Basic literary translation. Е. Д. Андреева
высокая башня, и опять все тихо отливается в форму горы, островов, с лесами, с куполами. Не успело воображение воспринять этот рисунок, а он уже тает и распадается, и на место его тихо воздвигся откуда-то корабль и повис на воздушной почве; из огромной колесницы уже сложился стан исполинской женщины; плеча еще целы, а бока уже отпали, и вышла голова верблюда; на нее напирает и поглощает все собою ряд солдат, несущихся целым строем.
Изумленный глаз смотрит вокруг, не увидит ли руки, которая, играя, строит воздушные видения. Тихо, нежно и лениво ползут эти тонкие и прозрачные узоры в золотой атмосфере, как мечты тянутся в дремлющей душе, слагаясь в пленительные образы и разлагаясь опять, чтоб слиться в фантастической игре…
2.2 Simile
Possible means of translation:
Darkness poured out, submerging the ways between the trees till they were [32].
Тьма хлынула на лес, затопляя проходы между стволами, пока они не стали [18].
The pig’s head hung down with gaping neck and [32].
Голова металась под зияющим горлом и [18].
Now the sea would suck down, making cascades and waterfalls of retreating water, would sink past the rocks and plaster down the seaweed like shining hair <…> [32]
Упадёт, взметнув брызги, разденет скалы, облепленные мокрыми прядями водорослей <…> [18]
Sometimes land loomed where there was no land and as the children watched [32].
А то земля вдруг вставала там, где никакой земли не было, и тут же на глазах у детей [18].
At last the way to the top , with no more plunges through darkness [32].
К вершине теперь вели только голые розовые скалы, и больше не приходилось нырять во тьму [18].
Exercises
1 . Find in the given text the words used in metaphorical sense and write out of a dictionary all their meanings. Compose your own sentences using every word in direct and figurative meaning.
While we were talking, as I have said, we noticed a dark line, like a low cloud or fog-bank, on the seaward horizon. The day was a fine one, though cloudy, and a gentle breeze was blowing, but the sea was not rougher, or the breaker on the reef higher, than usual. At first we thought that this looked like a thunder-cloud; and, as we had had a good deal of broken weather of late, accompanied by occasional peals of thunder, we supposed that a storm must be approaching. Gradually, however, this line seemed to draw nearer, without spreading up over the sky, as would certainly have been the case if it had been a storm-cloud. Still nearer it came, and soon we saw that it was moving swiftly towards the island; but there was no sound till it reached the islands out at sea. As it passed these islands, we observed, with no little anxiety, that a cloud of white foam encircled them, and burst in spray into the air: it was accompanied by a loud roar. This led us to conjecture that the approaching object was an enormous wave of the sea; but we had no idea how large it was till it came near to ourselves. When it approached the outer reef, however, we were awe-struck with its unusual magnitude; and we sprang to our feet, and clambered hastily up to the highest point of the precipice, under an indefinable feeling of fear.
I have said before that the reef opposite Spouting Cliff was very near to the shore, while, just in front of the bower, it was at a considerable distance out to sea. Owing to this formation, the wave reached the reef at the latter point before it struck at the foot of Spouting Cliff. The instant it touched the reef we became aware, for the first time, of its awful magnitude. It burst completely over the reef at all points, with a roar that seemed louder to me than thunder; and this roar continued for some seconds, while the wave rolled gradually along towards the cliff on which we stood. As its crest reared before us, we felt that we were in great danger, and turned to flee; but we were too late. With a crash that seemed to shake the solid rocks the gigantic billow fell, and instantly the spouting-holes sent