第43章 月亮看見的 What the Moon Saw 第十一晚到第二十晚(第1/23 頁)

第十一個晚上

ELEVENth EVENING

“我要給你一幅龐貝的圖畫。” 月亮說。“我在郊區，在他們所謂的墓道上，在那些美麗的紀念碑矗立的地方，在很多年前，那些快樂的年輕人，頭上戴著玫瑰花環，和萊伊斯的美麗姐妹們一起跳舞的地方。現在，死亡的寂靜籠罩著四周。為那不勒斯效勞的德國僱傭兵在站崗、打牌和擲骰子；一群來自山那邊的陌生人在一名哨兵的陪同下進入了這座城市。

“I will give you a picture of pompeii,” said the moon. “I was in the suburb in the Street of tombs, as they call it, where the fair monuments stand, in the spot where, ages ago, the merry youths, their temples bound with rosy wreaths, danced with the fair sisters of Lais. Now, the stillness of death reigned around. German mercenaries, in the Neapolitan service, kept guard, played cards, and diced; and a troop of strangers from beyond the mountains came into the town, acpanied by a sentry.

他們想看看這座從墳墓中崛起、被我的光芒照亮的城市；我給他們看鋪著寬闊熔岩板的街道上的車轍；我給他們看門上的名字和仍然掛在那裡的標誌：他們在小院子裡看到噴泉的水池，用貝殼裝飾著；但是沒有水柱向上噴湧，從繪有華麗壁畫、有銅狗看門的房間裡也沒有傳出歌聲。

they wanted to see the city that had risen from the grave illumined by my beams; and I showed them the wheel-ruts in the streets paved with broad lava slabs; I showed them the names on the doors, and the signs that hung there yet: they saw in the little courtyard the basins of the fountains, ornamented with shells; but no jet of water gushed upwards, no songs sounded forth from the richly-painted chambers, where the bronze dog kept the door.

“這是一座死亡之城；只有維蘇威火山轟鳴著它永恆的讚美詩，人們把它的每一節單獨的詩句都稱為一次噴發。我們去了用潔白大理石建造的維納斯神廟，高高的祭壇在寬闊的臺階前面，哭泣的柳樹在柱子間重新長出嫩綠的枝葉。空氣透明而湛藍，黑色的維蘇威火山構成了背景，火焰不斷從它那裡噴出，就像松樹的樹幹。在它上方，寂靜的夜空中伸展著煙霧般的雲彩，像松樹的樹冠，但卻是血紅色的光亮。在這群人中有一位女歌手，一位真正的、偉大的歌手。我在