2018年1月6日 星期六

20180106 Iliad 24. 52-54

20180106  Iliad 24. 52-54

οὐ μήν οἱ τό γε κάλλιον (榮譽goodness) οὐδέ τ᾽ ἄμεινον (好處being stronger).
μὴ ἀγαθῷ περ ἐόντι νεμεσσηθέωμέν(生氣)οἱ ἡμεῖς:
κωφὴν(沉默)γὰρ δὴ γαῖαν (大地)ἀεικίζει (傷害) μενεαίνων.

Surely neither honor nor profit will he have of this. Let him beware lest we grow angry with him, valiant though he is; for in his fury he disfigures the mute earth.

《伊里亞德》的主題是Achilles之憤怒,反覆看到他的義憤填膺、生氣、惱怒….。不過生氣有何益處呢?此時的他,因為氣難消,虐待Hector屍體,眾神也都看不下去,儘管Achilles英勇、優秀、高貴,但是憤怒讓他盲目、麻木不仁。
 英文譯本結語:in his fury he disfigures the mute earth—在憤怒中,他傷害的是仁慈的大地。希臘文中的大地是γαῖαν,蓋亞女神。我反覆思索箇中道理,大地孕育萬物,每個人的聰明才智、能力、擁有的一切都來自天地;當Achilles過度憤怒,失去平衡,終究愧對他與生俱來非凡的能力與才華。
  




Gaia was the goddess or personification of Earth in ancient Greek religion, one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia was the great mother of all: the primal Greek Mother Goddess; creator and giver of birth to the Earth and all the Universe. Gaia was the primordial element from which all the gods originated and was worshiped throughout Greece, but later she went into decline and was supplanted by other gods. Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra.

20180103 Iliad 24. 39-45

20180103  Iliad 24. 39-45

ἀλλ᾽ ὀλοῷ (破壞力的) Ἀχιλῆϊ θεοὶ βούλεσθ᾽ ἐπαρήγειν,
ᾧ οὔτ᾽ ἂρ φρένες εἰσὶν ἐναίσιμοι (不祥的) οὔτε νόημα(心志)
γναμπτὸν (扭曲) ἐνὶ στήθεσσι (心胸), λέων(獅子) δ᾽ ὣς ἄγρια (野蠻的) οἶδεν,
ὅς τ᾽ ἐπεὶ ἂρ μεγάλῃ τε βίῃ καὶ ἀγήνορι (英雄的) θυμῷ (靈魂)
εἴξας εἶσ᾽ ἐπὶ μῆλα () βροτῶν () ἵνα δαῖτα (大餐) λάβῃσιν:
ὣς Ἀχιλεὺς ἔλεον (同情心) μὲν ἀπώλεσεν (失去), οὐδέ οἱ αἰδὼς (敬畏)
γίγνεται, ἥ τ᾽ ἄνδρας μέγα σίνεται ἠδ᾽ ὀνίνησι.

But it is the ruthless Achilles, you gods, that you are eager to assist, him whose mind is in no way right, nor the purpose in his breast one that may not bent; but his heart is wild, like a lion that at the urging of his great might and lordly heart goes out against the flocks of men to win himself a feast; so has Achilles lost all pity, nor has he shame, which harms men greatly and profits them.

2004年布萊德·彼特擔綱的電影《特洛伊》影響深遠,他的演出已然成為大多數人心目中的Achilles。不過,讀了荷馬史詩,總覺得這位希臘第一英雄蠻可悲的。
        這一段文字提到這位英雄有如一隻野蠻的獅子。在戰場上,武士應該有獅子的膽識與勇敢,但是,下了戰場呢? Apollo認為Achilles充滿殺氣、無情無義、心術不正、心態扭曲,這頭野獅子只想把其他人當成大餐吃掉。為何一個人會如此殘酷? 為了報復,瘋狂失去理智,已然失去人性。
        Achilles贏了,但是卻失去最可貴的至寶: 同情心。




Achilles' Shield


The images of Achilles' Shield below are from an engraving which appeared in the September 1749 issue of A Gentleman's Magazine, opposite Alexander Pope's rendition of Homer's description of the shield. An earlier version of essentially the same engraving appeared as a foldout in volume 5 of the second edition of Pope's The Iliad of Homer,(London, 1720). Neither publication identified the artist.

[See the note near the bottom of this page for observations of an alert reader concerning the astrological accuracy of the artist's depiction of the zodiac.]