The myth of Pandora’s box - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Karen Xu 校对人员: Yinchun Rui

Curiosity:

好奇心：

a blessing, or a curse?

一个恩赐，还是一个诅咒?

The paradoxical nature of this trait

这种相互矛盾的特质

was personified for the ancient Greeks

被古希腊人给拟人化，

in the mythical figure of Pandora.

成为了神话人物潘多拉。

According to legend,

根据传说，

she was the first mortal woman,

她是第一个人类女子， 因为自己强烈的好奇心

whose blazing curiosity set a chain of earth-shattering events in motion.

而给地球带来了一连串震撼的事件。

Pandora was breathed into being by Hephaestus, God of fire,

潘多拉是因为火神赫菲斯托斯 吹了口气而诞生的，

火神得到了众神的帮助， 使潘多拉变成了一个非凡的女子。

who enlisted the help of his divine companions to make her extraordinary.

从阿弗洛狄特那里， 她拥有了多愁善感的能力。

From Aphrodite she received the capacity for deep emotion;

from Hermes she gained mastery over language.

从赫尔墨斯那里， 她获得了精通语言的天赋。

Athena gave the gift of fine craftsmanship and attention to detail,

雅典娜赐予了她精细的工艺技术 以及对细节的注意力，

and Hermes gave her her name.

赫尔墨斯赐予了她名字。

最后，宙斯授予了潘多拉两样礼物。

Finally, Zeus bestowed two gifts on Pandora.

第一个是好奇心，

The first was the trait of curiosity,

which settled in her spirit and sent her eagerly out into the world.

这个特质被安置在她的灵魂中， 令她迫切地想走向这个世界。

第二个是一个很重的盒子， 上面有着过度华丽的装饰，

The second was a heavy box, ornately curved, heavy to hold –

且被螺丝紧紧拧住。

and screwed tightly shut.

But the contents, Zeus told her, were not for mortal eyes.

但是宙斯对她说， 里面的东西是不能给凡人看的。

She was not to open the box under any circumstance.

她在任何情况下都不能打开盒子。

在地球上，潘多拉遇到了一个 有才能的巨人埃皮米修斯，并与他相爱了。

On earth, Pandora met and fell in love with Epimetheus, a talented titan

他被宙斯赋予了设计自然世界的任务。

who had been given the task of designing the natural world by Zeus.

他之前一直和他的哥哥普罗米修斯一起工作。

He had worked alongside his brother Prometheus,

who created the first humans

普罗米修斯创造了最初的人类，

but was eternally punished for giving them fire.

但最终因为给了他们火而受到惩罚。

埃皮米修斯非常地想念他的哥哥，

Epimetheus missed his brother desperately,

but in Pandora he found another fiery-hearted soul for companionship.

但在潘多拉身上，他找到了 另一个热情奔放的灵魂作为陪伴。

Pandora brimmed with excitement at life on earth.

潘多拉对地球上的生命感到无比的兴奋。

She was also easily distracted and could be impatient,

她很容易被分心，很容易失去耐性，

given her thirst for knowledge and desire to question her surroundings.

她迫切地想了解周围的一切， 并且有一大堆问题想问。

她会经常想到那个被封住的盒子里的内容。

Often, her mind wandered to the contents of the sealed box.

What treasure was so great it could never be seen by human eyes,

什么东西这么珍贵， 以至于永远不能被人类的眼睛看到？

又为什么要交给她来保管呢？

and why was it in her care?

Her fingers itched to pry it open.

她的手好痒，好想把盒子撬开来看看。

Sometimes she was convinced she heard voices whispering

有时候她深信自己听见了盒子中有低低细语，

and the contents rattling around inside,

里面的东西在咔哒咔哒地发出响动，

as if straining to be free.

就像它用力想要挣脱盒子的束缚。

Its enigma became maddening.

这个谜使她抓狂。

Over time, Pandora became more and more obsessed with the box.

随着时间流失，潘多拉对盒子越来越着迷。

It seemed there was a force beyond her control that drew her to the contents,

好像有一股力量 促使她被盒子中的东西吸引，

which echoed her name louder and louder.

那个东西不断重复着她的名字，越来越响。

One day she could bear it no longer.

有一天她终于忍不住了。

Stealing away from Epimetheus,

她从埃皮米修斯那里偷走

she stared at the mystifying box.

并且盯着这个让她感到神秘的盒子。

She’d take one glance inside,

她只要看一眼就好，

then be able to rid her mind of it forever...

然后就能再也不去想这件事了。

但是当她刚打开一条缝，盒子便猛地开启了。

But at the first crack of the lid, the box burst open.

Monstrous creatures and horrendous sounds

一群怪物和恐怖的声音冲了出来，

rushed out in a cloud of smoke and swirled around her, screeching and cackling.

变成了一朵乌云围绕着她， 发出尖厉地咯咯笑声。

Filled with terror,

潘多拉心中害怕极了，

Pandora clawed desperately at the air to direct them back into their prison.

用手在空中不停地挥舞， 想把他们赶回他们的监狱里。

但是这些东西蜂拥而出， 变成了一朵阴森恐怖的云。

But the creatures surged out in a gruesome cloud.

当他们翻腾着远去时， 她有一种不祥的预感。

She felt a wave of foreboding as they billowed away.

Zeus had used the box as a vessel

宙斯把这个盒子作为一个容器，

for all the forces of evil and suffering he’d created –

用来装所有的邪恶力量 以及他创造出的苦难——

一旦这些东西被释放出来，

and once released,

they were uncontainable.

就再也不可收拾了。

当潘多拉哭着的时候，

As she wept,

Pandora became aware of a sound echoing from within the box.

她注意到有一个声音在盒子里回响着。

那不是恶魔可怕的低语声，

This was not the eerie whispering of demons,

but a light tinkling that seemed to ease her anguish.

却是一束闪烁的光， 似乎缓解了她心中的痛苦。

当她再次打开盒子往里看去，

When she once again lifted the lid and peered in,

a warm beam of light rose out and fluttered away.

一束温暖的光飞出并飘向了远方。

As she watched it flickering in the wake of the evil she’d unleashed,

当潘多拉看着这束光 在她放出的魔鬼中闪烁着，

Pandora’s pain was eased.

她的痛苦减轻了。

She knew that opening the box was irreversible –

她知道一旦盒子打开便无法逆转，

but alongside the strife, she’d set hope forth to temper its effects.

但是随着冲突一起，她带去了希望， 用以缓和这些负面影响。

如今，潘多拉的魔盒告诉了我们

Today, Pandora’s Box suggests the extreme consequences

of tampering with the unknown –

胡乱摆弄未知事物的极端后果——

but Pandora’s burning curiosity also suggests the duality that lies

但是潘多拉强烈的好奇心 同时也告诉了我们

人类心中一探究竟的这种双面性。

at the heart of human inquiry.

Are we bound to investigate everything we don’t know,

难道我们注定要去 调查一切我们不知道的事物，

to mine the earth for more –

去了解地球上更多的事情——

又或者有些谜团

or are there some mysteries

that are better left unsolved?

最好一直是未解之谜？