奇妙的“三”

數(shù)字“三”十分奇妙。“三”可組成各自獨(dú)立又相互聯(lián)系的整體。時(shí)間(time)分為現(xiàn)在(present)、過去(past)和將來(future)三個(gè)階段。空間(space)由長(zhǎng)(length)、寬(width)和高(height)三維(three dimensions)組成。物態(tài)(physical state)有三種，分別為固體(solid)、液體(liquid)和氣體(gas)。

文學(xué)作品更加偏愛數(shù)字“三”。傳統(tǒng)相聲《歪批三國》列舉了《三國演義》(The Romances of Three Kingdoms)中“桃園三結(jié)義”“三英戰(zhàn)呂布”“三顧茅廬”和“三氣周瑜”等大量帶“三”的事件。大作家的鴻篇巨制不乏“三部曲”(trilogy)。大仲馬(Alexandre Dumas, père)的達(dá)太安 三部曲(d’Artagnan trilogy)《三劍客》(The Three Musketeers)、《二十年后》(Twenty Years After)和《鐵面人》(The Vicomte de Bragelonne)，高爾基(Maxim Gorky)的自傳體三部曲(autobiographic trilogy)《童年》(My Childhood)、《在人間》(In the World)和《我的大學(xué)》(My Universities)，巴金的激流三部曲(the torrents trilogy)《家》(The Family)、《春》(Spring)和《秋》(Autumn)，以及金庸(Louis Cha)的射雕三部曲(the condor heroes trilogy)《射雕英雄傳》(The Legend of the Condor Heroes)、《神雕俠侶》(The Return of the Condor Heroes)和《倚天屠龍記》(The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber)，都是膾炙人口的傳世佳作。

人們希望用一個(gè)盡可能小的數(shù)字表現(xiàn)盡可能廣泛的代表性。“一”太少，“二”不夠，“三”正好。漢語有一些帶“三”的格言和俗語正好體現(xiàn)了這種廣泛的代表性。例如：

1. 三人行必有我?guī)煛?/p>

(1)If three of us are walking together, at least one of the other two is good enough to be my teacher.(直譯)

(2)In the company of three, I can always find a teacher./ You can always find something to learn from the people who keep you company.(意譯)

2. 三個(gè)臭皮匠，頂個(gè)諸葛亮。

(1)Three humble cobblers with their wits combined can equal Zhuge Liang, the mastermind.(直譯)

(2)There is always wisdom in a crowd of people.(意譯)

3.舉一反三。

(1)You can infer other three things from one fact.(直譯)

(2)From one sample you may judge the whole./ You can draw inferences about other cases from one instance./ You can just mention one example which serves for the rest.(意譯)

同樣地，英語也有帶 three的諺語，體現(xiàn)了這種廣泛的代表性，即“許多”(many)、“所有的”(all)或“每一個(gè)”(every)。例如：

4. When three know it, all know it./ What is known to three is known to everybody. 三人知，天下曉。

5. To him that does everything in its proper time, one day is worth three. 事事及時(shí)做，一日勝三日。

“三”還可以暗示一種極限。下面的漢語例句表示最高極限(maximum)，即“最多”(at most)。

6. 三句話不離本行。

(1)He never utters three sentences without talking about his own work.(直譯)

(2)He can hardly open his mouth without talking shop./ He never begins a talk without referring to his own line./ You are talking shop all the time./ You are really a shop talker.(意譯)

7. 富不過三代。

(1)A rich family cannot remain rich for more than three generations./ The wealth of a family will not last three generations.(直譯)

(2)Great men’s sons seldom do well.(意譯)

8. 事不過三。

(1)Anything undesirable that has happened more than three times must not be tolerated.(直譯)

(2)Enough is enough./ Something undesirable that is happening should stop.(意譯)

而下面的英語諺語則表示最低極限(minimum)，即“至少”(at least)。

9. It takes three generations to make a gentleman. 歷經(jīng)三代才能造就一個(gè)有教養(yǎng)的人。(直譯)/十年樹木，百年樹人。(意譯)

“三”表示反復(fù)的最多次數(shù)，漢語的“一而再，再而三”和“再三”的意思是“一次又一次”，英語可以譯為 again and again, over and over again, time and again, repeatedly。例如：

10. 他再三向我道歉。He said sorry to me again and again.

“三”的反復(fù)性還表現(xiàn)為“全面”(in an all-round way)，進(jìn)而表示“仔細(xì)”(carefully)或“謹(jǐn)慎”(prudently)。“三思而行”的意思不是“思考三次”，而是“全面、仔細(xì)和謹(jǐn)慎地思考”。例如：

11. 三思而行。

(1)Think thrice before acting.(直譯)

(2)Think in an all-round way before acting./ Think over the matter carefully before acting./ Think with prudence before acting./ Look before you leap.(意譯)

“三”還可以用來表示“極其緊急的情況”(extreme urgency)。英美政黨領(lǐng)袖給該政黨議員發(fā)出緊急指令，要求他們參加會(huì)議并就某議題投票。這種緊急令叫做 three-line whip。例如：

12. A three-line whip is a request to a person to attend a particular function or take part in a particular event, while “three-line” refers to the triple underlining of the written request, indicating its extreme urgency. “緊急令”是要求一個(gè)人出席特殊聚會(huì)或參加特殊活動(dòng)的指令，而“三條線”指書面指令上的三條底線，表示極其緊急。

13. A three-line whip refers to a situation where the British MPs in a political party are ordered to attend parliament and vote in a particular way on a particular issue. “緊急令”指的是命令英國某政黨議員出席議會(huì)會(huì)議，并就一項(xiàng)特殊問題以特殊方式投票的情況。

three-time loser的原義是“三次入獄的囚犯”。美國有些州的法律規(guī)定：一個(gè)人如果因重罪坐過兩次牢，第三次犯重罪而又被判刑時(shí)，會(huì)無條件地被判無期徒刑。例如：

14. Going to prison three times made him a three-time loser. 入獄三次，使他終生監(jiān)禁。

three-time loser的比喻意義與法律無關(guān)，指“不走運(yùn)，次次失敗的人”，即“倒霉蛋”或“倒霉鬼”。例如：

15. A three-time loser is a person with bad luck or poor skills who consistently loses. “倒霉蛋”是個(gè)交厄運(yùn)或無技能，而又總是失敗的人。

16. He’s just a three-time loser who will never make anything of himself. 他只不過是個(gè)永遠(yuǎn)一事無成的倒霉鬼。

英國搖滾歌手羅德•斯圖爾特(Rod Stewart)曾寫過題為 Three-Time Loser的歌曲，生動(dòng)地描寫了一個(gè)三次入獄囚犯的窘相。節(jié)選如下：

I’m a three time loser.

Caught it up in Monterey,

shook it up in East Virginia,

now my friends say it’s here to stay.

我是個(gè)“三進(jìn)宮”的囚犯。

在蒙特利被抓進(jìn)班房，

在東弗吉尼亞又犯事，

現(xiàn)在我的朋友們說你就待在這里吧。