▋致后代
布莱希特（德国)

I

Truly, I live in dark times!
An artless word is foolish. A smooth forehead
Points to insensitivity. He who laughs
Has not yet received

The terrible news.

What times are these, in which
A conversation about trees is almost a crime
For it implies silence about so many misdeeds!
And he who walks quietly across the street,
Passes out of the reach of his friends

Who are in need?

It is true:I earn a living
But believe me, that’s just a coincidence. Nothing
That I do entitles me to eat my fill.

By chance I have been spared. (If my luck does not hold,I am doomed.)

People tell me: eat and drink. Be glad that you did!
But how can I eat and drink
When I take what I eat from the starving
My glass of water from someone dying of thirst?

And yet I eat and drink.

I would like to be wise.
The old books tell what wisdom is:
To retreat from the strife of the world
To live out the brief time that is your lot
Without fear
To make your way without violence
To repay evil with good
Do not seek to satisfy desires, but to forget
That is wise
But I cannot heed this:

Truly I live in dark times!


II

I came into the cities in a time of disorder
As hunger reigned.
I came among men in a time of turmoil
And I rose up with them.
And so passed

The time given to me on earth.

I ate my food between battles.
I laid down to sleep among murderers.
I loved carelessly.
I looked upon nature with impatience.
And so passed

The time given to me on earth.

In my time roadsled into the swamp.
Speechbetrayed me to the slaughterer.
I could do very little. But without me
Rulers would have sat more securely, or so I hoped.
And so passed

The time given to me on earth.

The powers were so limited. The goal
Lay far in the distance
Clearly visible, though for me
Hard to reach.
And so passed

The time given to me on earth.

III

You, whowill emerge from the flood
In which we have sunk,
Remember
When you speak of our weaknesses,
And of the dark time

That you have escaped.

For we went forth, changing our country more frequently than our shoes
Through the class warfare, despairing

When there was only injustice and no outrage.

And yet we knew:
Even hatred of squalor
Distorts one’s features.
Even anger against injustice
Makes the voice hoarse. Oh, We
Who wished to prepare the groundfor gentleness

Could not ourselves be gentle.

But your time, if at last it comes
When one can help another,
Think of us

With leniency.


▋致后代
布莱希特（德国)
译/梵君

I
确实，我生活在黑暗的时代!
一句天真的话是愚蠢的。光滑的前额
表明不敏感。大笑的人，
无非是还没接收到
可怕的消息。

这是什么时代，当谈论树木
也几乎是一种犯罪，
因为它意味着对许多恐怖保持沉默!
而安静地走过街道，
却远离需要帮助的朋友的人呢?

没错:我依然能谋生
但请相信，这纯属偶然。我做的任何事情
都没有资格使自己吃饱。
我侥幸幸免于难。(如果我的运气不佳，
我就完蛋了。)

人们告诉我:吃吧喝吧！你应该
为此感到高兴！
但是，倘若我从一个快要渴死
的人那里夺过一杯水时，
我又怎么能又吃又喝呢?

我想变得更明智一些。
古书告诉我们什么是智慧:
远离世间的纷争，没有恐惧的
无所畏惧地度过属于你的短暂时光
不施暴而行以善还恶，
不寻求满足私欲而是把它们忘了，
那是明智的
但我不能做到这一点:

确实，我生活在黑暗的时代!


II
我是在饥荒肆虐的混乱
时期来到城市的。
我在反抗时期跻身于人群之中
也跟他们一起反抗。
我的时光就这么流逝，
那是我在尘世被赐予的时光。

我在战斗的间歇吃饭，
我在杀人者当中睡觉，
我粗心大意地爱，
我不耐烦地看大自然。
我的时光就这么流逝，
那是我在尘世被赐予的时光。

我年轻时所有道路都滑进了沼泽。
我的舌头把我出卖给了屠夫。
我几乎什么也做不了。但权势者
没有我就会坐得更安稳：至少我希望如此。
我的时光就这么流逝，
那是我在尘世被赐予的时光。

我们力量单薄。目标在遥远的地方
清晰可见，尽管它对我来说
很难抵达。
我的时光就这么流逝，
那是我在尘世被赐予的时光。


III
你们，将从我们沉沦的洪流中
崛起的人啊，
当你们谈论到我们的弱点时，
请你们也记得
以及你们逃脱的这黑暗的时代。

因为我们在阶级斗争中，
比换鞋更频繁地改变着我们的国家，
当只有不公正而没有反抗时，
我们感到绝望。

然而我们知道:
仇恨，即便是对卑鄙者的仇恨，
也会扭曲一个人的容貌。
愤怒，即便是对不公正的愤怒
也会使声音嘶哑。啊，我们
这些想为友善铺设基础的人
自己却不能友善。

但你们，当人终于可以
帮助人的时代来临，
请带着宽容
想起我们。

▋致后代
布莱希特（德国)

I

Truly, I live in dark times!
An artless word is foolish. A smooth forehead
Points to insensitivity. He who laughs
Has not yet received

The terrible news.

What times are these, in which
A conversation about trees is almost a crime
For it implies silence about so many misdeeds!
And he who walks quietly across the street,
Passes out of the reach of his friends

Who are in need?

It is true:I earn a living
But believe me, that’s just a coincidence. Nothing
That I do entitles me to eat my fill.

By chance I have been spared. (If my luck does not hold,I am doomed.)

People tell me: eat and drink. Be glad that you did!
But how can I eat and drink
When I take what I eat from the starving
My glass of water from someone dying of thirst?

And yet I eat and drink.

I would like to be wise.
The old books tell what wisdom is:
To retreat from the strife of the world
To live out the brief time that is your lot
Without fear
To make your way without violence
To repay evil with good
Do not seek to satisfy desires, but to forget
That is wise
But I cannot heed this:

Truly I live in dark times!


II

I came into the cities in a time of disorder
As hunger reigned.
I came among men in a time of turmoil
And I rose up with them.
And so passed

The time given to me on earth.

I ate my food between battles.
I laid down to sleep among murderers.
I loved carelessly.
I looked upon nature with impatience.
And so passed

The time given to me on earth.

In my time roadsled into the swamp.
Speechbetrayed me to the slaughterer.
I could do very little. But without me
Rulers would have sat more securely, or so I hoped.
And so passed

The time given to me on earth.

The powers were so limited. The goal
Lay far in the distance
Clearly visible, though for me
Hard to reach.
And so passed

The time given to me on earth.

III

You, whowill emerge from the flood
In which we have sunk,
Remember
When you speak of our weaknesses,
And of the dark time

That you have escaped.

For we went forth, changing our country more frequently than our shoes
Through the class warfare, despairing

When there was only injustice and no outrage.

And yet we knew:
Even hatred of squalor
Distorts one’s features.
Even anger against injustice
Makes the voice hoarse. Oh, We
Who wished to prepare the groundfor gentleness

Could not ourselves be gentle.

But your time, if at last it comes
When one can help another,
Think of us

With leniency.


▋致后代
布莱希特（德国)
译/梵君

I
确实，我生活在黑暗的时代!
一句天真的话是愚蠢的。光滑的前额
表明不敏感。大笑的人，
无非是还没接收到
可怕的消息。

这是什么时代，当谈论树木
也几乎是一种犯罪，
因为它意味着对许多恐怖保持沉默!
而安静地走过街道，
却远离需要帮助的朋友的人呢?

没错:我依然能谋生
但请相信，这纯属偶然。我做的任何事情
都没有资格使自己吃饱。
我侥幸幸免于难。(如果我的运气不佳，
我就完蛋了。)

人们告诉我:吃吧喝吧！你应该
为此感到高兴！
但是，倘若我从一个快要渴死
的人那里夺过一杯水时，
我又怎么能又吃又喝呢?

我想变得更明智一些。
古书告诉我们什么是智慧:
远离世间的纷争，没有恐惧的
无所畏惧地度过属于你的短暂时光
不施暴而行以善还恶，
不寻求满足私欲而是把它们忘了，
那是明智的
但我不能做到这一点:

确实，我生活在黑暗的时代!


II
我是在饥荒肆虐的混乱
时期来到城市的。
我在反抗时期跻身于人群之中
也跟他们一起反抗。
我的时光就这么流逝，
那是我在尘世被赐予的时光。

我在战斗的间歇吃饭，
我在杀人者当中睡觉，
我粗心大意地爱，
我不耐烦地看大自然。
我的时光就这么流逝，
那是我在尘世被赐予的时光。

我年轻时所有道路都滑进了沼泽。
我的舌头把我出卖给了屠夫。
我几乎什么也做不了。但权势者
没有我就会坐得更安稳：至少我希望如此。
我的时光就这么流逝，
那是我在尘世被赐予的时光。

我们力量单薄。目标在遥远的地方
清晰可见，尽管它对我来说
很难抵达。
我的时光就这么流逝，
那是我在尘世被赐予的时光。


III
你们，将从我们沉沦的洪流中
崛起的人啊，
当你们谈论到我们的弱点时，
请你们也记得
以及你们逃脱的这黑暗的时代。

因为我们在阶级斗争中，
比换鞋更频繁地改变着我们的国家，
当只有不公正而没有反抗时，
我们感到绝望。

然而我们知道:
仇恨，即便是对卑鄙者的仇恨，
也会扭曲一个人的容貌。
愤怒，即便是对不公正的愤怒
也会使声音嘶哑。啊，我们
这些想为友善铺设基础的人
自己却不能友善。

但你们，当人终于可以
帮助人的时代来临，
请带着宽容
想起我们。