東德? ?布萊希特

Who built the seven gates of Thebes?
底比斯七門何人建起
The books are filled with the names of kings.
問青史 唯帝王之名
Was it kings who hauled the craggy blocks of stone?
難道是帝王搬起了基石與墻磚
And Babylon so many times destroyed.
幾番傾頹的巴比倫
Who built the city up each time?
又是誰將它重建
In which of Lima's houses.The city with gold，
金碧輝煌的利馬城
lived those who built it?
它的締造者此刻棲居何處
In the evening when the Chinese wall was finished
萬里長城完工之夜
Where did the masons go?
工匠們又要去向何方
Imperial Rome,is full of arcs of triumph.
帝國羅馬 笑盡凱旋
Who reared them up?
那是誰的心血
Over whom did the Caesars triumph?
誰的戰(zhàn)斗澆筑了凱撒的勝利
Byzantium lives in song.
笙歌繚繞的拜占庭啊
Were all her dwellings palaces?
宮殿豈是它全部的居所
And even in Atlantis of the legend
即便是在那傳說中的亞特蘭蒂斯
The night the sea rushed in,
在那汪洋肆虐之夜
The drowning men still bellowed for their slaves.
瀕死的主人們?nèi)栽谂?為了他們的奴隸
Young Alexander conquered India.
亞歷山大英姿勃發(fā)劍指印度
He alone?
豈是千里單騎
Caesar beat the Gauls.
凱撒揮師北征高盧
Was there not even a cook in his army?
莫非憑借匹夫之力
Philip of Spain wept as his fleet was sunk and destroyed.
當(dāng)菲利普為沉沒的無敵艦隊哭泣
Were there no other tears?
落淚的 又難道僅此一人
Frederick the Great triumphed in the Seven Years' War.
腓特烈大帝 偉大的七年戰(zhàn)爭
Who triumphed with him?
誰與他一同凱旋
Each page a victory.
翻過一頁頁光輝的勝利
At whose expense the victory ball?
誰為金杯斟滿了慶功的美酒
Every ten years a great man.
人間十年一偉人
Who paid the piper?
誰的白骨遍地 誰說莫問封侯
So many particulars.
這樣多的歷史
So many questions.

這樣多道不清的謎題。