如何解读惠特曼的《幻象》---Eidolons

盈盈一笑间
楼主 (文学城)

英文诗原版

Eidolons

Walt Whitman

I met a seer,
Passing the hues and objects of the world,
The fields of art and learning, pleasure, sense,
To glean eidolons. Put in thy chants said he,
No more the puzzling hour nor day, nor segments, parts, put in,
Put first before the rest as light for all and entrance-song of all,
That of eidolons. Ever the dim beginning,
Ever the growth, the rounding of the circle,
Ever the summit and the merge at last, (to surely start again,)
Eidolons! eidolons! Ever the mutable,
Ever materials, changing, crumbling, re-cohering,
Ever the ateliers, the factories divine,
Issuing eidolons. Lo, I or you,
Or woman, man, or state, known or unknown,
We seeming solid wealth, strength, beauty build,
But really build eidolons. The ostent evanescent,
The substance of an artist's mood or savan's studies long,
Or warrior's, martyr's, hero's toils,
To fashion his eidolon. Of every human life,
(The units gather'd, posted, not a thought, emotion, deed, left out,)
The whole or large or small summ'd, added up,
In its eidolon. The old, old urge,
Based on the ancient pinnacles, lo, newer, higher pinnacles,
From science and the modern still impell'd,
The old, old urge, eidolons. The present now and here,
America's busy, teeming, intricate whirl,
Of aggregate and segregate for only thence releasing,
To-day's eidolons. These with the past,
Of vanish'd lands, of all the reigns of kings across the sea,
Old conquerors, old campaigns, old sailors' voyages,
Joining eidolons. Densities, growth, facades,
Strata of mountains, soils, rocks, giant trees,
Far-born, far-dying, living long, to leave,
Eidolons everlasting. Exalte, rapt, ecstatic,
The visible but their womb of birth,
Of orbic tendencies to shape and shape and shape,
The mighty earth-eidolon. All space, all time,
(The stars, the terrible perturbations of the suns,
Swelling, collapsing, ending, serving their longer, shorter use,)
Fill'd with eidolons only. The noiseless myriads,
The infinite oceans where the rivers empty,
The separate countless free identities, like eyesight,
The true realities, eidolons. Not this the world,
Nor these the universes, they the universes,
Purport and end, ever the permanent life of life,
Eidolons, eidolons. Beyond thy lectures learn'd professor,
Beyond thy telescope or spectroscope observer keen, beyond all mathematics,
Beyond the doctor's surgery, anatomy, beyond the chemist with his chemistry,
The entities of entities, eidolons. Unfix'd yet fix'd,
Ever shall be, ever have been and are,
Sweeping the present to the infinite future,
Eidolons, eidolons, eidolons. The prophet and the bard,
Shall yet maintain themselves, in higher stages yet,
Shall mediate to the Modern, to Democracy, interpret yet to them,
God and eidolons. And thee my soul,
Joys, ceaseless exercises, exaltations,
Thy yearning amply fed at last, prepared to meet,
Thy mates, eidolons. Thy body permanent,
The body lurking there within thy body,
The only purport of the form thou art, the real I myself,
An image, an eidolon. Thy very songs not in thy songs,
No special strains to sing, none for itself,
But from the whole resulting, rising at last and floating,
A round full-orb'd eidolon.    

 

网上的中文版如下

幻象

作者:瓦尔特·惠特曼


       我遇见一位先知,
他在世界的万象万物前徜徉,
涉猎艺术、学问、乐趣和官能的领域,
为了要捡拾幻象。
他说不要再采纳
那些费解的时辰或日子,或者是部分、碎片,
首先要采纳幻象,如普照的光,如开场的乐曲,
要把幻象纳入你的诗篇。
永远是混沌初开,
永远是周期循环,是成长,
永远是顶点和最终的融台(当然要重新开始,)
是幻象,是幻象!
永远是可变的。
永远是物质,变化着,碎裂着,又重新粘合,
永远是画室,是神圣的工厂,
生产着幻象。
瞧,我或你,
或者女人、男人,或者国家,无论有无名望,
我们好像在建造真正的财富、力量和美,
但实际是建造幻象。
外表是转瞬即逝的,
一个艺术家的心境或学者的研究其实质却能久长,
或者是战士的、先烈的、英雄的劳绩,
在塑造他的幻象。
每一个人类生命,
(所有的元件都已收集、安排,包括每一思想、感情和行为,)
无论大小,全部归总,加在一起,
都在它的幻象里。
那老而又老的欲望,
建立在古代的尖峰,以及较新和更高的尖峰上,
如今更为科学和现代所怂恿,
那老而又老的欲望,那些幻象。
如今,在此时此地,
是美国的热闹、多产而复杂的繁忙,
这包括集体和个别的,因为只能从那里
释放出今天的幻象。
这些与过去的那些,
属于已消失的国家和大洋对岸所有的王朝,
属于古代征服者、古代战役和古代的海航,
都是彼此连接的幻象。
密集,生长,外观,
层迭的山峦,岩石,乔木,土壤,
远古诞生的、早在死亡的、长命的、要走的,
是连绵不绝的幻象。
高兴的,狂喜的,着迷的,
看得见的只是它们的环形倾向,
在孕育的子宫里不断地形成形成,
那宏伟的地球幻象。
所有的空间,所有的时间,
(那些星球,无数个太阳的可怕的紊乱,
膨胀,崩溃,完结,为了它们或长或短的用场,)
只不过充满了幻象。
那无声无息的万象,
百川倾注的无边无际的海洋,
像视线般分散的无数自由的个体,
是真的现实,是幻象。
这个并不是世界,
这些也并非宇宙;它们才是宇宙
是生命的永恒生命,目的和意向,
这些幻象,这些幻象。
超出你博学教授的演讲,
超出你精明观察者的望远镜和分光镜,

       超越于一切的数学之上,
超出医生的外科手术和解剖学,超出化学家和他的化学,
实体的实体,是幻象。
没有固定而又固定了的,
总是将要发生、总是已经发生的和现存的,
将现今迅猛地刮进无限未来的,
是幻象,幻象,幻象。
预言家和诗人,
还要保持自己,在更高的历史舞台上,
要向现代、向民主介绍,还要为他们讲解上帝和幻象。
       而你,我的灵魂,
在不停的锻炼、喜悦和得意中,
你的向往已终于满足,已准备停当,
去会见你的伙伴,幻象。
       你的躯体是永久的,
那躯体在你的身躯内潜藏,
它是你那形态的唯一要旨,真正的自我,
一个肖像,一个幻象。
      你的真正的歌并不在你的歌里,
没有特别的曲调可唱,也不为自己而唱,
但是从那整体终于产生着,上升和飘浮着,
一个完满而滚圆的幻象。

 

 

盈盈一笑间
楼下绿兄贴艾米莉·狄金森的诗,让我想起美国当代诗歌另一位重要的代表诗人惠特曼。
盈盈一笑间
比起狄金森的诗,我个人感觉惠特曼的诗更难读懂。比如这一首。中文翻译我都觉得不容易看懂。贴出来,请大家读一读,并求解惑。
忒忒绿
他的诗歌有超验主义特色:)
忒忒绿
所以难翻译,翻译不好就导致更难读:)
盈盈一笑间
是的。这首我是中英文都没怎么读懂。中文明明每个字都认识,却不知道在说什么。哈哈。
好個秋
每段的结尾都是“ Eidolons, eidolons, eidolons”,似乎是想说:

虚空之虚空。传道者说:“虚空之虚空,凡事皆虚空。”  哈哈,纯属个人臆测,不可当真!

方外居士
很符合量子力学的观点:我们生活的世界其实只是永恒的虚空中的一朵微小的涟渏!
T
TJKCB
[Eidolons=God] explores the philosophical and metaphysical

“Eidolons” explores the philosophical and metaphysical concept of eidolons as the underlying essence of existence, encompassing both the tangible and intangible aspects of the world. While it does not explicitly refer to God, it suggests a connection between eidolons and a higher spiritual realm.

T
TJKCB
No. both the tangible and intangible aspects of the world in

both the tangible and intangible aspects of the world intertwin: So confused, but so real.

T
TJKCB
better translated to《偶像》=Eidolons 探討了偶像的概念,

詩篇《偶像》(Eidolons)由華特·惠特曼創作,探討了偶像的概念,偶像可以被理解為某種東西的代表或具體化。儘管這個術語可以有不同的解釋,但在這首詩中,偶像被描繪為世界上一切事物的本質或精神。惠特曼暗示,我們所感知和經歷的一切,如藝術、學習、快樂,甚至人類生命本身,最終都是偶像的體現。

L
LinMu
这首诗只说了一句话,世间一切皆幻象
T
TJKCB
Eidolons=idolized
方外居士
永恒的虚空[tangible] 和真实的世界[intangible] intertwine thru 量子力学原理?
忒忒绿
a specter or phantom 幻像:)
忒忒绿
幻影
盈盈一笑间
这个理解好!仔细想想,幻象和虚空,在本质上,是有共通之处。多谢指点,有豁然开朗之感。:))

傳道者說:「虛空的虛空,虛空的虛空,凡事都是虛空。」

后面的一句是

“人一切的勞碌,就是他在日光之下的勞碌,有什麼益處呢?”

这是不是就是惠特曼在诗里描述的具体意向的总结呢?

好個秋
Interesting!According to ChatGPT:

The term "eidolons" can be translated into Chinese as "幽灵" or "偶像" depending on the context. In the context of Walt Whitman's poem, it likely refers to "幽灵," which generally means spirits or specters.

盈盈一笑间
A connection between eidolons and a higher spiritual realm.
好個秋
我也正有此意。但ChatGPT认为...

The term "eidolons" can be translated into Chinese as "幽灵" or "偶像" depending on the context. In the context of Walt Whitman's poem, it likely refers to "幽灵," which generally means spirits or specters.

但前后文读起来似乎就不那么顺了?

盈盈一笑间
偶像,这个翻译好。参见楼下TJ才女的帖子,能讲得通了。

在基督教教义里,有不可拜偶像的禁忌。

世间万物虽好,但若在人心里的位置,超过神的位置,就会成为偶像。最终不过是虚空的虚空。

我查了一下惠特曼的背景,他是在基督教家庭成长的。父母都是基督徒,他本人信仰不详,不过受到家庭影响,也是有可能的。

Just my two cents

盈盈一笑间
居士兄不会是研究量子力学的吧?请收下俺的膝盖。哈哈
好個秋
“偶像”和“虚空”,在意思解释上有所不同...
盈盈一笑间
“我們所感知和經歷的一切,如藝術、學習、快樂,甚至人類生命本身,最終都是偶像的體現。” 这个解释太好了。多谢你的分享!
盈盈一笑间
追求偶像,结果是虚空。参见你提到的传道书呀。:)
盈盈一笑间
非常感谢分享!大家的讨论让我豁然开朗。:))
盈盈一笑间
赞言简意赅的总结。我读这首诗是想理清作者的写作思路,寻找可以学习和借鉴之处。结果掉进去了,读不懂,哈哈
方外居士
哇,这个可是精贵,不可随便送人。男儿膝下有黄金,女儿膝下应该是黄金的平方!
T
TJKCB
《圣经传道书》“虚空之虚空,凡事皆虚空。”follow up by intention...

这句话表达了作者对人生的一种悲观看法和对世界的空虚感受。它传达了一种对人生意义和价值的质疑,认为世间的一切都是短暂和空虚的。它提醒人们要深思自己的生命意义,并寻求更有意义的追求。

盈盈一笑间
啊?这样呀。那改成盈盈一拜吧。哈哈哈哈哈
方外居士
哈哈,这个笑纳。
盈盈一笑间
应该不是悲观吧。所罗门王好像是在寻找真理之路。
T
TJKCB
(John 14:6) W T L

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)  John 14:6 means Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to salvation.

It is only through Him we can be saved. No one can come to God directly until they have known Jesus. Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”.

What is the message of John 14 6 14?     He reveals who he really is and offers us choices which path we want to take so that in times of confusion, second thoughts and preoccupation, we will know what and who to choose. Our faith tells us to choose the ways of the Lord. He also said that he is the way, and the truth and the life.
盈盈一笑间
谢谢分享 :)
d
dhyang_wxc
Eidolons需上帝把气息吹进去;没有这个气息,也就只剩下eidolons。真人之息以踵,众人以喉,诗也是如此。