魔幻森林

《凱爾特的薄暮》是愛爾蘭著名詩人葉芝的代表作之一，這是一部特殊的作品。之所以說它特殊，原因有二：第一，這是詩人葉芝以詩歌的筆法寫出，卻又并非詩集的作品。第二，這是詩人用來表達他對愛爾蘭永恒的熱愛的一部重要作品。實際上，這是葉芝滿懷激情整理出的一部文字優美的愛爾蘭神話傳說集。詩人浸淫在愛爾蘭文化中多年，對于愛爾蘭傳說中的仙女等魔幻力量的存在深信不疑，這種浪漫信仰給他的詩歌創作增添了特殊光彩。為了回報愛爾蘭民族文化這個給他提供了無限靈感的美的母體，葉芝用詩人的筆觸，記錄下他喜愛的凱爾特風土人情。本書集結了或綿延數頁，或寥寥幾句的鄉人閑談和神話傳說，風格和形式有點類似我國蒲松齡的《聊齋志異》。不過，與《聊齋志異》不同的是，本書更多的是強調詩人本人對于魔幻世界的思索與感激。

本文節選自其中的一篇，因篇幅所限，有刪節。

Last summer， whenever I had finished my day’s work， I used to go wandering in certain 2)roomy woods， and there I would often meet an old countryman， and talk to him about his work and about the woods. He had spent all his life 3)lopping away the 4)witch elm and the 5)hazel and the 6)privet and the 7)hornbeam from the paths， and had thought much about the natural and supernatural creatures of the wood. He has heard the hedgehog—he calls him—“grunting like a Christian，” and is certain that he steals apples by rolling about under an apple tree until there is an apple sticking to every 8)quill. He is certain too that the cats， of whom there are many in the woods， have a language of their own—some kind of old Irish. He says， “Cats were 9)serpents， and they were made into cats at the time of some great change in the world. That is why they are hard to kill， and why it is dangerous to 10)meddle with them. If you annoy a cat it might claw or bite you in a way that would put poison in you， and that would be the serpent’s tooth.” Sometimes he thinks they change into wild cats， and then a nail grows on the end of their tails; but these wild cats are not the same as the 11)marten cats， who have been always in the woods. The foxes were once tame， as the cats are now， but they ran away and became wild. He talks of all wild creatures with what seems an affectionate interest， though at times his eyes will twinkle with pleasure as he remembers how he made hedgehogs unroll themselves when he was a boy， by putting 12)a wisp of burning straw under them.

I am not certain that he distinguishes between the natural and supernatural very clearly. He told me the other day that foxes and cats like to be in the “13)forths” after nightfall; and he will certainly pass from some story about a fox to a story about a spirit with less change of voice than when he is going to speak about a marten cat—a rare beast nowadays. Many years ago he used to work in the garden， and once they put him to sleep in a garden-house where there was a 14)loft full of apples， and all night he could hear people 15)rattling plates and knives and forks over his head in the loft. Once， at any rate， he has seen an 16)unearthly sight in the woods. He says， “One time I was out cutting timber over in Inchy， and about eight o’clock one morning when I got there I saw a girl picking nuts， with her hair hanging down over her shoulders， brown hair， and she had a good， clean face， and she was tall and nothing on her head， and her dress no way 17)gaudy but simple， and when she felt me coming she 18)gathered herself up and was gone as if the earth had swallowed her up. And I followed her and looked for her， but I never could see her again from that day to this， never again.”

Others too have seen spirits in the Enchanted Woods. A labourer told us of what a friend of his had seen in a part of the woods that is called Shanwalla， from some old village that was before the weed. He said， “One evening I parted from Lawrence Mangan in the yard， and he went away through the path in Shanwalla， 19)an’ 20)bid me goodnight. And two hours after， there he was back again in the yard， an’ bid me light a candle that was in the 21)stable. An’ he told me that when he got into Shanwalla， a little fellow about as high as his knee， but having a head as big as a man’s body， came beside him and led him out of the path an’ 22)round about， and at last it brought him to the 23)limekiln， and then it vanished and left him.”

…

I often entangle myself in argument more complicated than even those paths of Inchy as to what is the true nature of 24)apparitions， but at other times I say as Socrates said when they told him a learned opinion about a 25)nymph of the 26)Illissus， “The common opinion is enough for me.” I believe when I am in the mood that all nature is full of people whom we cannot see， and that some of these are ugly or 27)grotesque， and some 28)wicked or foolish， but very many beautiful beyond any one we have ever seen， and that these are not far away when we are walking in pleasant and quiet places. Even when I was a boy I could never walk in a wood without feeling that at any moment I might find before me somebody or something I had long looked for without knowing what I looked for. And now I will at times explore every little 29)nook of some poor 30)coppice with almost anxious footsteps， so deep a hold has this imagination upon me. You too meet with a like imagination， doubtless， somewhere， wherever your ruling stars will have it， 31)Saturn driving you to the woods， or the Moon， it may be， to the edges of the sea. I will not of a certainty believe that there is nothing in the sunset， where our forefathers imagined the dead following their shepherd the sun， or nothing but some vague presence as little moving as nothing. If beauty is not a gateway out of the net we were taken in at our birth， it will not long be beauty， and we will find it better to sit at home by the fire and fatten a lazy body or to run 32)hither and thither in some foolish sport than to look at the finest show that light and shadow ever made among green leaves. I say to myself， when I am well out of that 33)thicket of argument， that they are surely there， the divine people， for only we who have neither simplicity nor wisdom have denied them， and the simple of all times and the wise men of ancient times have seen them and even spoken to them. They live out their passionate lives not far off， as I think， and we shall be among them when we die if we but keep our natures simple and passionate. May it not even be that death shall unite us to all 34)romance， and that some day we shall fight dragons among blue hills.

去年夏天，我只要一完成每天的工作，就習慣去一個空地兒多的樹林散步。在那里，我經常遇見一位老農夫，跟他聊聊他的活計和這片樹林。他一輩子都忙著修剪小路上的榆樹、榛樹、女貞樹和角樹枝條，對樹林里的自然和超自然生物也有過不少思考。他聽說過那只刺猬，說它“呼嚕叫著，像個基督徒在發牢騷”，他相信那家伙偷蘋果的辦法是在一棵蘋果樹下打滾，直到每根刺兒上都穿了一個蘋果。他也確信樹林里的眾多貓群有它們獨有的語言——像某種古愛爾蘭語。……