期待《復(fù)仇者聯(lián)盟3》和它的神秘寶石
該片講述漫威電影有史以來最強反派滅霸登場，該片將會集齊所有漫威電影宇宙的超級英雄進(jìn)行對抗滅霸，上演一場史無前例的拯救宇宙大戰(zhàn)。
As film fans await the premiere of Avengers: Infinity Warand its ambitious attempt to cluster dozens of heroes onto a single screen, there is another seminal gathering taking place in the film that has diehard fans every bit as eager: the assembling of all six ‘Infinity Stones’. Described as ingots of unfathomable power, the remnants of singularities that existed ‘in a time before creation itself’, the Infinity Stones have appeared in Marvel Studios’ films throughout the last decade, though never all together.
全球影迷都在等待《復(fù)仇者聯(lián)盟3：無限戰(zhàn)爭》的首映，漫威野心勃勃的將數(shù)十位英雄都放在了同一部電影中。電影中另一個讓鐵桿粉絲翹首以盼的重要情節(jié)就是收集齊全部六顆無限寶石。這些無限寶石有著深不可測的力量，是奇點殘存的部分，在宇宙還未誕生時就存在了。這六顆無限寶石在過去的十年中，在所有漫威電影中都有露面，但是從未同時出現(xiàn)過。
Thus far, we have seen that these stones are capable of turning back time, opening portals across the galaxy, and destroying entire planets, so the assembling of all six certainly qualifies as a threat worthy of the entire retinue of Marvel’s heroes. However, though the threat of the combined Infinity Stones is new for the Marvel films, the mythos behind these mystical gemstones is anything but.
目前為止，我們見識過了這些寶石的力量，它們可以扭轉(zhuǎn)時間，在星系中打開傳送門，甚至毀滅一顆星球。集齊全部六顆無限寶石的威脅絕對值得集結(jié)所有漫威英雄奮力抵抗。雖然集齊無限寶石的威脅是漫威電影中的一個新情節(jié)，但是這些寶石背后的神話卻并不陌生。
The creative forces at Marvel have never shied away from incorporating mythological influences into their stories, from the more subtle echoes of the ‘hero’s journey’ in Spiderman to the overt co-opting of figures like Thor, Loki and Odin. The Infinity Stones are no exception to the trend, and are simply the latest in a long line of humanity’s celebrated mythological stones.
漫威的創(chuàng)造力從不避諱把神話融入到故事中，從更隱晦的蜘蛛俠的“英雄之路”，到融合明顯的人物形象，比如索爾、洛基和奧丁。無限寶石也不例外，它們只是人類歷史長河中眾多著名的神秘寶石形象的最新呈現(xiàn)。
Every mythology comes with its own legendary artifacts, but stones that bear mysterious, otherworldly properties are by far one of the most pervasive throughout civilisations. From the countless medieval lapidaries purporting the healing and apotropaic properties of gemstones to the widespread misidentification of neolithic arrowheads as ‘thunderstones’, virtually every culture shows some evidence in the belief of mystical stones.
每一個神話都有自己的傳奇神器，但是神秘超俗的寶石是迄今為止各文化中最普遍的。從無數(shù)的中世紀(jì)寶石工匠聲稱寶石能治病和驅(qū)邪，到普遍將新石器時代的箭頭誤認(rèn)為是“雷石”，幾乎所有文化中都有一些證據(jù)可以表明人們對神秘寶石的信仰。
Some of these legends have proved so culturally embedded that we instantly recognise them today. Take the Philosopher’s Stone, the alchemical gem capable of turning lead into gold and producing the elixir of life, which has remained so universally relevant that it’s served as a major plot point in modern works as disparate as the Harry Potter books, the Japanese manga Fullmetal Alchemist, one of the Uncle Scrooge comics featuring Donald Duck, and a Satyajit Ray film. The Philosopher’s Stone was even the name of a Van Morrison album.
有一些傳說的文化嵌入痕跡太明顯，以至于現(xiàn)在的我們一眼就能認(rèn)出。比如說賢者之石，它是一種煉金石，可以將鉛轉(zhuǎn)化為金，還能制造出長生不老藥。賢者之石仍是家喻戶曉，乃至于它成為了很多現(xiàn)代作品的主要情節(jié)，像《哈利波特》、日本漫畫《鋼之煉金術(shù)師》、唐老鴨出演的《史高治舅舅》動畫、Satyajit Ray出演的電影。甚至Van Morrison的專輯都用了《賢者之石》作名字。
But that’s just scratching the surface of the quarry. The stones sought out by the superheroes of today are known for their power to bend the laws of nature, and are therefore perhaps more akin to the likes of the Japanese kanju and manju, fabled jewels that would grant the owner control over the tides, or the gems of Mayan myth that harnessed the power of the elements. The Romans even claimed to be in possession of such artifacts themselves, submerging a special stone known as the lapis manalis in water with the hopes of bringing rain in a ritual known as aquaelicium.
但賢者之石只是萬千神秘寶石的其中之一。現(xiàn)代的超級英雄所追尋的寶石，它們的力量可以使自然規(guī)律為之屈服，所以可能更接近是日本的Kanju和Manju寶石。這兩枚日本傳說中的寶石可以使佩戴者擁有控制潮汐的能力?；蛘哳愃朴诂斞派裨捴械膶毷?，擁有者可以使用元素的力量。羅馬人還號稱擁有這樣的神器，他們會在一個名叫Aquaelicium(譯者注：拉丁文，英文意思是Rain-Making，祈雨)的儀式上將一枚特殊的寶石Lapis Manalis(譯者注：拉丁文，英文意思是Stone of the Manes，摩尼之石)放入水中，希望借此帶來降水。
