2021年经济学人 书籍的历史——通往所有知识的钥匙（1）

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The History of Books - Keys to all knowledge

书籍的历史——通往所有知识的钥匙

Index, A History of the. By Dennis Duncan.

《索引的历史》，作者：丹尼斯·邓肯。

Producing an index is like squeezing “a grape in a winepress”, wrote a 19th-century French scholar, “so that not even the tiniest drop of precious juice has been allowed to escape”.

创作一个索引就像“用葡萄榨酒机榨一颗葡萄”，一位19世纪的法国学者写道，“这样哪怕是一滴珍贵的汁水也不会外溢”。

Reading an index is more like wine-tasting.

阅读索引更像是在品酒。

Take the smallest sip¹ and you can guess the vintage.

喝一小口，你就能猜出年份。

Try this one: “gluttony/God/grief/heaven/hell/humanity/Seneca/sex/sin”.

试试这个：“暴食/上帝/悲痛/天堂/地狱/人性/塞内加/性/罪恶”。

It’s a heady combination: ambrosial² and intellectual; sensual with a bitter aftertaste.

这是一个令人陶醉的组合：美味与智慧；感官上带有苦涩的余味。

It is from St Augustine’s “Confessions”.

它出自圣奥古斯丁的《忏悔录》。

Or try a slug of this: “shame/shameless/shamrock/shit/shite/shithouse”.

或者尝一大口这个：“耻辱/无耻/三叶草/屎/粪便/茅房”。

That earthy flavour is from James Joyce.

这种泥土味道来自詹姆斯·乔伊斯。

How about “pie/poverty/power/prison/pudding(see ‘Christmas Dinner’)/ pugilist”?

那么“派/贫穷/权力/监狱/布丁(见《圣诞晚餐》)/拳击手”怎么样？

Full-bodied, with a hint of festive³ spice: Dickens, naturally.

酒体醇厚，带有一丝节日的气息：自然是狄更斯。

Indexes are to books as menus are to meals: often the best bit.

索引之于书籍就像菜单之于餐饮：它们通常是最好的部分。

The index should be prosaic⁴ — it is, after all, a mere⁵ tool — but it can read like poetry.

索引应该是平淡无奇的——毕竟，它只是一个工具——但它读起来却可以像诗歌一样。

Even John Betjeman, a bard⁶ of Englishness, might struggle to match “Abingdon/al-Qaeda/Angola/Ascot/Asda”.

即使是英国诗人约翰·贝杰曼可能也难以与“阿宾顿/基地/安戈尔/阿斯科特/阿斯达”相匹敌。

Indexes are a solution, but they are also a puzzle.

索引是一种解决方案，但它们也是一个谜。

Take that last one.

就拿最后一个来说。

It is from a biography of John le Carré — and who wouldn’t wonder, Smiley-like, how those entries all join up?

它出自约翰·勒·卡雷的传记——谁不会像斯迈利一样想知道，这些词目是如何结合在一起的呢？

1 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

2 ambrosial   

adj.美味的

参考例句：

• The ambrosial aroma of the roast whetted our appetites.烤肉的美味香气刺激了我们的食欲。
• Are you nostrils a quiver and tingling as well at that delicate,luscious ambrosial smell?您是否感到香气扑鼻、熏人欲醉、垂涎欲滴？

3 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

4 prosaic   

adj.单调的，无趣的

参考例句：

• The truth is more prosaic.真相更加乏味。
• It was a prosaic description of the scene.这是对场景没有想象力的一个描述。

5 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

6 bard   

n.吟游诗人

参考例句：

• I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神！
• I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。