Work without Hope（《无希望的工作》）创作于1825年，是柯尔律治晚年的作品之一。这首诗意境优美，主题鲜明，风格质朴。诗人通过将忙碌劳作中的自然万物与慵懒悠闲的自我进行鲜明对比，以自然之美反衬出诗人内心的无助感。“Work without Hope draws nectar in a sieve, And Hope without an object cannot live.”末尾的这两行诗揭示出本诗的主旨，尤为令人警醒。

Work without Hope
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair—
The bees are stirring—birds are on the wing—
And winter slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!
And I the while, the sole unbusy thing,
Nor honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing.

自然万物似乎都在劳作。蛞蝓已离穴——
蜜蜂在骚动——鸟儿在飞翔——
而冬天仍在外沉睡，
梦想着春日，一脸甜笑！
而这会儿，我是唯一一个空闲之物，
不酿蜜，不成对，不建造，也不歌唱。

Yet well I ken the banks where amaranths blow,
Have traced the forest whence streams of nectar flow.
Bloom, O ye amaranths! Bloom for whom ye may,
For me ye bloom not! Glide, rich streams, away!
With lips unbrightened, wreathless brow, I stroll:
And would you learn the spells that drowse my soul?
Work without Hope draws nectar in a sieve,
And Hope without an object cannot live.

然而，噢，我认出了摇曳着不凋花的两岸，
我走过那林子，甘美的小溪流淌其中。
盛开吧，噢，你们这些不凋花！为那溪流盛开，
非为我盛开！盈溢的溪水溜走了！
我四处徘徊，唇色暗淡，平庸无奇：
你能了解那些催眠我灵魂的咒语吗？
无希望的工作就如用筛网盛琼浆，
无目标的希望无法长存。

【单词解析】 1. slug. n. 蛞蝓，俗称鼻涕虫
2. lair n. 窝
3. slumber. v. 睡眠，沉睡
4. ken v. 认出，识别
5. amaranth n. （假设的）不凋花
6. nectar. n. 甘露，琼浆玉液
7. wreathless adj. 无花冠的，无桂冠的
8. drowse v. 使瞌睡
9. seive n. 筛，滤网


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