生存还是毁灭
“生存还是毁灭”(英語:To be, or not to be),是莎士比亞戲剧作品《哈姆雷特》第三幕第一場,哈姆雷特王子一段獨白的第一句前半部,很多人也會用這句來指整段獨白。在王子的演讲中,他考虑了死亡与自杀,哀叹这痛苦又不公的生活,也承认另一种选择可能会更糟。这段开场白是世界文學、戏剧与音乐作品中常見被引用的一句,整句是:「生存还是毁灭,这是一个值得考虑的问题」(To be or not to be, that is the question)。
文本
通行文本
此版本的底本为第一对开本(1623),参照第二四开本(1604-1605)校订,并以现代正字法拼写。
- To be, or not to be, that is the question:
- Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
- The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
- Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
- And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep
- No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
- The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks
- That Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation
- Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
- To sleep, perchance to Dream; aye, there's the rub,
- For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,
- When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
- Must give us pause. There's the respect
- That makes Calamity of so long life:
- For who would bear the Whips and Scorns of time,
- The Oppressor's wrong, the proud man's Contumely,
- The pangs of dispised Love, the Law’s delay,
- The insolence of Office, and the spurns
- That patient merit of th'unworthy takes,
- When he himself might his Quietus make
- With a bare Bodkin? Who would Fardels bear, [F: these Fardels]
- To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
- But that the dread of something after death,
- The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
- No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
- And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
- Than fly to others that we know not of?
- Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
- And thus the native hue of Resolution
- Is sicklied o'er, with the pale cast of Thought,
- And enterprises of great pitch and moment, [F: pith]
- With this regard their Currents turn awry, [F: away]
- And lose the name of Action. Soft you now,
- The fair Ophelia? Nymph, in thy Orisons
- Be all my sins remember'd.
第一四开本文本
第一四开本(Q1, 1603)是哈姆雷特最早的版本,但被认为是剧院演出时抄写的山寨版,而非剧作早期的草稿(因此被称为"坏四开本");Q1的某些地方确实和通行文本相符,但是在"生存还是毁灭"一段中问题颇多。例如行文中用"Hope"代替"dread",与通行文本的意思大相径庭。此处的单词同样以现代正字法拼写。
- To be, or not to be, Ay there's the point,
- To Die, to sleep, is that all? Aye all:
- No, to sleep, to dream, aye marry there it goes,
- For in that dream of death, when we awake,
- And borne before an everlasting Judge,
- From whence no passenger ever returned,
- The undiscovered country, at whose sight
- The happy smile, and the accursed damn'd.
- But for this, the joyful hope of this,
- Who'd bear the scorns and flattery of the world,
- Scorned by the right rich, the rich cursed of the poor?
- The widow being oppressed, the orphan wrong'd,
- The taste of hunger, or a tyrants reign,
- And thousand more calamities besides,
- To grunt and sweat under this weary life,
- When that he may his full Quietus make,
- With a bare bodkin, who would this endure,
- But for a hope of something after death?
- Which puzzles the brain, and doth confound the sense,
- Which makes us rather bear those evils we have,
- Than fly to others that we know not of.
- Aye that, O this conscience makes cowards of us all,
- Lady in thy orizons, be all my sins remembered.
第二四开本文本
第二四开本(Q2, 1604-1605)被公认为本剧最早的可信版本(因此被称为"好四开本")。在Q2中,整个场景发生的时间比Q1要晚:Q1中的场景直接发生于克劳迪斯和波洛涅斯计划之后;且Q2添加了"Soft you now",表明哈姆雷特在讲话时没有(或假装没有)看到奥菲利亚。
- To be, or not to be, that is the question,
- Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
- The slings and arrows of outragious fortune,
- Or to take Arms against a sea of troubles,
- And by opposing, end them, to die to sleep
- No more, and by a sleep, to say we end
- The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks
- That flesh is heir too; tis a consumation
- Devoutly to be wish'd to die to sleep,
- To sleep, perhance to dream, ay, there's the rub,
- For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
- When we haue shuffled off this mortal coil
- Muſt giue vs pauſe, there's the reſpect
- That makes calamitie of ſo long life:
- For who would beare the whips and ſcorns of time,
- Th'oppreſſors wrong, the proude mans contumly,
- The pangs of deſpiz'd loue, the lawes delay,
- The inſolence of office, and the ſpurnes
- That patient merrit of the'vnworthy takes,
- When he himſelfe might his quietas make
- With a bare bodkin; who would fardels beare,
- To grunt and ſweat vnder a wearie life,
- But that the dread of ſomething after death,
- The vndiſcouer'd country, from whose borne
- No trauiler returnes, puzzels the will,
- And makes vs rather beare thoſe ills we haue,
- Then flie to others we know not of.
- Thus conſcience dooes make cowards,
- And thus the natiue hiew of reſolution
- Is ſickled ore with the pale caſt of thought,
- And enterpriſes of great pitch and moment,
- With this regard theyr currents turne awry,
- And loose the name of action. Soft you now,
- The faire Ophelia, Nimph in thy orizons
- Be all my ſinnes remembred.
第一对开本文本
1623年由Issac Jaggard和Ed Blount出版的《威廉·莎士比亚先生的喜剧、历史剧和悲剧》被称为"第一对开本" (F1),其中收录的《哈姆雷特》文本与第二对开本基本相似,本段中,二者的不同基本在于排版:增加部分标点符号和大写字母。
- To be, or not to be, that is the Question:
- Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
- The Slings and Arrows of outragious Fortune,
- Or to take Armes against a Sea of troubles,
- And by opposing end them: to dye, to sleep
- No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
- The Heart-ake, and the thouſand Naturall ſhockes
- That Flesh is heyre too? 'Tis a consummation
- Deuoutly to be wiſh'd. To dye to sleepe,
- To sleep, perchance to Dream; I, there's the rub,
- For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,
- When we haue ſhufflel’d off this mortall coile,
- Muſt giue us pause. There's the respect
- That makes Calamity of long life:
- For who would beare the Whips and Scornes of time,
- The Oppreſſors wrong, the poore mans Contumely,
- The pangs of diſpriz’d Loue, the Lawes delay,
- The inſolence of Office, and the Spurnes
- That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
- When he himſelfe might his Quietus make
- With a bare Bodkin? Who would theſe Fardles beare
- To grunt and ſweat vnder a weary life,
- But that the dread of ſomething after death,
- The vndiſcouered Countrey, from whoſe Borne
- No Traueller returnes, Puzels the will,
- And makes vs rather beare those illes we haue,
- Then flye to others that we know not of.
- Thus Conſcience does make Cowards of vs all,
- And thus the Natiue hew of Resolution
- Is ſicklied o’re, with the pale caſt of Thought,
- And enterprizes of great pith and moment,
- With this regard their Currants turne away,
- And looſe the name of Action. Soft you now,
- The faire Ophelia? Nimph, in thy Orizons
- Be all my ſinnes remembred.
中文翻译
朱生豪译文
- 生存还是毁灭,这是一个值得考虑的问题;默然忍受命运的暴虐的毒箭,或是挺身反抗人世的无涯的苦难,通过斗争把它们扫清,这两种行为,哪一种更高贵?死了;睡着了;什么都完了;要是在这一种睡眠之中,我们心头的创痛,以及其他无数血肉之躯所不能避免的打击,都可以从此消失,那正是我们求之不得的结局。死了;睡着了;睡着了也许还会做梦;嗯,阻碍就在这儿:因为当我们摆脱了这一具朽腐的皮囊以后,在那死的睡眠里,究竟将要做些什么梦,那不能不使我们踌躇顾虑。人們甘心久困于患难之中,也就是为了这个缘故;谁愿意忍受人世的鞭挞和讥嘲、压迫者的凌辱、傲慢者的冷眼、被轻蔑的爱情的惨痛、法律的迁延、官吏的横暴和费尽辛勤所换来的小人的鄙视,要是他只要用一柄小小的刀子,就可以清算他自己的一生?谁愿意负着这样的重担,在烦劳的生命的压迫下呻吟流汗,倘不是因为害怕不可知的死後,害怕那从来不曾有一个旅人回来过的神秘之國,是它迷惑了我们的意志,使我们寧愿忍受目前的折磨,不敢向我们所不知道的痛苦飞去?这样,重重的顾虑使我们全变成了懦夫,决心的赤热的光彩,被审慎的思维盖上了一层灰色,伟大的事业在这一种考虑之下,也会逆流而退,失去了行动的意义。且慢!美丽的奥菲利娅!——女神,在你的祈祷之中,不要忘记替我忏悔我的罪孽。[1]
参考文献
外部链接
- 《哈姆雷特主义》 - 《哈姆雷特》的后现代演出
- 臺大圖書館數位學習網_線上文學書房
- 臺大圖書館數位學習網_英語朗讀:從莎士比亞開始
- HyperHamlet(页面存档备份,存于互联网档案馆) - research project at the University of Basel (英文)
- 哈姆雷特中文版 (页面存档备份,存于互联网档案馆)
- 莎士比亞的全部作品集 (简体中文)
- Wordsmith.org, Article from the Sydney Morning Hearld, 1999.