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THE THORNY ROAD OF HONOR
光荣的荆棘路
Hans Christian Andersen 1856
An old story yet lives of the “Thorny(thorny adj.多刺的, 痛苦的) Road of Honor,”of a marksman(marksman n.射手, 神射手),who indeed attained to rank and office,but only after a lifelong and weary(weary adj.疲倦的, 厌倦的, 令人厌烦的, 疲劳v.疲倦, 厌倦, 厌烦) strife (strife n.斗争, 冲突, 竞争)against difficulties. Who has not ,in reading this story,thought of his own strife,and of his own numerous “difficulties?”
有一个古老的故事依然在一个神射手的生命中流传，他只有毕生与厄难困苦不倦不休的斗争，才能获得真正的荣耀和不朽的地位。谁读过这个故事，他是否也想起他所经历的挣扎和他自己面临的无数困苦。
The story is very closely akin(akin adj.同族的, 类似的) to reality;but still it has its harmonious(harmonious adj.和谐的, 协调的, 和睦的, 悦耳的) explanation here on earth,while reality often points beyond the confines (confines n.疆界, 范围, 界线)of life to the regions of eternity. The history of the world is like a magic lantern (lantern n.灯笼, 提灯, 幻灯, 信号, 天窗)that displays to us,in light pictures upon the dark ground of the present,how the benefactors(benefactor n.恩人, 捐助者, 赠送者, 赞助人) of mankind,the martyrs (martyr n.烈士, 殉教者v.杀害, 折磨)of genius(genius n.天才, 天赋, 天才人物),wandered along the thorny road of honor.
这个故事如此贴近我们生活的现实，尽管它还有基于现实的各种阐释，它总是指向那永恒生命之外的深邃真谛。在现实的黯淡背景下，人类历史好像魔幻之灯向我们展示一幅幅闪亮的图景：那些为人类事业奉献生命的人们、那些不幸殉道的天才，正在那光荣的荆棘路上行进。
From all periods,and from every country,these shining pictures display themselves to us. Each only appears for a few moments,but each represents a whole life,sometimes a whole age,with its conflicts and victories. Let us contemplate (contemplate v.凝视, 沉思, 预期, 企图)here and which will receive new members until the world itself shall pass away.
这些各个时代、各个国家的闪光图景向我们展现。每一幅图景虽然只有一瞬间，却代表一个人的奋斗胜利的一生，有些甚至代表一个风云变幻的时代。让我们在此期待不断出现的新图景、直至世界最后消失。
We look down upon a crowded amphitheatre(amphitheatre .阶梯教室(美作：amphitheater)n.圆形剧场). Out of the “Clouds” of Aristophanes,satire (satire n.讽刺文学, 讽刺)and humor are pouring down in streams upon the audience;on the stage Socrates(Socrates n.苏格拉底(469-399BC,古希腊哲学家)),the most remarkable man in Athens,he who had been the shield and defence of the people against the thirty tyrants,is held up mentally and bodily to ridicule(ridicule n.嘲笑, 奚落
v.嘲笑, 奚落)-Socrates,who saved Alcibiades and Xenophon in the turmoil (turmoil n.骚动, 混乱)of battle,and whose genius soared(soar v.高飞, 高丛, 滑翔, 剧增, 昂扬n.高飞范围, 高涨程度) far above the gods of the ancients.
我们看到人头攒动的圆形剧场，阿里斯托芬斯的《云》正在上演，讥讽和嘲笑正如潮水一般从观众中洒向舞台上的苏格拉底，正在这位雅典的俊杰，他曾是人们反抗三十位暴君的庇护神，此刻却在精神和肉体上饱受人奚落和作弄。正是这位苏格拉底在那关键之役中拯救阿尔斯庇厄兹和色诺芬，他的天才超乎世代众神。
He himself is present;he has risen from the spectator’s bench,and has stepped forward,that the laughing Athenians may well appreciate the likeness between himself and the caricature on the stage. There he stands before them,towering high above them all.
Thou juicy,green,poisonous hemlock,throw thy shadow over Athens-not thou,olive tree of fame!
他如此坚定地屹立，超卓于坐席中的观众之上，他高蹈独步前进，那些正在嘲笑的雅典人也许对他自己和舞台上这出讽刺画敬佩不已，他站在那里，像一尊高耸的巨塔超拔于嚣众之上。
你，这多汁的绿色的剧毒胡萝卜，将你雅典投入阴翳中的是你，而不是那传说中的橄榄树！
Seven cities contended for the honor of giving birth to Homer-that is to say,they contended after his death! Let us look at him as he was in his lifetime. He wanders on foot through the cities,and recites his verses for a livelihood;the thought for the morrow turns his hair gray!
荷马死后，七个城市争相把荷马的出生地作为无上荣耀。要知道，这种竞争只不过是荷马死后的哀荣。让我们看看他生前的不幸身世吧！可怜的他赤足浪迹各大城市，靠背诵他的诗向维持生计，一想到明日只盼到满头白发。
He ,the great seer(seer n.预言家, 先知者, 幻想家),is blind,and painfully pursues his way-the sharp thorn tears the mantle of the king of poets. His song yet lives,and through that alone live all the heroes and gods of antiquity(antiquity n.古代, 古老, 古代的遗物).
他这位伟大的预言家不过是一个瞎子，他戴着满头尖利荆棘破旧斗篷，苦苦追求着他心中的梦。时至今日，他的歌仍在充满生命，通过那些栩栩如生的英雄和古老的神祗仍然拥有强大的生命力。
One picture after another springs up from the east,from the west,far removed from each other in time and place,and yet each one forming a portion of the thorny road of honor,on which the thistle(thistle n.[植”>蓟) indeed displays a flower,but only to adorn(adorn v.装饰) the grave.
一幅又一幅的图景从东方到西方不断闪过，又从那遥远而交互演变的时空中不断闪现，每一幅图景都幻化成一条光荣的荆棘路，在这条路上，仅有一束尖蓟丛中的鲜花在装饰那荒冢野坟。
The camels pass along under palm threes;they are richly laden with indigo(indigo n.靛, 靛青) and other treasures of value,sent by the ruler of the land to him whose songs are the delight of the people,the fame of the country.
满载靛青和无价珍宝的驼队正经过棕榈树林，这些宝物由国王送往一个用诗歌给世人带来光明和荣耀国家的诗人。
He whom envy and falsehood (falsehood n.谬误, 不真实, 谎言, 虚假)have driven into exile has been found,and the caravan(caravan n.(商队, 游客经过沙漠时为安全起见而结队同行的)沙漠, 旅行队, 大篷车) approaches the little town in which he has taken refuge. A poor corpse(corpse n.尸体) is carried out of the town gate,and the funeral procession causes the caravan to halt. The dead man is he whom they have been sent to seek-Firdusi-who has wandered the Thorny road of honor even to the end.
当他被发现时，他已被嫉妒和谎言驱逐到蛮夷荒凉之地，当穿越沙漠的驼队为了寻找他而抵达他避难的小镇时，他可怜的尸体刚运出镇门，丧葬的队列阻挡了驼队的去路，这位死去的弗达斯正是他们苦苦追寻的人，正是他处在人生弥留之际，仍然漫步在光荣的荆棘路上。
The African,with blunt features,thick lips,and woolly hair,sits on the marble steps of the palace in the capital of Portugal,and begs. He is the submissive(submissive adj.顺从的) slave of Camoens,and but for him,and for the copper coins thrown to him by the passers-by,his master,the poet of the “Lusiad,”would die of hunger. Now,a costly monument marks the grave of Camoens.
在葡萄牙首都王宫大理石台阶上，坐着一个生性僵笨、厚厚嘴唇、头如羊毛的非洲人正在乞讨，他正是凯莫伦斯的忠仆，如果没有他向路人乞讨铜板，他的主人，史诗《路西安德》的作者恐怕早就死于饥饿了。而现在，人们看到的是在凯莫伦斯坟墓前矗立起一座尊贵的纪念碑。
There is a new picture.
Behind the iron grating(grating n.门窗的栅栏, [物理”>光栅, 摩擦, 摩擦声adj.刺耳的) a man appears,pale as death,with long unkempt(unkempt adj.蓬乱的, 粗野的, 不整洁的) beard. “I have made a discovery,”he says,“the greatest that has been made for centuries;and they have kept me locked up here for more than twenty years！”
Who is the man?
“A madman,” replies the keeper of the madhouse.“what whimsical(whimsical adj.反复无常的, 古怪的) ideas these lunatics(lunatic adj.精神错乱的, 疯狂的, 极端愚蠢的n.疯子, 狂人, 大傻瓜, 疯人) have! He imagines that one can propel (propel vt.推进, 驱使)things by means of steam.”
这是一幅新的图景。
隔着铁栅栏，我们看到一个像死人一样苍白的人，蓄着凌乱长长的胡子。“我有一个伟大的发现，”他叫嚷道，“这是漫长数世纪以来最伟大的发现，但是他们却将我关在这儿二十多年了”。
这个人是谁？
“一个疯子，”疯人院的看守说。“这些疯子的想法多么荒唐！他居然想像蒸汽能推动物体前进。”
It is Solomon de Cares,the discoverer of the power of steam,whose theory,expressed in dark words,is not understood by Richelieu;and he dies in the madhouse.
这就是所罗门•德•凯尔瑞兹，正是他发现了蒸汽机，因为他的理论表述晦涩难懂，红衣主教黎塞留一时读不懂，竟将他关死在疯人院里。
Here stands Columbus,whom the street boys used once to follow and jeer,because he wanted to discover a new world;and he has discovered it.
Shouts of joy greet him from the breasts of all,and the clash of bells sounds to celebrate his triumphant return;but the clash of the bells of envy soon drowns the others.
现在站在我们面前的是哥伦布，正因为他想发现一个新世界而已经发现这个新世界，一群街头玩童一度追逐着嘲笑他。
欢呼他的呼啸声如嘲水般从胸膛发出，庆祝他凯旋的钟声喧嚣不已，但随之而来的是足以淹没人的嫉妒的丧钟巨鸣。
The discoverer of a world-he who lifted the American gold land from the sea,and gave it to his king-he is rewarded with iron chains. He wishes that these chains may be placed in his coffin,for they witness to the world of the way in which a man’s contemporaries reward good service.
正是这位整整一个新世界的发现者将美洲黄金大陆从那瀚海远方带到他的国王面前，殊不知迎接他的却是铁链枷锁。他真恨不得将这些铁链枷锁带进棺材，让他们好见证他的同时代人对一个全心服务世界的人的报偿。
One picture after another comes crowding on;the thorny path of honor and of fame is over-filled.
Here in dark night sits the man who measured the mountains in the moon;he who forced his way out into the endless space aoming stars and planets;he ,the mighty man who undrstood the spirit of nature,and felt the earth moving beneath his feet-Galileo.
一幅又一幅的图景簇拥而过，在这条荆棘路上充满太多的光荣和荣耀。
在这黑夜里坐着一个人，正是他称量月球上的群山，正是他把视野投向那无边无际的太空星辰，正是这位坚强的男子深谙大自然的奥义、他深信这颗地球运行他――伽利略的足下。
Blind and deaf he sits-an old man thrust through with the spear of suffering,and amid the torments of neglect,scarcely able to lift his foot-that foot with which,in the anguish(angush n.痛苦, 苦恼vt.使极苦闷, 使极痛苦vi.感到痛苦) of his soul,when men denied the truth,he stamped upon the ground,with the exclamation,“yet it moves!”
他又聋又瞎地坐在那里，因为人们不相信他发现的真理，这位垂暮老人饱受囹圄折磨、惨遭遗弃，日夜承受锥心刺痛，几乎抬起他的脚――他依然凭这双停顿触地的脚在感受，在惊呼：“这颗地球依然在转动！”
Here stands a woman of childlike mind,yet full of faith and inspiration. She carries the banner in front of the combating army,and brings victory and salvation to her fatherland. The sound of shouting arises,and the pile flames up. They are burning the witch(witch n.巫婆, 女巫, 迷人的女子vt.施巫术, 迷惑),Joan of Aric. Yes,and a future century jeers at the White Lily. Voltaire,the satyr of human intellect,writes “La Pucelle.”
现在站在面前的这位像孩子一般天真的女子，满脸信心和灵气。面对汹涌来犯大敌，她高举义旗冲锋在前号召群起反抗，为拯救祖国取得胜利。但是，随之而来的是人们不屑的嘲笑声浪汹涌而起，接着是柴堆上腾起熊熊烈火。他们正在焚烧所谓的女巫――来自阿瑞克的琼。是啊，整整一个世纪都在嘲弄这朵洁白的百合。人类的智者伏尔泰却为她写下《圣女贞德》。
At the Thing or Assembly at Viborg,the Danish nobles burn the laws of the king. They flame up high,illuminating the period and the lawgiver,and throw a glory into the dark prison tower,where an old man is growing gray and bent. With his finger he marks out a groove in the stone table. It is the popular king who sits there,once the ruler of three kingdoms,the friend of the citizen and the peasant. It is Christian the Second. Enemies wrote his history. Let us remember his improvements of seven and twenty years,if we cannot forget his crime.
在维博格堡，在人潮涌动中，丹麦贵族们将国王颁布的法律焚之一炬。他们点燃的烈焰窜得老高，映亮那个时代和那位立法者的脸庞，火堆迸出的火光照进囚禁那位立法者的黑暗囚牢高塔，在那里面，那位立法者正是那位脸色日益苍白、身材佝偻的老人。他在那里正一个劲儿在那石墙上用手指划那道凹槽。正是这位无可奈何坐在那儿的老头，曾是一度统治三个时代、深得人心的国王、更是广大市民的知音和农民的朋友。他就是克瑞斯帝安那二世。众多的敌人书写了他的历史。让我们牢记他带来的27年改革和进步，尽管我们无法忘记他的罪过。
A ship sails away,quitting the Danish shores. A man leans against the mast,casting a last glance towards the Island Hueen. It is Tycho Brahe.
He raised the name of Demark to the stars,and was rewarded with injury,loss and sorrow. He is going to a strange country. “The vault of heaven is above me everywhere,”he says,“and what do I want more?”
And away sails the famous Dane,the astronomer,to live honored and free in a strange land.
在一艘正在离开丹麦海岸的船上，一位男子倚靠着冉冉升起的桅杆，恋恋不舍地向汶岛怅望最后一眼，他正是第谷•布瑞赫。
他将丹麦的英名升至满天星辰，回报他的却是侮辱、失落和悲伤。此刻，他正驶往一个陌生的国度。“头顶上空，天穹无所不在，”他说，“我还有何求？”
就这样，这位著名的丹麦天文学家离开故乡，驶往并来到一片陌生的地方，开始荣耀而自由的生涯。
“Ay,free,if only from the unbearable sufferings of the body!”comes in a sigh through time,and strikes upon our ear. What a picture!
Griffenfeldt,a Danish Prometheus(Prometheus
n.[希神”>普罗米修斯(造福于人类的神)),bound to the rocky island of Munkholm.
“唉，要是从这无法忍受的肉身痛苦中解脱获得自由，那该多好！”从茫茫时间长河传来一个声音撞击我们的耳膜，这是一幅何等壮观的图景！
格里芬菲尔德，这位丹麦的普罗米修斯，正被终身囚缚在芒克荷尔姆岛坚石上。
We are in America,on the margin of one of the largest rivers;an innumerable crowd has gathered,for it is said that a ship is to sail against the wind and weather ,bidding defiance (defiance 挑战, 蔑视, 挑衅) to the elements. The man who thinks he can solve the problem is named Robert Fulton. The ship begins its passage,but suddenly it stops. The crowd begins to laugh and whistle and hiss(hiss 嘶嘶作声, 用嘘声表示)-the very father of the man whistles with the rest.
我们现在来到美国，在世界最长的一条大河的岸边，数不清的人群簇拥在那里，听说这里将有一艘船不管是刮风还是天气都迎风破浪起航，宣称这将挑战传统真理。那个声称解决难题的正是罗伯特•富尔顿。这艘船刚开始她的航程，就突然熄火停止前进，这时人群中开始爆发出嘲笑声、起哄声和嘘嘘声，包括富尔顿的父亲在内也跟着在其中起哄。
“Conceit(conceit 原义：想法, 意见, 自负, 幻想, 狂妄)!Foolery!( foolery愚蠢的行为, 愚蠢, 蠢事)”is the cry.“It has happened just as he deserved. Put the crack-brain under lock and key!”
Then suddenly a little nail breaks,which had stopped the machine for a few moments;and now the wheels turn again,the floats break the force of the waters,and the ship continues its course;and the beam of the steam engine shortens the distance between far lands from hours into minutes.
“幻想狂！蠢货！”人群中爆发喊叫声，“他这是活该，应该将这个头脑有病的家伙关起来。”
就在这时，刚才导致发动机停止的小钉子被拔除，蒸汽轮又开始运转，带动轮涡轮排水浮动前进，轮船继续开始它的航程，从此，蒸汽轮船将人类漫长的旅程从数小时缩短为几分钟。
O human race,canst thou grasp the happiness of such a minute of consciousness(consciousness 意识, 知觉,觉悟, 个人思想),this penetration of the soul by its mission,the moment in which all dejection(dejection沮丧),and every wound-even those caused by one’s own fault-is change into health and strength and clearness-when discord is converted（converted更换信仰的, 修改的） to harmony（harmony 协调, 融洽）-the minute in which men seem to recognize the manifestation(manifestation .显示, 表现) of the heavenly grace in one man,and feel how this one imparts（impart 给予(尤指抽象事物), 传授, 告知, 透露） it to all?
啊，高贵的人类，那为神圣的使命所左右的灵魂是否意识到片刻的幸福，正是在此刻，所有的沮丧、每一次创伤甚至因为某个个人的错误导致的不幸，都转换为安康、强壮和晴朗，所有的噪音都转化为和谐，来自上苍的荣耀在那一刹那彰显无遗地降临他们的身上，从他们的身上传递到整个人类？
Thus the thorny path of honor shows itself as a glory,surrounding the earth with its beams. Thrice (thrice三次)happy he who is chosen to be a wanderer there,and ,without merit(merit 优点, 价值v.有益于) of his own,to be placed between the builder of the bridge and the earth-between Providence and the human race.
这条光荣的荆棘路闪烁着光芒，环绕地球成为一条灿烂的光环。那种极乐荣耀只有他这个流浪者被遴选领享，虽然他本人没有丝毫得益，却被赋予在天人之间担当人类津梁缔造者的重任。
On mighty wings the spirit of history floats through the ages,and shows-giving courage and comfort,and awakening gentle thoughts-on the dark nightly background,but in gleaming pictures,the thorny path of honor,which does not,like a fairy tale,end in brilliancy(brilliancy光辉, 出色) and joy here on earth,but stretches out beyond all time,even into eternity!
在那隐约闪现的画面上，光荣的荆棘路穿越世代的历史灵魂的强劲翅翼之上，在那黑夜的背景上给予人们勇气、安慰及温柔激励，就像一个神话， 绝不会在尘世间荣耀快乐，但是她会超越时间直达永恒化境。