Invictus
by William Ernest Henley (1849 – 1903)
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
译文:
不屈(我不会倒下)
威廉亨利
透过覆盖我的深夜,我看见层层无底的黑暗。
感谢上帝赐我,不可征服的灵魂。
就算被地狱紧紧攫住,我不会畏缩,也不惊叫。
经过一浪又一浪的打击,我满头鲜血不低头。
在这满是愤怒和眼泪的世界之外,恐怖阴影在游荡。
还有,未来的威胁,可是我毫不畏惧。
无论我将穿过的那扇门有多窄,
无论我将肩承怎样的责罚。
我是命运的主宰,
我是灵魂的统帅。
相关背景:
此为维多利亚时期(19世纪)英国诗人威廉亨利(Willaim Ernest Henley, 1849-1903)的名篇。作者从小体弱多病,患有肺结核症,一只脚被截掉;为了保住另一只脚,他一生都奋力和病魔抗争,不向命运屈服。
“Invictus,拉丁语(=unconquerable),“不可征服”之意。此诗是诗人在病榻上所作,因被美国俄城联邦政府大楼爆炸案主犯麦克维在处决前朗诵而广为人知。”