诗歌之灵性

 　　The Dexterity¹ of Poetry

　　诗歌之灵性

　　With the young of both sexes, Poetry is, like love, a passion; but, for much the greater part of those who have been proud of its power over their minds, a necessity soon arises of breaking the pleasing  bondage; or it relaxes of itself; —the thoughts being occupied in domestic cares, or the time engrossed² by business. Poetry then becomes only an occasional recreation; while to those whose existence passes away in a course of fashionable pleasure, it is a species of luxurious³ amusement. In middle and declining age, a scattered⁴ number of serious persons resort to poetry, as to religion, for a protection against the pressure of trivial employments, and as a consolation⁵ for the afflictions of life. And, lastly, there are many, who, having been enamoured of this art in their youth, have found leisure, after youth was spent, to cultivate general literature; in which poetry has continued to be comprehended as a study.

　　对青年男女来说，诗歌如同爱情一样，是一种激情。不过，即使是为诗歌动人心弦的力量萦绕心灵而骄傲的人，也很快就必需挣脱诗歌那令人愉悦的束缚；或者这种束缚会自然而然地松懈，因为家务占据了头脑，事业耗尽了时间。如此一来, 诗歌就只是偶尔的消遣了。对那些一生都在追求时髦的人来说，诗歌是一种奢侈的娱乐。而少数中老年人则借助于诗歌——就像求助于宗教一样——来缓解琐事带来的压力和抚平生活中的创伤。最后，还有许多自年轻时就迷上了诗歌艺术的爱好者，尽管已不再年轻，他们有了追求文学的闲暇，这时，诗歌被当成了一门学问。

1 dexterity   

n.(手的)灵巧，灵活

参考例句：

• You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
• I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧，我不如你。

2 engrossed   

adj.全神贯注的

参考例句：

• The student is engrossed in his book.这名学生正在专心致志地看书。
• No one had ever been quite so engrossed in an evening paper.没人会对一份晚报如此全神贯注。

3 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

4 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

5 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。