Why should you read Virgil's "Aeneid"? - Mark Robinson

譯者: Crystal Yip 審譯者: Sylvia He

In 19 B.C., the Roman poet Virgil was traveling from Greece to Rome

公元前 19 年，羅馬詩人維吉爾

陪同奧古斯都大帝由希臘返回羅馬

with the emperor Augustus.

On the way, he stopped to go sightseeing in Megara, a town in Greece.

途中，他停留於希臘小鎮墨伽拉觀光

Out in the sun for too long, he suffered heatstroke

久在烈日下，他中暑不適

and died on his journey back to Italy.

並在返回意大利的途中去世

On his deathbed,

臨終時

Virgil thought about the manuscript he had been working on for over ten years,

維吉爾想著他過去十多年 埋首寫作的手稿

an epic poem that he called the "Aeneid."

一首他稱為《伊尼亞德》的史詩 （註：又譯《埃涅阿斯紀》）

Unsatisfied with the final edit, he asked his friends to burn it,

因為他不滿意最後的修訂 便請求朋友燒毀手稿

but they refused,

但他們拒絕了

and soon after Virgil's death, Augustus ordered it to be published.

維吉爾去逝後不久 奧古斯都下令出版那首史詩

Why was Augustus so interested in saving Virgil's poem?

為甚麼奧古斯都 如此希望保留維吉爾的詩？

The Romans had little tradition of writing serious literature

羅馬少有寫作嚴肅文學的傳統

and Virgil wanted to create a poem

而維吉爾希望創作一首詩

to rival the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" of Ancient Greece.

媲美古希臘的 《伊利亞德》和《奧德賽》

The "Aeneid," a 9,896 line poem, spans twelve separate sections, or books,

《伊尼亞德》長 9,896 行

分為十二卷

the first six of which mirror the structure of the "Odyssey"

前六卷模仿《奧德賽》的結構

and the last six echo the "Iliad."

後六卷則模仿《伊利亞德》的結構

Also like the Greek epics,

如同希臘史詩

The "Aeneid" is written entirely in dactylic hexameter.

《伊尼亞德》是長短短格六步詩

In this meter, each line has six syllable groups called feet

這格律中，每行有 六個音節組合，稱為音步

made up of dactyls which go long, short, short,

六個音步由「長—短短」

and spondees which go long, long.

和「長—長—」組成

So the famous opening line in the original Latin starts,

這首詩著名開首的拉丁原文是

"Arma Virvmqve Cano,"

「Arma Virvmqve Cano」

which can be translated as "I sing of arms and the man,"

可被翻譯成「我唱頌武器和那個人」

arms, meaning battles and warfare, another "Iliad" reference,

「武器」指的是戰役、戰爭 又是參考自《伊利亞德》

and the man being the hero Aeneas.

「那個人」指的是英雄埃涅阿斯

To understand the "Aeneid,"

要明白《伊尼亞德》

it's necessary to examine the unsettled nature of Roman politics

必需仔細觀察

公元前一世紀下半葉 動盪的羅馬政治

in the second half of the 1st century B.C.

In 49 B.C., Julius Caesar, Augustus's great uncle,

公元前 49 年

奧古斯都的舅公尤利烏斯·凱撒

triggered nearly 20 years of civil war

引發了近 20 年的內戰

when he led his army against the Roman Republic.

帶領軍隊對付羅馬共和國

After introducing a dictatorship, he was assassinated.

實行獨裁統治後，他被刺殺

Only after Augustus's victory over Marc Antony and Cleopatra in 31 B.C.

直至公元前 31 年，奧古斯都 戰勝馬克·安東尼和克麗奧佩特拉

did peace return to Rome

羅馬才回復和平

and Augustus became the emperor.

而奧古斯都成為皇帝

Virgil aimed to capture this sense of a new era

維吉爾旨在描繪這背景下的新時代

and of the great sacrifices that the Romans had endured.

和羅馬人過去承受的重大犧牲

He wanted to give the Romans a fresh sense of their origins,

他希望讓羅馬人重新理解他們的根源

their past,

他們的過去

and their potential.

和他們的潛在可能

By connecting the founding of Rome

透過將羅馬的建立

to the mythological stories that his audience knew so well,

與他的讀者耳熟能詳的 神話故事相連結

Virgil was able to link his hero Aeneas to the character of Augustus.

維吉爾成功地把故事主角埃涅阿斯 和奧古斯都連結起來

In the epic poem, Aeneas is on a quest to establish a new home for his people.

這史詩中，埃涅阿斯展開旅程 為他的人民建立新家園

This duty, or pietas as the Romans called it,

實踐這責任 即羅馬人所謂的「pietas」

faces all kinds of obstacles.

荆棘满途

Aeneas risks destruction in the ruins of Troy,

埃涅阿斯於特洛伊廢墟中差點被殺

agonizes over love when he meets the beautiful Queen of Carthage, Dido,

遇上美麗的迦太基女王狄多 因而為愛受苦

and in one of the most vivid passages in all of ancient literature,

而且在所有古代文學中 極其生動的一段

has to pass through the underworld.

描繪他遊歷冥府

On top of all that, he must then fight to win a homeland for his people

在這些種種之上，他必需 為他的人民贏得落地生根的地方

around the future sight of Rome.

就在那將來的羅馬附近

Virgil presents Aeneas as a sort of model for Augustus,

維吉爾筆下的埃涅阿斯 為奧古斯都的模型

and that's probably one of the reasons the emperor was so eager

這大概是這皇帝如此渴望

to save the poem from destruction.

保留這詩，免其受到破壞

But Virgil didn't stop there.

但維吉爾並不止於此

In some sections, Aeneas even has visions of Rome's future and of Augustus himself.

在一些段落，埃涅阿斯甚至描繪 對羅馬的將來和奧古斯都的寄望

Virgil presents Augustus as a victor, entering Rome in triumph

維吉爾描繪奧古斯都 以勝利者之姿進入羅馬

and shows him expanding the Roman Empire.

並擴展羅馬帝國版圖

Perhaps most importantly, he's hailed as only the third Roman leader in 700 years

也許，最重要的是，他被譽為 700 年來第三位羅馬領袖

to shut the doors of the Temple of Janus signifying the arrival of permanent peace.

關閉了雅努斯神廟的大門 象徵著永久和平的來臨

But there's a twist.

但這首詩不止於此

Virgil only read Augustus three selected extracts of the story

維吉爾對奧古斯都 只讀了故事中三個選段

and that was Augustus's entire exposure to it.

那些內容便是奧古斯所知道的全部

Some of the other sections could be seen as critical,

其他一些章節可被視為批判

if not subtly subversive about the emperor's achievements.

甚或是顛覆皇權，質疑皇帝的作為

Aeneas, again a model for Augustus, struggles with his duty

埃涅阿斯，又是奧古斯都的模型 面對責任，感到棘手

and often seems a reluctant hero.

經常看來是個不情願的英雄

He doesn't always live up to the behavior expected of a good Roman leader.

他未能總是符合 一個好羅馬領袖的行為標準

He struggles to balance mercy and justice.

他掙扎於寬容和公義間，難以平衡

By the end, the reader is left wondering about the future of Rome

最後，留下讀者思考羅馬的將來

and the new government of Augustus.

和奧古斯都的新政府

Perhaps in wanting the story published,

也許，奧古斯都希望出版這故事

Augustus had been fooled by his own desire for self-promotion.

是被他自己的自我宣傳的慾望所愚弄

As a result, Virgil's story has survived to ask questions

因此，維吉爾的故事流傳下來

繼續探討權力和職權的本質

about the nature of power and authority ever since.