I need not dwell now on the waste and cruelty of war.
现在,我无需详述战争的损耗和残忍。
These stare us wildly in the face, like lurid meteor lights, as we travel the page of history.
当我们在历史长河中驻足时,这些景象就像流星耀眼的光芒一样,粗暴地映在我们脸上。
We see the desolation and death that pursue its demoniac footsteps.
我们曾目睹为了留下恶魔般的足迹而带来的破坏和死亡。
We look upon sacked towns, upon ravaged territories, upon violated homes;
我们凝望被洗劫一空的城镇,被蹂躏劫掠的疆土,还有被侵犯的家园。
we behold all the sweet charities of life changed to wormwood and gall.
我们见证了生活中所有温馨的善举变成苦恼和怨恨;
Our soul is penetrated by the sharp moan of mothers, sisters, and daughters:
我们的灵魂被那些母亲们、姐妹们和女儿们凄厉的哀鸣深深刺痛了:
of fathers, brothers, and sons, who, in the bitterness of their bereavement, refuse to be comforted.
这是因为父亲们,兄弟们和儿子们的惨死,处于丧亲之痛的他们和她们拒绝别人的安慰。
Our eyes rest at last upon one of these fair fields, where Nature, in her abundance, spreads her cloth of gold,
我们的目光最终停留在那些相当不错的土地中一块,在那里大自然物产十分丰裕,摊开她那宽敞的金色外衣,
spacious and apt for the entertainment of mighty multitudes — or, perhaps, from the curious subtlety of its position,
恰好为神气活现的芸芸众生带来欢娱——也许从她所处位置的奇妙的差别来看,
like the carpet in the Arabian tale, seeming to contract so as to be covered by a few only, or to dilate so as to receive an innumerable host.
就像阿拉伯传说中的地毯,似乎可以缩小到只能允许几个人站在上边,或者膨胀到可以接待难以计数的宾客。
Here, under a bright sun, such as shone at Austerlitz or Buena Vista — amidst the peaceful harmonies of nature,
这里,在明亮的太阳下面,就像奥斯特里茨或者布埃纳维斯塔的骄阳一样——在大自然安宁的和谐氛围中,
on the Sabbath of peace — we behold bands of brothers, children of a common Father, heirs to a common happiness, struggling together in the deadly fight,
在宁静的安息日——我们注视将属于一个父亲的兄弟们、孩子们连在一起的纽带,他们继承了共同的幸福,一起进行殊死的抗争,
with the madness of fallen spirits, seeking with murderous weapons the lives of brothers who have never injured them or their kindred.
凭借对堕落精神的疯狂,他们用杀人武器要了兄弟们的性命,而这些人从来没有伤害他们或者他们的亲属。