A brief history of the devil - Brian A. Pavlac

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

Satan, the beast crunching sinners’ bones in his subterranean lair.

Satana, zver koja mrvi kosti grešnika u svojoj suterenskoj jazbini.

Lucifer, the fallen angel raging against the established order.

Lucifer, pali anđeo koji besni protiv postojećeg poretka.

Mephistopheles, the trickster striking deals with unsuspecting humans.

Mefistofeles, prevarant koji sklapa ugovore s naivnim ljudskim bićima.

These three divergent devils are all based on Satan of the Old Testament,

Ove tri varijacije đavola su sve zasnovane na Satani iz Starog zaveta,

an angelic member of God’s court who torments Job in the Book of Job.

anđeoskom članu Božjeg suda koji muči Jova u Knjizi o Jovu.

But unlike any of these literary devils,

Međutim, nasuprot književnim đavolima,

the Satan of the Bible was a relatively minor character,

biblijski Satana je bio relativno sporedan lik,

with scant information about his deeds or appearance.

sa šturim informacijama o njegovim delima ili pak izgledu.

So how did he become the ultimate antagonist, with so many different forms?

Kako je onda postao vrhovni antagonista sa toliko različitih obličja?

In the New Testament, Satan saw a little more action:

U Novom zavetu, Satana je nešto zastupljeniji:

tempting Jesus, using demons to possess people,

iskušava Isusa, koristi demone da poseda ljude

and finally appearing as a giant dragon who is cast into hell.

i na kraju se pojavljuje kao ogromni zmaj koji je bačen u pakao.

This last image particularly inspired medieval artists and writers,

Naročito je poslednji prizor inspirisao srednjovekovne umetnike i pisce,

who depicted a scaled, shaggy-furred creature with overgrown toenails.

koji su oslikavali krljuštavo biće,

ofucanog krzna i dugačkih noktiju na nogama.

In Michael Pacher’s painting of St. Augustine and the Devil,

Na slici „Sv. Avgustin i đavo” Mihaila Pahera,

the devil appears as an upright lizard—

đavo se pojavljuje kao uspravljeni gušter -

with a second miniature face glinting on his rear and.

sa još jednim minijaturnim licem koje mu blista na zadnjici.

The epitome of these monster Satans

Epitom ovih grozomornih Satana

appeared in Italian poet Dante Alighieri’s “Inferno.”

se pojavljuje u „Paklu” italijanskog pesnika Dantea Aligijerija.

Encased in the ninth circle of hell,

Zarobljen u devetom krugu pakla,

Dante’s Satan is a three-headed, bat-winged behemoth who feasts on sinners.

Danteov Satana je behemot sa tri glave i krilima šišmiša

koji se gosti grešnicima.

But he’s also an object of pity:

Međutim, on je i predmet žaljenja:

powerless as the panicked beating of his wings

bespomoćan dok ga panično lupanje krilima

only encases him further in ice.

samo još dublje zatrpava u led.

The poem’s protagonist escapes from hell by clambering over Satan’s body,

Glavni lik u poemi beži iz pakla pentrajući se uz Satanino telo,

and feels both disgust and sympathy for the trapped beast—

istovremeno osećajući gađenje i saosećanje prema zarobljenoj zveri -

prompting the reader to consider the pain of doing evil.

navodeći čitaoca da razmotri bol koji nanose zlodela.

By the Renaissance, the devil started to assume a more human form.

Do renesanse, đavo je počeo da prima nešto ljudskije obličje.

Artists painted him as a man with cloven hooves and curling horns

Umetnici su ga slikali kao muškarca sa papcima i uvijenim rogovima,

inspired by Pan, the Greek god of the wild.

inspirisani Panom, grčkim bogom šume.

In his 1667 masterpiece “Paradise Lost,”

U remek-delu iz 1667, „Izgubljeni raj”,

English poet John Milton depicted the devil as Lucifer,

engleski pesnik Džon Milton je prikazao đavola kao Lucifera,

an angel who started a rebellion on the grounds that God is too powerful.

anđela koji je započeo pobunu smatrajući da Bog ima preveliku moć.

Kicked out of heaven, this charismatic rebel becomes Satan,

Nakon što je izbačen iz raja, ovaj harizmatični buntovnik postaje Satana

and declares that he’d rather rule in hell than serve in heaven.

i obznanjuje da će radije da vlada u paklu nego da služi u raju.

Milton’s take inspired numerous depictions of Lucifer as an ambiguous figure,

Miltonovo tumačenje je inspirisalo brojne verzije Lucifera kao ambivalentne pojave,

rather than a purely evil one.

umesto isključivo zle.

Milton’s Lucifer later became an iconic character for the Romantics of the 1800s,

Miltonov Lucifer je 1800-ih postao ikona romantičara,

who saw him as a hero who defied higher power in pursuit of essential truths,

koji su ga videli kao heroja

koji se suprotstavio višoj sili tragajući za suštinskim istinama

with tragic consequences.

što je imalo tragične posledice.

Meanwhile, in the German legend of Doctor Faust,

U međuvremenu, u nemačkoj legendi o Doktoru Faustu,

which dates to the 16th century,

koja potiče iz 16. veka,

we get a look at what happens when the devil comes to Earth.

vidimo šta se desi kada đavo dođe na zemlju.

Faust, a dissatisfied scholar,

Faust, nezadovoljni učenjak,

pledges his soul to the devil in exchange for bottomless pleasure.

zavetuje dušu đavolu u zamenu za beskrajni užitak.

With the help of the devil’s messenger Mephistopheles,

Uz pomoć đavoljeg izaslanika Mefistofelesa,

Faust quickly seizes women, power, and money—

Faust se ubrzo dokopava žena, moći i novca -

only to fall into the eternal fires of hell.

zbog čega pada u duboke vatre pakla.

Later versions of the story show Mephistopheles in different lights.

Kasnije verzije priče prikazuju Mefistofelesa u drugačijem svetlu.

In Christopher Marlowe's account,

Prema kazivanju Kristofera Marloa,

a cynical Doctor Faustus is happy to strike a deal with Mephistopheles.

cinični Doktor Faust rado sklapa ugovor sa Mefistofelesom.

In Johann Wolfgang van Goethe’s version,

U verziji Johana Volfganga Getea,

Mephistopheles tricks Faust into a grisly deal.

Mefistofeles obmanjuje Fausta na ovaj kobni dogovor.

Today, a Faustian bargain refers to a trade that sacrifices integrity

Danas se faustovska pogodba odnosi na razmenu kojom se žrtvuje integritet

for short-term gains.

zarad kratkoročnih dobitaka.

In stagings of Goethe’s play,

U scenskim izvedbama Geteove drame,

Mephistopheles appeared in red tights and cape.

Mefistofeles se pojavljuje u crvenim helankama i sa plaštom.

This version of the devil was often played as a charming trickster—

U ovoj verziji đavo je često igran kao šarmantni prevarant -

one that eventually paraded through comic books,

koji je vremenom proparadirao kroz stripove,

advertising, and film in his red suit.

reklame i filmove u svom crvenom odelu.

These three takes on the devil are just the tip of the iceberg:

Ove tri verzije đavola su tek vrh ledenog brega:

the devil continues to stalk the public imagination to this day,

đavo nastavlja da pohodi narodnu maštu sve do danas,

tempting artists of all kinds to render him

iskušavajući razne umetnike da ga prikažu

according to new and fantastical visions.

prema novim i fantastičnim zamislima.