In this abbess’s monastery¹ was a certain brother made especially famous and honoured with a divine gift² because he was accustomed to producing suitable poetry which pertained to religion and piety³, such that, whatever he learned from divine scriptures through scholars, he was able to transpose into poetry after a short period of time adorned⁴ with the most sweetness and inspiration and to produce it well, and made in the English language…

    在这座女修道院里，有一位修士因获得神赐天赋而声名远扬、备受敬重。他擅长创作契合宗教与虔敬主题的诗歌。凡是他从学者那里学到的圣经经文，短时间内他就能将其改写为诗歌，辞藻优美、充满灵气，用英语完美呈现出来……

He was established in the secular life until a time when he was advanced in years, and he had never learned any poetry. And he was often in drinking parties, when it was decreed, as a cause for joy, that they should all sing in turns to the accompaniment of the harp. When he saw the harp approach him, he rose up for shame from that feast and went home to his house. On a certain occasion, when he did just that, he left the building of the drinking party and went out to the animal shed, the care of which had been given to him that night. Then, in due time, he got himself settled in rest and slept⁵, and a man stood before him as if in a dream and called him and greeted him and spoke to him by his name: “Cædmon, sing me something.”

    他一直过着世俗生活，年事已高，却从未学过作诗。他时常参加酒宴，宴会上大家约定以竖琴伴奏，轮流歌唱，以此助兴。每当看到竖琴传到自己面前，他便羞愧地离席回家。有一回，又是这样，他离开宴饮的屋子，来到当晚交由他看管的牲畜棚。到了夜里，他安顿下来睡着了。梦中，有个人站在他面前，叫他的名字向他致意：“凯德蒙，为我唱首歌吧。”

Then he answered and said: “I cannot sing; and therefore, I left the party and came here because I am not able to sing anything.” Again, the one who was speaking with him said: “Nevertheless, you must sing something for me.” Then Cædmon said: “What shall I sing?” He said: “Sing to me about Creation⁶.” When he got this answer, he began to sing straightaway in praise of our Creator, in verse and words that he had never heard, of which the arrangement⁷ is:

    他答道：“我不会唱歌，所以我离开宴席来到这里，我实在什么都唱不出来。” 那人又说：“但你一定要为我唱点什么。” 凯德蒙便问：“那我该唱什么？” 那人说：“给我歌唱创世。” 听到这话，他当即开口赞美造物主，唱出了他从未听过的词句，诗文如下：

Now praise the Guardian of the heavenly kingdom,
the might of the Creator and his conception,

    现在请赞美天国的守护者，
    赞美造物主的伟力与他的创世构想。

Then he arose from sleeping, and all that he had sung while sleeping was secure in his memory, and immediately he added many words in the same metre⁸ to the words of the worthy poem to the Creator. In the morning, he came to the estate’s reeve who was his superior; he told him about the gift that he had received. And straightaway the reeve led him to the abbess and he

    他从睡梦中醒来，梦中所唱的全部内容牢牢印在记忆里。他立刻沿用同样的格律，为这首赞美造物主的庄严诗篇续写了大量诗句。清晨，他去找庄园的总管，也就是他的上司，向他讲述自己获得的这份神赐本领。总管随即把他带到女院长面前。

* 本书中选篇上方以斜体呈现的标题为编著者所加。
词汇注释（对应上标数字）

    monastery n. 修道院
    divine gift 神赐的天赋
    piety n. 虔诚，虔敬
    adorn v. 修饰，润色
    slept v. 睡觉（sleep 过去式）
    Creation n. 创世，万物创造
    arrangement n. （诗文的）行文、篇章
    metre n. 诗的格律