精美英文欣赏:光明将至的荣耀(罗伯特.希利尔)

我很幸运有开朗的性格，会享受这个世界的快乐。对于日常生活，我想说：世界每时每刻都在变化。我不希望生活充斥着物质追求；另一方面，我也不愿盲目否定自我以期待神赐喜悦的来临。一天的快乐一天当就够了。

Escape the Dark Destructive Force

   by Robert Hillyer

“I feel the coming glory of the light.” This last line of Edwin Arlington Robinson’s sonnet¹ “Credo” expresses the general basis of my belief. It is my task to clear away the debris² of dead emotions, regrets, and petty ambitions that the quickening light may come through. The five senses and the mystery of the breath draw in the wonder of the world, and with that the glory of God. I may seldom rise to moments of exaltation, but I try to keep myself prepared for them. Thus, I oppose the desire for oblivion that gnaws³ at our roots even as the light is summoning us to bloom.

The desire for oblivion conspires⁴ against the soul from outer circumstances and also from within oneself. Its agents are worry and resentment⁵, envy and show. Its impulse is to seek things that are equally disappointing whether they are missed or acquired. Its result is an abject⁶ conviction that everything is futile⁷. By meditation⁸ and prayer, I can escape that dark, destructive force and win my way back to the beauties of the world and the joy of God.

I believe in my survival after death. Like many others before me, I have experienced “intimations of immortality⁹.” I can no more explain these than the brown seed can explain the flowering tree. Deep in the soil in time’s midwinter, my very stirring and unease seems a kind of growing pain toward June.

As to orthodox belief, I am an Episcopalian, like my family before me. I can repeat the Creed¹⁰ without asking too much margin¹¹ for personal interpretation¹². To me it is a pattern, like the sonnet form in poetry, for the compact expression of faith. There are other patterns for other people, and I have no quarrel with these. By many paths we reach the single goal.

I believe in the good intentions of others, and I trust people instinctively¹³. My trust has often been betrayed in petty ways, and once or twice gravely. I cannot stop trusting people, because suspicion is contrary to my nature. Nor would I, because the number of people who have justified¹⁴ my trust are ten to one to those who have abused it. And I know that on occasion I have myself, perhaps inadvertently, failed to live up to some trust reposed¹⁵ in me.

That the universe has a purposeful movement toward spiritual perfection seems to me logical, unless we are all cells in the brain of an idiot. A belief in spiritual as well as physical evolution has sustained me in an optimism still unshaken by cynics. There may be setbacks of a century or even centuries, but they seem small reverses when measured against the vast prospect¹⁶ of human progress or even the record of it up to this point.

I am blessed with a buoyant temperament¹⁷ and enjoy the pleasures of this earth. For daily living, I would say: one world at a time. I do not wish my life to be cluttered¹⁸ with material things; on the other hand, I do not wish to anticipate, by fanatical self-denial, the raptures¹⁹ to come. Sufficient unto the day is the good thereof.

罗伯特.希利尔

“我感到光明将至的荣耀”是埃德温.阿林顿.罗宾逊的十四行诗《信条》中的最后一行，概括了我的基本信仰。我的任务便是清除死去的情感、悔恨和卑鄙欲望的残骸，迎接加速前进的光明。五种感官和神秘的气息感受这奇妙的世界，并随之沐浴上帝的荣光。我很少有欣喜若狂的时候，但仍努力准备迎接这一时刻的来临。因此，我反对弃世逃遁，这种想法即使在上帝的荣光召唤我们大显身手时也在内心深处噬咬着我们。

弃世逃遁的想法无论是受外来的影响还是来自我们自身都不利于我们的灵魂。其诱因为焦虑、怨恨、嫉妒和矫饰；其促成因素是寻求无论失去还是得到都同样令人失望的东西；其后果是产生一种怯懦的想法，认为一切均是徒劳。在冥思与祈祷中，我可以避开这种罪恶的破坏力，重新回到美丽的世界，重享上帝给我的喜乐。

我相信自己可以死而复生。像许多我的前辈一样，我经历过“不朽的暗示”。这种体验，只有一粒褐色的种子成长为一棵鲜花盛开的大树的经历才能解释清楚：隆冬时节深深埋在泥土里，极度的刺激和焦虑恰似一种生长的痛苦，持续到六月。

说到正统信仰，和父辈一样，我是一名圣公会教徒，可以重复教条的教义而不太走样。在我看来，这些教条的精义是一种模式，如同诗歌中十四行诗的形式，以凝练的方式表达信仰。他人有另外的模式，我对此无异议，因为“我们殊途同归”。

我相信他人的善意，并且本能地信任人。尽管信任的人常常背叛我，让我十分不快，有一两次他们非常卑鄙地背叛了我，我仍然相信人，因为怀疑不是我的天性，我也不愿意这样。毕竟值得我信任与辜负我信任的人数目之比为10：1，并且我知道，也许在无意之中，我自己也辜负了别人对我的信任。

世界朝着精神完美的目标行进，这一观点在我看来是符合逻辑的，否则我们都成了白痴的脑细胞。精神和肉体都在进化，这一信仰使我十分乐观，愤世嫉俗者也没有动摇这种乐观主义。也许在一个世纪甚至几个世纪里会出现挫折，但与人类进步的远大前程或与人类发展至今的历史相比，这些挫折不过是小小的失败。

我很幸运有开朗的性格，会享受这个世界的快乐。对于日常生活，我想说：世界每时每刻都在变化。我不希望生活充斥着物质追求；另一方面，我也不愿盲目否定自我以期待神赐喜悦的来临。一天的快乐一天当就够了。
 

1 sonnet   

n.十四行诗

参考例句：

• The composer set a sonnet to music.作曲家为一首十四行诗谱了曲。
• He wrote a sonnet to his beloved.他写了一首十四行诗，献给他心爱的人。

2 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

3 gnaws   

咬( gnaw的第三人称单数 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物

参考例句：

• Time, whose tooth gnaws away everything else, is powerless against truth. 时间，它的利齿可咬碎万物，但对真理却无能为力。
• The water gnaws at the shoreline. 海水侵蚀海岸线。

4 conspires   

密谋( conspire的第三人称单数 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• You speak as if all Sparta conspires against you. 你说得好像整个斯巴达在共谋对抗你。
• The mystical organization syndicate, conspires to harass the social order. 神秘组织辛迪加，密谋扰乱社会治安。

5 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

6 abject   

adj.极可怜的，卑屈的

参考例句：

• This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.这一政策最后以惨败而告终。
• He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr.Alleyne for his impertinence.他不得不低声下气，为他的无礼举动向艾莱恩先生请罪。

7 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

8 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

9 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

10 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

11 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

12 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

13 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

15 reposed   

v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Cruncher reposed under a patchwork counterpane, like a Harlequin at home. 克朗彻先生盖了一床白衲衣图案的花哨被子，像是呆在家里的丑角。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• An old man reposed on a bench in the park. 一位老人躺在公园的长凳上。 来自辞典例句

16 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

17 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

18 cluttered   

v.杂物，零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 )；乱糟糟地堆满，把…弄得很乱；（以…） 塞满…

参考例句：

• The room is cluttered up with all kinds of things. 零七八碎的东西放满了一屋子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The desk is cluttered with books and papers. 桌上乱糟糟地堆满了书报。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 raptures   

极度欢喜( rapture的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her heart melted away in secret raptures. 她暗自高兴得心花怒放。
• The mere thought of his bride moves Pinkerton to raptures. 一想起新娘，平克顿不禁心花怒放。