The Rhodora 

(《紫陀萝花》)

 Written by Ralph Waldo Emerson (拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生 著) 

Translated by Eileen Chang (张爱玲 译)

In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes, 

I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods, 

Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook, 

To please the desert and the sluggish brook.

在五月里，海风刺穿我们的寂寞， 

我发现树林里一个潮湿的角落， 有新鲜的紫陀萝花，

展开它无叶的花朵，

取悦于沙漠与迁缓的小河。

The purple petals fallen in the pool, 

Made the black water with their beauty gay; 

Here might the redbird come his plumes to cool, 

And court the flower that cheapens his array.

那紫色的花瓣落到池塘里，

 使那黑水也变成艳丽； 

红鸟或许会到这里来将它的羽毛洗濯， 

向花求爱——这花使它自惭形秽。

Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why 

This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, 

Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing, 

Then beauty is its own excuse for Being: 

Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!

紫陀萝花！如果哲人问你为什么 

在天地间浪费你的美， 

你告诉他们，如果有眼睛是为了要看的，

 那么美丽自身就是它存在的理由： 

与玫瑰争艳的花，你为什么在那里？

I never thought to ask; I never knew; 

But in my simple ignorance suppose 

The self-same power that brought me there, brought you.

我从来没想到问，我从来也不知道， 

但是我脑筋简单，我想着 

把我带到那里去的一种可能，把你也带去了。

Edited by Fan Tingting