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To Hell and Back with Dante 《神曲》：与但丁同游地狱天堂

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解 

 

繁體中文譯本

 

Since the dawn of human history, the question of what happens to us when we die has provoked fascination and fear in equal measure. Many religions preach that death is not the end, but rather the gateway to an “afterlife,” in which each person is either rewarded in heaven or punished in hell. One of the most enduring depictions of this afterlife comes from the epic poem the “Divine Comedy” by the Italian writer Dante Alighieri.

自从人类历史的曙光乍现，人们对死后究竟何去何从这个问题就一直兴致勃勃，但同样也胆战心惊。许多宗教宣扬死亡并非结束而是通往「死后世界」的途径，每个人不是得到上天的善报，就是受到下地狱的惩罚。关于死后世界流传千古的记载里，就属意大利作家但丁．阿利吉耶里的史诗《神曲》最为人称道。

 

Dante, who is often referred to by Italians as “The Supreme Poet,” was born in the city of Florence around the year 1265. His family was one of the most distinguished in the city, and he likely enjoyed a fairly privileged upbringing. As was quite a common custom at the time, Dante was contracted to marry a girl from a similarly wealthy family while he was still a child, only 12 years old. However, by this time he had already fallen in love at first sight with another girl, Beatrice, who unfortunately remained a distant dream for him.

常被意大利人誉为「诗圣」的但丁约在1265年诞生于佛罗伦萨。他的家族是当时城里的显赫名门之一，因此他所受的教养可能还算优越。媒妁之言在当时是相当普遍的习俗，但丁年仅十二岁时家里便安排他与一名门当户对的女孩立下婚约。然而在此时，他却早已一见钟情，爱上了一个女孩碧雅翠丝，不幸的是，碧雅翠丝依旧与他无缘。

 

Apart from being a poet, Dante was also an active politician, but this involvement brought him misfortune when the party he belonged to was defeated and he was sent into exile. It was around this time that Dante began work on his great masterpiece, the “Divine Comedy.” He wrote it in a language of his own making, a mixture of his local Tuscan dialect and Latin, which he called “Italian.” That is why, to this day, Dante is also praised as the “Father of the Italian Language.”

除了诗人身份外，但丁也是个活跃的政治家，不过从政却为他带来了不幸：当他所属的政党落败时，他便被流放异乡。但丁就是在这个时期前后着手写了一部巨著《神曲》。他在写作时，结合当地塔斯卡尼方言和拉丁语自创了一种名为「意大利语」的语言。因此，至今但丁仍被誉为「意大利语之父」。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

dawn [dɔn] n. 开端；曙光

provoke [prəˋvok] v. 激起

in equal measure 在同等程度上; 同等地 used for saying that two things have an equal effect or importance

preach [pritʃ] v.【宗】布道；讲（道）

enduring [ɪnˋdjʊrɪŋ] adj. 持久的；耐久的

distinguished [dɪˋstɪŋgwɪʃt] adj. 卓越的；著名的

privileged [ˋprɪvɪlɪdʒd] adj. 享有特权的；特许的；幸运的

upbringing [ˋʌp͵brɪŋɪŋ] n. 养育；教养

at first sight 乍看之下

politician [͵pɑləˋtɪʃən] n. 政治家

misfortune [mɪsˋfɔrtʃən] n. 不幸；恶运

defeat [dɪˋfit] v. 击败

exile [ˋɛksaɪl] n. 流放；流亡

masterpiece [ˋmæstɚ͵pis]n. 杰作，名作

dialect [ˋdaɪəlɛkt] n. 方言，土话

 

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单词发音

 

gateway [ˋget͵we] n. 门户；通道

afterlife [ˋæftɚ͵laɪf] n. 来世﹐来生

depiction [dɪˋpɪkʃən] n. 描写；叙述

epic [ˋɛpɪk] adj. 史诗的，叙事诗的

supreme [səˋprim] adj. 最高的，至上的

custom [ˋkʌstəm] n.（社会，团体的）习俗，惯例

contract [kənˋtrækt] v. 使订婚约

involvement [ɪnˋvɑlvmənt] n. 卷入; 牵连

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解 

 

The “Divine Comedy” is a truly ambitious work that stretches for a total of 14,000 lines. It is divided into three main sections, which are, in turn, split into thirty-three smaller cantos. Written in the first person, the poem describes Dante’s imaginary journey from Hell (Inferno) to Heaven (Paradisio), via the neutral realm of Purgatory (Purgatorio).

总长一万四千行的《神曲》堪称是一部旷世巨作。全诗共分为3部，每部又分为33个较短的篇章。全诗以第一人称写成，描述但丁经过地狱(Inferno)、炼狱（Purgatorio，即净界）而后升上天堂(Paradisio)的想象旅程。

 

The narrative begins with Dante stumbling lost through a dark wood, aware that he has fallen into a “deep place” and unable to find his way to salvation. At this point, the Roman poet Virgil appears to rescue Dante and guide him on his journey down to the underworld. When Dante reaches Hell, he sees that it is divided into three levels according to three types of sin: self-indulgence, violence and maliciousness. He also observes that people are punished for their sins in Hell by means of poetic justice. For example, fortune-tellers must walk with their heads back-to-front, preventing them from seeing ahead as they tried to do in life.

故事一开始，迷路的但丁在阴暗的森林中踉跄而行，他意识到自己误入某种「深渊」，且找不到通往救赎的道路。就在此时，古罗马诗人弗吉尔现身拯救了但丁，并带领他前往阴间。到达地狱之后，但丁发现地狱分为3层，分别依据3种罪行：自我放纵、暴力及恶毒之心。他也察觉到，犯了罪行被打入地狱后是依照「因果报应」受罚。举例而言，算命师只能以脸朝背后的方式行走，使他们无法像生前时那样看得到前途。

 

Ascending from the depths of Hell, Dante and Virgil then find themselves in front of the Mountain of Purgatory, located on an island on the far side of the world. Having journeyed through this gloomy realm, populated by non-believers and sinners waiting for redemption, Dante is taken up to Heaven by his first love, Beatrice, who had in fact died in real life. She shows him that Heaven is divided into nine spheres, and that all souls there are allotted a position in proportion to their ability to love God.

但丁与弗吉尔从地狱深渊攀升后，来到了炼狱山的前方，这地方位于一座世界遥远彼端的小岛上。这个阴郁的国度里住满了等待救赎的非信徒和罪人。但丁经过此地时，被他的初恋情人碧雅翠丝（在现实中已过世）引导至天堂。她让但丁看到天堂共分为九环，住在那里的所有灵魂依照爱上帝的不同程度而适得其所。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

ambitious [æmˋbɪʃəs] adj. 雄心勃勃的; 需要极大努力或才干才能完成的

stretch [strɛtʃ] v. 延续；连绵

split [splɪt] into（使）分成

neutral [ˋnjutrəl] adj. 中立的；中立地带的

realm [rɛlm] n. 界，领域

stumble [ˋstʌmb!] v. 踉跄，蹒跚而行

salvation [sælˋveʃən] n.〔基督教中〕对灵魂的拯救; 救赎

rescue [ˋrɛskju] v. 援救；营救

sin [sɪn] n.（宗教或道德上的）罪

justice [ˋdʒʌstɪs] n. 正义；公平

prevent [prɪˋvɛnt] v. 阻止（+from）]

ascend [əˋsɛnd] v. 登高；上升

gloomy [ˋglumɪ] adj. 阴暗的；阴沉的

populate [ˋpɑpjə͵let] v. 居住于

in proportion to  就…比例而言

 

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单词发音

 

canto [ˋkænto] n.（长诗的）篇，章

Purgatory [ˋpɝgə͵torɪ] n.（常作P-）炼狱

narrative [ˋnærətɪv] n. 故事

underworld [ˋʌndɚ͵wɝld] n.（大写）阴间，地狱

indulgence [ɪnˋdʌldʒəns] n. 沈溺, 放纵

maliciousness [məˋlɪʃəsnɪs] n. 恶意; 恶毒

redemption [rɪˋdɛmpʃən] n.〔基督教指耶稣的〕救赎; 赎罪

sphere [sfɪr] n. 阶层; 范围

allot [əˋlɑt] v. 分配；指派

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

There are many reasons why the “Divine Comedy” is widely considered one of the great masterpieces of literature. Not least of these is Dante’s skillful use of allegory and symbolism to bring a richness and depth of meaning to his work. Even the structure of the poem itself is very symbolic, as the reoccurrence of the number three in its divisions represents the Christian Holy Trinity.

《神曲》之所以被公认是最伟大的文学杰作之一，原因有很多。其中最主要的一点是但丁善于运用讽喻及象征等技巧，增加作品的丰富性和意境。就连诗本身的结构也颇富象征意义，比如数字3重复出现在全诗各部，代表着基督教的「三位一体」。

 

When he isn’t vividly describing the many characters and scenes that he encounters on his journey, Dante devotes space to discussing topics that were important to him. For example, he criticizes the corrupt state of Italian politics, as well as bringing up scientific theories, such as changes in the direction of gravity, descriptions of clockwork mechanisms and the existence of a spherical earth.

但丁把途中遭遇的许多角色场景描绘得历历在目，但于此之外，他在其他作品也会讨论一些他认为重要的主题。举例来说，他会批评意大利政治的腐败，也会提到一些科学理论，诸如地心引力方向的改变、发条机制的说明以及圆体地球的存在。

 

Another important aspect of the “Divine Comedy” is that it was the first major example in the Middle Ages of someone writing on a serious topic in “low,” vulgar language. By choosing to write in his Tuscan dialect over the usual Latin, Dante raised many eyebrows among the Establishment and created a new language in the process. Indeed, even the poem’s title directly refers to this low form of language – “comedy” was a term used at the time to label poems about “low,” everyday subjects, rather than those of a “higher,” more intellectual nature, or “tragedy.” For all those who have been captivated over the centuries by Dante’s fantastical world, however, there’s certainly nothing low or common about this amazing poem.

但丁的《神曲》还有另一个重要的意义，它首开中世纪时期以「低等」、粗俗的语言来描写严肃主题之先河。但丁选择用塔斯卡尼方言而非通用的拉丁语写作之举，引起同界不少侧目，但过程中也创造了一种新语言。实际上，就连诗的名称都直接反映了这种较低等的语言：在当时comedy一词是用来指称「低等」、日常主题的诗篇；而「较高等」、高知识的诗篇则称作tragedy。然而，对于数百年来驰骋于但丁的奇幻世界的人来说，这部精彩长诗既不低俗，更非泛泛之作。

 

−by David Vickers

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

not least 尤其是; 特别是 while something may not be of the first importance, it is nevertheless not at the bottom of the list

structure [ˋstrʌktʃɚ] n. 结构

symbolic [sɪmˋbɑlɪk] adj. 象征的，象征性的

encounter [ɪnˋkaʊntɚ] v. 遇到（困难，危险等）

devote [dɪˋvot] v. 把……专用（于）[（+to）]

criticize [ˋkrɪtɪ͵saɪz] v. 批评；批判

corrupt [kəˋrʌpt] adj. 腐败的，贪污的

bring up 提起……，谈到 to mention

existence [ɪgˋzɪstəns] n. 存在

vulgar [ˋvʌlgɚ] adj. 粗俗的；下流的

raise one's eyebrows (对...)表示轻蔑(或惊讶、怀疑等) to cause disapproval or worry

in the process 在过程中

label [ˋleb!] v. 把……归类为

intellectual [͵ɪnt!ˋɛktʃʊəl] adj. 有知识的; 智力的

captivate [ˋkæptə͵vet] v. 使着迷

 

More Information

单词发音

 

allegory [ˋælə͵gorɪ] n. 寓言；讽喻

symbolism [ˋsɪmb!͵ɪzəm] n. 象征作用；象征性

reoccurrence [riəˋkɝəns] n. 复发

Christian Holy Trinity 基督教的三位一体

trinity [ˋtrɪnətɪ] n. 三位一体; 三个（人或物）一组

vividly [ˋvɪvɪdlɪ] adv. 生动地；逼真地

space [spes] n. 篇幅

gravity [ˋgrævətɪ] n. 地心吸力

clockwork [ˋklɑk͵wɝk] n. 钟表的机械；发条装置

mechanism [ˋmɛkə͵nɪzəm] n. 机械装置；机械作用

the Establishment（大写）权势集团；体制

tragedy [ˋtrædʒədɪ] n. 悲剧

 

 

Divina Comedia de Dante Alighieri

 

 

Dante Alighieri Divine Comedy 1 of 4