Le Morte DArthur | 原著閱讀筆記（3）

So as they rode to the jousts-ward, Sir Kay lost his sword, for he had left it at his fathers lodging, and so he prayed young Arthur for to ride for his sword. I will well, said Arthur, and rode fast after the sword, and when he came home, the lady and all were out to see the jousting.

凱到了賽場發現自己的劍落在了住處，便請求弟弟亞瑟幫他去取回。亞瑟騎馬趕回住處，卻發現家裡的眾人都外出看比賽去了。

Then was Arthur wroth, and said to himself, I will ride to the churchyard, and take the sword with me that sticketh in the stone, for my brother Sir Kay shall not be without a sword this day.

於是亞瑟非常苦惱（原文是生氣），最終決定前往教堂，去取那把石中劍，拿來讓哥哥今晚使用。

Sticketh

Stick + -eth, (archaic) third-person singular simple present indicative form of stick

So when he came to the churchyard, Sir Arthur alighted and tied his horse to the stile, and so he went to the tent, and found no knights there, for they were at the jousting. And so he handled the sword by the handles, and lightly and fiercely pulled it out of the stone, and took his horse and rode his way until he came to his brother Sir Kay, and delivered him the sword.

亞瑟爵士來到教堂，下馬進入放置石中劍的隔間，發現護劍騎士們也一個都不在。它徒手握住劍柄，乾脆利落地拔出了石中劍，然後飛快地騎馬回到了哥哥身邊。

這裡是全篇中第一次亞瑟被冠以騎士（爵士）的頭銜，隱約是在透露亞瑟決定拔劍那一刻就已經取得騎士的身份。

Tent

(Scotland) A portable pulpit set up outside to accommodate worshippers who cannot fit into a church.

And as soon as Sir Kay saw the sword, he wist well it was the sword of the stone, and so he rode to his father Sir Ector, and said: Sir, lo here is the sword of the stone, wherefore I must be king of this land.

凱看到這把劍，立馬就想到了這正是石中劍。於是他向父親謊稱是自己拔出了劍，以試圖證明自己就是英格蘭的正主。

Wist

1) To know, be aware of.

2) (archaic) simple past tense and past participle of wit.

A misunderstanding, or a joking use of the past indicative of wit: from Old English witan, from Proto-Germanic *witan?, from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (「see, know」). Cognate with Dutch weten, German wissen, Swedish veta, and Latin videō (「I see」).

這個詞稍微說一下。維基詞典里給出了兩種詞源，分別是直接解釋為to know和古英語種wit的過去式。而繼續看這個wit，現代英語的常見意象是wise/ humor，但是如果是考察古英語或者中古英語，這個wist的兩種詞源應該是同一個詞，即to know，因為wit在古英語中也就是to know的意思。維基詞典給出的詞源很明確，wit/ wist的來源可以追溯到原始印歐語的*weyd-，並且這一原始印歐語詞根目前在諸多語言中都有對應詞，比如非常顯而易見的現代德語中的wissen，在康德哲學裡討論過這個Wissen，對應的比較完整的漢語意思是偏向於對自然總結出的經驗性的知識，這一點也可以從其原始印歐語詞義「see, know」中看出端倪。而拉丁語中對應的詞videō就更出名了，其主動式一般完成時是vīdī，英文轉寫形式為vidi，也就是凱撒那句經典的VENI VIDI VICI里的VIDI（I SEE）。總之，這個wit是一個在詞源學上非常非常「原始」的詞。按照http://dictionary.com提供的說法，wit這個詞開始出現幽默的意思是在15世紀末期，而亞瑟王之死成書約於15世紀中期，更不可能書中的wit使用現代的「幽默」含義。

Lo

(archaic) Used to present a new scene, situation, or turn of events

一個中古英語中只剩下強調作用，失去語法作用的感談詞，在古英語中的寫法是lā，它的拉丁詞源是Labii，其法語同源詞就常見到不能再常見了——La。有意思的是，在中古英語中另一個寫法lo!經常也與其他語素連用寫成lok!，今天的荷蘭語lok，梵語拉丁轉寫lok，今天的英語look都和這個lok!同源。

Wherefore

(archaic) Because of which & therefore

另外是聖經中比較常見的一個詞，普通文本讀物里一般就寫成Where for 或則 Therefore了

Sir, said Sir Kay, by my brother Arthur, for he brought it to me. How gat ye this sword? said Sir Ector to Arthur. Sir, I will tell you. When I came home for my brothers sword, I found nobody at home to deliver me his sword; and so I thought my brother Sir Kay should not be swordless, and so I came hither eagerly and pulled it out of the stone without any pain.

埃克托將凱與亞瑟帶到教堂，正面質問他們究竟是怎麼一回事。這時Sir Kay承認了劍是被弟弟亞瑟拔出並交給他的。

Hither

(literary or archaic) To this place, to here. From Proto-Germanic *hidrê.

Now, said Sir Ector to Arthur, I understand ye must be king of this land. Wherefore I, said Arthur, and for what cause? Sir, said Ector, for God will have it so; for there should never man have drawn out this sword, but he that shall be rightwise king of this land.

埃克托向亞瑟宣布，他將成為英格蘭之王，因為上帝的意志即如此，除了英格蘭正主，無人能夠拔出石中劍。

這段描寫中可以看出少年亞瑟此時的不解與迷惑。

Now assay, said Sir Ector unto Sir Kay. And anon he pulled at the sword with all his might; but it would not be. Now shall ye assay, said Sir Ector to Arthur. I will well, said Arthur, and pulled it out easily. And therewithal Sir Ector knelt down to the earth, and Sir Kay. Alas, said Arthur, my own dear father and brother, why kneel ye to me? Nay, nay, my lord Arthur, it is not so; I was never your father nor of your blood, but I wot well ye are of an higher blood than I weened ye were. And then Sir Ector told him all, how he was betaken him for to nourish him, and by whose commandment, and by Merlins deliverance.

埃克托再次確認了他們三人中只有亞瑟可以拔出石中劍後，自己和Sir Kay向亞瑟下跪示意。亞瑟看見自己的父親和哥哥向自己下跪，十分慌張和不解。埃克托這時將從梅林出寄養亞瑟的事實告知亞瑟王。

這段文字中，亞瑟已經從爵士上升到了王，埃克托向亞瑟說話的時候已經開始稱亞瑟為自己的領主。

Assay

(archaic) To try, attempt (to do something).

Nay

(archaic) no. From Middle English nai, nei, from Old Norse nei (「no」) , from Proto-Germanic *nai (「never」), *nē (「not」). More at no. In Early Modern English, nay was used to respond to a positive question, while no was used to respond to a negative question.

Then Arthur made great dole when he understood that Sir Ector was not his father. Sir, said Ector unto Arthur, will ye be my good and gracious lord when ye are king?

亞瑟聽懂了這些後非常悲傷。之後埃克托向亞瑟王問道，您成為王之後，會以一位偉大且高尚的王的身份領導我們嗎？

Else were I to blame, said Arthur, for ye are the man in the world that I am most beholden to, and my good lady and mother your wife, that as well as her own hath fostered me and kept. And if ever it be Gods will that I be king as ye say, ye shall desire of me what I may do, and I shall not fail you; God forbid I should fail you Sir, said Sir Ector, I will ask no more of you, but that ye will make my son, your foster brother, Sir Kay, seneschal of all your lands.

亞瑟王向埃克托做出承諾，並表達了對他們的養育之恩的感激。亞瑟王向埃克托尋求作為王的建議，並說自己不會讓他感到失望。埃克托推辭說上帝並不允許他對他的王失望，自己也沒有多的要求，除了請求亞瑟王將Sir Kay任命為他的領地總管。

That shall be done, said Arthur, and more, by the faith of my body, that never man shall have that office but he, while he and I live.

亞瑟王答應了他的提議，並說處於對兄長的信任和一起長大的感情，自己理所應當這樣做。