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Bardolatry and False Idols 崇莎情结与虚拟偶像

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The great British wit George Bernard Shaw coined the term “bardolatry,” to describe excessive admiration of Shakespeare. Though created in the twentieth century, the term was no doubt inspired by the intemperate zeal of earlier Shakespeare enthusiasts.

英国大文豪萧伯纳创造了「崇莎情结」这个词，用来描写对于莎士比亚的过度崇拜。虽然这个词出自于20世纪，无疑是因早期拥莎分子的强烈热爱而引起的。

One particular “bardolater” loved Shakespeare enough to forge him. Samuel Ireland was a successful eighteenth-century writer and collector of all things Shakespeare. Samuel’s son, William Henry, was apprenticed to a lawyer, which allowed the seventeen-year old access to genuinely old blank paper. In December 1794, William presented allegedly lost Shakespeare letters to his delighted father. Samuel even managed to have the documents authenticated by Shakespearean scholars.

特别是其中有一位因太爱莎翁而去伪造他的创作。山缪爱尔兰是十八世纪一位成功的作家，并有许多与莎翁有关的收藏品。山缪的儿子，威廉亨利，跟着一位律师见习，因此十七岁的他有机会接触到真正的陈年空白纸张。1794年十二月，威廉把据称是莎翁遗失的书信送给喜出望外的父亲。山缪甚至还安排把这些文件送去给莎士比亚学者鉴定为真。

Unable to leave well enough alone, the following year William produced an ersatz “lost play” entitled Vortigern and Rowena. At this point, renowned scholars closed in on the Irelands and declared the play a forgery. The play ran for one disastrous night on April 2, 1796 ending in audience catcalls.

不甘于见好就收，翌年威廉又编造了「佚失的」赝本，名叫「佛地格与罗维娜」。至此，知名学者围攻爱尔兰父子，宣称这出剧是伪作。本剧在1796年四月二日的唯一一场演出下场悲惨，在观众鼓噪嘘声中草草结束。

William soon published an admission of his forgeries. However, Samuel, unable to believe his son was intelligent enough to mastermind such forgeries, published a defense of the alleged Shakespeare documents. The two lived out their lives in literary disgrace.

威廉旋即为文承认自己假造这些著作。然而，不相信自己的儿子有才华去主使这些伪作，威廉为这些号称莎翁的文件为文辩护。父子俩终其一生都因文学骗局而活得不光彩。

The moral of this tale is, perhaps, too much of anything, even Shakespeare, is not a good thing.

或许这个故事的教训是，过度沈溺于任何人事物，即使那是莎士比亚，都不是件好事。

－by Iain Ferguson

Vocabulary

单词发音

wit [wɪt] n. 富有机智的人；说话风趣的人；才子

bardolatry [bɑrˋdɑlətrɪ] n. 莎士比亚崇拜

admiration [͵ædməˋreʃən] n. 敬佩﹐钦佩﹐羡慕

intemperate [ɪnˋtɛmpərɪt] adj. 不节制的；过度的

bardolater [bɑrˋdɑlətɚ] n. 崇拜莎士比亚的人

forge [fɔrdʒ] v. 伪造

apprentice [əˋprɛntɪs] v. 当学徒

delighted [dɪˋlaɪtɪd] adj. 愉快的﹐高兴的

authenticate [ɔˋθɛntɪ͵ket] v. 证明〔某物〕是真的﹐鉴定…之真实性

leave well enough alone 不要改变已使人满意的事物，适可而止; 见好就收 to allow something to stay as it is because doing more would not improve it

ersatz [ɛrˋzɑts] adj. 人造的；假的

close in on 从四面八方逼近并攻击

forgery [ˋfɔrdʒərɪ] n.（文件、艺术品等的）伪造; 伪造物，赝品

catcall [ˋkæt͵kɔl] n. 嘲骂所发的尖锐声；喝倒采

admission [ədˋmɪʃən] n. 承认，坦白

mastermind [ˋmæstɚmaɪnd] v. 策划；幕后操纵

live out 过某种生活  endure

disgrace [dɪsˋgres] n. 丢脸，耻辱，不光彩

moral [ˋmɔrəl] n. 道德上的教训；寓意

Sentence of the Day

“He takes fake shadows for true substances.” – Titus Andronicus, Act III, scene ii

他误将幻影当作实体。-- 泰特斯，第三幕，第二场