莎士比亚十四行诗全集:第4篇

 　　Unthrifty loveliness, why dost thou spend. Upon thyself thy beauty's legacy¹? 挥霍成性的可人，为什么你把美的遗产耗光在你的自身？

　　Nature's bequest² gives nothing but doth lend, And being frank she lends to those are free. 造化只出借却不会馈赠，她生性慷慨也只出借慷慨之人。

　　Then, beauteous niggard, why dost thou abuse 那么美丽的吝啬鬼，你为什么滥用

　　The bounteous³ largess given thee to give? 造化托你转交的美丽的礼品？

　　Profitless usurer, why dost thou use So great a sum of sums yet canst not live? 无利可图的食利者啊，你为什么挥霍了重金，却仍不能安生？

　　For having traffic with thyself alone, 只因你仅仅和自己买卖经营，

　　Thou of thyself thy sweet self dost deceive. 你行骗也只骗了你甜蜜的自身。

　　Then how when Nature calls thee to be gone, 那么当造化有一天唤走你的生命，

　　What acceptable audit⁴ canst thou leave? 你怎能把满意的清单留与世人？

　　Thy unused beauty must be tombed with thee, 何不如风流，让后代使你容貌长依旧，

　　Which, used, lives th' executor to be. 不然你那未被垂顾之美只好殉葬荒丘。

1 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

2 bequest   

n.遗赠；遗产，遗物

参考例句：

• In his will he made a substantial bequest to his wife.在遗嘱里他给妻子留下了一大笔遗产。
• The library has received a generous bequest from a local businessman.图书馆从当地一位商人那里得到了一大笔遗赠。

3 bounteous   

adj.丰富的

参考例句：

• Because of the spring rains,the farmers had a bounteous crop.因为下了春雨，农夫获得了丰收。
• He has a bounteous imagination.他有丰富的想象力。

4 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。