讀點好英文:Westminster Abbey 西敏大寺

Westminster Abbey 西敏大寺

Washington Irving

On one of those sober and rather melancholy days, in the latter part of Autumn, when the shadows of morning and evening almost mingle together, and throw a gloom over the decline of the year, I passed several hours in rambling about Westminster Abbey. There was something congenial to the season in the mournful magnificence of the old pile; and, as I passed its threshold, seemed like stepping back into the regions of antiquity, and losing myself among the shades of former ages.

I entered from the inner court of Westminster School, through a long, low, vaulted passage, that had an almost subterranean look, being dimly lighted in one part by circular perforations in the massive walls. Through this dark avenue I had a distant view of the cloisters, with the figure of an old verger, in his black gown, moving along their shadowy vaults, and seeming like a spectre from one of the neighboring tombs. The approach to the abbey through these gloomy monastic remains prepares the mind for its solemn contemplation. The cloisters still retain something of the quiet and seclusion of former days. The gray walls are discolored by damps, and crumbling with age; a coat of hoary moss has gathered over the inscriptions of the mural monuments, and obscured the death's—heads, and other funereal emblems. The sharp touches of the chisel are gone from the rich tracery of the arches; the roses which adorned the key-stones have lost their leafy beauty; everything bears marks of the gradual dilapidations of time, which yet has something touching and pleasing in its very decay.

The sun was pouring down a yellow autumnal ray into the square of the cloisters; beaming upon a scanty plot of grass in the center, and lighting up an angle of the vaulted passage with a kind of dusky splendor. From between the arcades, the eye glanced up to a bit of blue sky or a passing cloud, and beheld the sungilt pinnacles of the abbey towering into the azure heaven.

As I paced the cloisters, sometimes contemplating this mingled picture of glory and decay, and sometimes endeavoring to decipher the inscriptions on the tombstones, which formed the pavement beneath my feet, my eye was attracted to three figures, rudely carved in relief, but nearly worn away by the footsteps of many generations. They were the effigies of three of the early abbots; the epitaphs were entirely effaced; the names alone remained, having no doubt been renewed in later times. (Vitalis. Abbas. 1082, and, Gislebert us Crispinus. Abbas. 1114, and Laurentius. Abbas. 1176.) I remained some little while, musing over these casual relics of antiquity, thus left like wrecks upon this distant shore of time, telling no tale but that such beings had been, and had perished; teaching no moral but the futility of that pride which hopes still to exact homage in its ashes and to live in an inscription. A little longer, and even these faint records will be obliterated, and the monument will cease to be a memorial. Whilst I was yet looking down upon these gravestones, I was roused by the sound of the abbey clock, reverberating from buttress to buttress, and echoing among the cloisters. It is almost startling to hear this warning of departed time sounding among the tombs, and telling the lapse of the hour, which, like a billow, has rolled us onward towards the grave. I pursued my walk to an arched door opening to the interior of the abbey. On entering here, the magnitude of the building breaks fully upon the mind, contrasted with the vaults of the cloisters. The eyes gaze with wonder at clustered columns of gigantic dimensions, with arches springing from mem to such an amazing height; and man wandering about their bases, shrunk into insignificance in comparison with his own hand work. The spaciousness and gloom of this vast edifice produce a profound and mysterious awe. We step cautiously and softly about, as if fearful of disturbing the hallowed silence of the tomb; while every football whispers along the walls, and chatters among the sepulchers, making us more sensible of the quiet we have interrupted.

It seems as if the awful nature of the place presses down upon the soul, and hushes the beholder into noiseless reverence. We feel that we are surrounded by the congregated bones of the great men of past times, who have filled history with their deeds, and the earth with their renown.

And yet it almost provokes a smile at the vanity of human ambition, to see how they are crowded together and jostled in the dust; what parsimony is observed in doling out a scanty nook, a gloomy corner, a little portion of earth, to those, whom, when alive, kingdoms could not satisfy; and how many shapes, and forms, and artifices are devised to catch the casual notice of the passenger, and save from forgetfulness, for a few short years, a name which once aspired to occupy ages of the world's thought and admiration.

...

I continued in this way to move from tomb to tomb, and from chapel to chapel. The day was gradually wearing away; the distant tread of loiterers about the abbey grew less and less frequent; the sweet-tongued bell was summoning to evening prayers; and I saw at a distance the choristers, in their white surplices, crossing the aisle and entering the choir. I stood before the entrance to Henry the Seventh's chapel. A flight of steps lead up to it, through a deep and gloomy, but magnificent arch. Great gates of brass, richly and delicately wrought, turn heavily upon their hinges, as if proudly reluctant to admit the feet of common mortals into this most gorgeous of sepulchres.

On entering, the eye is astonished by the pomp of architecture, and the elaborate beauty of sculptured detail. The very walls are wrought into universal ornament, incrusted with tracery, and scooped into niches, crowded with the statutes of saints and martyrs. Stone seems, by the cunning labor of the chisel, to have been robbed of its weight and density, suspended aloft, as if by magic, and the fretted roof achieved with the wonderful minuteness and airy security of a cobweb.

Along the sides of the chapel are the lofty stalls of the Knights of the Bath, richly carved of oak, though with the grotesque decorations of Gothic architecture. On the pinnacles of the stalls are affixed the helmets and crests of the knights, with their scarfs and swords; and above them are suspended their banners, emblazoned with armorial bearings, and contrasting the splendor of gold and purple and crimson with the cold gray fretwork of the roof. In the midst of this grand mausoleum stands the sepulchre of its founder—his effigy, with that of his queen, extended on a sumptuous tomb, and the whole surrounded by a superbly wrought brazen railing.

There is a sad dreariness in this magnificence: this strange mixture of tombs and trophies; these emblems of living and aspiring ambition, close beside mementos which show the dust and oblivion in which all must sooner or later terminate. Nothing impresses the mind with a deeper feeling of loneliness than to tread the silent and deserted scene of former throng and pageant. On looking round on the vacant stalls of the knights and their esquires, and on the rows of dusty but gorgeous banners that were once born before them, my imagination conjured up the scene when this hall was bright with the valor and beauty of the land; glittering with the splendor of jeweled rank and military array; alive with the tread of many feet and the hum of an admiring multitude. All had passed away; the silence of death had settled again upon the which had found their way into the chapel, and built their nests among its friezes and pendants—sure sign of solitariness and desertion.

When I read the names inscribed on the banners, they were those of men scattered far and wide about the world; some tossing upon distant seas; some under arms in distant lands; same mingling in the busy intrigues of courts and cabinets; all seeking to deserve one more distinction in this mansion of shadowy honors: the melancholy reward of a monument.

Two small aisles on each side of this chapel present a touching instance of the equality of the graves; which brings down the oppressor to a level with the oppressed, and mingles the dust of the bitterest enemies together. In one is the sepulchre of the haughty Elizabeth; in the other is that of her victim, the lovely and unfortunate Mary. Not an hour in the day but some ejaculation of pity is uttered over the fate of the latter, mingled with indignation at her oppressor. The walls of Elizabeth's sepulchre continually echo with the sighs of sympathy heaved at the grave of her rival.

A peculiar melancholy reigns over the aisle where Mary lies buried. The light struggles dimly through windows darkened by dust. The greater part of the place is in deep shadow, and the walls are stained and tinted by time and weather. A marble figure of Mary is stretched upon the tomb, round which is an iron railing, much corroded, bearing her national emblem—the thistle. I was weary with wandering, and sat down to rest myself by the monument, revolving in my mind the checked and disastrous story of poor Mary.

The sound of casual footsteps had ceased from the abbey. I could only hear, now and then, the distant voice of the priest repeating the evening service, and the faint responses of the choir, these paused for a time, and all was hushed. The stillness, the desertion and obscurity that were gradually prevailing around, gave a deeper and more solemn interest to the place.

For in the silent grave no conversation,

No joyful tread of friends, no voice of lovers,

No careful father's counsel—nothing's heard,

For nothing is, but all oblivion,

Dust and an endless darkness.

西敏大寺

［美］華盛頓·歐文

正值深秋時節(jié)，這種天氣讓人感覺莊重而抑郁，早晨的陰影幾乎和傍晚相互連接，給這歲末的幽情更加籠罩了一層灰蒙蒙的色彩。就是在這樣一天，我一個人在西敏大寺走了幾個小時。在這古老的建筑群中，有一種凄涼的感覺剛好與這個季節(jié)的色調(diào)相吻合；我跨進門檻，似乎一腳邁進了古老的年代，將自己融入到那些前人的陰影當(dāng)中。

我是從西敏學(xué)校的內(nèi)庭進去的，穿過一條低矮的有著弧頂?shù)拈L廊，感覺像是在地下室。周圍是厚厚的墻壁，只有墻上的小孔透出絲絲光亮，反而顯得這里更加幽暗了。穿過這條長廊，我可以遠遠地看見前方的拱廊；一個上了年紀(jì)的教堂司事，身著黑色長袍，正從陰影里走過，那模樣就像是一個剛剛從附近墓中爬出來的幽靈。這條路正是古修道院的遺址，景色分外凄涼，我的頭腦也因此陷入了莊嚴(yán)的沉思默想之中。這條道路一如既往地寂靜，與世隔絕?；疑膲Ρ谝驗槭艿匠睗窨諝獾那治g，早已褪了色，而且由于年代久遠，也逐漸呈現(xiàn)出崩潰的跡象。墻壁上覆蓋了一層灰白的苔蘚，讓人無法辨認(rèn)清楚上面的碑文、骷髏像和各種喪葬的標(biāo)識?；№斏媳緛淼窨逃腥A麗富貴的花紋，可如今早已不見了那些斧鑿的痕跡；當(dāng)年拱形石上枝繁葉茂的玫瑰花也不見了昔日的風(fēng)采。這里所有的事物都刻上了歲月流逝的痕跡，然而就是在這樣的頹廢之中，依然有一種讓人怦然心動、歡喜愉悅的感覺。

一道秋意綿綿的金色陽光從拱廊的方場上空傾瀉下來，照耀著場上稀稀拉拉的小草，也給拱廊的一角披上一層陰郁的光線。從拱廊中間抬頭遠望，可以看見一小片藍天或時不時飄過的白云，還有那鋪灑了金子般陽光的塔尖，正筆直地向藍天延伸。

我緩慢地走在拱廊上，時而思索著這融合了輝煌與頹敗的景象，時而又力求辨析我腳下墓石上的碑文。這時，三座雕塑工藝粗糙的浮像吸引了我的眼光，經(jīng)過幾代人在上面來來回回地行踏，它們幾乎很難辨認(rèn)清楚了。這是這座寺院早期三位住持的浮像，上面的墓志銘已經(jīng)全被磨掉了，只剩下三個名字，很明顯這也是由后人重新修整了的。（泰里斯住持，1082年；吉斯勃塔斯·克里斯賓諾斯住持，1114年；勞倫地奧斯住持，1176年。）我在這里停留片刻，默默地看著這些殘缺不全的古人遺跡。它們就像幾艘拋錨了的破船，停靠在悠悠歲月的岸邊，唯一能說給人們聽的就是這幾個人曾經(jīng)活著，而現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)不復(fù)存在了。它們所蘊涵的道德意義不過是告誡那些企圖死后還想受人敬仰的人，要依靠墓志銘得以永生簡直是癡心妄想。再過些時日，甚至連這些模糊不清的記錄都將消失，而所謂的紀(jì)念碑也不再是什么紀(jì)念物了。就在我俯視這些墓碑時，突然被大寺的鐘聲喚醒。鐘聲在墻壁之間回蕩，剎那間整個拱廊都產(chǎn)生共鳴。從墳?zāi)估飩鞒鰜淼溺娐暎媸亲屓瞬缓?，它向人們提醒時光的消逝，好似巨大的浪潮，不斷地把我們推向墳?zāi)?。我繼續(xù)向前走，到達了一扇通向大寺里面的拱門前面。走進大門，只見在拱門的襯托下，里面的建筑物顯得更加雄偉壯麗。我瞪大了雙眼看著那一根根巨大的圓柱，圓柱上橫架著一支支拱梁，它們這么高，真讓人驚嘆不已。站在柱腳下，人們不禁會想到，與人類自己的建筑比起來，人類自己的確是無足輕重。這座空曠幽暗的大寺，頓時讓人產(chǎn)生一種神秘的敬畏之情。我們小心謹(jǐn)慎輕輕地走過，生怕打破了墓地的肅靜；而每一次四周的墻壁傳出腳步聲時，墳?zāi)归g也作出了低沉的回應(yīng)，我們也更加深刻地體會到四周的寧靜，只是此時的寧靜卻被我們破壞了。

也許是寺院本身莊嚴(yán)肅穆的特性壓抑著游客的心靈，使我們大家都肅然起敬，并且壓低了所有的聲音。我們感覺周身都被古代偉人的遺骸包圍著，他們的豐功偉績滿載史冊，聲名遍譽世界。

但是，想到人類所謂的宏偉抱負到頭來不過是虛幻一場，我不禁要嘲笑他們：如今這些英雄七零八散地擁擠在這塵土之中，想當(dāng)初他們在世時，整個帝國都不曾令他們心滿意足，而死后卻只是在這個吝嗇的地方里的一個陰暗角落，分得了一點點貧瘠的土地，過去他們試圖讓人們永遠銘記他們的名字并世世代代瞻仰他們，可如今人們卻在他們的墳?zāi)股舷敕皆O(shè)法地雕刻出各種形狀和花紋——而這么做只是為了吸引游客們不經(jīng)意瞥來的目光，免得人們過不了幾年就把他們當(dāng)年顯赫一時的名字拋之腦后了。

我仍然順著這條路走過一座座墳?zāi)?，一所所禮拜堂。天色慢慢地暗了下來，從遠處傳來的游客的腳步聲也越來越稀少了。動聽的鈴聲提醒著人們作晚禱告的時間到了，遠遠地我就能看見唱詩班的人們穿著白色的法衣穿過走廊紛紛就位。我站在亨利七世禮拜堂的入口處，大堂前有幾層臺階，然后要穿過一道很長的有些昏暗但很雄偉的拱門。巨大的銅制大門上雕滿了精細華麗的花紋，門上的鉸鏈發(fā)出沉重的響聲，一副傲氣十足的樣子，似乎是不讓這些凡夫俗子進入這最豪華的靈堂。

進入大堂內(nèi)，里面華麗的建筑和精美的雕刻簡直讓人目不暇接。大墻上每一個地方都布滿了精巧的裝飾，里面鑲嵌著雕花窗格，拼成一座座的壁龕，里面塞滿了圣人和殉難者的雕像。爐火純青的雕琢技術(shù)把石頭雕刻得仿佛失去了它本來的重量和密度，像被施了魔法似地吊在半空中。還有那屋頂，裝飾著無比精巧美麗的花紋，好像是一張無比牢固不能被破壞的蛛網(wǎng)那樣懸在半空中。

在禮拜堂的兩側(cè)，設(shè)有巴斯武士高大的坐席，全部用橡木雕琢得富貴華麗，上面還有哥特式建筑的怪異裝飾。武士的頭盔、綬帶和佩劍被擺放在坐席的頂端上。在這些物品的上方懸掛著武士的旗幟，上面裝飾著紋章，這些金色、紫色和大紅色耀眼奪目，與精雕細鑿的灰暗屋頂形成鮮明的對比。在這個宏偉大廳的正中間，就是這座陵墓的主人——亨利七世的墳?zāi)?，他和皇后的雕像躺在一塊豪華的墓石上，周圍環(huán)繞著鑄煉精細的黃銅柵欄。

在這種奢華瑰麗的氣氛中，卻讓人有種沉悶壓抑的感覺，這是一個把墳?zāi)购蛻?zhàn)利品混合在一起的怪異場合，這些標(biāo)志象征著朝氣蓬勃和雄心壯志，如今卻被擺放在滿是灰塵和被人遺忘的紀(jì)念物中間，而所有的一切最終也會消逝在這些塵埃和遺忘之中。走在這個曾經(jīng)熱鬧繁華而如今孤寂蒼涼的地方，頭腦中涌起一種無法言說的落寞感受。環(huán)視周圍武士和他們的侍從們空空如也的座位，看著飄揚在他們面前的一排排布滿了灰塵卻依然錦繡華麗的軍旗，我不禁想象起昔日的盛況：全國上下的英雄和美人都云集在這寬敞明亮的大廳里，這里因為有了這些珠光寶氣的仕女和英武的武士行列而璀璨生輝；不絕于耳的腳步聲和贊揚聲在整個大廳回蕩。而這一切突然就消失不見了，重新恢復(fù)了這死氣沉沉的寂靜，偶爾會有幾聲小鳥的鳴叫作為一點小插曲。連鳥兒都駐扎了這所禮拜堂，并把它們的巢穴建造在梁柱之間——由此可見，這里是多么的荒涼和寂寞。

我讀著旗子上刺繡的人名，這些人曾經(jīng)被派駐在各個地方，有的遠渡重洋，有的征戰(zhàn)他鄉(xiāng)，有的在宮廷與內(nèi)閣的陰謀中糾纏，他們有個共同的愿望就是，使自己的名聲在這所陰暗的墓堂中得到更多的表彰——也就是一塊陰郁的紀(jì)念碑。

在禮拜堂的兩側(cè)設(shè)有小型的側(cè)堂——這樣做的目的是為了明示這座墓地的平等觀念：它把壓迫者和被壓迫者放在同一個地位，讓世代宿敵的遺骸相聚在一起。其中的一個側(cè)堂是那位傲慢的伊麗莎白之墓，而另外一個則是那可愛又可憐的被她殺死了的瑪麗之墓。對于后者，每一天里的每個時刻都會有人來悲憐嘆息她凄慘的命運，在這聲聲嘆息中也包含了對前者悲憤的感情。于是，在伊麗莎白墓地周圍的墻壁上就經(jīng)?；厥幹藗兺楝旣惖穆曇?。

一種怪異陰郁的氣氛籠罩在埋葬著瑪麗的那個側(cè)堂之上。陽光透過布滿灰塵的窗戶照射進來，一切都是這么幽暗，大部分的地方都被深深的陰影覆蓋著，歲月和氣候在墻壁上留下了痕跡。一座瑪麗的大理石雕像躺在碑石上面，四周的鐵柵欄銹跡斑斑，上面還雕刻著她的國徽——蘇格蘭的薊花。我已經(jīng)走得有點累了，于是坐在紀(jì)念碑下歇息，腦海里便不由自主地想起瑪麗坎坷不幸的一生。

?寺院里零零碎碎的腳步聲漸漸地消失了。我的耳邊偶爾傳來遠處修士們進行晚禱的聲音和唱詩班輕柔的應(yīng)答聲。當(dāng)所有這些聲音都靜息后，整個大寺也沉靜下來了。平靜、荒涼和幽暗慢慢地靠近，使人們對這個地方產(chǎn)生了一種更加深邃和莊嚴(yán)的感情。

在寂靜的墓地里沒有說話的聲音，

沒有朋友們輕快的腳步聲，沒有情侶們呼喚的聲音，

也沒有細心的父親忠誠的告誡——什么都聽不到，

因為一切都是虛無，一切都被遺忘，

只有塵土和無邊無際的黑暗。

實戰(zhàn)提升

Practising & Exercise

導(dǎo)讀

華盛頓·歐文（Washington Irving），美國著名作家，也是19世紀(jì)最偉大的美國散文家之一。歐文從少年時代起就喜愛閱讀司各特、拜倫和彭斯等人的作品。中學(xué)畢業(yè)后，他遵從父命在律師事務(wù)所學(xué)習(xí)法律，但他的志趣卻在文學(xué)方面?！兑娐勗洝肥菤W文的代表作。1859年歐文與世長辭。美國人民為了懷念這位在文學(xué)方面做出突出貢獻的作家，在紐約降半旗致哀。他的許多優(yōu)秀作品則被人們傳誦至今，成為珍貴的文學(xué)遺產(chǎn)。他本人更被尊稱為“美國文學(xué)之父”。

此文是華盛頓·歐文生平最得意的文章之一。歐文的文筆可謂獨樹一幟、溫雅可愛、感情充沛。文中闡述了作者對文人地位的反思，文章感人至深，最能體現(xiàn)作者的性情。

核心單詞

sober [?s?ub?] adj. 認(rèn)真的；嚴(yán)肅的，持重的

monastic [m??n?stik] adj. 修道院的；修道士的

tracery [?treis?ri] n. 【建】（哥特式建筑）花飾窗格

cloister [?kl?ist?] n. 回廊

abbot [??b?t] n. 男修道院院長；大寺院男住持

antiquity [?n?tikwiti] n. 古，古代

martyr [?mɑ?t?] n. 烈士，殉難者

effigy [?efi?i] n. 肖像；模擬像

翻譯

It seems as if the awful nature of the place presses down upon the soul, and hushes the beholder into noiseless reverence.

Nothing impresses the mind with a deeper feeling of loneliness than to tread the silent and deserted scene of former throng and pageant.