去秋，柏林大學(xué)教授法蘭居士游秣陵，會(huì)衲于祇桓精舍，譚及英人近譯大乘起信論，以為破碎過(guò)甚，衲喟然嘆曰：“譯事固難，況譯以英文，首尾負(fù)竭，不稱(chēng)其意，滋無(wú)論矣。又其卷端，謂馬嗚此論，同符景教。吃嗚呼，是烏足以語(yǔ)大乘者哉！”居士各衲為購(gòu)法苑珠林，版久蠹蝕，無(wú)以應(yīng)其求也。衲語(yǔ)居士：“震旦萬(wàn)事蘦墜，豈復(fù)如昔時(shí)所稱(chēng)天國(guó)（Celestial Empire），亦將為印度比倫埃及希臘之繼耳！”此語(yǔ)思之，常有馀恫。比自秣陵遄歸將母，病起匈膈，檽筆譯拜倫去國(guó)之尤，寄之吟詠，謀人這國(guó)，功成不居，雖與日月?tīng)?zhēng)光，可民！嘗謂計(jì)歌之美，在乎氣體；然其情思幼眇，抑亦十方同感，如衲舊譯穎穎赤墻靡，去燕，冬日，答美人贈(zèng)東發(fā)毢帶詩(shī)數(shù)章，可為證已。古詩(shī)“思君令人老”，英譯作“To think of you makes me old”，辭氣相副，正難再得，若小雅“昔我往矣，楊柳依依；令我來(lái)思，雨雪霏霏。行道遲遲，載渴載饑，我心傷悲，莫知我哀?！弊g如：

"At first, when we set out,

The willows were fresh and green;

Now, when we shall be returning,

The snow will be falling in clouds.

Long and tedious will be our marching;

We shall hunger; we shall thirst.

Our hearts are wounded with grief,

And no one knows our sadness."

又陳陶隴西行，“誓掃匈奴不顧身，五千貂錦喪胡麝；可憐無(wú)定河邊骨，猶是春閨夢(mèng)里人！”

"They swore the Huns should perish:

they would die if needs they must,

And now five thousand, sable-clad,

have bit the Tartar dust.

Along the river bank their bones lie

scattered where they may,

But still their forms in dreams arise

to fair ones far away."

顧視元文，猶不相及。自余譯者，澆淳散樸，損益任情，寧足以勝鞮寄之任！今譯是篇，按文切理，語(yǔ)無(wú)增飾；陳義悱測(cè)，事辭相稱(chēng)。世有作者，亦將有感乎斯文？光緒三十二年，佛從“多羅夜登陵奢”天下還日，曼殊序于太平洋舟中。