Why plague doctors wore beaked masks

譯者: zoe chen 審譯者: Shelley Tsang 曾雯海

The year is 1656.

這年是1656。

Your body is wracked by violent chills.

你的身體因為很冷而顫抖著。

Your head pounds, your muscles are too weak to sit up,

你的頭像是被打過， 肌肉虛弱到坐不起來，

and you feel like rancid, hard-boiled eggs

你感覺好像一顆顆壞掉的水煮蛋

are squeezing out of your neck and armpits.

要擠出你的脖子跟腋下。

In your feverish state, you see a strange-looking man approach,

在你發燒的期間，有位 長相奇怪的男人走向你，

his face obscured by a beak-like mask, his body covered from head to toe.

他的臉被一個像鳥喙的面具罩著， 並且從頭到腳都被包覆著。

He examines you and even without seeing his face,

他上下審視你， 即使不看他的臉，

you know the diagnosis:

你也會知道診斷結果：

you have the plague.

你得了瘟疫。

The plague stands out as one of the most terrifying and destructive diseases

這個瘟疫是人類歷史上，

in human history.

最恐怖且最具摧毀性的疾病。

It swept across large parts of Afro- Eurasia in three separate pandemics

它橫掃了大部分的歐亞非大陸

starting in the 6th, 14th, and 19th centuries;

分別在 6 世紀、14 世紀、 19世紀

killed tens of millions of people,

導致數以萬計的人死亡，

and had— in the best of cases— about a 40% survival rate.

而且在最好的情況下 有 40％ 的存活率。

The European plague doctor, with his beaked mask and wizard-like robes,

歐洲的瘟疫醫生， 都會戴鳥喙形狀的面具

和穿著像巫師的長袍，

is one of the images most popularly associated with plague today.

這是我們對瘟疫最具象徵性的印象。

He’s often found in books and films about the 14th century pandemic

他常常在有關 14 世紀

傳染病的書籍以及影片中出現，

known as the Black Death.

也就是我們所知道的黑死病。

The only problem is that’s about as accurate as placing

唯一的問題是這就是像

a modern surgeon at the court of Louis the 14th in Versailles.

把現代的外科醫生放在

路易十四的凡爾賽宮裡。

The confusion is understandable though—

這個困惑是可以理解的，

the Black Death had several aftershocks,

黑死病有很多餘波，

including a series of devastating outbreaks in Western Europe

例如在 17 世紀西歐一系列摧殘性的爆發。

during the 17th century.

This is when the iconic plague doctor actually emerged on the scene.

這就是最具象徵性的 瘟疫醫生真正出現的時刻。

First described in the early 17th century,

首先在 17 世紀早期被描述，

the outfit consisted of a hood with crystal eyepieces

他們的外型是戴著水晶眼罩，

and a beak filled with a pungent combination of herbs and compounds.

還有一個裝滿強刺激性的藥草和化合物的喙嘴。

This could include cinnamon, pepper, turpentine,

可能含有肉桂、胡椒、松脂，

roast copper, and powdered viper flesh.

焙燒銅、和粉狀的毒蛇肉。

This recipe was inspired by the famed 2nd century Greco-Roman physician Galen,

這個配方是來自二世紀的 希臘羅馬有名的醫生蓋倫，

and was thought to ward off poisoned air known as miasma.

並且被認為是可以 抵禦毒氣，也就是瘴氣。

People believed this bad air spread plague after emanating from swamps

人們相信這種不好的空氣

and sources of decay,

從沼澤、腐爛的來源

such as dead plants or animal carcasses.

像是死掉的植物和 動物屍體，會散波瘟疫

In earlier centuries, doctors across Europe carried metal pomanders

早在幾百年前，橫跨歐洲的醫生

filled with similar mixtures,

攜帶類似混和物的金屬香爐，

and it’s possible that the beak evolved as a hands-free alternative.

喙嘴可能是這個香爐免提的進化。

The rest of the costume, which included an oiled leather robe, boots and gloves,

剩下的服裝，包含塗油的 皮革大袍、靴子以及手套，

acted as kind of an early hazmat suit,

作為一種早期的防疫服，

likely designed to block miasma from entering through the skin’s pores.

可能是設計來阻擋瘴進到皮膚毛孔中。

While this shows some basic understanding that plague

雖然這顯示了當時對瘟疫會傳播

spread from one place to another,

這件事情有一些基本的了解。

these doctors couldn’t know that, in most cases,

在大多數情況下，這些醫生並不知道，

the true culprit was a tiny flea transmitting the bacteria,

真正的罪魁禍首是一隻

小跳蚤在傳播這個細菌，

Yersinia pestis, from one person or animal to another.

鼠疫桿菌，從人或動物

傳播到另一個人或動物。

It’s possible that the plague doctor’s outfit may have provided

瘟疫醫生的服裝非常有可能提供了

some unintentional protection from flea bites.

一些不預期的叮咬從跳蚤的叮咬。

However, not enough information survives to know whether

然而，沒有更多存在的資訊知道

the costumed doctors fared any better than their ordinarily robed counterparts.

穿著這個服裝的醫生表現的 比穿著正常長袍的同行好。

It's no surprise that this bizarre getup has captured popular imagination,

這種特殊的造型毫不奇怪地，

吸引了大眾的想像力，

despite the fact that its use was limited to a few places in Italy and France

儘管它僅限用在義大利和法國的少數地方

during the 17th and early 18th centuries.

在 17 世紀 和 18 世紀初時。

Even at the time, it was viewed with macabre fascination

即使在那時，它也被視為有陰森魅力

and occasionally used to mock the ineffective and corrupt

並且偶爾用來嘲笑某些沒有效率且腐敗的

practices of some physicians.

作爲的醫生。

Until the 20th century, there was no effective treatment for the plague,

直到 20 世紀，瘟疫沒有任何有效的治療，

but that didn’t stop doctors— costumed or not— from trying.

但這並沒有阻止醫生 （不管有沒有穿服裝）嘗試。

They consulted the works of earlier physicians for guidance,

他們參考了早期醫生的做法作為參考，

did what they could to fend off miasma,

並且盡可能地抵禦瘴氣，

and prescribed a variety of concoctions and antidotes.

並且開了各種調劑藥和解毒劑。

They also relied on pre-modern medical mainstays.

他們還依賴現代化之前的醫藥主流。

These could include bloodletting,

這些可能包含放血，

which involved draining (sometimes concerningly large amounts of) blood

這些可能包含引流（有時候非常大量的）血

in an attempt to remove poison or restore the body’s natural balance.

為了要去除毒性或是恢復身體自然的平衡。

Or cupping, where the rim of a heated glass

或是拔罐，把加熱的玻璃邊緣

was placed over swollen lymph nodes in hopes of making them burst sooner—

放在腫脹的淋巴結上， 期望它可以快點破裂。

a sign, when it occurred naturally, that a plague patient was on the mend.

當它自然發生的時候，代表

這個瘟疫的病人快要治好了。

Or— perhaps most painfully— cautery,

又或者，可能是最痛的，燒灼。

which involved lancing the lymph nodes with a red-hot poker

用燒熱的火鉗在淋巴結上畫圈

to release the blackened pus within.

擠出裡面發黑的膿液。

A lot has changed since their times.

現在已經改變非常多了。

Modern medicine has given us the means to quickly identify

現代的藥給予我們更多方法去快速診斷

bacterial as well as viral threats

是細菌還是病毒傳染

and to effectively mobilize against them.

並且可以快速地消滅它們。

We also have access to technologies like test kits,

我們也有一些科技的產物像是檢測劑，

masks to deter the spread of respiratory viruses, and vaccines;

口罩去抵禦呼吸道感染的病毒，還有疫苗，

and we conduct robust trials to make sure they’re safe and effective.

而且我們還可以做一些強而有力的測試

去檢查它們是否安且有效。

But some things don’t change:

但有些東西不會改變：

we still depend on the courage and compassion of medical professionals

我們仍然在依賴那些自願冒著生命危險，

who voluntarily risk their lives

對抗那些隱形的病菌，

並且去幫助那些需要幫助的人，

against an invisible attacker to help and comfort those who need it most.

有勇氣且有同情心的醫護人員們。