The night is long that never finds the day 做何解

alredstone · 发表于 2019-6-5 16:03:39

The night is long that never finds the day 出自莎士比亚的麦克白，全句为：Receive what cheer you may, the night is long that never finds the day.

网上可以找到很多鸡汤解释，大致意思为“黑夜再长也无法阻挡白昼的脚步”。

但对我来说，这个解释太过于“意译”了。从句子结构、上下文都难以理解这一解释。希望有大神能够解惑。该句从句法结构、上下文看，到底作何解释比较合情合理。

klwo2 · 发表于 2019-6-5 18:01:54

本帖最后由 klwo2 于 2019-6-5 20:16 编辑

莎士比亚是语言大师，还是我国明代那时候英国的古人，语法……

【the night is long that never finds the day】这话里面，【that never finds the day】修饰【the night】，见不到白昼的夜晚

见不到白昼的夜晚很长。这话没有说逻辑关系，所以可以是：

1）长夜漫漫，再也见不到白昼。这是悲观角度说的。如果你不振作起来（麦克白上下文），黑夜就是漫漫无尽头的

2）见不到白昼的夜晚，（才）很长。（添一个让步关系）常识告诉我们，黑夜总是有尽头的，总是能见到白昼的。如果你振作起来（麦克白上下文），那么……这就是你看见的译本里面的【黑夜无论怎样悠长，白昼总会到来的。】【黑夜再长也无法阻挡白昼的脚步】

话说我也不是莎士比亚专家啊，这句网上搜一搜就大致明白了

klwo2 · 发表于 2019-6-6 14:02:29

楼主，这个find 就是常用意义：寻到，看到，碰到啊

只要别把find框死在「找」字上，这个文学用法不难理解的

louislaolu · 发表于 2019-6-6 05:33:57

本帖最后由 louislaolu 于 2019-6-6 05:36 编辑

单从语法上讲，that never finds the day 是定语从句，修饰的是The night，正常的顺序是The night that never finds the day is long，但是因为谓语太短，为了实现末端重心（end weight），就把定语从句后置，变成了The night is long that never finds the day。英语中有不少谚语就是这样的结构，比如，He laughs best who laughs last，这里的定语从句往往相当于一个条件或其他关系的句子。至于楼主提到的这句话，如何理解，只能根据上下文做灵活变通了。

匿名 *发表于 2019-6-5 18:16:16* · 发表于 2019-6-5 18:16:16

本帖最后由匿名于 2019-6-5 18:19 编辑

Macbeth's reign is a reign of darkness. Darkness, like chaos, can occur, but eventually light, order, and the proper king must follow the darkness just as day eventually follows even the longest night.

Macbeth is mortal and so, therefore, is his time.

The night is long that never finds the day 个人理解that never finds the day 是修饰那个long的.
黑夜再长也无法阻挡白昼的脚步应该是合理的吧。

可以参考一下 https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-does-quote-night-long-which-never-finds-day-2412

匿名 *发表于 2019-6-5 16:48:50* · 发表于 2019-6-5 16:48:50

本帖最后由匿名于 2019-6-5 19:02 编辑

单词都认识看不懂系列。昼短苦夜长，何不秉烛游？是不是这个意思啊？

sabrina2111 · 发表于 2019-6-5 18:56:38

Receive what cheer you may, the night is long that never finds the day.
=Receive what you may cheer, the night is long that never finds the day.
没读过莎士比亚的作品，纯个人理解
接受你该快乐的，黑夜虽长但总能盼到白昼（直译：漫漫长夜竟然看不到白昼）。这里的that是尽然的意思。查新牛津。
大致就是别老是被不快所包围着，别总看到阴暗面。

wsaotu · 发表于 2019-6-5 22:34:27

字面上：及时行乐，夜晚很长，若不抓紧（做某事）就会看不见白天（这应该是比喻用法，可以理解为：没有出头之日）
结合剧情大概是，malcolm鼓动macduff一起反叛昏君麦克白，以免夜长梦多。
这里按照我的理解应该是有打暗号的意思，毕竟商量着大逆不道的东西，不能直说，所以指代和比喻比较多。参考我大中华的黑话，是不是也是意味深长

这里在分享一下个人体会：看老莎的作品还是少关注语法了，多代入情节，代入语言氛围，当成剧作艺术来读，让脑海里有画面。

mikeee · 发表于 2019-6-6 12:27:32

本帖最后由 mikeee 于 2019-6-6 12:38 编辑

GBEATTY eNotes educator| CERTIFIED EDUCATOR

As with many lines in this play, the meaning is doubled.

One meaning is a literal meaning describing an emotional sensation. By that I mean, a night that never finds day would be a night that never ends. The darkness would go on forever, and sometimes we all feel like that, when the world is crashing around us.

However, the second meaning is also literal: you'd have to wait a long time to have a night that never finds a day, because that never happens. Morning always comes; things always get better.

https://www.enotes.com/homework- ... ever-finds-day-2412

貌似比较到位？

The night is long that never finds the day. 翻成现代英语：A new day will come at last.
https://www.sparknotes.com/nofear/shakespeare/macbeth/page_176/

alredstone · 发表于 2019-6-6 13:44:20

感谢各位的答疑。最近翻到这本书，觉得译文没有很好的表现出原文的意思，于是开始纠结。

结论是：敝人英文水平有限，英文名著还是看译本较好，原著仍需假以时日才能尝试。

techiezp · 发表于 2019-6-6 21:08:46

俺怎么感觉这句话是为了应景过去的某个日子

[语言讨论] The night is long that never finds the day 做何解

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