The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd

[英國] 沃特·雷利 Walter Raleigh

作者簡介

沃特·雷利Walter Raleigh(1554-1618),英國伊麗莎白時代的宮廷詩人。沃特?雷利出生在德文郡。曾經在牛津大學就讀，參加過法國宗教戰爭，之后在倫敦學習法律，逐漸結交了宮廷和知識界的朋友。雷利一生中寫過許多詩歌，大多以手稿形式流傳在外。他的詩歌多為抒情短詩，其特點是在彼特拉克式 (Petrarchan)的愛情主題中，摻入自己對人類生活環境的思考，表達了對生命無常和時光短暫的感慨，時常帶有傷感抑郁之情。

Fall the world and love were young,

And truth in every shepherd’s tongue,

These pretty pleasures might me move

To live with thee and be thy love.

Time drives the flocks from field to fold,

When rivers rage and rocks grow cold，

And Philomel becometh dumb;

The rest complains of cares to come.

The flowers do fade, and wanton fields

To wayward winter reckoning yields:

A honey tongue, a heart of gall,

Is fancy’s spring, but sorrow’s fall.

The gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,

Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies

Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten,

In folly ripe, in reason rotten.

Thy belt of straw and ivy buds,

Thy coral clasps and amber studs,

All these in me no means can move

To come to thee and be thy love.

But could youth last and love still breed,

Had joys no date nor age no need,

Then these delights my mind might move

To live with thee and be thy love.