In the Days of Prismatic Colour

not in the days of Adam and Eve, but when Adam

  Was alone; when there was no smoke and colour was

fine, not with the refinement

  of early civilization art, but because

               of its originality; with nothing to modify it but the                        5

 

mist that went up, obliqueness was a variation

  of the perpendicular, plain to see and

             to account for: it is no

         longer that; nor did the blue-red-yellow band

             of incandescence that was colour keep its stripe: it also is    10

                                                                                           one of

those things into which much that is peculiar can be

   read; complexity is not a crime, but carry

it to the point of murki-

   ness and nothing is plain. Complexity,

            moreover, that has been committed to darkness, instead    15

                          of granting it-

            self to be the pestilence that it is, moves all a-

                bout as if to bewilder us with the dismal

            fallacy that insistence

                is the measure of achievement and that all

            truth must be dark. Principally throat, sophistication is

                                            as it al-

            ways has beenat the antipodes from the init-

                ial great truths.Part of it was crawling, part of it

was about to crawl, the rest

  was torpid in its lair.In the short-legged, fit-

ful advance, the gurgling and all the minutiaewe have             25

           the classic

 

           multitude of feet. To what purpose! Truth is no Apollo

        Belvedere, no formal thing. The wave may go over it if

                                                                                         It likes.

          Know that it will be there when it says,

              “I shall be there when the wave has gone by.

 

  Annotation

 1

 

 In the Days of prismatic Colour:在光譜原色的年代。“prismatic colour”指光線透過三稜鏡(prism)所呈現的七種原色,紅、橙、黃、綠、藍、靛、紫。此處“prismatic colour”是原始的(pristine)象徵,代表本真(originality)。此行在形式上是本詩的題目,在結構上是介系詞片語,修飾第一個主要子句:obliqueness was a variation of the perpendicular.

1-2

not in the days……alone:不是AdamEve並存的年代,而是Adam獨身時。Eve的出現破壞了Adam原始的天真浪漫。

2-3

when……fine:在沒有污染(smoke)而色彩(colour)仍美好的年代。“Smoke”指air pollution,空氣污染 破壞了色澤的美好。

3-5

not with……its originality:在此年代colour之美並非初期文明藝術雕琢之美(refinement),而是本真之美。“originality”是本於自然(nature)之意,最接近原始,也最真。its = of colour.

 

5-7

 

with nothing……perpendicular:光線透過霧時,因光波長度(wave length)的不同,也會產生折射,呈現七彩原色。modify:改變。it : colour. the mist that went up=:由地上什起之霧。只有生於自然的霧才能影響colourpurity,使原色現形,不像art的修飾必須假手人工。variation:變化。光波折射後產生的斜角(obliqueness)是直角(the perpendicular)的變化。指光線以直角透過霧而產生斜角。在此“obliqueness”代表metaphorical writing,即寫詩的暗喻手法。“the perpendicular”代表direct writing,直述法。

7-8

plain……for:光線的折射在自然現象中仍清晰可見,如彩虹(rainbow)出現時,其中原理亦可明白解釋(plain to account for)。

8-9

it is……that:如今現象已不同。此處引申Moore當代詩壇metaphorical writing所呈現的晦澀風氣,文意不清,難以解釋。注意第六行動過去式“was”,第八行轉為現在式“is”,藉以表明現在與過去現象之不同。metaphorical writing在古代是很清楚明白的,如Homer, VirgilHorace雖慣用暗喻,其作品卻毫不晦澀。

9

Blue-red-yellow……incandescence:“incandescence”表明彩虹(blue-red-yellow band)的光譜組合(spectrum

 

 

 

之明亮及清晰。彩虹本身實際上就是一種Incandescence,引申為various aspects of truth.

9-10

nor……stripe:彩虹也不再保持其清晰的彩色線條(stripe)。

10-12

it……readitobliquenessmetaphorical writing,如今已因各種標新立異的詮釋(peculiar interpretations)而變得混淆不清。

12-14

complexity……plain

complexity並非誤謬,但假如使它達到晦澀(murkiness)的地步而毫不明瞭時,就不對了。“but carry it to……”口語上等於“if you carry it to……”carrypush. 此處指metaphorical writing中的metaphor可以用complex的手法表現,但不能失之於晦澀。

15

that has……darkness:形容詞子句,修飾15行末的的“Complexity.complexity的手法本來應該被用來澄清the complex aspects of truth,如今卻已亂了章法,使truth

 

 

 

更不明瞭。“has been committed to”:has been used for the purpose of.

15-16

instead……it is(指complexity)卻不承認自己是一種惡性傳染病(pestilence),以教人迴避。granting itself to beacknowledging;承認。

16-18

moves……fallacy:此句的主詞是15行末的“Complexity.Complexity像傳染病一樣到處橫行,彷彿要用the dismal fallacy來困惑我們,使人誤認下列兩個“that”所引導的子句是事實。bewilder:使困惑。the dismal fallacy:令人沮喪的誤謬。

18-19

that……achievement:越是振振有詞弘詞奪理,一切文藝、學術等成就便越大,也越接近真理。insistence:斷言;堅持。指缺乏信心時往往會強詞奪理。

19-20

that……dark:一切真理必需是晦澀的。

以上指詩壇中晦澀風氣盛行,使人產生錯誤印象,以為要表達真理只有強詞奪理,甚至以為不晦澀就不是真理了。

20-22

Principally……truths:詭辯矯飾主要是逞口舌之利,

 

 

 

與真理是截然相對的。throatin words;指言詞。sophistication is as it always has been:詭辯矯飾一向是蒙蔽真理的。at the antipodes from:與……相對。initialoriginal;原始的。

22-24

Part……lair”:希臘作家Nestor of Laranda2nd cent. AD)曾撰Metamorphoses,蒐集古希臘的神話故事。其中一段描寫狀似dragon的一頭怪獸,為解渴喝乾了Cephisus河水,使得河裡的nymphs大慟。Moore只節錄下描寫怪獸形狀的部份文字,形容此獸軀體頑長,一截身體在爬行中,另一截正要開始行動,剩下的一截還蜷在洞裡冬眠(torpid. lair:野獸的巢穴。

24-25

In……minutiae:此段仍是形容怪獸行進間的情狀。它有無數短足,在地上抽搐蠕動(fitful advance),發出咯咯聲(gurgling sound),身體的其他各部還有各種細節(minutiae)。

25-26

feetfeet一是指怪獸身上無數的短足,一是指Nestor在寫作時用盡了希臘古典作家詩作的技巧,以繁複的節奏(feet)來描寫怪獸行進間的情狀。Moore特舉出此段文字來闡明truth的真義。真理是Complex的,為了描寫怪物的Complexity, Nestor必需用Complex的技巧來表現