纪录片《文明》 第120期 信仰之眼（19）

Lots of different kinds of iconoclasm have gone on here.

这里发生过多次不同形式的圣像破坏活动

The original stained-glass windows are one obvious casualty.

原先的彩色玻璃窗就遭受了明显的破坏

But they've also gone for the figures - of saints, of kings

但破坏的对象也包括圣人及国王的雕像

and the scenes from the life of the Virgin¹.

以及圣母玛利亚生活场景的雕塑

Sometimes the whole sculpture's just been removed,

有时整座雕像都被移除了

but quite often what they've done is they've just taken away

但更多时候他们所做的是把头和手拆掉

the head and the hands, leaving the body in place.

而把雕像的肢体留在原处

It's as if they were aiming to destroy those bits of

就好像他们是为了要摧毁掉那些

the sculpture that gave it its most living power,

最能赋予雕像活力的元素

the bits that you interacted with.

那些你能与之互动的元素

The point is, I think, that this isn't just random² vandalism,

我认为 这不仅仅是随意的毁坏行为

this is quite focused, even thoughtful destruction.

这是重点突出的 甚至深思熟虑的破坏

Iconoclasm is something we often deplore³,

圣像破坏是我们经常会谴责的行为

but there is another way of looking at it.

但是可以用一种不同的方式来看待它

Those figures minus heads and minus hands

这些失去头部和双手的雕像

have not been made invisible.

并未因此而消失不见

It's almost as if they've been turned

它们就好像被转换成了

into a different sort of image in their own right.

另一类具备独特价值的形象

An artful narrative⁴ of religious conflict.

这是对宗教冲突的一种巧妙解读

But there are more and perhaps unintended consequences

但是这类巧妙破坏也会引发出更多的

to such artful destruction.

或许是意想不到的后果

Liberated⁵, you might almost say,

你也可以说 这里摆脱了

from the figures of saints and prophets that once crowded the walls

那些围在墙壁四周的圣人和先知的雕像

and with its clear stainless⁶ windows,

这些透明的无色窗户

the Lady Chapel⁷ has been transformed,

使圣母堂发生了转变

giving us another version of beauty.

向我们展示出另一种美

This is a tremendously aesthetically⁸ pleasing space.

这是一个非常给人美之享受的空间

It's light and airy

它明亮而空灵

and a marvellous mixture of austerity and decoration.

完美地融合了朴素与华丽

And we owe that to the iconoclasts⁹.

而这都归功于圣像破坏

This fine balance between destruction

这毁灭与创造之间的平衡

and creation is often overlooked,

经常被人们所忽视

but it's what makes iconoclasm so interesting, so paradoxical.

但正是它使得圣像破坏显得如此有趣和矛盾

And it gets yet more intriguing¹⁰

当我们观察宗教战争中的其他场景时

when we look at other theatres of religious war.

圣像破坏就变得更为吸引人了

1 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

2 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

3 deplore   

vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾

参考例句：

• I deplore what has happened.我为所发生的事深感愤慨。
• There are many of us who deplore this lack of responsibility.我们中有许多人谴责这种不负责任的做法。

4 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。

5 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

6 stainless   

adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的

参考例句：

• I have a set of stainless knives and forks.我有一套不锈钢刀叉。
• Before the recent political scandal,her reputation had been stainless.在最近的政治丑闻之前，她的名声是无懈可击的。

7 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

8 aesthetically   

adv.美地，艺术地

参考例句：

• Segmental construction contributes toward aesthetically pleasing structures in many different sites. 对于许多不同的现场条件，分段施工都能提供美观，颇有魄力的桥型结构。
• All isolation techniques may be aesthetically unacceptable or even dirty. 所有的隔离方法都有可能在美观方面使人难以接受，或甚至是肮脏的。

9 iconoclasts   

n.攻击传统观念的人( iconoclast的名词复数 )；反对崇拜圣像者

参考例句：

• Holistic medicine, organic farming or performance art are the sorts of fields these iconoclasts enjoy. 整体医疗、有机农业和艺术表演就是爱打破常规的水瓶座人喜欢的行业。 来自互联网

10 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》