Le Morte D'Arthur | 原著阅读笔记(3)

Le Morte D'Arthur | 原著阅读笔记(3)

So as they rode to the jousts-ward, Sir Kay lost his sword, for he had left it at his father's lodging, and so he prayed young Arthur for to ride for his sword. I will well, said Arthur, and rode fast after the sword, and when he came home, the lady and all were out to see the jousting.


凯到了赛场发现自己的剑落在了住处,便请求弟弟亚瑟帮他去取回。亚瑟骑马赶回住处,却发现家里的众人都外出看比赛去了。


Then was Arthur wroth, and said to himself, I will ride to the churchyard, and take the sword with me that sticketh in the stone, for my brother Sir Kay shall not be without a sword this day.


于是亚瑟非常苦恼(原文是生气),最终决定前往教堂,去取那把石中剑,拿来让哥哥今晚使用。


Sticketh
Stick + -eth, (archaic) third-person singular simple present indicative form of stick


So when he came to the churchyard, Sir Arthur alighted and tied his horse to the stile, and so he went to the tent, and found no knights there, for they were at the jousting. And so he handled the sword by the handles, and lightly and fiercely pulled it out of the stone, and took his horse and rode his way until he came to his brother Sir Kay, and delivered him the sword.


亚瑟爵士来到教堂,下马进入放置石中剑的隔间,发现护剑骑士们也一个都不在。它徒手握住剑柄,干脆利落地拔出了石中剑,然后飞快地骑马回到了哥哥身边。

这里是全篇中第一次亚瑟被冠以骑士(爵士)的头衔,隐约是在透露亚瑟决定拔剑那一刻就已经取得骑士的身份。


Tent
(Scotland) A portable pulpit set up outside to accommodate worshippers who cannot fit into a church.


And as soon as Sir Kay saw the sword, he wist well it was the sword of the stone, and so he rode to his father Sir Ector, and said: Sir, lo here is the sword of the stone, wherefore I must be king of this land.


凯看到这把剑,立马就想到了这正是石中剑。于是他向父亲谎称是自己拔出了剑,以试图证明自己就是英格兰的正主。


Wist
1) To know, be aware of.
2) (archaic) simple past tense and past participle of wit.
A misunderstanding, or a joking use of the past indicative of wit: from Old English witan, from Proto-Germanic *witaną, from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“see, know”). Cognate with Dutch weten, German wissen, Swedish veta, and Latin videō (“I see”).

这个词稍微说一下。维基词典里给出了两种词源,分别是直接解释为to know和古英语种wit的过去式。而继续看这个wit,现代英语的常见意象是wise/ humor,但是如果是考察古英语或者中古英语,这个wist的两种词源应该是同一个词,即to know,因为wit在古英语中也就是to know的意思。维基词典给出的词源很明确,wit/ wist的来源可以追溯到原始印欧语的*weyd-,并且这一原始印欧语词根目前在诸多语言中都有对应词,比如非常显而易见的现代德语中的wissen,在康德哲学里讨论过这个Wissen,对应的比较完整的汉语意思是偏向于对自然总结出的经验性的知识,这一点也可以从其原始印欧语词义“see, know”中看出端倪。而拉丁语中对应的词videō就更出名了,其主动式一般完成时是vīdī,英文转写形式为vidi,也就是凯撒那句经典的VENI VIDI VICI里的VIDI(I SEE)。总之,这个wit是一个在词源学上非常非常“原始”的词。按照dictionary.com提供的说法,wit这个词开始出现幽默的意思是在15世纪末期,而亚瑟王之死成书约于15世纪中期,更不可能书中的wit使用现代的“幽默”含义。


Lo
(archaic) Used to present a new scene, situation, or turn of events

一个中古英语中只剩下强调作用,失去语法作用的感谈词,在古英语中的写法是lā,它的拉丁词源是Labii,其法语同源词就常见到不能再常见了——La。有意思的是,在中古英语中另一个写法lo!经常也与其他语素连用写成lok!,今天的荷兰语lok,梵语拉丁转写lok,今天的英语look都和这个lok!同源。


Wherefore
(archaic) Because of which & therefore

另外是圣经中比较常见的一个词,普通文本读物里一般就写成Where for 或则 Therefore了


Sir, said Sir Kay, by my brother Arthur, for he brought it to me. How gat ye this sword? said Sir Ector to Arthur. Sir, I will tell you. When I came home for my brother's sword, I found nobody at home to deliver me his sword; and so I thought my brother Sir Kay should not be swordless, and so I came hither eagerly and pulled it out of the stone without any pain.


埃克托将凯与亚瑟带到教堂,正面质问他们究竟是怎么一回事。这时Sir Kay承认了剑是被弟弟亚瑟拔出并交给他的。


Hither
(literary or archaic) To this place, to here. From Proto-Germanic *hidrê.


Now, said Sir Ector to Arthur, I understand ye must be king of this land. Wherefore I, said Arthur, and for what cause? Sir, said Ector, for God will have it so; for there should never man have drawn out this sword, but he that shall be rightwise king of this land.


埃克托向亚瑟宣布,他将成为英格兰之王,因为上帝的意志即如此,除了英格兰正主,无人能够拔出石中剑。

这段描写中可以看出少年亚瑟此时的不解与迷惑。


Now assay, said Sir Ector unto Sir Kay. And anon he pulled at the sword with all his might; but it would not be. Now shall ye assay, said Sir Ector to Arthur. I will well, said Arthur, and pulled it out easily. And therewithal Sir Ector knelt down to the earth, and Sir Kay. Alas, said Arthur, my own dear father and brother, why kneel ye to me? Nay, nay, my lord Arthur, it is not so; I was never your father nor of your blood, but I wot well ye are of an higher blood than I weened ye were. And then Sir Ector told him all, how he was betaken him for to nourish him, and by whose commandment, and by Merlin's deliverance.


埃克托再次确认了他们三人中只有亚瑟可以拔出石中剑后,自己和Sir Kay向亚瑟下跪示意。亚瑟看见自己的父亲和哥哥向自己下跪,十分慌张和不解。埃克托这时将从梅林出寄养亚瑟的事实告知亚瑟王

这段文字中,亚瑟已经从爵士上升到了王,埃克托向亚瑟说话的时候已经开始称亚瑟为自己的领主。


Assay
(archaic) To try, attempt (to do something).


Nay
(archaic) no. From Middle English nai, nei, from Old Norse nei (“no”) , from Proto-Germanic *nai (“never”), *nē (“not”). More at no. In Early Modern English, nay was used to respond to a positive question, while no was used to respond to a negative question.


Then Arthur made great dole when he understood that Sir Ector was not his father. Sir, said Ector unto Arthur, will ye be my good and gracious lord when ye are king?


亚瑟听懂了这些后非常悲伤。之后埃克托向亚瑟王问道,您成为王之后,会以一位伟大且高尚的王的身份领导我们吗?


Else were I to blame, said Arthur, for ye are the man in the world that I am most beholden to, and my good lady and mother your wife, that as well as her own hath fostered me and kept. And if ever it be God's will that I be king as ye say, ye shall desire of me what I may do, and I shall not fail you; God forbid I should fail you Sir, said Sir Ector, I will ask no more of you, but that ye will make my son, your foster brother, Sir Kay, seneschal of all your lands.

亚瑟王向埃克托做出承诺,并表达了对他们的养育之恩的感激。亚瑟王向埃克托寻求作为王的建议,并说自己不会让他感到失望。埃克托推辞说上帝并不允许他对他的王失望,自己也没有多的要求,除了请求亚瑟王将Sir Kay任命为他的领地总管。


That shall be done, said Arthur, and more, by the faith of my body, that never man shall have that office but he, while he and I live.

亚瑟王答应了他的提议,并说处于对兄长的信任和一起长大的感情,自己理所应当这样做。

编辑于 2018-05-23 22:41