In a few days his lordship's townhouse was observed to be on fire.
不幾天,法官大人官邸火光眼見(jiàn)紅了半邊天。
The thing took wing, and now there was nothing to be seen but fire in every direction.
這樣稀罕之事簡(jiǎn)直像長(zhǎng)了翅膀。這下好了,城里不時(shí)有此起彼伏的火光冒出,
Fuel and pigs grew enormously dear all over the district.
劈柴與豬崽價(jià)格眼見(jiàn)突突地漲個(gè)不停,
The insurance offices one and all shut up shop.
保險(xiǎn)當(dāng)鋪一家家倒閉關(guān)門;
People built slighter and slighter every day,
日復(fù)一日,居民窩棚越發(fā)粗制潦草,
until it was feared that the very science of architecture would in no long time be lost to the world.
甚至有人開(kāi)始擔(dān)憂,這門蓋房技藝無(wú)需良久就會(huì)失傳,無(wú)人承繼。
Thus this custom of firing houses continued till in process of time,
于是,焚燒房屋的習(xí)俗延續(xù)下來(lái),直到后來(lái)的文明進(jìn)步才得以廢除。
says my manusCRIpt, a sage arose, like our Locke, who made a discovery that the flesh of swine, or indeed of any other animal,
一位類似西方洛克的圣人橫空出世,我的那本手抄本如此描述,那位睿者發(fā)現(xiàn),不管豬肉,還是其他動(dòng)物的肉,
might be cooked (burnt, as they called it) without the necessity of consuming a whole house to dress it.
無(wú)須點(diǎn)燃整座房屋,同樣可通過(guò)烹制為食(或如中國(guó)人所說(shuō)的炙烤)。
Then first began the rude form of a gridiron.
由此,粗陋的食物烤架最先問(wèn)世,
Roasting by the string or spit came in a century or two later; I forget in whose dynasty.
一兩百年后,成行成串的炙烤烹制方法開(kāi)始流行,我可真忘了這些事發(fā)生在哪朝哪代。
By such slow degrees, concludes the manusCRIpt, do the most useful, and seemingly the most obvious, arts make their way among mankind.
不過(guò),那部手抄本給出以下結(jié)論,伴隨緩慢的文明進(jìn)步,那些人類生活中最為實(shí)用、似乎最為顯見(jiàn)的生存技藝,就是這樣逐漸地完善起來(lái)。
Without placing too implicit faith in the account above given,
無(wú)須對(duì)上述歷史塵封過(guò)分當(dāng)真,
it must be agreed that if a worthy pretext for so dangerous an experiment as setting houses on fire (especially in these days)
然而,對(duì)于那種放火燃盡茅舍窩棚的危險(xiǎn)實(shí)驗(yàn)(尤其在原始蠻荒時(shí)期),
could be assigned in favor of any culinary object that pretext and excuse might be found in Roast Pig.
我們還是深以為然;因?yàn)?,如果說(shuō)這類冒險(xiǎn)價(jià)有所值,那么,烹飪史上的烤乳豬顯然值得一書(shū)。