拿破崙的告別詞 - 古德明

拿破崙的告別詞 - 古德明

問:拿破崙"Farewell to the Old Guard"(再見吧,禁衞軍)的最後一句是:Adieu, my friends! Would I could press you all to my heart。譯文是:「永別了,我的朋友,你們將會長留在我心中。」Would I could是什麼文法結構?
答:這是拿破崙一八一四年第一次被擒之後,向禁衞軍道別的話。那句譯文,不知從哪裏抄來,除了my friends兩字,翻譯全部錯了。
Adieu是「再見」,不是「永別」。這個字常見於文學作品,例如十七世紀無名氏寫的一首性欲詩Walking in a meadow green(綠草原閑步)有以下兩行:"Adieu, adieu, sweet heart," quoth he, / "for in faith I must be gone."(他說:「再見,再見,情人,我真的要走了。」)拿破崙這次和禁衞軍道別之後,不久就逃離監禁地,捲土重來。那一別並非「永別」。
Would I could press you all to my heart意思是「可惜我不能和各位一一擁抱」。這個would,通常作would that,用來起句,表達強烈的願望,可譯作「但願」,而那that字可以略去,例如著名詩人濟慈(John Keats)有一首"Happy Insensibility"(苦樂不知的幸福),說樹木、溪水不會留戀過去,但願世間癡情男女也能同樣忘卻過去的戀情:Ah! would 'twere so with many / A gentle girl and boy。這一句的would,等於would that。Chambers Universal Learners' Dictionary would字條有以下例句,句中括弧為原文所有,可供參考:(I) would (that)he were gone!(但願他不在這裏!)