第17章 最不可思議的事 The Most Incredible Thing(第2/9 頁)

械物件 —— 它充滿生命活力並且抓住了所有看到它的人的想象力。

the modest craftsman makes a clock that is more than a mechanical thing—it pulses with life and captures the imagination of all who see it.

他製作的作品將世俗與神聖、異教與基督教融合在一起：它把先知和智者、僧侶和繆斯聚集在一起。

the work he produces mingles the secular with the sacred and the pagan with the christian: it brings together prophets and wise men, monks and muses.

最重要的是，它成為了第二次創造，一個有自己生命甚至某種程度上不朽的作品。

Above all, it bees a second creation, a work with a life of its own and even a degree of immortality.

時鐘以及裡面的人物，就像安徒生同名故事中的普緒克雕像一樣，不懼毀滅，以人類無法做到的方式長存。在這裡，如同在其他故事中一樣，美超越了腐朽與毀滅。

the clock and the figures in it, like the statue of psyche in Andersen’s story of that name, defy destruction and live on in a way that humans cannot. here, as in other tales, beauty transcends decay and destruction.

---

任何人只要能做出最不可思議的事，就能娶到公主並得到半個王國。

whosoever could do the most incredible thing was to have the King’s daughter and half of his kingdom.

年輕人，是的，還有老年人，都絞盡腦汁、竭盡全力想要獲勝。

the young men, yes, and the old ones too, bent their heads, their muscles, and their hearts upon winning.

為了做出他們認為最不可思議的事，兩個人把自己撐死了，還有一個人酗酒而死。

to do what they thought was the most incredible thing, two ate themselves to death, and one died of overdrinking.

甚至街上的男孩們都練習往自己背上吐痰，他們認為這是任何人能做的最不可思議的事。

Even the boys in the street practiced spitting on their own backs, which they supposed was the most incredible thing anyone could