How I'm discovering the secrets of ancient texts | Gregory Heyworth

譯者: Marssi Draw 審譯者: Regina Chu

On January 26, 2013,

2013 年 1 月 26 日，

a band of al-Qaeda militants entered the ancient city of Timbuktu

蓋達組織武裝部隊進入 古城廷布克圖，

on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.

此城位於撒哈拉沙漠南緣。

There, they set fire to a medieval library of 30,000 manuscripts

他們放火燒了一座中世紀的圖書館， 當中有三萬份手稿

written in Arabic and several African languages

全由阿拉伯文 以及幾種非洲語言撰寫而成，

and ranging in subject from astronomy to geography, history to medicine,

題材遍及天文學、 地理學、歷史和醫學，

including one book which records

其中一本書記載的

perhaps the first treatment for male erectile dysfunction.

可能是第一筆 治療男性勃起障礙的處方。

Unknown in the West,

西方人有所不知，

this was the collected wisdom of an entire continent,

這可是整塊非洲大陸的智慧結晶，

the voice of Africa at a time when Africa was thought not to have a voice at all.

是非洲在大家認為無聲的時期 所發出的聲音。

The mayor of Bamako, who witnessed the event,

巴馬科市長目睹此事，

稱這起火燒手稿事件為

called the burning of the manuscripts

"a crime against world cultural heritage."

「破壞世界文化遺產之罪」。

And he was right --

他說的對，

or he would have been, if it weren't for the fact that he was also lying.

應該說，要不是他說了謊， 不然他說的就對。

In fact, just before,

事實上，在那之前，

African scholars had collected a random assortment of old books

非洲學者已經事先取出幾類古書，

and left them out for the terrorists to burn.

避免這些書被恐怖分子燒毀。

Today, the collection lies hidden in Bamako,

今天，這套書藏在巴馬科，

the capital of Mali,

馬利的首都，

moldering in the high humidity.

因為溼度太重而逐漸腐壞。

What was rescued by ruse

之前千方百計拯救的東西，

is now once again in jeopardy,

現在又再次陷入危機，

this time by climate.

這次是受到氣候威脅。

But Africa, and the far-flung corners of the world,

但非洲和那些遠在天邊的世界角落

are not the only places, or even the main places

不是唯一，甚至不是主要

in which manuscripts that could change the history of world culture

讓那些改變世界文明歷史的手稿

are in jeopardy.

陷入險境的地方。

Several years ago, I conducted a survey of European research libraries

幾年前， 我對歐洲研究圖書館做調查，

and discovered that, at the barest minimum,

發現保守估計至少

there are 60,000 manuscripts

有六萬份史前 1500 年的手稿

pre-1500

that are illegible because of water damage,

變得難以閱讀，因為受到水害、

fading, mold and chemical reagents.

褪色、黴菌和化學試劑影響。

The real number is likely double that,

實際數字可能是兩倍，

and that doesn't even count

而且還不把

Renaissance manuscripts and modern manuscripts

文藝復興時期和近代的手稿，

and cultural heritage objects such as maps.

還有文化遺產文物， 像是地圖算進來。

What if there were a technology

要是有科技

that could recover these lost and unknown works?

能復原這些失去且不知名的文物， 該有多好？

Imagine worldwide how a trove of hundreds of thousands

想像全世界 百萬件珍貴文物中的一件，

of previously unknown texts

以目前無人知曉的古文記載，

could radically transform our knowledge of the past.

是怎麼徹底顛覆 我們對過去的認識。

Imagine what unknown classics we would discover

想像我們可能找到的經典文物，

which would rewrite the canons of literature, history,

可能改寫文學、歷史、

philosophy, music --

哲學和音樂的經典，

or, more provocatively, that could rewrite our cultural identities,

或是更誇張點， 可能改寫我們的文化認同，

building new bridges between people and culture.

建立人類和文化之間的新橋梁。

These are the questions that transformed me

這些問題改變了我，

from a medieval scholar, a reader of texts,

讓我從中古世紀學者、文字讀者，

into a textual scientist.

轉變為文本科學家。

What an unsatisfying word "reader" is.

讓人不滿意的是「讀者」這兩個字。

For me, it conjures up images of passivity,

這讓我腦海浮現一種被動的樣貌，

of someone sitting idly in an armchair

就像某人呆坐在沙發椅上，

waiting for knowledge to come to him

等著知識裝在精巧的包裝裡送上門。

in a neat little parcel.

How much better to be a participant in the past,

要是能成為過去的參與者 就好多了，

an adventurer in an undiscovered country,

當一個探險家，前往無人發掘之境

searching for the hidden text.

尋找隱藏的文字。

As an academic, I was a mere reader.

身為學者，我只是個讀者。

I read and taught the same classics

我閱讀、教導的經典

that people had been reading and teaching for hundreds of years --

是千百年來 人們一直在閱讀和教導的經典，

Virgil, Ovid, Chaucer, Petrarch --

像是維吉爾、奧維德、 喬叟、佩特拉克，

and with every scholarly article that I published

我發表的每一篇學術文章，

I added to human knowledge in ever-diminishing slivers of insight.

都只是在人類知識加上一筆 會永遠消逝的見解。

What I wanted to be

我想成為的

was an archaeologist of the past,

是過去的考古學家、

a discoverer of literature,

文學的發現者、

an Indiana Jones without the whip --

沒有鞭子的印第安納．瓊斯，

or, actually, with the whip.

其實有鞭子也不錯。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And I wanted it not just for myself but I wanted it for my students as well.

不只是為了我自己， 也是為了我的學生。

And so six years ago, I changed the direction of my career.

因此六年前，我轉行了。

At the time, I was working on "The Chess of Love,"

那時候我在編輯《棋之愛》，

the last important long poem of the European Middle Ages

最新發現的歐洲中古世紀長詩，

never to have been edited.

從未編輯過。

And it wasn't edited because it existed in only one manuscript

沒人編是因為它只存在一份手稿中，

which was so badly damaged during the firebombing of Dresden

這稿在二戰炮轟德勒斯登時 被嚴重損毀，

in World War II

that generations of scholars had pronounced it lost.

世代學者都聲稱稿已經不見了。

For five years, I had been working with an ultraviolet lamp

五年來，我一直靠著一盞紫外線燈

trying to recover traces of the writing

試圖還原書寫的字跡，

and I'd gone about as far as technology at the time

我做到當時科技能幫我的極限。

could actually take me.

And so I did what many people do.

因此後來我和大家做一樣的事。

I went online,

我上網，

and there I learned about

學到關於

how multispectral imaging had been used to recover two lost treatises

多光譜造像過去怎麼用來

復原希臘知名數學家 阿基米德的兩份論文，

of the famed Greek mathematician Archimedes

from a 13th-century palimpsest.

原稿寫在 13 世紀羊皮紙上。

A palimpsest is a manuscript which has been erased and overwritten.

羊皮紙這種手稿 會一直被清除、覆寫。

And so, out of the blue,

因此突然靈光一閃，

I decided to write to the lead imaging scientist

我決定寫封信

給那位負責阿基米德羊皮紙計畫的 首席影像科學家，

on the Archimedes palimpsest project,

Professor Roger Easton,

羅傑．伊斯頓教授，

with a plan and a plea.

信中附上計畫和請願。

And to my surprise, he actually wrote back.

讓我驚訝的是，他回我信了。

With his help, I was able to win a grant from the US government

因為他的幫忙， 我申請到美國政府補助，

to build a transportable, multispectral imaging lab,

建造一個可移動的 多光譜造像實驗室。

And with this lab, I transformed what was a charred and faded mess

有了這個實驗室， 我得以將焦黑、褪色的東西，

into a new medieval classic.

轉變為嶄新的中古世紀經典。

So how does multispectral imaging actually work?

那到底多光譜造像要怎麼做？

Well, the idea behind multispectral imaging

首先，多光譜造像背後的想法

is something that anyone who is familiar with infrared night vision goggles

是每個戴過紅外線夜視鏡的人 都熟悉的原理，

will immediately appreciate:

馬上就能理解：

that what we can see in the visible spectrum of light

我們在可見光譜中可以看到的

is only a tiny fraction of what's actually there.

只是實景的一小部分。

The same is true with invisible writing.

看不見的筆跡也一樣。

Our system uses 12 wavelengths of light

我們的機器使用 12 道光波長，

between the ultraviolet and the infrared,

介於紫外線和紅外線之間，

and these are shown down onto the manuscript from above

這些光從上方這些 LED 燈 照在手稿上，

from banks of LEDs,

and another multispectral light source

另一個多光譜光源

which comes up through the individual leaves of the manuscript.

從每張手稿下朝上照射出。

Up to 35 images per sequence per leaf are imaged this way

每次每頁最多可連續 造出 35 張影像，

using a high-powered digital camera equipped with a lens

運用高功率數位相機

which is made out of quartz.

和一顆用石英做的鏡頭，

There are about five of these in the world.

全世界大概有五顆。

And once we capture these images,

只要我們捕捉到影像，

we feed them through statistical algorithms

就透過統計演算法，

to further enhance and clarify them,

進一步強化、辨析，

using software which was originally designed for satellite images

搭配的軟體是 原先設計給衛星影像、

and used by people like geospatial scientists

地理空間科學家

and the CIA.

和中央情報局使用的。

The results can be spectacular.

結果可能非常驚人。

You may already have heard of what's been done

也許你聽過先例

for the Dead Sea Scrolls,

《死海古卷》的成果，

which are slowly gelatinizing.

現在這卷書快糊掉了。

Using infrared, we've been able to read even the darkest corners

透過紅外線，我們甚至可以看清

《死海古卷》最不清楚的角落。

of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

You may not be aware, however,

不過你可能會注意到

of other Biblical texts that are in jeopardy.

其它聖經文本也處於險境。

Here, for example, is a leaf from a manuscript

例如這一頁手稿，

that we imaged,

我們已經造像，

which is perhaps the most valuable Christian Bible in the world.

這大概是世界上最珍貴的聖經。

The Codex Vercellensis is the oldest translation of the Gospels into Latin,

《韋爾切利拉丁抄本》是世界上最早 譯為拉丁文的福音書，

and it dates from the first half of the fourth century.

可追溯到四世紀上半葉。

This is the closest we can come

這本聖經的年代是最接近

to the Bible at the time of the foundation of Christendom

君士坦丁大帝以基督教立國，

under Emperor Constantine,

and at the time also of the Council of Nicaea,

以及尼西亞會議

when the basic creed of Christianity was being agreed upon.

對基督教基本教義 取得一致意見的時期。

This manuscript, unfortunately, has been very badly damaged,

很不幸這份抄本已嚴重受損，

and it's damaged because for centuries

而且受損是因為幾世紀以來，

it had been used and handled

世代人們手持著它

in swearing in ceremonies in the church.

在教堂儀式中宣誓。

In fact, that purple splotch that you see in the upper left hand corner

其實，你在左上角看到的 這塊紫色污點

is Aspergillus, which is a fungus

是麴菌，這種真菌

which originates in the unwashed hands

來自肺結核患者未洗淨的雙手。

of a person with tuberculosis.

Our imaging has enabled me to make the first transcription

我們造的影像， 讓我可以為此抄本製作出

of this manuscript in 250 years.

250 年來第一份副本。

Having a lab that can travel to collections where it's needed, however,

有一間能移動到文物收藏處的實驗室

is only part of the solution.

其實只是解決方法的一部分。

The technology is expensive and very rare,

這項科技昂貴又稀有，

and the imaging and image processing skills are esoteric.

造像和影像的製成技術 也鮮為人知。

That means that mounting recoveries

這代表了要復原文物

is beyond the reach of most researchers and all but the wealthiest institutions.

是大多數學者辦不到的， 只有有錢機構能做到。

That's why I founded the Lazarus Project,

這就是為什麼我籌備拉撒路計畫， （註：起死回生之意）

a not-for-profit initiative

這項非營利倡議

to bring multispectral imaging to individual researchers

將多光譜造像帶給個別的研究員

and smaller institutions at little or no cost whatsoever.

以及小型機構， 只需少許費用或根本不要錢。

Over the past five years,

過去五年來，

our team of imaging scientists, scholars and students

我的團隊， 包含造像科學家、學者和學生，

has travelled to seven different countries

前往七個國家

and have recovered some of the world's most valuable damaged manuscripts,

復原了幾件世界極珍貴的受損手搞，

included the Vercelli Book, which is the oldest book of English,

包含《韋爾切利手抄本》， 最古老的英文書；

the Black Book of Carmarthen, the oldest book of Welsh,

《卡馬森的黑皮書》， 最古老的威爾斯文書；

and some of the most valuable earliest Gospels

以及幾件最珍貴古老的福音書，

located in what is now the former Soviet Georgia.

藏身在前蘇聯的喬治亞。

So, spectral imaging can recover lost texts.

因此多光譜造像 可以復原很多遺失的文字。

More subtly, though, it can recover a second story behind every object,

而且更巧妙的是能夠復原 隱身在每個文物背後的第二個故事，

the story of how, when and by whom a text was created,

關於文本創作的原因、 時間和人物的故事，

and, sometimes, what the author was thinking at the time he wrote.

有時候還能復原 作者書寫時的想法。

Take, for example, a draft of the Declaration of Independence

例如，這份《美國獨立宣言》草稿

written in Thomas Jefferson's own hand,

由湯瑪斯．傑佛遜親手寫下，

which some colleagues of mine imaged a few years ago

這是由我的幾位同事數年前

at the Library of Congress.

在國會圖書館造的像。

Curators had noticed that one word throughout

館長發現有一個字在整篇裡

had been scratched out and overwritten.

不斷被擦去又覆寫。

The word overwritten was "citizens."

這個被覆寫的字是「公民」。

Perhaps you can guess what the word underneath was.

也許你能猜出底下原本的字。

"Subjects."

「臣民」。

There, ladies and gentlemen, is American democracy

各位女士、先生，美國的民主

evolving under the hand of Thomas Jefferson.

在湯瑪斯．傑佛遜之手下展開了。

Or consider the 1491 Martellus Map,

或是想想 1491 年馬提勒斯的地圖，

which we imaged at Yale's Beinecke Library.

我們在耶魯 拜內克古籍善本圖書館造了像。

This was the map that Columbus likely consulted

當年哥倫布就是先查了這份地圖，

before he traveled to the New World

才到新世界航行，

and which gave him his idea of what Asia looked like

這份地圖帶給他對亞洲的印象，

and where Japan was located.

以及日本所在位置的概念。

The problem with this map is that its inks and pigments

這地圖的問題在於上面的墨料

had so degraded over time

經年累月褪色得嚴重，

that this large, nearly seven-foot map,

以至於這張大約七呎的地圖

made the world look like a giant desert.

讓世界看起來像巨大的沙漠。

Until now, we had very little idea, detailed idea, that is,

直到現在， 我們對它的細節仍所知甚少，

of what Columbus knew of the world

不了解哥倫布所知的世界

and how world cultures were represented.

以及當時的世界文化如何被展現。

The main legend of the map was entirely illegible under normal light.

地圖上的說明在一般燈光下 完全看不見。

Ultraviolet did very little for it.

紫外線的幫助非常有限。

Multispectral gave us everything.

多光譜帶給我們完整的面貌。

In Asia, we learned of monsters with ears so long

在亞洲，我們看到怪獸 有非常長的耳朵，

that they could cover the creature's entire body.

可以覆蓋自己的全身。

In Africa, about a snake who could cause the ground to smoke.

在非洲，有條蛇可以讓土地冒煙。

Like starlight, which can convey images

就像星光可以傳達出

of the way the Universe looked in the distant past,

遠古時期的宇宙影像一樣，

so multispectral light can take us back to the first stuttering moments

多光譜燈光也能帶我們回到 文物被創造之際，

of an object's creation.

作者躊躇不已的第一現場。

Through this lens, we witness the mistakes, the changes of mind,

透過這個鏡頭，我們目睹了 錯誤、改變心意、

the naïvetés, the uncensored thoughts,

天真、未拘束的想法，

the imperfections of the human imagination

人類想像力的不完美

that allow these hallowed objects and their authors

允許這些神聖的文物和創作者

to become more real,

變得更真實，

that make history closer to us.

讓歷史更接近我們。

What about the future?

那麼未來呢？

There's so much of the past,

過去如此長遠，

and so few people with the skills to rescue it

很少人有這些技術

before these objects disappear forever.

趕在這些文物消逝之前 拯救過往。

That's why I have begun to teach this new hybrid discipline

這也是為什麼我開始教 這項新的混合學科，

that I call "textual science."

我稱為「原文科學」。

Textual science is a marriage

原文科學是場婚姻，結合

of the traditional skills of a literary scholar --

文學學者的傳統技術──

the ability to read old languages and old handwriting,

閱讀古語和古文的能力，

the knowledge of how texts are made

了解原文如何製成的知識，

in order to be able to place and date them --

以此來追溯時地──

with new techniques like imaging science,

以及新技術，像是造像科學、

the chemistry of inks and pigments,

墨料科學、

computer-aided optical character recognition.

電腦輔助的光學字元辨識。

Last year, a student in my class,

去年，我班上的一位學生，

a freshman,

大一生，

with a background in Latin and Greek,

有拉丁和希臘血統，

was image-processing a palimpsest

他為一張羊皮紙造影，

that we had photographed at a famous library in Rome.

那是我們在羅馬的知名博物館 照相的羊皮紙。

As he worked, tiny Greek writing began to appear from behind the text.

經過他努力後，小小的希臘文筆跡 開始顯現在文字背後。

Everyone gathered around,

大家靠過去看，

and he read a line from a lost work

他唸了一行

of the Greek comic dramatist Menander.

希臘喜劇家米南德遺失的作品。

This was the first time in well over a thousand years

這是上千年來第一次，

that those words had been pronounced aloud.

那些文字被大聲朗誦出。

In that moment, he became a scholar.

在那一刻，他成為了學者。

Ladies and gentlemen, that is the future of the past.

各位女士、先生， 這是過去的未來。

Thank you very much.

非常謝謝大家。

(Applause)

（掌聲）