王尔德的水仙花 - Kitty_at the end of cosmos - 博客大巴

Narcissus 

 

Narcissus had a twin sister whom he loved better than anyone else in the world．This sister died when she was young and very beautiful．Narcissus missed her so very much that he wished he might die too．

 

One day，as he sat on the ground by a spring，looking absently into the water and thinking of his lost sister，he saw a face like hers，looking up at him．It seemed as if his sister had become a water nymph  and were actually there in the spring，but she would not speak to him．

 

Of course the face Narcissus saw was really the reflection of his own face in the water，but he did not know that．In those days there were no clear mirrors like ours；and the idea of one's appearance that could be got from a polished brass shield，for instance，was a very dim one．So Narcissus leaned over the water and looked at the beautiful face so like his sister's，and wondered what it was and whether he should ever see his sister again．

 

After this，he came back to the spring day after day and looked at the face he saw there，and mourned for his  sister  until，at last，the gods felt sorry for him and changed him into a flower．

 

This flower was the first narcissus ．All the flowers of thisfamily，when they grow by the side of a pond or a stream，still bend their beautiful heads and look at the reflection of their own faces in the water．

 

那西塞斯

 

那西塞斯有个他至爱的孪生妹妹。这个非常美丽的妹妹死去的时候年纪还很小。那西塞斯非常思念她，甚至想跟她一起死去。

 

一天，他坐在溪旁毫无心思看着流水想念他失去的妹妹时，他看到一张像她的面孔正在注视着他。那种情形就像她妹妹成了河神而且就在河里，可是她没有说话。

 

那 张那西塞斯看到的面孔实际上就是他自己的面孔在水里的倒影，可是他不知道。那时还没有像我们现在明亮的镜子，一个人可以在比如说一面发光铜制盾状的东西上 看到自己容貌的这种观念尚不很明确。那西塞斯就靠在水旁看着那像他妹妹美丽的面孔，猜疑到底她是谁？也不知道他是否能再见到他妹妹。

 

以后他天天都到溪旁注视他看到的面孔，一面又哀悼他妹妹，最后众神为他感到很难过就把他变成了一朵花。

 

这朵花就是第一朵水仙花，所有这类花生长在池塘或溪旁时，仍然低下它们美丽的头看着水里自己的影子。

When Narcissus died, the pool of his pleasure changed from a cup of sweet waters into a cup of salt tears, and the Oreads came weeping through the woodland that they might sing to the pool and give it comfort.
　　
And when they saw that the pool had changed from a cup of sweet waters into a cup of salt tears, they loosened the green tresses of their hair and cried to the pool and said, `We do not wonder that you should mourn in this manner for Narcissus, so beautiful was he.'
　　
　　`But was Narcissus beautiful?' said the pool.
　　
`Who should know that better than you?' answered the Oreads. `Us did he ever pass by, but you he sought for, and would lie on your banks and look down at you, and in the mirror of your waters he would mirror his own beauty.'
　　
　　And the pool answered, `But I loved Narcissus because, as he lay on my banks and looked down at me, in the mirror of his eyes I saw ever my own beauty mirrored.'
　　
　　
　　奥斯卡.王尔德 改写的希腊神话，很美丽的故事。
　　
　　一个英俊的少年,每天都到一个湖边欣赏自己的美貌.他对自己的容颜如此痴迷,以至于某一天掉进湖中而溺水身亡.在他落水的地方长出了一株花,人们把他叫做水仙花.
　　　　 然而奥斯卡 王尔德不是这样结束这个故事的。
　　　　 他写道，水仙少年死后，山林女神们来到湖边，发现他由一个淡水湖变成了含有咸味泪水的水潭。
　　　　 “你为什么哭呢？”山林女神们问道。
　　　　 “我为水仙少年而哭。”湖回答道。
　　　　 “啊，我们对你为水仙少年而哭并不感到惊讶，”山林女神们说道，“说到底，尽管我们所有女神总在森林里跟在他的后面奔跑，但唯有你有机会从近处观看她的美貌。”
　　　　 水仙少年长得美吗？”湖问道.
　　　　 “有谁比你更清楚这一点呢？”山里女神们惊讶的回答道。“他每天都趴在你的边沿欣赏自己的美貌。”
　　　　 湖沉静了片刻，最终说道：
　　　　 “我是为水仙少年而哭，但我从未注意到他长得很美。”
　　　　 “我为水仙少年而哭，因为每次他趴在我的边沿时，我都能从他的眼睛深处看到映出来的我自己的美丽。”