fade

Longman Active Study Dictionary, 3e:

L1. (also fade away) [I] to gradually disappear or become weaker: Her memories of Egypt soon faded.

L2. [I, T] if clothes of coloured objects fade, or if light fades them, they lose their colour or brightness: faded blue jeans

Oxford Wordpower:

O1. [I] to become lighter in colour or less strong or fresh: Jeans fade when you wash them. | The sun was setting and the light was fading fast.

O2. [T] to make sth fade: Look how the sun has faded these curtains.

O3. [I] fade (away), to disappear slowly (from sight, hearing , memory, etc): The cheering of the crowd faded away. | The smile faded from his face.

不論所舉的例子, 編排的次序, 用法的歸類, 都高下立見.

When You Are Old

葉慈這首詩, 在我看來並非浪漫溫柔: 此君追個萬人迷不遂, 酸溜溜說, 你今日不垂青於我, 老來色衰愛馳, 鉛華洗淨, 仰瞻愛情(我)高岡信步眾星掩映, 就要後悔了.

Yeats, When You Are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

　　How many loved your moments of glad grace,
　　And loved your beauty with love false or true,
　　But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
　　And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

吳興華譯

當你已年老，灰髮，充滿了睡眠，
在火旁垂首安息，拿下這本書
緩緩地誦念，夢想你兩眼當初
輕柔的顏色，如今是暗如深淵。

曾有多少人愛你歡愉的時光，
愛你的美以或真或假的愛情；
但有一個人愛你跋涉的魂靈，
以及你變換不定多愁的面龐。

然後俯下身子在閃亮的爐邊
含憂地微語：如何愛情已消失無蹤，
愛情已踏上一座危峻的山峰，
不語的將臉隱藏在星網之間。

of their shadows deep = 如今是? 當初是？眼核深深？

余光中譯

當你年老，頭白，睡意正昏昏，
在爐火邊打盹，請取下此書，
慢慢閱讀，且夢見你的美目
往昔的溫婉，眸影有多深；

夢見多少人愛你優雅的韶光，
愛你的美貌，不論假意或真情，
可是有一人愛你朝聖的心靈，
愛你臉上青春難駐的哀傷；

於是你俯身在熊熊的爐邊，
有點惘然，低訴愛情已飛颺，
而且逡巡在群峰之上，
把臉龐隱藏在星座之間。

fled 何故譯成飛颺?

近松門左衛門

曾根崎鴛鴦殉情
錢稻孫譯

露華濃，夏蟲清瘦； 情真處，配偶相求。 好不俊俏也風流！ 粉蝶兒雙飛雙逗， 這搭那搭，旖旎溫柔； 東風裡，翩翩悠悠。 人家彩染的春衫袖， 卻當作花枝招誘； 並起雙翅，悄立上肩頭， 恰好似，仙蝶家紋天生就。

思果, 可惡的名詞

(中國語文通訊)

The piles of Arab blankets in the corners of the rooms, the newest books and magazines upon the tables, speak of a man who touched life at a hundred points.

看他房裡堆滿阿刺伯毛毯, 桌上放了最新出的書籍雜誌, 就可以知道, 他接觸人生的各方面有多廣了.

Culture to him, as to the Orientals, with whom he lived so much and sympathized so deeply, was an affair of the spirit and of mind not to be measured by material progress, or, even by the arts.

他心目中所謂的文化, 和人的氣概、心靈有關, 不能以物質的發展, 甚至以人文學科來衡量. 他與東方人過從已久, 也同情東方人; 在東方人的心目中, 文化也是如此. (思果)

sympathize = 同情?

The several calls for reprints of this work bear testimony to its acceptability and usefulness.

這部詞典已經幾次有人提出重印的要求, 可見大家覺得它可以參考, 也很有用.

acceptability = 可以參考 (可以二字, 殊堪玩味)

There can be no sound discussion where the gulf severing two sets of facts is not frankly recognized.

不坦率承認兩組事實給鴻溝分隔開來, 合理的討論是辦不來的.

gulf = 天懸地隔, 判若鴻溝
there can be no = 辦不來

It was perhaps owing to this also that the diction of particular phrases was often so badly explained.

也許正是因為這一點, 這些特別短語的用字才常常解釋得那麼差.