The world’s most mysterious book - Stephen Bax

譯者: Szu-Wen Kung 審譯者: 潘 可儿

Deep inside Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

在耶魯大學拜內克古籍善本圖書館中

lies the only copy of a 240-page tome.

有本世界僅存、長達 240 頁的古書

Recently carbon dated to around 1420,

放射性碳定年測算 書的歷史可追溯至 1420 年

its vellum pages features looping handwriting

書中羊皮紙上載錄珍貴的 圈圈手寫字跡

and hand-drawn images seemingly stolen from a dream.

彷彿來自夢裡的手繪圖像

Real and imaginary plants,

真假並存的植物

floating castles,

漂浮的城堡

bathing women,

沐浴的婦女

astrology diagrams,

占星圖

zodiac rings,

星座輪

and suns and moons with faces accompany the text.

文字周圍畫有人臉的太陽月亮圖

This 24x16 centimeter book is called the Voynich manuscript,

這本長 24 公分、寬 16 公分的書

名為「伏尼契手稿」

and its one of history's biggest unsolved mysteries.

這本書是史上最大的未解謎團之一

The reason why?

原因何在？

No one can figure out what it says.

因為至今無人能理解這本書的內容

The name comes from Wilfrid Voynich,

書名源自波蘭書商伏尼契

a Polish bookseller who came across the document at a Jesuit college

1912 年他在義大利的耶穌會學院

in Italy in 1912.

找到這本書

He was puzzled.

伏尼契深感疑惑

Who wrote it?

作者是誰？

Where was it made?

在哪裡著作？

What do these bizarre words and vibrant drawings represent?

奇怪的字詞與生動的畫作代表甚麼？

What secrets do its pages contain?

書頁裡又藏著甚麼秘密？

He purchased the manuscript from the cash-strapped priest at the college,

伏尼契從學院的窮牧師 購得這份手稿

and eventually brought it to the U.S.,

隨後帶到美國

where experts have continued to puzzle over it for more than a century.

在接著的一百多年裡 這本書持續困惑著美國的專家

Cryptologists say the writing has all the characteristics of a real language,

密碼專家指出書中的文字 具備真實語言的所有特徵

just one that no one's ever seen before.

只是這個語言無人知曉

What makes it seem real is that in actual languages,

這語言貌似真實是因為

真正語言的字母 與排列組合有一致的常規

letters and groups of letters appear with consistent frequencies,

and the language in the Voynich manuscript

而伏尼契手稿中的語言

has patterns you wouldn't find from a random letter generator.

具有一定的規律，並非隨機製造

Other than that, we know little more than what we can see.

除此以外，我們對這文字所知無幾

The letters are varied in style and height.

手稿字母的風格與大小不一

Some are borrowed from other scripts, but many are unique.

有些仿自其他文字 而大多数則獨一無二

The taller letters have been named gallows characters.

大一點的字母被命名為絞架字形

The manuscript is highly decorated throughout

手稿大篇幅地充斥著

with scroll-like embellishments.

渦卷形花字體

It appears to be written by two or more hands,

文字可能是由兩個或更多人書寫而成

with the painting done by yet another party.

而畫圖的則另有其人

Over the years, three main theories about the manuscript's text have emerged.

多年來

對於伏尼契手稿的探討出現三大理論

The first is that it's written in cypher,

理論一認為手稿文字是一種暗號

a secret code deliberately designed to hide secret meaning.

用特別設計的密碼掩藏機密

The second is that the document is a hoax

理論二認為整本手稿是一場騙局

written in gibberish to make money off a gullible buyer.

用亂碼書寫引人上當騙錢

Some speculate the author was a medieval con man.

有人懷疑作者是位中世紀的詐欺犯

Others, that it was Voynich himself.

有人則說伏尼契本人就是幕後黑手

The third theory is that the manuscript is written in an actual language,

理論三指出手稿是用真實語言撰寫

but in an unknown script.

但沒人知道是甚麼文字

Perhaps medieval scholars were attempting to create an alphabet

也許中世紀學者試著為一個口頭方言

for a language that was spoken but not yet written.

創造新的字母表

In that case, the Voynich manuscript might be like the rongorongo script

若是如此，伏尼契手稿

就像在復活節島 所發現的朗格朗格字符

invented on Easter Island,

now unreadable after the culture that made it collapsed.

在文化消失後，成為無法解讀的謎團

Though no one can read the Voynich manuscript,

儘管沒人能讀懂伏尼契手稿

that hasn't stopped people from guessing what it might say.

猜測仍如雪片般從各方飄來

Those who believe the manuscript was an attempt to create

有人相信伏尼契手稿的製作

a new form of written language

是為了創造新文字

speculate that it might be an encyclopedia

也有人推測伏尼契手稿是本百科全書

containing the knowledge of the culture that produced it.

包含其創始文化的知識

Others believe it was written by the 13th century philosopher Roger Bacon,

有人認為手稿是由 13 世紀哲學家 羅傑·培根所撰寫的

who attempted to understand the universal laws of grammar,

他想試圖了解通用的文法規則

or in the 16th century by the Elizabethan mystic John Dee,

也可能是 16 世紀神祕主義者 約翰·迪伊所寫

who practiced alchemy and divination.

他專事煉金與占卜

More fringe theories that the book was written by a coven of Italian witches,

偏激的理論則認為 這本書是一群義大利女巫的傑作

or even by Martians.

或者甚至是火星人的

After 100 years of frustration,

經過百年毫無結論的臆測後

scientists have recently shed a little light on the mystery.

對此謎團，科學家最近有新發現

The first breakthrough was the carbon dating.

放射性碳定年是第一大突破

Also, contemporary historians have traced the provenance of the manuscript

再者，現代歷史學者 發現手稿內的信箋

back through Rome and Prague to as early as 1612,

最早可追溯至 1612 年的羅馬與布拉格

when it was perhaps passed from Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II

可能是當時神聖羅馬帝國的 魯道夫二世

to his physician, Jacobus Sinapius.

將手稿傳給他的醫生雅各·賽奈皮斯

In addition to these historical breakthroughs,

除了歷史方面的發現

linguistic researchers recently proposed the provisional identification

語言學家最近也對手稿中的一些字符

of a few of the manuscript's words.

做出初步的辨認

Could the letters beside these seven stars spell Tauran,

緊鄰七顆星旁拼為 Tauran 的

a name for Taurus,

有可能是指金牛座 (Taurus)

a constellation that includes the seven stars called the Pleiades?

即包含七顆星 名為昴宿星團的星宿嗎？

Could this word be Centaurun for the Centaurea plant in the picture?

這個字指的會是圖中的矢車菊屬嗎？

Perhaps, but progress is slow.

不無可能，但進度緩慢

If we can crack its code, what might we find?

若能破解這本手稿 我們會發現甚麼？

The dream journal of a 15th-century illustrator?

一位 15 世紀插畫家的做夢筆記？

A bunch of nonsense?

一本胡言亂語？

Or the lost knowledge of a forgotten culture?

或一個被遺忘文化的失落知識？

What do you think it is?

你認為是甚麼？