纪录片《文明》 第117期 信仰之眼（16）

In the face of all the debates and prohibitions² on images,

面对各种关于图像的争论和封禁

Islamic calligraphy³ evolved to

伊斯兰书法逐渐演化

redefine what an image of God could be.

重新定义了神的形象

No single religion has ever managed completely to resolve

没有任何一种宗教曾完全解决

the tension between word and image,

文字与图像之间的矛盾

but there are some moments when it might just seem possible.

但有些时候 这似乎是可能的

These wonderfully appealing images were made over 500 years ago

这些惊艳的图案绘于五百多年前

and they're from the pages of a Jewish Bible.

出自一本犹太圣经

What's so remarkable⁴ is that they dance around a text

引人注目的是 被它们环绕的段落

that is dense⁵ with warnings about idols⁶ and images.

写满了对神像和图案的警告

And, yet, they flout⁷ them in the most charming and beautiful way.

然而 它们以最美丽迷人的方式无视了它们

I've got this extraordinary book

我把这本非凡的书

open on the page of the second commandment,

翻到了第二戒律

the one that prohibits idols.

这里说要禁止神像

Now, there have been centuries of debate and disagreement

关于这禁令意义的争论

about what that prohibition¹ actually meant.

已经持续了几个世纪

But, in this case,

不过 在这种情况下

unless there's an appallingly⁸ flagrant contradiction going on,

除非矛盾明显激化

it is not taken to forbid a quite extravagant⁹ set of images,

这些奢华的图像是不会被禁的

even on the same opening as the second commandment,

甚至在第二戒律的同一页面

you get these two little chaps, little big bums¹⁰ there.

你也能看到这样两个光着屁股的小伙子

And, throughout the book, you find really lavish¹¹ pictures.

在整本书里你都能看见华丽的图画

Here is a full page of the menorah.

这里画着一整页的光明节灯台

And the rather lovely narrative¹² scenes,

还有颇为美丽的叙事场景

like Jonah and his encounter with the whale.

比如约拿和鲸鱼的故事

But what makes the Bible so precious

不过 让这本圣经如此珍贵的原因

is that it's a testament¹³

是因为它见证了

to a brief but extraordinary moment in Spanish history

西班牙一段短暂却非凡的历史

when Muslim, Christian¹⁴, and Jewish traditions came together

那时 穆斯林 基督徒和犹太教徒的信仰

in a really productive and imaginative way.

以一种创新而有效的方式融合到了一起

1 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

2 prohibitions   

禁令，禁律( prohibition的名词复数 )； 禁酒； 禁例

参考例句：

• Nowadays NO PARKING is the most ubiquitous of prohibitions. 今天，“NO PARKING”（禁止停车），几乎成了到处可见的禁止用语了。
• Inappropriate, excessive or capricious administration of aversive stimulation has led to scandals, lawsuits and prohibitions. 不恰当的、过度的或随意滥用厌恶性刺激会引起人们的反感、控告与抵制。

3 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

5 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

6 idols   

偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像

参考例句：

• The genii will give evidence against those who have worshipped idols. 魔怪将提供证据来反对那些崇拜偶像的人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Teenagers are very sequacious and they often emulate the behavior of their idols. 青少年非常盲从，经常模仿他们的偶像的行为。

7 flout   

v./n.嘲弄，愚弄，轻视

参考例句：

• Parents who flout Family Court orders may be named in the media in Australia.在澳洲父母亲若是藐视家庭法庭的裁定可能在媒体上被公布姓名。
• The foolish boy flouted his mother's advice.这个愚蠢的孩子轻视他母亲的劝告。

8 appallingly   

毛骨悚然地

参考例句：

• His tradecraft was appallingly reckless. 他的经营轻率得令人吃惊。
• Another damning statistic for South Africa is its appallingly high murder rate. 南非还有一项糟糕的统计，表明它还有着令人毛骨悚然的高谋杀率。

9 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

10 bums   

n. 游荡者，流浪汉，懒鬼，闹饮，屁股 adj. 没有价值的，不灵光的，不合理的 vt. 令人失望，乞讨 vi. 混日子，以乞讨为生

参考例句：

• The other guys are considered'sick" or "bums". 其他的人则被看成是“病态”或“废物”。
• You'll never amount to anything, you good-for-nothing bums! 这班没出息的东西，一辈子也不会成器。

11 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

12 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

13 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

14 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。