The myth of Pandora’s box - Iseult Gillespie

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

Curiosity:

好奇心：

a blessing, or a curse?

是福還是禍？

The paradoxical nature of this trait

這項特質的矛盾本質

was personified for the ancient Greeks

在古希臘被具體化

in the mythical figure of Pandora.

成為神話人物潘朵拉。

According to legend,

根據傳說，她是第一個人類女子，

she was the first mortal woman,

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

因為強大的好奇心而引發 一連串震撼地球的事件。

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

火神赫菲斯托斯用呼吸 賜給了潘朵拉生命，

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

火神找了其他神中的夥伴， 將她變得更不凡。

From Aphrodite she received the capacity for deep emotion;

阿芙蘿黛蒂給了她 擁有深刻情緒的能力；

from Hermes she gained mastery over language.

赫耳墨斯讓她能精通語言。

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

雅典娜贈予她工藝技巧 和對細節的注意力，

and Hermes gave her her name.

赫耳墨斯給了她她的名字。

Finally, Zeus bestowed two gifts on Pandora.

最後，宙斯給了潘朵拉兩樣禮物。

The first was the trait of curiosity,

第一樣是好奇心，

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

安置在她的心靈中， 讓她熱切地走向這個世界。

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

第二樣是個拿起來很重的盒子， 有著過度華麗的曲線裝飾——

and screwed tightly shut.

緊緊地用螺絲鎖起來。

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

但，宙斯告訴她， 盒中的內容不是人類可以看的。

She was not to open the box under any circumstance.

不論什麼情況， 她都不可以打開盒子。

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

在地球上，潘朵拉遇見了很有才的 巨人伊皮米修斯，和他相愛，

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

他的工作是設計自然世界， 這是宙斯的指示。

He had worked alongside his brother Prometheus,

他和他的哥哥 普羅米修斯一起工作，

who created the first humans

他哥哥創造出了最早的人類，

but was eternally punished for giving them fire.

卻因為給了他們火， 而永遠受到懲罰。

Epimetheus missed his brother desperately,

伊皮米修斯非常想念他的哥哥，

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

但在潘朵拉身上，他找到了 另一個陪伴他的熱情靈魂。

Pandora brimmed with excitement at life on earth.

潘朵拉對於地球上的生活 感到非常興奮。

She was also easily distracted and could be impatient,

她很容易分心，很容易沒耐性，

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

她很渴望了解她周圍的環境， 有一大堆的問題想問。

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

通常，她總會不小心開始想著 密封的盒子中到底有什麼。

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

是什麼寶藏會了不起到 人類永遠不能看？

and why was it in her care?

且為什麼交由她保管？

Her fingers itched to pry it open.

她手好癢，好想打開來看看。

Sometimes she was convinced she heard voices whispering

有時，她深信她聽到 裡面有微小的聲音，

and the contents rattling around inside,

且盒中的內容在裡面嘎嘎作響， 好像想要掙脫出來。

as if straining to be free.

Its enigma became maddening.

這個謎變得讓她抓狂。

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

隨著時間，潘朵拉 對這個盒子越來越著迷。

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

似乎有種超越她控制的力量， 讓她被盒中內容吸引著，

which echoed her name louder and louder.

不斷迴響著她的名字， 越來越大聲。

One day she could bear it no longer.

有一天，她再也忍不住了。

Stealing away from Epimetheus,

她從伊皮米修斯身邊溜走， 盯著這個讓她困惑的盒子。

she stared at the mystifying box.

She’d take one glance inside,

她只要看一眼就好，

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

就可以永遠不用再想東想西了……

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

但才把盒蓋掀起來一點點， 盒子就猛然打開。

Monstrous creatures and horrendous sounds

一大群可怪的怪物 和恐怖的聲音衝出來，

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

繞著她轉，尖叫著，咯咯笑著。

Filled with terror,

潘朵拉害怕極了， 絕望地在空中又抓又拉，

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

想把牠們送回牠們的監獄。

But the creatures surged out in a gruesome cloud.

但這些陰森的怪物成群湧出。

She felt a wave of foreboding as they billowed away.

當牠們蜂湧離開時， 她感受到一波不祥的預感。

Zeus had used the box as a vessel

宙斯把這個盒子當作容器，

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

裝著所有邪惡的力量 和他所創造出的苦難——

and once released,

一旦被釋放出來，就無法控制。

they were uncontainable.

As she wept,

當潘朵拉哭泣時，

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

發現在盒子中有個聲音在迴響。

This was not the eerie whispering of demons,

並不是那種毛骨悚然的惡魔低語，

but a light tinkling that seemed to ease her anguish.

而是很輕的叮叮聲， 讓她的苦惱有些舒緩。

When she once again lifted the lid and peered in,

她再一次掀開蓋子，向內窺視，

a warm beam of light rose out and fluttered away.

一道溫暖的光升起並振翅飛走。

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

潘朵拉看著它在 她釋放出的邪惡當中閃爍著，

Pandora’s pain was eased.

她的痛苦減輕了。

She knew that opening the box was irreversible –

她知道，打開盒子是覆水難收——

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

但在混亂之餘，她還是 有希望能緩和它的影響。

Today, Pandora’s Box suggests the extreme consequences

現今，潘朵拉的盒子 意味著胡搞未知事物

of tampering with the unknown –

所造成的極端的後果——

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

但潘朵拉強烈的好奇心 也意味著人類想要

at the heart of human inquiry.

一探究竟的心中的那二元性。

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

我們是否一定要去調查 我們不知道的一切，

to mine the earth for more –

探索地球以了解更多——

or are there some mysteries

或者，有些謎最好一直是個謎？

that are better left unsolved?