The Foster-Mother's Tale - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Foster-Mother's Tale - 塞缪尔·泰勒·柯勒律治
在神秘传说中回响的人性与自由呼唤
Foster-Mother.
养母。
I never saw the man whom you describe.
我从未见过你所描述的那个人。
Maria.
玛丽亚。
’Tis strange! he spake of you familiarly
真奇怪！他提到你时十分亲切，
As mine and Albert’s common Foster-mother.
仿佛是我与阿尔伯特共同的养母。
Foster-Mother.
养母。
Now blessings on the man, whoe’er he be,
不管他是谁，愿上天保佑这个人，
That joined your names with mine! O my sweet lady,
他竟将你们二人的名字与我相连！噢，我亲爱的小姐，
As often as I think of those dear times
每当我想起那些珍贵的岁月，
When you two little ones would stand at eve
想起当傍晚来临时，你俩小家伙
On each side of my chair, and make me learn
分立在我椅子的两边，教我念着
All you had learnt in the day; and how to talk
你们白天学到的东西；还教我用温柔的言辞，
In gentle phrase, then bid me sing to you—
然后让我要为你们唱歌——
’Tis more like heaven to come than what has been!
那感觉更像即将到来的天堂，而非已逝的往昔！
Maria.
玛丽亚。
O my dear Mother! this strange man has left me
噢，亲爱的养母！这个神秘人让我心绪纷扰，
Troubled with wilder fancies, than the moon
产生了比月亮还要奇幻的遐想，
Breeds in the love-sick maid who gazes at it,
犹如痴情少女凝视月色生出的无尽幻想，
Till lost in inward vision, with wet eye
直到她沉溺于内心幻景，双眼含泪，
She gazes idly!—But that entrance, Mother!
痴痴凝望！——可您提到的那入口，养母！
Foster-Mother.
养母。
Can no one hear? It is a perilous tale!
无人会听见吗？这可是个惊险的故事！
Maria.
玛丽亚。
No one.
没人会听见。
Foster-Mother.
养母。
My husband’s father told it me,
这是我丈夫的父亲告诉我的，
Poor old Leoni!—Angels rest his soul!
可怜的老莱奥尼！——愿天使安抚他的灵魂！
He was a woodman, and could fell and saw
他曾是位伐木工，能砍伐、能锯木，
With lusty arm. You know that huge round beam
臂力惊人。你知道那根支撑旧礼拜堂
Which props the hanging wall of the old chapel?
悬空墙体的巨大圆梁吗？
Beneath that tree, while yet it was a tree,
当它还没被砍下时，就在那棵树下，
He found a baby wrapt in mosses, lined
他发现了一个用苔藓包裹着的婴儿，里衬还有
With thistle-beards, and such small locks of wool
蓟须以及从灌木上挂下的一缕缕小羊毛，
As hang on brambles. Well, he brought him home,
他把这婴儿带回家，
And reared him at the then Lord Velez’ cost.
并由当时的维莱兹勋爵出资抚养。
And so the babe grew up a pretty boy,
那孩子渐渐长成了一个可爱的男孩，
A pretty boy, but most unteachable—
相貌可人，却极难管教——
And never learnt a prayer, nor told a bead,
既不肯学祈祷，也不肯念珠，
But knew the names of birds, and mocked their notes,
却记住了每种鸟儿的名字，还会模仿它们的啼鸣，
And whistled, as he were a bird himself.
甚至吹口哨仿佛他本身就是只鸟。
And all the autumn ’twas his only play
整个秋季，他唯一的乐趣
To get the seeds of wild flowers, and to plant them
就是收集野花的种子，并种在树桩上，
With earth and water on the stumps of trees.
用泥土与水浇灌。
A Friar, who gathered simples in the wood,
林中有位修士，常来采摘草药，
A grey-haired man—he loved this little boy,
那是位白发老人——他非常喜爱这个男孩，
The boy loved him—and, when the Friar taught him,
男孩也喜欢他——当修士教他识字，
He soon could write with the pen; and from that time
他很快就学会用笔写字；自那时起，
Lived chiefly at the Convent or the Castle.
他多半生活在修道院或城堡里。
So he became a very learned youth.
就这样，他成了个学识渊博的年轻人。
But Oh! poor wretch!—he read, and read, and read,
可怜的人啊！——他不停地读书，读啊读，
Till his brain turned—and ere his twentieth year,
直至脑子都乱了——在他二十岁还不到的时候，
He had unlawful thoughts of many things:
他对许多事物都生出了离经叛道的念头：
And though he prayed, he never loved to pray
即便他会祈祷，却并不真心喜爱祈祷，
With holy men, nor in a holy place—
也不愿与虔诚之人同在神圣之地祈祷——
But yet his speech, it was so soft and sweet,
但他的言语却如此温柔悦耳，
The late Lord Velez ne’er was wearied with him.
已故的维莱兹勋爵对他从不厌倦。
And once, as by the north side of the chapel
有一次，他们一起站在礼拜堂的北侧，
They stood together, chained in deep discourse,
正陷入深沉的对话，
The earth heaved under them with such a groan,
地面突然剧烈震动，发出深沉的呻吟，
That the wall tottered, and had well-nigh fallen
墙体也随之晃动，几乎要坍塌，
Right on their heads. My Lord was sorely frightened;
眼看就要砸中他们的头。勋爵吓得不轻；
A fever seized him, and he made confession
随即病倒发烧，并忏悔了
Of all the heretical and lawless talk
与那青年之间的所有离经叛道之言
Which brought this judgment: so the youth was seized
因为这些“罪行”引来天谴：于是年轻人被逮捕，
And cast into that cell. My husband’s father
投进了地牢。我丈夫的父亲
Sobbed like a child—it almost broke his heart:
哭得像个孩子——那几乎让他心碎不已：
And once as he was working in the cellar,
有一次，他在地窖干活时，
He heard a voice distinctly; ’twas the youth’s,
清晰地听见了一个声音；那正是那青年的声音，
Who sung a doleful song about green fields,
他在唱一首忧伤的歌，关于绿色原野，
How sweet it were on lake or wild savannah
唱道在湖畔或荒原上该是何等甜美，
To hunt for food, and be a naked man,
可以赤身打猎觅食，
And wander up and down at liberty.
自由自在地四处游荡。
He always doted on the youth, and now
他一直非常疼爱这青年，现今更是，
His love grew desperate; and defying death,
他的爱几近疯狂；不顾生死，
He made that cunning entrance I described:
正是他想出了我所说的那个巧妙通道：
And the young man escaped.
于是那年轻人得以逃离。
Maria.
玛丽亚。
’Tis a sweet tale:
这是个动人的故事：
Such as would lull a listening child to sleep,
仿佛能让倾听的孩子沉沉入眠，
His rosy face besoiled with unwiped tears.—
脸颊还挂着未擦的泪水，红扑扑的。——
And what became of him?
那他后来怎么样了？
Foster-Mother.
养母。
He went on shipboard,
他登上了一艘船，
With those bold voyagers, who made discovery
与那些勇敢的航海家们一道去探险，
Of golden lands. Leoni’s younger brother
寻找传说中的金色国度。莱奥尼的弟弟
Went likewise, and when he returned to Spain,
也随他同行；当他回到西班牙时，
He told Leoni, that the poor mad youth,
他告诉莱奥尼，那可怜又疯狂的青年，
Soon after they arrived in that new world,
在他们抵达那新大陆不久，
In spite of his dissuasion, seized a boat,
不顾劝阻，私自夺了一条小船，
And all alone, set sail by silent moonlight
在寂静的月色下，独自出航，
Up a great river, great as any sea,
沿着一条广阔如海的大河逆流而上，
And ne’er was heard of more: but ’tis supposed,
此后便再无消息：人们猜想，
He lived and died among the savage men.
他最终在那片蛮荒之地度过余生，至死不归。
这首《The Foster-Mother's Tale》（《养母的故事》）是柯勒律治与华兹华斯共同创作《抒情歌谣集》时收录的一篇戏剧化片段。通过“养母”与“玛丽亚”的对话，诗人描绘了一个被社会视为“异端”的年轻人：他自幼对自然与自由无比迷恋，却因“不合常轨”的思想与行为被囚禁，最终选择远航新大陆、与荒野共存。
全诗运用了浪漫主义常见的对照手法。一方面，社会的规则将不谙礼教、沉溺于自然的男孩视为异端，并以地牢或监禁的方式对待；另一方面，则通过养母与玛丽亚的温情回忆，展现了对这位年轻人内在纯真与寻求心灵解放的同情。这种二元冲突突出了诗人对于“天性”与“社会规范”之间矛盾的思考：在对自然与自由的热爱之中，人究竟应如何与世俗体系相处？
养母的叙述既包含了私人悲悯，也暗示了当时社会对宗教与权威的畏惧。青年射手般的灵魂（他观鸟、学鸟鸣、亲近野花）与修道院和城堡的生活格格不入，预示着他注定要走上独立而危险的道路。离经叛道使他陷入“地牢”，但也激起了帮助者的怜悯之心，进而让他得以逃脱。最终，他远赴未知之地，与自然相伴却可能永远消失在那自由的荒蛮世界。
作为一部“戏剧片段”，此诗在语言上并未完整铺陈人物对话的起承转合，而是以简短的对白展现不同人物对自由、信仰以及社会制度的情感与认知。读者能隐约感受到当时对“异端思想”的恐惧与残酷镇压，也能从字里行间体悟到柯勒律治对天性与自然力量的向往。诗中的角色各自带着对往事或未知的心绪：养母在失子之痛与执念中挣扎，玛丽亚则带着好奇和动摇的内心，倾听了一个“无法归于主流”的传奇。
通过这个简洁却饱含隐喻的故事，柯勒律治暗示了人类自由心灵在面对社会桎梏时的冲撞与迷失。年轻人的命运或许令人叹息，但其中所蕴含的对真我与自然的渴望，正是浪漫主义时代所激扬的思想：不必囿于宗教、礼俗的束缚，勇敢探求自我与世界更广阔的可能性。
要点
诗中“养母”温柔的回忆与“逃离地牢”的象征性情节，展示了人性对自由与自然的渴望。即便身处社会与宗教的规训之中，敏感的灵魂仍会寻找突破，奋力追寻更广阔的天地与精神解放。
