精靈｜博爾赫斯

∞《想像的動物》，1969

The Book of Imaginary Beings

博爾赫斯和瑪格麗特·格雷羅 合著

精靈

精靈源于北歐。它們纖小而邪惡，除此之外，其樣貌不得而知。精靈偷走耕牛和兒童，并以耍弄微末的惡行為樂。在英格蘭，“elflock ”這個詞專門用來指糾結成簇的頭發，因為人們認定這是精靈搞的把戲。某個盎格魯-薩克遜咒語——據我們所知可追溯到異教時代——認為，精靈慣于從遠處惡作劇地發射細微的鐵箭，神不知鬼不覺地穿透人的皮膚，而這就是身體上那種突如其來刺痛的根本原因。

《新埃達》指出了光明精靈與黑暗精靈之間的區别：“光明精靈比太陽的光芒還要亮白，黑暗精靈卻比瀝青還要漆黑。”

夢魇 的德文單詞是“ Alp ”，其詞源就來自“elf ”。在中世紀，人們普遍相信，精靈會沉重地壓在入睡者的胸口，從而施予種種惡夢。

精靈慣于從遠處惡作劇地發射細微的鐵箭，神不知鬼不覺地穿透人的皮膚，而這就是身體上那種突如其來刺痛的根本原因。

——博爾赫斯｜姜白 譯

— Reading and Rereading—

The Elves

Translated by

Norman Thomas di Giovanni

The Elves are of Nordic origin. Little is known about what they look like, except that they are tiny and sinister. They steal cattle and children and also take pleasure in minor acts of deviltry. In England, the word "elflock" was given to a tangle of hair because it was supposed to be a trick of the Elves. An Anglo-Saxon charm, which for all we know may go back to heathen times, credits them with the mischievous habit of shooting, from afar, miniature arrows of iron that break the surface of the skin without a trace and are at the root of sudden painful stitches. In the Younger Edda, a distinction is noted between Light Elves and Dark: "The Light Elves are fairer than a glance of the sun, the Dark Elves blacker than pitch." The German for nightmare is Alp; etymology traces the word back to "elf," since it was commonly believed in the Middle Ages that Elves weighed heavily upon the breast of sleepers, giving them bad dreams.

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