A Foreword: Which Asserts Nothing.
In Continental1 periodicals not more than a dozen articles in all would seem to have given accounts or partial translations of the Jurgen legends. No thorough investigation2 of this epos can be said to have appeared in print, anywhere, prior to the publication, in 1913, of the monumental Synopses3 of Aryan Mythology4 by Angelo de Ruiz. It is unnecessary to observe that in this exhaustive digest Professor de Ruiz has given (VII, p. 415 et sequentia) a summary of the greater part of these legends as contained in the collections of Verville and Bülg; and has discussed at length and with much learning the esoteric meaning of these folk-stories and their bearing upon questions to which the "solar theory" of myth explanation has given rise. To his volumes, and to the pages of Mr. Lewistam's Key to the Popular Tales of Poictesme, must be referred all those who may elect to think of Jurgen as the resplendent, journeying and procreative sun.
Equally in reading hereinafter will the judicious5 waive6 all allegorical interpretation7, if merely because the suggestions hitherto advanced are inconveniently8 various. Thus Verville finds the Nessus shirt a symbol of retribution, where Bülg, with rather wide divergence9, would have it represent the dangerous gift of genius. Then it may be remembered that Dr. Codman says, without any hesitancy, of Mother Sereda: "This Mother Middle is the world generally (an obvious anagram of Erda es), and this Sereda rules not merely the middle of the working-days but the midst of everything. She is the factor of middleness, of mediocrity, of an avoidance of extremes, of the eternal compromise begotten10 by use and wont11. She is the Mrs. Grundy of the Léshy; she is Comstockery: and her shadow is common-sense." Yet Codman speaks with certainly no more authority than Prote, when the latter, in his Origins of Fable12, declares this epos is "a parable13 of … man's vain journeying in search of that rationality and justice which his nature craves14, and discovers nowhere in the universe: and the shirt is an emblem15 of this instinctive16 craving17, as … the shadow symbolizes18 conscience. Sereda typifies a surrender to life as it is, a giving up of man's rebellious19 self-centredness and selfishness: the anagram being se dare."
Thus do interpretations20 throng21 and clash, and neatly22 equal the commentators23 in number. Yet possibly each one of these unriddlings, with no doubt a host of others, is conceivable: so that wisdom will dwell upon none of them very seriously.
With the origin and the occult meaning of the folklore24 of Poictesme this book at least is in no wise concerned: its unambitious aim has been merely to familiarize English readers with the Jurgen epos for the tale's sake. And this tale of old years is one which, by rare fortune, can be given to English readers almost unabridged, in view of the singular delicacy25 and pure-mindedness of the Jurgen mythos: in all, not more than a half-dozen deletions have seemed expedient26 (and have been duly indicated) in order to remove such sparse27 and unimportant outcroppings of mediæval frankness as might conceivably offend the squeamish.
Since this volume is presented simply as a story to be read for pastime, neither morality nor symbolism is hereinafter educed28, and no "parallels" and "authorities" are quoted. Even the gaps are left unbridged by guesswork: whereas the historic and mythological29 problems perhaps involved are relinquished30 to those really thoroughgoing scholars whom erudition qualifies to deal with such topics, and tedium31 does not deter….
In such terms, and thus far, ran the Foreword to the first issues of this book, whose later fortunes have made necessary the lengthening32 of the Foreword with a postscript33. The needed addition—this much at least chiming with good luck—is brief. It is just that fragment which some scholars, since the first appearance of this volume, have asserted—upon what perfect frankness must describe as not indisputable grounds—to be a portion of the thirty-second chapter of the complete form of La Haulte Histoire de Jurgen.
And in reply to what these scholars assert, discretion34 says nothing. For this fragment was, of course, unknown when the High History was first put into English, and there in consequence appears, here, little to be won either by endorsing35 or denying its claims to authenticity36. Rather, does discretion prompt the appending, without any gloss37 or scholia, of this fragment, which deals with
The Judging of Jurgen.
Now a court was held by the Philistines38 to decide whether or no King Jurgen should be relegated40 to limbo41. And when the judges were prepared for judging, there came into the court a great tumblebug, rolling in front of him his loved and properly housed young ones. With the creature came pages, in black and white, bearing a sword, a staff and a lance.
This insect looked at Jurgen, and its pincers rose erect43 in horror. The bug42 cried to the three judges, "Now, by St. Anthony! this Jurgen must forthwith be relegated to limbo, for he is offensive and lewd44 and lascivious45 and indecent."
"And how can that be?" says Jurgen.
"You are offensive," the bug replied, "because this page has a sword which I choose to say is not a sword. You are lewd because that page has a lance which I prefer to think is not a lance. You are lascivious because yonder page has a staff which I elect to declare is not a staff. And finally, you are indecent for reasons of which a description would be objectionable to me, and which therefore I must decline to reveal to anybody."
"Well, that sounds logical," says Jurgen, "but still, at the same time, it would be no worse for an admixture of common-sense. For you gentlemen can see for yourselves, by considering these pages fairly and as a whole, that these pages bear a sword and a lance and a staff, and nothing else whatever; and you will deduce, I hope, that all the lewdness46 is in the insectival mind of him who itches47 to be calling these things by other names."
The judges said nothing as yet. But they that guarded Jurgen, and all the other Philistines, stood to this side and to that side with their eyes shut tight, and all these said: "We decline to look at the pages fairly and as a whole, because to look might seem to imply a doubt of what the tumblebug has decreed. Besides, as long as the tumblebug has reasons which he declines to reveal, his reasons stay unanswerable, and you are plainly a prurient48 rascal49 who are making trouble for yourself."
"To the contrary," says Jurgen, "I am a poet, and I make literature."
"But in Philistia to make literature and to make trouble for yourself are synonyms," the tumblebug explained. "I know, for already we of Philistia have been pestered50 by three of these makers52 of literature. Yes, there was Edgar, whom I starved and hunted until I was tired of it: then I chased him up a back alley53 one night, and knocked out those annoying brains of his. And there was Walt, whom I chivvied and battered54 from place to place, and made a paralytic55 of him: and him, too, I labelled offensive and lewd and lascivious and indecent. Then later there was Mark, whom I frightened into disguising himself in a clown's suit, so that nobody might suspect him to be a maker51 of literature: indeed, I frightened him so that he hid away the greater part of what he had made until after he was dead, and I could not get at him. That was a disgusting trick to play on me, I consider. Still, these are the only three detected makers of literature that have ever infested56 Philistia, thanks be to goodness and my vigilance, but for both of which we might have been no more free from makers of literature than are the other countries."
"Now, but these three," cried Jurgen, "are the glory of Philistia: and of all that Philistia has produced, it is these three alone, whom living ye made least of, that to-day are honored wherever art is honored, and where nobody bothers one way or the other about Philistia."
"What is art to me and my way of living?" replied the tumblebug, wearily. "I have no concern with art and letters and the other lewd idols57 of foreign nations. I have in charge the moral welfare of my young, whom I roll here before me, and trust with St. Anthony's aid to raise in time to be God-fearing tumblebugs like me, delighting in what is proper to their nature. For the rest, I have never minded dead men being well-spoken-of. No, no, my lad: once whatever I may do means nothing to you, and once you are really rotten, you will find the tumblebug friendly enough. Meanwhile I am paid to protest that living persons are offensive and lewd and lascivious and indecent, and one must live."
Then the Philistines who stood to this side and to that side said in indignant unison58: "And we, the reputable citizenry of Philistia, are not at all in sympathy with those who would take any protest against the tumblebug as a justification59 of what they are pleased to call art. The harm done by the tumblebug seems to us very slight, whereas the harm done by the self-styled artist may be very great."
Jurgen now looked more attentively60 at this queer creature: and he saw that the tumblebug was malodorous, certainly, but at bottom honest and well-meaning; and this seemed to Jurgen the saddest thing he had found among the Philistines. For the tumblebug was sincere in his insane doings, and all Philistia honored him sincerely, so that there was nowhere any hope for this people.
Therefore King Jurgen addressed himself, as his need was, to submit to the strange customs of the Philistines. "Now do you judge me fairly," cried Jurgen to his judges, "if there be any justice in this mad country. And if there be none, do you relegate39 me to limbo or to any other place, so long as in that place this tumblebug is not omnipotent61 and sincere and insane."
And Jurgen waited….
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1 continental | |
adj.大陆的,大陆性的,欧洲大陆的 | |
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2 investigation | |
n.调查,调查研究 | |
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3 synopses | |
摘要,梗概( synopsis的名词复数 ); 大纲 | |
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4 mythology | |
n.神话,神话学,神话集 | |
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5 judicious | |
adj.明智的,明断的,能作出明智决定的 | |
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6 waive | |
vt.放弃,不坚持(规定、要求、权力等) | |
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7 interpretation | |
n.解释,说明,描述;艺术处理 | |
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8 inconveniently | |
ad.不方便地 | |
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9 divergence | |
n.分歧,岔开 | |
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10 begotten | |
v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 );产生,引起 | |
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11 wont | |
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯 | |
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12 fable | |
n.寓言;童话;神话 | |
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13 parable | |
n.寓言,比喻 | |
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14 craves | |
渴望,热望( crave的第三人称单数 ); 恳求,请求 | |
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15 emblem | |
n.象征,标志;徽章 | |
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16 instinctive | |
adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的 | |
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17 craving | |
n.渴望,热望 | |
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18 symbolizes | |
v.象征,作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 ) | |
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19 rebellious | |
adj.造反的,反抗的,难控制的 | |
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20 interpretations | |
n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 );表演;演绎;理解 | |
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21 throng | |
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
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22 neatly | |
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地 | |
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23 commentators | |
n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 );时事评论员;注释者;实况广播员 | |
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24 folklore | |
n.民间信仰,民间传说,民俗 | |
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25 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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26 expedient | |
adj.有用的,有利的;n.紧急的办法,权宜之计 | |
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27 sparse | |
adj.稀疏的,稀稀落落的,薄的 | |
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28 educed | |
v.引出( educe的过去式和过去分词 );唤起或开发出(潜能);推断(出);从数据中演绎(出) | |
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29 mythological | |
adj.神话的 | |
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30 relinquished | |
交出,让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 ); 放弃 | |
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31 tedium | |
n.单调;烦闷 | |
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32 lengthening | |
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33 postscript | |
n.附言,又及;(正文后的)补充说明 | |
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34 discretion | |
n.谨慎;随意处理 | |
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35 endorsing | |
v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 );在(尤指支票的)背面签字;在(文件的)背面写评论;在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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36 authenticity | |
n.真实性 | |
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37 gloss | |
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38 philistines | |
n.市侩,庸人( philistine的名词复数 );庸夫俗子 | |
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39 relegate | |
v.使降级,流放,移交,委任 | |
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40 relegated | |
v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 );使降职;转移;把…归类 | |
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41 limbo | |
n.地狱的边缘;监狱 | |
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42 bug | |
n.虫子;故障;窃听器;vt.纠缠;装窃听器 | |
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43 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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44 lewd | |
adj.淫荡的 | |
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45 lascivious | |
adj.淫荡的,好色的 | |
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46 lewdness | |
n. 淫荡, 邪恶 | |
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47 itches | |
n.痒( itch的名词复数 );渴望,热望v.发痒( itch的第三人称单数 ) | |
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48 prurient | |
adj.好色的,淫乱的 | |
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49 rascal | |
n.流氓;不诚实的人 | |
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50 pestered | |
使烦恼,纠缠( pester的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51 maker | |
n.制造者,制造商 | |
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52 makers | |
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53 alley | |
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54 battered | |
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损 | |
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55 paralytic | |
adj. 瘫痪的 n. 瘫痪病人 | |
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56 infested | |
adj.为患的,大批滋生的(常与with搭配)v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 );遍布于 | |
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57 idols | |
偶像( idol的名词复数 ); 受崇拜的人或物; 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物; 神像 | |
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58 unison | |
n.步调一致,行动一致 | |
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59 justification | |
n.正当的理由;辩解的理由 | |
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60 attentively | |
adv.聚精会神地;周到地;谛;凝神 | |
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61 omnipotent | |
adj.全能的,万能的 | |
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