Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!
Kamal is out with twenty men to raise the Border-side,
And he has lifted the Colonel’s mare that is the Colonel’s pride.
He has lifted her out of the stable-door between the dawn and the day,
And turned the calkins upon her feet, and ridden her far away.
Then up and spoke the Colonel’s son that led a troop of the Guides:
“Is there never a man of all my men can say where Kamal hides?”
Then up and spoke Mohammed Khan, the son of the Ressaldar:
“If ye know the track of the morning-mist, ye know where his pickets are.
“At dusk he harries the Abazai — at dawn he is into Bonair,
“But he must go by Fort Bukloh to his own place to fare.
“So if ye gallop to Fort Bukloh as fast as a bird can fly,
“By the favour of God ye may cut him off ere he win to the Tongue of Jagai.
“But if he be past the Tongue of Jagai, right swiftly turn ye then,
“For the length and the breadth of that grisly plain is sown with Kamal’s men.
“There is rock to the left, and rock to the right, and low lean thorn between,
“And ye may hear a breech-bolt snick where never a man is seen.”
The Colonel’s son has taken horse, and a raw rough dun was he,
With the mouth of a bell and the heart of Hell and the head of a gallows-tree.
The Colonel’s son to the Fort has won, they bid him stay to eat —
Who rides at the tail of a Border thief, he sits not long at his meat.
He’s up and away from Fort Bukloh as fast as he can fly,
Till he was aware of his father’s mare in the gut of the Tongue of Jagai,
Till he was aware of his father’s mare with Kamal upon her back,
And when he could spy the white of her eye, he made the pistol crack.
He has fired once, he has fired twice, but the whistling ball went wide.
“Ye shoot like a soldier,” Kamal said.
“Show now if ye can ride!”
It’s up and over the Tongue of Jagai, as blown dust-devils go,
The dun he fled like a stag of ten, but the mare like a barren doe.
The dun he leaned against the bit and slugged his head above,
But the red mare played with the snaffle-bars, as a maiden plays with a glove.
There was rock to the left and rock to the right, and low lean thorn between,
And thrice he heard a breech-bolt snick tho’ never a man was seen.
They have ridden the low moon out of the sky, their hoofs drum up the dawn,
The dun he went like a wounded bull, but the mare like a new-roused fawn.
The dun he fell at a water-course — in a woeful heap fell he,
And Kamal has turned the red mare back, and pulled the rider free.
He has knocked the pistol out of his hand — small room was there to strive,
“’Twas only by favour of mine,” quoth he, “ye rode so long alive:
“There was not a rock for twenty mile, there was not a clump of tree,
“But covered a man of my own men with his rifle cocked on his knee.
“If I had raised my bridle-hand, as I have held it low,
“The little jackals that flee so fast were feasting all in a row.
“If I had bowed my head on my breast, as I have held it high,
“The kite that whistles above us now were gorged till she could not fly.”
Lightly answered the Colonel’s son: “Do good to bird and beast,
“But count who come for the broken meats before thou makest a feast.
“If there should follow a thousand swords to carry my bones away,
“Belike the price of a jackal’s meal were more than a thief could pay.
“They will feed their horse on the standing crop, their men on the garnered grain.
“The thatch of the byres will serve their fires when all the cattle are slain.
“But if thou thinkest the price be fair, — thy brethren wait to sup,
“The hound is kin to the jackal-spawn, — howl, dog, and call them up!
“And if thou thinkest the price be high, in steer and gear and stack,
“Give me my father’s mare again, and I’ll fight my own way back!”
Kamal has gripped him by the hand and set him upon his feet.
“No talk shall be of dogs,” said he, “when wolf and grey wolf meet.
“May I eat dirt if thou hast hurt of me in deed or breath;
“What dam of lances brought thee forth to jest at the dawn with Death?”
Lightly answered the Colonel’s son: “I hold by the blood of my clan:
“Take up the mare for my father’s gift — by God, she has carried a man!”
The red mare ran to the Colonel’s son, and nuzzled against his breast;
“We be two strong men,” said Kamal then, “but she loveth the younger best.
“So she shall go with a lifter’s dower, my turquoise-studded rein,
“My ’broidered saddle and saddle-cloth, and silver stirrups twain.”
The Colonel’s son a pistol drew, and held it muzzle-end,
“Ye have taken the one from a foe,” said he. “Will ye take the mate from a friend?”
“A gift for a gift,” said Kamal straight; “a limb for the risk of a limb.
“Thy father has sent his son to me, I’ll send my son to him!”
With that he whistled his only son, that dropped from a mountain-crest —
He trod the ling like a buck in spring, and he looked like a lance in rest.
“Now here is thy master,” Kamal said, “who leads a troop of the Guides,
#8220;And thou must ride at his left side as shield on shoulder rides.
“Till Death or I cut loose the tie, at camp and board and bed,
“Thy life is his — thy fate it is to guard him with thy head.
“So, thou must eat the White Queen’s meat, and all her foes are thine,
“And thou must harry thy father’s hold for the peace of the Border-line.
“And thou must make a trooper tough and hack thy way to power —
“Belike they will raise thee to Ressaldar when I am hanged in Peshawur!”
They have looked each other between the eyes, and there they found no fault.
They have taken the Oath of the Brother-in-Blood on leavened bread and salt:
They have taken the Oath of the Brother-in-Blood on fire and fresh-cut sod,
On the hilt and the haft of the Khyber knife, and the Wondrous Names of God.
The Colonel’s son he rides the mare and Kamal’s boy the dun,
And two have come back to Fort Bukloh where there went forth but one.
And when they drew to the Quarter-Guard, full twenty swords flew clear —
There was not a man but carried his feud with the blood of the mountaineer.
“Ha’ done! ha’ done!” said the Colonel’s son. “Put up the steel at your sides!
“Last night ye had struck at a Border thief — to-night ’tis a man of the Guides!”
Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!
|
BAR
September 8, 2015 at 5:35 AM“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never thetwain shall meet,
Till Earth andSky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there isneither East nor West, border, nor breed, nor birth,
When two strongmen stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!”
三位教授的翻譯如下:
——————————————————————————————————–
(1)靜宜大學英文系吳萼洲教授的翻譯
此詩不是指沒有東西方之分和平融洽相處的情境。吉卜林是種族主義者,“白種人的負擔”即出自他的手筆。
Take upthe White Man’s burden,
Sendforth the best ye breed —
Go, bind your sons to exile
To serveyour captives’ need;
沒有東西之分指的是殖民主義後,全世界都是西方,其他民族文化無立足之地。
我試譯”The Ballad of East and West”如下
西為西東為東兩者各西東
直至天地兩造神審判最終
無西無東不需疆界認西東
無生無育兩端卻在此相逢
“TheBallad of East and West” 翻譯可參考
http://www.qu-zhi.com/index.php/zh-cn/forum/31/1961-the-ballad-of-east-and-west
劉炯朗校長傳來一首由 Rudyard Kipling 在百多年前所作的著名英詩,邀我作翻譯。這真是一首正如廣東話所言“嗡東嗡西”的哲理詩。
背景是英國在印度的戰爭時出現東西文化的矛盾和融合,有一段有關英國將領之子與一個印度偷馬賊之間的感人故事。我想了良久,決定挑戰自己,用宋詞來譯。 這首共有54個英文字的詩,我幸運地花了不到三個小時,以46個字的《琴調相思引》完成譯本。
我一向喜歡以自己的攝影作品配上詩詞,但這次很難配,在我擁有的幾萬張相片中,竟然花上一小時也找不到同時表達東和西的圖片,最後只有這一張圖勉強可用。
《The Ballad of East and West》
Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of theearth!
《琴調相思引.東西韻曲》﹣竹本郎
西乃西時東乃東,
兩處不相逢,
至審判日,
大地對長空;
異極兩雄迎面立,
再無彊界劃西東,
生來平等,
養育也應同!
——————————————————————————————————-
(2)台灣大學外文系王文興教授的翻譯
哦,東方是東,西方是西,從來也不會站一起,
直到天和海,同站在天上的法庭裡。
但也有不再東,不再西,無邊界,無種別,無身世,
當兩個壯士相對峙,從地球的兩端過來時。
(此故事詩的首段,敘一英人一印人戰爭時英雄惜英雄,令雙方言歸於好的經過。)
——————————————————————————————————-
(3)中華大學外文系陳雅書教授的翻譯
東是東,
西是西,
永不相遇;
直到世界末日,
天與地相隔離;
但,
強者相逢,
無邊界阻隔,
也無東西;
無出生貧富,
也無教養高低;
雖然,
來自地球兩極。
——————————————————————————————————-