those sightless eyes seeking, even in the cold plaster, for the light and the blue skies of his beloved Hellas, but seeking in vain; that beautiful mouth, firm and true and tender. It is the face of a poet, and of a man acquainted with sorrow. Ah, how well I understand his deprivation—the perpetual night in which he dwelt—
即使被凝固在冷冰冰的石膏中,(荷马)那双失明的眼睛仍然在探寻,只为了他所至爱的明媚阳光、碧空如洗的希腊,然而寻找是徒劳的。荷马的嘴轮廓优美,显示出坚忍、诚实而温柔的特质。这是一张诗人的脸,一张了解悲伤为何物的男人的脸。哦,我是多么理解他的失明之痛啊——与之相伴的唯有永恒的黑夜:
O dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon,
哦,黑暗,黑暗,黑暗,被正午的光辉围裹,
Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse
无可挽回的黑暗,遮天蔽日
Without all hope of day!
将人间的所有希望摒弃!
In imagination I can hear Homer singing, as with unsteady, hesitating steps he gropes his way from camp to camp—singing of life, of love, of war, of the splendid achievements of a noble race. It was a wonderful, glorious song, and it won the blind poet an immortal crown, the admiration of all ages.
在想象当中,我能听到荷马的歌唱,他拖着蹒跚而踌躇的脚步在营地间逡巡——为生命,爱情,战争和一个高尚民族取得的丰功伟绩而吟唱。这是一首无比绚丽而辉煌的颂歌,它为盲诗人赢得了一顶不朽的王冠,也赢得了世人的景仰赞颂。
I sometimes wonder if the hand is not more sensitive to the beauties of sculpture than the eye. I should think the wonderful rhythmical flow of lines and curves could be more subtly felt than seen. Be this as it may, I know that I can feel the heart-throbs of the ancient Greeks in their marble gods and goddesses. Another pleasure, which comes more rarely than the others, is going to the theatre. I enjoy having a play described to me while it is being acted on the stage far more than reading it, because then it seems as if I were living in the midst of stirring events. It has been my privilege to meet a few great actors and actresses who have the power of so bewitching you that you forget time and place and live again in the romantic past.
我有时也想知道,在感知雕塑品的艺术魅力方面,手是否真的比不上眼睛的敏锐。我个人认为,相对于视觉而言,手更能够觉察到雕塑线条的韵律感和其内在的微妙变化。总之,在一尊尊古希腊众神的大理石雕像面前,我能够以自己的独特方式触摸到他们的心跳。我的另一个很特别的爱好就是去剧院看戏。大幕拉开,戏剧在舞台上展开——真实剧情带给我的享受远非阅读剧本所能企及,因为动荡起伏的故事情节会让你产生身临其境的感觉。而且,我还享受到了自由会见那几个杰出男女演员的特别待遇,他们的表演具有一种强大的魔力,它可以令你忘却时间和空间的限制,而重新生活在过去的浪漫年代。