2012年2月9日星期四

古德明: 草圖未就、豔福桃花




問:查字典,so much as是「甚至於」,但以下一句的下半截,我還是讀不懂,先生可以解釋一下嗎?──There is not in the world so toilsome a trade as the pursuit of fame; life concludes before you have so much as sketched your work

答:So much as三字,不是一固定詞語,意思要看上下文而定。Not so much aswithout so much as則是「連……都沒有」的意思,例如:(1He received the news of his mother's death without so much as raising an eyebrow(他接到母親去世的消息,眉毛都不動一下)。(2He did not so much as say hello when I greeted him(我跟他打招呼,他卻連「喂」一聲都不說)。

讀者示下那一句,before you have so much as意思等於when you have not so much as(你連……都未做好)。全句是說:「世上沒有什麼工作,比追求虛名更加辛苦;你連草圖都未畫好,生命已到了盡頭。」

問:「飛來豔福」和「桃花劫」英文怎樣翻譯呢?

答:「豔」和「桃花」,竊以為可譯作romantic relationship(浪漫關係)和romantic experience(浪漫經歷)。To be blessed with an unexpected romantic relationship就是「飛來豔福」,a romantic experience with disastrous consequences則是「桃花劫」,例如:(1Blessed with an unexpected romantic relationship, he was everyone's envy(他豔福飛來,人人羨慕)。(2The soothsayer told him that he was to have a romantic experience with disastrous consequences(占卜者說他會遭桃花劫)。