《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 54 男孩阅读英国人的书

They were strange books. They spoke¹ about mercury, salt, dragons, and kings, and he didn't understand any of it.

那些书很奇特，讲的都是关于汞、盐、龙和王者什么的，男孩根本看不懂。

But there was one idea that seemed to repeat itself throughout all the books: all things are the manifestation² of one thing only.

尽管如此，他发现，似乎所有书里都在重复着一种观念：万物皆为一物的表现。

In one of the books he learned that the most important text in the literature of alchemy contained only a few lines, and had been inscribed³ on the surface of an emerald.

在其中一本书里，男孩读到有关炼金术最重要的文字，只有寥寥几行，据说写在一块普通的翡翠板上。

"It's the Emerald Tablet," said the Englishman, proud that he might teach something to the boy.

“那就是翡翠板。”英国人说，能教给男孩一些东西令他感到骄傲。

"Well, then, why do we need all these books?" the boy asked.

“那还要这么多书干吗？”

"So that we can understand those few lines," the Englishman answered, without appearing really to believe what he had said.

“为了理解那几行文字。”英国人说，但对于自己的回答并不十分有把握。

The book that most interested the boy told the stories of the famous alchemists.

有一本书是男孩最感兴趣的，讲的是著名炼金术士们的故事。

They were men who had dedicated⁴ their entire lives to the purification of metals in their laboratories;

他们一辈子都在实验室里提炼金属。

they believed that, if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the Soul of the World.

他们相信，一种金属经过成年累月的冶炼，最后就会摆脱自身固有的全部特性，只剩下世界之魂。

This Soul of the World allowed them to understand anything on the face of the earth, because it was the language with which all things communicated.

这唯一剩下的东西，可以使炼金术士理解世上的一切，因为它是万物用以相互沟通的方式。

They called that discovery the Master Work—it was part liquid and part solid.

炼金术士把这种东西称作元精，它由液体和固体构成。

"Can't you just observe men and omens⁵ in order to understand the language?" the boy asked.

“难道通过观察人类和所有的预兆，还不足以发现万物精华吗？”男孩问道。

"You have a mania⁶ for simplifying everything," answered the Englishman, irritated.

“你有一种把一切东西都简单化的癖好。”英国人有些恼火地回答，

"Alchemy is a serious discipline. Every step has to be followed exactly as it was followed by the masters."

“炼金术是一项严肃的工作，每一个步骤都必须严格地按照师父所教的方法进行。”

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

3 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

5 omens   

n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The omens for the game are still not propitious. 这场比赛仍不被看好。 来自辞典例句
• Such omens betide no good. 这种征兆预示情况不妙。 来自辞典例句

6 mania   

n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好

参考例句：

• Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
• Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。