Rigorists

We saw reindeer

browsing,a friend who’d been in Lapland, said:

finding their own food; they are adapted

to scant reino

or pasture, yet they can run eleven                                 5

miles in fifty minutes; the feet spread when

 

the snow is soft,

and act as snowshoes. They are rigorists,

however handsomely cutwork artists

 

of Lapland and                                                         10

Siberia elaborate the trace

or saddle-girth with saw-tooth leather lace.

One looked at us

With its firm face part brown, part white,a queen

of alpine flowers. Santa Claus’ reindeer, seen          15

 

at last, had grey-

brown fur, with a neck like edelweiss or

Lion’s foot,leontopodium more

 

exactly.and

this candelabrum-headed omament                           20

for a place where ornaments are scarce, set

 

to Alaska,

was a gift preventing the extinction

of the Esquimo. The battle was won

 

      by a quiet man,                                                        25

Sheldon Jackson, evangel to that race

Whose reprieve he read in the reindeer’s face.


  Annotation

 

 

 Rigorists:

此字由rigor演變而來,為凜烈,嚴酷之意。其形容詞rigorous時常用來描述艱難,嚴厲的氣候。Rigorist是指能在嚴酷天候下生存的動物。本文中所指的是馴鹿reindeer

1-2

We saw reindeer browsing:我們看到馴鹿吃嫩草。Browsing是吃樹葉嫩枝。reindeer:生長於極帶,歐洲北部及格陵蘭的大型鹿,兩性均有枝狀角,可畜養。

2

a friend……Lapland, said:一位曾到過拉布蘭的朋友說道。本句解釋引號內的話是誰說的。Lapland:拉布蘭,北歐地名,包括挪威、瑞典、芬蘭之北部及蘇俄西北部Kola半島之一地區。

3-4

……they are adapted to scant reino or pasturethey:指馴鹿。adapt to:適應。scant:缺乏、欠缺。指reino上牧草難求。reino or pasture:都是草原的意思。reino是拉布蘭語,相當於英文的pasture。作者用or pasture來補充說明reino是什麼。

整句的意思是說馴鹿能適草原上艱苦的生活。Moore在描寫動物時,如穿山甲、軍艦鳥等,反覆強調它們適應環境的本能。

 5-6

 yet they……fifty minutes50分鐘能跑11哩。1哩相當於1.6093公里。

6-8

the feet……act as snow-shoes:馴鹿的足蹄面刻度很深,在柔軟的雪地上,足蹄可擴張。如此面積增大,單位面積的壓力減少,較不易陷入雪地裡。其作用如雪鞋(snow-shoes)一樣。cf. Encyclopedia Americana, reindeer項目。

8

They are rigorists:他們養成靠極少食物維生的習慣,能適應艱難的天候。

9-12

however handsomely……saw-tooth heather lacehandsomely:美麗、漂亮。cutwork artists:從事空花繡的藝術家。Siberia:西伯利亞。elaborate:裝飾,苦心經營。

trace:挽韁。牲口拖車時,挽韁的一端套住牲口頸部,另一端套住拖車。saddle-girth:固定鞍用的肚帶。

 

 

 Saw-tooth leather lace:齒狀的皮革飾邊,華美得像花邊(lace)一樣。

全句的意思是,不管拉布蘭或西伯利亞的空花繡藝術家們如何用華麗的配件來裝飾馴鹿,馴鹿本身樸實無華,能刻苦求生。

13

one:一隻馴鹿。

14

face part brown, part white:馴鹿全身呈棕色,背部是淺灰色。頭部及四足色較淺。頸部及喉部的毛髮呈白色。

14-15

a queen of alpine flowers:指馴鹿可與edelweiss比美。edelweiss生長於阿爾卑斯山,色白、能耐寒。馴鹿亦能耐寒。Edelweiss是德文,意為noble white,因此Moore讚美其為阿爾卑斯山中花之后。

15

Santa Claus’ reindeer, seen at last:傳說中聖誕老人的雪車是由馴鹿所拉動的。但一般在聖誕節花車遊行中所見的馴鹿,非本製的即是標本,現在終於目睹一個活生生的馴鹿了。

16-17

had grey-brown fur:

親眼所見的有棕灰色的毛髮。見14行註解。

 17-18

 or lion’s foot, leontopodiumMoore補充說明edelweiss拉丁文學名是leontopodium,字義為lion’s footlion暗示Strength,引用拉丁文又有宗教禮儀(ritual)的含意。

20-21

this candelabrum-headed ornament……scarce:指馴鹿頭上的角(antler)像 樹枝狀的燭台。馴鹿體態優美,因此說牠像是景色單調草原上的裝飾品。

21-27

sent to Alaska……reindeer’s faceSheldon Jackson (1834-1909)是美國基督教長老會傳教士及教育家,於1883年由西伯利亞將馴鹿引進Alaska,馴鹿的奶及肉成為當地最重要的食物來源,也解除了當地愛斯基摩人(the Eskimos)絕種的危機。

23-24

a gift……the Esquimo:防止愛斯基摩人絕種的禮物。“gift”另一含意是grace of God. 馴鹿解救了愛斯基摩人,成為基督教教主(savior)的象徵。聖誕節紀念耶穌的降生,reindeer是裝飾品(見註15行),在Alaska馴鹿成了真正的savior

 24-26

 The battle was……Jackson:這場生存與絕種的戰爭由Sheldon Jackson贏得。

26

evangel to that raceJacksonevangel to the race,(給愛斯基摩族帶來福音的人),贏得了生與死之戰,這種都影射基督戰勝了死亡。

27

Whose reprieve……reindeer’s facewhose reprievethe reprieve of the race. reprieve:本意是緩刑,基督教認為death是一種懲罰,愛斯基摩人暫時免除絕種的危機,可說是一種reprieve