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1、英文原著英文原著波斯人波斯人：TheThe PersiansPersians470 BCTHE PERSIANSby Aeschylustranslated by Robert PotterCHARACTERS IN THE PLAYATOSSA, widow of Darius and mother of XERXESMESSENGERGHOST OF DARIUSXERXESCHORUS OF PERSIAN ELDERS, who compose the Persian Council of State(SCENE:-Before the Council-Hall of the Pers
2、ian Kings at Susa. Thetomb of Darius the Great is visible. The time is 480 B.C., shortlyafter the battle of Salamis. The play opens with the CHORUS OFPERSIAN ELDERS singing its first choral lyric.)CHORUSWhile oer the fields of Greece the embattled troopsOf Persia march with delegated sway,We oer the
3、ir rich and gold-abounding seatsHold faithful our firm guard; to this high chargeXerxes, our royal lord, the imperial sonOf great Darius, chose our honourd age.But for the kings return, and his armd hostBlazing with gold, my soul presaging illSwells in my tortured breast: for all her forceHath Asia
4、sent, and for her youth I sigh.Nor messenger arrives, nor horseman spursWith tidings to this seat of Persias kings.The gates of Susa and EcbatanaPourd forth their martial trains; and Cissia seesHer ancient towers forsaken, while her youth,Some on the bounding steed, the tall bark someAscending, some
5、 with painful march on foot,Haste on, to arrange the deepning files of war.Amistres, Artaphernes, and the mightOf great Astaspes, Megabazes bold,Chieftains of Persia, kings, that, to the powerOf the great king obedient, march with theseLeading their martial thousands; their proud steedsPrance under
6、them; steel bows and shafts their arms,Dreadful to see, and terrible in fight,Deliberate valour breathing in their souls.Artembares, that in his fiery horseDelights; Masistress; and Imaeus bold,Bending with manly strength his stubborn bow;Pharandaces, and Sosthanes, that drivesWith military pomp his
7、 rapid steeds.Others the vast prolific Nile hath sent;Pegastagon, that from Aegyptus drawsHis high birth; Susiscanes; and the chiefThat reigns oer sacred Memphis, great Arsames;And Ariomardus, that oer ancient ThebesBears the supreme dominion; and with these,Drawn from their watery marshes, numbers
8、traindTo the stout oar. Next these the Lycian troops,Soft sons of luxury; and those that dwellAmid the inland forests, from the seaFar distant; these Metragathes commands,And virtuous Arceus, royal chiefs, that shineIn burnishd gold, and many a whirling carDrawn by six generous steeds from Sardis le
9、ad,A glorious and a dreadful spectacle.And from the foot of Tmolus, sacred mount,Eager to bind on Greece the servile yoke,Mardon and Tharybis the massy spearGrasp with unwearied vigour; the light lanceThe Mysians shake. A mingled multitudeSwept from her wide dominions skilld to drawThe unerring bow,
10、 in ships Euphrates sendsFrom golden Babylon. With falchions armdFrom all the extent of Asia move the hostsObedient to their monarchs stern command.Thus marchd the flower of Persia, whose loved youthThe world of Asia nourishd, and with sighsLaments their absence; many an anxious lookTheir wives, the
11、ir parents send, count the slow days,And tremble at the long-protracted time.strophe 1Already oer the adverse strandIn arms the monarchs martial squadrons spread;The threatning ruin shakes the land,And each tall city bows its towerd head.Bark bound to bark, their wondrous wayThey bridge across the i
12、ndignant sea;The narrow Hellesponts vexd waves disdain,His proud neck taught to wear the chain.Now has the peopled Asias warlike lord,By land, by sea, with foot, with horse,Resistless in his rapid course,Oer all their realms his warring thousands pourd;Now his intrepid chiefs surveys,And glittring l
13、ike a god his radiant state displays.antistrophe 1Fierce as the dragon scaled in goldThrough the deep files he darts his glowing eye;And pleased their order to behold,His gorgeous standard blazing to the sky,Rolls onward his Assyrian car,Directs the thunder of the war,Bids the wingd arrows iron stor
14、m advanceAgainst the slow and cumbrous lance.What shall withstand the torrent of his swayWhen dreadful oer the yielding shoresThe impetuous tide of battle roars,And sweeps the weak opposing mounds away?So Persia, with resistless might,Rolls her unnumberd hosts of heroes to the fight.strophe 2For whe
15、n misfortunes fraudful handPrepares to pour the vengeance of the sky,What mortal shall her force withstand?What rapid speed the impending fury fly?Gentle at first with flattring smilesShe spreads her soft enchanting wiles,So to her toils allures her destined prey,Whence man neer breaks unhurt away.F
16、or thus from ancient times the Fates ordainThat Persias sons should greatly dare,Unequalld in the works of war;Shake with their thundring steeds the ensanguined plain,Dreadful the hostile walls surround,And lay their rampired towers in ruins on the ground.antistrophe 2Taught to behold with fearless eyesThe whitening billows foam beneath the gale,They bid the naval forests rise,Mount the slight bark, unfurl the flying sail,And oer the angry ocean bearTo
