HP＃「漢化PM翻譯計劃」 9：巫師讀書俱樂部②——追溯《魔法石》中的神話傳說

〔前言〕

大家好，這裡是哈迷@Amy。

這次還是「巫師讀書俱樂部」系列。這是一場由Pottermore官網發起的讀書分享會活動，請見——「歡迎來到巫師讀書俱樂部」。本期帶來一些激發《魔法石》的創作靈感的神話、故事與民間傳說。

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03

Tracing the myths and legends in Philosopher s Stone

追溯《魔法石》中的神話傳說

JKR/POTTERMORE LTD. WARNER BROS.

From the very first book, theHarry Potterstories have always had history, folk tales and mythology woven into their pages.

從第一本書開始，《哈利·波特》的故事總將歷史、民間故事和神話編織進書頁中。

Here』s some of the myths, tales and folklore that could have inspiredPhilosopher』s Stone.

以下是一些有可能激發了《魔法石》的創作靈感的神話、故事與民間傳說。

翻譯：哈迷@Amy

01

The Dursleys

德思禮一家

Horrible families are present throughout our best-loved folk tales. Much to Harry』s dismay, the Dursleys maintain this with gusto.

可怕的家庭遍佈於我們最愛的民間故事中。令哈利沮喪的是，德思禮一家投入地保持了這一優良傳統。

Harry』s life at Privet Drive is a lot like the story of Cinderella. Our poor protagonist is forced to do all the chores in old hand-me-down clothes for his wicked aunt, while Dudley acts like two ugly sisters rolled into one. Much like Cinders, Harry is freed from his plight with a little magical intervention. He never had a fairy godmother, but his wizard godfather was much cooler. Also he may not have got a pretty dress but he did get some nice dress robes later on.

哈利在女貞路的生活像極了灰姑娘的故事。我們可憐的主角穿著破舊的二手衣服，被迫替邪惡的姨媽負擔所有的家務活，而達力則表現得像那兩個醜陋的姐姐的合體。與灰姑娘類似，藉助一點小小的魔法的干預，哈利被從困境中解救出來。他從未有過仙女教母，但他的巫師教父可要酷多了。而且，他或許沒有漂亮的小裙裙，卻在之後得到了一些不錯的長袍。

02

Fluffy

路威

JKR/POTTERMORE LTD. WARNER BROS.

There』s a reason why Fluffy was bought from a 『Greek chappie』 Hagrid met down the pub — he could very well be based on Cerberus, the three-headed dog from Greek mythology. Cerberus was appointed by Hades to guard the underworld, just like Dumbledore used Fluffy to guard the trapdoor at Hogwarts. Like Fluffy, Cerberus also had a soft spot for music, which allowed the hero Orpheus to slip past the original hound from hell after playing him a tune.

路威是從海格在酒吧遇見的一個「希臘傢伙」手中買來的是有原因的——他很有可能基於瑟伯拉斯［暫譯，地獄之犬］，希臘神話中的一隻三頭狗。瑟伯拉斯被哈迪斯［暫譯，冥王］指派守衛地獄，就像鄧布利多用路威守衛霍格沃茨的活板門一樣。就像路威，瑟伯拉斯的軟肋也是音樂，正是這點讓英雄俄耳甫斯［希臘神話中的歌手，善豎琴］在為他彈奏一曲後從那隻原版獵犬身邊溜過。

The most popular image of Cerberus might be just your average three-headed dog, but Fluffy might have looked quite different indeed. The poet Hesiod claimed Cerberus had a whopping 50 heads (the mind boggles), while other depictions include a serpent』s tail, a mane of snakes and the claws of a lion. Now that』s a pooch only Hagrid could love.

瑟伯拉斯最普遍的形象或許就是你平常的三頭狗，但路威可能著實看起來大有不同。赫西奧德［公元前8世紀希臘詩人］聲稱瑟伯拉斯有多達50個腦袋（難以想像），而其它描述包含了一條蛇的尾巴，蛇的鬃毛【蛇有鬃毛？？？】和獅子的爪子。現在，這是一條只有海格才能愛上的雜種狗了。

03

The Mirror of Erised

厄里斯魔鏡

『Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?』

「魔鏡，魔鏡，誰是世界上最美麗的人？」

There are many stories in which mirrors show more than just a reflection.The Snow Queenfeatured a mirror that distorted reality, neglecting all the good and amplifying the bad and the ugly. The heroine fromBeauty and the Beastwas given an enchanted mirror by her captor. Most famously, the evil queen fromSnow Whiteused hers for a spot of daily validation, though she wasn』t always keen on the result. Obsessively checking the Mirror of Erised is also not recommended.

在很多故事中，鏡子顯示的都不止是鏡像。《冰雪女王》描繪了一面扭曲現實、忽視美好、強化醜惡的鏡子。《美女與野獸》的女主角被她的囚禁者贈予了一面魔法鏡子。最著名的是，《白雪公主》中的邪惡皇后用她的鏡子每天確認自己的美貌，儘管她不總是喜歡這個結果。著魔地查看厄里斯魔鏡也是不被推薦的。

Sometimes a reflection can be magical enough, as Narcissus would testify (and if that name sounds familiar, you』re probably thinking of Mrs Malfoy). According to the myth, Narcissus saw his face reflected in a lake and fell deeply in love with himself. Besotted by his own beauty, he eventually wasted away at the water』s edge… just as Dumbledore warned that 『men have wasted away』 before Erised. We』re not sure if that was a metaphor.

有時倒影已經擁有足夠魔法，就像納西薩斯能證實的一樣［暫譯，死後維納斯變其為水仙花］（如果這個名字聽起來很耳熟的話，你或許正在向著馬爾福太太【納西莎·馬爾福，Narcissa Malfoy，我一開始想到的也是她後來才想起木心寫過的「自戀」】）。據傳說，納西薩斯在湖中看見了他自己臉的倒影，深深愛上了自己。沉醉於他自己的美貌，他最終在水邊日漸消瘦而死……正如鄧布利多警告的在厄里斯魔鏡面前「人們虛度時日」。我們不確定那到底是不是一個比喻。

04

The chessmen

棋子

JKR/POTTERMORE LTD. WARNER BROS.

To reach the Philosopher』s Stone, Harry and friends are forced to play their way across a giant chessboard… and as we know, wizard chess isn』t child』s play. The chessmen, transfigured to life by Professor McGonagall, mercilessly destroy any pieces that are captured. That』s the last thing you want to witness while you』re standing in for one of the pieces!

為了拿到魔法石，哈利和朋友們被迫下棋穿過一塊巨大的棋盤……如我們所知，巫師棋不是小孩子的遊戲。那些被麥格教授變活的棋子無情地摧毀所有被捕的棋。這是當你正代替一枚棋子時最不想看見的事了。

Chess has been portrayed as a great game of life and death in other stories too. Many films depict the game of logic played with the Grim Reaper – the metaphor being that chess represents the complexities of life. Jan Kochanowski』s 1500s poemChessdescribes a match between two men compared to a battle, and even anthropomorphises the pieces, just like how the chess is brutally played in Harry』s world.

在其它故事中，棋也被描繪成一場激烈的生死遊戲。許多電影描述了和死神［暫譯，代表死神］玩的邏輯遊戲——象徵著棋代表了生活的複雜性。揚·科哈諾夫斯基［波蘭文藝復興詩人］16世紀的詩《棋》把一場兩人間的對決與戰爭相比較，甚至將棋子擬人，就像哈利的世界中是如何殘忍地下棋一樣。

05

The Philosopher』s Stone itself

魔法石本身

JKR/POTTERMORE LTD. WARNER BROS.

This idea didn』t spring from nowhere — the Philosopher』s Stone is legendary in Western alchemy. Just like the one hidden in Hogwarts, the real stone was supposed to turn base metals into gold and silver. At its most advanced phase, the stone was supposed to turn deep red. Whatever the destination, the quest to discover the Philosopher』s Stone led to scientific breakthroughs in chemistry, metallurgy and pharmacology.

這個想法並非無中生有——魔法石在西方鍊金術中極其著名。就像藏在霍格沃茨的那塊一樣，真正的魔法石應該能把賤金屬變成金銀。而在最高級的階段，魔法石應該會變成深紅色。無論初衷為何，探索魔法石的征程引發了不少化學、冶金術和藥物學上的科學突破。

The stone』s creator, Nicolas Flamel, was a real historic figure. Flamel claimed to have acquired a mysterious book that, when deciphered, would unlock the secrets of alchemy and made it his life』s work to create the Philosopher』s Stone. Many believed he had succeeded thanks to his wealth (much of which he donated to charity) and the fact he enjoyed an unusually long lifespan for someone born in 14th-century France. He may not have survived centuries like hisHarry Pottercounterpart but he did live into his late eighties — a ripe old age even by today』s standards.

魔法石的製造者尼古拉斯·勒梅是一個真實的歷史人物【驚呆.jpg】。勒梅聲稱獲取了一本神秘之書，一旦破譯就能解鎖冶金術的秘密，並且投入畢生精力創造魔法石。由於他的財富（大部分捐獻給了慈善）和異乎14世紀法國常人的長壽，許多人相信他真的成功了。他或許沒能像他在《哈利·波特》中的副本一樣活上幾個世紀，但他的確活到了八十好幾——即使在如今看來也算高齡。

譯於：2017年07月16日

耗時：≈2小時

https://www.pottermore.com/features/tracing-the-myths-and-legends-in-philosophers-stone

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By 哈迷@Amy

2017.07.16

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