Author | Wise men
Source | Confucius old book network dynamics
"Who caught you this time?" guess! "Die," I replied.
Listen, the silver bell echoed: "Not death, but love!"
——Mrs. Browning's Lyrical Sonnets, translated by Fang Ping
These are the last two verses of the first poem in Madame Blannin's Lyrical Sonnets, and it is the "love" she refers to that has saved her from her paralyzed body that is about to suffocate in bed, hovering on the line of death, and glows with new life.
Elizabeth Ballet Browning, also known as Mrs. Browning or Mrs. Browning, was one of the most revered poets of the Victorian era in England. Born 6 March 1806. At the age of 15, unfortunately, he lost his spine on horseback. Since then, the lower limbs have been paralyzed for 24 years. At the age of 39, she met the poet Robert Browning, who was 6 years her junior, and her life full of grief opened a new chapter. ”
There is a saying that seems to say, "Love can overcome death!" Mrs. Browning confirmed the correctness of this statement. From the time she was 15 years old, paralyzed in bed, unable to move, and enclosed in her bedroom to the 39-year-old marriage to Mr. Browning, she experienced 24 years of "death" like illness. The only thing she could do was read books and write poetry. After meeting Mr. Browning through the poem, she rekindled the flame of hope in her inner world of pain that was about to be extinguished.
It was "love" that made Madame Browning stand up, and it was "love" that made her write one beautiful poem after another that shocked the world.
On June 29, 1861, Madame Browning bid farewell to her Robert forever. Before she died, she was not in much pain, nor did she have a premonition, but she felt tired; it was one night when she was discussing plans with Browning about summer. She talked and laughed with him, expressing her love in the warmest words; then she felt tired and snuggled up to Browning's chest and went to sleep. She slept like this for a few minutes, and her head suddenly hung down; he thought she was momentarily dazed, but she went and never came back. She narrowed her eyes in his arms. Her countenance, like a maiden, was smiling and happy. ”
I love reading poetry, I like to read real poetry. If there is no real poetry, I would rather not read it. There are too many people who write poetry now, and there are very few real poems, and I rarely read them. And this thin translation of Mrs. Browning's "Lyrical Sonnets" translated by the famous Fang Ping is the book I carried on this business trip.
The love story between Browning and Madame Browning herself is very attractive to me, I think it is a "poignant love", a real love. From Madame Browning's psalms, you will feel the shame, gratitude, and happiness caused by "love" everywhere. Listen to how she describes "love", which is the call of "love":
How do I love you? Let me do the math one by one.
I love you as best my soul can
Deep, broad, and high—just as I seek
The presence of God and the deep grace of God in the occult.
I love you as much as the sun and the candles
That doesn't have to be said every day. I didn't bother
Love you like men fighting for justice;
I love you purely, as they bow their heads before praise.
I love you with my childhood faith; I love you with
Full of enthusiasm, like the heartache of the past;
I love you for the saint who seems to disappear
And the fading love. I love you with my lifelong breath, smiles and tears—if only it were God's
Will, then, I will love you even more when I die!
This is very much like the love described by Tang Xianzu in "Peony Pavilion": "Love does not know what to do, but it goes deeper." "Love is born from the heart, life can die, death can live; life cannot die, death cannot be born, love is not the end..."
"If it is God's will, then I will love you even more when I die!" It's a powerful confession of love.
