先知西比尔
As Aeneas and the Sibyl pursued their way back to earth, he said to her, “Whether thou be a goddess or a mortal beloved of the gods, by me thou shalt always be held in reverence(reverence n.尊敬, 敬重, 敬礼, 尊严, 威望 vt.崇敬, 敬畏, 尊敬)。 When I reach the upper air, I will cause a temple to be built to thy honor, and will myself bring offerings.”
埃涅阿斯和西比尔赶路返回人间。他对西比尔说:“不论你是女神或是受到神祗所爱戴的凡人,对我来说,你将永远受到我的尊敬。我回到人间以后,将请人建造纪念你的庙宇。我将亲自向你奉上祭品。”
“I am no goodess,” said the Sibyl; “I have no claim to sacrifice or offering. I am mortal; yet if I could have accepted the love of Apollo, I might have been immortal. He promised me the fulfilment of my wish, if I would consent to be his. I took a handful of sand and, holding it forth, said, ‘Grant me to see as many birthdays as there are sand grains in my hand.’ Unluckily I forgot to ask for enduring(enduring adj.持久的, 不朽的) youth. This also he would have granted, could I have accepted his love, but offended at my refusal(refusal n.拒绝, 推却, 优先取舍权, 优先取舍的机会), he allowed me to grow old. My youth and youthful strength fled long ago. I have lived seven hundred years, and to equal the number of the sand grains, I have still to see three hundred springs and three hundred harvests. My body shrinks up as years increase, and in time I shall be lost to sight, but my voice will remain, and future ages will respect my sayings.”
西比尔说:“我不是女神,我无权得到祭祀。 我是个凡人;不过要是我接受了阿波罗的爱情,我可能已经成了神仙。如果我答应做他的妻子,他答应实现我的心愿。我抓起一把沙子,伸过手去说,‘请允许我能看到像我手中的沙粒一样多的生日。’令人遗憾的是,我忘记要求得到常在的青春。要是我接受他的爱情,他会答应我青春常在的。但是由于我的拒绝得罪了他,他就让我变老。我的青春和青春的活力早已消失。我已经活了七百个年头,要赶上沙砾的数目,我还得经历三百个春天和三百个收获期。随着年龄的增长,我的身体日益缩小,终有一天,我将小得叫人看不见,但是我的声音常在,未来的时代将尊重我说的话。”
These concluding words of the Sibyl alluded to her prophetic(prophetic adj.预言的 )power. In her cave she was accustomed to inscribe on leaves gathered from the trees the names and fates of individuals. The leaves thus inscribed were arranged in order within the cave, and might be consulted(consult v.商量, 商议, 请教, 参考, 考虑) by her votaries. But if perchance(perchance adv.偶然, 恐怕 )at the opening of the door the wind rushed in and dispersed the leaves, the Sibyl gave no aid to restoring them again, and the oracle was irreparably lost.
西比尔的结束语暗示了她的预言家的才能。她惯于在山洞里把一个个人的名字和命运刻在从树上搜集来的叶面上,刻过字的叶子整齐地排列在洞里,她的信徒可以来查阅这些树叶。但是,如果开门时刮进风来,把叶子吹散,西比尔不会把叶子恢复原状,神谕便无可弥补地丢失了。