诗是不能翻译的,译诗是徒劳的,这“犹如把一朵紫罗兰投入坩埚,企图由此探索它的色泽和香味的构造原理”
这句话是我们翻译书的卷首语呢!
It were as wise to cast a violet into a crucible that you might discover the formal principle of its color and odor, as to seek to transfuse from one language into another the creations of a poet.
把紫罗兰投进坩埚,以便有可能发现其颜色和气味的正式本原,此举之明智,堪比寻求把诗人的创作从一种语言输入到另一种语言。
提醒——
句子的正常结构是:To cast a violet into a crucible that you might discover the formal principle of its color and odor were as wise as to seek to transfuse from one language into another the creations of a poet.
企图把诗人的创作从一种语言搬移到另一种语言,就好比把一朵紫罗兰投入坩埚,来化验出它的颜色和香味的数据.