莎士比亞戲劇《李爾王》第一幕第四場中,弄人(Fool)有這么一首打油詩:
Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest,
Ride more than thou goest,
Learn more than thou trowest,
Set less than thou throwest;
Leave thy drink and thy whore,
And keep in-a-door,
And thou shalt have more
Than two tens to a score.
其中的“leave thy drink”有不同的翻譯版本,梁實(shí)秋翻譯為“莫縱酒”,朱生豪翻譯為“莫飲酒”,卞之琳和方平翻譯為“不喝酒”。那原文的 “leave thy drink”到底是勸人“莫飲酒”還是“莫縱酒”呢?
在英文中“drink”有一個(gè)詞意是“drink excessive amounts of alcohol; be an alcoholic”,也就是說“drink”本身有“縱酒”的意思。Mabillard和 Amanda曾在“Shakespeare's Drinking”一文中專門探討了莎士比亞時(shí)代的飲酒。根據(jù)他們的研究,麥芽酒(ale)是莎士比亞時(shí)代最普遍的酒類,從窮苦的農(nóng)民到伊麗莎白女王,都會(huì)飲用麥芽酒,每個(gè)家庭都有一個(gè)小型的釀酒坊。莎士比亞自己的父親是曾是宮廷的一個(gè)品酒師,這在伊麗莎白時(shí)代是一個(gè)非常重要而受尊重的工作,主要工作包括監(jiān)督麥芽酒的制作原料,并確保麥芽酒價(jià)格合理。紅酒(wine)主要是英國上層社會(huì)享用,因?yàn)橛?dāng)時(shí)主要從法國進(jìn)口葡萄,紅酒價(jià)格較高。另外莎士比亞作品提到的酒類還有馬姆齊甜酒(Malmsey)和蜂蜜酒(Mead)等。
莎士比亞的多部作品中有對(duì)飲酒的描述。例如在《亨利四世》下篇(King Henry IV, Part II)的末尾,福斯塔夫(FALSTAFF)有這么一段關(guān)于雪利酒的描述:
A good sherris sack hath a two-fold
operation in it. It ascends me into the brain;
dries me there all the foolish and dull and curdy
vapours which environ it; makes it apprehensive,
quick, forgetive, full of nimble fiery and
delectable shapes, which, delivered o'er to the
voice, the tongue, which is the birth, becomes
excellent wit. The second property of your
excellent sherris is, the warming of the blood;
which, before cold and settled, left the liver
white and pale, which is the badge of pusillanimity
and cowardice; but the sherris warms it and makes
it course from the inwards to the parts extreme:
it illumineth the face, which as a beacon gives
warning to all the rest of this little kingdom,
man, to arm; and then the vital commoners and
inland petty spirits muster me all to their captain,
the heart, who, great and puffed up with this
retinue, doth any deed of courage; and this valour
comes of sherris.
“一杯上好的雪利酒有兩重的作用。它升上頭腦,把包圍在頭腦四周的一切愚蠢沉悶混濁的烏煙瘴氣一起驅(qū)散,使它變得敏悟機(jī)靈,才思奮發(fā),充滿了活潑熱烈而有趣的意象,把這種意象形之唇舌,便是絕妙的辭鋒。好雪利酒的第二重作用,就是使血液溫暖;一個(gè)人的血液本來是冰冷而靜止的,他的肝臟顯著蒼白的顏色,那正是孱弱和怯懦的標(biāo)記;可是雪利酒會(huì)使血液發(fā)生熱力,使它從內(nèi)部暢流到全身各處。它會(huì)叫一個(gè)人的臉上發(fā)出光來……所以哈利親王是勇敢的;因?yàn)樗麖母赣H身上遺傳來的天生的冷血,像一塊瘦瘠不毛的土地一般,已經(jīng)被他用極大的努力,喝下很好很多的雪利酒,作為灌溉的肥料,把它耕墾過了,所以他才會(huì)變得熱烈而勇敢。”(朱生豪譯)
根據(jù)這段的描述,飲酒可以讓人變得“熱烈而勇敢”。
《維洛那二紳士》(The Two Gentlemen of Verona )中第四幕第一場在談到女人優(yōu)點(diǎn)時(shí),其中一條是“She brews good ale”(她會(huì)釀上好的麥酒), 并且還有一句話是“Blessing of your heart, you brew good ale”( ‘你釀得好麥酒,上帝保佑你’)。在這里會(huì)釀酒是優(yōu)點(diǎn),還會(huì)得到上帝的保佑。
從以上例子大概可以看出,莎士比亞并不反對(duì)人們“飲酒”。但是莎士比亞也不贊成人們“縱酒”。
在莎士比亞的《第十二夜》(Twelfth Night )第一幕第五場中奧麗維婭和小丑有一個(gè)關(guān)于“飲酒”的對(duì)話:
OLIVIA What's a drunken man like, fool?
CLOWN Like a drowned man, a fool, and a madman: one draught above heat makes him a fool, the second mads him, and a third drowns him.
奧麗維婭 傻子,醉漢像個(gè)什么東西?
小丑 像個(gè)溺死鬼,像個(gè)傻瓜,又像個(gè)瘋子。多喝了一口就會(huì)把他變成個(gè)傻瓜;再喝一口就發(fā)了瘋;喝了第三口就把他溺死了。(朱生豪譯)
綜上所述,筆者認(rèn)為“leave thy drink”翻譯為“莫縱酒”更加準(zhǔn)確。
基礎(chǔ)部 毋婀幸 |