诗翁彼豆故事集 第30期:三兄弟的传说(7)

 　　Godelot is known to have perished in his own cellar, where he was locked by his mad son, Hereward. 据说戈德洛特死在了自己的牢房里，他是被他的疯儿子赫瑞沃德关在那里的。

　　We must assume that Hereward took his father's wand, or the latter would have been able to escape, but what Hereward did with the wand after that we cannot be sure. 我们只能断言赫瑞沃德拿走了父亲的魔杖，不然戈德洛特肯定能够逃脱，但赫瑞沃德把那根魔杖怎么样了，我们就不知道了。
　　All that is certain is that a wand called “the Eldrun (Note 8: Also an old name for “elder” ) Wand” by its owner, Barnabas Deverill, appeared in the early eighteenth century, and that Deverill used it to carve himself out a reputation as a fearsome warlock, until his reign 1 of terror was ended by the equally notorious Loxias, who took the wand, rechristened it “the Deathstick”, and used it to lay waste to anyone who displeased 2 him. 只有一点可以确定，在十八世纪早期出现了一根魔杖，它的主人巴拿巴·德夫里尔称它为“老郎头（注释八：接骨木的另一个古名。）魔杖”，并用它为自己赢得了“可怖男巫”的名声。后来，同样臭名昭著的洛希亚斯夺走了魔杖，结束了巴拿巴的恐怖统治，并给魔杖重新取名为“死亡棒”，用它干掉了所有惹他生气的人。
　　It is difficult to trace the subsequent history of Loxias's wand, as many claimed to have finished him off, including his own mother. 洛希亚斯的魔杖后来的历史很难查考，因为许多人都声称它结果了他的性命，包括他的亲生母亲。
　　What must strike any intelligent witch or wizard on studying the so-called history of the Elder Wand is that every man who claims to have owned it (Note 9: No witch has ever claimed to own the Elder Wand. Make of that what you will. ) has insisted that it is “unbeatable”, when the known facts of its passage through many owners' hands demonstrate that not only has it been beaten hundreds of times, but that it also attracts trouble as Grumble 3 the Grubby Goat attracted flies. 任何一位研究所谓“老魔杖”历史的、有智慧的巫师都会注意到，每一个声称拥有它的人（注释9：还没有一位女巫师声称拥有过这根魔杖。这说明什么，请自己推断吧。）都一口咬定它是“不可战胜的”，然而，它历经多个主人之手的事实，却说明它不仅被打败成千上百次，而且还像脏山羊克朗布招惹苍蝇一样招惹麻烦。
　　Ultimately, the quest for the Elder Wand merely supports an observation I have had occasion to make many times over the course of my long life: that humans have a knack 4 of choosing precisely 5 those things that are worst for them. 最后还有一点，这种对老魔杖的追求，恰好支持了我在漫长的一生中许多次发表的一个观点：人类专爱挑选对他们最为不利的东西。
　　But which of us would have shown the wisdom of the third brother, if offered the pick of Death's gifts? 但是，如果让我们挑选死神的礼物，谁又能表现出老三的睿智呢？
　　Wizards and Muggles alike are imbued 6 with a lust 7 for power; how many would resist “the Wand of Destiny”? 不管是巫师还是麻瓜，内心都充满对权力的渴望。有多少人能够拒绝“命运杖”呢？
　　Which human being, having lost someone they loved, could withstand the temptation of the Resurrection Stone? 又有哪一个痛失所爱的人能抵抗复活石的诱惑呢？
　　Even I, Albus Dumbledore, would find it easiest to refuse the Invisibility Cloak; which only goes to show that, clever as I am, I remain just as big a fool as anyone else. 就连我，阿不思·邓布利多，也会发现隐形衣最容易拒绝。这只能表明，聪明如我，其实也像别人一样，是一个大傻瓜。