A day in the life of an ancient Celtic Druid

古代凯尔特德鲁伊生活中的一天

来源视频

As the sun rises on a  fall morning in 55 BCE,

Camma lays two pigeons on the altar  at the center of her village.

She offers a prayer to Matrona  mother goddess of the Earth,

and Lugus chief of the gods.

Then, she wrings the birds’ necks

and cuts them open to examine their  entrails for divine messages.

公元前 55 年的秋日， 清晨的太阳正冉冉升起，

卡玛把两只鸽子 放在村中央的祭坛上，

她向大地之母玛特罗娜 和众神之主鲁格斯祈祷。

然后，她扭断鸟脖，

打开鸟体以检查其内脏 有无神的旨意。

Camma is a druid.

This means she conducts religious rites,

but she also serves as a judge, healer,  and scholar,

teaching children and mediating conflict  between Celtic tribes.

She began her studies as a child,

memorizing the countless details  necessary to perform her many roles,

since the druids’ knowledge is considered  too sacred to record in writing.

卡玛是一位德鲁伊，

负责主持宗教仪式，

还是法官、治疗师和学者，

她教孩子们学习，

并调解凯尔特人部落之间的冲突。

她从小就开始学习，

要记住行使她诸多职能 所必需的无数细节，

因为德鲁伊的知识太神圣了， 不允许用书面形式记录。

Like many druids, she spent years  studying in Britain.

Now, she is a resident Druid  of the Veneti tribe

in a small farming village near the  western coast of Gaul,

in what is now France.

Since returning to Gaul, she has received  many offers of marriage–

but she has decided to devote herself  to her work, at least for now.

像许多德鲁伊一样， 她在英国学习了多年。

现在，她是威尼蒂部落的 常驻德鲁伊，

该部落位于高卢西海岸 附近的一个小农村，

位于现在的法国。

回到高卢后，她收到了许多求婚——

她仍然决心全身投身工作， 至少现在是这样。

This morning, the omens are troubling.

They tell of war and strife, as they often have in recent months.

A neighboring tribe, the Redones,

have raided their village and stolen  cattle in broad daylight twice this fall.

The children have gathered around  to watch her work.

Camma plays her lyre and sings to them.

She weaves stories of the powerful kings  who once ruled their land –

brave warriors who were slain naked  in combat but who will be reborn,

as will all the Celts.

今天早上的预兆令人不安，

关乎战争与纷争， 这也是近几个月经常发生的。

一个邻近的部落雷诺斯，

今年秋天，竟然在光天化日之下 两次袭击他们村，还偷走了牛。

孩子们聚在她身边，看她工作。

卡玛弹起里拉琴并唱歌给孩子们听，

歌词讲述那些曾经统治过 他们土地的强大国王的故事——

战斗中赤膊上阵的 勇敢斗士将会重生，

所有的凯尔特人也会像他们一样。

When the children go off  to help in the fields,

Camma heads across the village to visit an old woman with an eye infection.

On the way to the old woman’s hut,

she passes men salting pigs for the  winter food supply

and women weaving clothing from dyed wool.

She delivers a remedy for the injured eye–

it’s made from mistletoe,  a sacred healing plant,

but deadly if used incorrectly.

当孩子们散开去田间帮忙时，

卡玛穿过村庄去探望 一位眼睛感染的老妇人。

在前往老妇人小屋的路上，

她路遇男人们 在用盐腌猪肉准备过冬、

女人们用染色羊毛编织衣服。

她送去了治疗受伤眼睛的疗法——

它是由神圣的治疗植物槲寄生制成，

但如果使用不当，则会致命。

From there, Camma visits the chieftain  to discuss the omens.

She convinces him to go and talk through  their problems with their neighbors.

Accompanied by several warriors,

they head through the forest and demand  a meeting

outside the Redones’ village walls.

在那里，卡玛去拜访酋长 讨论那个预兆，

并说服酋长去和邻近部落 探讨他们之间存在的问题。

在几个斗士的陪同下，

他们一行人穿过森林，

要求在雷诺斯村庄的墙外会谈。

The Redones’ representatives bring  their own druid,

who Camma recognizes from the annual  gathering in central Gaul

where head druids are elected.

The chieftains immediately begin to argue  and threaten each other.

Camma steps between the opposing sides to stop them from fighting—

they must honor her authority.

雷诺斯的代表也带了他们的德鲁伊，

卡玛认识她，

是在选举产生德鲁伊首领的 年度聚会上认识的。

酋长们立即开始争辩并互相威胁，

卡玛走到对立双方之间， 阻止他们打起来——

他们必须尊重她的权威。

Finally, the Redones agree to pay  Camma’s tribe several cattle.

In spite of this resolution, Camma still  feels uneasy on the long walk home.

As they approach the village walls,  a bright streak shoots across the sky—

another omen, but of what?

最后，雷诺斯部落 同意赔偿卡玛的部落几头牛。

尽管争端解决，走在漫长回家路上， 卡玛还是觉得内心不安。

当他们快抵达村庄的墙时， 一道明亮线条穿过夜空——

有另一个预兆，但是什么呢？

Back home, Camma sits among the elders  for her evening meal of porridge,

a bit of meat, and a cup of wine.

While they were out during the day,  an intercepted parchment arrived.

Camma recognizes the writing immediately.

Although the druids are forbidden from  recording their knowledge,

she and many other young druids  can read Latin.

卡玛回到家里， 坐在长辈中间一同晚餐，

有粥、一点肉和一杯葡萄酒。

他们白天外出时， 有人送来了截获的羊皮纸，

卡玛立刻认出上面写了什么。

虽然禁止德鲁伊们记录所学知识，

但她和许多其他年轻的德鲁伊 都可以阅读拉丁语。

From the message, she learns that the  Romans are drawing closer to their lands.

Some of the elders say that the tribe  should flee to the nearby hills and hide,

but Camma counsels them to trust  in the gods and remain in their home.

Privately, she has her doubts.

Should the Romans reach them,  her power to help might be limited.

从这个消息中，她得知 罗马人离他们的土地越来越近。

部分长老认为，整个部落 应逃到附近山上藏起来，

但是卡玛告诉他们 要相信众神、并留在家中。

私底下，她还是疑虑重重。

要是罗马人到来， 她能帮的忙可能有限。

Unlike the other Celtic tribes,

Roman legions have no regard for  the druids’ sacred role as peacemakers.

Before going to bed,

she observes the course of the planets  and consults her charts,

trying to make sense of the  meteor she saw earlier.

The signs are converging on a larger  threat than their neighbors.

与其他凯尔特人部落不同，

罗马军团并不尊重德鲁伊 作为和平缔造者的神圣角色。

在睡觉之前，

她观察了行星轨迹并查阅图表，

试图解释之前看到的流星，

这些迹象标明， 这次的威胁比邻国要大很多。