纪录片《文明》 第116期 信仰之眼（15）

And it was a message that basically says

简单来说这是在告诉世人

that you should take back there into the outside world

你应该回到那外面的世界

the state of purity that you've reached through prayer.

带着通过祈祷所达到的纯粹境界

It's as if there's a written programme here,

这一切好似一份书面规划

telling you how to experience the building and how to look at it.

讲解着如何体验并观赏这栋建筑

But for those who worshipped and still worship here,

然而这些文字对于曾经以及现在的崇拜者来说

there's another way of reading this writing.

有其他解读的方式

Placed high above the prayer hall,

在祷告殿上高高放置的

the script becomes almost illegible¹.

是字迹十分难以辨认的圣言脚本

When it was first painted,

它刚被写出来时

many of the faithful would have been illiterate².

多数信众还并不识字

And, even for those who could read,

即使是识字的人

the clarity of the message

也无法很好理解

is obscured in the rhythm and patterns of the text.

其韵律与结构中隐含的条理

This very magnificent, elaborate script is quite complex.

这份杰出而又详尽的圣言十分复杂

It's not always easy to read

读起来并不轻松

and I don't think it was meant to be read.

我也不认为它应被用来读

Sometimes it's there also as a form of blessing³.

有时它只是赐福的一种形式

And, just by looking at it,

只是看着它

you can absorb some of that blessing.

你就能感受到那种祝福

What we have to remember is that writing can work in other ways.

我们要记住的是 文字也可以有其他作用

Here, we are seeing God

我们在这里看见的神

represented in visual form

是通过视觉呈现的

but not as human.

但不是人形

Here, God is displayed as his word in the Koran.

这里 神从《古兰经》的经文中现身

It's God in the art of writing.

这是文字艺术表现出的神

Now, Islam is by no means the only religion to use writing

伊斯兰教并不是唯一一种

as a way to negotiate the problem of how you represent the divine.

利用文字传达神意的宗教

The Christian⁴ gospels, for example,

比如 基督教福音书

can claim that God is the word.

就主张神即是真言启示

But in Islam, more than anywhere else,

但伊斯兰教的特别之处在于

we see the image becoming the word,

我们能看见图像转化为文字

and the word becoming the image.

也能看见文字转化为图像

1 illegible   

adj.难以辨认的，字迹模糊的

参考例句：

• It is impossible to deliver this letter because the address is illegible.由于地址字迹不清，致使信件无法投递。
• Can you see what this note says—his writing is almost illegible!你能看出这个便条上写些什么吗？他的笔迹几乎无法辨认。

2 illiterate   

adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲

参考例句：

• There are still many illiterate people in our country.在我国还有许多文盲。
• I was an illiterate in the old society,but now I can read.我这个旧社会的文盲，今天也认字了。

3 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。