A Psalm of Life
生命颂
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · 亨利·沃兹沃斯·朗费罗
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!—
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,—act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
别用哀伤的口吻告诉我，
生命只是一场空梦！—
沉睡的灵魂已经死去，
世事并非表面那般。
生命是真实的！生命是严肃的！
坟墓不是它的终点；
你是尘土，终归于尘土，
这话并非指着灵魂而言。
不是享乐，也不是悲伤，
是我们注定的终点或道路；
而是行动，让每一个明天
把我们送到比今天更远的地方。
艺术悠长，而时光飞逝，
我们的心，纵然刚毅勇敢，
仍像蒙住的鼓，撞击着
通往坟墓的葬礼进行曲。
在人生广阔的战场上，
在生命的露营地，
不要像哑巴、被驱赶的牛群！
要成为奋斗中的英雄！
不要信任未来，纵使它甜美！
让已死的过去埋葬它的死者！
行动吧—在鲜活的现在行动！
心中有，且神在上！
伟人的一生都提醒我们，
我们可以使生命崇高，
并在离去之际，在身后留下
时间沙滩上的脚印。
那么，让我们振作起来，动起来，
以一颗随时接受命运的心；
不断成就，不断追求，
学会辛劳，也学会等待。
朗费罗写给世人的励志名篇，被译成多种语言。生命不是空梦，而是要去行动、去留下的脚印。