夏济安：华盛顿·欧文《西敏大寺》精彩译文(节选1)

Westminster Abbey
西敏大寺

作者：Washington Irving   译者：夏济安

　　And yet it almost provokes a smile at the vanity of human ambition to see how they are crowded together and jostled in the dust; what parsimony is observed in doling out a scanty nook, a gloomy corner, a little portion of earth, to those whom, when alive, kingdoms could not satisfy, and how many shapes and forms and artifices are devised to catch the casual notice of the passenger, and save from forgetfulness for a few short years a name which once aspired to occupy ages of the world’s thought and admiration.

　　现在这些伟人横七竖八地挤在泥土之中；他们在世之时，多少王国的疆域都不足以供他们纵马驰骋，如今为了遵照经济的原则，他们只分得那么小小的一块土地，那么贫瘠而黑暗的一个角落。他们曾企图使自己的英名占有世世代代人的思想，获得人人的钦羡，如今他们的坟墓上，却千方百计地雕出种种图案和装饰，只为了吸引游客偶然的一顾，免得在短短的几年之中，就把他们的名字忘怀。看了这些，想到人生的虚空，我又几乎忍不住要惨然一笑了。