纪录片《文明》 第93期 画卷天堂（17）

On the one hand, we're immersed in the here and now.

而另一方面 我们沉浸在这片土地这个时空

We have no choice. We go from minute to minute,

别无选择 我们按部就班

hour to hour, task to task. It's our daily routine.

循规蹈矩 溺于琐事 安于故俗

But, then, something else happens.

但突然之间 起了变化

We stop and we contemplate¹ and we look at the whole picture,

我们止步沉思 我们注视着整个图景

like that one bird, perching on that naked, leafless branch.

仿佛这只栖于萧条树枝上的鸟儿

And everything, somehow, is pulled together.

万事万物间仿佛忽然有了联系

The whole of our life is laid out in front of us, and, with it,

人生种种都浮现在眼前 由此而上

the entirety of human society.

更是得以一窥世间百态

And we're very, very lucky.

我们真是无比幸运

It all adds up, the whole human condition,

全体人类的境况 与我们身在其中

and our particular, special, little place inside it.

那独特微小的地位 全都串联在了一起

Bruegel was an encyclopaedist of the human comedy,

勃鲁盖尔是人类喜剧百科全书的撰写者

and, as we cross the frozen pond, we find, for me,

在我们穿过这片冰冻的池塘时 我找到了

one of the most unforgettable characters in all of European art.

所有欧洲艺术作品中 最令我难忘的人物形象

A tiny, stooped figure, an old woman,

一个躬身的微小身影 一位老妇

bent² with the burden of branches,

背负着沉重的树枝

meant for fuel or thatching,

向她家中的冬日暖炉蹒跚而去

plodding³ home to her winter hearth⁴,

那树枝或是填了炉灶 或是补了漏屋

the prospect⁵ of which makes that burden just about bearable.

心有期盼 连沉重的柴枝似乎也轻盈了起来

It's a lesson in the perseverance⁶ of the poor.

她教会了我 穷人的隐忍与坚持

For what alternative does she really have?

毕竟她除了坚忍 别无选择

Through these landscape paintings, what Bruegel is really doing

通过这些风景画 勃鲁盖尔其实是想

is offering us a profound glimpse not into the natural world,

让我们深刻地感知到人类的境况

but into the human condition.

而非窥视大自然的风景

Bruegel died in 1569, spared the worst of a war

勃鲁盖尔逝于1569年 躲过了荷兰

for religious and local liberty in the Netherlands.

因信仰和地方独立所起战乱最惨烈的日子

He couldn't know it would last for 80 years.

他从没料到 这一战就是八十年

But he evidently feared the worst.

但他阴差阳错地预见到了最糟的情况

A painting pretending to be a Biblical massacre⁷ of the innocents

一幅描绘圣经中残杀无辜的画作

is done in contemporary dress,

画中人却穿上了当代的衣服

with a documentary awareness⁸

这正是西班牙军队到来后

of what was in store for those countryfolk

等待着这些村民的悲惨下场的

when Spanish troops arrived.

真实写照

1 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

2 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

3 plodding   

a.proceeding in a slow or dull way

参考例句：

• They're still plodding along with their investigation. 他们仍然在不厌其烦地进行调查。
• He is plodding on with negotiations. 他正缓慢艰难地进行着谈判。

4 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

5 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

6 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

7 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

8 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。