The myth of Oisín and the land of eternal youth - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Riley WANG 校对人员: Sylvia He

”仙女啊！快来带我离开这无聊的世界， 因为我可以和你乘风而去。。。“

-威廉·巴特勒·叶芝 《心灵的欲望之田》

在典型的英雄探险故事里

In a typical hero's journey,

the protagonist sets out on an adventure,

主人公踏上历险旅程，

undergoes great change,

经历巨变，

and returns in triumph to their point of origin.

最后荣归故里。

But in the Irish genre of myth known as Eachtraí,

但在爱尔兰神话故事中

the journey to the other world ends in a point of no return.

英雄前往另一个世界 却有去无回。

While there are many different versions of the otherworld in Irish mythology,

虽然在爱尔兰神话中， 对于另一个世界有不同说法

the most well-known example occurs in the story of Oisín.

但最著名的仍要数 奥辛的冒险故事。

Oisín was the son of Fionn mac Cumhaill, the leader of a group of pagan warriors

奥辛是芬恩·麦克库尔之子，

芬恩·麦克库尔是费奥纳骑士团的首领。

known as the Fianna.

As Oisín rode with his companions one day,

某天，奥辛与同伴骑马同行

he was visited by the immortal princess Niamh.

遇到仙子妮奥芙，

The two fell instantly in love

二人一见钟情。

and Niamh put Oisín onto her white horse

妮奥芙让奥辛骑上自己的白马

and rode with him to the edge of the Irish sea.

一同来到爱尔兰海边。

As they made for the horizon, the riders sunk into a golden haze.

二人向地平线前进， 消失在一片金色的雾霭中。

They came to the shores of the gleaming kingdom called Tír na nÓg.

他们来到光芒四射的提尔纳诺国

This was the home of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the people who ruled Ancient Ireland

这是统治古爱尔兰的达努之族的故乡。

long before Oisín's time.

这段历史远早于奥辛所处的时代。

From the point of his arrival, Oisín's every need was met.

奥辛刚来到此地， 他的需求便被一应满足。

He married Niamh in a grand ceremony and was welcomed into her family.

他与妮奥芙举行了盛大的婚礼 受到她家族的欢迎和接纳，

When he wished to hear music, his ears filled with bewitching tones.

当奥辛想要听音乐时， 他的耳中便响起迷人的旋律，

When he hungered, golden plates appeared laden with fragrant food.

当他感到饥饿时， 盛满喷香食物的金色盘子就会出现，

He admired scenes of great beauty, and colors that he had no name for.

他喜爱这美丽至极的景色 和叫不出名字的缤纷色彩。

All around him, the land and the people existed in a state of unmoving perfection.

在他身边，大地和人们 始终处于一种完美状态。

But what Oisín didn't know was that Tír na nÓg was the land of youth,

但奥辛并不知道 提尔纳诺是青春之地

in which time stood still and the people never aged.

在这里，时间静止，人不会老去。

In his new home, Oisín continued to hunt and explore as he had in Ireland.

在这里，奥辛与之前在爱尔兰一样 继续打猎和探险，

But in the land of youth, he possessed a strange, new invincibility.

但在青春之地，他在每天结束冒险时

都会拥有一股新涌现出的力量。

At the end of each day of adventuring,

Oisín's wounds magically healed themselves as he slept in Niamh's arms.

在妮奥芙怀中睡觉时 奥辛的伤口会奇迹般自愈。

Although glory and pleasure came easily to Oisín in the land of youth,

虽然在青春之地 获得荣耀与愉悦易如反掌

he missed the Fianna and the adventures they had in Ireland.

但奥辛思念费奥纳骑士团 和在爱尔兰的历险。

After three years in Tír na nÓg, he was struck by a deep yearning for home.

在提尔纳诺度过三年后 他思乡情切，

Before he embarked on his journey back, Niamh warned him

决定启程回家 临行前妮奥芙警告奥辛

that he must not alight from his horse to touch the earth with his own feet.

不可下马，也不可用脚接触大地。

When Oisín reached the shores of Ireland,

当奥辛到达爱尔兰海边

it felt as if a shadow had fallen over the world.

他看到世界仿佛笼罩在阴影之中。

On the hill where his father's palace lay, he saw only a ruin strewn with weeds.

在他父亲宫殿曾经坐落的山上 他只看到野草丛生的废墟，

His calls for his friends and family echoed from derelict walls.

他呼唤朋友和家人 只听到残垣断壁处的回声。

Horrified, Oisín rode until he came upon a group of peasants working in the fields.

奥辛感到恐惧，他骑马前行 直至遇上在种地的农民们

They were struggling to remove a boulder from their land,

他们正在奋力搬地里的一块大石。

and forgetting Niamh's warning,

此时，奥辛忘记了妮奥芙的警告

Oisín leapt from his horse and rolled it away with his superhuman strength.

从马上一跃而下，用他超乎常人的力量 将石头扔到一边。

The crowd's cheers soon turned into shrieks.

但农民们的欢呼很快变成了尖叫，

In place of the youth was an old man whose beard swept the ground

因为这个年轻人迅速变成了一个老人，

胡须垂地，双腿变形。

and whose legs buckled under him.

He cried out for Finn and the Fianna,

他大喊着芬恩和费奥纳，

but the people only recognized these names from the distant past of 300 years before.

但人们只知道这是 存在于三百多年前的名字。

Time had betrayed Oisín

时间背叛了奥辛

and his return to mortal lands had aged him irreversibly.

他重返凡人之地， 自己却不可逆转地衰老。

Throughout Irish folklore,

在爱尔兰民间故事中

sightings of the land of youth have been reported in the depths of wells,

很多人声称见过青春之地，

在深井中、

on the brink of the horizon,

在地平线尽头、

or in the gloom of caves.

在黑暗的洞穴中。

But those who know the tale of Oisín tell of another vision,

但了解奥辛故事的人们 在讲述另一个版本，

that of a shining princess carried upon the distant waves by a white horse,

遥远的海浪上 一位闪耀光芒的公主骑着白马

still hoping for the return of her doomed love.

依然盼望着她一生挚爱的归来。