It was a dreary morning when the wheels
车轮初动之晨阴郁寒凉,
Rolled over a wide plain o'erhung with clouds,
平原广袤,阴云密布,车轮碾过之处,
And nothing cheered our way till first we saw
一路沉寂,唯有远方微光给予些许慰藉,
The long-roofed chapel of King's College lift
忽见国王学院那长顶礼拜堂耸立,
Turrets and pinnacles in answering files,
塔楼与尖顶鳞次相映,列队相对,
Extended high above the dusky grove.
高高耸立于朦胧林间。
Advancing, we espied upon the road
继续前行,我们在道路上看见
A student clothed in gown and cap, who passed
一位学生身着学袍与学位帽,迎面而来
With hurrying footsteps, quick to morning prayers.
脚步匆匆,奔赴清晨的祈祷。
We guessed his errand, and in spirit joined
我们猜得他的去向,也在心里默默随行,
His pious task, and with the lighter heart
恭敬地履行同样的虔诚,内心亦变得轻盈,
For that small sign of promise and approach,
因那一抹预示与接近的暗示而欢愉,
Entered the City, and were soon made free
遂步入那城,很快便领略其氛围,
Of College precincts—Oxford's rival seat,
这学院区,是剑桥之地,与牛津并肩而立,
Cambridge, the grand repository of learning.
高深学问之宝藏所在的庄严之所——剑桥。
From this imperfect glimpse I pass, methinks,
我从这片断的一瞥继续前行,恍然若有所思,
To better thoughts of man, his noble works,
走向对人类及其崇高成就的更深思考,
His knowledge, passions, language, thoughts which yield
学识、情感与语言,皆在此交融,
From day to day a twofold sympathy,
且日复一日地演绎着双重共鸣,
With kindred in the body, and the soul:
与血脉之亲情、与灵魂之契合皆息息相通:
To me, who from my childhood had been reared
对于我而言,自幼年时起便滋养于
Amid the mountains, on the mountain sides,
群山之中,于山峦的怀抱里长大,
Was nothing strange in what I met with here,
在这全新的学堂所遇之事物,并未显得全然陌生,
But rather gave the fancy scope, and left
反倒为想象力拓宽了天地,也在心中
A kindly influence on the coming days.
为未来的岁月播下了温柔善意的种子。