• 2018-08-06 20:40:00

前些日子偶然看到有人评论说, 姬建国翻译的小说Once An Eagle很好, 就浏览了一下相关信息. 这本小说的名称来源于其开头的一则寓言:

So in the Libyan fable it is told That once an eagle, stricken with a dart, Said, when he saw the fashion of the shaft, “With our own feathers, not by others’ hands, Are we now smitten.”

—AESCHYLUS

利比亚古代传说中，有这样一则寓言: 曾有一只鹰，不幸中箭坠地，凝视着箭杆，它悲怆地叹息：吾乃夭殪于自身之羽！

——希腊悲剧诗人 哀斯奇勒思(现译 埃斯库罗斯)

实际上这个故事也是一则伊索寓言, 有多个版本, 其中一个如下:

The eagle and the arrow 鹰与箭

An eagle was flying in the sky. As soon as it saw a rabbit, it swooped down on its prey.

鹰在天空中飞翔，当他看见一只野兔时，就俯冲下来捕捉猎物。

Suddenly it was hit by an arrow.

突然，有人一箭射中了它。

It fluttered slowly down to the earth, and blood was pouring from the wound.

鹰扇着翅膀降落在地面上。鲜血从伤口中喷涌而出。

When the eagle looked down, he found that the shaft of the arrow was feathered with one of its own plumes. “Alas !” it cried.”We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.”

它低头看到箭尾竟是由一根它自己的羽毛制成的，就痛苦地说：“唉，我们总是给敌人提供毁灭我们自己的工具！”

再翻下去, 才发现译者姬建国已经过世几年了, 网上还存有其学生的三篇怀念文章 追忆恩师.

如此吧.