The Complete Works of Xu Zhimo's Classical Prose

Chapter 25
In the first five months of close correspondence, she felt that a new light dispelled the blockage in her life, but for him it was a deeper understanding.Isn't this her ideal partner?Life without her is a great nothingness, and life with her is a miracle realized. He can no longer doubt that this is the only opportunity bestowed upon him by the good fortune.She allowed him to see her, and in her ward, he saw her, pitiful and sickly, curled up on her sofa, unable to give way to distinguished guests!He knew it was an incurable disease, but he felt only infinite pity.He loves her, he cannot but love her.After the first meeting, the great Blanche could no longer restrain his enthusiasm.He wants her.A letter he poured out gave the patient at No. 50 on Winfield Street an unexpected heart shock, and he hesitated all night.In the morning she wrote back, warning him that she would never see him again.The great Bai Langning really blushed this time. He didn't care about lying, and immediately wrote a letter of apology, explaining that the previous letter was just a thank you for saying too much, and asked for the return of the original letter (for this time in his life, he did not tell the truth).Sure enough, the letter came back, and he immediately destroyed it with a blush (this letter was missing from their correspondence list, which made Mrs. Bai feel quite regretful afterwards).This risk passed, and they repeatedly returned to the original smooth textual karma.Perede allowed his friend to visit her from time to time, and at the same time the postman was more courteous. He told him about his pleasant travels in Italy, but she rewarded him with only the rest of her miserable life. Didn't this make him feel monotonous?The day they meet each week is the brightest day for both of them.He was then living in the suburbs of London.This is the season for the fragrance of flowers. The fragrance of the countryside, yellow roses, and purple lily of the valley have successively invaded the building at No. 50 on Wenfeier Street in the letter.Perede's feelings gradually matured with the sunshine of early autumn.She couldn't help storing up her sorrows in her heart, and her boredom flowed slowly into the heart of her only friend.His gratitude was once again excessive, but he still remembered his presumptuousness three months ago, since he had endured it, why not endure it to the end.He has long since decided that supreme happiness is his.She couldn't stop answering his letters for a day, she couldn't rest assured, she begged him for "a line of charity", her heart was already beating for him.But she could not quite let go of her hesitation.Can she bear his love?Is this fair?He, a complete husband.She, a decadent patient.Can he not waste his gold?Can this sand retain this clear spring?She was someone who had given up on life, happiness, and such happiness, the thought made her dizzy when she thought about it.But these are not obstacles.What more could he ask for than to sit by her side for an hour a day, to be inspired by her, to write his poems, and thereby save his soul?No, even if she is permanently disabled, it is not a problem, what he wants is the combination of spirituality.She can no longer be stubborn, can no longer insist, she just begs him not to be too accommodating for her, as if she has a life, this life is completely saved by him, she can only be infinitely grateful to him.She allowed him to be called by her nickname!

五

The only difficulty now is Perede's family, her father.He could not conceive of any other emotional activity in his daughter than fidelity to God and to himself.He is an inflexible.His only virtue is that he cannot be home until six o'clock in the afternoon every day, and his daughters are aware of this.Perede wanted to go to the south, the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, where the sun was warm, to recuperate her body, because her life was precious now.Freed from the shadow of death, happiness is no longer an impossible dream.But how could her father allow her to have such thoughts.As long as she opened her mouth, the lion would roar and shake the whole room.She was hopeful, but completely clueless.Her friend is always an advocate against the forces of evil, he contributes his bravery, he advises positive action.Pered could not distrust his mighty arm and still stronger will.At the same time, their relationship has reached an unbearable level.At least in words, they can no longer defend against the flood of truth.Pure love overflows from the depths of understanding.Their correspondence during this period is no longer letters, letters, but "a pair of beating hearts".From darkness to light, from death to love, from crippled despair to healthy exultation, the power of love is a miracle.By the time the next spring came back, Perede had regained the joy of walking, walked out of the confinement of the ward, and enjoyed the freshness of breathing again.Under the sun, amidst the green grass and the fragrance of flowers, amidst the singing of birds, she cannot help being amazed at the mystery of life, and cannot but worship the kindness of nature.The solemn love he gave her was like a dish of fairy flowers emitting a strange fragrance in her heart, and she was fascinated by the fragrance.Just like his roses, his lily of the valley had once been brought into her boudoir from the countryside, and she was also picking the pansies with thick pistils for him in the gentle breeze.In the passage of these sweet times, her family's difficulties became more and more serious day by day, and her father's anxiety was unthinkable, which made the lovers have to immediately discuss a sweet and easy way out, and they decided to go.Go to Italy, the spiritual hometown of the two of them.They married first, and were united forever before God in a secluded church; a few days later they quietly left the island country, and with the faithful Wilson and the more faithful Flush, they went to freedom. They climbed to Alpas, lived in the exquisite city of Pisa where the Arno River enters the sea, and then moved to Fei Lengcui, where they lived their supremely happy life in the famous Casa Guidi.

六

This supreme bliss has 15 years of life during which they do not know a single day of separation.They love to travel, and between Rome and Paris and London they circulate their tracks according to the seasons.Mrs. Bai, originally a useless person on the sofa, is now a good traveler. Paris is her "weakness", Italy is her "passion", she can also climb mountains and wade in water.Her achievements in creation are not weaker than her "Robert", although she is often sick, and sometimes she has to clean up her "basin" face, socks and shoes.

Their happiness is the happiness of English literature.Robert just bowed his head before the genius of his "Ba", and whatever he himself achieved was her inspiration.

The "basin" is their greatest joy, and the faithful Frosh also gives them a lot of happiness.They are also very lucky in making friends.Bai Langning's vigor and magnanimity, and his wife's frankness and gentleness made everyone who approached them feel deeply happy.The famous bad-tempered Carlisle, the old poet Savage Landor (Savage Landor) who is like a "running flame", the long and thick Tanyson, the great Ruskin, and the beautiful Rakshati brothers all unanimously dumped this pair Peerless couple (even).Luo Shati put it best, he said he was surprised "how those two little people (referring to the Bai family) have to accommodate so much part of the real world, they don't occupy much space on the boat I don’t need a double bed in the guest apartment?” The only sorrow and regret they knew was the death of Bai Langning’s mother and the fall of Mrs. Bai’s father, and their happiness was never forgiven by him. .Lady White had the warmest sympathies for the Italian struggle for freedom, and it was in [-], when Italy was fully liberated, that Lady White and her Robert died forever.If she realized the perfection of life while she was alive, her death is a perfect record.She wasn't in any pain, just feeling tired. On the night of her death, she was discussing with Bai Langning about the summer plan. "She was talking to him, telling jokes, expressing her love with the tenderest words; in the middle of the night, when she felt tired, she would lean on Browning's arm and doze off. Within a few minutes, she His head drooped. He thought she was in a temporary coma, but she went away and never came back." Those tender words at the end of life were Bai Langning's lifelong sacred commemoration.Her last sentence, answering Bai Langning's question about how she felt, was a single priceless word "Beautiful"! "Smiling, cheerful, and girlish-looking," she rests in her lover's arms.

Seven

beautiful!Such complete happiness is rare in a miserable life!This is not only a good story in the history of literature and art, but also a bright record in the history of mankind.It is indelible.This is worth living forever.But this love history itself is precious, what is even more precious is the 44 sonnets (The Sonnets from the Portuguese) left to us by Mrs. Bai.In these 44 love poems, Mrs. Bai's genius condenses into the most transparent pure crystal.This is the first time in the history of literature that a woman confesses her love for a man. Her emotions are warm and concentrated, her voice is trembling with gratitude and joy, and her spirit is one. A group of selfless light.We read her love poems as we read her love letters, and we do not feel that we are prying into an undeserved secret, where, as elsewhere, sincerity explains everything, justifies everything, cleanses everything of.Hers is a pure passion, whose source is the source of all humanity and virtue, hers is the unquenchable divine fire.Only Mrs. Bai can feel these great emotions, and only she can live up to these great emotions.

Expressions of such great heart are rare.

There is also a short story about those 44 poems.Madam Bai decided to write this bunch of love poems before she got married in secret, perhaps most of them were written in her building.She didn't let Bai Langning know about her work, she only vaguely mentioned it in one correspondence, "the future will come to Pisa", she said, "I'll show you what I don't show you now".The work of the couple writing poetry is to draw a clear line.No one can ask to see someone else's poem until it is finished.At that time in Pisa, Mrs. Bai's study was upstairs, and she usually had breakfast downstairs every day, and then she went upstairs to work and let him do his work downstairs.One morning, Mrs. Bai had already gone upstairs, and Bai Langning was standing by the window looking at the street, when he suddenly felt that someone was secretly walking in the room, and when he was about to turn around, his wife had already pushed his body back, calling He didn't move, and stuffed a roll of paper into his pocket.She told him to read it, tear it up if he didn't like it, and then fled upstairs.This roll of paper is her bunch of love poems.Bai Langning jumped up after seeing it, and said: She not only gave him a priceless gift, she created a unique treasure for human beings.So he insisted on her need to publish these poems.The earliest single printed copy was printed in Liting in [-]. It was written that the printed version of Sonnets by EBB in [-] was renamed "Sonnetsts from the Portuguess", which was Browning's idea. He especially picked Portugal because she had a poem "Cotarina to Camoens" which told a story about Portugal, and he often called his wife "my little Portuguese".

These 44 love poems have now been translated by Mr. Wen Yiduo in Chinese style.It's a memorable job.Because the style of "Shang Lai Style" (multiple translations) is the most beautiful, solemn, rigorous and flexible style of lyric poetry. In the history of English literature, Sir Thomas Wyatt (Sir Thomas Wyatt) In the past 400 years to Azhai Shamons (Authur Symons), it has been used by many famous players and has not exhausted its possibility of change.This is originally an Italian style of poetry. Most of Petrarch's love poems are in a commercial style. In England, Howard and the Earl of Sarrey (Earl of Sarrey) completely followed Petrarch's style and style when they first tried it. The organization of phonology is called the Petraksanite style.Later, Shakespeare also wrote his love poems in shangli style, but he created another style. The arrangement of rhyme is different from Italian style, although the scale is still similar, which is called Shakespeare shangli style.Apart from Shakespeare himself and Spencer, the most famous writers of Shang Lai style, in modern times, there are Watsworth and Rakshati, and Lady Alice Menard, and recently there is Sammons.Mrs. Bai is of course the most notable one.Her status is in the middle of Shakespeare and Rakshati.Many beginners of poetry try to write Shang Lai style at the beginning, just as we learn to write poems first, but very few people write well, that is, among the greatest poets, some, such as Shelley and Browning themselves, Simply can't use it (just like our Li Bai can't write verses).The Shang Lai style is the most rigorous in rhythm among Western poetic styles, and is most suitable for expressing deep and circling emotions, like mountain winds and ocean tides, with round and reverberant sounds.In the adept hand it is a perfect lyre, with the most impassioned treble and the most groaning voice.Yiduo's experiment was not taken lightly, his patience was not easy at first, and at least several of his poems were recited clearly.Since Howard and the Earl of Stone Lei were able to transplant this original species from Italy to England, and then it really blossomed into strange flowers and fruits. Now, in the great movement to liberate and build our literature, why do we have no hope of transplanting it again? It was transplanted to us from England?Beginnings are the smallest, and everything is done half with sheer patience.In order to promote Mrs. Bai's love poems, and to attract the attention of our literary circles to the new style of poetry, I volunteered to add this somewhat unavoidable prose to the end of a number of translated works that I had already tempered.

First neck

We already know how Mrs. Bai was a patient sinking in despair when Bai Lang Ningyuan never saw her, she was simply disabled.Nearly forty years old, not seeing the sun in the ward, Mrs. Bai's self-sufficiency and happy life are forever cut off.But she is not an ordinary woman, her talent is rich, her feelings are warm.How miserable it is for a person like her to let fate be "buried alive" in the sick and disabled!From the very beginning, Bai Langning's feeling of knowing her was not normal, but to Mrs. Bai, it not only surprised her, but also caused her pain.This psychology is natural, just like a blind person suddenly opening his eyes, the stimulation of the sun is very uncomfortable.

In this first poem she describes the situation when she found "love" by her own surprise, and the Greek poet she refers to is Theocritus.He is the latest flower to bloom in the ancient Greek culture.He was from Sheragu City, but he spent most of his life on Sicily.He is a poet of pure optimism.In his poems, the warm sunshine is always reflected, and the healthy laughter echoes.Therefore, Mrs. Bai said in this poem that she first thought of the optimistic poet. In his time, it was not a warning because he could find a relaxed and happy life anytime, anywhere.The spring breeze is always swaying, and the fruit will always bear fruit in the autumn sun. Whether you are young or old, there is no joy in life.But then she turned to herself.Since according to the poet, time is gracious and beneficial, how did she spend her own time?She first thought of her childhood, how lively she was as a child at that time, those years are still sweet in her memories, but since she became sick because of riding a horse, her time is no longer cute, and one of her beloved brothers came again Swallowed by the ruthless water waves, her days became more and more bleak under this blow. Now in her imagination, she only sees the dark shadows of those sad years on the path of her own life. She can't help I can't help but feel sad.But at this moment of sadness, she suddenly felt a mysterious figure swaying behind her. It came over and grabbed her hair and pulled it back.In the struggle she heard an authoritative voice "Guess who grabbed you?" It was "Die," she said, because all she could think of was death.But what surprised her even more was the answer of the "silver-bell-like" voice, which said, "It's not death, it's love."

Second neck

This silver bell-like vibration suddenly woke her up from the mournful intoxication.Does she not believe it?No, she couldn't believe it, the fullness and loudness of the voice couldn't make her doubt it.So does she believe it?This made her hesitate again.Like a blind man seeing the light of day again, she could not yet trust her feelings easily.Her rationality immediately told her: "Even if this is true, it is still in vain. Do you think you can have such good luck? Fate, the fate that has always treated you harshly, can suddenly change?" "Vain" She thought it was right, even though Ai pretended to be dead and invaded her boudoir, he still couldn't stay.Love cannot stay, because fate does not allow creation, so in this poem she said that when love speaks, there are only three people who hear it, you who speak, me who obey, and the omnipresent God.Before she woke up from the initial suspicion, she seemed to hear that the God between her and him had written a sentence for them.He said, "Are you worthy?" She suddenly felt that this piercing sentence blocked her eyes like darkness, which deprived her of even the chance to open her eyes to see Ai.She hoped that it would be better for her to die, and death would be fine: it is too uncomfortable to live and suffer, and to have to turn back to the horror of darkness after seeing the light.But God is the supreme authority, and he shouted "No", there is no other way than other obstacles.The barriers in the world cannot separate us, the vastness of the ocean cannot make us mutated, and the violence of the wind and rain cannot make us weak.No matter how high the mountains on the ground are, we still have to join hands in the sky.Even if the endless sky comes to hinder our union, we still have to go beyond the sky to realize our love in the farther sea of ​​stars.

Third neck

(End of this chapter)