Fedor Tyutchev
(1803-1873)
Ф. И. Тютчев
Silentium!
Молчи, скрывайся и таи
И чувства и мечты свои –
Пускай в душевной глубине
Встают и заходят оне
Безмолвно, как звезды в ночи, –
Любуйся ими – и молчи.
Как сердцу высказать
себя?
Другому как понять тебя?
Поймет ли он, чем ты живешь?
Мысль изреченная есть ложь.
Взрывая, возмутишь ключи, –
Питайся ими – и молчи.
Лишь жить в себе самом
умей –
Есть целый мир в душе твоей
Таинственно-волшебных дум;
Их оглушит наружный шум,
Дневные разгонят лучи, –
Внимай их пенью – и молчи!..
(Not
later than 1830)
Both your feelings and your [day]dreams—
Let them stand up and walk on
In the depths of your soul
Silently, like stars in the night—
Esteem [admire] them—and be silent.
How can another understand you?
Will he understand by what you live?
A thought uttered is a lie.
By stirring them up, you’ll muddy the founts (springs)—
Take nourishment from them—and be silent.
In your soul there’s a whole world
Of secretly magical thoughts;
External noise deafens them,
Diurnal rays disperse them—
Hearken unto their singing—and be silent!
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Silentium!
Speak not, live covertly and hide
Your
feelings and your dreams inside—
Let them
rise up and walk with grace
In the
depths of your soul’s most seemly place,
As silent
as night stars in tenderness wrought—
Cherish your
fancies: hush now—speak not.
How can one
heart to another get through?
Can an
alien someone comprehend you?
The crux
of your soul no one else can descry,
And once
past your lips any thought is a lie.
By
stirring the wellsprings you’ll bring up the rot—
Drink deep
from their nourishing waters—speak not.
Learn to
live solely inside your own life—
That shadowy
world in your soul-realm is rife
With cryptic
thoughts, beguiling gems;
The
world’s foul clamor deafens them,
Dispersed
they are by light, distraught—
Harken to
their song—speak not!
Translation dates and places: Flagstaff, Yuma, Los Angeles, April, 2021
d
Translator’s Note
First
published in 1833, in the newspaper Molva (Rumor), “Silentium” is
probably Tyutchev’s best known work, and one of the most renowned poems in the
Russian language. Down through the years, millions of Russians have learned it
by heart, including Dmitry Mendeleev and Lev Tolstoy, who once was quoted as
saying, “What an astonishing thing! I don’t know a better poem.” The fourth
line of the second stanza—“A thought uttered is a lie (Once past your lips any
thought is a lie)”—has become proverbial.
d
Two More Lovely Translations of “Silentium!”
Speak not, lie hidden, and conceal
the way you dream, the things you feel.
Deep in your spirit let them rise
akin to stars in crystal skies
that set before the night is blurred:
delight in them and speak no word.
How can a heart expression find?
How should another know your mind?
Will he discern what quickens you?
A thought once uttered is untrue.
Dimmed is the fountainhead when stirred:
drink at the source and speak no word.
Live in your inner self alone
within your soul a world has grown,
the magic of veiled thoughts that might
be blinded by the outer light,
drowned in the noise of day, unheard...
take in their song and speak no word.
Translated by Vladimir Nabokov
Seal thou thy lips, to none impart
The secret dreams that fill thy heart.
Within it let them blaze and die
As do the silent stars on high
When o’er the earth night’s shadows stray –
Delight in them – and silent stay.
Thy sentiments to none confide;
From those about thee thy thoughts hide,
For when voiced what are they but lies!..
Churn up a stream, and silt will rise
And darken it… Drink, drink thou deep
Of waters clear – and silent keep.
Live in the world of self — thy soul
Of magic thoughts contains a whole
Bright universe… Let not the noise
And light of day dispel the joys
That meditation gives to thee…
Hear thy heart’s song – and silent be!
Translated by Irina Zheleznova
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