讀點好英文:Death, Be Not Proud 死神，休得狂妄

Death, Be Not Proud 死神，休得狂妄

John Donne

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so；

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be，

Much pleasure；then from thee much more must flow，

And soonest our best men with thee do go，

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men，

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dweII，

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke；why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more；Death, thou shalt die.

死神，休得狂妄

約翰·鄧恩

死神，你休得狂妄，盡管有人說你

如何強大，如何可怕，你并不是這樣；

你以為你把誰打倒了，其實，

可憐的死神，他們沒死；你現(xiàn)在也還殺不死我。

休息、睡眠，這些不過是你的寫照，

既能給人享受，那你本人提供的一定更多；

我們最美好的人隨你去得越早，

越能早日獲得身體的休息，靈魂的解脫。

你是命運、機會、君主、亡命徒的奴隸，

你和毒藥、戰(zhàn)爭、疾病同住在一起，

鴉片和咒符和你的打擊相比，同樣，

甚至更能催我入睡；那你何必趾高氣揚呢？

睡了一小覺之后，我們便永遠覺醒了，

再也不會有死亡，你死神也將死去。

實戰(zhàn)提升

背景知識

約翰·鄧恩（John Donne），英國著名詩人、牧師。他的作品中顯示出了現(xiàn)實和感性的風格，包括十四行詩、愛情詩、宗教詩、警句、挽歌、歌曲、諷刺和說教。

這首詩選自約翰·鄧恩的《神圣十四行詩》。死亡對詩人來說僅僅意味著休憩和睡眠，意味著靈魂的解脫。在他的心中，死神是“命運、機會、君主和亡命徒的奴隸”，死神和罪惡同居在一起，死神也總有死亡的那一天。所以，詩人對死神極為蔑視，也表達了自己對死亡毫不畏懼的心態(tài)。

單詞注解

thou[θau]【古】汝，爾，你

desperate['desp?rit]危急的；絕望的

dweII[dwel]居住，住

名句誦讀

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so；For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure；then from thee much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

One short sleep past, we wake eternally And death shall be no more；Death, thou shalt die.