐奋发，Withaheartforanyfate;顺逆不介意；Stillachieving,stillpursuing,勤勉而戒躁，Learntolaborandtowait.探索又进取。Thefinallinesechothebeginningonesandofferperhapsthemostimportantadvicethateveryoneshallworkhardtoachievetheirdreamsandbepatienttowaitfortheapproachingofopportunity.“Mournfulnumbers”:usuallywebelievethatdeathbringanendtolife.However,inthisopeningstanza,Longfellowdeclarehimselftobeabelieverinlifehereafter.Hethinksthatthesoulwillcontinuetolivelongerafterdies.Slumber:sleepThesecondstanzacontinueswiththesamebeliefinafterlifethatispresentinthefirst.Longfellowstatesthisclearlywhenhewrites“andthegraveisnotitsgoal.”Namely,lifedoesn’tendforpeoplesimplybecausetheydie,thereisalwayssomethingmoretobehopefulandoptimisticfor.Dustthouart,todustreturnest，你本是尘土，还将回到尘土。ThisisquotedfromchapterthreeofBiblewhichtellsusastorythatEve,themotherofallliving,temptedbyaslipperysnaketostealanappleinthemiddleoftheGardenandshealsoletAdameatit.Lateron,Godfounditandpunishedthem,lettingthemsuffering.Hereiswhatthegodsaid：“Inthesweatofthyfaceshaltthoueatbread,tillthoureturnuntotheground;foroutofitwastthoutaken:fordustthouart,anduntodustshaltthoureturn.”你必汗流满面才得糊口，直到你归了土，因为你是从土而出的。你本是尘土，仍要归于尘土。”注：returnest不是一个单词来的,它是一种古英语的语法现象returnest里的est是与thou连用的动词后缀。Dustthou=youareLongfellowbeginsdiscussinghowhumansmustlivesinconstantanticipationforthenextdayunderthebeliefthatitwillbebetterthaneachdaybeforeit:“buttoactthateachtomorrowfindusfurtherthantoday.”Itassertsthatthereisneveraninfiniteamountoftimetolive,butartthatiscreatedduringone’slifecanbepreservedindefinitelyandliveonlongerafteritscreatordies.Hereauthorappliessimiletodescribethefast-passingtimeandmetaphortoourheartsasdrums,beatingcontinuously.Thepoetryregardedlifeasthecampingofthesoldiers’“Bivouac”,toemphasizetheshortnessofhumanbeing’slife,aswellastosuggestthatlifeisalsoafightfiledwhichcontainsalotofstruggles.AuthorencourageseveryonetohavefaithandtrusttheLordandnottorelyonanunknownfuturetobestableandsupportive,advisingpeopletoseizethemomentstheyhaveandactwhilethinkingabouttheirpresentsituations.Bycitingthelivesofgreatmen,authorviewsthemasrolemodelsforpeoplewhohavenotyetsucceedtoencouragethemtoleavetheirown“footstepsonthesandsoftime”andbecomeimportant.Forlorn:unhappyandlonelyshipwrecked:遭遇海难的itdescribehowsuccessfulpeopleinthepasthavetheirlivescopied,whichserveasexamplestoinspirethoseindesperatetostandupandmoveon.ThemeThepoemshowsusauthor’sopiniontowardsdeathandimmortality.Itremindsusthatlifeisnotadreambutveryreal,andurgesustoliveittothefullandnotsitaroundwaitingfordeath.Itsaysthatthepurposeoflifeisnottohavefunorindeedtosufferbuttodosomething.Italsoremindsusthatalthoughmankindhaslivedalongtime,ourownindividualtimeonearthislimitedandwillpassveryquickly,witheachheartbeatafurthersteptowardsthegrave.Sotry,likegreatmenofthepast,tomakesomethingofyourselfinyourshorttimeonearthandleavebehindsomethingbywhichtoberemembered.Conclusion•Languageisforceful,sincereemotionandsmoothrhythm.Authorusesasimpleandclearwaytoexpresstheimpassionedattitudetolife.•Applicationofliteraryquotation,rhetoricaldevices(metaphor&simile)andalliteration(ababcdcdefef…).请别用哀伤的诗句对我讲；人生呵，无非是虚梦一场！因为沉睡的灵魂如死一般，事物的表里并不一样。人生是实在的！人生是热烈的！人生的目标决不是坟墓；你来自尘土，应归于尘土。此话指的并不是我们的精神。我们的归宿并不是快乐，也不是悲伤，实干才是我们的道路，每天不断前进，蒸蒸蒸日上。光阴易逝，而艺海无涯，我们的心哪——虽然勇敢坚强，却像被布蒙住的铜鼓，常把殡葬的哀乐擂响。在这人生的宿营地，在这辽阔的世界战场，别做无言的牲畜任人驱赶，做一名英雄汉立马横枪！别相信未来，哪怕未来多么欢乐！让死去的往昔将死亡一切埋葬！上帝在上，我们胸怀勇气，让我们起来干吧，下定决心，不管遭遇怎样；不断胜利，不断追求，要学会苦干和