“从放弃中得到拯救”——读罗伯特·弗罗斯特的《彻底的奉献》

"Salvation in Surrender"——A Historical Reading of Robert Frost's Poem "The Gift Outright"

弗罗斯特曾经把他的《彻底的奉献》一诗称为是"一部用十几行无韵诗写成的美国历史"。在他看来,美国人要想真正成为这块土地的主人并充分实现自我的价值,就必须完全放弃自我,彻底地奉献。当弗罗斯特在这首诗中说美国人"拥有着当时不被我们拥有的东西"时,他一方面指当时他们对这块土地的所有权被英国所剥夺,而另外一方面指当时的美国人并没有真正爱上这块土地,没有像神圣的爱情那样,做到双方在灵魂与肉体上的完全结合。这种"软弱"只有当美国人真正意识到他们必须像热恋中的情人那样热爱自己的国家时才能够被克服。于是,他们发现他们的"软弱"来自自我的"捆绑"。为了"与这片土地融为一体",他们学会了"放弃"、学会了"奉献",因此"立刻从放弃中得到拯救"。

Robert Frost once said that his poem ＂The Gift Outright＂ is ＂a history of the United States in a dozen lines of blank verse.＂ He believed that if Americans wanted to become the real masters of the land and to realize the true values of themselves, they had to ＂surrender＂ and devote themselves ＂outright＂ to the land. When Frost said in this poem that Americans were ＂possessing what [ they] still were unpossessed by,＂ he was saying on the one hand that proprietary rights of the land were at that time ＂unpossessed by＂ Great Britain, and on the other hand he was referring to the fact that Americans at that time had not yet loved this land, not having yet like a pair of passionate lovers in their sacred love integrated their souls and bodies into each other. This kind of ＂weakness＂ could only Be overcome when Americans came to realize that they must love their own country as lovers＇ passionate love of each other. They, therefore, discovered that their ＂weakness＂ came from their own ＂withholding＂. In order not to be ＂withholding [ themselves] from [their] land of living＂, Americans not only learned how to give up and to devote themselves but also ＂forthwith found salvation in surrender.＂