Andreas: The Legend of St. Andrew

It is always a somewhat hardy undertaking to attempt the translation of poetry, for such a translation will at the best be but a shadow of that which it would fain represent.

翻译诗歌向来是一项相当艰巨的任务，因为这样的翻译充其量也不过是原作试图再现之物的影子。

My translation is faithful, but not literal; I have not hesitated to make a passive construction active, or to translate a compound adjective by a phrase.

我的翻译忠于原作，但并非字字对应；我毫不犹豫地把被动句改为主动句，或将复合形容词译为短语。