Politics

W. B. Yeats

“In our time the destiny of man presents its meanings in political terms.”

—Thomas Mann** Thomas Mann: 托马斯·曼（1875—1955），德国作家，1929年获诺贝尔文学奖。

How can I, that girl standing there,

My attention fix

On Roman or on Russian

Or on Spanish politics?

Yet here’s a traveled man that knows

What he talks about,

And there’s a politician

That has read and thought,

And maybe what they say is true

Of war and war’s alarms,

But O that I were young again

And held her in my arms!

“在我们的时代，人类的命运以政治形式展示其意义。”

——托马斯·曼

我怎能——那女孩站在那儿

却将我的注意力

置于罗马或俄国

或西班牙的政治上？

这儿有位游者

无所不晓，

而那儿有位政客

博学善思，

也许他们所说都是真的——

有关战争和战争的警报，

哦，如果我再次年轻

将拥她入怀！