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| Convey the immortal emotions through poetical
numbers. |
-- As a lily among brambles
so is my love among
maidens.
As an apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my
beloved among young men.
from "the Song of Solomon" in Bible (tenth
century B.C.)
我的佳偶在女子中，好像百合花在荆棘内。（夫语）
我的良人在男子中，如同苹果树在树林中。（妇语）
"所罗门的歌"是《圣经》中的雅歌，搜集于民间。"妻子在丈夫心间如百合般高贵，丈夫在妻子眼中如苹果数般充满青春朝气"。在中国古代诗句中，对女性具体的意象描写首推《诗经》中
"硕人"Her fingers were like the blades of the young white-grass；Her skin was
like congealed ointment；Her neck was like the tree-grub；Her teeth were
like melon seeds（手如柔荑，肤如凝脂，领如蝤蛴qiu qi，齿如瓠犀hu xi），可惜此语非出自丈夫之口。
-- Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art
more lovely and more temperate.
from Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare
(1564-1616)
或许我可用夏日将你作比方，
但你比夏日更可爱也更温良。
在中国，若将爱人比做"夏日"，恐怕也只有云南男子才敢借用。但对多雨雾天气的英国来说，"心爱之人如同夏日般令人惬意"，实在是再贴切不过的比喻了，因为那里温暖而不炎热，是一年中最宜人的季节。
-- Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will
pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I'll not look
for wine.
from Song to Celia by Ben Jonson (1573-1637)
"诗人祈求情人只用目光向他祝酒，他也会回报脉脉含情的目光"。真情无需借助累赘的话语，因为眉目足以传情。情人在杯中留下一吻，胜过美酒千杯。作者本·琼森与莎士比亚同时代，这首《致西莉亚》是一首脍炙人口的抒情诗。以间接委婉的笔法描绘了情人的眉目顾盼和醉人的吻。
-- With thee conversing I forget all time,
All
seasons and their change, all please alike.
from Paradise Lost (Eve is
speaking to Adam here) by John Milton
(1608-1674)
"与亚当说话，能让夏娃忘记时间、季节轮转与变化"，或许，撇开诗人的视角，在常人眼中，人世间最纯朴的爱情表白就是这句了。弥尔顿的《失乐园》是英国文学史上最伟大的一部史诗，常运用大量典故和比喻。幸亏描述爱情的这句简洁明了，否则我们还要望洋兴叹呢。
-- O, my Luve is like a red, red rose,
That's newly
sprung in June.
O, my Luve is like the melodie,
That's sweetly
played in tune.
from A Red, Red Rose 不要by Robert Burns (1759-1796)
在爱情诗句里，彭斯的这首《一朵红红的玫瑰》总能赢得一席之位，虽然它没有华丽的词藻也缺乏绮丽意象。在诗人眼中，"爱人就是六月初绽的玫瑰，火红斗妍；又是一支奏起的曲子，美丽悠扬"。
-- Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a
law divine
In one another's being mingle:-
Why not I with
thine?
from Love's Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
在雪莱这首《爱的哲学》里，诗人站在哲人的角度给恋人说理，向其展开求爱攻势。"由于神圣的自然法规，世间万物从不孤零零存在，他们都必然容于一体，为什么你我却要例外？"
-- How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I
love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach . .
.
from Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
(1806-1861)
"我是怎样的爱你，请让我细数端详。我爱你爱到心灵深处，之深之广只有灵魂才能触摸"，其排比一泻千里，似有不可遏制之势。布朗宁在《葡萄牙十四行诗》中的炽烈情感、直露表白，总能让人联想到《上邪》中那个对爱无所顾忌的女子："上邪！我欲与君相知，长命无绝衰！山无棱，江水为竭，冬雷震震，夏雨雪，天地合；乃敢与君绝！"
言语夸张却无造作之嫌，感情细腻却又大气磅礴。或许，只有女子才敢留下这种大手笔，也只有女子写下的这种绝世之爱才能被世人接受和理解。
-- Ah love is bitter and sweet,
but which is more
sweet
the bitterness or the sweetness,
none has spoken it.
from
Eros by H.D. (Hilda Doolittle, 1886-1961)
与布朗宁相比，另一位女诗人H·杜利特尔则以简洁明了的风格道出了"爱"的真谛。"爱情有甜蜜也有苦涩，但甜蜜更多一些；爱情究竟是甜蜜还是苦涩？却无人道得出"。
(英语点津陈蓓编辑）
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