【中英双语】大衮 洛夫克拉夫特著 ｜ Dagon by H.P. Lovecra

我在神经极度紧张的状况下写出这些文字

I am writing this under an appreciable mental strain, 

在今夜结束之前，我将不复存在

since by tonight I shall be no more. 

我身无分文

Penniless, 

而唯一能让我忍耐着能活下去的药物也已耗尽

and at the end of my supply of the substance which alone makes life endurable, 

我再也无法忍受这样的痛苦了

I can bear the torture no longer; 

我将从这阁楼里的窗户跳到楼下这肮脏的街道上去

and shall cast myself from this garret window into the squalid street below. 

不要因为我吗啡成瘾，就断定我是个软弱者或堕落的人

Do not think from my slavery to morphine that I am a weakling or a degenerate. 

在阅读这草草写下的几页纸之后或许能让你猜到

When you have read these hastily scrawled pages you may guess, 

可能不能完全理解，但这就是我为什么需要吗啡带来遗忘，或者需要死亡

though never fully realise, why it is that I must have forgetfulness or death.

 在辽阔的太平洋最罕有船行进到，最开阔的一片海域上

It was in one of the most open and least frequented parts of the broad 

我负责押运的商船成了德国袭击船的牺牲品

Pacific that the packet of which I was supercargo fell a victim to the German sea-raider. 

当时大战刚刚爆发

The great war was then at its very beginning, 

野蛮的德意志海军在那时尚未堕落得像后来那么彻底

and the ocean forces of the Hun（gry） had not completely sunk to their later degradation; 

所以我们的船只成了合法的战利品

so that our vessel was made a legitimate prize, 

我们这些船员也作为海军战俘

whilst we of her crew were treated with all the fairness 

自然而然地得到了公正而有尊严的对待

and consideration due to us as naval prisoners. 

得国老的军纪相当散漫，其证据就是

So liberal, indeed, was the discipline of our captors, 

被捕后的第五天，我便偷了一艘小艇，只身逃脱

that five days after we were taken I managed to escape alone in a small boat 

我还带上了足够维持我生活很长一段时间的补给

with water and provisions for a good length of time.

当我终于相信我已重获自由、随波逐流时

When I finally found myself adrift and free, 

我却搞不清自己是在什么地方了

I had but little idea of my surroundings. 

我永远都成不了合格的领航员

Never a competent navigator, 

只能勉强根据太阳和群星的位置大致推测，我所乘坐的小艇在赤道以南的某片海域

I could only guess vaguely by the sun and stars that I was somewhat south of the equator. 

我完全不会推算经度，视野内也没有任何岛屿或海岸线

Of my longitude I knew nothing, and no island or coast-line was in sight. 

日复一日都是晴天，也不知过去了多少日子，我只能在灼热烈日下漂泊不定

The weather kept fair, and for uncounted days I drifted aimlessly beneath the scorching sun; 

指望着能被路过的船搭救，或是流浪到有人居住的地方的海岸

waiting either for some passing ship, or to be cast on the shores of some habitable land. 

但船和陆地都没有出现

But neither ship nor land appeared, 

我孤独地置身于一望无际的蔚蓝大海中，第一次感受到了绝望

and I began to despair in my solitude upon the heaving vastness of unbroken blue.

在我睡觉时，变化发生了

The change happened whilst I slept. 

但我永远无法得知具体发生了什么

Its details I shall never know; 

因为我的睡眠尽管被难受的梦境扰乱，但却从未间断过

for my slumber, though troubled and dream-infested, was continuous. 

当我终于醒来时，

When at last I awake, and, 

我发现自己的身体有一半沉入了如地狱般漆黑粘腻的泥地

it was to discover myself half sucked into a slimy expanse of hellish black mire 

它在单调乏味的连绵起伏中延续到我身边

which extended about me in monotonous undulations as far as I could see, 

小艇就搁浅在离我不远的地方

and in which my boat lay grounded some distance away.

你可能会想我该因

Though one might well imagine that my first sensation 

这异常意外的场景变换而感到惊讶莫名

would be of wonder at so prodigious and unexpected a transformation of scenery, 

但其实我感到更多的是惊骇和恐怖

I was in reality more horrified than astonished; 

这里空气和泥地中弥漫着的恶臭令我毛骨悚然

for there was in the air and in the rotting soil a sinister quality which chilled me to the very core. 

这里的腐臭之味不仅来自鱼的腐尸

The region was putrid the carcasses of decaying fish, 

还来自于我所看见的更多我无法形容的生物

and of other less describable things which I saw 

它们的尸体全都暴露在这无尽的肮脏泥地之中

protruding from the nasty mud of the unending plain. 

我不期望能靠只言片语来描述

Perhaps I should not hope to convey in mere words 

那些栖息在绝对的无声和广阔荒芜之中的丑恶之物

the unutterable hideousness that can dwell in absolute silence and barren immensity. 

只得侧耳聆听万籁沉寂，放眼遥望只有无尽的黑色淤泥

There was nothing within hearing, and nothing in sight save a vast reach of black slime; 

沉默的世界和单调的景色

yet the very completeness of the stillness and the eveness 

实在令我极欲作呕

of the landscape oppressed me with a nauseating fear.

太阳在空中燃烧，可在我看来，这里万里无云的残酷的天气简直是漆黑一片

The sun was blazing down from a sky which seemed to me almost black in its cloudless cruelty; 

就像反映了我脚下的黑色沼泽

as though reflecting the inky marsh beneath my feet. 

当我爬回搁浅的小艇的时候，

As I crawled into the stranded boat I realised that 

只能想到一种能说明我眼下境遇的假设：

only one theory could explain my position. 

在一场史无前例的火山运动之后

Through some unprecedented volcanic upheaval,

一块海底被抬出海面，变成了陆地

a portion of the ocean floor must have been thrown to the surface, 

这块刚刚暴露的陆地已经在

exposing regions which for innumerable millions of years 

深不可测的海底隐藏了数百万年

had lain hidden under unfathomable watery depths. 

我脚下这块新生的土地辽远而荒凉

So great was the extent of the new land which had risen beneath me, 

不管怎么听也听不见大海的波涛声

that I could not detect the faintest noise of the surging ocean, strain my ears as I might. 

也没有一只海鸟来掠夺满地的死鱼

Nor were there any sea-fowl to prey upon the dead things.

 我在小艇上坐了好几个小时，冥思苦想着

For hours I sat thinking or brooding in the boat, 

随着太阳的移动，侧翻的小艇也能为我提供些许荫凉

which lay upon its side and afforded me a slight shade as the sun moved across the heavens. 

时间流逝，泥地不再那么黏人

As the day progressed, the ground lost some of its stickiness, 

似乎暂时可以在上面行走

and seemed likely to dry sufficiently for travelling purposes in a short time. 

那晚我没怎么睡觉，第二天，我把水和食物装进我自制的背包里

That night I slept but little, and the next day I made for myself a pack containing food and water, 

准备陆地上的旅行，去寻找大海和可能存在的救援

preparing for an overland journey in search of the vanished sea and possible rescue.

第三天早晨，泥地已经干得可以自如地行走

On the third morning I found the soil dry enough to walk upon with ease. 

尽管死鱼的臭味令我发狂

The odour of the fish was maddening; 

但这毕竟不是什么重要的大事，无需我介怀，

but I was too much concerned with graver things to mind so slight an evil, 

我大胆地前进，前往未知的目的地

and set out boldly for an unknown goal. 

我整日向西跋涉

All day I forged steadily westward, 

以远方的一座比周围平原稍高一点的山丘作为指引

guided by a far-away hummock which rose higher than any other elevation on the rolling desert. 

晚上我露宿休息，第二天我同样向山丘进发

That night I encamped, and on the following day still travelled toward the hummock, 

但它看起来完全不比昨天更近一点

though that object seemed scarcely nearer than when I had first espied it. 

第四天晚上，我终于到达山丘脚下

By the fourth evening I attained the base of the mound, 

发现它实际上比远望时高得多

which turned out to be much higher than it had appeared from a distance; 

横在前方的低谷使山丘显得更加陡峭

an intervening valley setting it out in sharper relief from the general surface. 

我筋疲力尽，无力攀登，在山影下睡去

Too weary to ascend, I slept on the shadow of the hill.

我不知道为什么那晚我的梦境如此疯狂

I know not why my dreams were so wild that night; 

在诡异凸起的月亮高挂在东方平原上空之前

but ere the waning and fantastically gibbous moon had risen far above the eastern plain, 

我惊醒过来，浑身冷汗，决定不在睡去

I was awake in a cold perspiration, determined to sleep no more. 

我再也无法忍受梦中所见的场景

Such visions I had experienced were too much for me to endure again. 

沐浴着月色我突然意识到，在白天的跋涉真是愚蠢透顶

And in the glow of the moon I saw how unwise I had been to travel by day. 

倘若不顶着灼热的日光行进，我就不会消耗这么多体力了

Without the glare of the parching sun, my journey would have cost me less energy; 

实际上，我感觉我现在能爬上在日落时阻碍我的山坡

indeed, I now felt quite able to perform the ascent which had deterred me at sunset. 

于是捡起背包，开始向山顶进发

Picking up my pack, I started for the crest of the eminence.

我在前面曾提到这单调延伸的平原是我心中模糊的恐怖感的来源

I have said that the unbroken monotony of the rolling plain was a source of vague horror to me; 

但当我登上丘顶、向对面望去时，恐怖感瞬间倍增

but I think my horror was greater when I gained the summit 

在山丘的另一端是深不可测的黑暗深渊和峡谷

of the mound and looked down the other side into an immeasurable pit or canyon, 

连高升的明月也无法照到它漆黑的谷底

whose black recesses the moon had not yet soared high enough to illumine. 

我感觉我就站在世界边缘

I felt myself on the edge of the world; 

从瞥向永夜无明、深远无底的混沌来看

peering over the rim into a fathomless chaos of eternal night. 

在不断加深的恐惧中，我想起了《失乐园》中的几行诗句

Through my terror ran curious reminiscences of Paradise Lost, 

就是讲撒旦攀过尚未成型的黑暗领域的怪异场面的那几行

and of Satan’s hideous climb through the unfashioned realms of darkness.

当月亮向更高处爬升

As the moon climbed higher in the sky, 

我发现峡谷的斜坡不太像我想的那样

I began to see that the slopes of the valley were not quite so perpendicular as I had imagined. 

是完全的绝壁，崖壁上突起的岩石提供了恰好的落脚点

Ledges and outcroppings of rock afforded fairly easy foot-holds for a descent, 

而在二、三百英尺下方，坡度逐渐放缓

whilst after a drop of a few hundred feet, the declivity became very gradual. 

我被一种连自己都无法理解的冲动驱使

Urged on by an impulse which I cannot definitely analyse, 

艰难地爬下峭壁，然后站在下面的斜坡上

I scrambled with difficulty down the rocks and stood on the gentler slope beneath, 

向那连光都照不到的深处望去

gazing into the Stygian deeps where no light had yet penetrated.

这时我的注意力全被峡谷彼方的斜坡上一个巨大而奇特的物体所吸引

All at once my attention was captured by a vast and singular object on the opposite slope, 

他在我面前约一百码处巍然耸立

which rose steeply about an hundred yards ahead of me; 

被升起的月亮那逐渐扩展开来的月光照耀

an object that gleamed whitely in the newly bestowed rays of the ascending moon. 

”这真是一块巨石“我这样想到

That it was merely a gigantic piece of stone, I soon assured myself.

但它给我一种挥之不去的印象

but I was conscious of a distinct impression 

这样的形状和位置绝非自然作用形成

that its contour and position were not altogether the work of Nature. 

仔细观察后，我心里被难以言喻的感情充满

A closer scrutiny filled me with sensations I cannot express; 

因为它不仅无比庞大

for despite its enormous magnitude, 

而且它的位置就从

and its position inside in an abyss which 

地球的幼年时代起就坐落在海底深渊的巨口中

had yawned at the bottom of the sea since the world was young, 

我想，这奇怪的巨石应该是一根被精心打造成的独石柱，是一件工艺品

I perceived beyond a doubt that the strange object was a well-shaped monolith 

甚至可能是崇拜对象，这庞然之躯的大部分

whose massive bulk had known the workmanship and perhaps 

都出自活着的、能思考的生物之手

the worship of living and thinking creatures.

在茫然和恐惧的同时

Dazed and frightened, 

我也产生了一种科学家和考古学家才有的兴奋

yet not without a certain thrill of the scientist’s or archaeologist’s delight, 

于是开始仔细观察四周

I examined my surroundings more closely. 

顶峰旁的月亮

The moon, now near the zenith, 

把清亮而诡异的光辉洒向深渊两旁的绝壁上，

shone weirdly and vividly above the towering steeps that hemmed in the chasm, 

照出了峡谷中湍急的溪流，溪流拍打着峭壁

and revealed the fact that a far-flung body of water flowed at the bottom, 

溪流的两边都看不到头，尽管我站在山坡上，有些水还是几乎溅上了我的脚

winding out of sight in both directions, and almost lapping my feet as I stood on the slope. 

在峡谷的对面，水波冲刷着巨大独石的根部

Across the chasm, the wavelets crashed the base of the Cyclopean monolith; 

于是我看清了巨石表面粗杂的雕刻的碑文

on whose surface I could now trace both inscriptions and crude sculptures. 

这些碑文不属于我所知的任何一种象形文字系统

The writing was in a system of hieroglyphics unknown to me, 

我也从未在书里见过它们

and unlike anything I had ever seen in books; 

大多数文字用简单的象征性符号表现了鱼、鳗鱼、章鱼、

consisting for the most part of conventionalised aquatic symbols such as fishes, eels, octopi, 

甲壳动物、软体动物、鲸鱼等海洋生物

crustaceans, molluscs, whales, and the like. 

还有少数象形文字表现的显然是现代世界所不知道的

Several characters obviously represented marine things which 

水栖动物

are unknown to the modern world, 

不过我倒是在从海中隆起的淤泥平原上见过他们腐烂后的形体

but whose decomposing forms I had observed in the ocean-risen plain.

但那如绘画一般的雕刻

It was the pictorial carving, 

才是最让我着迷的

however, that did most to hold me spellbound. 

峡溪对面的雕刻无比巨大，清晰可见

Plainly visible across the intervening water on account of their enormous size, 

连多雷这样伟大的画家都会对那一幅幅浅浮雕主题羡慕不已

were an array of bas-reliefs whose subjects would have excited the envy of a Doré. 

我觉得这些雕刻描绘的应该是人类

I think that these things were supposed to depict men—

至少是某个种族的人类

at least, a certain sort of men; 

尽管这些生物就像鱼一样

though the creatures were shewn disporting like fishes in the waters of some marine grotto, 

生活在海底的岩洞中并似乎是在波涛之下的地方用独石打造圣碑，对着它顶礼膜拜

or paying homage at some monolithic shrine which appeared to be under the waves as well. 

我不敢细谈它们的形貌

Of their faces and forms I dare not speak in detail; 

因为它们恐怖的容态

for the mere remembrance makes me grow faint. 

远超过了坡或布尔沃的幻想

Grotesque beyond the imagination of a Poe or a Bulwer, 

不过它们整体上倒具有扭曲的人类轮廓，除了有蹼的手脚

they were damnably human in general outline despite webbed hands and feet, 

厚得惊人的嘴唇、呆滞无神的凸眼

shockingly wide and flabby lips, glassy, bulging eyes, 

及其它令人不悦的特征之外

and other features less pleasant to recall. 

奇怪的是

Curiously enough, 

这些生物和背景的比例被雕刻的及其离谱

they seemed to have been chiselled badly out of proportion with their scenic background; 

有一只生物甚至正在

for one of the creatures was shewn in the act of 

杀死一条比它本身大不了多少的鲸鱼

killing a whale represented as but little larger than himself. 

当我注意到这些生物丑恶的形体和异常的大小后

I remarked, as I say, their grotesqueness and strange size; 

我便认定它们就是

but in a moment decided that they were 

被远古捕鱼部落或航海部落想象出来的神祇

merely the imaginary gods of some primitive fishing or seafaring tribe; 

这些部落的最后一位后裔死去后，还要再过好几个纪元

some tribe whose last descendant had perished eras 

辟尔唐人或尼安德人的第一位祖先才会出生

before the first ancestor of the Piltdown or Neanderthal Man was born. 

我敬畏地发现自己在无意中窥探到的遥远过去

Awestruck at this unexpected glimpse into a past beyond the conception 

是最大胆的考古学家也不敢想象的

of the most daring anthropologist, 

我不由得站定沉思，直到月光奇异地射入我面前的峡谷

I stood musing whilst the moon cast utter reflections on the silent channel before me.

突然我看见了它

Then suddenly I saw it.

只有微微的波浪搅动作为宣告

With only a slight churning to mark its rise to the surface, 

它猛然把身体立出黑暗水面

the thing slid into view above the dark waters. 

那丑恶而庞大的身躯

Vast, Polyphemus-like, and loathsome, 

宛如只会在噩梦中出现的独眼巨人波吕斐摩斯

it darted like a stupendous monster of nightmares to the monolith, 

用有鳞的巨臂挥向它

about which it flung its gigantic scaly arms, 

低下可怕的头，发出有节奏的声音

the while it bowed its hideous head and gave vent to certain measured sounds. 

那一瞬间，我丧失了理智

I think I went mad then.

至于我如何爬回斜坡和悬崖

Of my frantic ascent of the slope and cliff, 

又或是无意识地回到搁浅了的小艇

and of my delirious journey back to the stranded boat, 

我已经完全不记得了，我只记得我一直在唱歌

I remember little. I believe I sang a great deal, 

在无法唱歌的时候就怪异地大笑

and laughed oddly when I was unable to sing. 

我依稀记得回到小艇不久后就刮起了一场风暴

I have indistinct recollections of a great storm some time after I reached the boat; 

至少

at any rate, 

我记得自己听到了雷鸣和

I know that I heard peals of thunder and 

另外一些大自然最狂暴时才会发出的声音

other tones which Nature utters only in her wildest moods.

当我恢复意识的时候，我已经在旧金山的医院里了

When I came out of the shadows I was in a San Francisco hospital; 

我被一艘美国船的船长在大洋中央发现了我的小艇

brought thither by the captain of the American ship which had picked up my boat in mid-ocean. 

我谵妄地说了许多话，但别人基本毫不在意

In my delirium I had said much, but found that my words had been given scant attention. 

至于有一块陆地在太平洋中隆起的这件事，连救助我的人也一无所知

Of any land upheaval in the Pacific, my rescuers knew nothing; 

我也觉得没有必要坚持说下去，反正谁都不会相信

nor did I deem it necessary to insist upon a thing which I knew they could not believe. 

有一次，我找到了著名的民族学家

Once I sought out a celebrated ethnologist, 

询问他连他也很感兴趣的古代非力士传说中大衮的事

and amused him with peculiar questions regarding the ancient Philistine legend of Dagon, 

那位半人半鱼之神

the Fish-God; 

但我很快发现他的思维僵化得已经不可救药

but soon perceiving that he was hopelessly conventional, 

就没再接着询问

I did not press my inquiries.

每逢晚上，在月亮升起之时，我都能看见它

It is at night, especially when the moon is gibbous and waning, that I see the thing. 

我试过吗啡

I tried morphine; 

但吗啡只能带来暂时的遗忘

but the substance has given me only transient surcease, 

却让我染上毒瘾，成为它绝望的奴隶

and has drawn me into its clutches as a hopeless slave. 

所以我打算结束这一切

So now I am to end it all,

我原原本本地写下这篇供我同胞参考

having written a full account for the information 

或是嘲笑的记录之后，我就要结束这一切

or the contemptuous amusement of my fellow-men.

我时常自问，这些会不会只是纯粹的幻觉

Often I ask myself if it could not all have been a pure phantasm—

我是不是从德国袭击船上逃脱之后

a mere freak of fever as I lay sun-stricken and raving in the open boat 

在无遮无挡的小艇上患上了热射病，

after my escape from the German man-of-war. 

我问自己是不是在错乱和高烧中看见了那些幻觉

This I ask myself, but ever does there come before me a hideously vivid vision in reply. 

但一想到幽深的大海，那些不名状物在

I cannot think of the deep sea without shuddering at the nameless things 

泥泞的海床上匍匐爬行，挣扎前进、膜拜着

that may at this very moment be crawling and floundering on its slimy bed, 

远古时的石像、把自己可憎形象雕刻在浸泡海水的

worshipping their ancient stone idols and carving their own detestable likenesses 

花岗岩石碑上，就使我瑟瑟颤栗

on submarine obelisks of water-soaked granite. 

我梦见它们终有一天会游上海面

I dream of a day when they may rise above the billows 

用恶臭的爪子把被战争搞得衰弱不堪的

to drag down in their reeking talons the remnants of puny, 

弱小人类拖进海里

war-exhausted mankind—

终有一天，陆地会沉没

of a day when the land shall sink, 

在宇宙翻天覆地的剧变中，黑暗的洋底会高高升起

and the dark ocean floor ascend amidst universal pandemonium.

末日将近

The end is near. 

我听见了门的响声

I hear a noise at the door, 

似乎是一个黏滑的巨大躯体在笨拙地撞击房门

as of some immense slippery body lumbering against it. 

我不会让它找到我的

It shall not find me. 

天啊！那只手！

God, that hand! 

窗户!我必须从窗户上跳下去!!

The window! I must reach the window!