爱华网霍思曼A.E.Housman，1859-1936.4.30，英国现代最伟大的古典学者之一和杰出的诗人。
英文诗To an Athlete Dying Young
by A. E. Housman (1859-1936)
給一位英年早逝的運動員
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
当年,你为小镇赢得了比赛
我们举起你穿过市场
男女老幼夹道欢迎
你在人们肩头凯旋
To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
今天, 人们又聚集在一起
把你抬在肩上为你送行
轻轻放你归于尘土
小镇为你肃穆宁静
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields were glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
明智的你早早离去
因为荣耀不能为谁停留
月桂树转瞬苍翠
却比玫瑰凋零的还快
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:
黑夜的幕布拉下
再也看不到记录被打破
沉寂不会比欢呼更糟
你在大地的深处长眠
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
现在,你将永不会被击败
他们的荣耀转瞬间即逝
尽管后来的冠军辈出
活着时名字已被人遗忘
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
趁着荣耀消逝之前
敏捷双脚踏上归途
在门梁上悬挂着的是
永恒的冠军奖杯
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
那些早先的冠军们
将会嫉妒地注视着你
你卷发上的月桂花环
将永不会枯萎
