少年维特的烦恼 英文版 The Sorrows of Young Werther
歌德 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
MAY 12.
I know not whether some deceitful spirits haunt this spot, orwhether it be the warm, celestial fancy in my own heart whichmakes everything around me seem like paradise. In front of thehouse is a fountain, -- a fountain to which I am bound by a charmlike Melusina and her sisters. Descending a gentle slope, you cometo an arch, where, some twenty steps lower down, water of theclearest crystal gushes from the marble rock. The narrow wall whichencloses it above, the tall trees which encircle the spot, and thecoolness of the place itself, -- everything imparts a pleasant butsublime impression. Not a day passes on which I do not spend anhour there. The young maidens come from the town to fetch water,-- innocent and necessary employment, and formerly the occupation ofthe daughters of kings. As I take my rest there, the idea of the oldpatriarchal life is awakened around me. I see them, our old ancestors,how they formed their friendships and contracted alliances at thefountain-side; and I feel how fountains and streams were guarded bybeneficent spirits. He who is a stranger to these sensations hasnever really enjoyed cool repose at the side of a fountain after thefatigue of a weary summer day.