Law Like Love

By W. H. Auden (1907–1973)

Law, say the gardeners, is the sun,
Law is the one
All gardeners obey
To-morrow, yesterday, to-day.

Law is the wisdom of the old,
The impotent grandfathers feebly scold;
The grandchildren put out a treble tongue,
Law is the senses of the young.

Law, says the priest with a priestly look,
Expounding to an unpriestly people,
Law is the words in my priestly book,
Law is my pulpit and my steeple.

Law, says the judge as he looks down his nose,
Speaking clearly and most severely,
Law is as I’ve told you before,
Law is as you know I suppose,
Law is but let me explain it once more,
Law is The Law.

Yet law-abiding scholars write:
Law is neither wrong nor right,
Law is only crimes
Punished by places and by times,
Law is the clothes men wear
Anytime, anywhere,
Law is Good morning and Good night.

Others say, Law is our Fate;
Others say, Law is our State;
Others say, others say
Law is no more,
Law has gone away.

And always the loud angry crowd,
Very angry and very loud,
Law is We,
And always the soft idiot softly Me.

If we, dear, know we know no more
Than they about the Law,
If I no more than you
Know what we should and should not do
Except that all agree
Gladly or miserably
That the Law is
And that all know this
If therefore thinking it absurd
To identify Law with some other word,
Unlike so many men
I cannot say Law is again,

No more than they can we suppress
The universal wish to guess
Or slip out of our own position
Into an unconcerned condition.
Although I can at least confine
Your vanity and mine
To stating timidly
A timid similarity,
We shall boast anyway:
Like love I say.

Like love we don’t know where or why,
Like love we can’t compel or fly,
Like love we often weep,
Like love we seldom keep.

法律像爱情

查良铮（穆旦）译

法律是太阳，园丁说，
法律是一种规格
一切园丁都得遵守
昨天，今天，以至永久

法律是古老的智慧，
曾被无力的祖父尖声责备；
孙儿吐舌发出最高音：
法律是年轻人的理性。

法律，教士以教士的神情，
对一群没有教士派的人解释
法律是，我的传教书里的文字，
法律是我的讲坛和教堂的尖顶。

法律，法官以视线一扫鼻尖
最严厉而又清楚地说，
法律是，我曾告诉你们过，
法律是我想对你们很明显，
法律是，让我对你们再解释一遍，
法律就是法律。

可是守法的学者写书：
法律不是什么对和错
法律只是一些罪恶
受到时间和地点的惩处，
法律是任何时间，任何地点，
人们所穿的衣服，
法律是早安和晚安。

又有人说，法律是我们的宿命
又有人说，法律是我们的国家
又有人说，又有人说
法律不再存在，
法律已经走开。

那总是声势汹汹的人群，
非常愤怒而高喊着说：
法律是“我们”，
还有那总是轻柔的白痴的“是我”。

假如我们知道，亲爱的
我们不比他们更懂得法律，
假如我不比你更懂得
我们该做和不该做什么，
只知一切人都同意
也许高兴也许悲哀地
同意法律就是
而且一切人都知道如此，
如果认为用另一个字
把它说明就是荒唐，
那我不能再说法律是
像很多别人那样，

可我们也无权来压制
把它猜一猜的普遍愿望
或者滑出我们的立场
进入一种漠不关心的情况。
虽然我至少可以局限
你的和我的虚荣
试陈述
微末的相同
我们还是可以夸
法律像爱情。

[就像爱情，我们不知在哪里或为什么，
就像爱情，我们不能强求或逃避，
就像爱情，我们时常哭泣，
就像爱情，我们罕能保有。]*

* IdeoBook 补译。