天文学家的祝酒歌（The Astronomer's Drinking Song）

词：佚 名   唱：伦敦数学协会   译：郑 中（Geongs Zhern）

"Whoe'er would search the starry sky,

 Its secrets to devine, sir,

Should take his glass - I mean, should try

 A glass or tow of wine, sir!

True virtue lies in golden mean,

 and man must wet his clay, sir;

Join these two maxims, and 'tis seen

 He should drink his bottle a day, sir!

无论谁仰望星空

多么神秘梦幻，先生！

举起酒盏干杯

真正的美德是中庸

男人要烂醉如泥

来两句酒令助兴

应该每天喝他一杯，先生！

"Old Archimedes, reverend sage!

 By trump of fame renowed, sir,

Deep problems solved in every page,

 And the sphere's curved surface found, sir:

Himself he would have far outshone,

 And borne a wider sway, sir,

Had he our modern secret known,

 And drank a bottle a day, sir!

年老的阿基米德，虔诚贤明！

名声远播万里，先生！

深奥的问题写在纸上

又发现球的曲面，先生！

他自己却远离光环

然后画出美丽的摆线

他拥有了现代的秘密

且每天喝他一杯，先生！

"When Ptolemy, now long ago,

 Believed the earth stood still, sir,

He never would have blundered so,

 Had he but drunk his fill, sir.

He'd then have felt it circulate,

 And would have learnt to say, sir,

The true way to investigate

 Is to drink your bottle a day, sir!

托勒密在很久以前

认为地球是中心，先生

虽然他永不犯错

但他喝得够多，先生

然后他觉得地球是圆的

并且曾经宣称，先生

真正的道路是调研

打算每天喝他一杯，先生！

"Copernicus, that learned wight,

 The glory of his nation,

With draughts of wine refreshed his sight,

 And saw the earths's rotation;

Each planet then its orb described,

 The moon got under way, sir;

These truths from nature he imbibed

 For he drank his bottle a day, sir!

哥白尼学识渊博

是他祖国的荣誉

葡萄酒恢复了他的视力

并见到了地球的旋转

描述了每个行星天体

月亮运行在轨道上，先生

这些真理源于自然

为他每天喝他一杯，先生！

"The noble Tycho placed the stars,

 Each in his due location;

He lost his nose(1) by spite of Mars,

 But that was no privation:

Had he but lost his mouth, I grant

 He would have felt dismay, sir,

Bless you! *he* knew what he should want

 To drink his bottle a day, sir!

贵族第谷测量了行星

每颗位于它恰当的位置

他没嗅到火星的怪异

但生活不贫困

难道他只是忘记嘴巴，我承认

他曾感到惊愕，先生

祝福你！“他”知道他应该要的

来每天喝他一杯，先生！

"Cold water makes no lucky hits;

 On mysteries the head runs:

Small drink let Kepler time his wits

 On the regular polyhedrons:

He took to wine, and it changed the chime,

 His genius swept away, sir,

Through area varying at the time

At the rate of a bottle a day, sir!

没有运气泼到冷水

大脑在思考神秘：

小酒让开普乐时代

着迷于正多面体

他把盏美酒，然后调准音律

他的天赋沉睡而去，先生

虽然时代不断在改变

以每天一杯的速度，先生！

"Poor Galileo, forced to rat

 Before the inquisition,

*E pur si muove* was the pat

 He gave them in addition:

He meant, whate'er you think you prove,

 the earth must go its way, sirs;

Spite of your teeth I'll make it move

For I'll drink my bottle a day, sirs!

贫困的伽利略，受到小人迫害

然后是宗教裁判所

“然而，他的动作”只是拍拍

他再次委屈于它们：

他认为无论如何，你思考你证明

地球必定运行在它的道上，先生

不管你的牙齿，我将使之运动

因为我要每天喝一杯，先生！

"Great Newton, who was never beat

 Whatever fools may think, sir;

Though sometimes he forgot to eat,

 He never forgot to drink, sir;

Descartes(2) took nought but lemonade,

 To conquer him was play, sir;

The first advance that Newton made

Was to drink his bottle a day, sir!

伟大的牛顿，他从未击败

无论愚人如何思考，先生

虽然有时他废寝忘食

但他从不忘记喝酒，先生

笛卡尔没有后代，但有柠檬汽水

战胜他是小游戏，先生

牛顿第一个优势在于

能每天喝他一杯，先生！

"D'Alembert, Euler and Clairaut,

 Though they increased our store, sir,

Much further had been seen to go

 Had they tippled a little more, sir!

Lagrange gets mellow with Laplace,

 And both are wont to say, sir!

The *philosophe* who's not an ass

Will drink his bottle a day, sir!

达兰贝尔，欧拉和克莱罗

虽然他们增强了我们的后备，先生

曾见许多人相继过世

难道他们能多喝一点，先生！

拉格朗日得到拉普拉斯的赏识

而两人都喜欢说，先生！

“哲学家”不是傻瓜

要每天喝他一杯，先生！

"Astronomers! What can avail

 Those who calumniate us;

Experiment can never fail

 With such an apparatus:

Let him who'd have his merits known

 Remember what I say, sir;

Fair science shines on him alone

Who drinks his bottle a day, sir!

那些诽谤我们的人

实验从不会使用

这种烧杯

让自有其理的人

记住我所说的，先生

公正的科学之光照耀着寂寞

他每天喝他一杯，先生！

"How light we reck of those who mock

 By this we'll make him appear,sir,

We'll dine by the sidereal clock

 For one more bottle a year, sir:

But choose which pendulum you will, sir,

Unless you drink - and drink your fill, -

At least a bottle a day, sir!"

多么轻视我们那些愚弄者

因此我们要他出来，先生

我们要进餐有律

为了一年一次喝得更多，先生：

但自个选好你喜欢的节奏，先生

除非你狂喝，而且喝到翻天

至少每天一杯，先生！

（伦敦数学协会歌唱）

译注：此诗作为祝酒歌，实际上更像一首劝酒歌，活泼调侃，以酒解愁，气氛欢悦。全诗介绍了许多著名的天文学家，点到其贡献与个性。每段频繁称呼“先生”，显得风雅，也起到重词押韵的作用；每段以“每天喝他一杯”结尾，铺垫了全篇的韵律，使介绍显得风趣而不枯燥。