The hippopotamus1, the crocodile and the tapir are to this day said to be symbols of humanity because they have two natures. They can live in the water or on the land, and search for food either in the day or night time. Of the three animals, the wise men selected the tapir because it is a shy, inoffensive creature, not much larger than a sheep and lives on green grasses and herbs. During the day it sleeps quietly in the water or on the bank of a stream and at night comes on land to get food. When its coat is dry, it is of a dark brown color, 53 but when wet, it is black and shining. A tapir looks very much like a fat donkey except that its ears are not so long and its nose not quite so stumpy. At Nachan the wise men raised great herds2 of them as an example and illustration of our good and bad self.
The Golden Hearted realized that he must do more than found a large city and teach the children, so he had a Dark House built away under ground where he could store treasures and all the records of his journey. This was a secret passageway, and in its halls and labyrinths3 he had quantities of statuary and pottery4 put for safe keeping. While this was being done, he wrote a book called in his language "The Popol Vuh" but we would say it is a national book because it tells all about the beginning of the world and is divided into four parts. It is a most singular story, and has been translated so we can read it for ourselves. It is said to be the oldest book in America, and the Golden Hearted kept an order of wise men in the Dark House underground to guard it from one generation to another.
The Popul Vuh
This is the beginning of the history of things which came to pass long ago; of the division of the earth, the property of all; its origin and its foundation, as well as the narrative5 of our life in the land of shadows, and of how we saw the light. It 54 is the first book written in the olden times, but its view is hidden from him who sees and thinks.
Behold6 the first word and the first discourse7. There was as yet no man, nor any animal, nor bird, nor fish, nor crawfish, nor any pit, nor any ravine, nor green herb, nor any tree.
The face of the earth had not yet appeared—only the peaceful sea and all the space of heaven. There was nothing yet joined together, nothing that clung to anything else; nothing that balanced itself, that made the least rustling9, that made a sound in the heaven. There was nothing that stood up; nothing but silence and darkness and night time.
Alone were those that engender10, those that give being; they were upon the waters like a growing light. They consulted together and meditated11; they mingled12 their words and their opinions.
"Earth!" they said, and on the instant it was formed; like a cloud of fog was its beginning.
Then the mountains rose over the water like great lobsters13. In an instant the mountains and plains were visible and the cypress14 and the pine trees appeared.
The Heart of Heaven cried out and said:
The earth and its vegetation having appeared, it was peopled with the various forms of animal life. And the makers17 said to the animals, "Speak 56 now our name. Honor Him who begets19 and Him who gives being. Speak, call on us, salute20 us."
ALT
"BEHOLD THE FIRST WORD"
See opposite page
But the animals could not answer. They could only cluck and croak21, each murmuring after its kind in a different manner.
This displeased22 the creators, and they said to the animals:
"Inasmuch as ye cannot praise us, neither call upon our names, your flesh shall be humiliated23. It shall be broken with teeth. Ye shall be killed and eaten."
The first man was made of clay, but he was watery24, had no strength and could not turn his head. His face looked one way all the time. He was given a language, but he had no intelligence, so he was consumed in water.
"Let us make an intelligent being who shall adore and invoke25 us," said the Thunderbolt and the Lightning Flash.
It was decided26 that a man should be made of wood and a woman of a kind of pith. They were made but the result was in no wise satisfactory. They moved about perfectly27 well it is true; they increased and multiplied and peopled the world with little wooden manikins like themselves, but the heart and intelligence were wanting. They had no memory of their Maker18; they lived like the beasts and forgot the Heart of Heaven. They had neither blood nor substance, nor moisture nor fat. Their cheeks were shriveled; their feet and hands dried up. 57
Then was the Heart of Heaven very wroth, and he sent ruin and destruction upon these ingrates. He rained upon them night and day with a thick resin28 and the earth was all dark.
The men went mad with terror. They tried to mount up on the roofs, but the houses fell with them. They tried to climb the trees, but the trees shook them from their branches. They tried to hide in the caves and dens29 of the earth, but these closed against them.
Then their heads were cut off, and their bones broken and bruised30, and their eyes picked out by the birds, and their flesh eaten by wild beasts.
Thus were they all devoted31 to chastisement32 and destruction save only a few who were preserved as memorials of the wooden men. These now exist in the forests as little apes.
In the night the gods counseled together again. "Of what shall we make man?" they said.
Then the Creator made four perfect men out of white and yellow corn. The name of the first one was The Tiger With the Sweet Smile, the second one was called The Tiger of the Night, the third one was The Distinguished33 Name, and the fourth was The Tiger of the Moon. They had neither father nor mother, but their coming into existence was a miracle wrought34 by the special intervention35 of Him who is pre-eminently the Creator.
At last were there found men worthy36 of their origin and their destiny. Verily the gods looked 58 on beings who could see with their eyes and handle with their hands and understand with their hearts. Grand of countenance37 and broad of limb, the four sires of our race stood up under the white rays of the morning star.
Their great, clear eyes swept rapidly over all. They saw the woods, the rocks, the lakes and the sea; the mountains and the valleys, and they gazed up into heaven not knowing what they had come so far to do. Their hearts were filled with love, obedience38 and fear. Lifting up their eyes, they returned thanks saying:
"Hail! O Creator, Thou that lovest and understandest us! We offer up our thanks. We have been created—abandon us not, forsake39 us not! Give us descendants and a posterity40 as long as the light endures. Give us to walk always in an open wood in a path without snares41; to lead quiet lives free of all reproach."
But the Gods were not wholly pleased with this thing. Heaven, they thought, had overshot its mark. These men were too perfect; knew, understood and saw too much.
"What shall we do with man now?" they said. "This that we see is not good. Let us contract man's sight so he may see only a little of the surface of the earth and be content."
Thereupon, the Heart of Heaven breathed a cloud over the pupils of the eyes of the men, and a veil came over each eye as when one breathes on the face of a mirror. Thus was the globe of the 59 eye darkened, nor was that which was far off clear to it any more.
Then they fell asleep and when they woke up, the gods had brought each one of them a wife. They lived tranquilly42 together for a long time waiting for the rising of the sun, because they had nothing but the morning star for a light.
But no sun came, and the four men and their families grew uneasy.
"We have no one to watch over us, no one to guard our symbols," they said. So they all set out for the Seven Caves.
Poor wanderers. They had a cruel way to go, many forests to penetrate43, many high mountains to climb, and a long passage to make through the sea. Much hail and cold rain fell on their heads, and when their fires all went out they suffered from hunger as well as cold.
At last they came to a mountain and here they rested. While there they were told that the sun was coming very soon. Then they shook their incense44 pans and danced for very gladness. As the sun commenced to advance, the animals, great and small, were filled with delight. They raised themselves to the surface of the waters, they fluttered in the ravines, and gathering45 at the edge of the mountains, turned their heads together toward that part from which the sun came.
The lion and the tiger roared, and the first bird that sang was the Quetzal. All the animals were beside themselves at the sight. The eagle and 60 the kite beat their wings, and the men prostrated46 themselves on the ground.
The sun and the moon and the stars were all established. Yet was not the sun the same as now. His heat wanted force, and he was but as a reflection in a mirror. Nevertheless he dried up and warmed the surface of the earth and answered many good ends.
There was another wonder when the sun rose. The tribal47 gods who had punished these poor people so were turned into stone. And so were all the mammoth48 lions, tigers, vipers49, and other fierce and dangerous animals.
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1
hippopotamus
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| n.河马 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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labyrinths
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| 迷宫( labyrinth的名词复数 )； （文字，建筑）错综复杂的 | |
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pottery
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| n.陶器，陶器场 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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firmament
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| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
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rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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engender
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| v.产生，引起 | |
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meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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13
lobsters
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| 龙虾( lobster的名词复数 )； 龙虾肉 | |
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cypress
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| n.柏树 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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begets
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| v.为…之生父( beget的第三人称单数 )；产生，引起 | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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croak
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| vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚 | |
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displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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invoke
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| v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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resin
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| n.树脂，松香，树脂制品；vt.涂树脂 | |
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29
dens
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| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
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30
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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chastisement
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| n.惩罚 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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39
forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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40
posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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41
snares
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| n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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42
tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 | |
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43
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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44
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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45
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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46
prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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47
tribal
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| adj.部族的，种族的 | |
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48
mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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49
vipers
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| n.蝰蛇( viper的名词复数 )；毒蛇；阴险恶毒的人；奸诈者 | |
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