Each lover has some theory of his own

每个情人都有自己的理论，

About the difference between the ache

关于和恋人相处的痛苦

Of being with his love, and being alone:

与独处的痛苦之间的区别：

Why what, when dreaming, is dear flesh and bone

That really stirs the senses, when awake,

为何梦里那个撩动感官的

Appears a simulacrum of his own.

骨中之骨，肉中之肉，清醒时

Narcissus disbelieves in the unknown;

却是他自身的幻象。

He cannot join his image in the lake

So long as he assumes he is alone.

那喀索斯拒绝相信未知；

The child, the waterfall, the fire, the stone,

他无法投身于他在湖面的影子，

Are always up to mischief, though, and take

只要他认定自己在独处。

The universe for granted as their own.

The elderly, like Proust, are always prone

孩子、瀑布、火焰、石头

To think of love as a subjective fake;

却总在添乱，并想当然地认为

The more they love, the more they feel alone.

整个宇宙都是他们自己的。

Whatever view we hold, it must be shown

Why every lover has a wish to make

老人，比如普鲁斯特，总是倾向于

Some kind of otherness his own:

把爱当作一种主观的假象；

Perhaps, in fact, we never are alone.

他们爱得越多，越是自感孤独。

无论持何种观点，我们都必须搞清楚，

为什么每个恋爱的人都希望

把另一种他者变成自己的他者：

也许事实上，我们从未独处。

1941 年初