拜倫詩選自序
去秋，柏林大學教授法蘭居士遊秣陵，會衲於祇桓精舍，譚及英人近譯大乘起信論，以為破碎過甚，衲喟然歎曰：“譯事固難，況譯以英文，首尾負竭，不稱其意，滋無論矣。又其卷端，謂馬嗚此論，同符景教。吃嗚呼，是烏足以語大乘者哉！”居士各衲為購法苑珠林，版久蠹蝕，無以應其求也。衲語居士：“震旦萬事蘦墜，豈複如昔時所稱天國（Celestial Empire），亦將為印度比倫埃及希臘之繼耳！”此語思之，常有餘恫。比自秣陵遄歸將母，病起匈膈，檽筆譯拜倫去國之尤，寄之吟詠，謀人這國，功成不居，雖與日月爭光，可民！嚐謂計歌之美，在乎氣體；然其情思幼眇，抑亦十方同感，如衲舊譯穎穎赤牆靡，去燕，冬日，答美人贈東發 帶詩數章，可為證已。古詩“思君令人老”，英譯作“To thinkof youmakes meold”，辭氣相副，正難再得，若小雅“昔我往矣，楊柳依依；令我來思，雨雪霏霏。行道遲遲，載渴載饑，我心傷悲，莫知我哀。”譯如：
At firs, when we set out,
The willows were fresh and green;
Now, when we shall be returning,
The snow will be falling in clouds.
Long and tedious will be our marching;
We shall hunger; we shall thirst.
Our hearts are wounded with grief,
And no one knows our sadness.
又陳陶隴西行，“誓掃匈奴不顧身，五千貂錦喪胡麝；可憐無定河邊骨，猶是春閨夢裏人！”
They swore the Huns should perish:
they would die if needs they must,
And now fiv thousand, sable-clad,
have bit the Tartar dust.
Along the river bank their bones lie
scattered where they may,
But still their forms in dreams arise
to fair ones far away.
顧視元文，猶不相及。自餘譯者，澆淳散樸，損益任情，寧足以勝鞮寄之任！今譯是篇，按文切理，語無增飾；陳義悱測，事辭相稱。世有作者，亦將有感乎斯文？光緒三十二年，佛從“多羅夜登陵奢”天下還日，曼殊序於太平洋舟中。
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