Death Be Not Proud

by John Donne

Death be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,

For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,

Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me;

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,

And better than thy stroak; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

死神，你莫骄傲

死神，你莫骄傲，尽管有人说你

如何强大，如何可怕，你并不是这样;

你以为你把谁谁谁****了，其实，

可怜的死神，他们没死;你现在也还杀不死我。

休息、睡眠，这些不过是你的写照，

既能给人享受，那你本人提供的一定更多;

我们最美好的人随你去得越早，

越能早日获得身体的休息，灵魂的解脱。

你是命运、机会、君主、亡命徒的奴隶，

你和毒药、战争、疾病同住在一起，

罂粟和咒符和你的打击相比，同样，

甚至更能催我入睡;那你何必趾高气扬呢?

睡了一小觉之后，我们便永远觉醒了，

再也不会有死亡，你死神也将死去。

(杨周翰 译)

(这首诗选自约翰-多恩的《神圣十四行诗》。诗中说明死亡是瞬间的，而死后的欢乐则是永恒的。)

注释：dost：动词do的第二人称单数现在时的古用法。

canst：情态动词can第二人称单数现在时的古用法。

swell'st：swell第二人称单数现在时形式。

shalt：即shall。