A brief history of the devil - Brian A. Pavlac

翻译人员: Yu Xie 校对人员: Helen Chang

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

撒旦，一个在地下巢穴 啃食罪人骨头的怪物。

Lucifer, the fallen angel raging against the established order.

路西法，一个与现存制度 激烈反抗的堕落天使。

Mephistopheles, the trickster striking deals with unsuspecting humans.

梅菲斯特，一个与单纯人类 打交道的骗子。

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

这三个性格迥异的恶魔都来源于 《圣经旧约》，

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

一个上帝宫廷的善良角色， 在《约伯记》中折磨约伯。

But unlike any of these literary devils,

但是与上述文学作品中的恶魔不同，

the Satan of the Bible was a relatively minor character,

《圣经》中的撒旦 只是一个不怎么重要的角色，

with scant information about his deeds or appearance.

书中基本上没有关于撒旦的事迹 和外貌的叙述。

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

那么拥有这么多形态的撒旦是如何 成为最大的反派的呢？

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

在《新约》里， 撒旦变得活跃起来：

tempting Jesus, using demons to possess people,

怂恿耶稣， 用恶魔去控制人类，

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

最后以被抛入地狱的 巨龙形态现身。

This last image particularly inspired medieval artists and writers,

书中最后的图像对中世纪的 艺术家和作家影响深远，

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

这幅图描绘了一个有鳞片、 全身毛茸茸、脚趾甲很长的生物。

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

在迈克尔·帕切尔一幅关于 圣奥斯丁和恶魔的画作里，

the devil appears as an upright lizard—

恶魔被画成一只直立的蜥蜴——

with a second miniature face glinting on his rear and.

并且在臀部那里有它的 第二张缩小版的脸。

The epitome of these monster Satans

撒旦形象的典型代表

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

出现在意大利诗人 但丁·阿利吉耶里的诗集《地狱》里。

Encased in the ninth circle of hell,

在诗集中的第九狱里，

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

但丁所描述的撒旦是一个有三个头、 蝙蝠翅膀、以罪人为食的巨兽。

But he’s also an object of pity:

但这个恶魔也是一个令人同情的对象：

powerless as the panicked beating of his wings

正如它惊慌拍打的翅膀一般， 它的力量很弱，

only encases him further in ice.

被困在冰里。

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

诗里的主人公踏过撒旦的身体 逃出了地狱，

and feels both disgust and sympathy for the trapped beast—

他对这只被困住的怪兽 感到既厌恶又同情——

prompting the reader to consider the pain of doing evil.

激起读者思考这只恶魔 所承受的痛苦。

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

到文化复兴时期，恶魔的形象 逐渐向人类靠近。

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

艺术家们将它画成有蹄子 和弯曲的犄角的人，

inspired by Pan, the Greek god of the wild.

艺术家们是受到了希腊牧神， 潘的启发。

In his 1667 masterpiece “Paradise Lost,”

1667年，在史诗 《失乐园》里

English poet John Milton depicted the devil as Lucifer,

英国诗人约翰·弥尔顿将恶魔 描述成了路西法，

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

一个因上帝权势过高 而发起反抗的天使。

Kicked out of heaven, this charismatic rebel becomes Satan,

它被驱逐出了天堂， 于是这个魅力超凡的反派变成了撒旦，

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

这个角色宁愿当地狱的主宰 也不会再服务于天堂。

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

弥尔顿的作品启发了 之后一系列的文学作品

其中路西法不再是一个纯粹的角色，

rather than a purely evil one.

不单单是一个纯恶的恶魔。

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

弥尔顿创作的路西法成为了19世纪 浪漫主义时期的标志人物形象，

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

被视为不畏强权追求真理的英雄，

with tragic consequences.

虽然结局令人扼腕。

Meanwhile, in the German legend of Doctor Faust,

同时，在德国民间传说 《浮士德》里，

which dates to the 16th century,

这个传说可追溯到16世纪，

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

我们可以得知当恶魔降生时 所发生的事情。

Faust, a dissatisfied scholar,

感到迷茫和不满的学者浮士德

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

将自己的灵魂 向恶魔换取无尽的快乐。

With the help of the devil’s messenger Mephistopheles,

在恶魔信使 梅菲斯特的帮助下，

Faust quickly seizes women, power, and money—

浮士德立即拥有了 女人、权力以及金钱——

only to fall into the eternal fires of hell.

最后将自己陷入到了永恒的 地狱之火中。

Later versions of the story show Mephistopheles in different lights.

后世的版本用不同的视角 对梅菲斯特进行了展示。

In Christopher Marlowe's account,

在克里斯托弗·马洛的描述中，

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

愤世嫉俗的学者浮士德 非常乐意与梅菲斯特做交易。

In Johann Wolfgang van Goethe’s version,

在约翰·沃尔夫冈·范·歌德的版本中，

Mephistopheles tricks Faust into a grisly deal.

梅菲斯托引诱着浮士德去达成 一个可怕的交易。

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

现在，浮士德式交易则代表着 那些为了短期利益

for short-term gains.

而牺牲掉正直精神的交易。

In stagings of Goethe’s play,

在歌德戏剧的舞台上，

Mephistopheles appeared in red tights and cape.

梅菲斯特以一席 红色紧身服和斗篷登场。

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

在这个版本下，恶魔总是以一个 富有魅力的骗子形象登场——

one that eventually paraded through comic books,

而后也以同样的形象出现在动画书，

advertising, and film in his red suit.

广告以及影视作品里。

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

这三个版本的恶魔形象 只是冰山一角：

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

如今恶魔依旧激发着 公众的想象力，

tempting artists of all kinds to render him

引诱着各种风格的艺术家们 让它活跃在公众视野

according to new and fantastical visions.

以全新更具有想象力的形象。